Phanigiri

Why in news?

• Telangana’s Department of Heritage has recently unearthed a coin hoard belonging to the Ikshvaku period at Phanigiri.

About Phanigiri

• The Phanigiri is an important Buddhist site in Telangana.
• It is located on the hilltop, on the ancient trade route (Dakshinapatha) connecting the west and the east coast of the Deccan.
• Excavations at Phanigiri brought to light a Mahastupa, apsidal Chaitya Grihas, votive Stupas, Congregation hall viharas, platforms with staircases at various levels.

Ikshvaku dynasty

• The Ikshvaku dynasty ruled in the eastern Krishna River valley of India, from their capital at Vijayapuri for over a century during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE.
• The Ikshvaku kings were Shaivite, but Buddhism also flourished during their reign.

Gape Limitation

Why in news?

• In ecology, ‘gape limitation’ stands for the idea that a predator can only eat things that fit in its mouth.

About

• Researchers pay attention to the concept because it specifies which animals can eat which other animals.
• For example, small predators can only eat small prey, while bigger predators can eat bigger prey.
• Gape limitations also influence how animals evolve over time.
• Prey animals might get faster or grow bigger to avoid being eaten by predators with smaller mouths.
• On the other hand, predators may evolve larger mouths to eat larger prey.
• Significance: Understanding gape limitations is essential to predicting how changes in predator or prey populations, changes in habitats, and/or environmental disturbances could affect the structure and function of ecosystems.