By MICHAEL CASEY
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said Thursday could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species.
The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found in a remote part of Indonesia’s Kalimantan province on Borneo island during an expedition in August 2007, said David Bickford, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore. Bickford was part of the trip and co-authored a paper on the find that appeared in this week’s edition of the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology.
Bickford says the species is the first frog known to science without lungs and joins a short list of amphibians with this unusual trait, including a few species of salamanders and a wormlike creature known as a caecilian.
“These are about the most ancient and bizarre frogs you can get on the planet,” Bickford said of the brown amphibian with bulging eyes and a tendency to flatten itself as it glides across the water.
“They are like a squished version of Jabba the Hutt,” he said, referring to the character from Star Wars. “They are flat and have eyes that float above the water. They have skin flaps coming off their arms and legs.”
Along with the lungless frog, Bickford said his team discovered two new lizard species and four other species of frogs during their two-month trip.
Bickford’s Indonesian colleague, Djoko Iskandar, first came across the frog 30 years ago and the biology professor from the Bandung Institute of Technology has been searching for it ever since. Five earlier expeditions had proven fruitless.
Iskandar said it was exciting to see the frog alive in its natural environment but another thing altogether to realize it was lungless.
Iskandar said the first sign that something was unusual with the frog was after it was captured in the field. The first specimen died in a bucket of water, which prompted the researchers to take the remaining frogs back to the lab for further investigation.
“We just suspected that something was peculiar about this frog because it died even in water,” Iskandar said. “When we cut it open, we found it had no lungs, no trachea not even a wind pipe.”
Graeme Gillespie, director of conservation and science at Zoos Victoria in Australia, called the frog “evolutionarily unique.” He said the eight specimens examined in the lab showed that lunglessness was consistent with the species and not “a freak of nature.” Gillespie was not a member of the expedition or the research team.
Bickford surmised that the frog had evolved to adapt to its difficult surroundings, in which it has to navigate cold, rapidly moving streams that are rich in oxygen.
“It’s an extreme adaptation that was probably brought about by these fast-moving streams,” Bickford said, adding that it probably needed to reduce its buoyancy in order to keep from being swept down the mountainous rivers.
He said the frog could help scientists understand the environmental factors that contribute to “extreme evolutionary change” since its closest relative in the Philippines and other frogs have lungs.
Bickford and Gillespie said the frog’s discovery adds urgency to the need to protect its river habitat, which in recent years has become polluted due to widespread illegal logging and gold mining. Once-pristine waters are now brown and clogged with silt, they said.
“The gold mining is completely illegal and small scale. But when there are thousands of them on the river, it really has a huge impact,” Bickford said. “Pretty soon the frogs will run out of the river.”
Source: http://ap.google.com/article/
April 11th, 2008
22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition scheduled to be held in Jakarta October 23-28, 2008 at Jakarta International Exhibition Centre, Mangga Dua Square, Jakarta, Indonesia .
ARTICLE 1: OBJECTIVES OF EXHIBITION
1.1 JAKARTA 2008, 22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition (hereafter referred to as JAKARTA 2008) is organized with the following objectives:
- to expand and develop friendly relations and close cooperation among FlAP members and to promote every aspect of philately in the FlAP region;
- to observe the 200th anniversary of Anyer-Panarukan Postal Highway;
- to observe the 1OOth anniversary of Indonesian National Awakening;
- to observe the 80th anniversary of “Youth Pledge”;
- - To promote “Visit Indonesia Year 2008″.
[=1.2 The theme of JAKARTA 2008 is “Philately: a Bridge to Friendship among Men”
ARTICLE 2: ORGANIZATION, VENUEANQ DATE
2.1 JAKARTA 2008 is jointly organized by Indonesian Philatelists Association, The Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications of The Republic of Indonesia and PT Pos Indonesia.
2.2 JAKARTA 2008 will be held at the Jakarta International Exhibition Centre, Mangga Dua Square, Jakarta, Indonesia
2.3 JAKARTA 2008 will open on October 23, 2008 and close on October 28, 2008, totally 6 days.
ARTICLE 3: PATRONAGE AND CO-ORDINATOR
3.1 JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition) will be organized under the patronage of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FlAP).
3.2 Mr. Tay Peng Hian is the FlAP Co-coordinator of JAKARTA 2008.
ARTICLE 4: REGULATIONS
4.1 JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition) will be governed by the following Regulations:
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The General Regulations of the FIP for Exhibitions (GREX)
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The General Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive
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Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV)
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The Special Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (SREVs)
The Individual Regulations for JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition)
ARTICLE 5: CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
5.1 The Regulations governing the conditions of participation of exhibitions are stated in the articles 9-18 of the GREX.
5.2 Participation in the Competitive Classes is opened to all collectors who are members of the societies affiliated to member federations of FlAP.
5.3 Participation in the Non-Competitive Classes will be by invitation, solely at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.
5.4 All exhibits except Literature must have been the property of the exhibitors for at least two years before the Exhibition.
5.5 The exhibitors may exhibit using a pseudonym provided that his true name and identity are known to the Organizing Committee and to the Jury.
ARTICLE 6: APPLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE
6.1 The Regulations governing the conditions of the application and acceptance are stated in the articles 10, 11 and 12 of the GREX.
6.2 Exhibitors must obtain their Exhibit Application Forms from their Commissioners. A separate Exhibit Application Form should be used for each exhibit.
6.3 When submitting the Exhibit Application Form, the exhibitor shall attach the brief description of the exhibit in English or a copy of the introductory page. 6.4 Duly filled Exhibit Application Forms should be sent through their Commissioners to reach the Organizing Committee by February 1 5, 2008. 6.5 Notification of acceptance from the Organizing Committee, together with the number of frames allocated to exhibitors, will be sent to their Commissioners by May 30, 2008.
6.6 Exhibitors cannot withdraw their applications without valid reasons once their participation has been accepted by the Organizing Committee.
6.7 The Commissioners will collect all the frame fees from their exhibitors, and remit the full amount to the Organizing Committee by July 15, 2008 at the latest. The remittance should be made payable to “Indonesian Philatelists Association” and sent to the Indonesian Philatelists Association at Jalan Pos No 2. Kompleks G.P.1. Jakarta 10710, Indonesia.
6.8 There is only ONE ENTRY FORM. There are no preliminary and final entry forms.
ARTICLE 7: EXHIBITION CLASSES
JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition) is a General Asian International Stamp Exhibition.
The Classification of the Exhibition Classes is as follows:
7.1 Group I Non-Competitive Classes
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Class 1 Court of Honor
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Class 2 Jury Class
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Class 3 Others
7.2 Group II Competitive Classes
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Class 1 FlAP Championship Class for collections that have been awarded three FIP / FlAP large gold medals at the exhibitions patronized by FIP / FlAP over the past 10 years (1998-2007)
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Class 2 Traditional Philately
National Class (Netherlands East Indies / Indonesia)
Asia and Australasia
The Rest of the World
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Class 3 Postal History
National Class (Netherlands East Indies / Indonesia)
Asia and Australasia
The Rest of the World
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Class 4 Postal Stationery
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Class 5 Aerophilately
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Class 6 Astrophilately
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Class 7 Thematic Philately
A) Nature
B) Culture
C) Technology
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Class 8 Maximaphily
• Please indicate clearly in the Exhibit Application Form as to the sub-class (A, B or C) the exhibit is entering.
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Class 9 Revenue
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Class 10 Youth Philately
Collectors aged 13 to 15 years
Collectors aged 16 18 years
Collectors aged 19 21 years
(As of January01, 2008)
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Class 11 Literature
Philatelic books, pamphlets and studies (issued after January 01, 2003)
Philatelic journals, periodicals (issued after January 01, 2006) Stamp catalogues (issued after January 0 1, 2006)
• Please indicate clearly in the Exhibit Application Form as to the sub-class (1, 2 or 3) the exhibit is entering.
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Class 12 Experimental Class
One-Frame Exhibit
Exhibits in this Class should not be One Frame extracted from a multiple frame exhibit and should be based on a narrow subject that is best treated as One Frame. Exhibits are also welcome from novice exhibitors who are developing a subject which is capable of expanding to more than One Frame in the near future.
Awards are represented by CERTIFICATES:
- GOLD 90 to 1 00 points
- VERMEIL 80 to 89 points
- SILVER 70 to 79 points
- BRONZE 60 to 69 points
Certificate of Participation will be given to exhibits attaining less than 60 points. Exhibits will be classified under:
- A) Traditional
- B) Postal History
- C) Postal Stationery
- D) Aerophilately
- E) Astrophilately
- F) Thematic
- G) Maximaphily
- H) Revenue
• Please indicate clearly in the Exhibit Application From as to the sub-class (A-H) the exhibit is entering.
7.3 The Organizing Committee reserves the right to reject any exhibits in whole or in part without assigning any reason for such rejection.
ARTICLE 8: SIZE AND ALLOTMENT OF FRAMES
8.1 The displayframes will have a capacity for 16 (4 x 4) standard size sheets.
8.2 Sheets larger than 23cm x 29cm as well as black or dark colored sheets will not be accepted.
8.3 For entries in the Non-Competitive Classes: 1- 5 frames
8.4 Exhibitors in the Competitive Classes will be allocated the following number of frames:
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Class 1 :8 frames
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Class 2 9, 12 FIP / FlAP Large Vermeil and above : 8 frames
FIP / FlAP Vermeil and below : 5 frames
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Class 10.1 : 2-4 frames
10.2 : 3-5 frames
10.3 : 4-5 frames
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Class 11 Literature Exhibits must be sent to the Organizing
Committee in duplicate
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Class 12 One frame exhibit : 1 frame
ARTICLE 9: PARTICIPATION FEE
9.1 There is no fee for Non-Competitive Classes entries
9.2 The participation fee for Competitive Classes (except Class 10, 11 & 12) will be US$25 per frame
9.3 The fee for participation in Youth Philately (Class 10) and Literature (Class 11) is US$25 per exhibit
9.4 The fee for participation in One-Frame Exhibit (Class 12) is US$50 per exhibit.
ARTICLE 10: SECURITY MEASURES
10, 1 The Organizing Committee will take reasonable precautions to ensure that adequate security is provided to protect the exhibits during the Exhibition period,
10, 2 Exhibitors will be encouraged to adequately insure their exhibits,
ARTICLE 11: HANDLING OF EXHIBITS
11, 1 Exhibits delivered by Commissioners must reach the Organizing Committee by October 21, 2008,
11, 2 Exhibits (other than Literature) arriving by mail must reach the Organizing Committee by October 09, 2008,
11,3 Exhibits of Literature (in duplicate) must reach the Organizing Committee by August 2O, 2008, The exhibits will not be returned, One set each of the exhibits will be donated to the Organizing Committee and Flap respectively, at the end of the Exhibition,
11.4 Exhibits arriving later than the date stipulated above will not be judged, Frames fee will not be refunded in case of late or non-arrival of exhibits
11.5 Each exhibit sheet must be placed in a transparent protective cover, the sheets shall be numbered on each page at the lower left-hand corner, and all sheets shall be kept in envelopes supplied by the Organizing Committee,
11, 6 the exhibits received will be duly acknowledged with proper receipt. Exhibits will be returned in exchange for their receipt after the exhibition if delivered personally by the Commissioners, Otherwise, exhibits will be returned by the same manner of transportation as they were submitted,
ARTICLE 12: JUDGEMENT AND AWARDS
12,1 The Jury for JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition) will be appointed by the Organizing Committee in consultation with the FIAP Co¬ordinator, Members of the Jury will be FIP / FlAP accredited Jury members, 1Z,Z A number of Apprentice Jury Members may also be appointed with the Consultation of the FlAP Co-coordinator and with the recommendation of the FlAP Member Federations from where the Apprentice is invited,
12.3 Exhibits in Non-Competitive Classes will receive suitable commemorative awards,
12.4 For Competitive Classes (excep1 class 12, see Article 7, 2), the awards are as follows:
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Large Gold medals
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Gold medals
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Large Vermeil medals
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Vermeil medals
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Large Silver medals
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Silver medals
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Silver Bronze medals
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Bronze medals
All medals will be accompanied with appropriate certificates.
L2.5 the only award in Championship Class is the Grand Prix d’Honneur, a valuable objet d’art. Exhibits in the Championship Class not receiving the Grand Prix d’Honneur will receive a Large Gold medal or an objet d’art of equivalent value.
L2.6 there are two Grand Prizes for the Exhibition on JAKARTA 2008 (22nd Asian International Stamp Exhibition): the Grand Prix International and the Grand Prix National.
L2.7 The Jury’s decision will be final, hence, objections will not be considered.
L2.8 Special Prizes provided by the Organizing Committee and donated by the organizations and people of participating countries and regions will be placed at the disposal of the Jury. Any particular wish expressed by a donor should be observed in making awards, if possible.
L2.9 The Jury may express felicitations for those exhibits demonstrating outstanding philatelic research or originality.
L2.1O Expert Team
Since TAIPEI 96 (10th Asian International Stamp Exhibition), an Expert Team was appointed to examine the exhibits for fakes and forgeries etc. An Expert Team will be appointed by the JAKARTA Z008 Organizing Committee in consultation with the FlAP Co-ordinator. The philatelic materials chosen by the Expert Team will be examined through the relevant equipment including a high power microscope and color scanner or any other equipment considered necessary by the Expert Team.
ARTICLE 13: RIGHTS OFTHE ORGANIZING COMMITIEE
13.1 The Organizing Committee reserves the right to make changes in these Individual Regulations, in consultation with the FlAP Co-ordinator.
13.2 The Organizing Committee reserves the right to decide on any questions not covered by the FlAP and FIP Regulations or these Individual Regulations.
ARTICLE 14: ACCEPTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL REGULATIONS OF JAKARTA 2008
14.1 By signing the entry form, the exhibitor accepts all provisions for those Individual Regulations for JAKARTA 2008.
ARTICLE 15: ADDRESSES
15.1 The address of the Organizing Committee of JAKARTA 2008 is:
JAKARTA 2008 Organizing Committee JI Pos No 2, Komplek GPI
Jakarta 10710, Indonesia
(Tel) 62-21-3518711
(Fax) 62-21-3518710
15.2 The address of the Commissioner General of JAKARTA 2008 is:
Mr. Koes Karnadi
JI Pos No 2, Komplek GPI Jakarta 10710, Indonesia
(Tel) 62-21-3518711
(Fax) 62-21-3518710
(Email)koesbali@hotmail.com
15.3 The address of the FlAP Co-ordinator is:
Mr Tay Peng Hian
3 Kian Teck Way Singapore 628732
(Tel) 65-62612421
(Fax) 65-62662750
(Email)fiap@pacific.net.sg
Source: http://my-indonesia.info/
April 11th, 2008