forum, in Roman cities in antiquity, multipurpose, centrally located open area that was surrounded by public buildings and colonnades and that served as a public gathering place. It was an orderly spatial adaptation of the Greek agora, or marketplace, and acropolis.

In the laws of the Twelve Tables the word is used for the vestibule of a tomb; in a Roman camp the forum was an open place beside the praetorium, and the term was originally applied generally to the space in front of any public building  or gateway.

In Rome itself the word forum denoted the flat and formerly marshy space between the Palatine and Capitoline hills (also called forum Romanum), which even during the regal period accommodated such public meetings as could not be held within the area Capitolina. In early times the forum Romanum was used for gladiatorial games, and over the colonnades were galleries for spectators; there were also shops of various kinds. Under the Roman Empire, when the forum became primarily a centre for religious and secular spectacles and ceremonies, it was the site of many of the city’s  most imposing temples and monuments. Among the structures surviving in whole or in part are the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of the Deified Caesar, the Mamertine Prison, the Curia (Senate house), the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Romulus, the Arch of Titus, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Cloaca Maxima.

Also during the imperial period a considerable number of new forums, the fora civilia (judicial) and venalia (mercantile), came into existence. In addition to the forum Romanum, the forums of Caesar and Augustus belonged to the former class, the forum boarium (cattle), holitorium (vegetable), etc., to the latter.

The 1st-century-BC architect Vitruvius stated that the ideal forum should be large enough to accommodate a large crowd but not so large as to dwarf a small one. He proposed a 3:2 length-to-breadth ratio. It is to this proportion that Trajan’s Forum in Rome was erected early in the 2nd century AD. Commissioned by the emperor Trajan and designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, it measures approximately 920 by 620 feet (about 280 by 190 m) and covers about 25 acres (10 ha). Persons entered through a triple gateway into a colonnaded open space lined with merchants’ booths. The forum is flanked by two semicircular, colonnaded exedrae. Opposite the gateway is the Basilica Ulpia, beyond which is Trajan’s Column, carved with relief sculpture depicting Trajan’s victories. The aesthetic harmony of this space has influenced many subsequent town  planners.

The forum was generally paved, and, although on festal occasions chariots were driven through, it was not a thoroughfare and was enclosed by gates at the entrances, of which traces have been found at Pompeii.

The Society finch (Lonchura striata domestica), also known as the Bengali finch  or Bengalese finch, is a domesticated subspecies of estrildid finch. It became a popular cage and trade bird after appearing in European zoos in the 1860s through being imported from Japan, though it was domesticated in China. Coloration and behavior were modified through centuries of selection in Asia, then later in Europe and North America.[1]

The double-barred finch (Stizoptera bichenovii) is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as the owl finch, the latter of which owing to the dark ring of feathers around the face. It is the only species placed in the genus Stizoptera .

The red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis) is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may also be found in dry forest and mangrove habitats in tropical regions.

The Sunda zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a species of bird in the family Estrildidae. It is found in the Lesser Sundas.

The zebra finches are two species of estrildid finch in the genus Taeniopygia found in Australia and Indonesia. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks.

The Australian zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis)[2] is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia. It ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool humid south and some areas of the tropical far north. The bird has been introduced to Puerto Rico and Portugal.[1] Due to the ease of keeping and breeding the zebra finch in captivity, it has become Australia's most widely studied bird; by 2010, it was the most studied captive model passerine species worldwide, by a considerable margin.[3]

Vitta zebra, commonly known as the zebra nerite, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.[

Sagittunio nasutus, the eastern pondmussel, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.[

The blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), also known as the common mussel,[1] is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the only extant family in the order  Mytilida, known as "true mussels". Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a large range, the blue mussel leaves empty shells that are commonly found on beaches around the world.

The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids.[1][2]