Zebra

Zebra.
Zebras are African equines with black-and-white striped coats and share the genus Equus with horses and asses. Zebras inhabit eastern and southern Africa and can be found in savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands and mountainous areas. They are primarily grazers, but can subsist on lower-quality vegetation. They are preyed on mainly by lions, typically fleeing when threatened but they may bite and kick. Several theories have been proposed for the function of their stripes, with evidence suggesting they are a form of protection from biting flies. Of the three extant species, Grévy's zebra is endangered, the mountain zebra is vulnerable and the plains zebra (examples pictured) is near-threatened; the quagga, a type of plains zebra, was driven to extinction in the 19th century. Zebras communicate with vocalisations, body postures and facial expressions. Plains and mountain zebras practice social grooming, which strengthens social bonds. Zebras have featured in art and stories in Africa and beyond.

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Hitler's prophecy

Hitler's prophecy.
Hitler's prophecy was a statement first made by Adolf Hitler in a speech (pictured) at the Reichstag on 30 January 1939: "If international finance Jewry inside and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, the result will be not the Bolshevization of the earth and thereby the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe". Hitler continued to invoke the prophecy throughout the war and referenced it in his last will and testament, such that the prophecy became a leitmotif of the Final Solution and is the best-known phrase from Hitler's speeches. The historical significance of the prophecy is debated: intentionalists view it as proof of Hitler's previously developed master plan to systematically murder the European Jews, while functionalists argue that "annihilation" was not meant or understood to mean mass murder, at least initially. It is also cited as evidence that Germans were aware that Jews were being exterminated.

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Pyramid of Nyuserre

Pyramid of Nyuserre.
The Pyramid of Nyuserre is a pyramid complex built in the 25th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. It is in the Abusir necropolis south of modern-day Cairo between the complexes of Neferirkare and of Sahure. Nyuserre was the last king to be entombed in the necropolis. The main pyramid, nearly 52 m (171 ft) tall, had a stepped core built from roughly cut limestone encased in fine Tura limestone. The casing was stripped by stone thieves, leaving the core exposed to the elements and further human activity, reducing the pyramid to a ruined mound. Adjoining the pyramid's east face is the mortuary temple built in an L-shape rather than the usual T-shape plan. It introduced the antichambre carrée, an innovative type of room that became a standard feature of later monuments. The site has two structures which appear to have been pylon prototypes. These, too, became staple features of temples and palaces in a later period.

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Guadeloupe amazon

Guadeloupe amazon.
The Guadeloupe amazon (Amazona violacea) is a hypothetical extinct species of parrot that is thought to have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island region of Guadeloupe. Described by 17th- and 18th-century writers, it is thought to have been related to, or possibly the same as, the extant imperial amazon. A tibiotarsus and an ulna bone from the island of Marie-Galante may belong to the Guadeloupe amazon. According to contemporary descriptions, its head, neck and underparts were mainly violet or slate, mixed with green and black; the back was brownish green; and the wings were green, yellow and red. It had iridescent feathers, and was able to raise a "ruff" of feathers around its neck. It fed on fruits and nuts, and the male and female took turns sitting on the nest. French settlers ate the birds and destroyed their habitat. Rare by 1779, the species appears to have become extinct by the end of the 18th century.