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The Abatwa [Zulu mythology]

The Abatwa (singular: ‘Umutwa’) are a strange species of very tiny human-like creatures.

These peculiar beings make their homes in anthills, as they seem to have a mutualistic relationship of some sort with ants. Despite their diminutive stature, the Abatwa are ferocious hunters and are able to kill animals, which they consume entirely before moving on.

They are skilled archers and although their tiny arrows may be as small as a splinter, the Abatwa coat their arrowheads with an incredibly potent venom that can even kill humans. When a target is struck with one of these arrows, the strange poison causes immense bleeding, and the victim dies soon after. Because of this, the Zulu greatly feared the Abatwa.

Generally speaking, the Abatwa are incredibly self-conscious about their height and are even willing to kill humans for pointing out how tiny they are. Saying ‘I saw you!’ is a standard greeting among the Zulu, so people spotting an Umutwa would say ‘I saw you!’ out of politeness. Yet the Abatwa then immediately ask ‘when did you spot me?’

If you answer something along the lines of ‘just now’ then the Umutwa will kill you on the spot, because of the implication that they were too small to be seen from far away. Conversely, people who replied with something like ‘I saw you an hour ago, when I was standing on that mountaintop over there!’ live to tell the tale, as the Abatwa take this as a great compliment.

The Abatwa can travel on horseback to hunt, though they do so in a peculiar way. When these creatures mount a horse, they sit in single file behind each other, in one long row of riders stretching from the animal’s mane to its tail. It is said that if such a hunting party fails to find game, they will kill the horse instead.

Interestingly, in reality, ‘Abatwa’ is the name of a different tribe of people with whom the Zulus had made contact, and who are generally smaller than the Zulu people themselves. It is therefore not farfetched to think that the story of these tiny fairy people might actually have been derived from the first contact between these two cultures. Eventually, the story got retold enough times and twisted to the point of fiction.

Source: Callaway, H., 1868, Nursery tales, traditions, and histories of the Zulus, in their own words, with a translation into English, Volume I, Springvale, 410 pp., p.352-355.

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The Grand'Goule [medieval French story]

The French former province of Poitou has a local legend about a horrible dragon. The beast made its home in the subterranean corridors underneath the Sainte-Croix abbey, and any nun who ventured there was devoured in an instant.

Named after its giant maw, Grand’Goule had four legs equipped with horribly sharp talons, a pair of wings and a long tail that culminated in a three-pointed stinger. Though details about the appearance of the beast seem to differ. The most famous depiction is a 1677 statue by Jean Gargot (see image).

According to the legend, the beast was eventually slain by Saint Radegonde (which would put the story in the 6th century A.D.), who vanquished the monster by reciting a prayer to it, which banished it to the Clain river. A more recent version has the holy Radegundis stun the beast by making the sign of the holy cross and then throwing a piece of bread in the dragon’s maw that was blessed by a priest. I suspect this story was derived from the practise of throwing baked treats at the wooden dragon at the Rogation procession.

After the dragon was slain, a local woodworker crafted and painted a statue in the likeness of the monster that was stored in the attic of the Sainte-Croix abbey. Every year, the statue was displayed triumphantly at the head of the Rogation procession, as the victory over the beast had become a reason for celebration and festivities among the locals, until Grand’Goule eventually became the main focus of the procession. People would adorn the statue with ribbons and gold, and rub its scales with rosaries while saying ‘Bonne Saint Vermine, pray for us!’ This nickname translates to ‘Good Saint Vermin’.

There is a related story about the abbess Isabeau de Couhé: somewhere in the 1460’s, when a group of clerics claimed that it was against nature that their superior was a woman, Isabeau responded by unfurling a banner with the likeness of the dragon, thereby reminding the clerics that it was a woman who defeated the monster and saved the region.

Supposedly, in 1666, the Palais des Comtes displayed a stuffed crocodile which they claimed was the conserved carcass of the Grand’Goule. According to Lord Fountainhall, the creature was originally much larger than the supposed carcass on display, but it had shrunk throughout the centuries, or so it was claimed.

Sources: Poitevin, F. et al., 2017, Les Contes et Légendes du Poitou, Passeurs de Mémoire, CPE Éditions. Dailey, E.T., 2023, Radegund : The Trials and Triumphs of a Merovingian Queen, Women in Antiquity, Oxford University Press, 213 pp. (image source: statue crafted by Jean Gargot, 1677)

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this is so emotional, I had to share ❤️

follow Talalovesyou on Tiktok!

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Inspired by Oceaniz's video on the peco, some variations!

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the bateleur eagle is a medium-sized eagle, closely related to the ‘snake eagles’, found in sub-saharan africa. they are endangered, having experienced sharp population declines due to habitat loss, accidental poisoning, intentional shooting and pesticide use. they are known to be aggressive in many contexts, but easy to disturb from their nests. they reach maturity at 7-8 years of age, which is later than most other birds of prey. adults are overall black, with bright red facial skin, while juveniles are brown. bateleurs have a unique appearance due to their large head and small legs, which seem disproportionate to the rest of their bodies.

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Costume. Chitons.

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They really don't want people to be in control of their own tech. Anyway:

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Motherships

Alt: in reality these vetulicolians are about 5cm long, they look like tadpoles that's been flattened on the sides, oval fish like 'head' silhouette with 5 round holes identified as gills on the side and segmented tail in the back that flattens out like a paddle. The oval head portion also tapers very thinly at the rim that they look like fins, the top part has a triangular pointy bit that looks like a shark's dorsal fin

These Cambrian oddities aren't vertebrates and the consensus seems to place them as stem chordates.

The video depicts them as large looming figures in murky water, with little brachiopods (bivalved shelles animals that's not a mollusk) in the foreground

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so badass........

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An aquarium in Japan was closed for renovations, and their resident sunfish got depressed not seeing visitors. So the staff put some uniforms with printed faces against the tank, and it immediately recovered.

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hahahaha

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ゴジラ対ムートー

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Folks someone just made the most amazing thing I've seen in ages

the eye pinning when they're excited???? sent me

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Did you know that many gastropods can create a pearl, including terrestrial snails? The difference is nacre which is only found in some species of mollusks and which which gives pearls their beautiful shine. Terrestrial snails occasionally produce very small translucent white pearls which are usually lost. One non-nacre secreting sea snail, the melo melo, produces gorgeous pearls that are extremely prized and rare.

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“Pitcher Plant”

I dislike the term “pitcher plant”. It reeks of outdated ignorance and describes a vast number of species from around the world, many of which are not closely related to each other.

As a botanist, and an evil one at that, I prefer to be precise with my language. You too can become an educated scientist and terrific snob by using the correct terms for each variety of “pitcher plant”. If you require education on the matter, allow me to inform you.

There are three families of “pitcher plant”: Sarraceniaceae, Nepenthaceae, and Cephalotaceae. Sarraceniaceae has 3 genera — namely Sarracenia, Heliamphora, and Darlingtonia. Nepenthaceae has a single genus (Nepenthes), and Cephalotaceae has a single species. An entire family with only one species. Ugh.

Now, they look quite distinct from each other, so here are some photos and facts.

This species belongs to Sarracenia, the North American or trumpet pitcher plants. Note the height and slender shape.

This is also a Sarracenia. Note the lack of height and squat shape. Most Sarracenia species look like one of these two — they are quite easy to identify. They are found in boggy, temperate areas around North America and reach a height of up to 4 feet tall.

This is a stunning example of a Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants) species. These are what you likely think of when someone mentions “pitcher plants”. Beautiful, found in warm, humid regions of the world. They are climbing vines and pitchers can reach over a foot tall (this is species-dependent).

This is an example of Heliamphora, the sun pitchers. They can be found in South America. While still belonging to the family Sarraceniaceae, they are not as tall as Sarracenia, but still quite graceful. If you have a mind for Greek, you may wonder if the “heli” in Heliamphora is for sun (from “helios”). It is not. The name Heliamphora instead comes from “helos”, meaning marsh. The name “sun pitcher” is misleading and comes from a misunderstanding — these plants would be more accurately called “marsh pitchers”.

I have a passionate love-hate relationship with Cephalotus follicularis. Cephalotus is a monotypic genus (a genus with only one species) and of course it is Australian. They look similar to Nepenthes but are unrelated and much smaller — the plants reach just shy of 8 inches tall.

There are also the cobra lilies, Darlingtonia, which belong to Sarraceniaceae. Those are arguably similar enough to Sarracenia that they do not need to be discussed here. Darlingtonia is another monotypic genus within Sarraceniaceae.

Now you have absolutely no excuse. You have been informed on the major genera of “pitcher plants” and should weaponize this knowledge as you see fit.

The brilliant and brave may also wish to weaponize the plants themselves. Kindly send me updates if you do. I am ever so curious…

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Polynesians did also rely on a form of a physical map called a stick chart, illustrating the specific wave and swell patterns surrounding different island chains. These were particularly helpful during cloudy conditions when the sun and stars were less useful. To navigate the Marshall Islands, the Marshallese represented ocean swell patterns using parts of coconut fronds and shells as islands. Like a subway map, they don’t so much represent distances as they do relationships. The complex and decorative stick charts were often only understood by the person who made them. They were memorised before a voyage by the pilot who would lie on the floor of a canoe to get a sense of swell movement and often lead a squadron of 15 or more boats.

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Twitter fuckin sucks these days and i’m THIS close to just shutting it down, so I came back here. Don’t make me regret it!