Mirror Magazine

22nd February 1998

Junior Times


    Hello Children,

    Did any of you visit the exhibition held at the BMICH? If you did, I'm sure there were lots of very interesting things to be seen. It would have been a good experience where history came alive for you and you would have learnt a lot about the armed forces, how television comes to your home and the latest technology.

    But the disappointing part about this exhibition was because it was so crowded it wasn't always possible to get a good look at certain exhibits. I wonder whether you all had a chance to get a look at all the exhibits that were displayed. So after seeing all these, how about writing in to let us know what you thought about it.

    Until next week,

    Aunty Sunshine


Stamp News 5 STAMP CORNER

Promoting Unity and Harmony

By Uncle D.C.R

stampWe celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Independence on February 4, the day when we regained our freedom fifty years ago. Five stamps on the theme 'Unity and Harmony' were released to mark the occasion. Their denominations are Rs. 2, 2.50 (2), 5 and 10.

Common features of all the stamps are the national flag and the legend '50 Years of Independence' in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

stampOne of the two Rs. 2.50 stamps carries the lion flag prominently along with a replica of the 4 cent stamp issued on February 4, 1949 to mark the first anniversary of Independence (Refer Stamp News 1, January 18). The other depicts the progress in agriculture, industry and transport.

The Rs. 2 stamp is on education, Rs. 5 stamp shows the development of literature and the performing arts and the Rs. 10 stamp is on a religious theme illustrating a Buddhist Temple, a Hindu Kovil, a Mosque and a Church.

stampThis is the second time that five or more stamps were issued to commemorate our Independence. In 1950 a set of six Pictorial Stamps was released to mark the second anniversary of Independence. The colourful set of stamps depicted several aspects of the country's heritage.

stampKiri Vehera at Polonnaruwa dating back to the 12th century said to have been built by Bhaddavati, wife of King Parakramabahu and Medirigiriya Vatadage, a circular shrine enclosing a stupa with concentric circles of pillars built in the 7th century were used to illustrate the 5 cent and Re. 1 stamps respectively. Sigiriya Rock appeared on the 30 cent stamp and the 15 cent stamp depicted the Vesak Orchid, unique to Sri Lanka, with Sri Pada in the background. The 4 cent stamp with a Kandyan Dancer had the Dalada Maligawa as its backdrop. An Air Ceylon Skymaster plane flying over the Dalada Maligawa was depicted in the 75 cent stamp.

stampTen years ago, two stamps (75 cts and Rs. 8.50) were released to mark the 40th anniversary of Independence. The map of Sri Lanka formed the backdrop of both stamps, one of which had the national flag and the other the lion symbol.

The national flag and the Independence Hall were depicted in two stamps issued in February 1968 to mark the 20th anniversary of Independence.


Early land animals

The amphibians had learnt how to breathe air, how to walk on land, and how to find their food around the edges of the water. But they were still not wholly free from the water in several ways. Some of them, like amphibians today, had moist skins. So they had to stay in the water, or in damp places, or else they would have dried up. Amphibians still had to return to the water to lay their eggs, which were covered only by a layer of jelly.

Also, all the larger early amphibians ate fish. So even if they spent part of their time on land, they had to plunge back into the water every time they felt hungry and needed to search for a meal.

Early amphibians

The very first amphibian is called Ichthyostega, and it lived at the end of the Devonian Period. Though it had front and hind limbs instead of fins, it still had a long tail with a fin, which it must have used for swimming. During the next period, the Carboniferous, many types of amphibian are known which lived in the swamps. Some of them were rather like alligators, with big heads armed with many strong teeth. Most of them lived on fish, but some of the bigger amphibians must also have eaten their smaller relatives .

In the Permian Period, too, most of the amphibians that we know lived in the water.

Early amphibians swam in rivers and lakes that covered part of what is now the state of Texas, North America, and their bones are found in the deserts that now lie there. Not all of them were large. One, called Diplocaulus, had great triangular horns on either side of its head, which must have made it very difficult for enemies to swallow it. By this time, reptiles too were living on land, and some of these Texan amphibians probably ate both small reptiles and other amphibians. Seymouria for example, had quite well developed limbs and could probably move quite well on land. One of its relatives, Diadectes, had wide chewing teeth, and was probably the first plant-eating amphibian.

Decline of the amphibians

Once the reptiles had evolved, the short reign of the amphibians on land was over. Few of them could compete with the reptiles on land, but some managed to survive in their old way of life, living in the water and catching fish. In fact, one of the very last of the ancient amphibians, Paracyclotosaurus, which lived during the Triassic Period, was a monster 420 centimetres long. It must have lurked in the water to pull in even the biggest reptiles when they came down to drink.

After the Triassic Period, the only amphibians to survive were the ancestors of the frogs, toads, newts and salamanders of today. All of them are little creatures, which usually live in or near the water, and feed on insects, snails and other small invertebrates.

The advantages of being a reptile

The reptiles which replaced the amphibians had two great advantages. Their greatest advantage was that they had evolved a much safer way of spending the early part of their lives. Their eggs had evolved a more substantial form of protection. Instead of being surrounded by jelly, the reptile's egg has a waterproof covering that is either horny and flexible, or else hard and brittle like the shell of a bird's egg. The shell is covered with tiny holes, through which air can pass, so that the growing reptile can breathe. The little reptile spends a long time inside the protective shell, gradually growing larger. The rich yolk in the egg provides its food and the egg-white provides the water it needs.

The other great advantage of reptiles is that they have a dry, horny skin. Because of this, their body water does not continually evaporate through their skin, as does that of an amphibian. So they can live in much drier and hotter places - where the wet-skinned amphibians would perish.


Return to Mirror Magazine contents

Home Page

Front Page OP/ED News Business Sports Plus

Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk