Zoologica42 @zoologica42 - Tumblr Blog

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I usually avoid calling any animal "nightmare fuel" or that sort of thing, but fish in the genus Phago have gotten me very close to doing so at times. Phago aren't that unusual at first glance- no big teeth, bulging eyes, or spikes... but that mouth, I've always found it a bit uncanny.

The genus Phago is a member of the order Characiformes along with the tetras, tigerish, and piranhas. It currently has three recognized species, which all inhabit Central African rivers. Now for the mouth, members of Phago are all pterygophagous, meaning that they feed primarily by nipping the fins of other fishes. While they can, and do, take other prey this fin-feeding behavior is the reason for the weird jaws. Phago can therefore be understood as a type of parasite, one which feeds from, but does not kill its host. Since ripped fins can heal, it's a pretty good strategy to ensure these fish have a steady food supply. Anyhow, I just think these little guys are neat, even if a bit creepy.

fin-biting behavior in captivity

Skull

#fishposting #phago #Characiformes #icthyology #freshwater fish #parasite ecology #I'm on team parasites are cool btw

it is important to hug your newspaper reporter (who is clearly not used to this sort of thing)

#the mysterious island #Gideon spilette #Pencroft #jules verne #ttluts

Two things that really jumped out at me about Journey to The Center of the Earth:

-Early man is imagined as a herder rather than a hunter. Despite being far removed from our “modern” protagonists, he is not the “savage” animalistic man Verne has written about in other works.

-No dinosaurs in the pre-historic wonderland of the center of the earth, I know that not many dinosaurs had been discovered by 1864, but it’s kinda weird to see them excluded. Maybe dinosaurs weren’t as big in the scientific zeitgeist as ichthyosaurs and pterosaurs? Interesting to think about.

#jules verne #journey to the center of the earth #Might make some more notes about this book and theories of evolution and history not sure though #It’s an interesting read if you want to know more about how people thought about geology history and evolution in the 1860s

#I feel like this is pretty low-hanging fruit for Tumblr #but the low-hanging fruit still needs to be picked #bookish #dark academia #literature #bookblr #reading #books #books and libraries

artquivista

Guys holding up lanterns to things, Pt 2 (as forewarned).

The previous two pieces that I posted are very much inspired by Jules Verne, but these guys are two characters directly from The Mysterious Island; Cyrus Harding holding the lamp while Gideon Spilett takes notes.

The thing that makes The Mysterious Island so good is that it has roots in the common thought experiment: "What if man was suddenly stripped from the modern world and thrust in the State of Nature again, and learned to survive from scratch?" Its a book that tests the information that its characters hold, seeing how well they can connect the pieces of technology that they were used to in the 1850s to the roots of their invention. It's also very good at revealing the "mystery" of the island, bit by bit, in a way that keeps you searching for clues. I have my own critiques on how it deals with man's relationship to nature as a member of the ecosystem rather than a destroyer of it, but I will probably be making more art about this book so I'll just pour my thoughts out in a future post.

For its day, the book was very progressive, since all the characters are Northern abolitionists allied to the Union during the American Civil War, and it has a prominent black character (Neb!) which Jules Verne makes clear is an important member of the cast, but I do think that Verne isn't very good at writing Neb's wants and needs as a human being (I have many thoughts on Neb's character and the way he's written, but I won't go on too long about them here so I will do that later). BUT I think that only makes this book excellent material for adaptation since its quite simple to reform (I know there's a movie, but I don't like the look of it so much...why is there a giant monster? that never happens).

#Together we can make a The Mysterious Island fandom on this site

Almost Laughed at this scene.

#the mysterious island #jules verne #captain nemo #20000 leagues under the sea #twenty thousand leagues under the sea

Things that I'm convinced happened “off camera” in The Mysterious Island (Verne, 1875) -Pencroft and Neb have a petty fight and then make out

-the entire gang (including Top and Jup) all accidentally eat a hallucinogenic plant, everyone is freaking out except for Cyrus who with his characteristic steady nature (tm) has a conversation about hydraulics with a purple tiger.

-Spilette writes a gossip column about Pencroft and Neb making out (he saw the whole thing), then promptly destroys it

-Spilette briefly goes mad from lack of journalistic activities, tries to interview one of the onagers.

-Herbert goes surfing -Cyrus builds Pencroft a model train set so that he will shut up about putting a train line on the island. -Herbert calls Cyrus “mom” while he has Malaria

-Neb gets really into trying to make pastry for about a week

-Ayrton dramatically walks away from the group to go have a sulk but trips on a rock about 10 feet away from them

-Pencroft gets drunk and makes up a song about how much he loves guns

#I know there's a twenty thousand leagues under the sea fandom here #Any fans of the twenty thousand leagues under the sea extended universe?#jules verne #The mysterious island #twenty thousand leagues under the sea #tkluts #20000 leagues under the sea

Painted @plaiesancier’s Officer Gaelan bcs he’s cool and sailfish hit different in the light.

A Project Hail Mary fic I would write if I had the time/energy is based on the research use of Nothobranchius killifish as short-lived species that can be kept dormant (as eggs) for long periods of time. It's very possible Nothobranchius eggs were included as part of the Hail Mary's science equipment to test the effects of any extraterrestrial substances discovered on the voyage on vertebrate life before allowing humans to be exposed. Grace could have very easily forgotten that they were included- maybe only unpacking them on Erid. Two things stand out about Nothobranchius.

One: they are exceptionally beautiful. The most commonly studied species, Nothobranchius furzeri (turquoise killifish) looks like this:

But other members of the genus look like this (Stratt et al. may have included them in the cargo to diversify the stock in case of disease or other species-specific concerns):

Two: the common name for this genus is the "Notho annual killifishes", they only live for a year at the maximum, even when well cared for in captivity. In nature, they live in temporary pools and when the pools dry out, their eggs are left in the soil to go dormant and then hatch when the pool fills with rainwater again. This short lifespan makes them excellent model organisms for processes across a vertebrate lifespan. Imagine Grace hatching some Nothobranchius eggs with Rocky. Even if you can't see color, they have beautiful, rippling fins and cool scale textures. Rocky loves them, but then within a few months they start dying and there's nothing Grace or Rocky can do- they've lived their full natural lifespan, and eventually, they die. Then Rocky begins to think about how much he likes Grace, and much shorter the human lifespan is than that of an Eridian...

#phm #project hail mary #phm fanfic #if anyone wants to write this go ahead #killifish #Nothobranchius #fishblr #grace might be hatching them and eating them while starving on the way to Erid although they're only about 7cm long

Childhood ruined! Paleontologists studying fossilized hope now describe it as "a thing with feathers".

#paleoart #emily dickinson #hope is a thing with feathers but so is a Yutyrannus or angry goose #yutyrannus #hope is a thing with feathers

you would not believe your tits if 500 bananaquits-

see ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S36881163 full size image under the cut:

#ebird #birds #bananaquit #owl city #ornithology

Hello! Just want to say! So cool to See someone else who loves ornithology!:D

Hi!!! I’m in grad school doing ornithology rn so I’d say I have a bit more of a love-hate relationship with it than anything, but the love is still there!

great-and-small

Don’t mind me just thinking about the hole in the middle of the United States where Chipping sparrows refuse to fuck

zoologica42

I see your "Chipping Sparrows don't fuck in Kansas" and raise you "Turkey vultures hate Buenos Aires for no apparent reason"

#turkey vulture #ornithology

Today I learned about whatever was going on between Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen. Fascinating stuff.

#Image since we all know Springsteen is the patron deity of New Jersey #Just like Dolly Parton is for Tennessee #bruce springsteen #clarence clemons #new jersey

valdevia

The Sorcerer is a piece of cave art that has stirred a lot of debate since its discovery by French priest Henri Breuil in the 1920s. If his sketch is to be believed, it might be the first depiction of a god, a shaman, or mythological creature in art. Others say Breuil's fanciful interpretation doesn't reflect the drawing's reality, which is now damaged and harder to analyse.

And yet, some claim it might have been an accurate representation of something now forgotten. Something the people of this cave knew, maybe feared, or worshipped. Something as old as the stone they painted.

valdevia

Are there any other mysterious creatures from ancient art you'd like me to interpret? If so, let me know about them!

zoologica42

this MONSTER circa 1880s from Hueco Tanks State Park, Texas (there is a lot of indigenous rock art here, but I don't want to sensationalize it/call it scary)

Also, my boy long green horse(?) I don't know what culture/era long green horse(?) is from but I like him.

I visit both of them when I go bird watching/herping at Hueco Tanks!

#Hueco Tanks State Park #Hueco tanks #el paso

Prion disease? no, you don't understand I have a *prion* disease, I am afflicted by a rare illness previously thought restricted to seabirds in the genus Pachyptila, now if you'd excuse me I need to go lie down in my burrow/rock crevice :(

#Pachyptila #seabirds #ornithology #MacGillivrays prion

Saltmarsh Dashboard Simulator!!!!

🦆 spartinafan1293784 follow

I'm tired of people saying shit like "oh, migrants are soooo cool they fly soooo far" I just like living on my favorite habitat patch ok. 🪿snogose follow ♻ let me know how that works out for you when a hurricane takes out your favorite barrier island lol, I'll be in Veracruz.

🦆 spartinafan1293784 follow ♻

There’s hurricanes in Veracruz??? Do you actually winter in Chihuahua or some bs???

🪿snogose follow ♻

sorry can’t hear you I’m in Nunavut

🎻fiddler-crab follow

The tide is going out!!! Quick, everyone dig a burrow!!!!

🕳️

Voting ended onMay 28

🪢redknot follow

straight up probing it, and by “it” I mean…my mudflarmts..,

🐴feralmarshgirlhorse follow ♻️ there's no way ALL of you are probing a mudflat???

🦪the_oystercatcherrr follow ♻️ straight up partitioning it, and by "it" I mean....my resourcevs...,

🧍conservationbiointern follow

Hey guys I’m going to be working out on the marsh for the first time this summer! Any tips?

🪰greenheadflyyyy follow ♻️

It gets really hot out here in the summer, so be sure to wear short sleeves and shorts! Have a good field season!

🦟slutmarshmosquito follow ♻️

Couldn’t agree more, can’t wait to see you out here!

🕷️deertick69 follow ♻️

I third all of this, it also applies when working on the marsh’s forested margins (lovely habitat, you should visit!).

🧍conservationbiointern follow ♻️

Thanks everyone!

🧍conservationbiointern follow ♻️

update: i have made a terrible mistake

🐢diamondbackterrapin follow

IDK everyone sometimes I feel like basking on a 6 lane highway would fix me

🐦‍⬛the-secretive-black-rail attempt to follow ♻️

. . . .

🐢diamondbackterrapin follow ♻️

wha- what was that????

🦝lowtidewalking follow

his name is penis and he was born with a brain (kinda) but it was reduced (although still present) as he matured into an adult 💔

🐟 kill-ifish follow

tide is going out and I’m trapped in a small muddy pool, it’s really over for me.

🐟 kill-ifish follow ♻️

oh lol tide’s coming back in I can just stay here in the intertidal forever we’re so back

🐟 kill-ifish follow ♻️

ok so you’ll never guess what happened

🪽Steven-seagull follow

has anyone seen that intern lately? I really miss stealing his lunch him.

🐠stripedbass follow ♻️

man CAUGHT and MEASURED me yesterday, I think he also put some sort of tag on me? Absolute pervert I hope he dies and the crabs eat his wretched flesh since I know my fellow fish wouldn’t.

🦀Baltimorekreb follow ♻️

first of all: extremely rude that you put crabs below you on the food chain. Second: this is what happens when you’re a regulated game species. Get studied idiot.

🐠stripedbass follow ♻️

First of all: you literally ARE lower than me on the food chain, sorry you had to find out this way. Second: what the fuck is a regulated game species?

🐠stripedbass follow ♻️

Dear lord humans want to eat me

🧍conservationbiointern follow ♻️

Hey guys uhhh