‘Ghol’ named state fish of Gujarat

• Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel declared ‘Ghol’ as the state fish of Gujarat.

• Ghol fish (jew fish), also called the black-spotted croaker, is one of the most expensive varieties of fish available in the country.

• The scientific nomenclature of the variety is Protonibea diacanthus and it is considered to be among the most expensive marine fish. It is in great demand in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

• Its fins are said to have medicinal value and are also used in wine production in Singapore.

• It is also known as “the fish with the heart of gold”.

******************************************

‘Music Frog’ in Arunachal Pradesh

• Scientists have discovered a new species of ‘music frog’ in Arunachal Pradesh, based on morphological, molecular and acoustic evidence. The new frog of the genus ‘Nidirana’ is phenotypically distinct from its congeners by a combination of morphological characters.

• The new species have been named ‘Noa-Dihing Music Frogs’. They are named after the Noa-Dihing River in Arunachal Pradesh, which is near where the specimens were discovered and collected.

• Noa-Dihing Music Frogs are distinguished from other species by their size, their oval toe tips, the tubercles on their backs and their unique call.

• Nidirana species are known in Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Nidirana are known to inhabit swamps, ponds and paddy fields, and they often construct nests to lay their eggs.

• The scientists have collected five of the Noa-Dihing Music Frogs, three males and two females. 

******************************************

Brahmani river in Odisha

• The Odisha government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for physical and mathematical river modelling study for rejuvenation of the Brahmani river delta.

• Brahmani River originates from Jharkhand, flows through the heart of Odisha and has a fall out point at Bay of Bengal near Dhamra.

• The Brahmani River is formed by the confluence of the rivers South Koel and Sankh near the major industrial town of Rourkela. 

• At about 480 km long, the Brahmani is the second longest river in Odisha after River Mahanadi and has a total catchment area of 39,033 sqkm up to Jenapur. 

• Rengali Dam is situated on River Brahmani in Angul district in Odisha.

******************************************

Tantalum metal

• Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar have found the presence of tantalum in the Sutlej river sand in Punjab.

• Tantalum (Ta) was discovered in 1802 by the Swedish chemist Anders Gustaf Ekeberg and named after Greek mythological character Tantalus 

• Tantalum is a highly ductile, highly refractory metal (chemically inert and resistant to heat and wear), with a very high melting point (fourth highest of the metals). 

• Its atomic number is 73.

• It is very resistant to corrosion due to the formation of a thin surface layer of tantalum oxide, which also has the property of being an insulating layer. 

• This thin layer of tantalum oxide results in favourable dielectric properties. Hence, the major usage of tantalum is in capacitors for the electronics and telecommunications industry. Tantalum capacitors are small and reliable and are favoured for miniaturised electronic applications, such as in mobile phones, hand held devices and solid state drives.

• Tantalum is also used in resistors and semiconductors. Other uses include within alloys and superalloys, to increase ductility, melting point and corrosion resistance (for example, high temperature applications, turbine blades), within medical and dental applications (using its inertness and biocompatibility) and chemical process industries (making use of its high temperature and corrosion resistance properties).

• Tantalum shares many of its properties with niobium (Nb), with which it is commonly found.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store