Insectoid @terrible-claw - Tumblr Blog

People are always like "in my past life I was [animal they like]"... Uhhh No? You were an undiscovered species of cave trout. And the second you read this you'll wake up from this dream and return to the deep and dark pools of the cave.

crevicedwelling

the

crevicedwelling

when the

magic-of-eternity

bethanythebogwitch

Gather round, children, and lay me tell you the tale of the sturddlefish. In the year 2019 in the mythical land of Hungary’s Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture, some scientists were trying to save some endangered fish. The Russian sturgeon and American paddlefish are distantly related species that are both endangered. The scientists were trying to induce gynogenesis in the sturgeon.

This is a type of parthenogenesis (single parent reproduction) where sperm triggers the embryo growth, but doesn’t contribute genetic material. In any type of parthenogenesis, the offspring is basically a clone of the mother.

The scientists needed to have sperm interact with the eggs without inseminating them. So they used paddlefish sperm. Since paddlefish diverged from sturgeons 184 million years ago, the scientists figured that there was no chance of insemination.

Much to their surprise, the paddlefish sperm did fertilize the sturgeon eggs, creating the hybrid sturddlefish. This was not expected at all due to his distantly related the parent species are. There were two sturddlefish populations from the same breeding. One that was 50% sturgeon and paddlefish and one that had twice as much sturgeon due to chromosome doubling. Only about 2/3 of the sturddlefish survived longer than a month and only about 100 survived past a year. Hybrids often have health problems that limit their lifespans. Given how long-lived the parent species are, a healthy sturddlefish could live for a long time.

The sturddlefish will live out their lives in the research institute and the scientists have no plans of making more. I don’t know if any of them are still alive. For a brief time, a new lifeform will have come into existence by sheer accident and will soon be extinct. May they Rest In Peace

Image from a to d: Russian sturgeon, mostly sturgeon hybrid, even hybrid, American paddlefish

itwashotwestayedinthewater

i got centipedes, got a lotta centipedes, got a lotta people tryna take away my centipedes

pseudomantis

cracks open a piece of amber and the bugs inside crawl out and walk away completely normal

crispysnakes

Bermuda Rose - VPI T+ motley (Boa imperator)

thegremlindraws

another retro style piece, this time with medic!

#kin tag

emmaklee

Adelomelon brasiliana : giant gastropod egg capsules on a beach in Argentina

guooey

I think “besnouted” being used to refer to animals with snouts is such a wonderful word, it sounds honorary, like they’ve been awarded a great blessing (they have)

seabeck

Perfect mushrooms

oliviarampaige

“Phantom Canyon” - ☾ complete. ☽

I just realized I never posted the finished mural! I’m not the best at this social media game...I finished the sky (constellations), fixed some issues, and completed the birch forest on the far left. Varnishing the whole thing took some elbow grease.