Bloop Bloop

He|Ze 21 I love giant tube worms and the Paleozoic Era

[werewolf-transgenderism]

only 62 more frogs until we hit 8,000 species described. the moment we've all been waiting for

[werewolf-transgenderism]

there are an average of about 150 new amphibian species described per year so I remain hopeful that 2026 will be the year of 8,000 frogs

[werewolf-transgenderism]

I do love that somebody tagged tumblr's own frog scientist on this post. chop chop dr scherz, we've got 62 more frogs to discover and you're the only frog scientist any of us knows

[werewolf-transgenderism]

GUYS amphibian species of the world is still at 7,994 species of frog BUT amphibiaweb is at 8,008 species of frog, and do you know who is a co-author on the 8,000th species of frog there???? TUMBLR'S OWN FROG SCIENTIST DR SCHERZ

[markscherz]

[thats-no-moon-lesbian]

Is the discrepancy due to taxonomic arguments between lumpers and splitters/the validity of cryptic species/subspecies or do the websites just have different policies for updating the numbers?

[markscherz]

Both, actually! Amphibian Species of the World (ASW) is pretty much exclusively updated by one man, Darrel Frost, and consequently has a rather consistent, if sometimes somewhat particular, taxonomic perspective (this means he looks at the quality of taxonomic works and assesses them before adding them to the database). In contrast, AmphibiaWeb is maintained by a much larger team, and they seem to be less exacting on the whole about which new species are added to their database (and also somewhat less consistent when it comes to updating across the database after there have been major taxonomic changes).

But fundamentally the two databases serve different purposes: ASW is a 'real' taxonomic database, providing detailed reports on taxonomically relevant details like specimen numbers, original publication data, discourse around subsequent taxonomic changes, etc. In contrast, AmphibiaWeb is a knowledge resource: it is aimed at basically being a non-Wikipedia source for accounts of species, giving lots of biologically relevant details like their biology, ecology, anatomy, etc., but keeping taxonomically-relevant details to a minimum. These are very different functions, and it is for this reason that I generally follow ASW and not AmphibiaWeb when it comes to things like species counts.

It pains me to share that I missed out on managing to also nab the 8000th frog species on ASW by TWO species! The actual 8000th species was apparently Oreolalax wumengmontis.

So, onward to number 9000!

[0carina-of-crime]

crab

[devourallusurvey-deactivated202]

You ever think about many peices of media have zero women and thats just perfectly normal but if a peice of media has an all female cast people get... like that? Women should be allowed to kill over this btw

[loveshoplifter]

same but it's black people

[devourallusurvey-deactivated202]

That's right

[nkogneatho]

telecom service providers in india are getting orders from government to shutdown our internet. they might also mass delete the posts and videos online. i know this is not the content you followed me for but please raise voice for the people in india if you can. if you find any posts about the brutality that the police inflicted upon protesters, people seeking legal or medical attention, people needing donation for sanitary pads, food, water, masks, etc. on twitter or instagram, please share it. it's my humble request. this is our last day. they're applying emergency alerts and new rules from tomorrow but today we are standing here in rain raising our voices and we will continue to do so.

[herpsandbirds]

Brunneana cincticollis, family Tettigoniidae, Malaysia

This large katydid is found throughout much of SE Asia.

photographs by Jack K H Loo

[hellenhighwater]

Aw fuck it's officially spring

[hellenhighwater]

First worm of the season!!! Very proud of himself. WYRMSONG ABOUNDS

[hellenhighwater]

I step out the front door. It is 57 degrees; it is January; this is Not Good.

I step back inside. I hear it: the dread clarion call of warm weather, the portent of doom and wriggling, coming closer by the second, inescapable:

WYRMSONG

it's just a little one this time.

[hellenhighwater]

Are you not impressed by this mighty hunter??????

[junk-thunder]

come back my scarab

[junk-thunder]

please come back my scarab

[junk-thunder]

i,m so fuckign sorryy my scarab

[xtec]

This is what the average YouTube thumbnail looks like now

[hydrothermalvententhusiast]

@hellenhighwater

[hellenhighwater]

We had heavy rain last night-- the kind that usually means worms coming up--so I fully expected Vice to have brought me one. Here is this morning's gift:

Two wool dryer balls! Stolen fron the laundry downstairs. Good job Vice!

So proud.

[hellenhighwater]

Also please know that sometimes my phone tries to do portrait mode and gets it really wrong and instead gives me these cat cutouts on solid color backgrounds.

[hellenhighwater]

[hellenhighwater]

Spot the difference

[hellenhighwater]

[thesuninperigee]

Hey, boss, how's this?

[qwuilleran]

[scienceandstorytelling]

[rappin-drakken]

[russiawave]

[magistrate-of-mediocrity]

Those am him leafs

[weatherall]

#leaf him alone

[herpsandbirds]

This is easily one of the CRAZIEST videos I've ever gotten. I was rafting down a river when a Yellow Jacket came, landed on my bright pink waterproof phone pouch, and started drinking from the water droplets that had gathered there.

The most amazing part is how the water droplet magnifies the Hornet's mouth parts, so you get to see them up-close!!!! It was FASCINATING to witness!

Here's some of my favorite still shots from that video:

What do you think? 🥰

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

always some new bullshit in the ocean

[local-demon-in-your-area]

Why is it always orcas or dolphins

Why can't a salmon do some bullshit for once

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

worry not ☝️ they're doing coke

[reasonsforhope]

‘Cockroach Movement’ Forces Out India’s Education Minister

Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday in response to rising pressure from student-led protests.

‘Cockroach Movement’ Forces Out India’s Education Minister

"Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday amid mounting pressure from the “Cockroach Movement,” which demanded major government reforms—starting with his departure. Student activists accused Pradhan of failing to safeguard a competitive medical school exam, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), after authorities concluded that its contents had been leaked online. ...

Without accepting fault, [Education Minister Pradhan] explained that he had agreed to step down in order to prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the upheaval. 

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP, celebrated the resignation with fellow protesters in New Delhi on Saturday.

“It's a victory for the people of India,” Dipke said to the crowd. He later posted an image of India’s Constitution on social media, with the caption: “Thank you.” ...

On the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian President Droupadi Murmu appointed Pralhad Joshi—who already oversees the ministries of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, along with New and Renewable Energy—to oversee the Ministry of Education “in addition to his existing portfolio,” which is a typical arrangement in India following a Cabinet vacancy and does not preclude a later permanent appointment...

CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das said in an interview with local media ANI following the president’s announcement that the party members will be meeting the new education minister “very soon.” ...

What Comes Next for the CJP?

The CJP established its list of demands on May 16. In addition to calling for Pradhan’s resignation, the CJP asked for compensation of 10 million rupees ($104,000) for each student who died by suicide following the leak. 

They also sought greater legislative oversight of the educational system, gender equity in government roles, a fully independent media, and certain reforms to the electoral and political system—such as creating a 20-year ban on politicians switching parties before seeking election.

Adding to those mandates, the CJP last week asked that the central government drop any potential charges against protesters, after claiming that several had been “illegally detained” by police. 

Following Pradhan’s resignation, representatives from the CJP met with officials from the Indian government to discuss the rest of the party’s demands. In a press conference following the meeting, Das said on Saturday that the negotiations had been successful.

"All our demands have been accepted,” he said, without elaboration. “We request the protesters to withdraw immediately and return home peacefully."

The CJP added during the press conference on Saturday that representatives from the movement would meet with officials again in four weeks to work on broader reforms. Its spokesperson told local media that the fight for a transparent educational system is far from over. 

He said that members of the CJP conveyed to officials that if the issues are not addressed, the protesters will reconvene “and demand accountability.”

-via TIME, July 25, 2026. Non-paywall version here via MSN, July 25, 2026

[your-did-it-official]

Every Saturday is coelacanth Saturday

[llirikaart]

Для Женёк Жосан (VK)