A very quick zombie sketch.
Claire Keane
Jules of Nature
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
occasionally subtle

tannertan36
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roma★
wallacepolsom

JVL

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Origami Around

titsay
Peter Solarz
Game of Thrones Daily
i don't do bad sauce passes
AnasAbdin

Love Begins
cherry valley forever

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣

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@theoarfishexpress
A very quick zombie sketch.
Sorry it's been a while @myceliomancer, but I have more to share for The soul is meat.
How do you get so good at paleoart? Its something ive always wanted to get into, but it intimidates me, thinking about like... not just drawing the creatire but the whole environment, that its all accurate, you know.
It's all really learning by doing. If you enjoy it pick up a subject and, look into it and just start. The vastness of natural history can't be squeezed into a curriculum and in the case of paleoart there comes an artistic education on top. I don't say this to scare you, just to say: don't expect it to be perfect, that's an unattainable goal to begin with, with accuracy too being something that is basically impossible. Not because of things you might get wrong (happens to the best of us) but more so because we have no complete image of the past.
This makes paleoart more challenging but also more forgiving. There are simply things we can not know and will never know. And everyone who tells you otherwise should reflect their life choices. Not to mention that we constantly learn more!
But back to your question: how to get GOOD at paleoart. Besides, well... doing it a lot, you will want to have a look at the usual bullet points of:
anatomy, pose/gesture, shading, perspective, composition, color.
That is a lot. Which is why I suggest that you don't think about it too much. It sucks all the joy out of it if you do something just to get better. Environments are complex yes, but you also don't have to start with them, you can put animals into a white void or simple colored background. You can also work stylized, paleoart is not bound to a single style!
If you wanna exercise together with people and want to get some live feedback I recommend joining our Flocking streams every Friday on Twitch/YouTube or joining the Paleostream Discord server.
Sieh dir die PaleoStream-Community auf Discord an – häng mit 3279 anderen Mitgliedern ab und freu dich über kostenlose Sprach- und Textchats
In these streams we go over a bunch of different organisms and draw them all together, each within 20 min, so just rough sketches at the end of the day. It's no substitute for looking deeper into a subject and figuring it out but it can help to get your bearing, figure out what you wanna do etc.
That can be a certain slice of time, a certain group of animals, a certain environment or a certain place/locality.
xen
genuine answer: they could have survived the initial sinking, but would have died pretty quickly from pressure sickness or starvation. lobsters are offshore animals that need rocky habitats in which to hide and find food. they usually aren't found in much more than 1,500 feet of water normally.
the Titanic is 12,500 feet down, and resting on the silty intercontinental ocean floor that is essentially a massive underwater mudflat with only an occasional rock to be seen.
maybe the lobsters survived the pressure change and wiggled out of their tank and found their way out of the wreckage, but this habitat is a desert to them. there was nothing for them there.
realistically though they were probably immediately picked off by the sleeper and sixgill sharks that would have come from HUNDREDS of miles around to scavenge the Titanic's human cargo. sorry!
damn, what a great day to be a deep sea shark though. the Titanic was like the most unimaginably huge whalefall for them. they probably still tell stories about it to the younger sharks today.
My friends, please understand, the so-called “ceasefire” is not real. In some areas the bombing has stopped, but the Israeli army still surrounds Gaza and allows only a tiny amount of aid to enter, just enough to keep people barely alive. From time to time, they resume bombing and destruction again, bringing more fear, more ruin, and more blood. 💔
We live among the rubble, covered in dust and smoke, with no shelter, no hospitals, no clean water, and no safe roads. Every day is a struggle to survive hunger, illness, and despair. Families are torn apart, children cry from pain, and the elderly wait for help that never comes.
Please, don’t ignore us. Don’t let my family and others fade away in this deadly silence. Your donation means food, medicine, and a small chance to survive another day. It means a glimpse of hope in a place that has forgotten what hope feels like.
And to the governments of this unjust world, where is your humanity? You unite and move mountains for the remains of a few Israeli soldiers, yet you abandon more than two million people to live in conditions beyond human endurance. Gaza is not a headline; it is a land full of souls still fighting to live.
Please, help us survive. Don’t let our lives fade away in the dust and smoke. 🙏💔
Dear Esteemed Donors, My name is Ahmad , and I am a 14-year-old resident of Khan Yo… Ahmad W needs your support for Help Gaza Families Secu
📌 Fundraiser vetted (#167 by el-shab-hussein & nabulsi)
Guys, life in Gaza is still unbearably harsh 💔 We lost everything, our home, our clothes, even the simplest things.
Without donations, there’s no water, no food, no medicine, and no warm clothes for the winter.
Please, show your humanity and help my family survive 🙏
Please donate and reblog 💔
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For @myceliomancer, here’s to being a gross mutant mess of influences all fermenting together as a person, and adding new ones, and becoming more complicated.
The Anthropic Extinction Event was massively damaging to the oceans, eliminating most surface dwelling pelagic fish, specially large pelagic predators. These were not only often heavily harvested themselves, but their main sources of food faced extinction too due to anoxic events and over harvesting, ultimately killing them off the face of the earth.
Pelagic Predators of the Artechocene: Part 1
In the 39 million years since the extinction though, a myriad of groups have taken on these empty niches, adapting to rise to the top of the food chain, here are some notable examples of these "sea monsters":
Cuchonitos (Sardomimidae): These lizardfish descendants haven't achieved the grand sizes of the kobias, but they are still fairly successful across the world, using blade-like tooth rows scissor-like jaw arrangement to cut through unsuspecting prey into manageable pieces it can swallow.
Tuna Mimics:
Kobias (Basilothunnoididae): These carangiforms were one of the first groups of shallow water fish to venture into the open ocean, and have thus become one of the most successful. They have a range of sizes, but the largest of all are macroraptorial, feeding on large prey using their serrated, wedge shaped teeth, using their speed to catch them. The King Kobia (Basilothunnoides rex) is the largest of them, measuring up to more than 5 metres long, and is one of the few predators actually specialised for hunting adult tiamats.
Thick-Headed Hunters of the Deep:
Ramtunas (Bathoarietidae): These unique predatory sunfish evolved alongside squid and other pelagic cephalopods, which exploded in abundance and diversity after the extinction wiped out most surface pelagic fish. As their prey grew, so did they, and developed quite a unique way of bringing them down: their reinforced heads allowes them to cause massive damage to their internal skeleton, inhibiting movement or instantly killing the target. After that, the ramtuna starts quickly cutting and suctioning small chunks from the body to eat, while slowly drifting in the current to conserve energy. The Great Ramtuna (Bathoarietum crassus) is the largest of them all, with the largest individuals approaching 3 metres in length, being able to tackle even the largest cephalopods around.
Keelheads (Peroplouichthyidae): These fast swimmers are also descendants of small predators of soft bodied prey, typically inhabiting the deep sea. Now, they have become fast swimmers that use their reinforced nasal bones to ram into smaller prey items, typically smaller fish they can swallow whole after incapacitating them. The largest species however, like the Salamis' Keelhead (Peroplouichthys salamis), can tackle larger prey items, like small sharks, juvenile marine reptiles or even seabirds.
Emigrants of the Abyss:
Pricklemouths (Letopecteninae): Bristlemouths, as one of the most abundant vertebrates on earth, survived the extinction relatively unscathed, but unlike other similar groups like lanternsfishes, they stayed relatively unchanged, with only a few clades adapting to surface waters, the pricklemouths being amongst them. They are not the largest, but definitely a very successful midwater mesopredators worldwide.
Cleaverfish (Guillotinognathidae): They are descendants of squaretails, starting as small predators of soft bodied prey like sea jellies. Like ramtunas, they were able to grow in size and diversity as their potential prey, cephalopods, exploded in abundance. Their mouth arrangement helped to hunt this type of prey, their lips creating a powerful suction force, coupled with a quick snap of a row of razor sharp teeth that act as a cleaver.
Cavallies (Hoplocarangidae): These descendants of deep sea barrelfish developed in their transition to shallower waters a set of modified dorsal scales and spines that form a spiky armor that protects them from predators. It's the most extended in the smaller, reef dwelling relatives of the group, but it is still kept by the larger, more pelagic members like the Bluespot Cavally (Hoplocaranx thalassinopunctatus).
Freshwater Invaders:
Squalmons (Salmosqualus sp.): these are large predators that exclusively live in the open ocean, coming to nutrient-rich estuaries to undergo a drastic transformation in preparation for spawning and attracting mates. Unlike their ancestors, this transformation is reversible, and the structures and colours are shed or reabsorbed after spawning.
Old World Seachlids (Pontotilapiidae): the term refers to saltwater cichlids native to the waters around Afro-Eurasia and Australia belonging to different families, with Seachlids being a larger umbrella term that encompasses clades descendants of cichlids native to the Americas. While these mostly stay on continental shelves, hence their geographical distinction, some live in the open ocean, like the surfperches (Megastoma sp.), a genus of surface predators that cruise around the Indo-Pacific.
Wolfmollies (Lycopoeciliidae): one of the most unusual groups of saltwater fish that can be found in the shallow oceans of the Artechocene are the wolfmollies, aggressive hunters that stalk and hunt prey in large groups, chasing it down at high speeds. Although they are mostly native to coastal waters, barramollies (Ensiphallus sp.) are uncharacteristically pelagic, being found in a much wider range than their relatives.
Sharkcats (Selachariidae): descendants of ariids, they adapted to fill mostly benthic predatory niches, with some of them, like the deepwater sharkcat (Selacharius profundus) venturing into the open ocean, using their sensory capabilities to detect prey in the dark twilight zone.
Long Snouted Hunters:
Macanafish (Macuahuitlidae): gars are another one of the freshwater groups that quickly entered oceans and found great success, especially around the Americas. The Macanafish are one of these groups of gar descendants, that have spread across the world's oceans, adopting the ridged scales of sharks, with an extra added sharpness that can be used as defence, and a long, spear shaped snout that although it is used when hunting smaller prey, it is also very useful during intraspecific combat for territorial rights.
Sawlips (Prionolabiidae): this is a clade of lizardfish that had evolved their outer teeth rows to point outwards, forming a formidable weapon to incapacitate prey. It is an almost exclusively benthic clade, with members of this family staying close to the bottom, usually buried until the perfect moment to strike, except for one species, the Pelagic Sawlip (Volaticoserrae purpurascens). This species endemic to the Pacific Ocean swims up in the water column, quickly pursuing and swinging its snout across shoals of small fishes and squid.
Invertebrate Menace:
Squid very favoured by the Anthropic Mass Extinction Event. With bony fish suffering much more losses in diversity during this event, squid and other mollusks managed to maintain a fair amount of their previous diversity, and quickly rebounded to become a major player in the ecosystems of the Artechocene oceans. Small predators, filter feeders, and a group that contains large macropredators that evolved the ability to do something extraordinary, co-operative hunting, the Army Squid (Strategoteuthidae):
These giant firefly squid initially evolved a series of photophore patterns for communication, with red photophores for communicating deep underwater without being noticed by predators. Later they evolved to use those communication abilities to hunt, coordinating attacks to prey much larger than themselves. They travel in the hundreds, their photophores appearing as a shoal of lanternsfish, luring prey to strike. They are menacing predators, as even the largest marine creatures struggle with an attack from a particularly large group of the largest species, the Admiral Squid (Strategoteuthis strategos), being quickly overwhelmed by the mass of strong beaks and tentacles.
Hope you enjoyed all these future pelagic hunters :>
an Opabinia in the hand is worth two in the tide pools :)
The Caterpillar-Mimicking Spider: this species of jumping spider mimics a lichen moth caterpillar, possibly as a way to deter predators
This species (Uroballus carlei) is sometimes referred to as a caterpillar jumping spider or caterpillar jumper, because it bears such a striking resemblance to a caterpillar. It was discovered in Hong Kong just a few years ago.
Researchers believe that these strange little spiders mimic the caterpillars of local lichen moths, which may help to deter predators. Lichen moth caterpillars ingest toxic substances that make them unpalatable to predators, and they're covered in urticating hairs that cause pain and irritation when touched, so predators tend to avoid them. They also have aposematic features that advertise those defense mechanisms, making them an excellent model for mimicry.
The spider's resemblance to a caterpillar may serve as a defense mechanism against larger vertebrates, such as birds, and as a predatory ploy against certain invertebrates, like small beetles, thus allowing the spider to avoid being eaten while also enabling it to stalk and capture its own prey more effectively.
This article described the discovery back in 2019:
A new spider has been discovered, hiding in plain sight in one of the most populated places on the planet. And there’s a good chance it went undiscovered for so long because it doesn’t really look like a spider at all, but more like a fuzzy baby caterpillar. Its cute, fuzzy appearance has led the newly discovered spider to be named Uroballus carlei, after Eric Carle – author of the wildly popular children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Living alongside Uroballus carlei in the wooded areas of the Eastern District in Hong Kong are lichen moths. During the caterpillar stage, these moths are covered in bristly brown fur not dissimilar to Uroballus carlei. They live on a diet of lichen, and it’s this diet that gives them their name.
Sources & More Info:
Journal of Entomology: A New Species of Uroballus from Hong Kong: a Jumping Spider that Appears to Mimic Lichen Moth Caterpillars (PDF)
University of Manchester: Newly Discovered Jumping Spider is Master of Disguise
University of Manchester: Newly Discovered Jumping Spider Named for Children's Author
BBC: Spider Named After The Very Hungry Caterpillar Author, Eric Carle
I adore learning about some new weird critter that mimics some other weird critter. It's a strangely consistent thing.
Fear the siren’s call, sailor, all the more she that speaks true of her longing for man’s embrace.
I based this mostly off of entries in Icones animalium quadrupedum, a 16th century publication that lists a bunch of real and not so real sea creatures. It was written entirely in Latin, so forgive my clumsy google translated flavor text, which more or less reads:
“Venus Sarcophagus (Flesh-eating Venus)
The Siren who joins her lovers to her body
This siren is seen on an island in the sea far to the west. Her true form is that of a large and ugly fish, which lies hidden beneath her lure. At night the human form emits an uncanny glow, so that passing ships see and might approach her. Like the sirens of the naopolitan coast, her song drives men to madness. But those who swim to meet her are said to experience eternal bliss while melting in her flesh.”
We're on the abyssal plain tonight, lads.
Strange imagery that I noticed.
米山 啓介 / Keisuke Yoneyama
"The Beetle's moon", 2025
Dynastes tityus, the Eastern Hercules beetle, is one of the largest beetle species found in North America -- they also happen to be my favorite!
I originally planned to make a purely ecosystem-focused piece for this species (and I may still do a more scientific-illustration-style piece later). But, as I toyed around the the composition, I realized that I really wanted to make the beetle grub feel like the 'moon' and pivoted my focus from there. I still stuck with a more natural tone for the background theming and drew the old tree stump to represent its place as a frequent habitat for this species and several morel mushrooms to bring that forest floor feeling.
This illustration was really fun (and a little challenging at points) and I'm excited bring this to life as a riso print through a local shop in the near future!
I have had an extremely autumnal afternoon of cooking and eating pumpkin.