In evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models.

Mimicry occurs when a group of organisms, the ''mimics'', evolve to share common perceived characteristics with another group, the ''models''. The evolution is driven by the selective action of a ''signal-receiver'', or ''dupe''. For example, birds that use sight to identify palatable insects (the mimics), whilst avoiding the noxious models.

Collectively, this situation is known as a ''mimicry complex''. The model is usually another species except in cases of automimicry. The signal-receiver is typically another intermediate organism like the common predator of two species, but may actually be the model itself, such as a moth resembling its spider predator. As an interaction, mimicry is in most cases advantageous to the mimic and harmful to the receiver, but may increase, reduce or have no effect on the fitness of the model depending on the situation. Models themselves are difficult to define in some cases, for example eye spots may not bear resemblance to any specific organism's eyes, and camouflage often cannot be attributed to a particular model.

Camouflage, in which a species resembles its surroundings, is essentially a form of visual mimicry. In between camouflage and mimicry is mimesis, in which the mimic takes on the properties of a specific object or organism, but one to which the dupe is indifferent. The lack of a true distinction between the two phenomena can be seen in animals that resemble twigs, bark, leaves or flowers, in that they are often classified as camouflaged (a plant constitutes its "surroundings"), but are sometimes classified as mimics (a plant is also an organism).^p51 Crypsis is a broader concept which encompasses all forms of avoiding detection, such as mimicry, camouflage, hiding etc.

Though visual mimicry is most obvious to humans, other senses such as olfaction (smell) or hearing may be involved, and more than one type of signal may be employed. Mimicry may involve morphology, behavior, and other properties. In any case, the signal always functions to deceive the receiver by preventing it from correctly identifying the mimic. In evolutionary terms, this phenomenon is a form of co-evolution usually involving an evolutionary arms race.^p161 It should not be confused with convergent evolution, which occurs when species come to resemble one another ''independently'' by adapting to similar lifestyles.

Mimics may have different models for different life cycle stages, or they may be polymorphic, with different individuals imitating different models. Models themselves may have more than one mimic, though frequency dependent selection favors mimicry where models outnumber mimics. Models tend to be relatively closely related organisms, but mimicry of vastly different species is also known. Most known mimics are insects, though many other animal mimics including mammals are known. Plants and fungi may also be mimics, though less research has been carried out in this area.

Etymology

Use of the word mimicry dates back to 1637. It is derived from the Greek term ''mimetikos'', "imitative," in turn from ''mimetos'', the verbal adjective of ''mimeisthai'', "to imitate." Originally used to describe people, it was only applied to other forms of life after 1851.

Classification

Many types of mimicry have been described. An overview of each follows, highlighting the similarities and differences between the various forms. Classification is often based on function with respect to the mimic (e.g. avoiding harm). Some cases may belong to more than one class, e.g. automimicry and aggressive mimicry are not mutually exclusive, as one describes the species relationship between model and mimic, while the other describes the function for the mimic (obtaining food).

Defensive

Defensive or protective mimicry takes place when organisms are able to avoid encounters that would be harmful to them by deceiving enemies into treating them as something else. The first three such cases discussed here entail mimicry of organisms protected by warning colouration: Batesian mimicry, where a harmless mimic poses as harmful; Müllerian mimicry, where two or more harmful species mutually advertise themselves as harmful; and Mertensian mimicry, where a deadly mimic resembles a less harmful but lesson-teaching model. The fourth case, Vavilovian mimicry, where weeds resemble crops, is important for several reasons; and humans are the agent of selection.

Batesian

thumb|Some [[Hierococcyx varius|hawk-cuckoos resemble hawks like the Shikra.]] In Batesian mimicry the mimic shares signals similar to the model, but does not have the attribute that makes it unprofitable to predators (e.g. unpalatability). In other words, a Batesian mimic is a sheep in wolf's clothing. It is named after Henry Walter Bates, an English naturalist whose work on butterflies in the Amazon rainforest (including ''Naturalist on the River Amazons'') was pioneering in this field of study. Mimics are less likely to be found out when in low proportion to their model, a phenomenon known as negative frequency dependent selection which applies in most other forms of mimicry as well. This is not the case in Müllerian mimicry however, which is described next. Examples:

Lepidoptera

* The Ash Borer (''Podosesia syringae''), a moth of the Clearwing family (Sesiidae), is a Batesian mimic of the Common wasp because it resembles the wasp, but is not capable of stinging. A predator that has learned to avoid the wasp would similarly avoid the Ash Borer.

* Plain Tiger (''Danaus chrysippus'') – an unpalatable model with a number of mimics.

* Common Crow (''Euploea core'') – an unpalatable model with a number of mimics. See also under ''Müllerian mimicry'' below.

''Consul fabius'' and ''Eresia eunice'' imitate unpalatable ''Heliconius'' butterflies such as ''H. ismenius''.

Several palatable butterflies resemble different species from the highly noxious papilionine genus ''Battus''.

Several palatable moths produce ultrasonic click calls to mimic the unpalatable tiger moths.

The False Cobra (''Malpolon moilensis'') is a mildly venomous but harmless colubrid snake which mimics the characteristic "hood" of an Indian cobra's threat display. The Eastern Hognose Snake (''Heterodon platirhinos'') similarly mimics the threat display of venomous snakes.

The milk snake resembles the deadly coral snake.

Vespid wasps bear several harmless mimics including moths, beetles and hoverflies.

Octopuses of the genus ''Thaumoctopus'' (the Mimic Octopus) are able to intentionally alter their body shape and color so that they resemble dangerous sea snakes or lionfish.

Müllerian

Müllerian mimicry describes a situation where two or more species have very similar warning or aposematic signals and both share genuine anti-predation attributes (e.g. being unpalatable). At first Bates could not explain why this should be so; if both were harmful why did one need to mimic another? The German naturalist Fritz Müller put forward the first explanation for this phenomenon: If two species were confused with one another by a common predator, individuals in both would be more likely to survive. This type of mimicry is unique in several respects. Firstly, both the mimic and the model benefit from the interaction, which could thus be classified as mutualism in this respect. The signal receiver is also advantaged by this system, despite being deceived regarding species identity, as it avoids potentially harmful encounters. The usually clear identity of mimic and model are also blurred. In cases where one species is scarce and another abundant, the rare species can be said to be the mimic. When both are present in similar numbers however it is more realistic to speak of each as ''comimics'' than of a distinct 'mimic' and 'model' species, as their warning signals tend to converge toward something intermediate between the two. Also, the two species may exist on a continuum from harmless to highly noxious, so Batesian mimicry grades smoothly into Müllerian convergence.

Examples:

Lepidoptera

The Monarch Butterfly (''Danaus plexippus'') is a member of a Müllerian complex with the Viceroy butterfly (''Limenitis archippus'') in shared coloration patterns and display behavior. The Viceroy has subspecies with somewhat different coloration, each one very closely matching the local ''Danaus'' species. E.g., in Florida, the pairing is of the Viceroy and the Queen Butterfly, and in Mexico, the Viceroy resembles the Soldier Butterfly. Therefore, the Viceroy is a single species involved in three different Müllerian pairs. This example was long believed to be a case of Batesian mimicry, with the Viceroy being the mimic and the Monarch the model, but it was more recently determined that the Viceroy is actually the ''more'' unpalatable species, though there is considerable individual variation. While ''L. archippus'' is really bad-tasting, ''Danaus'' species tend to be toxic rather than just repugnant, due to their different food plants.

* Unpalatable ''Euploea'' species look very similar. See also under ''Batesian mimicry'' above.

The genus ''Morpho'' is palatable but some species (such as ''M. amathonte'') are very strong fliers; birds – even species which are specialized for catching butterflies on the wing – find it very hard to catch them. The conspicuous blue coloration shared by most ''Morpho'' species may be a case of Müllerian mimicry, or may be 'pursuit aposematism'.

The "orange complex" of species, including the heliconiines ''Agraulis vanillae'', ''Dryadula phaetusa'', and ''Dryas iulia'' which all taste bad.

Many different tiger moths make ultrasonic clicking calls to warn bats that they are unpalatable. Presumably a bat may learn to avoid ''any'' signalling moths, which would make this an example of Müllerian mimicry.

Various bees and numerous vespid and sphecoid wasps: These animals are examples of Müllerian mimics because they have the aposematic yellow and black stripes (sometimes black and red, or black and white). Females of most of these species are potentially harmful to predators, fulfilling the second requirement of Müllerian mimicry. However, in essentially all such species, the males are harmless, and can thus be considered automimics of their conspecific females (see below). There are also many genera in these groups where the females are not capable of stinging, and yet still possess aposematic coloration (e.g., the wasp genus ''Cerceris''), so they are considered Batesian mimics.

Emsleyan/Mertensian

''Emsleyan'' or ''Mertensian mimicry'' describes unusual cases where deadly prey mimic a less dangerous species. It was first proposed by Emsley as a possible answer for the problem of Coral Snake mimicry in the New World. It was elaborated on by the German biologist Wolfgang Wickler in a chapter of ''Mimicry in Plants and Animals'', who named it after the German herpetologist Robert Mertens. Sheppard points out that Hecht and Marien put forward a similar hypothesis ten years earlier.

This scenario is a little more difficult to understand, as in other types of mimicry it is usually the most harmful species that is the model. But if a predator dies, it cannot learn to recognize a warning signal, e.g. bright colors in a certain pattern. In other words, there is no advantage in being aposematic for an organism that is likely to kill any predator it succeeds in poisoning; such an animal would rather profit from being camouflaged, to avoid attacks altogether. If, however, there is some other species that is harmful but ''not'' deadly as well as aposematic, the predator may learn to recognize its particular warning colors and avoid such animals. A deadly species will then profit by mimicking the less dangerous aposematic organism, if this results in less attacks than camouflage would.

The exception here, ignoring any chance of animals learning by watching a conspecific die (see Jouventin ''et al.'' for a discussion of observational learning and mimicry), is the possibility of not having to learn that it is harmful in the first place: instinctive genetic programming to be wary of certain signals. In this case, other organisms could benefit from this programming, and Batesian or Müllerian mimics of it could potentially evolve. In fact, it has been shown that some species do have an innate recognition of certain aposematic warnings. Hand-reared Turquoise-browed Motmots (''Eumomota superciliosa''), avian predators, instinctively avoid snakes with red and yellow rings. Other colors with the same pattern, and even red and yellow ''stripes'' with the same width as rings, were tolerated. However, models with red and yellow rings were feared, with the birds flying away and giving alarm calls in some cases. This provides one alternative explanation to Mertensian mimicry. See Greene and McDiarmid for a review of the subject.

Examples: Some Milk Snake (''Lampropeltis triangulum'') subspecies (harmless), the moderately toxic False Coral Snakes (genus ''Erythrolamprus''), and the deadly Coral Snakes all have a red background color with black and white/yellow rings. In this system, both the milk snakes and the deadly coral snakes are mimics, whereas the false coral snakes are the model.

Wasmannian

Wasmannian mimicry refers to cases where the mimic resembles a model along with which it lives (inquiline) in a nest or colony. Most of the models here are social insects such as ants, termites, bees and wasps.

Mimetic weeds

Vavilovian mimicry describes weeds which come to share characteristics with a domesticated plant through artificial selection. It is named after Russian botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vavilov. Selection against the weed may occur either by manually killing the weed, or separating its seeds from those of the crop. The latter process, known as winnowing, can be done manually or by a machine.

Vavilovian mimicry presents an illustration of unintentional (or rather 'anti-intentional') selection by man. While some cases of artificial selection go in the direction desired, such as selective breeding, this case presents the opposite characteristics. Weeders do not want to select weeds that look increasingly like the cultivated plant, yet there is no other option. A similar problem in agriculture is pesticide. Vavilovian mimics may eventually be domesticated themselves, and Vavilov called these weeds-cum-crops ''secondary crops''.

It can be classified as defensive mimicry in that the weed mimics a protected species. This bears strong similarity to Batesian mimicry in that the weed does not share the properties that give the model its protection, and both the model and the dupe (in this case people) are harmed by its presence. There are some key differences, though; in Batesian mimicry the model and signal receiver are enemies (the predator would eat the protected species if could), whereas here the crop and its human growers are in a mutualistic relationship: the crop benefits from being dispersed and protected by people, despite being eaten by them. In fact, the crop's only 'protection' relevant here is its usefulness to humans. Secondly, the weed is not eaten, but simply destroyed. The only motivation for killing the weed is its effect on crop yields. Finally, this type of mimicry does not occur in ecosystems unaltered by humans.

One case is ''Echinochloa oryzoides'', a species of grass which is found as a weed in rice (''Oryza sativa'') fields. The plant looks similar to rice and its seeds are often mixed in rice and difficult to separate. This close similarity was enhanced by the weeding process which is a selective force that increases the similarity of the weed in each subsequent generation.

Protective egg decoys

Unlike the above forms of mimicry, ''Gilbertian mimicry'' involves only two species. The potential host/prey drives away its parasite/predator by mimicking it, the reverse of host-parasite aggressive mimicry. It was coined by Pasteur as a term for such rare mimicry systems, and is named after the American ecologist Lawrence E. Gilbert.

This form of protective mimicry occurs in the genus ''Passiflora''. The leaves of this plant contain toxins which deter herbivorous animals, however some ''Heliconius'' butterfly larvae have evolved enzymes which break down these toxins, allowing them to specialize on this genus. This has created further selection pressure on the host plants, which have evolved stipules that mimic mature ''Heliconius'' eggs near the point of hatching. These butterflies tend to avoid laying eggs near each existing ones, which helps avoid exploitative intraspecific competition between caterpillars—those that lay on vacant leaves provide their offspring with a greater chance of survival. Additionally, most ''Heliconius'' larvae are cannibalistic, meaning those leaves with older eggs will hatch first and eat the new arrivals. Thus, it seems such plants have evolved egg dummies due to these grazing herbivore enemies. The decoy eggs are also nectaries though, attracting predators of the caterpillars such as ants and wasps. The extent of their mimetic function is therefore slightly more difficult to assess.

The use of eggs is not essential to this system, only the species composition and protective function. Many other forms of mimicry also involve eggs, such as cuckoo eggs mimicking those of their host (the reverse of this situation), or plants seeds (often those with an elaiosome) being dispersed by ants, who treat them as they would their own eggs.

Protective mimicry within a species

''Browerian mimicry'', named after Lincoln P. Brower and Jane Van Zandt Brower, is a form of ''automimicry''; where the model belongs to the same species as the mimic. This is the analogue of Batesian mimicry within a single species, and occurs when there is a palatability spectrum within a population. One example is Monarch Butterflies (''Danaus plexippus''), which feed on milkweed species of varying toxicity. This species stores toxins from its host plant, which are maintained even in the adult (imago) form. As the levels of toxin will vary depending on diet during the larval stage, some individuals will be more toxic than others. The less palatable organisms will therefore be mimics of the more dangerous individuals, with their likeness already perfected. This need not be the case however; in sexually dimorphic species one sex may be more of a threat than the other, which could mimic the protected sex. Evidence for this possibility is provided by the behavior of a monkey from Gabon, which regularly ate male moths of the genus ''Anaphe'', but promptly stopped after it tasted a noxious female.

Aggressive

Aggressive mimicry describes predators (or parasites) which share the same characteristics as a harmless species, allowing them to avoid detection by their prey (or host). The mimic may resemble the prey or host itself, or another organism which is either neutral or beneficial to the signal receiver. In this class of mimicry the model may be affected negatively, positively or not at all. Just as parasites can be treated as a form of predator, host-parasite mimicry is treated here as a subclass of aggressive mimicry.

The mimic may have a particular significance for duped prey. One such case is spiders, amongst which aggressive mimicry is quite common in both luring prey and stealthily approaching predators. One case is the Golden Orb Weaver (''Nephila clavipes''), which spins a conspicuous golden colored web in well-lit areas. Experiments show that bees are able to associate the webs with danger when the yellow pigment is not present, as occurs in less well-lit areas where the web is much harder to see. Other colors were also learned and avoided, but bees seemed least able to effectively associate yellow pigmented webs with danger. Yellow is the color of many nectar bearing flowers, however, so perhaps avoiding yellow is not worth while. Another form of mimicry is based not on color but pattern. Species such as ''Argiope argentata'' employ prominent patterns in the middle of their webs, such as zigzags. These may reflect ultraviolet light, and mimic the pattern seen in many flowers known as nectar guides. Spiders change their web day to day, which can be explained by bee's ability to remember web patterns. Bees are able to associate a certain pattern with a spatial location, meaning the spider must spin a new pattern regularly or suffer diminishing prey capture.

Another case is where males are lured towards what would seem to be a sexually receptive female; the model in this situation being the same species as the dupe. Beginning in the 1960s, James E. Lloyd's investigation of female fireflies of the genus ''Photuris'' revealed they emit the same light signals that females of the genus ''Photinus'' use as a mating signal. Further research showed male fireflies from several different genera are attracted to these "femmes fatales", and are subsequently captured and eaten. Female signals are based on that received from the male, each female having a repertoire of signals matching the delay and duration of the female of the corresponding species. This mimicry may have evolved from non-mating signals that have become modified for predation.

The listrosceline katydid ''Chlorobalius leucoviridis'' of inland Australia is capable of attracting male cicadas of the Tribe Cicadettini by imitating the species-specific reply clicks of sexually receptive female cicadas. This example of acoustic aggressive mimicry is similar to the ''Photuris'' firefly case in that the predator's mimicry is remarkably versatile – playback experiments show that ''C. leucoviridis'' is able to attract males of many cicada species, including Cicadettine cicadas from other continents, even though cicada mating signals are species-specific.

Some carnivorous plants may also be able to increase their rate of capture through mimicry.

Luring is not a necessary condition however, as the predator will still have a significant advantage by simply not being identified as such. They may resemble a mutualistic symbiont or a species of little relevance to the prey.

A case of the latter situation is a species of cleaner fish and its mimic, though in this example the model is greatly disadvantaged by the presence of the mimic. Cleaner fish are the allies of many other species, which allow them to eat their parasites and dead skin. Some allow the cleaner to venture inside their body to hunt these parasites. However, one species of cleaner, the Bluestreak cleaner wrasse (''Labroides dimidiatus''), is the unknowing model of a mimetic species, the Sabre-toothed blenny (''Aspidontus taeniatus''). This wrasse, shown to the left cleaning a grouper of the genus ''Epinephelus'', resides in coral reefs in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and is recognized by other fishes who then allow it to clean them. Its imposter, a species of blenny, lives in the Indian Ocean and not only looks like it in terms of size and coloration, but even mimics the cleaner's 'dance'. Having fooled its prey into letting its guard down, it then bites it, tearing off a piece of its fin before fleeing the scene. Fish grazed upon in this fashion soon learn to distinguish mimic from model, but because the similarity is close between the two they become much more cautious of the model as well, such that both are affected. Due to victim's ability to discriminate between foe and helper, the blennies have evolved close similarity, right down to the regional level.

Another interesting example that does not involve any luring is the Zone-tailed Hawk, which resembles the Turkey Vulture. It flies amongst the vultures, suddenly breaking from the formation and ambushing its prey. Here the hawk's presence is of no evident significance to the vultures, affecting them neither negatively or positively.

Parasites

Parasites can also be aggressive mimics, though the situation is somewhat different from those outlined above.

Some of the predators described have a feature that draws prey, and parasites can also mimic their host's natural prey, but are eaten themselves, a pathway into their host. ''Leucochloridium'', a genus of flatworm, matures in the digestive system of songbirds, their eggs then passing out of the bird via the feces. They are then taken up by ''Succinea'', a terrestrial snail. The eggs develop in this intermediate host, and then must find of a suitable bird to mature in. As the host birds do not eat snails, so the sporocyst has another strategy to reach its host's intestine. They are brightly colored and move in a pulsating fashion. A sporocyst-sac pulsates in the snail's eye stalks, coming to resemble an irresistible meal for a songbird. In this way, it can bridge the gap between hosts, allowing it to complete its life cycle. A nematode (''Myrmeconema neotropicum'') changes the colour of the abdomen of workers of the canopy ant ''Cephalotes atratus'' to make it appear like the ripe fruits of ''Hyeronima alchorneoides''. It also changes the behaviour of the ant so that the gaster (rear part) is held raised. This presumably increases the chances of the ant being eaten by birds. The droppings of birds are collected by other ants and fed to their brood, thereby helping to spread the nematode.

In an unusual case, planidium larvae of some beetles of the genus ''Meloe'' will form a group and produce a pheromone that mimics the sex attractant of its host bee species; when the male bee arrives and attempts to mate with the mass of larvae, they climb onto his abdomen, and from there transfer to a female bee, and from there to the bee nest to parasitize the bee larvae.

Host-parasite mimicry is a two species system where a parasite mimics its own host. Cuckoos are a canonical example of brood parasitism, a form of kleptoparasitism where the mother has its offspring raised by another unwitting organism, cutting down the biological mother's parental investment in the process. The ability to lay eggs which mimic the host eggs is the key adaptation. The adaptation to different hosts is inherited through the female line in so-called gentes. Cases of ''intraspecific'' brood parasitism, where a female lays in conspecific's nest, as illustrated by the Goldeneye duck (''Bucephala clangula''), do not represent a case of mimicry.

Reproductive

Reproductive mimicry occurs when the actions of the dupe directly aid in the mimic's reproduction. This is common in plants, which may have deceptive flowers that do not provide the reward they would seem to. Other forms of mimicry have a reproductive component, such as Vavilovian mimicry involving seeds, and brood parasitism, which also involves aggressive mimicry.

Mimicry of flowers

''Bakerian mimicry'', named after Herbert G. Baker, is a form of automimicry where female flowers mimic male flowers of their own species, cheating pollinators out of a reward. This reproductive mimicry may not be readily apparent as members of the same species may still exhibit some degree of sexual dimorphism. It is common in many species of Caricaceae.

Like Bakerian mimicry, ''Dodsonian mimicry'' is a form of reproductive floral mimicry, but the model belongs to a different species than the mimic. The name refers to Calaway H. Dodson. By providing similar sensory signals as the model flower, it can lure its pollinators. Like Bakerian mimics, no nectar is provided. ''Epidendrum ibaguense'' of the family Orchidaceae resembles flowers of ''Lantana camara'' and ''Asclepias curassavica'', and is pollinated by Monarch Butterflies and perhaps hummingbirds. Similar cases are seen in some other species of the same family. The mimetic species may still have pollinators of its own though, for example a lamellicorn beetle which usually pollinates correspondingly colored ''Cistus'' flowers is also known to aid in pollination of ''Ophrys'' species that are normally pollinated by bees.

Pseudocopulation

''Pseudocopulation'' occurs when a flower mimics a female of a certain insect species, the males of which try to copulate with it. This is much like the aggressive mimicry in fireflies described above, but with a much more benign outcome for the pollinator. This form of mimicry has been called ''Pouyannian mimicry'', after Pouyanne, who first described the phenomenon. It is most common in orchids which mimic females of the order Hymenoptera (generally bees and wasps), and may account for around 60% of pollinations. Depending on the morphology of the flower, a pollen sac called a pollinia is attached to the head or abdomen of the male. This is then transferred to the stigma of the next flower the male tries to inseminate, resulting in pollination. Visual mimicry is the most obvious sign of this deception for humans, but the visual aspect may be minor or non-existent. It is the senses of touch and olfaction that are most important.

Inter-sexual mimicry

''Inter-sexual mimicry'' occurs when individuals of one sex in a species mimic members of the opposite sex. An example is the three male forms of the marine isopod, ''Paracerceis sculpta''. Alpha males are the largest and guard a harem of females. Beta males mimic females and manage to enter the harem of females without being detected by the alpha males allowing them to mate. Gamma males are the smallest males and mimic juveniles. This also allows them to mate with the females without the alpha males detecting them. Some male Australian Giant Cuttlefish also mimic females, allowing them to mate undetected by other males.

Automimicry

''Automimicry'' or ''intraspecific mimicry'' occurs within a single species, one case being where one part of an organism's body resembles another part. Examples include snakes in which the tail resembles the head and show behavior such as moving backwards to confuse predators and insects and fishes with eyespots on their hind ends to resemble the head. The term is also used when the mimic imitates other morphs within the same species. When males mimic females or ''vice versa'' this may be referred to as sexual mimicry.

Examples:

Many insects have filamentous "tails" at the ends of their wings which are combined with patterns of markings on the wings themselves to create a "false head" which misdirects predators (e.g., hairstreak butterflies).

Several pygmy owls bear "false eyes" on the back of their head to fool predators into believing the owl is alert to their presence.

The yellow throated males of the Common Side-blotched Lizard use a 'sneaking' strategy in mating. They look and behave like unreceptive females. This strategy is effective against 'usurper' males with orange throats, but ineffective against blue throated 'guarder' males, which will chase them away. Female hyenas have pseudo-penises which make them look like males.

Other

Some forms of mimicry do not fit easily within the classification given above.

Owl butterflies (genus ''Caligo'') bear eye-spots on the underside of their wings; if turned upside-down, their undersides resemble the face of an owl (such as the Short-eared Owl or the Tropical Screech Owl) for which in turn the butterfly predators – small lizards and birds – would be fooled. Thus it has been supposed that the eye-spots are a form of Batesian mimicry. However, the pose in which the butterfly resembles an owl's head is not normally adopted in life. Research suggests that eye-spots are not a form of mimicry and do not deter predators because they look like eyes. Rather the conspicuous contrast in the patterns on the wings deter predators.

Another case is floral mimicry induced by the discomycete fungus ''Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi''. In this unusual case, a fungal plant pathogen infects leaves of blueberries, causing them to secrete sugary substances including glucose and fructose, in effect mimicking the nectar of flowers. To the naked eye the leaves do not look like flowers, yet strangely they still attract pollinating insects like bees. As it turns out, the sweet secretions are not the only cues—the leaves also reflect ultraviolet, which is normally absorbed by the plant's leaves. Ultraviolet light is also employed by the host's flowers as a signal to insects, which have visual systems quite capable of picking up this low wavelength (300–400 nm) radiation. The fungus is then transferred to the ovaries of the flower where it produces mummified, inedible berries, which overwinter before infecting new plants. This case is unusual in that the fungus benefits from the deception, but it is the leaves which act as mimics, being harmed in the process. It bears similarity to host-parasite mimicry, but the host does not receive the signal. It also has a little in common with automimicry, but the plant does not benefit from the mimicry, and the action of the pathogen is required to produce it.

Evolution

It is widely accepted that mimicry evolves as a positive adaptation; that is, the mimic gains fitness gradually ''via'' convergent evolution which results in resemblance to another species. The lepidopterist (and sometime author) Vladimir Nabokov argued that although natural selection might stabilize a "mimic" form, it would not be necessary to create it. It may be that much of insect mimicry, including the Viceroy/Monarch mimicry, results from similar self-organizing processes, and thus the tendency for convergence by chance would be high.

The most widely accepted model used to explain the evolution of mimicry in butterflies is the two-step hypothesis. In this model the first step involves mutation in modifier genes that regulate a complex cluster of linked genes associated with large changes in morphology. The second step consists of selections on genes with smaller phenotypic effects and this leading to increasing closeness of resemblance. This model is supported by empirical evidence that suggests that there are only a few single point mutations that cause large phenotypic effects while there are numerous others that produce smaller effects. Some regulatory elements are now known to be involved in a supergene that is involved in the development of butterfly color patterns. Computational simulations of population genetics have also supported this idea.

See also

Animal colouration

Biomimicry

Community ecology

Evolutionary ecology

Code-breaking

Molecular mimicry

Preadaptation

Semiotics

Thanatosis ('playing dead')

Underwater camouflage and mimicry

Similar terms

''Mimetic'' is an adjective used to describe cases of mimicry, but is also used in mathematics (see mimetic). This should not be confused with memetics, the scientific study of memes.

Mimesis also refers to imitation, especially relating to the arts.

References

Further reading

Cott, H.B. (1940) ''Adaptive Coloration in Animals''. Methuen and Co, Ltd., London ISBN 0-416-30050-2

Wickler, W. (1968) ''Mimicry in Plants and Animals'' (Translated from the German) McGraw-Hill, New York. ISBN 0-07-070100-8

Edmunds, M. 1974. ''Defence in Animals: a survey of anti-predator defences''. Harlow, Essex and NY: Longman. ISBN 0-582-44132-3

Owen, D. (1980) ''Camouflage and Mimicry''. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217683-8

Brower, L. (ed., 1988). ''Mimicry and the evolutionary process''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-07608-3 (a supplement of volume 131 of the journal ''American Naturalist'' dedicated to E. B. Ford.)

Ruxton, G. D.; Speed, M. P.; Sherratt, T. N. (2004). ''Avoiding Attack: the evolutionary ecology of crypsis, warning signals and mimicry''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852860-4

An introductory book for a younger audience: Hoff, M. K. (2003) ''Mimicry and Camouflage''. Creative Education. Mankato, Minn. Great Britain. ISBN 1-58341-237-9

External links

Warning Colour and Mimicry Lecture outline from University College London

Camouflage and Mimicry in Fossils

Chemical Mimicry in Pollination

Learn about Butterflies Simple account.

* Category:Polymorphism

zh-min-nan:Gí-thài bg:Мимикрия ca:Mimetisme cs:Mimikry da:Mimicry de:Mimikry et:Mimikri es:Mimetismo eo:Kamuflimito fr:Mimétisme ko:의태 hi:अनुहरण hr:Mimikrija id:Mimikri it:Mimetismo he:חקיינות בטבע kk:Әлеуметтік мимикрия lt:Mimikrija hu:Mimikri ml:അനുകരണം ms:Kemimikan nl:Mimicry ja:擬態 no:Mimikry nn:Mimikry pl:Mimikra pt:Mimetismo ru:Мимикрия simple:Mimicry sl:Mimetizem sr:Мимикрија fi:Mimikry sv:Mimicry uk:Мімікрія yi:מימיקרי zh:拟态

name	Lalu Prasad Yadav
birth date	June 11, 1947
birth place	Gopalganj, Bihar)
residence	Patna
office	Ex Minister of Railways Government of India MP-Lok Sabha
constituency	Saran
party	RJD
religion	Hinduism
spouse	Rabri Devi
children	2 sons and 7 daughters
Date	September 25 |
year	2006 |
source	Lok Sabha members' biodata }}

Lalu Prasad Yadav (Devanāgarī: लालू प्रसाद यादव) is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. He is a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha from the Saran constituency in Bihar.

He entered politics during his student days at Patna University, and he was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 1977 as a Janata party candidate. At the age of 29 he was one of its youngest members of Parliament.

He is famous for his charismatic leadership and mass appeal, and has been criticized for caste-based politics. and the corruption cases against him.

Yadav served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from 1990 till 1997, when he resigned following escalating corruption charges in the Fodder Scam. From 1997 to 2005, with brief interruptions, his wife Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister. Her political opponents often accused her as having served as his "surrogate."

Biography

Lalu Prasad Yadav was born in Phulwaria, in the Gopalganj district of Bihar. His father's name was Kalu Prasad Yadav and his mother's name, Marchi Devi. He is a lawyer by education. He holds Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) and a Masters in Political Science from B. N. College, Patna, Patna University. He turned down Patna University's Honorary Doctorate in 2004. Lalu Prasad Yadav had his schooling, from 1st standard to 7th standard, at Bihar Military Police No-5 middle school.

Yadav married Rabri Devi on June 1, 1973. They have two sons and seven daughters.

Political career

Lalu Prasad Yadav entered politics as General Secretary of the Patna University Students' Union in 1970. He led the student movement inspired by Jai Prakash Narayan, Raj Narain, Karpoori Thakur and Satyendra Narayan Sinha. The former Chief Minister of Bihar and the then President of Bihar State Janata Party, Satyendra Narayan Sinha supported him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha and campaigned for him. He was elected as a member of the 9th Lok Sabha on a Janata Party ticket at the age 29, becoming one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament at the time.

In a span of 10 years, Yadav became a formidable force in Bihar State Politics. During the Indian general elections in 1989 and state assembly elections, he successfully led the National Front coalition in Bihar. It was, therefore, no surprise that he was elected the Chief Minister leaving behind Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister from the same party, when it came to power in the 1990 Assembly elections. The World Bank lauded his party for its work in the 1990s on the economic front.

A report was published by the BBC news in 1996 according to which the police unearthed a Rs. 1950 crore (US$ 267 Million), Fodder Scam in Bihar, which allegedly involved Yadav and the State's leading bureaucrats and politicians, albeit the probe itself was ordered by him. He claimed it to be an Opposition conspiracy to stop his political growth. The fodder scam forced Yadav to resign from the office of Chief Minister and he made his wife, Rabri Devi, his successor as the state's Chief Minister.

Rashtriya Janata Dal

Yadav formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal. According to Limca Book of Records, he is the longest serving president of an Indian Political Party. He remained in power in Bihar for more than one and a half decades. In November 2005 elections, his party, the RJD, could win just 54 seats, which put his party in third place, after the Janata Dal United (JDU) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nitish Kumar led coalition, consisting of JD(U) and BJP, came to power.

Tenure as a Union Minister

Yadav was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Chhapra and Madhepura seats of Bihar. He was able to defeat the high profile BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chhapra and the JD(U) president Sharad Yadav from Madhepura. He became the railway minister in the UPA Government. Later, he gave up the Madhepura seat.

Yadav banned plastic cups from being used to serve tea at railway stations and ordered that they be replaced by ''kulhar''s (earthen cups), to generate more employment in rural areas. Later, he also said that he had plans to introduce buttermilk and khādī. In June 2004, he announced that he would get on the railway himself to inspect its problems and went on to board the Patna railway station at midnight.

When he took over, the Indian Railways was a loss-making organization. In the 4 years under his leadership, it made a cumulative total profit of Rs. 25,000 crores (US $5.2 billion).

He left passenger fares untouched and found several other profitable sources of revenue for the Railways. He also improved on his first year's performance by stating a profit of 14,000 crores with decreased freight and unchanged passenger fares in 2006. Then, in the 2007 budget, he increased the profit level to 20,000 crores with the introduction of cushion seats in all unreserved compartments. In 2008, profits were 25,000 crores (equals US $6.25 billion @ $1~Rs.40)

Well known schools of management were interested in Yadav's leadership in managing the turnaround (with more or less the same IAS officers & the same workforce who worked under the previous ministers). He went to and addressed over a hundred students from Harvard, Wharton and others in Hindi. He has received invitations from 8 Ivy League schools for lectures. The turnaround of the Indian Railways is now being studied by the students of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Prof G. Raghuram, a faculty member, IIM-A, has already conducted a detailed study on the Railways turnaround.

In August 2008, CNN-IBN alleged that Yadav had misused his position as the Union Railway Minister to help his relatives acquire land. Earlier Railway ministers and his political opponents Mamata Banerjee & Nitish Kumar have raised doubts over Lalu's achievements.

In popular culture

Many books have been written in praise of Yadav by local writers including ''Lalu Chalisa'' and ''Lalu Hala''. Entertainers, in television and film industry, mimic Yadav for their profession. According to a media report, many local barbers and saloons are earning money offering what they call the ''Lalu style hair cut''. A barber of Hajipur was quoted as saying, "The style is a craze among the youth and even policemen". Yadav has been recognised as a brand on his own amongst a few industries in rural Bihar.

A Patna-based company launched "Lalu Khaini" (tobacco) in 2004, which was a hit. In 2005, Speedage Corp. introduced "Laluji" dolls that became popular with kids. In 2006, ''Lalu ka Khzana'', a chocolate produced by New Delhi-based Chetak company, became very popular with kids in rural areas of north Bihar districts like Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. The wrapper of the chocolate packet depicted two different caricatures of Lalu — one as a politician and the other as a magician. More than 100,000 packets were reportedly sold.

A cheap cosmetic pack brand, ''Lalu Chale Sasural'' ("Lalu goes to in-laws house"), became extremely popular among rural Bihari girls, especially in the areas of Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Samastipur. Each packet, priced at Rs. 23 (roughly half a USD), contains items of daily use like face powder, cream, earrings, sticker, and a necklace.

In June 2006, Prakash Agro Industries in Bihar started selling cattle fodder under the brand name ''Lalu Pashu Aahar''. It was reported that the outcome of this branding strategy had surpassed the company's expectations and they were facing problems in meeting the huge demand for their fodder.

Yadav has a sizable fan following in Bollywood, which includes actors Sunil Shetty and Raza Murad and directors Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahesh Bhatt to name a few. Indian actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is a political opponent of Yadav, once said, "Had Yadav not been a politician he could have been an actor". Mahesh Bhatt has gone to the extent of saying that Yadav deserves to become Prime Minister of India. A Bollywood movie titled ''Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav'' was released in 2004. Though his name appeared in the title, the movie was not about him, but had characters named ''Padmashreee'', ''Laloo'', ''Prasad'' and ''Yadav'', however the politician made a guest appearance in it.

These incidences are viewed by some people as an attempt by the mainstream media to make deliberate fun of Yadav's accent although the movie was not a big hit.

Criticisms and controversies

Corruption allegations

Yadav has been charged in several corruption cases, the most infamous being the "Fodder Scam" in which about Rs. 950 crores (US $211.85 million) were siphoned off from the animal husbandry department. Laloo Yadav has been an accused in many of the 63-odd cases filed. He has been remanded to custody on multiple occasions because of the number of cases. Over 64 people have been convicted in the case.

Yadav was first sent to "Judicial remand" (Bihar Military Police guest house, Patna) on July 30, 1997, for 134 days. On October 28, 1998, he was again sent to the same guest house for 73 days. When the Supreme Court of India took exception to his guest house stay, he had also moved to the Beur jail in Patna. He was later remanded for 11 days on April 5, 2000, in a disproportionate assets case. He surrendered along with his wife, Rabri Devi, and was sent to the Beur Jail. Due to the proceedings in the fodder scam, Yadav was remanded for a day in Beur jail on November 28, 2000.

On November 26, 2001, Yadav was again remanded, in a case related to the fodder scam. He accused the NDA of creating a conspiracy against him. On October 1, 2004, the Supreme Court of India served a notice to Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi, on the fodder scam. This was in response to a petition, which alleged that they have been interfering with late in the investigation. Since Laloo Yadav is currently a member of the Union Government at Delhi, the CBI has been accused of dragging its feet on the issue.

Accusations against the BJP

On August 5, 2004, Yadav claimed that L. K. Advani, a senior BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition was an accused in a conspiracy to kill Muhammad Ali Jinnah and described him as an 'international absconder'. On September 14, 2004, Lalu asked L. K. Advani to come clean on 'his involvement' in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

On September 28, 2004, Lalu alleged Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the then Union Rural Minister, of having sold 55,000 tonnes of wheat in the name of drought relief distribution in AP. "A CBI probe will be initiated to find the truth" he said.

Perceived institutional bias against Lalu Prasad Yadav

Although he has maintained a good relationship with the media, at times he has accused the media of being unfair, going so far as to threaten to sue certain media outlets for defamation. Although the Media bias against him has been recognised by certain sections of the press, he and his supporters have also claimed that the Election Commission of India has shown a bias against him on many occasions, the most recent being the last Bihar State Assembly Elections.

Positions held

1977: Elected to the 6th Lok Sabha at the age of 29.

1980–1989: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly (two terms).

1989: Becomes the leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chairman, Pustakalaya Committee, Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term).

1990–1995: Member of the Bihar Legislative Council.

1990–1997: Chief Minister of Bihar.

1995–1998: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

1996: Lalu's name springs up in a major scam.

1997: parts with the Janata Dal and forms the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

1998: Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term).

1998–1999: Member, General Purposes Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

2004: Re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (4th term). Appointed Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Railways. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha with his party emerging as a key member of the Congress.

2009: Re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha (5th term).

See also

List of Chief Ministers of Bihar

List of politicians in India charged with corruption

References and footnotes

External links

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Railways| | years = 25 May 2004 - 18 May 2009}} {{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Bihar| | years = 1990-1997}}

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Indian politicians Category:Chief Ministers of Bihar Category:People from Bihar Category:14th Lok Sabha members Category:Rashtriya Janata Dal politicians Category:Finance Ministers of Bihar Category:15th Lok Sabha members Category:Railway Ministers of India Category:V. P. Singh administration

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This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542-1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736-1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), Empress of Russian

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman Emperor

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553-1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007-1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057-1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440-1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358-1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398-1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010-1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326-1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238-1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076-1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633-1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555-1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672-1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239-1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082-1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397-1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433-1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734-1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336-1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131-1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020-1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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background	solo_singer
name	Sunidhi Chauhan
birth name	Nidhi Chauhan
born	August 14, 1983 New Delhi, India
origin	Indian
instrument	Vocalist
genre	playback singing, Indipop
occupation	Singer
years active	1996–present
spouse	Bobby Khan (2002-2003)
website	}}

Sunidhi Chauhan (; born Nidhi Chauhan on 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs.

Chauhan began to sing at the age of four and was discovered by a local TV anchor. She won recognition through a televised singing contest, ''Meri Awaz Suno'', which she won, and made her entrance into playback singing with the Hindi film ''Shastra''.

Her breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma's film ''Mast'', in which she sang the hit song, "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi." She has been nominated for fourteen Filmfare Awards, winning it on three occasions. She has won two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards and one Zee Cine Award.

Early career

Sunidhi Chauhan family hail from U.P she started her singing career as a child, giving her first performance at the age of four, in a local temple in Delhi. Thereafter, she began to participate in, and sing for, competitions and local gatherings. When local TV anchor, Tabassum, spotted her talent, her family shifted to Mumbai in a bid to further develop the young singer's skills, and Chauhan became the lead singer in Kalyanji's 'Little Wonders' troupe.

Recognition first met her in 1996, through the music show ''Meri Aawaz Suno'' — the first such televised contest in India — which was broadcast through the Indian national television channel, Doordarshan. She won the competition and bagged the top prize of recording an album, ''Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira'', with HMV.

Unluckily for Chauhan, ''Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira'' was promoted as a children's album and failed to get the recognition it deserved. In 2002, Chauhan herself observed this in an interview:

"My first song and the contest did not help me much. Nothing happened for a while. But by then, I had made up my mind that I will pursue singing as a career."

Chauhan stepped into the world of playback singing with the 1996 Bollywood film, ''Shastra'', after Aadesh Srivastava asked her to lend her voice to the song "Larki Deewaani Dekho, Ladka Deewaana." She followed it with work in films like ''Gang'', ''Veergati'', ''Dahek'', ''Bade Dilwala'', ''Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat'' and ''Samar''. By the age of nineteen, Chauhan had already lent her voice to over 350 songs.

Breakthrough and later work

Chauhan's breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma's ''Mast'', in which she sang the hit song, "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" and three others, including the title song. In an interview, while speaking of ''Mast'', she said:

"Whatever I am today, I owe to ''Mast''. I met Sandeep Chowta through Sonu Nigam, and fifteen days later, ''Mast'' was in my lap. I was only sixteen then."

In February 2007, as part of its marketing campaign and launch of Windows Vista in India, Microsoft hired Sunidhi Chauhan to sing the "Windows Vista Song" titled "Wow is Now". This song features English and Hindi lyrics proclaiming the many 'glamorous' features of the Windows Vista operating system.

Chauhan sung for the Hindi-dubbed version of Disney's movie, ''High School Musical'' — songs which were sung by Vanessa Anne Hudgens in the English version. Moreover, she was the singer of the English language song "Reach Out" at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar.

2008 was a highly successful year for the young singer, as she went on to deliver a huge number of superhit songs like "Chhaliya" (''Tashan''), "Rock Mahi," "Lucky Boy," "Desi Girl" (''Dostana''), "Dance Pe Chance" (''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''), and "Race Saanson Ki" (''Race''), and which resulted in her winning the "Kelvinator GR8! FLO Women Award 2009" for her contribution to music.

In April 2010, Chauhan joined Anu Malik and Salim Merchant as a judge on the fifth season of the immensely popular singing talent show, Indian Idol 5.

Collaborations

Chauhan has collaborated with Indian singers such as Alka Yagnik, Shaan, Udit Narayan, and is known for her popular pairing with Sukhwinder Singh (in films such as ''Omkara and Aaja Nachle''). She is most often paired with singer Sonu Nigam, and with the successful female playback singer Shreya Ghoshal, whom many view as a stiff competition for Chauhan.

She has also collaborated with Enrique Iglesias, on a song titled as "Heartbeat (India Mix)" which was included on Iglesias' album ''Euphoria'' (Special Indian Edition).

Lyricists she has worked with include Jaideep Sahni, Irshad Kamil, Gulzar, Sameer, Prasoon Joshi, Swanand Kirkire, the late Anand Bakshi and Javed Akhtar; music directors include Bappi Lahiri, A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Yuvan, Himesh Reshammiya, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam Chakraborty, Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem-Shravan, Anand-Milind, Vishal-Shekhar, M. M. Keeravani and others.

Chauhan is one of the few female singers of the present generation who have lent their voice for nearly every leading actress in the Indian entertainment industry, including Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Konkona Sen Sharma and more. She has also sung for actresses of yesteryear cinema, such as Rekha. She was the main singer who lent her voice for the comebacks of two leading Bollywood actresses: Kajol, in the movie ''Fanaa'', and Madhuri Dixit, in ''Aaja Nachle''.

Vocal ability

Chauhan's voice has been described as "powerful," "amazing," "husky ... [and] sensuous". However, it has been noted that Chauhan can not hit high notes without losing some tonal quality, and people have cited her voice more suited to fast and pop songs, as compared to slow ones.

In 2007, while discussing Chauhan's popular song "Beedi Jailaile," actress Bipasha Basu (on whom the song was picturised) said, "Sunidhi is a goddess. Her singing is so powerful. She added another dimension to my dancing."

Indian singer, Lata Mangeshkar has called Chauhan "one of the finest young singers." Ironically, Chauhan's item numbers have been said to mark the end of the "squeaky Lata era", a period when Mangeshkar's style of soft voice and classical music were preferred over racy or fast pop songs.

Special appearances

In October 2008, Chauhan appeared on a special episode of the singing contest, Star Voice of India, alongside composer Ashu Dhruv, to promote their film, ''Drona.''

She was a guest RJ for India's Radio City 91.1 FM's new morning show, ''Musical-e-Azam'' where, over her week-long stint, she interviewed the likes of Kunal Ganjawala, Daler Mehendi, Sukhwindar, Adnan Sami and Gulzar.

Personal life

Chauhan was born in Delhi. Her father is a minor theatre personality who pushed her into the music industry from a young age. She has a younger sister, Suneha.

She completed her schooling from Greenway Modern School, Dilshad Garden.

Chauhan, who believes herself to be "the most versatile singer today," attributes her success to her parents and Indian singer Sonu Nigam. She has cited ''Sadma'' (1983) as her favourite film; gymnastics and cricket as her favourite sports; and Akshaye Khanna and Madhuri Dixit as her favourite actors. Chauhan also loves western music and cites Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson as her inspirations. She has noted that one of her ambitions is to achieve global fame like they did. She is known for her admiration of international divas Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

After entering the film industry, Chauhan upgraded her wardrobe and lost twelve kilos by jogging and working out. In an early interview, she revealed a "secret dream" of seeing herself as a Bollywood actress, saying, "I have many acting offers too, but I don't want to rush it. Frankly, I would like to do just one or two films to fulfill that secret dream of seeing myself as an actress. But my life is singing and my aim is to keep singing better."

In 2002, at the age of 18, Chauhan eloped with director and choreographer Bobby Khan, after working on the music video for "Pehla Nasha." It was reported that the couple married in a secretly arranged ceremony, attended only by very close friends and vigilantly watched over by security.

Chauhan was initially happy with the marriage. In an interview, she said:

"My in-laws don't make me feel I am 'married'. I don't feel I have stepped into a new house. I am so comfortable. And Bobby is a darling. I am very, very happy."

On the downside, the marriage caused a rift between the young singer and her parents, who considered the union unsuitable and consequently disowned her. However, Chauhan and Khan separated a year later, bringing about a reconciliation between the estranged parents and daughter. Chauhan, who lived with mentor, actor and TV anchor, Annu Kapoor and his wife Arunita during the separation, filed for divorce the same year, citing that she had realized she and Khan "wanted different things from life."

Filmography

''Ehsaas'' - A Feeling (Released November 30, 2001) [Special Appearance]

''Bhoot'' [Special Appearance in Promotional Song Bhoot Hoon Main]

''Bas Ek Pal'' [Special Appearance in Promotional Song Dheeme Dheeme with singer K.K.]

Awards and honors

{| class=wikitable |- !Year !Category !Song and Film !Result |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Filmfare Awards |- | 2000 | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Ruki Ruki" (''Mast'') || Nominated |- | rowspan=2|2001 | R. D. Burman Award for Most Promising Newcomer || || Winner |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Mehboob Mere" (''Fiza'') || Nominated |- | 2005 || Best Playback Singer - Female || "Dhoom Machale" (''Dhoom'') || Nominated |- | rowspan=2|2006 | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Kaisi Paheli" (''Parineeta'') || Nominated |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Deedar De" (''Dus'') || Nominated |- | rowspan=3|2007 | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Beedi" (''Omakara'') || Winner |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Soniye" (''Aksar'') || Nominated |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Aashiqui Main" (''36 China Town'') || Nominated |- | rowspan=2|2008 | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Aaja Nachle" (''Aaja Nachle'') || Nominated |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Sajnaji Vari Vari" (''Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'') || Nominated |- | 2009 || Best Playback Singer - Female || "Dance Pe Chance" (''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)'' || Nominated |- | 2010 || Best Playback Singer - Female || "Chor Bazari" ('' Love Aaj Kal)'' || Nominated |- | rowspan=2|2011 | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Udi" ('' Guzaarish)'' || Nominated |- | Best Playback Singer - Female || "Sheila Ki Jawani" ('' Tees Maar Khan)'' || Winner |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Star Screen Awards |- | 2001 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Bhumro'' for Mission Kashmir || Nominated |- | 2004 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''"Meri Zindagi Mein Aaye Ho'' for Armaan || Nominated |- | 2004 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Sajna Ve Sajna'' for Chameli || Winner |- | 2005 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Dhoom Machale'' (''Dhoom'') || Nominated |- | 2006 || Best Playback Singer - Female || "Kaisi Paheli" (Parineeta) || Nominated |- | 2007 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Beedi Jalaile'' for Omkara || Winner |- | 2008 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Sajnaji Vaari'' for Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. || Nominated |- | 2009 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Dance Pe Chance'' for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi || Nominated |- | 2010 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Chor Bazari'' for Love Aaj Kal || Nominated |- | 2011 || Best Playback Singer - Female || ''Sheila Ki Jawani'' for Tees Maar Khan || Nominated |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Awards of the International Indian Film Academy |- | 2001 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Mehboob Mere'' for Fiza || Nominated |- | rowspan=2|2005 | Best Female Playback Singer] || ''Dhoom Machale'' for Dhoom || Winner |- | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Sajna Ve'' for Chameli || Nominated |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|2006 | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Kaisi Paheli'' for Parineeta || Nominated |- | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Deedar De'' for Dus || Nominated |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|2007 | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Crazy Kiya Re'' for Dhoom 2 || Nominated |- | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Beedi Jalaile'' for Omkara || Winner |- | 2008 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Aaja Nachle'' for Aaja Nachle || Nominated |- | 2009 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Desi Girl'' for Dostana || Nominated |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Zee Cine Awards |- | rowspan=2|2005 | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Dhoom Machale'' for Dhoom || Winner |- | Best Female Playback Singer || ''Kaise Paheli Zindagi'' for Parineeta || Nominated |- | 2007 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Beedi Jalaile'' for Omkara || Nominated |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Apsara Awards |- | 2005 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Dhoom Machale'' for Dhoom || Nominated |- | 2008 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Aaaja Nachle'' (Aaja Nachle) || Nominated |- | 2011 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Ainvayi Ainvayi'' (Band Baaja Baaraat) || Nominated |- | 2011 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Sheila Ki Jawani'' (Tees Maar Khan) || Winner |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Global Indian Film Awards |- | 2006 || Best Female Playback Singer || ''Beedi Jalaile'' (Omkara) || Nominated |- | style="text-align:center;" colspan="5"| |}

Bengali Film

10:10. Director Arin Paul

Kannada Film

Mungaru Male. Director Yograj Bhat

References

External links

Official website

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Idol series judges Category:People from Delhi Category:People from Mumbai Category:Indian pop singers Category:Indian singers Category:Indian television personalities Category:Rajput people

fr:Sunidhi Chauhan ml:സുനീതി ചൗഹാൻ mr:सुनिधी चौहान ur:سنیدھی چوہان

Name	Plaxico Burress
Width	163
Currentteam	New York Jets
Currentnumber	17
Currentposition	Wide receiver
Birth date	August 12, 1977
Birth place	Norfolk, Virginia
Heightft	6
Heightin	5
Weight	232
Debutyear	2000
Debutteam	Pittsburgh Steelers
College	Michigan State
Draftyear	2000
Draftround	1
Draftpick	8
Pastteams	Pittsburgh Steelers (–) New York Giants (–) New York Jets (–present)
Status	Active
Highlights	Super Bowl champion (XLII) BBI Giant of the Year Award (2007) 2× All-Big Ten (1998–1999) Capital One Bowl MVP Citrus Bowl MVP
Statweek	17
Statseason	2008
Statlabel1	Receptions
Statvalue1	505
Statlabel2	Receiving yards
Statvalue2	7,845
Statlabel3	Receiving TDs
Statvalue3	55
Nfl	BUR595691 }}

Plaxico Antonio Burress ( ; born August 12, 1977) is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New York Giants, when they won Super Bowl XLII. He served a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to weapons charges.

College career

Burress set a Big Ten Conference single-season record by catching 65 passes in his first season at Michigan State, and also excelled on the special-teams coverage units, using his outstanding leaping ability as a kick blocker. He ranks second in career touchdown catches (20), third in receptions (131), and fourth in receiving yards (2,155) in just two seasons at Michigan State University. He was an All-American second-team selection by SportsPage.com and an All-Big Ten Conference first-team pick in 1999. Burress broke his own school season-record that he set in 1998 (65 catches) with 66 receptions for 1,142 yards (17.3 avg) and 12 touchdowns. He established Spartans' single-season-record 12 touchdown receptions, eclipsing the previous record of eight that Burress shared (1998) with Andre Rison (1988) and Bob Carey (1949). He forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble, and registered seven tackles (five solos) on special teams. Burress then set a school record with 255 yards receiving on ten catches against the University of Michigan. He finally closed out his career with a school-record 13 receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns against the University of Florida in the 2000 Citrus Bowl. He also broke the single-game record of 12 receptions set by tight end Mitch Lyons in 1992. In 1996, he caught 33 passes for 807 yards (24.5 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. Burress was an All–Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1998 by The Sports Network, and he earned second-team accolades from the league's media. He shared Spartan Outstanding Underclass Back Award honors with tailback Sedrick Irvin and wide receiver Gari Scott. Also, he started All Year at split end and established a school season-record with 65 receptions, topping the previous mark of 60 catches by Courtney Hawkins in 1989. He had more than 100 yards receiving in four games and is ranked third in the conference with an average of 84.4 yards per game and fifth in the conference with an average of 5.4 catches per game. He recorded six solo tackles and forced a fumble on special teams.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

After being drafted eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, Burress went on to play five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, amassing 261 receptions for 4,164 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six fumbles over the span of 71 games. Burress was featured on the MTV show True Life, documenting his rookie season. He first broke the 1,000-yard mark in his second season, gaining 1,008 yards on 66 receptions. Burress's best season with the Steelers came in 2002, when he set his career highs for receptions (78) and yards (1,325), to go along with seven touchdowns. Also in 2002, Burress played in his first career playoff game, accumulating six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. In three subsequent playoff games with the Steelers, Burress totaled only seven receptions, 123 yards, and one touchdown.

Burress's 1,008-yard season in 2001, combined with Hines Ward's 1,003 receiving yards, gave the Steelers their first pair of 1,000-yard receivers. The two would combine to accomplish the same feat in 2002. On November 10, 2002, Burress took advantage of an extra 15 minutes of play to set a Steelers franchise record with 253 receiving yards in a 34–34 tie against the Atlanta Falcons. He caught nine passes and scored two touchdowns in the game.

New York Giants

On January 23, 2005, after a playoff defeat, Burress announced his intentions to leave the Steelers. On March 17, he signed a six-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants.

In his first season playing for New York, Burress caught 76 passes for 1,214 yards, helping the team earn an 11–5 record, good enough for first place in the NFC East as well as the NFC's fourth seed. However, they were shutout 23–0 by the Carolina Panthers in the opening round of the 2005–06 NFL playoffs.

In the 2006 season, Burress managed a career high in touchdowns with ten but fell short of the 1,000-yard mark, appearing in only 15 games and struggling with a groin injury for much of the year. The Giants dropped six of their last eight games and fell in the NFC Wild Card playoffs to the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles 23–20. Burress had a touchdown catch on the opening drive and finished the game with five receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

In 2007, Burress was the Giants' top receiver with 70 receptions for 1,025 yards, despite not practicing all season because of his ailing ankle. He also set a franchise playoff record in the NFC title game in Green Bay with 11 receptions for 154 yards as the Giants advanced to Super Bowl XLII.

In Super Bowl XLII, Burress caught the game-winning pass that made the score 17–14 in the Giants favor. He gained some measure of "Super Bowl legend" by predicting a Giants win, and by further saying that the Patriots would be beaten by the score 23–17. Also, Burress was suffering from a serious leg injury and had very limited work in pregame practice so he was able to get treatment and play in the Super Bowl. Ironically, Burress' limited work benefited the Giants in the Super Bowl because David Tyree received more repetitions in practice as Burress was recovering, and Tyree went on to make the "Helmet Catch" and a touchdown reception in the Super Bowl.

Before their May mini-camp, Burress and his fellow teammates were invited by former President George W. Bush to the White House on April 30, 2008 to honor their victory in Super Bowl XLII.

Just before the start of the Giants mandatory May mini-camp, Burress had said that he would not participate in the camp because he was upset with his contract. He attended the camp to avoid paying a fine but refused to practice with the team. Although he was slated to receive $3.25 million for 2008, Burress felt underpaid compared to other star receivers. After indicating that he might hold out training camp as well, he joined, but practiced very little, claiming his ankle was injured.

On September 24, 2008, the team announced that Burress would be suspended for the game on October 5 for a violation of team rules. He did not show up for work on a Monday and could not be reached by phone for two days. This was not the first time that Burress had been temporarily suspended by an NFL team—in May 2004, he was suspended by the Pittsburgh Steelers for failing to show up for a Monday team practice. On October 24 he was issued three fines totaling $45,000 for the following reasons:

# $20,000 for post game comments regarding officiating—specifically, inappropriate comments on officiating. # $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct—specifically, verbal abuse of the head linesman. # $5,000 for throwing the ball in the stands.

Burress signed a five-year, $35 million contract extension prior to the season. However, it was an incentive laced deal, there is $11.5 million in non-guaranteed base salaries in the contract, non-guaranteed roster bonuses of $3.5 million, non-guaranteed escalators of $5 million based on performance and $1.3 million in non-guaranteed workout bonuses among other things. According to various reports, the Giants would be able to cut or trade Burress after the season and get $23 million taken off their books.

On November 2, in the second quarter of the Giants first regular-season game against the Dallas Cowboys, Burress caught his 500th career reception. On November 23, 2008 Burress started the game against the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona after being considered questionable with a hamstring injury. The first play of the game he had a 4 yard reception but it was called back on a penalty. Burress left the game and did not return in what would be his final appearance with the Giants.

Burress was released by the Giants on April 3, 2009, when it was apparent his court case would take longer than expected to resolve.

New York Jets

Burress agreed to a one-year contract worth approximately $3.017 million guaranteed with the New York Jets on July 31, 2011.

Legal troubles

Domestic disturbances

In August and September 2008, Totowa police responded to two domestic disturbance calls at the Burress household. At both times temporary restraining orders were issued that were later dismissed by state court.

Accidental shooting

On November 28, 2008, Burress suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right thigh in the New York City nightclub LQ when his Glock pistol, tucked in the waistband of his sweatpants, began sliding down his leg; apparently in reaching for the gun he inadvertently depressed the trigger, causing the gun to fire. The injury was not life-threatening and he was released from an area hospital the next afternoon. Two days later, Burress turned himself in to police to face charges of criminal possession of a handgun. It was later discovered that New York City police learned about the incident only after seeing it on television and were not called by New York-Presbyterian Hospital as required by law. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the hospital actions an "outrage" and stated that they are a "chargeable offense". Bloomberg also urged that Burress be prosecuted to the fullest extent, saying that any punishment short of the minimum 3½ years for unlawful carrying of a handgun would be "a mockery of the law." Burress had an expired (concealed carry (CCW)) license from Florida, but no New York license.

On December 2, 2008, Burress posted bail of $100,000. Later in the day, Burress reported to Giants Stadium as per team policy for injured but active players and was told he would be suspended without pay for the remaining four games of the 2008 regular season for conduct detrimental to the team. In addition, the Giants placed Burress on their reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he was ineligible to return for the playoffs. Burress was also scheduled to receive $1 million from his signing bonus on December 10, 2008, initially withheld by the team. The NFL Players Association filed a grievance, saying the team violated the collective bargaining agreement and challenging the suspension and fine received by Burress. A Special Master in arbitration subsequently ruled that the Giants must deliver the entire $1 million to Burress, as per the collective bargaining agreement. "To think that a player could carry a loaded gun into a nightclub, shoot himself and miss the rest of the season but get to keep his entire signing bonus illustrates one of the serious flaws in the current system," said Giants co-owner John Mara in a statement afterward.

On December 23, 2008, a search of Burress' New Jersey home by the Totowa, New Jersey Police, the New York Police Department and investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney turned up a 9 mm handgun, a rifle, ammunition and the clothing believed to be worn by Burress on the night of his accidental shooting. On June 12, 2009 Burress' attorney Benjamin Brafman announced that he had been unable to reach a sentencing agreement.

Burress asked a Manhattan grand jury for sympathy during two hours of testimony on July 29, 2009. On Monday, August 3, 2009, prosecutors announced that Burress had been indicted by the grand jury on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and a single count of reckless endangerment in the second degree, both felonies.

On August 20, 2009, Burress accepted a plea deal that would put him in prison for two years with an additional two years of supervised release. His sentencing was held on September 22, 2009. Burress hired a prison consultant to advise him on what to expect while in prison. In January 2010, Burress applied for and was denied a work release from prison. On June 6, 2011, Burress was released from a protective custody unit of the Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York.

Civil lawsuits

He has a civil lawsuit, filed on December 8, 2008, pending against him in Broward County, Florida, where a woman claims that his $140,000 Mercedes-Benz collided with the back of her car. The suit claims that Burress was liable for causing permanent injuries to the woman. Burress's car insurance policy had been cancelled three days before the accident due to nonpayment of the premium.

In January 2009, Burress was the defendant in a civil lawsuit brought against him by a Lebanon County, Pennsylvania car dealer, who claimed that Burress was given a leased Chevrolet Avalanche in return for promises to appear at publicity events for the dealership. The dealer claimed that Burress never returned the car and never attended any publicity events; the damaged car was eventually returned after being impounded by the New York Police Department. Burress acknowledged that he was responsible for some of the damage to the car, but asked a jury to determine the amount. On January 15, 2009 the jury returned a verdict awarding only $1,700 to the dealer, who had asked for damages of up to $19,000. According to the Associated Press, Burress has been sued at least nine times since he joined the NFL in 2000.

Driving violations

Burress was pulled over by Florida police on March 11, 2009 and ticketed for four separate moving violations: speeding, improper display of tags, improper lane change and for improper window tinting. The charges were subsequently dismissed by a Fort Lauderdale magistrate "because the officer ... didn't supply information on how to pay the tickets."

Personal

Plaxico Burress, named after his uncle, was born to Vicki Burress (now deceased) in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. He has two brothers, Ricardo and Carlos. Burress is married to Tiffany Glenn and has one son, Elijah and a daughter, Giovanna, born November 2009. Burress graduated from Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1996, and spent a post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia. He lives in Totowa, New Jersey. He co-wrote the book ''Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl'' (ISBN 978-0-06-169574-2), published July 1, 2008 by It Books, about his Super Bowl experience.

References

External links

New York Giants bio

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Norfolk, Virginia Category:People from Passaic County, New Jersey Category:Players of American football from New Jersey Category:Players of American football from Virginia Category:American football wide receivers Category:Michigan State Spartans football players Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players Category:New York Giants players Category:New York Jets players Category:American shooting survivors Category:Prisoners and detainees of New York Category:21st-century American criminals Category:American prisoners and detainees

da:Plaxico Burress de:Plaxico Burress fr:Plaxico Burress it:Plaxico Burress pt:Plaxico Burress