title: Mastodon

text: A 2022 study of ancient (Early Pleistocene, 2 million years ago) environmental DNA from the Kap Kobenhavn Formation of northern Greenland identified preserved DNA fragments of mastodons, assigned to "M. americanum". This suggests that mastodons ranged as far north as Greenland during optimal conditions. Around this time, northern Greenland was 11–19 °C warmer than the Holocene, with a boreal forest hosting a species assemblage with no modern analogue. These are among the oldest DNA fragments ever sequenced.


title: Mastodon

text: Fossil evidence indicates that mastodons probably disappeared from North America about 10,500 years ago as part of a mass extinction of most of the Pleistocene megafauna that is widely believed to have been a result of human hunting pressure. The latest Paleo-Indians entered the Americas and expanded to relatively large numbers 13,000 years ago, and their hunting may have caused a gradual attrition of the mastodon population. Analysis of tusks of mastodons from the American Great Lakes region over a span of several thousand years prior to their extinction in the area shows a trend of declining age at maturation; this is contrary to what one would expect if they were experiencing stresses from an unfavorable environment, but is consistent with a reduction in intraspecific competition that would result from a population being reduced by human hunting.


title: Mastodon

text: On the other hand, environmental DNA sequencing indicates that disappearance of megafaunal DNA in North America correlates in time with major changes in plant DNA, suggesting a key role of climate change. Modeling based on the whole of the proboscid fossil record also suggests climate was the more important factor, though with human hunting imposing a "double jeopardy" on mastodons and their kin.


title: Cephalopod

text: A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishers sometimes call cephalopods "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods became dominant during the Ordovician period, represented by primitive nautiloids. The class now contains two, only distantly related, extant subclasses: Coleoidea, which includes octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish; and Nautiloidea, represented by "Nautilus" and "Allonautilus". In the Coleoidea, the molluscan shell has been internalized or is absent, whereas in the Nautiloidea, the external shell remains. About 800 living species of cephalopods have been identified. Two important extinct taxa are the Ammonoidea (ammonites) and Belemnoidea (belemnites). Extant cephalopods range in size from the 10 mm (0.3 in) "Idiosepius thailandicus" to the 14 m (45.1 ft) colossal squid, the largest extant invertebrate.


title: Cephalopod

text: There are over 800 extant species of cephalopod, although new species continue to be described. An estimated 11,000 extinct taxa have been described, although the soft-bodied nature of cephalopods means they are not easily fossilised.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods are found in all the oceans of Earth. None of them can tolerate fresh water, but the brief squid, "Lolliguncula brevis", found in Chesapeake Bay, is a notable partial exception in that it tolerates brackish water. Cephalopods are thought to be unable to live in fresh water due to multiple biochemical constraints, and in their >400 million year existence have never ventured into fully freshwater habitats.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods occupy most of the depth of the ocean, from the abyssal plain to the sea surface. Their diversity is greatest near the equator (~40 species retrieved in nets at 11°N by a diversity study) and decreases towards the poles (~5 species captured at 60°N).


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods are widely regarded as the most intelligent of the invertebrates, and have well developed senses and large brains (larger than those of gastropods). The nervous system of cephalopods is the most complex of the invertebrates and their brain-to-body-mass ratio falls between that of endothermic and ectothermic vertebrates. Captive cephalopods have also been known to climb out of their aquaria, maneuver a distance of the lab floor, enter another aquarium to feed on the crabs, and return to their own aquarium.


title: Cephalopod

text: The brain is protected in a cartilaginous cranium. The giant nerve fibers of the cephalopod mantle have been widely used for many years as experimental material in neurophysiology; their large diameter (due to lack of myelination) makes them relatively easy to study compared with other animals.


title: Cephalopod

text: Many cephalopods are social creatures; when isolated from their own kind, some species have been observed shoaling with fish.


title: Cephalopod

text: Some cephalopods are able to fly through the air for distances of up to 50 m. While cephalopods are not particularly aerodynamic, they achieve these impressive ranges by jet-propulsion; water continues to be expelled from the funnel while the organism is in the air. The animals spread their fins and tentacles to form wings and actively control lift force with body posture. One species, "Todarodes pacificus", has been observed spreading tentacles in a flat fan shape with a mucus film between the individual tentacles while another, "Sepioteuthis sepioidea", has been observed putting the tentacles in a circular arrangement.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods have advanced vision, can detect gravity with statocysts, and have a variety of chemical sense organs. Octopuses use their arms to explore their environment and can use them for depth perception.


title: Cephalopod

text: Most cephalopods rely on vision to detect predators and prey, and to communicate with one another. Consequently, cephalopod vision is acute: training experiments have shown that the common octopus can distinguish the brightness, size, shape, and horizontal or vertical orientation of objects. The morphological construction gives cephalopod eyes the same performance as shark eyes, however their construction differs, as cephalopods lack a cornea and have an everted retina. Cephalopods' eyes are also sensitive to the plane of polarization of light.


title: Cephalopod

text: Unlike many other cephalopods, nautiluses do not have good vision; their eye structure is highly developed, but lacks a solid lens. They have a simple "pinhole" eye through which water can pass. Instead of vision, the animal is thought to use olfaction as the primary sense for foraging, as well as locating or identifying potential mates.


title: Cephalopod

text: Surprisingly, given their ability to change color, all octopuses and most cephalopods are considered to be color blind. Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish) have a single photoreceptor type and lack the ability to determine color by comparing detected photon intensity across multiple spectral channels. When camouflaging themselves, they use their chromatophores to change brightness and pattern according to the background they see, but their ability to match the specific color of a background may come from cells such as iridophores and leucophores that reflect light from the environment. They also produce visual pigments throughout their body, and may sense light levels directly from their body. Evidence of color vision has been found in the sparkling enope squid ("Watasenia scintillans"). It achieves color vision with three photoreceptors, which are based on the same opsin, but use distinct retinal molecules as chromophores: A1 (retinal), A3 (3-dehydroretinal), and A4 (4-hydroxyretinal). The A1-photoreceptor is most sensitive to green-blue (484 nm), the A2-photoreceptor to blue-green (500 nm), and the A4-photoreceptor to blue (470 nm) light.


title: Cephalopod

text: In 2015, a novel mechanism for spectral discrimination in cephalopods was described. This relies on the exploitation of chromatic aberration (wavelength-dependence of focal length). Numerical modeling shows that chromatic aberration can yield useful chromatic information through the dependence of image acuity on accommodation. The unusual off-axis slit and annular pupil shapes in cephalopods enhance this ability by acting as prisms which are scattering white light in all directions.


title: Cephalopod

text: In 2015, molecular evidence was published indicating that cephalopod chromatophores are photosensitive; reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) revealed transcripts encoding rhodopsin and retinochrome within the retinas and skin of the longfin inshore squid ("Doryteuthis pealeii"), and the common cuttlefish ("Sepia officinalis") and broadclub cuttlefish ("Sepia latimanus"). The authors claim this is the first evidence that cephalopod dermal tissues may possess the required combination of molecules to respond to light.


title: Cephalopod

text: Some squids have been shown to detect sound using their statocysts, but, in general, cephalopods are deaf.


title: Cephalopod

text: Most cephalopods possess an assemblage of skin components that interact with light. These may include iridophores, leucophores, chromatophores and (in some species) photophores. Chromatophores are colored pigment cells that expand and contract in accordance to produce color and pattern which they can use in a startling array of fashions. As well as providing camouflage with their background, some cephalopods bioluminesce, shining light downwards to disguise their shadows from any predators that may lurk below. The bioluminescence is produced by bacterial symbionts; the host cephalopod is able to detect the light produced by these organisms. Bioluminescence may also be used to entice prey, and some species use colorful displays to impress mates, startle predators, or even communicate with one another.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods can change their colors and patterns in milliseconds, whether for signalling (both within the species and for warning) or active camouflage, as their chromatophores are expanded or contracted. Although color changes appear to rely primarily on vision input, there is evidence that skin cells, specifically chromatophores, can detect light and adjust to light conditions independently of the eyes. The octopus changes skin color and texture during quiet and active sleep cycles.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods can use chromatophores like a muscle, which is why they can change their skin hue as rapidly as they do.


title: Cephalopod

text: Coloration is typically stronger in near-shore species than those living in the open ocean, whose functions tend to be restricted to disruptive camouflage. These chromatophores are found throughout the body of the octopus, however, they are controlled by the same part of the brain that controls elongation during jet propulsion to reduce drag. As such, jetting octopuses can turn pale because the brain is unable to achieve both controlling elongation and controlling the chromatophores. Most octopuses mimic select structures in their field of view rather than becoming a composite color of their full background.


title: Cephalopod

text: Evidence of original coloration has been detected in cephalopod fossils dating as far back as the Silurian; these orthoconic individuals bore concentric stripes, which are thought to have served as camouflage. Devonian cephalopods bear more complex color patterns, of unknown function.


title: Cephalopod

text: With the exception of the Nautilidae and the species of octopus belonging to the suborder Cirrina, all known cephalopods have an ink sac, which can be used to expel a cloud of dark ink to confuse predators. This sac is a muscular bag which originated as an extension of the hindgut. It lies beneath the gut and opens into the anus, into which its contents – almost pure melanin – can be squirted; its proximity to the base of the funnel means the ink can be distributed by ejected water as the cephalopod uses its jet propulsion. The ejected cloud of melanin is usually mixed, upon expulsion, with mucus, produced elsewhere in the mantle, and therefore forms a thick cloud, resulting in visual (and possibly chemosensory) impairment of the predator, like a smokescreen. However, a more sophisticated behavior has been observed, in which the cephalopod releases a cloud, with a greater mucus content, that approximately resembles the cephalopod that released it (this decoy is referred to as a pseudomorph). This strategy often results in the predator attacking the pseudomorph, rather than its rapidly departing prey. For more information, see Inking behaviors.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods are the only molluscs with a closed circulatory system. Coleoids have two gill hearts (also known as branchial hearts) that move blood through the capillaries of the gills. A single systemic heart then pumps the oxygenated blood through the rest of the body.


title: Cephalopod

text: Like most molluscs, cephalopods use hemocyanin, a copper-containing protein, rather than hemoglobin, to transport oxygen. As a result, their blood is colorless when deoxygenated and turns blue when bonded to oxygen. In oxygen-rich environments and in acidic water, hemoglobin is more efficient, but in environments with little oxygen and in low temperatures, hemocyanin has the upper hand. The hemocyanin molecule is much larger than the hemoglobin molecule, allowing it to bond with 96 or molecules, instead of the hemoglobin's just four. But unlike hemoglobin, which are attached in millions on the surface of a single red blood cell, hemocyanin molecules floats freely in the bloodstream.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods exchange gases with the seawater by forcing water through their gills, which are attached to the roof of the organism. Water enters the mantle cavity on the outside of the gills, and the entrance of the mantle cavity closes. When the mantle contracts, water is forced through the gills, which lie between the mantle cavity and the funnel. The water's expulsion through the funnel can be used to power jet propulsion. If respiration is used concurrently with jet propulsion, large losses in speed or oxygen generation can be expected. The gills, which are much more efficient than those of other mollusks, are attached to the ventral surface of the mantle cavity.


title: Cephalopod

text: There is a trade-off with gill size regarding lifestyle. To achieve fast speeds, gills need to be small – water will be passed through them quickly when energy is needed, compensating for their small size. However, organisms which spend most of their time moving slowly along the bottom do not naturally pass much water through their cavity for locomotion; thus they have larger gills, along with complex systems to ensure that water is constantly washing through their gills, even when the organism is stationary. The water flow is controlled by contractions of the radial and circular mantle cavity muscles.


title: Cephalopod

text: The gills of cephalopods are supported by a skeleton of robust fibrous proteins; the lack of mucopolysaccharides distinguishes this matrix from cartilage. The gills are also thought to be involved in excretion, with NH being swapped with K from the seawater.


title: Cephalopod

text: While most cephalopods can move by jet propulsion, this is a very energy-consuming way to travel compared to the tail propulsion used by fish. The efficiency of a propeller-driven waterjet (i.e. Froude efficiency) is greater than a rocket. The relative efficiency of jet propulsion decreases further as animal size increases; paralarvae are far more efficient than juvenile and adult individuals. Since the Paleozoic era, as competition with fish produced an environment where efficient motion was crucial to survival, jet propulsion has taken a back role, with fins and tentacles used to maintain a steady velocity.


title: Cephalopod

text: Whilst jet propulsion is never the sole mode of locomotion, the stop-start motion provided by the jets continues to be useful for providing bursts of high speed – not least when capturing prey or avoiding predators. Indeed, it makes cephalopods the fastest marine invertebrates,


title: Cephalopod

text: The jet is supplemented with fin motion; in the squid, the fins flap each time that a jet is released, amplifying the thrust; they are then extended between jets (presumably to avoid sinking).


title: Cephalopod

text: Oxygenated water is taken into the mantle cavity to the gills and through muscular contraction of this cavity, the spent water is expelled through the hyponome, created by a fold in the mantle. The size difference between the posterior and anterior ends of this organ control the speed of the jet the organism can produce. The velocity of the organism can be accurately predicted for a given mass and morphology of animal. Motion of the cephalopods is usually backward as water is forced out anteriorly through the hyponome, but direction can be controlled somewhat by pointing it in different directions. Some cephalopods accompany this expulsion of water with a gunshot-like popping noise, thought to function to frighten away potential predators.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods employ a similar method of propulsion despite their increasing size (as they grow) changing the dynamics of the water in which they find themselves. Thus their paralarvae do not extensively use their fins (which are less efficient at low Reynolds numbers) and primarily use their jets to propel themselves upwards, whereas large adult cephalopods tend to swim less efficiently and with more reliance on their fins.


title: Cephalopod

text: Early cephalopods are thought to have produced jets by drawing their body into their shells, as "Nautilus" does today. "Nautilus" is also capable of creating a jet by undulations of its funnel; this slower flow of water is more suited to the extraction of oxygen from the water. When motionless, "Nautilus" can only extract 20% of oxygen from the water. The jet velocity in "Nautilus" is much slower than in coleoids, but less musculature and energy is involved in its production. Jet thrust in cephalopods is controlled primarily by the maximum diameter of the funnel orifice (or, perhaps, the average diameter of the funnel) and the diameter of the mantle cavity. Changes in the size of the orifice are used most at intermediate velocities. The absolute velocity achieved is limited by the cephalopod's requirement to inhale water for expulsion; this intake limits the maximum velocity to eight body-lengths per second, a speed which most cephalopods can attain after two funnel-blows. Water refills the cavity by entering not only through the orifices, but also through the funnel. Squid can expel up to 94% of the fluid within their cavity in a single jet thrust. To accommodate the rapid changes in water intake and expulsion, the orifices are highly flexible and can change their size by a factor of twenty; the funnel radius, conversely, changes only by a factor of around 1.5.


title: Cephalopod

text: Some octopus species are also able to walk along the seabed. Squids and cuttlefish can move short distances in any direction by rippling of a flap of muscle around the mantle.


title: Cephalopod

text: While most cephalopods float (i.e. are neutrally buoyant or nearly so; in fact most cephalopods are about 2–3% denser than seawater), they achieve this in different ways.


title: Cephalopod

text: Some, such as "Nautilus", allow gas to diffuse into the gap between the mantle and the shell; others allow purer water to ooze from their kidneys, forcing out denser salt water from the body cavity; others, like some fish, accumulate oils in the liver; and some octopuses have a gelatinous body with lighter chloride ions replacing sulfate in the body chemistry.


title: Cephalopod

text: Squids are the primary sufferers of negative buoyancy in cephalopods. The negative buoyancy means that some squids, especially those whose habitat depths are rather shallow, have to actively regulate their vertical positions. This means that they must expend energy, often through jetting or undulations, in order to maintain the same depth. As such, the cost of transport of many squids are quite high. That being said, squid and other cephalopod that dwell in deep waters tend to be more neutrally buoyant which removes the need to regulate depth and increases their locomotory efficiency.


title: Cephalopod

text: The "Macrotritopus defilippi", or the sand-dwelling octopus, was seen mimicking both the coloration and the swimming movements of the sand-dwelling flounder "Bothus lunatus" to avoid predators. The octopuses were able to flatten their bodies and put their arms back to appear the same as the flounders as well as move with the same speed and movements.


title: Cephalopod

text: Females of two species, Ocythoe tuberculata and Haliphron atlanticus, have evolved a true swim bladder.


title: Cephalopod

text: Two of the categories of cephalopods, octopus and squid, are vastly different in their movements despite being of the same class. Octopuses are generally not seen as active swimmers; they are often found scavenging the sea floor instead of swimming long distances through the water. Squids, on the other hand, can be found to travel vast distances, with some moving as much as 2000 km in 2.5 months at an average pace of 0.9 body lengths per second. There is a major reason for the difference in movement type and efficiency: anatomy.


title: Cephalopod

text: Both octopuses and squids have mantles (referenced above) which function towards respiration and locomotion in the form of jetting. The composition of these mantles differs between the two families, however. In octopuses, the mantle is made up of three muscle types: Longitudinal, radial, and circular. The longitudinal muscles run parallel to the length of the octopus and they are used in order to keep the mantle the same length throughout the jetting process. Given that they are muscles, it can be noted that this means the octopus must actively flex the longitudinal muscles during jetting in order to keep the mantle at a constant length. The radial muscles run perpendicular to the longitudinal muscles and are used to thicken and thin the wall of the mantle. Finally, the circular muscles are used as the main activators in jetting. They are muscle bands that surround the mantle and expand/contract the cavity. All three muscle types work in unison to produce a jet as a propulsion mechanism.


title: Cephalopod

text: Squids do not have the longitudinal muscles that octopus do. Instead, they have a tunic. This tunic is made of layers of collagen and it surrounds the top and the bottom of the mantle. Because they are made of collagen and not muscle, the tunics are rigid bodies that are much stronger than the muscle counterparts. This provides the squids some advantages for jet propulsion swimming. The stiffness means that there is no necessary muscle flexing to keep the mantle the same size. In addition, tunics take up only 1% of the squid mantle's wall thickness, whereas the longitudinal muscle fibers take up to 20% of the mantle wall thickness in octopuses. Also because of the rigidity of the tunic, the radial muscles in squid can contract more forcefully.


title: Cephalopod

text: The mantle is not the only place where squids have collagen. Collagen fibers are located throughout the other muscle fibers in the mantle. These collagen fibers act as elastics and are sometimes named "collagen springs". As the name implies, these fibers act as springs. When the radial and circular muscles in the mantle contract, they reach a point where the contraction is no longer efficient to the forward motion of the creature. In such cases, the excess contraction is stored in the collagen which then efficiently begins or aids in the expansion of the mantle at the end of the jet. In some tests, the collagen has been shown to be able to begin raising mantle pressure up to 50ms before muscle activity is initiated.


title: Cephalopod

text: These anatomical differences between squid and octopuses can help explain why squid can be found swimming comparably to fish while octopuses usually rely on other forms of locomotion on the sea floor such as bipedal walking, crawling, and non-jetting swimming.


title: Cephalopod

text: Nautiluses are the only extant cephalopods with a true external shell. However, all molluscan shells are formed from the ectoderm (outer layer of the embryo); in cuttlefish ("Sepia" spp.), for example, an invagination of the ectoderm forms during the embryonic period, resulting in a shell (cuttlebone) that is internal in the adult. The same is true of the chitinous gladius of squid and octopuses. Cirrate octopods have arch-shaped cartilaginous fin supports, which are sometimes referred to as a "shell vestige" or "gladius". The Incirrina have either a pair of rod-shaped stylets or no vestige of an internal shell, and some squid also lack a gladius. The shelled coleoids do not form a clade or even a paraphyletic group. The "Spirula" shell begins as an organic structure, and is then very rapidly mineralized. Shells that are "lost" may be lost by resorption of the calcium carbonate component.


title: Cephalopod

text: Females of the octopus genus "Argonauta" secrete a specialized paper-thin egg case in which they reside, and this is popularly regarded as a "shell", although it is not attached to the body of the animal and has a separate evolutionary origin.


title: Cephalopod

text: The largest group of shelled cephalopods, the ammonites, are extinct, but their shells are very common as fossils.


title: Cephalopod

text: The deposition of carbonate, leading to a mineralized shell, appears to be related to the acidity of the organic shell matrix (see Mollusc shell); shell-forming cephalopods have an acidic matrix, whereas the gladius of squid has a basic matrix. The basic arrangement of the cephalopod outer wall is: an outer (spherulitic) prismatic layer, a laminar (nacreous) layer and an inner prismatic layer. The thickness of every layer depends on the taxa. In modern cephalopods, the Ca carbonate is aragonite. As for other mollusc shells or coral skeletons, the smallest visible units are irregular rounded granules.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods, as the name implies, have muscular appendages extending from their heads and surrounding their mouths. These are used in feeding, mobility, and even reproduction. In coleoids they number eight or ten. Decapods such as cuttlefish and squid have five pairs. The longer two, termed "tentacles", are actively involved in capturing prey; they can lengthen rapidly (in as little as 15 milliseconds). In giant squid they may reach a length of 8 metres. They may terminate in a broadened, sucker-coated club. The shorter four pairs are termed "arms", and are involved in holding and manipulating the captured organism. They too have suckers, on the side closest to the mouth; these help to hold onto the prey. Octopods only have four pairs of sucker-coated arms, as the name suggests, though developmental abnormalities can modify the number of arms expressed.


title: Cephalopod

text: The tentacle consists of a thick central nerve cord (which must be thick to allow each sucker to be controlled independently) surrounded by circular and radial muscles. Because the volume of the tentacle remains constant, contracting the circular muscles decreases the radius and permits the rapid increase in length. Typically a 70% lengthening is achieved by decreasing the width by 23%. The shorter arms lack this capability.


title: Cephalopod

text: The size of the tentacle is related to the size of the buccal cavity; larger, stronger tentacles can hold prey as small bites are taken from it; with more numerous, smaller tentacles, prey is swallowed whole, so the mouth cavity must be larger.


title: Cephalopod

text: Externally shelled nautilids ("Nautilus" and "Allonautilus") have on the order of 90 finger-like appendages, termed "tentacles", which lack suckers but are sticky instead, and are partly retractable.


title: Cephalopod

text: All living cephalopods have a two-part beak; most have a radula, although it is reduced in most octopus and absent altogether in "Spirula". They feed by capturing prey with their tentacles, drawing it into their mouth and taking bites from it. They have a mixture of toxic digestive juices, some of which are manufactured by symbiotic algae, which they eject from their salivary glands onto their captured prey held in their mouths. These juices separate the flesh of their prey from the bone or shell. The salivary gland has a small tooth at its end which can be poked into an organism to digest it from within.


title: Cephalopod

text: The digestive gland itself is rather short. It has four elements, with food passing through the crop, stomach and caecum before entering the intestine. Most digestion, as well as the absorption of nutrients, occurs in the digestive gland, sometimes called the liver. Nutrients and waste materials are exchanged between the gut and the digestive gland through a pair of connections linking the gland to the junction of the stomach and caecum. Cells in the digestive gland directly release pigmented excretory chemicals into the lumen of the gut, which are then bound with mucus passed through the anus as long dark strings, ejected with the aid of exhaled water from the funnel. Cephalopods tend to concentrate ingested heavy metals in their body tissue. However, octopus arms use a family of cephalopod-specific chemotactile receptors (CRs) to be their "taste by touch" system.


title: Cephalopod

text: The cephalopod radula consists of multiple symmetrical rows of up to nine teeth – thirteen in fossil classes. The organ is reduced or even vestigial in certain octopus species and is absent in "Spirula". The teeth may be homodont (i.e. similar in form across a row), heterodont (otherwise), or ctenodont (comb-like). Their height, width and number of cusps is variable between species. The pattern of teeth repeats, but each row may not be identical to the last; in the octopus, for instance, the sequence repeats every five rows.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopod radulae are known from fossil deposits dating back to the Ordovician. They are usually preserved within the cephalopod's body chamber, commonly in conjunction with the mandibles; but this need not always be the case; many radulae are preserved in a range of settings in the Mason Creek.


title: Cephalopod

text: Radulae are usually difficult to detect, even when they are preserved in fossils, as the rock must weather and crack in exactly the right fashion to expose them; for instance, radulae have only been found in nine of the 43 ammonite genera, and they are rarer still in non-ammonoid forms: only three pre-Mesozoic species possess one.


title: Cephalopod

text: Most cephalopods possess a single pair of large nephridia. Filtered nitrogenous waste is produced in the pericardial cavity of the branchial hearts, each of which is connected to a nephridium by a narrow canal. The canal delivers the excreta to a bladder-like renal sac, and also resorbs excess water from the filtrate. Several outgrowths of the lateral vena cava project into the renal sac, continuously inflating and deflating as the branchial hearts beat. This action helps to pump the secreted waste into the sacs, to be released into the mantle cavity through a pore.


title: Cephalopod

text: "Nautilus", unusually, possesses four nephridia, none of which are connected to the pericardial cavities.


title: Cephalopod

text: The incorporation of ammonia is important for shell formation in terrestrial molluscs and other non-molluscan lineages. Because protein (i.e. flesh) is a major constituent of the cephalopod diet, large amounts of ammonium ions are produced as waste. The main organs involved with the release of this excess ammonium are the gills. The rate of release is lowest in the shelled cephalopods "Nautilus" and "Sepia" as a result of their using nitrogen to fill their shells with gas to increase buoyancy. Other cephalopods use ammonium in a similar way, storing the ions (as ammonium chloride) to reduce their overall density and increase buoyancy.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods are a diverse group of species, but share common life history traits, for example, they have a rapid growth rate and short life spans. Stearns (1992) suggested that in order to produce the largest possible number of viable offspring, spawning events depend on the ecological environmental factors of the organism. The majority of cephalopods do not provide parental care to their offspring, except, for example, octopus, which helps this organism increase the survival rate of their offspring. Marine species' life cycles are affected by various environmental conditions. The development of a cephalopod embryo can be greatly affected by temperature, oxygen saturation, pollution, light intensity, and salinity. These factors are important to the rate of embryonic development and the success of hatching of the embryos. Food availability also plays an important role in the reproductive cycle of cephalopods. A limitation of food influences the timing of spawning along with their function and growth. Spawning time and spawning vary among marine species; it's correlated with temperature, though cephalopods in shallow water spawn in cold months so that the offspring would hatch at warmer temperatures. Breeding can last from several days to a month.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods that are sexually mature and of adult size begin spawning and reproducing. After the transfer of genetic material to the following generation, the adult cephalopods then die. Sexual maturation in male and female cephalopods can be observed internally by the enlargement of gonads and accessory glands. Mating would be a poor indicator of sexual maturation in females; they can receive sperm when not fully reproductively mature and store them until they are ready to fertilize the eggs. Males are more aggressive in their pre-mating competition when in the presence of immature females than when competing for a sexually mature female. Most cephalopod males develop a hectocotylus, an arm tip which is capable of transferring their spermatozoa into the female mantle cavity. Though not all species use a hectocotylus; for example, the adult nautilus releases a spadix. An indication of sexual maturity of females is the development of brachial photophores to attract mates.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopods are not broadcast spawners. During the process of fertilization, the females use sperm provided by the male via external fertilization. Internal fertilization is seen only in octopuses. The initiation of copulation begins when the male catches a female and wraps his arm around her, either in a "male to female neck" position or mouth to mouth position, depending on the species. The males then initiate the process of fertilization by contracting their mantle several times to release the spermatozoa. Cephalopods often mate several times, which influences males to mate longer with females that have previously, nearly tripling the number of contractions of the mantle. To ensure the fertilization of the eggs, female cephalopods release a sperm-attracting peptide through the gelatinous layers of the egg to direct the spermatozoa. Female cephalopods lay eggs in clutches; each egg is composed of a protective coat to ensure the safety of the developing embryo when released into the water column. Reproductive strategies differ between cephalopod species. In giant Pacific octopus, large eggs are laid in a den; it will often take several days to lay all of them. Once the eggs are released and attached to a sheltered substrate, the females then die, making them semelparous. In some species of cephalopods, egg clutches are anchored to substrates by a mucilaginous adhesive substance. These eggs are swelled with perivitelline fluid (PVF), a hypertonic fluid that prevents premature hatching. Fertilized egg clusters are neutrally buoyant depending on the depth that they were laid, but can also be found in substrates such as sand, a matrix of corals, or seaweed. Because these species do not provide parental care for their offspring, egg capsules can be injected with ink by the female in order to camouflage the embryos from predators.


title: Cephalopod

text: Most cephalopods engage in aggressive sex: a protein in the male capsule sheath stimulates this behavior. They also engage in male–male aggression, where larger males tend to win the interactions. When a female is near, the males charge one another continuously and flail their arms. If neither male backs away, the arms extend to the back, exposing the mouth, followed by the biting of arm tips. During mate competition males also participate in a technique called flushing. This technique is used by the second male attempting to mate with a female. Flushing removes spermatophores in the buccal cavity that was placed there by the first mate by forcing water into the cavity. Another behavior that males engage in is sneaker mating or mimicry – smaller males adjust their behavior to that of a female in order to reduce aggression. By using this technique, they are able to fertilize the eggs while the larger male is distracted by a different male. During this process, the sneaker males quickly insert drop-like sperm into the seminal receptacle.


title: Cephalopod

text: Mate choice is seen in cuttlefish species, where females prefer some males over others, though characteristics of the preferred males are unknown. A hypothesis states that females reject males by olfactory cues rather than visual cues. Several cephalopod species are polyandrous- accepting and storing multiple male spermatophores, which has been identified by DNA fingerprinting. Females are no longer receptive to mating attempts when holding their eggs in their arms. Females can store sperm in two places (1) the buccal cavity where recently mated males place their spermatophores, and (2) the internal sperm-storage receptacles where sperm packages from previous males are stored. Spermatophore storage results in sperm competition; which states that the female controls which mate fertilizes the eggs. In order to reduce this sort of competition, males develop agonistic behaviors like mate guarding and flushing. The "Hapalochlaena lunulata", or the blue-ringed octopus, readily mates with both males and females.


title: Cephalopod

text: In a variety of marine organisms, it is seen that females are larger in size compared to the males in some closely related species. In some lineages, such as the blanket octopus, males become structurally smaller and smaller resembling a term, "dwarfism" dwarf males usually occurs at low densities. The blanket octopus male is an example of sexual-evolutionary dwarfism; females grow 10,000 to 40,000 times larger than the males and the sex ratio between males and females can be distinguished right after hatching of the eggs.


title: Cephalopod

text: Cephalopod eggs span a large range of sizes, from 1 to 30 mm in diameter. The fertilised ovum initially divides to produce a disc of germinal cells at one pole, with the yolk remaining at the opposite pole. The germinal disc grows to envelop and eventually absorb the yolk, forming the embryo. The tentacles and arms first appear at the hind part of the body, where the foot would be in other molluscs, and only later migrate towards the head.


title: Cephalopod

text: The funnel of cephalopods develops on the top of their head, whereas the mouth develops on the opposite surface. The early embryological stages are reminiscent of ancestral gastropods and extant Monoplacophora.


title: Cephalopod

text: The shells develop from the ectoderm as an organic framework which is subsequently mineralized. In "Sepia", which has an internal shell, the ectoderm forms an invagination whose pore is sealed off before this organic framework is deposited.


title: Cephalopod

text: The length of time before hatching is highly variable; smaller eggs in warmer waters are the fastest to hatch, and newborns can emerge after as little as a few days. Larger eggs in colder waters can develop for over a year before hatching.


title: Cephalopod

text: The process from spawning to hatching follows a similar trajectory in all species, the main variable being the amount of yolk available to the young and when it is absorbed by the embryo.


title: Cephalopod

text: Unlike most other molluscs, cephalopods do not have a morphologically distinct larval stage. Instead, the juveniles are known as paralarvae. They quickly learn how to hunt, using encounters with prey to refine their strategies.


title: Cephalopod

text: The traditional view of cephalopod evolution holds that they evolved in the Late Cambrian from a monoplacophoran-like ancestor with a curved, tapering shell, which was closely related to the gastropods (snails). The similarity of the early shelled cephalopod "Plectronoceras" to some gastropods was used in support of this view. The development of a siphuncle would have allowed the shells of these early forms to become gas-filled (thus buoyant) in order to support them and keep the shells upright while the animal crawled along the floor, and separated the true cephalopods from putative ancestors such as "Knightoconus", which lacked a siphuncle. Neutral or positive buoyancy (i.e. the ability to float) would have come later, followed by swimming in the Plectronocerida and eventually jet propulsion in more derived cephalopods.


title: Cephalopod

text: Possible early Cambrian remains have been found in the Avalon Peninsula, matching genetic data for a pre-Cambrian origin.


title: Cephalopod

text: However, some morphological evidence is difficult to reconcile with this view, and the redescription of "Nectocaris pteryx", which did not have a shell and appeared to possess jet propulsion in the manner of "derived" cephalopods, complicated the question of the order in which cephalopod features developed – provided "Nectocaris" is a cephalopod at all.


title: Cephalopod

text: Early cephalopods were likely predators near the top of the food chain. After the late Cambrian extinction led to the disappearance of many Anomalocaridids, predatory niches became available for other animals. During the Ordovician period the primitive cephalopods underwent pulses of diversification to become diverse and dominant in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic seas.


title: Cephalopod

text: In the Early Palaeozoic, their range was far more restricted than today; they were mainly constrained to sublittoral regions of shallow shelves of the low latitudes, and usually occurred in association with thrombolites. A more pelagic habit was gradually adopted as the Ordovician progressed. Deep-water cephalopods, whilst rare, have been found in the Lower Ordovician – but only in high-latitude waters.


title: Cephalopod

text: The mid-Ordovician saw the first cephalopods with septa strong enough to cope with the pressures associated with deeper water, and could inhabit depths greater than 100–200 m. The direction of shell coiling would prove to be crucial to the future success of the lineages; endogastric coiling would only permit large size to be attained with a straight shell, whereas exogastric coiling – initially rather rare – permitted the spirals familiar from the fossil record to develop, with their corresponding large size and diversity. (Endogastric means the shell is curved so as the ventral or lower side is longitudinally concave (belly in); exogastric means the shell is curved so as the ventral side is longitudinally convex (belly out) allowing the funnel to be pointed backward beneath the shell.)


title: Cephalopod

text: The ancestors of coleoids (including most modern cephalopods) and the ancestors of the modern nautilus, had diverged by the Floian Age of the Early Ordovician Period, over 470 million years ago. The Bactritida, a Silurian–Triassic group of orthocones, are widely held to be paraphyletic without the coleoids and ammonoids, that is, the latter groups arose from within the Bactritida. An increase in the diversity of the coleoids and ammonoids is observed around the start of the Devonian period and corresponds with a profound increase in fish diversity. This could represent the origin of the two derived groups.


title: Cephalopod

text: Unlike most modern cephalopods, most ancient varieties had protective shells. These shells at first were conical but later developed into curved nautiloid shapes seen in modern nautilus species.


title: Cephalopod

text: Competitive pressure from fish is thought to have forced the shelled forms into deeper water, which provided an evolutionary pressure towards shell loss and gave rise to the modern coleoids, a change which led to greater metabolic costs associated with the loss of buoyancy, but which allowed them to recolonize shallow waters. However, some of the straight-shelled nautiloids evolved into belemnites, out of which some evolved into squid and cuttlefish. The loss of the shell may also have resulted from evolutionary pressure to increase maneuverability, resulting in a more fish-like habit.


title: Cephalopod

text: There has been debate on the embryological origin of cephalopod appendages. Until the mid-twentieth century, the "Arms as Head" hypothesis was widely recognized. In this theory, the arms and tentacles of cephalopods look similar to the head appendages of gastropods, suggesting that they might be homologous structures. Cephalopod appendages surround the mouth, so logically they could be derived from embryonic head tissues. However, the "Arms as Foot" hypothesis, proposed by Adolf Naef in 1928, has increasingly been favoured; for example, fate mapping of limb buds in the chambered nautilus indicates that limb buds originate from "foot" embryonic tissues.


title: Cephalopod

text: The sequencing of a full Cephalopod genome has remained challenging to researchers due to the length and repetition of their DNA. The characteristics of Cephalopod genomes were initially hypothesized to be the result of entire genome duplications. Following the full sequencing of a California two-spot octopus, the genome showed similar patterns to other marine invertebrates with significant additions to the genome assumed to be unique to Cephalopods. No evidence of full genome duplication was found.


title: Cephalopod

text: Within the California two-spot octopus genome there are substantial replications of two gene families. Significantly, the expanded gene families were only previously known to exhibit replicative behaviour within vertebrates. The first gene family was identified as the Protocadherins which are attributed to neuron development. Protocadherins function as cell adhesion molecules, essential for synaptic specificity. The mechanism for Protocadherin gene family replication in vertebrates is attributed to complex splicing, or cutting and pasting, from a locus. Following the sequencing of the California two-spot octopus, researchers found that the Prorocadherin gene family in Cephalopods has expanded in the genome due to tandem gene duplication. The different replication mechanisms for Protocadherin genes indicate an independent evolution of Protocadherin gene expansion in vertebrates and invertebrates. Analysis of individual Cephalopod Protocadherin genes indicate independent evolution between species of Cephalopod. A species of shore squid "Doryteuthis pealeii" with expanded Protocadherin gene families differ significantly from those of the California two-spot octopus suggesting gene expansion did not occur before speciation within Cephalopods. Despite different mechanisms for gene expansion, the two-spot octopus Protocadherin genes were more similar to vertebrates than squid, suggesting a convergent evolution mechanism. The second gene family known as are small proteins that function as zinc transcription factors. are understood to moderate DNA, RNA and protein functions within the cell.


title: Cephalopod

text: The sequenced California two spot octopus genome also showed a significant presence of transposable elements as well as transposon expression. Although the role of transposable elements in marine vertebrates is still relatively unknown, significant expression of transposons in nervous system tissues have been observed. In a study conducted on vertebrates, the expression of transposons during development in the fruitfly "Drosophila melanogaster" activated genomic diversity between neurons. This diversity has been linked to increased memory and learning in mammals. The connection between transposons and increased neuron capability may provide insight into the observed intelligence, memory and function of Cephalopods.


title: Cephalopod

text: Using long-read sequencing, researchers have decoded the cephalopod genomes and discovered they have been churned and scrambled. The genes were compared to those of thousands of other species and while blocks of three or more genes co-occurred between squid and octopus, the blocks of genes were not found together in any other animals'. Many of the groupings were in the nervous tissue, suggesting the course they adapted their intelligence.


title: Cephalopod

text: The approximate consensus of extant cephalopod phylogeny, after Strugnell "et al". 2007, is shown in the cladogram. Mineralized taxa are in bold. The attachment of the clade including "Sepia" and "Spirula" is unclear; either of the points marked with an asterisk may represent the root of this clade.


title: Cephalopod

text: The internal phylogeny of the cephalopods is difficult to constrain; many molecular techniques have been adopted, but the results produced are conflicting. "Nautilus" tends to be considered an outgroup, with "Vampyroteuthis" forming an outgroup to other squid; however in one analysis the nautiloids, octopus and teuthids plot as a polytomy. Some molecular phylogenies do not recover the mineralized coleoids ("Spirula", "Sepia", and "Metasepia") as a clade; however, others do recover this more parsimonious-seeming clade, with "Spirula" as a sister group to "Sepia" and "Metasepia" in a clade that had probably diverged before the end of the Triassic.


title: Cephalopod

text: Molecular estimates for clade divergence vary. One 'statistically robust' estimate has "Nautilus" diverging from "Octopus" at .


title: Cephalopod

text: The classification presented here, for recent cephalopods, follows largely from Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda (May 2001), for fossil cephalopods takes from Arkell et al. 1957, Teichert and Moore 1964, Teichert 1988, and others. The three subclasses are traditional, corresponding to the three orders of cephalopods recognized by Bather.


title: Cephalopod

text: Other classifications differ, primarily in how the various decapod orders are related, and whether they should be orders or families.


title: Cephalopod

text: This is the older classification that combines those found in parts K and L of the "Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology", which forms the basis for and is retained in large part by classifications that have come later.


title: Cephalopod

text: Subsequent revisions include the establishment of three Upper Cambrian orders, the Plectronocerida, Protactinocerida, and Yanhecerida; separation of the pseudorthocerids as the Pseudorthocerida, and elevating orthoceratid as the Subclass Orthoceratoidea.


title: Cephalopod

text: Shevyrev (2005) suggested a division into eight subclasses, mostly comprising the more diverse and numerous fossil forms, although this classification has been criticized as arbitrary, lacking evidence, and based on misinterpretations of other papers.


title: Cephalopod

text: Another recent system divides all cephalopods into two clades. One includes nautilus and most fossil nautiloids. The other clade (Neocephalopoda or Angusteradulata) is closer to modern coleoids, and includes belemnoids, ammonoids, and many orthocerid families. There are also stem group cephalopods of the traditional Ellesmerocerida that belong to neither clade.


title: Cephalopod

text: Ancient seafaring people were aware of cephalopods, as evidenced by artworks such as a stone carving found in the archaeological recovery from Bronze Age Minoan Crete at Knossos (1900 – 1100 BC) has a depiction of a fisherman carrying an octopus. The terrifyingly powerful Gorgon of Greek mythology may have been inspired by the octopus or squid, the octopus's body representing the severed head of Medusa, the beak as the protruding tongue and fangs, and its tentacles as the snakes.


title: Cephalopod

text: The Kraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland, usually portrayed in art as giant cephalopods attacking ships. Linnaeus included it in the first edition of his 1735 "Systema Naturae". A Hawaiian creation myth says that the present cosmos is the last of a series which arose in stages from the ruins of the previous universe. In this account, the octopus is the lone survivor of the previous, alien universe. The Akkorokamui is a gigantic tentacled monster from Ainu folklore.


title: Cephalopod

text: A battle with an octopus plays a significant role in Victor Hugo's book "Travailleurs de la mer" ("Toilers of the Sea"), relating to his time in exile on Guernsey.


title: Cephalopod

text: Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection "Octopussy and The Living Daylights", and the 1983 "James Bond" film were partly inspired by Hugo's book.


title: Cephalopod

text: Japanese erotic art, "shunga", includes ukiyo-e woodblock prints such as Katsushika Hokusai's 1814 print "Tako to ama" (The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife), in which an ama diver is sexually intertwined with a large and a small octopus. The print is a forerunner of tentacle erotica. The biologist P. Z. Myers noted in his science blog, Pharyngula, that octopuses appear in "extraordinary" graphic illustrations involving women, tentacles, and bare breasts.


title: Cephalopod

text: Its many arms that emanate from a common center means that the octopus is sometimes used to symbolize a powerful and manipulative organization.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late 1970s. It is used extensively by infantry, most often in rifle companies, as well as on ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Though it is heavier than some comparable weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability and its standardization among NATO members is a major advantage.


title: M240 machine gun

text: All variants are fed from disintegrating belts and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 mm (.30/.308 cal) NATO ammunition. M240 variants can be converted to use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict the interchangeability of parts. The M240s used by the U.S. military are currently manufactured by FN America, the American subsidiary of the Belgian company FN Herstal.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240B and M240G are usually fired from integrated bipods, tripods, or vehicular mounts; regarding tripod use, the U.S. Army primarily uses the M192 lightweight ground mount, while the U.S. Marine Corps uses the M122A1 tripod, a slightly updated M2 tripod.


title: M240 machine gun

text: Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal, the FN MAG was chosen by the U.S. military for different roles after large worldwide searches and competitions. The MAG is a belt-fed, gas-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, general-purpose machine gun. Its versatility is demonstrated by its ability to be fired effectively from its integral bipod, mounted on a tripod, on ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft.


title: M240 machine gun

text: It was first adopted by the U.S. Army in 1977, as a coaxial tank gun, and slowly adopted for more applications in the 1980s and 1990s. The M240 and M240E1 were adopted for use on vehicles. This led to further adoption in more uses, especially for the army and Marine Corps infantry. While possessing many of the same basic characteristics as its predecessor, the durability of the MAG system results in superior reliability when compared to the M60. The MAG actually has a more complex gas system than the M60, but gives better reliability combined with lower maintenance requirements, though this comes at greater manufacturing cost and weight.


title: M240 machine gun

text: Compared to other machine guns, its rating of 26,000 mean rounds between failure (MRBF) is quite high for its weight – in the 1970s when it was first adopted it achieved about 7,000 MRBF. It is not as reliable as some very heavy older designs, but it is quite reliable for its mass.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The U.S. adoption of the MAG has its origins in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a project to procure a new coaxially mounted 7.62 mm machine gun for tanks to replace the M73 and M219 machine guns then being used. The 1950s-era M73 had been rather troubled, and the derivative M73E1/M219 was not much of an improvement. A number of designs of the period from various countries were considered; the final two candidates were the M60E2 and the FN MAG, which underwent comprehensive testing alongside the older M219 for comparison.


title: M240 machine gun

text: Two main criteria analyzed were "mean rounds between stoppages" (MRBS, malfunctions that can be cleared within minutes) and "mean rounds between failures" (MRBF, such as a part breaking). The results for the evaluated machine guns were the following:


title: M240 machine gun

text: The MAG itself underwent some improvements and the M60E2 was a specialized coaxial variant that differed from some of the other types. The qualities of the M60 variants vary considerably, such as between the M60E4 and the M60C. The clear winner was the MAG, which was designated as the M240 in 1977 after the army competition.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240 was adopted as the U.S. Army's standard vehicle machine gun in 1977. The Marine Corps also adopted the M240 and M240E1 for use on vehicles like the LAV-25. It then went on to replace many older types of vehicle machine guns in the 1980s. U.S. Navy SEALs continued to use the "CAR-60" (M60E3) version of the M60 machine gun due to its lighter weight and slower rate of fire, which allows a more effective duration of fire with allowable levels of ammunition carried.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240 proved popular enough that it was adapted by the infantry later on, as the M240G and M240B. The USMC adopted the M240G for this role in 1991, where it not only replaced the original M60s used by the Marine Corps infantry, but also the upgraded M60E3 that the Marines had started using in the 1980s. In the late 1990s, the Army adopted the M240B for the infantry role – they had considered the M60E4, which (though lighter and cheaper) did not offer commonality with the vehicle-borne M240, other FN MAG users within NATO, or the USMC.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The various versions of the M240 have not entirely replaced all the M60 versions, though they have for most main applications and roles. The M60 is still, in some cases, used by the Navy.


title: M240 machine gun

text: As of March 2022 the United States Army has a solicitation ongoing for a M240 machine gun 6.8×51mm conversion kit to modify the 7.62×51mm NATO-chambered M240B and M240L general-purpose machine guns to fire the 6.8×51mm ammunition.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The weapon fires from the open bolt position, meaning that the bolt is held to the rear and only moves forward as it is firing a round. The firing pin is static and the bolt moves around the firing pin, circumventing any need for a hammer. A sear is used to time the internal mechanisms of the weapon to provide a consistent rate of fire, ensuring proper function and accuracy.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The rate of fire may be controlled by three different gas regulator settings. The first setting allows the weapon to cycle at 650–750 rounds per minute, the second setting being 750–850 rounds per minute, and the third setting being 850–950 rounds per minute. These settings are changed by dismounting the barrel, removing the gas regulator collar and turning the gas regulator to allow more or less gas to move through the weapon system. It is generally performed only when necessary to return the gun to operation after fouling has caused sluggish operation and there is no time to properly clean the weapon.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The barrels can be exchanged rapidly, thanks to a barrel release button located on the left side of the weapon. The weapon is cleared first and then the button is held down, while the barrel's carrying handle is moved from the right side of the weapon to the center, unlocking it from the receiver. At this point, the button is released and the barrel is then pulled free of the receiver and placed to the side. The new barrel is inserted into the receiver and then the carrying handle is shifted to the right, locking it into place.


title: M240 machine gun

text: During prolonged firing, the barrels can become hot enough to inflict second-degree burns instantly without becoming visibly different.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The manufacturer's name for the weapon is the "MAG 58". The M240 adheres to FN MAG-58 specifications, allowing parts to be interchanged with other standard MAG-58s. This has significant advantages in training, logistics support, tactical versatility, and joint operations. For example, a US unit with attached British troops could supply replacement parts for their GPMG L7s, and vice versa.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240 is adapted as a coaxial machine gun for tanks and 7.62 mm fire power on light armored vehicles. The M240 is part of the secondary armament on the U.S. Army M1 series Abrams tank, M2/M3 series Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the U.S. Marine Corps LAV-25.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240E1 is the U.S. Marine Corps version of the original M240 coaxial/pintle-mounted machine gun that is used on vehicles like the LAV-25. It can also be fitted with spade grips for flexible use, like the ones from the M240D.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The "M240C" is the right-hand variant on the original coaxial (installed alongside the main weapon) M240, it is identical to the M240 except for the ammunition cover and feed tray. It has a right-handed feed for use on the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and LAV as the coaxial machine gun. It is fed from the left on the M1 Abrams and other M1 variant (M1A1, M1A2, M1A2 SEP) tanks. The M240C uses a charging cable instead of a charging handle, has a cut-off pistol grip and has a special paddle assembly that allows the trigger to be actuated by means of a solenoid. Since the machine gun is not meant to be handled during use, the barrel is fully exposed and must be handled with asbestos mittens during barrel changes.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The rate of fire of the M240, M240E1, and M240C can be controlled by three different gas regulator settings;


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240B (formerly called as the M240E4) is the standard infantry medium machine gun of the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard likewise utilize the weapon system, and is also still used by some units in the U.S. Army. It comes configured for ground combat with a buttstock and bipod, though it can also be mounted on tripod, ground vehicles, aircraft, aboard ships, and small boats. It is almost always referred to as the "M240 Bravo" or just "240" verbally.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M60E4 (Mk 43 as designated by the Navy) was pitted against the M240E4 (former designation of the M240B) in the Army trials during the 1990s for a new infantry medium machine gun, in a competition to replace the decades-old M60s. The M240E4 won, and was then classified as the "M240B". This led to 1,000 existing M240s being sent to FN for an overhaul and a special kit that modified them for use on ground (such as a stock, a rail, etc.). This led to procurement contracts in the late 1990s for the all-new M240B. However, a new feature was added, a hydraulic buffer system to reduce the felt recoil as incorporated in the M60. While the M240B had been more reliable in the tests, it was a few pounds heavier than the M60E4, which led to the development of the lighter M240L machine gun. The Army M240 converted to the M240B configuration should not be confused with the large numbers of M240/E1 converted to the M240G configuration for the Marine Corps.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The main differences between the two machine-gun variations is the Picatinny rail system, hydraulic buffer inside of the butt stock to reduce the amount of recoil felt by the gunner, and the number of gas settings on the gas regulator plug. The M240G has three gas settings, allowing the machine gun to have a fire rate between 650–950 rounds per minute depending on the setting selected, whereas the M240B only has one setting, restricting the fire rate to between 550–650 rounds per minute. The smaller gas port used on the M240B slows down the rate of fire, which increases the longevity of the machine gun by reducing stresses on the action. A side effect is a weapon that will not fire when extremely dirty as the energy on the piston is reduced.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240B is being tested with a new adjustable buttstock that may replace the current stock of the M240B. The lighter M240L has started to replace the M240B in U.S. Army service. The Marine Corps is observing the progress of the M240L, but feels it is too expensive for adoption. The corps is instead looking to upgrade the M240 barrel through several ways, including carbon fiber coatings, new alloys, or ceramic liners, to lighten and strengthen the barrel. The goal would be a barrel that would not need to be changed, would weigh the same, but decrease heat retention, lessen warping, and eliminate cook-offs. They are also interested in incorporating a suppressor into the barrel, rather than having to attach one, to reduce the sound of shots and make it difficult to determine where the gunner is located.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240D is an upgrade of the M240E1, primarily in the addition of an optical rail on the receiver cover. It has two possible configurations: aircraft and egress (ground). In the aircraft configuration, the M240D has a front and rear sight and a trigger group which accommodates the spade grip device, while the ground configuration involves the installation of an egress package or "infantry modification kit", which is designed to provide downed aircrew personnel with increased firepower. The egress package contains a buttstock assembly, a buffer assembly, a bipod assembly, and a conventional trigger assembly.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The barrel assembly contains a three position gas regulator. The first setting allows the weapon to cycle at 650–750 rounds per minute, the second gas setting allows the weapon to cycle at 750–850 rounds per minute, and the third setting allows the weapon to cycle at 850–950 rounds per minute.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The aircraft configured M240D weighs 25.6 lb (11.6 kg) and is 42.3 in (1,074.42 mm) long, whilst the egress configuration weighs 26.2 lb (11.9 kg) and is 49 in (1244.6 mm) long.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240H (formerly designated as the M240E5) is an improvement of the M240D, the M240H features a rail-equipped feed cover, an improved flash suppressor, and has been configured so that it can be more quickly converted to infantry standard using an Egress Kit. The M240H has an overall length of 41.6 in (1056.6 mm) with a 21.7 in (551.2 mm) barrel and weighs empty, and has a cyclic rate of fire of around 550–650 rounds per minute. The M240H entered service in 2004 on U.S. Army helicopters. It is equipped with dual spade grips and thumb-activated trigger systems, and can be quickly converted for dismounted infantry use via an egress components kit that includes a bipod and conventional pistol grip trigger module.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240N is designed with a front and rear sights, and configured specifically for mounting on watercraft. It is similar to the M240G, but lacks the integral bipod. It also uses the hydraulic buffer of the M240B, and features the lower cyclic rate of fire of the M240B which is around 550–650 rounds per minute.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240G allows for commonality throughout the Marine Corps whether the weapon is used in an infantry, vehicular, or airborne role. The M240G is the ground version of the original M240 or M240E1, 7.62 mm medium class weapon designed as a coaxial/pintle-mounted machine gun for tanks and LAVs. The M240G can be modified for ground use by the installation of an "infantry modification kit" (a flash suppressor, front sight, carrying handle for the barrel, a buttstock, infantry length pistol grip, bipod, and rear sight assembly). The M240G lacks a front heat guard, and as such is a few pounds lighter than the M240B, weighing in at . The rate of fire of the M240G can be controlled by three gas settings. On gas setting one the weapon will fire at 650–750 rounds per minute, on gas setting two the weapon will fire at 750–850 rounds per minute, and on gas setting three the weapon will fire at 850–950 rounds per minute. The size of the gas port increases resulting in greater energy being delivered to the action. Use at high settings induces added stresses on the action and results in a shorter service life of the weapon. It gives the operator an ability to adjust the gas bleed to the action. This also allows the weapon to continue firing when very dirty from sustained use in combat conditions when it may be otherwise rendered inoperable due to an extremely dirty and dry action.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The M240L (M240 Lima), formerly the M240E6 is the product of the M240B weight reduction program which reduces the weight of the existing M240B by . To achieve 18% weight savings, the M240L incorporates titanium construction and alternative manufacturing methods for fabricating major components. The resulting improvements reduced the soldier's combat load while allowing easier handling and movement of the weapon. The M240L may replace the M240B in U.S. Army service. It was type classified in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010.


title: M240 machine gun

text: Titanium was used to make the receiver body, front sight post, and carrying handle while maintaining steel operating system components. Manufacture had to be adjusted because titanium takes longer to machine than steel and requires more frequent replacement of tooling bits; more pliable stainless steel rivets were used, and the receiver was coated with boron and chrome carbo-nitride coatings with a ceramic-based top coat to preserve it under extreme operating temperatures. The M240L weighs with a standard-length barrel and standard stock, and weighs with a shorter barrel and collapsible stock. The short barrel is shorter than a standard M240 barrel, and with the collapsible stock the M240L can be made shorter. The smaller and lighter variant of the M240L is the M240P. The M240P is not used as often as its predecessors. The Army initially bought 4,500 M240Ls, and plans to buy 12,000 total. Although the M240L has good reliability, it is still heavy for a medium machine gun.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The Barrett 240LW (Light Weight) program has its design roots in the original U.S. Army solicitation for a lighter M240 medium machine gun in 2010. The program called for a much lighter version of the M240, while keeping the same familiar open bolt design that the machine gun is world-renowned for. This was formally known as the M240B Weight Reduction Program, or the M240E6. The results of that solicitation ended with the adoption of the M240L by the U.S. Army. By producing the receiver out of titanium, instead of steel, FN delivered a light-weight solution by trimming the weight of the M240B by 5.5 pounds, or an 18 percent weight reduction of the original machine gun, giving it an overall weight of 22.3 pounds. The Lima is in limited service with the U.S. Army.


title: M240 machine gun

text: Although Barrett did not participate in the solicitation program, the company felt that it could produce an equivalent weight reduction by more efficient manufacturing methods instead of simply switching to the much more expensive titanium receiver. In addition, the company makes the point that the majority of worldwide titanium reserves are coming from Russia and China. Should relations between the United States and these countries sour, it would become much harder to find sources of titanium. Thus Barrett designed the 240LW series, keeping the standard M240 technical data package, while more efficiently manufacturing the receiver.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The Barrett 240LW is a general-purpose machine gun capable of mounting on a bipod, tripod, aircraft, or vehicle. It is belt fed, air-cooled, gas operated, fully automatic and fires from an open bolt. It features an adjustable buttstock with a hydraulic buffer, feed pawls, a fluted quick detach barrel, a new handguard with Keymod attachments, a new quick detach titanium bipod, adjustable carrying handle, a rivetless receiver, and a three position gas regulator.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The Barrett 240LWS (Light Weight Short) gas operated, belt fed, open bolt, medium machine gun is a shortened variant of the 240LW program. The design concept of this variant is to produce a viable medium machine gun that would serve in a special operations capacity, where a small team of operators could maximize a medium machine gun by having it in a shorter and lighter package than its big brother, the 240LW, or the equivalent M240B. This follows in the footsteps of the Mk 48 and the M60E6 medium machine guns, also designed for the small unit role. The Mk 48 is a variant of the M249 light machine gun, scaled up to chamber 7.62×51mm NATO; it has come across some issues in its service life; it was never designed to be a general-purpose machine gun, while the M60E6 arguably came too late to make a difference in USMC and US Army general machine gun adoption, being that the M240 design was well standardized within the DoD ranks. Both offerings are more focused on Special Operations in US Service.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The Barrett 240LWS features a removable and telescoping buttstock, that has six adjustable positions. It differs from the buttstock of the 240LW by being half of its size in length, and doesn't have a polymer cheek piece. There are two telescoping rods that allows the buttstock to be extended to the desired position, when depressed from the top portion. The rods have indentations on them, which lock into positional latches within the rear of the buttstock. The hydraulic buffer is permanently encased within the stock and is necessary for recoil reduction from the reciprocating movement of the bolt group. Early prototypes had steel QD sling sockets on both sides of the stock, however current production versions will have solid steel sling loops on either side of it. This is to alleviate any damage that may occur to a sling mounted on the QD socket, and the amount of stress that it could take while carrying the machine gun. It also features a Picatinny rail that is longer compared to the Picatinny rail of the M240 machine guns, and where the Barrett M107A1 rear sight can be mounted and other various optics. The design of the feed tray cover hinge has been altered to be in the shape of a hexagon, thus allowing for the feed tray cover to be able to stay open while at a 45 degree angle to the receiver, while the machine gunner is loading a belt of ammunition. The feed tray has also been altered, with two protruding spring-loaded teeth which can bend in the direction of the ammunition belt. These teeth allows the operator to securely place a belt of ammunition on the feed tray, while at an upright angle, and not have the belt slip out while closing the cover. In addition they allow the operator to be able to squeeze the front of the belt into a closed cover because the teeth only bends in the direction of the belt, and the belt will pass over them, then the teeth will click upwards, thus locking the belt in place. Another click forward, and the belt of ammunition will be in place to fire. This allows the operator to feed a belt of ammunition into his 240LWS without ever having to possibly expose his position or line of sight, by opening the feed tray cover.


title: M240 machine gun

text: The position of the pistol grip and firing control group has been redesigned to make the 240LWS even shorter than the 240LW. With this, Barrett moved the entire grip forward by about four inches, to where the front of the trigger guard is at a right angle to the ejection port. By moving the fire control group forward, the overall length can be shortened because the machine gunner no longer needs a traditionally longer stock to compensate for the original position of the pistol group, towards the very rear portion of the receiver. Instead of the operator using a cheek weld on the stock, the operator can now rest his face against the actual receiver of the machine gun, it also allows the operator to have a closer fit of the weapon. But by doing this, the bolt had to be modified accordingly, because the original location of the sear is no longer there. Barrett had to move the position of the sear catch on the bolt to further down the length of it. The bolt group is still the same as the original M240 design, with the exception of the position of the sear catch. Though moving the grip forward took away the ability to connect the LWS to the standard pintle adapter from the M192 Lightweight Ground Mount, Barrett made available as part of the system a new adjustable pintle adapter that works with both made by Military Systems Group. As of July 2017, it is not yet clear if that adapter is compatible with the M192 or M122 Traverse and Elevation (T&E) mechanism. However, the primary intended use of the LWS is not to be mounted, but instead being a part of a small man team that needs the additional firepower while on a foot patrol.


title: M240 machine gun

text: It still features a non-reciprocating bolt handle, a fluted quick detachable barrel and features a quick flip-up sight, a three position gas regulator similar to the M240G's gas regulator, a standard M240 muzzle compensator, quick detach titanium bipod that has three positions, and a new redesigned handguard which no longer contacts the gas tube, minimizing heat transfer to the handguard. Unlike the current M240's solution of minimizing the heat transfer, Barrett uses a free floating handguard system, where they bolted the handguard directly to the receiver of the machine gun, instead of to the gas tube assembly. The handguard also has Keymod rail sections at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions, with the side sections being separated from the bottom by a gripping surface for the operator.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 3 April 2022 to elect the National Assembly, coinciding with a referendum.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Hungary's incumbent prime minister Viktor Orbán declared victory on Sunday night, with partial results showing his Fidesz party leading the vote by a wide margin. Addressing his supporters after the partial results, Orbán said: "We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels". Opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay admitted defeat shortly after Orbán's speech. "Reuters" described it as a "crushing victory".


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The election had been predicted to be closer than in previous years, but Fidesz still held a 5-6 percentage point lead in the polls leading up to the vote. OSCE deployed a full monitoring mission for the vote. With Orbán seeking a fourth consecutive term in office, preliminary results showed his party Fidesz outperforming polls, winning its first absolute majority of the vote share since 2010 while expanding its supermajority to control 135 seats of the 199-seat Parliament, comfortably ahead of the opposition alliance United for Hungary, which was set to win 57 seats after 100% of the votes had been counted. The Mi Hazánk party won seats for the first time, obtaining 6 seats.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: With 54.13% of the popular vote, Fidesz received the highest vote share by any party since the fall of communism in 1989.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The electoral law, under which the previous two elections were held (2014, 2018), specified the number of constituency candidates a party needed to run nationwide at 27, in at least 9 counties.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: On 15 December 2020, the National Assembly, in which the governing parties held the needed 2/3 majority, voted to increase the requirements to a total of 71 constituency candidates in at least 14 counties and the capital.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: In 2019 local elections, Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Momentum Movement, Dialogue and numerous other parties or independent candidates ran in joint lists. It enabled opposition parties to win the majority in the General Assembly of Budapest and in ten of the 23 cities with county rights.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: On 13 August 2020, Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Momentum Movement, MLP, UK and Dialogue decided to field joint candidates in all of Hungary’s 106 constituencies and launch a joint program for the elections.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: On 15 November 2020, Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Momentum Movement and Dialogue agreed on running with a common candidate for Prime Minister, to be selected in a primary election. They expect the candidate to be selected by 23 October 2021.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: On 20 December 2020, Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Momentum Movement and Dialogue decided on running together on a common list, solidifying their electoral alliance. The leaders of the respective parties have also signed a declaration containing the terms of their cooperation, titled "Korszakváltás Garanciái" ("Principles for Hungary's governance after 2022"). The opposition coalition was very ideologically diverse, something described by observers as a potential hindrance to presenting a united front to defeat Orbán.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The Opposition primary was held in Hungary, between 12–27 September 2021 (first round) and 10–16 October 2021 (second round), to select the candidate for Prime Minister of Hungary supported by the opposition parties to form a coalition to compete in the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election. It was the first countrywide primary election in the political history of Hungary.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: On 17 October 2021, non-partisan candidate Péter Márki-Zay won in the runoff (second round) of the opposition primary, becoming the United Opposition candidate in the election for prime minister. The parties had also selected common candidates for single-member districts via the primary in the first round.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The 199 members of the National Assembly are to be elected by mixed-member majoritarian representation with two methods; 106 are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, with the remaining 93 elected from a single nationwide constituency mostly by proportional representation, via a partially compensatory system (a hybrid of parallel voting and mixed single vote). The electoral threshold is set at 5%, although this is raised to 10% for coalitions of two parties and 15% for coalitions of three or more parties. Seats are to be allocated using the d'Hondt method. The electoral district borders show gerrymandering.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Since 2014, each of the Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Polish, Romani, Romanian, Rusyn, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, and Ukrainian ethnic minorities can win one of the 93 party lists seats if they register as a specific list and reach a lowered quota of formula_1 of the total of party list votes. Each minority is able to send a minority spokesman – without the rights of a MP – to the National Assembly, if the list does not reach this lowered quota.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Due to internal disputes, the National Self-Government of Romani did not participate in the election.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The following parties are represented in the National Assembly, or are commonly included in public opinion polling:


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Hungary's incumbent prime minister Viktor Orbán declared victory on Sunday night, with partial results showing his Fidesz party leading the vote by a wide margin. Addressing his supporters after the partial results, Orbán said: "We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels". Orbán would go on to declare his victory as a rebuke against the Hungarian left, international media, George Soros, the "Brussels bureaucrats", and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay admitted defeat shortly after Orbán's speech. "Reuters" described it as a "crushing victory."


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The election had been predicted to be closer than in previous years, but Fidesz still held a 5–6 percentage point lead in the polls leading up to the vote. OSCE deployed a full monitoring mission for the vote. With Orbán seeking a fourth consecutive term in office, preliminary results showed his party Fidesz was set to outperform polls, retain its supermajority and control 135 seats of the 199-seat Parliament, comfortably ahead of the opposition alliance United for Hungary, which was set to win 57 seats after 100% of the votes had been counted. The Mi Hazánk party won seats for the first time, obtaining 6 seats.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Domestically, the degree of Fidesz's victory was attributed to Fidesz's influence over the domestic media landscape, voters' desire for stability during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, strong ideological differences within the main opposition coalition, the perception of Márki-Zay as inexperienced, and urban–rural political polarization. Some analysts claimed that the majority of Jobbik voters turned out for Fidesz or Mi Hazánk instead of the united opposition. Márki-Zay shared this assessment, admitting that the united opposition may have lost up to "two thirds" of Jobbik voters. Other opposition leaders could not immediately agree on how to assess their defeat. DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány and Jobbik leader Péter Jakab blamed Márky-Zay, while Bernadett Szél and Ákos Hadházy did not. Péter Ungár claimed that while it was a "strategic mistake" for a center-left alliance to nominate the conservative Márky-Zay, the united opposition's "elitist" rhetoric may have hurt it with rural voters even in traditionally left-leaning constituencies.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: "Politico" predicted Orbán's victory would lead to further clashes between the Hungarian government and European Union institutions.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Analysts found that Fidesz performed strongest in areas with high birthrates and with lower educational or economic attainment, while the united opposition did best in Budapest and in a few other urban areas.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: International observers' assessments of the electoral process were mixed. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission evaluated that "the legal framework forms an adequate basis for democratic elections to be held, but a number of key aspects fall short of international standards." The OSCE added that the election day passed peacefully, with observers assessing the process as well-organized, orderly, and smooth. The monitoring mission further reported that the elections "offered voters distinct alternatives and were well run, but, while competitive, was marred by the pervasive overlapping of government and ruling coalition’s messaging that blurred the line between state and party, as well as by media bias and opaque campaign funding." Human Rights Watch stated that the election was "marred by serious concerns about its fairness," adding that the "EU has responded insufficiently to the hollowing out of democracy and the rule of law in Hungary," while Freedom House described the election as neither free nor fair.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Since the 2014 parliamentary election, the right to vote is extended to Hungarian citizens, after a registration process, who do not have a permanent residence in Hungary (i.e. mostly the Hungarian diaspora in the neighboring countries, who have dual citizenship); however, they can only vote for the national list of Hungarian parties, so they do not have a chance to vote in individual constituencies. Unlike those Hungarians who have a Hungarian address but live abroad, the members of the Hungarian diaspora can cast their ballots by post without having to travel to an embassy or consulate. Critics say this method do not provide sufficient guarantees to prevent election fraud. Since 2014, the ruling party Fidesz–KDNP usually acquired more than 90 percent of the vote among the Hungarian diaspora.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Transtelex.ro, a Hungarian-language Romanian news portal revealed all possible frauds allowed by the legally undeveloped system. For instance, the registration process was not secure, as the data allowed a voter to register on behalf of another person and retrieve voting documents to any address. In the case of identification sheets, it was not possible to determine with absolute certainty whether it had actually been completed by the person whose name appears on it. As a result of a change in legislation in 2021, it was possible to return the vote without the posted security sealed envelope, therefore, there was no guarantee that the ballot paper had not been replaced. There were several reports that a person could also easily vote on behalf of their family members. Telex.hu reported a case that grandparents of a woman from Odorheiu Secuiesc, who resided in Budapest in the weeks of the election, filled her personal data and voted on her behalf. She said, "I have already been outraged that they have filled in the official paper and sent it for me, abusing my personal rights, but, in addition, they have voted for a party that I do not support because it represents an ideologically opposed position to me".


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: According to reports, the activists of the Fidesz-ally Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) delivered the ballot papers instead of the Pošta Srbije in Vojvodina, Serbia. News portal "Szabad Magyar Szó" reported that the party officials sent messages to the registered voters to come to the local offices of the VMSZ to cast their ballot there. In Transylvania, Romania, pro-Fidesz organizations and parties of the Hungarian minority, including the parliamentary party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR or RMDSZ) also urged the registered voters to pass on their votes to them and not to entrust the postal service with the delivery of their ballot papers, because there is less chance that the vote will reach Hungary. In response, the Poșta Română complained against the call.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: In the area between Livezeni and Târgu Mureș in Romania, a bag containing partially burnt Hungarian election postal ballot papers was found on illegal waste dump on 1 April 2022. Every ballot papers were filled out with votes for the opposition United for Hungary alliance or Our Homeland Movement. The National Election Office (NVI) and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) filed a criminal complaint over the burnt ballot papers to the Hungarian Police. Péter Márki-Zay, prime minister-candidate of the United for Hungary called on the annulment of all postal votes. Anna Orosz of the Momentum Movement demanded that the government ensure a level playing field for all Hungarian citizens voting abroad. Jobbik politician Dániel Z. Kárpát compared the scandal with the infamous "blue-ballot" election in 1947. The Fidesz blamed the United for Hungary for burning the ballot papers, saying "the desperate left-wing is capable of anything despicable". The Fidesz-ally UDMR also condemned the "accusations of election fraud", assuming "an organized provocation" against the ethnic Hungarian minority in Romania. The National Election Commission (NVB) announced on 3 April it will not investigate the issue of the discarded and burned postal ballots, because the election law only covers the territory of Hungary. The Curia of Hungary upheld the NVB's decision on 10 April 2022.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The ruling Fidesz acquired 93.91 percent of the mail votes, which accounted for 8% of all votes cast on the party's national list. This meant an extra mandate for Fidesz. The United for Hungary and the Our Homeland gained only 4.1 and 1.06 percent, respectively.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Heads of government and heads of state congratulating Orbán on his victory included Russian president Vladimir Putin, Czech president Miloš Zeman, Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša, Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenković, Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Albanian prime minister Edi Rama, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bulgarian president Rumen Radev, Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić, Slovak prime minister Eduard Heger, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer, and Czech prime minister Petr Fiala.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Other politicians and political parties to congratulate Orbán included Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's Northern League and former deputy prime minister, Hunor Kelemen, leader of Romania's UDMR and deputy prime minister, Nigel Farage, former leader of United Kingdom's Brexit Party, former Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, former U.S. president Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, Dutch Party for Freedom politician Geert Wilders, Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Spanish political party Vox. Reflecting ongoing tensions over Russian sanctions, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki was slightly more reserved but said that "regardless of [Poland's] relations with Hungary, we must note that the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance won its fourth consecutive election with the best possible results."


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also congratulated Orbán, while the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed "acknowledgment" of the results.


title: 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: Two days after the election, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that the Commission would begin cutting funding to Hungary over rule-of-law concerns. Hungarian government officials criticized the move as an attempt to "punish Hungarian voters."


title: Seawise Giant

text: TT Seawise Giant—earlier Oppama; later Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, and Mont—was a ULCC supertanker that was the longest self-propelled ship in history, built in 1974–1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan. She possessed the greatest deadweight tonnage ever recorded. Fully laden, her displacement was 657,019 tonnes.


title: Seawise Giant

text: The heaviest self-propelled ship of any kind, and with a laden draft of 24.6 m (81 ft), she was incapable of navigating the English Channel, the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. Overall, she is generally considered the largest self-propelled ship ever built. In 2013 her overall length was surpassed by 30 m by the Floating Liquified Natural Gas installation "Shell Prelude" (FLNG), a monohull barge design 488 m long and 600,000 tonnes displacement. "Seawise Giant's" engines were powered by Ljungström turbines.


title: Seawise Giant

text: She was sunk in 1988 during the Iran–Iraq War, but was later salvaged and restored to service. The vessel was converted to a floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) in 2004, moored off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf at the Al Shaheen Oil Field.


title: Seawise Giant

text: The vessel was sold to Indian ship breakers, and renamed "Mont" for a final journey in December 2009. After clearing Indian customs, the ship sailed to Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang, Gujarat, where she was beached for scrapping. In 2010, scrapping of the ship was completed.


title: Seawise Giant

text: "Seawise Giant" was ordered in 1974 and delivered in 1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (S.H.I.) at her Oppama shipyard in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, as a 418,611-ton Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC). The vessel remained unnamed for a long time, and was identified by her hull number, 1016. During sea trials, 1016 exhibited severe vibration problems while going astern. The Greek owner refused to take delivery and the vessel was subject to a lengthy arbitration proceeding. Following settlement, the vessel was sold and named "Oppama" by S.H.I.