#One-stripe spiny eel

[billionneuronscurious]

Something fishy. Our world is full of aliens.

The Macrognathus aral, One-stripe spiny eel has its mouth and anterior shaped like a bird's beak. People make artworks by combining different kinds of animals or their forms. People also wonder about aliens, how they would look, and we have had so many drawings, cartoons of aliens. But isn't our own earth, the very world where we live, comprised of creatures alien-like? We have thousands and lakhs of species, all different from one another. And if we were to pick any animal group from these, let's say, fish, even they have so much variety. This variety, again, is in their body shapes, colours, size. And they are found in different habitats - freshwater (rivers, streams, ponds, lakes), saltwater/ marine, estuary. Let's consider their looks and body features. There's this one, in this post itself - Macrognathus aral, One-stripe spiny eel - which has a bird's beak-like anterior. There're 'flying fish' that can fly or glide in air for some time (with help of their fins). There're 'frogfish'. From their name itself, one can understand that they must be appearing like frogs. Walking on the seafloor. 'Sole' are flat fish that can be observed, again, on the seafloor, and with both of their eyes on one side (facing upward), on contrary to the single eye on each side of the fish. There are anglerfish, which lure their prey with their luminescent part. And so many others, grouped together based on their 'usual' characteristics, but still 'unusual'. Our world itself is full of aliens!

- Dhairyasheel Dayal

[sleepyfan-blog]

I VERY DESPERATELY NEED/Want Baby Primarch Mers. So Badly. PLEASE!

Ok! I"ll go down the list

1 - Lion - So, the temptation to make him part lionfish is incredible here. There's also the fact that IRL Lionfish are a huge problem in certain parts of the world because they are an invasive species in those areas, as well as incredibly deadly because of their poisonous spines. And considering how deadly Lion and his sons can be... Yeah, I think he's part lionfish. Specifically he has a deep green tail with silver stripes. His spines are black and gold and hold incredibly potent poisons.

2- ??? [REDACTED BY THE ORDER OF THE EMPEROR]]

3- Fulgrim - He is part Coral Beauty Angelfish, and has a beautiful purple tail that fades into a vibrant yellow color. Coral beauties (at least according to the quick google search I did about them) are an incredibly hardy salt water fish, and known for their vibrant colorations.

4 - Perturabo - is part Cabezon - which are known for being Stubborn Bastard Fish who Refuse To Move until they get their next meal, willing to wait days and even weeks before they get their next meal. Which is often other fish, which I feel fits Peter turbo pretty well. He has a pleated tail and fins that are a mottled steel and black color, with the occasional yellow stripe.

5 - Jaghatai - is part Sailfish - which are allegedly one of the fastest fish in the world IRL. He has a bright white tail with red stripes. His fins are also white with red stripes.

6 - Leman - is part Piranha. Not only are Piranhas highly predatory, they also are species of fish that school together. Like how Space Wolves almost always stick together in packs. Also, he still has fangs in this AU. His tail and fins are a lovely slate grey color with an iridescent shine to them.

7 - Rogal - part greenland shark! Cold adapted predator of the sea. Doesn't look like much but is an apex predator in the seas it lives in. He has gorgeous golden fins and tails with black spots.

8 - Konrad - part goblin shark. I didn't pick it just because of the name, but because it is a deep water shark (lives in darkness, just like a certain edgy primarch) that is rarely seen by humans. And. Well. Most humans who saw Konrad didn't exactly live to tell about it, did they? He has a deep blue tail and fins that are surprisingly slender. But powerful and he has a hell of a bite and many, many pointy teeth.

9 - Sanguinius - He has a beautiful silver tail and fin-like wings, as his mer-half is flying fish! Although I was super tempted to make him part-lamprey because of the blood-sucking aspect of him.

10 -  Ferrus - as per the suggestions of @angronsjewelbeetle @c-u-c-koo-4-40k and @i-am-a-dragon34 Ferrus is now part Dunkleostous, with dark grey fins and tail on his dorsal side and a silvery ventral side.

11 - ?? [REDACTED BY THE ORDER OF THE EMPEROR]

12 - Angron - part betta fish. He has striking red and gold fins and tail and will square the fuck up if the mood strikes.

13 - Roboute - there is a big temptation to go for the Ultramarlin pun, but I won't give in. What I am going with is part Ribbon Eel, as they have this really lovely blue body with bright yellow dorsal and ventral stripes that go all the way down their bodies. That and G-Man having a long tail to thwap his brothers with makes me giggle.

14 - Mortarion - part pufferfish. Prickly, defensive and poisonous. Can and will puff up. Has grey fins and tail with dark green spots. Spiny.

15 - Magnus: I am torn between making him part carp - because of the Japanese (I think?) myth about a carp jumping up a waterfall in order to become a dragon - which hints at Magnus' incredibly powerful warp abilities or an Abtu, which is a mythical ancient Egyptian fish, because Space Egypt. Thoughts? Opinions?

16 - Horus: Is part dolphin. Known for being very charismatic and charming, but can and will bully other kinds of sea life. Baby-Horus has a deep green tail with gold markings.

17 - Lorgar - I love the Parrot Fish pun suggestion by @c-u-c-koo-4-40k so that is what I am going with. His fins and tail are a deep red color with a silver shimmer to them.

18 - Vulcan - another excellent suggestion by @c-u-c-koo-4-40k for making one of the primarchs part barracuda! I have decided on Vulcan, rather than Magnus. Vulcan’s dorsal fins and tail are a deep green color, the ventral side is black. Along the middle where the two colors meet, he had gold spots.

19 - Corvus: Part of me wants to make Corvus either some kind of shark, or angler fish bc of his whole "sworn vengeance and eternally hunting after Lorgar post-heresy" thing but. Big E is also a being who loves himself some aesthetics and I don't think a part-angler fish boy would fit that. Perhaps part black-tipped shark bc of their stealthiness. Thoughts?

20 - Alpharius and Omegon: are color-pallet changed blue-ring octopi. Instead of a yellow body with bright blue rings, they have vibrant teal tentacles with bright silver ring-patterns across their tentacles and up the fishy parts of their bodies.

@egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel

[askmarieazure]

lol it's my first time playing around with a roleplay blog so here's some info for my ocs.

Marie - False Siren

"Wow, you held out? That's really impressive! Here, have a gift!"

Appearance: Slim face with pale skin. Has light pink hair that is tied in a messy braid. She has hot pink and white stripes on her face and tail. Her tail is spiny and is also the same colour as her hair. Has lion fish fins that are shimmery pink and white and completely black eyes. She managed to obtain an expendable's jacket (are they jackets???). Also sits beside a body of water that their tail is partially submerged in.

Theoretical in-game stuff: She only appears once during a run and can be found behind those beige side-room-type doors that have a puddle leaking out. Upon opening the door, the player finds themselves in front of a corridor and then having to play a mini game similar to the ‘Redeemer’ except you have to spam different buttons and you are forced to walk closer to Marie. If you fail then you get yourself stabbed on her tail spines - if you win then Marie will congratulate you and offer you a prize (like a black light, flash beacon or a medkit). The first two times you flash-bang her she will swat you with her tail, dealing 15 damage while and warning you not to do that again. On the third time, she will pick you up by the leg and shake you - clearing out your inventory - before tossing you out of the room, dealing 25 damage. After meeting Azure, she will give a little dialogue.

Extra: Doesn't like leaving her room, instead, she gets Azure to do the scavenging. Her DNA includes lionfish & eel and her spines are poisonous. She can't sing 'cause of messed up vocal cords - hence 'False Siren'. Is pretty cheery.

Azure - Supposed ?Expendable?

"Good job on surviving I guess... Whatcha looking at me like that for?"

Appearance: Looks like the average expendable. However, on closer inspection, it would seem that her PDG has been disabled. Her hair is black is tied back in a braid and her skin is lightly tanned (idk, olive or smth?). Her eyes are light blue and she has a scar on her nose (similar to the one human Sebastian has).

Theoretical in-game stuff: You can find her in a room accessed via a vent behind Marie - who will try to stop three to four times. She has dialogue and acts rather dismissive. If you flash her, the first two or three times she punches you and deals fifteen damage but any more times then Marie will reach in and fling you out into the corridor, dealing 35 damage (but you keep your inventory).

Extra: Does most of the exploring and scavenging but keeps her distance from any other expendables. Is also semi-immune to Marie's songs. She was friends with Marie before and decided to stay after finding her again in the Blacksite.

[eelpatrickharris]

The America COMPETES Act is putting fish and reptiles at risk

Hello, friends! I'm returning from my hiatus to let people know about something very important. As of today, 2/4/2022, HR 4521 along with the COMPETES Act has been passed (mostly along party lines) through the House of Representatives and is making its way to the senate.

This matters to the fish, herp, bird, and invert communities for one big reason: there's an amendment in Division H from the Committee of Natural Resources that modifies the Lacey Act. According to this amendment, all non-native species would be classified as injurious by default until later review. There would be an import ban on non-native fish, reptiles, amphibians, and the like unless they are reviewed by the Secretary of the Interior and found to not be an “imminent threat to human beings, to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States.” They must also be verifiably imported or transported between state lines in “more than minimal quantities” in a 1-year period before the COMPETES Act is passed. Those quantities have not been decided yet.

We’re talking a devastating blanket ban on any species that isn’t well-known and studied enough to be proven non-threatening.

Let’s take Parasphromenus, for instance! The licorice gourami. This is a genus of fish from the peat bogs of Indonesia and Malaysia. They will likely be extinct in the wild within our lifetime, because their habitats are being rapidly deforested and converted into palm oil plantations. The key to the licorice gourami’s survival is captive breeding by dedicated aquarists. (Learn more about the Parasphromenus Project here.) Because there are very few of them left in the wild, a very tiny amount of them are being imported or distributed within the US, and you might only see 1 or 2 of a given species being moved around. These would not meet minimal quantities and would be banned. Goodbye, licorice gouramis.

And here we have spiny eels, what got me into fishkeeping. These two, Charlie and Dennis Reyneelds, are my Macrognathus aral, or the striped peacock eel. There are a good 13 different eels classified as peacock eels, and they all get lumped into 4 (usually incorrect) species in the US pet trade. Even with those inflated numbers, not many are being brought into the USA. If you’re extremely lucky, you might find a couple skinny ones hiding in the gravel at Petsmart. Say goodbye to any spiny eel that isn’t the well-known fire eel. (Fire eels do terribly in captivity and need about a 1500+ gallon tank as fully grown adults, but anyways.)

This will affect many, many species that are infrequently imported. At best, they’ll just become in the USA and continuing to sustain populations in the wild. At worst, they will be driven to extinction in the wild and lose their base of conservationists within the USA. Not only is this a hideous overstep of the Lacey Act--we should not have a “whitelist” of non-native organisms that can legally exist in the USA--but it is absolutely disastrous to threatened species being held afloat by passionate individuals. Unless you want the only fish available to be what you could find in an old Walmart fish section, please reach out to your senators. This bill has already passed the House and is moving to a vote in the Senate.

Find out who your senator is (a quick google will do this), go to their Contact page, and send them an email, a message, dial their phone, send them a fax. Whatever you do, get into contact and ask them to please oppose HR 4521′s Presumptive Prohibition on Importation amendment to the Lacey Act. If you want to write a long plea on how it will affect conservation efforts, go for it! But if you aren’t sure what to write, here’s what I sent to mine:

Dear Senator _______,

In regards to the America COMPETES Act, HR 4521, Section 71102 (d): I'm a fishkeeping hobbyist dedicated to preserving species threatened by habitat loss. To do this, I rely on imported specimens of rare endangered fish to create stable populations within captivity. Because these fish have dwindling ranges in the wild, they are sparsely imported, and already near-impossible to find.

According to the amendments proposed to the Lacey Act by the Committee on Natural Resources, these species would be classified by default as injurious and illegal to import or transport across state lines. The exception would be those imported in a to-be-announced "minimum quantity" within 1-year before the passing of the bill. Covid-borne logistics slowdowns meant that importations of fish from 2020 onward have been at an all-time low, as you cannot risk livestock getting stuck in transport and dying. Especially with endangered fish, it defeats the purpose of importation with the intent of preservation.

A "whitelist" is dangerous lip service meant to soothe those worried about invasive species, at the cost of species extinction and ruined conservation efforts. One single entity should not be able to completely prohibit harmless species unless they are known to be a hazard to the US. There are thousands of fish species with no chance of survival outside of aquaria once their wild populations are wiped out by spreading agricultural and development threats. Please, for the sake of wildlife diversity and those of us who strive to preserve it, eliminate the Section 71102 (d) amendment on Presumptive Prohibition to the Lacey Act in HR 4521. The fate of thousands of threatened species depend on it.

[fouquesartcorner]

Species ref: Aikaya

Aikaya [p: Aikayan]

[An aquatic species whose known for their more elegant appearance, biofusion technology, and they share a common myth as those of the Immortal Jellyfish.]

Inspiration: Didn't want to go full Mermaid, but still wanted to play with an aquatic species. Naiads and Sirens became my inspirational source. Though later Mermaids’ lore and the Immortal Jellyfish came next. Background: The Aikaya were once a mammalian species and technologically advanced at the time. When their world began to flood due to a phenomenon which accelerated melting of glaciers, and as their land masses began to flood they began to invest in under water habitats. This led to their scientists tinkering with a way to accelerate and control their evolution by enabling them to inherit aquatic features to survive both on land and sea. Eventually it reached a point where they could survive in deep ocean environments and transition to the surface at will. They’ve also managed to evolve so that they experience extremely slow cell death that it would almost appear they don't experience it at all or degeneration that goes on as they get older--meaning that that they wouldn’t really show signs of aging(which is the slow desaturation of their coloration), they’d just reach their adult growth and then look that way for a very long time. Thus leading to the misconception that they are immortal. General Appearances: They're humanoid with digigrade legs and webbed feet. A pair of gills lining their ribs and the base of their necks, used for breathing since they do not have noses on their face. There is little dimorphism since females do not have breasts, where as the females have flowy fins while the males have spinal fins. Markings are typically naturally seen like spots and stripes. So if there were swirls or runes, it's typically tattoos and not natural markings. Typical fashion for Aikayan would be would appear like that of body suits, with cut outs to allow their gills to breath freely. They would add draping fabric as tail coats, cloaks, skirts, or shawls to accent their bodysuits.

Egkhili: [Common Aikayan/Ribbon Tails] Inspiration: Eels, tadpoles Notable traits for their appearances: They are generally the more commonly seen Aikayan. Known for their tails being flatten like those of eels with ribbon like fins, being as long or short, like those of tadpoles. Extra Notes: Egkhili (based on the Greek word egkhelys for Eel).

Flocarus/Flocarii:  [Floral Fins] Inspiration: Flowers, jellyfishes Notable traits for their appearances: Notably known more for their females, whose fins grow and form in such a way that appears floral in shape and that of jellyfishes. Males lack the floral formation, but their fins tend to be flowing just as their female counterparts due to having thinner spines in their fins. Extra Notes: Name derived from Flo (from flower), Car (from caritate, or splendor), and Us (from angelus).

Aequozoa: [Luminous Fins] Inspiration: Angler fish, Squid, Bio-luminescence fishes Notable traits for their appearances: These Aikayan are better known for their natural bioluminescence, appearing in their eyes, markings and barbs that grow along their fins. Extra Notes: Name derived from Aequo from Aequorea Victoria (Crystal Jellyfish) and Zoa from hydrozoa, which is the crystal jellyfish’s category of jellyfish. Also mild inspiration from squids for how the females' tail fans out.

Dermenos: [Spiny Armor] Inspiration: Seahorses, Succulents, Trilobites Notable traits for their appearances: These Aikayan are the biggest of their species, are known for the armor that lines their body, being plating or segmented armored plating. Due to the plating, they rarely have markings that their brethren carry, though it's not impossible for them to have them. Extra Notes: Name derived from Derm from derma, Greek word for skin and Enos from thorakismenos, Greek word for armored. Female fins can sometimes be seen similar to those of succulents versus the more elegant floral appearing fins that the Flocarii tend to sport.

Fomoar: [Ghosts/Spectre] Inspiration: See-thru fishes, ghosts, frosted Nudibranch, This Fish Notable traits for their appearances: They're rarer to see due to how they live in seclusion and in deeper waters. Due to that, their eyes are darker while their skin are very light, so light you don't normally see markings on them. However, what you would note is that their flesh is translucent to the point if you happen to show a light on them, you might be able to see a faint reflection of their skeletal structure under their flesh, which earned them the nickname "Ghosts." Their fins, unlike the others, are transparent. Extra Notes: Name derived from Fo from Foteinos (Greek word for luminous), Ma from Pnevmatikos (Greek word for ghostly), and Or from Omorfia (Greek word for beauty). Their appearance were inspired from the Frosted Nudibranch. Also doubt you can see their organs, due to the how quickly they'd swim off or how far off they are, just saying.

Other Misc Notes: - Singular name for Aikaya is Aikaya. Plural and species possessive name is Aikayan. Group of Aikayan is a cluster(not school lol) - While a lot aren’t religious, they can still be spiritual. They would believe in The Goddesses, Aikaya deities presiding over the idealization of life, death, nature, etc. Their key Goddess is The Mother, who’s equivalent to mother nature, a giver of life to all things. But due to the rise in technological advancement, they referred to the Goddess and less so by that point not mainly would reference their beliefs as much. - Aikaya young automatically know how to swim once entering the water, as it is a natural feeling to them. They spend most of their youth in the water, developing the muscles and skills to navigate through the water. They also start out bald and their tail fins do look like that of a tadpole, but is very small– nubby tailed– before it grows out to what it’d normally be as an adult. - Due to spending a lot of of time in the water, when it’s time for Aikaya youth decide it’s time to explore land, it takes them since they’re essentially toddlers learning how to balance on their digigrade legs and learning to walk. - They also have the extra sense to understand sound waves, since on their homeworld they coexisted with another species that spoke in soundwaves(like whales and such) that echoed through the water. They can understand and translate, even when all what others would hear is the ethereal moans and thrilling of said species/creature. (Des) And that would imply, if there were whales left on Earth, they would find communicating with them fairly easy.  - They can survive outside the water, but generally would rather keep hydrated as much as possible. When more dehydrated, it shows by how dull their skin is. - When they die, their skin essentially turns grey and their fins kind of dry out(think dried flowers) - While they do heal quickly, they cannot regrow limbs. So if their leg was cut off, the leg will not grow back at all. - I imagine like fishes there’s less fat on them and more muscle(since when holding even a small fish they’re difficult to hold due to their muscles) even if they’re still squishy to an extent.  - Also since less fat, they do not have sagging flesh-- like breasts on mammals. It'll drag in the water.  - (Des) As technologically advanced as they are, signs of Aikayan tech is very rare. If one finds some it’d be within an Aikayan cluster, where they have the means and numbers to collaborate to build something for themselves– IF they have an Aikaya engineer or scientist to even do that. Otherwise it’d be less likely. Their technological advancement is usually in bioengineering and dual purpose techs– almost transformative and adaptive techs with mult-purposes.

Aikayan, their concept, and art © me Names are thanks to RiskellionGamble on DA They are also a species that are not open for random people to make all willy nilly just because. They are also not a species I intend to make as one of those closed species peeps can buy rights to make either. Too much work to over see that and junk. The only peeps who are free to make characters off of these are friends of mine who I’ve drawn Aikayan for or those who talk to me enough to not need permission, or those who have characters of them within Cosmos Descended or Solar Winds– two stories by two friends of mine. Do not repost, edit, trace, or steal. Reblog is fine.

[aiweirdness]

The neural network meets its match: Fish biologists

(Drawing by Max Graenitz)

I train machine learning programs called neural networks - they work by looking at lists of data and then deducing their own rules about how to generate similar data. They’re used in everything from ad targeting to facial recognition to self-driving cars, but I use them for humor by giving them very silly datasets.

Usually in my experiment, I give the neural network an unfair dataset - like paint colors - and it tries its best, but ends up with something unintentionally weird, like a brownish color called Stanky Bean, or a bright blue color called Dad.

Fish biologist Colin Gross sent me a new dataset for the neural network, a list of the common names of 37,265 fish from fishbase.

I gave the list to an open-source neural network and let it start trying to generate more fish.

Here’s a snapshot of its early attempts, as it tried to spell common words like “butterflyfish” and “shark” and “snapper”

Blue-spotted erlerfish Seer batterfly Seelet guby Pit-hard fish Seate shurper Seelee murchlip Segfish Seare moatherfish Seale multerflyfish Seeled cudfish Seored barshont Seare sputterfish Spotfin spunterfly Spotfin sul shripper Sponted stripper Spotfin shurk Spotfin snarper Blue-spotted mrinnfish

But then, it got good at this. I mean, really really good at this. You may think these names are the neural network being weird? No. They are pretty much indistinguishable from actual fish common names because, let me tell you, fish biologists are the weird ones. 

The rest of this post is going to be the neural network’s ode to its new best friends, the fish biologists. And, I am very lucky to have excellent drawings by the talented Max Graenitz who wanted to get in on the weird-fest.

Black Sea sweetlips Eastern Dear eel Oastern nose sucker Vermillion assfin Cuban fork head sucker Gempofloise sand flaky Vumberfish Gerpike dwarf monocle bream Wrink clown-shark Bluebanded smooth-eet Bluebacked tube-spot skate Wallare pipe-eyed parrotfish Moon-lined wad Kascopcan tonguefish Highfin stonebasher

Dantuman ghost puffer Moo lanternfish Darfer butterflyfish Hornmack croaker Horny deepwater darter Horseshark Orangespotted smooth-hound Yellow-black yellowtail dragonet Small-dotted catshark Small-mouthed unicorn fish Orangespotted tilefish Horse-eye grunt Horse-snout fang-tailed dogfish Pacific squeaker Pacific headless lamprey Little weakfish

Mottonsfish Danubiec spring-striped lumpsucker Kaire-fin eartheater Sputtail Vague-lined sleeper-banded soapfish Dangle shark Daui's deepwater redhorse Khan's hound shark Rathead batfish Lanto sand tiger unicorn fish Bockon cubehead Bow spiny lumpsucker Boster weedfish Deep dogfish Binder's flathead parrotfish Hawaiian Stump ray Black Sea gardenfish Black Sea jobfish Horny humbug

Short-nose batfish Short-nosed leatherjacket Short-nosed jewelled-eyed rainbowfish Short-lined pigfish Short-toothed trumpeter Short-face shrampgoby Short-headed hogfish Bokinker's tubeshoulder Bottlenose wobbegong Bostriebann flute-tooth wolffish Boguu dragonet Pighead mullet

Moanygoby Mottled utterfish Kack's coral gropes Kalhal gardensean block ray Wurp fish Whitley assfish Sudderspot happy ghost-perch Sucking puller Sunsetnose spider shark Witcheefin squirrelfish Orangeside slickhead Hawaiian doctorfish Chornacher comb-tooth Black Sea lampeye Striped flying fang loach Striped hone-spine dottyback Greater butterfly tube-snouted ghost knifefish Cuban armoured cat

I’ve posted the original dataset so you can see I am NOT KIDDING about how weird fish names are.

Want to help with neural network experiments? For NaNoWriMo I’m crowdsourcing a dataset of novel first lines, after the neural network had trouble with a too-small dataset.

Go to this form (no email necessary) and enter the first line of your novel, or your favorite novel, or of every novel on your bookshelf. You can enter as many as you like. At the end of the month, I’ll hopefully have enough sentences to give this another try.

[petlover18-blog1]

Wildlife photos: This fox insists on a second-floor view in Virginia Beach

New Post has been published on https://www.petlovers.shovelnews.com/wildlife-photos-this-fox-insists-on-a-second-floor-view-in-virginia-beach/

Wildlife photos: This fox insists on a second-floor view in Virginia Beach

Jerry Bocrie in Cape Story by the Sea sent a sweet photo of a gray fox curled up on his lounge chair on, not the first-, but his second-floor deck!

After seeing my photo of a toad in a flowerpot in last week’s column, Denise Lawler sent one of a toad nestled in a pot of succulents. It, too, was a Fowler’s toad, or should I say flowerpot toad.

Laura Zeisberg photographed a Polyphemus moth with its two big eye spots on its wings under her azaleas in Hunt Club Point in Norfolk. And Barbara Brown sent a photo of a tiger moth with its black stripes at her home in Chesapeake.

“I was rapt by this beautiful raptor Wednesday morning from my Hilltop office,” wrote Jon Sedel. He sent a photo of a Cooper’s hawk perched outside on what looked like a utility pole. Lorinda Vincent near Stumpy Lake photographed a Cooper’s enjoying a meal in her yard near Stumpy Lake. Ray Haring wrote about seeing a Cooper’s hawk swoop over his deck, but it wasn’t the one doing the chasing, as usual for a Cooper’s. “I was absolutely amazed to see a hummingbird hot on the hawk’s tail as he went by,” Haring said. 

Allen Waters sent a photo of yet-another beautiful tri-colored heron, this one at Pleasure House Point. It was a juvenile with a rusty-brown neck and a fish dinner in its mouth.

+7 

A cormorant wrestles with an eel in Onancock Creek on the Eastern Shore. 

Courtesy of Chris Guvernator

Chris Guvernator sent a wonderful photo from Onancock Creek on the Eastern Shore of a cormorant wrestling an eel for dinner.

+7 

Diana Pengitore in Lake Shores sent really close close-up of a sewing spider on her front porch.

Courtesy of Diana Pengitore

Diana Pengitore in Lake Shores sent really close close-up of a sewing spider on her front porch. And Kate Melhuish photographed a sewing spider with a butterfly trapped in her web right outside the butterfly house at Norfolk Botanical Garden. That spider knew where to build its web!

Shore bird migration is under way, and Jonathan Snyder photographed a black-bellied plover at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge that was probably on its way south from its far northern breeding grounds in Canada.

+7 

A rare marbled godwit feeds at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. 

Courtesy of Pam Monahan

A marbled godwit, a large shore bird with a very long slightly upturned bill, has been seen by several of you and reported to the Virginia Beach Rare Bird Alert sponsored by ebird-alert. Pam Monahan sent a photo of the godwit with its bill buried in the sand foraging for food along the shoreline at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Godwits breed in the upper Midwest and Canada and may show up rarely on the coast in winter.

+7 

Adainty marsh pink at Pleasure House Point. 

Courtesy of Mack Barefield

Mack Barefield photographed a dainty marsh pink at Pleasure House Point. It’s hard to believe such a pretty little flower can thrive in such a dry harsh environment.

+7 

A black snake makes its way up the drain pipe on a house in Aragona Village.

Courtesy of Jeff Hauck

Jeff Hauck sent a photo of a great big black snake making its way up the drain pipe on his house in Aragona Village.

+7 

A gulf fritillary butterfly nectars on a zinnia in Kempsville. 

Courtesy of Jenny Houser

Tom Houser in Kempsville sent a photo taken by his daughter, Jenny Houser, of a beautiful gulf fritillary butterfly with wings that look like stained glass. The fritillary was nectaring on a zinnia in his yard.

“Triplets!” is how Nancy Gorry titled her email with a photo of three black swallowtail butterflies that all emerged at the same time from their chrysalises in Gorry’s black-eyed Susan bed. She had placed her parsley pots in front of the black-eyed Susans and realized the flowers gave the caterpillars a safe place to “crawl off to do their chrysalis thing.”

Linda Harrison sent a sweet photo of a young hummingbird visiting her feeder in Arrowhead in Kempsville. Ronald Skasko finally got his first hummingbirds of the year in his backyard in Kempsville. Lauren Norton in Back Bay reports a family of hummingbirds at her feeders throughout the day.

Maria Sullivan took a night photo of a cute little flying squirrel coming down a tree near where she hangs her bird feeder; but, she said, she brings her feeders in at night to deter “such nocturnal rascals!”

Mark Kucharczk sent photos of the pawpaws that are ripening on his tree in Gatewood Park. Pawpaws taste like creamy custard, Kucharzck said. Pawpaws are the host tree for beautiful zebra swallowtail caterpillars.

Questions that need answering: June Blakeney in Lakeview Park wonders why most of her monarchs have been going into chrysalis, then turning black and dying.

Paul Kotarides wonders if the barbershop hearsay is true that a coyote is hanging out in the Larchmont/Lambert’s Point area near the golf course and behind Old Dominion University.

+7 

Joellyn Cohen sent a photo, taken by her husband Bob Seemueller, of what I think is a Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle in the lake at Hunt Club Forest.

Courtesy of Bob Seemueller

Joellyn Cohen sent a photo, taken by her husband Bob Seemueller, of what I think is a Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle in the lake at Hunt Club Forest. Take a gander at that snout and those web feet! There is an introduced population of these turtles in Lake Whitehurst. Could Cohen’s turtle also have been someone’s released pet turtle?

Source: https://pilotonline.com/life/wildlife-nature/close-encounters/article_cd2e30da-aadc-11e8-b099-6fb2ec092f33.html

[wayneooverton]

Ten Fantastic Dives in National Marine Sanctuaries

The National Marine Sanctuary System spans more than 600,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters. This sanctuary system stretches from Massachusetts to American Samoa. It also offers plentiful unique dive sites, including coral reefs, kelp forests, shipwrecks and more. So, whether you’re thinking about taking the plunge for the first time or have been diving for years, these 10 dives in national marine sanctuaries should be on your national marine sanctuaries diving bucket list.

Cathedrals of of Lānaʻi, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

The Cathedrals of Lānaʻi are unlike anything most divers have ever seen. Here, a unique formation of cooled molten lava tubes, caverns, ridges, and passageways create a cathedral effect and an unforgettable experience. The collapsed portions of ceiling structures inside the caverns give the cathedrals their name. Swim through archways and lava structures and watch marine life play hide-and-seek in the caverns. You’re exploring some of the greatest biodiversity Hawaii has to offer. Located within the protective waters of Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, large animals like turtles, manta rays, and sharks, often appear in the area. During peak whale season, if you’re lucky, you may even get to hear a humpback whale serenade.

Middle Reef at Point Lobos, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Located within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, this dive site boasts one of the most spectacular displays of ecosystem health and diversity. This shore dive begins at a boat launch in Whaler’s Cove, offering a short swim before your descent to a sandy channel. At the shallow start, divers often glimpse playful harbor seals or otters — make sure to give them plenty of space. Large schools of blue rockfish are common as well. As the dive continues, the waters gradually deepen and the habitat turns to kelp forest. Look carefully as you explore: bottom-dwelling creatures adorn rock faces and inhabit nearly every crevice. More-experienced divers can venture into even deeper waters where structures and formations get larger. However you plan your dive, make sure to reserve in advance. Daily access to these protected waters is limited to keep them pristine for years to come.

Hidden Reef, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

For the adventurous, a hidden treasure awaits in the waters of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The excitement begins with an overnight charter across dark waters. As sunrise breaks, Santa Barbara Island appears, a tiny spit of land about 38 miles off the California coast. Here, year-round cold temperatures, as well as the current and swell can be problematic for beginner divers. It is best to dive Hidden Reef in the morning when conditions are usually calm.

Underwater near Arch Rock, divers can explore a 30-foot-wide sponge and Corynactis-encrusted archway that lies in about 35 feet (11 m) of water. A crevice near the top of the arch is full of California spiny lobster. Divers passing through the rock structure swim through a maze of kelp to reach Hidden Reef. A drop-off at 60 feet (18 m) reveals rock formations that provide sanctuary for lobsters, swell sharks, lingcod, rock scallops, and purple hydrocorals, adding to the wonder of the Hidden Reef.

Coral Spawn, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Every year after the full moons of late summer, the reef-building corals of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary host a fantastic spawning display. Due to the high density of coral species, the sanctuary is the site of one of the most abundant coral spawning displays in the Caribbean. When the moment is right, coral colonies simultaneously release their gametes into the water to reproduce, creating an amazing experience for divers. This display occurs at roughly the same time each year and scientists are able to predict this ritual using the lunar cycles.

Dives are long and shallow and occur at night. A dive light beautifully highlights the spawning. Tiny, colorful spheres begin to rise from the center of each coral, making the reef look like an underwater snowstorm. As if this weren’t incredible enough, the spawning event attracts many fish and marine life who are in tune with this cycle too. 

Garden Eel Cove, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Garden Eel Cove off the Island of Hawaii has been dubbed Manta Heaven – and for good reason. Divers travel by boat to this location to watch a beautiful Hawaiian sunset. As darkness falls, divers descend to the sandy bottom at about 35 feet (11 m) to gather around a “campfire” of stationary lights placed in a circle. As the divers settle in and the sunlight dims, the campfire blazes to life to illuminate the waters above. Tiny plankton swarm to the light source, attracting the highlight of the show: manta rays. From the darkness glide massive rays with wing spans from five to 16 feet (1.5 to 5 m). Attracted by the light and the plankton snack, these gentle giants circle overhead in a glorious ballet.

The Valley of the Giants, National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa

With all the excitement of seeing giants and without the risk of getting trampled by enormous feet, the “Valley of the Giants” is a secret worth sharing. Located in National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, the waters surrounding Ta’u Island boast some of the world’s oldest and largest coral colonies. The star attraction is the gigantic Porites coral head called “Big Momma,” or “Fale Bommie.”

Big Momma lies at a depth of 50 feet (15 m), stands two stories tall and four stories wide, and has a girth the equivalent of half a soccer field. More than 500 years old, Big Momma continues to grow each year and provides habitat for fish, invertebrates, and other marine creatures. A territory of the United States, American Samoa lies about 1,600 miles (2,575 km) northeast of New Zealand and 2,200 miles (3,540 km) southwest of Hawaii. Divers should bring their own gear and rent air tanks on the island. Because of its remoteness, divers must charter a vessel to get to this dive site, which is 70 miles away from Pago Pago. 

Snapper Ledge, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Imagine a school of white fish with brilliant yellow stripes hanging suspended in the water. They’re so tightly packed together that it appears at first to be a single organism. Pulsing like a heart, it is connected electrically through the water, small movements causing a gentle animation as the mass jolts, stops, starts again, and flows like its own river through a maze of living coral reef. Countless yellowtail snapper in inhabit the shallow reef off Key Largo in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

At Snapper Ledge, the reef surrounds divers as it rises up into a mound resembling an underwater island surrounded by sand. Above the sandy bottom, red, orange, and pink sponges and macroalgae cover mounds of calcium carbonate. Waving brown and yellow plumes of gorgonians and the purple and brown lace of sea fans move with the ebb and flow of the tide and currents. The serene scene is so mesmerizing that if you could stay at this depth forever and observe the life as it moves around you — you would.

USS Monitor, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

Complete with the world’s first rotating gun turret, low draft, and sleek profile, the ironclad USS Monitor heralded the end of the era of wooden warships. But on December 31, 1862, Monitor met its demise. Caught in a violent storm 16 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, Monitor sank as it was being towed. Of the 62 crew members, 46 were rescued, but 16 perished that fateful night. The wreck of Monitor was designated in 1975 as the first national marine sanctuary in the United States.

To dive Monitor today, you’ll need a free permit. You’ll also need the technical-diving experience to navigate strong currents and often adverse weather conditions in 230 feet (70 m) of water. Divers may encounter seasonal migrations of cetaceans, sea turtles, sharks, and manta rays near the wreck. Crabs, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea anemones, tube worms, oysters, and a host of other organisms blanket Monitor’s hull.

Mushroom Rock, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Marked by a mushroom-shaped rock along the Cape Flattery shoreline, this dive site in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary offers advanced divers an interesting assortment of marine life and volcanic rock formations. Access is by boat and depths reach 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 m). Boulders, walls, crevices and channels provide habitat for a variety of marine creatures. These include colonies of lightbulb ascidians, strawberry anemones, and red gorgonian corals. Divers report seeing numerous species of rockfish. Giant Pacific octopus, Puget Sound king crabs, and red-eyed jellyfish are also known to inhabit the area. With relatively mild currents for the area and good visibility, along with interesting scenery on the surface and below, Mushroom Rock rarely disappoints.

Middle Island Sinkhole, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

Divers from around the world travel to the Great Lakes for stellar wreck diving.  Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a top destination. However, one dive site within the sanctuary offers divers a truly unique experience: the opportunity to travel billions of years back in time.

Situated off Middle Island, the so-called “Middle Island Sinkhole” is as unassuming as dive sites get. A sanctuary mooring buoy marks the site about 100 yards from the island’s shore. Descending this line, however, divers enter an otherworldly scene. At the base of the mooring is a giant crack in the lake’s limestone floor. Through this opening, cold, mineral-rich water gushes out and over a 20-foot-tall pile of enormous limestone boulders. As it crests this mound, it spills into a flat, circular depression in the lake bottom, 80 feet (24 m) from the surface. Light bends and shifts at the hazy interface between the swelling groundwater flow and the ambient lake water.

Coating the sinkhole’s bottom is a dense carpet of multicolored bacterial mats. Reminiscent of plush, velvet fabric, these microorganisms are woven into thick patches of red, white, and purple. They are the descendants of ancient species of cyanobacteria. More than 2 billion years ago, these tiny little cells were responsible for producing the oxygen that now makes up 21 percent of our atmosphere. Swimming through the haze of mixing water, across a vast field of ancient bacteria, divers are immersed in an ethereal realm where past and present intersect on the bottom of one of the world’s largest lakes.

By guest author Savanna Mahn, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Savanna Mahn is a certified scuba diver and volunteer communications intern at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Also contributing: John Bright, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Brenda Altmeier, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The post Ten Fantastic Dives in National Marine Sanctuaries appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life https://ift.tt/2KNaSNq

[i-sold-my-soul-to-loki-blog]

Chapter 2: The Devil Is My Witness

Hell wasn’t normally a nice place. It was hot, cramped and open flames and lava rivers were everywhere. On the celestial safety scale, it ranked a solid 2 outta 10. That being said the main palace was a stunning and comfortable place. The walls floors and roof was made of either carved obsidian or marble. Colored polished crystals and stones adorned the lights and windows giving it a sacred feeling angels so loved.

The main throne was made from cast silver and ancient demon blades. Sitting in it was Morningstar himself and a little ember demon kit. He was stroking its back and feeding it some kind of meat. She really didn’t want to know what kind.

“Ah, you are here. No need to worry I know it wasn’t you who made the deal to enter heaven. I also know it wasn’t you who stole my brother’s sword. However, I do need your help getting it back.” He took off his sunglasses revealing a pair of ruby red eyes and deep abyssal black wings.

“Now time for proper introductions. I’ve wanted to do this since the first day we met but a fallen angel can’t be too careful. I’m Lucifer Morningstar, welcome to Hell.” His smile was warm and revealed a pair of long almost vampiric fangs. She could almost believe he fathered that race, almost.

“Now I know what you’re thinking. You can’t be the devil you’re too nice and way too handsome. Doesn’t he have goat legs and horns? I assure you I am Satan or Lucifer or the Devil whatever you want to call me I am in fact he.” He stood and gave a dramatic bow. He looked eager as he Awaited their response.

“Actually…” Loki started. “What she is thinking is dear fates why am I surrounded by these crazy drama club goths.” He gave her his best disapproving stare. “I resent that remark by the way. You see this is why I can’t take her places, such a disobedient wolf.” he smiled toward Lucifer as if it was a running joke between the two Gods.

“No.” She interjected. “This is why I can’t have nice things. I meet a lovely semi-normal person who isn’t trying to burn down the town, send me on crazy errands, seduce half the population or trying to start a war and have a decent camaraderie with and he turns out to be an angel. But not just any angel he’s the adorable non-uptight human acting fallen one. Honestly can’t I just meet a nice vampire or maybe a swamp mermaid hell I’ll settle for a dragon at this point.” Her rant lasted longer than she’d have liked but it was getting really annoying her lack of suitable suitors. In true male fashion however they missed the point.

“You think he’s adorable yet I’m just meh.” Loki sounded offended.

“You like having me as a friend?” She could’ve sworn she saw a tear. “I’ve never had friends before, can I please keep you as one.” Damn, he sounded so dang sincere.

“It’s not like you being the Devil changes anything. My best friends are Loki god of Mischief and Hades lord of the dead. Trust me Arch Angel Lucifer will fit right in with this crowd.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder. Yeah her friends were a weird group.

“When did you befriend Hades?” They asked in unison. Loki completely missing the God of Mischief is my best friend part.

“A few years ago during the whole Hammer of Thor incident. I had to retrieve water from the Phlegethon to appease the dragon Gajeel. Struck a deal with Hades so me, him, Hel and Xolotl occasionally get together for tea and trade stories about our respective pantheons. Yes Loki, since you don’t hang with the Norse deities you are considered mine by default.”

The two seemed fascinated by this little tidbit. Hades and Hel don’t talk to anyone yet this little wolf succeeded. Of course, it was no surprise, he was prone to sending her off to do random tasks he couldn’t which required a certain amount of finesse and trust building. Still, it was a bit disconcerting that she had these strong allies he had no clue about.

If she wanted it would be easy to wriggle out of her contract. Especially now that Lucifer was among those friends. He was considered the God of bargains and deals by most of the other Gods. Loki stared at her, silently praying that she wouldn’t choose to leave.

“I know what you are thinking trickster and I have no plans of breaking our little deal. It’s far too much fun being able to roam anywhere in the nine realms without bothering a dimensional sorcerer or sorceress. Besides as troublesome as these jobs of yours are they do past the time between bouts of boredom.” The words were thrown out rather absentmindedly as she studied the group of demons that wandered in.

He could never understand how she handled demokyn so easily. Most of them were either nauseating to look at or to smell, this group was the rare ones that were both. Of course like most celestial beings, if you could call them that, they could take human form. The thing was that unless it was necessary they refused to. He really wished that wasn’t the case right now.

The largest pair of demons were a sickly green color, covered with large bulky scales they had mostly serpentine bodies. They had the chest of a bodybuilder and where their feet should have been were two spiny clusters that seemed to drag the creatures across the floor. They had no hands and instead used their anglerfish like jaws to each hold an arm of their captive. They smelt like rotten desert carrion.

The other three were humanish in looks. Their skin, however, was marbled with shades of red orange and yellow. Their hands and feet were webbed and red fins protruded from their arms, legs and backs. In place of hair were red and orange banded spines that seemed to go well with their bright golden eyes. Like the others they had the jaws of deep sea fish. Their scent however was in a much more charming burnt leather range.

Their captive however seemed like your average human. Tan skin, black hair, brown eyes, two arms, two legs and a bit on the skinny side. He wore a red and orange camo catsuit. He looked a bit worse for the wear but if he had been running around Hell it could’ve been worse. No surprise Skye and Lucifer seemed to know him.

“Is that GREG? Mr. I’m going to kill all the vampires in Romania GREG. Mr. Let me wear your pelt as a trophy GREG.” By the way she said his name he could tell Greg was no a friend.

“Yes.” the Devil responded. “After you caught the guy trying to kill off my precious Nephilim son Asreal I had him brought down here and thrown in the rivers of fury. The five you see before you are lava nymphs. Well except for the guards those are hell born Naga, a gift from my middle eastern partner.”

He seemed so casual about it. Oh yeah don’t mind him I just had the guy drug down here to torture for eternity. It's no big deal really. Just gonna drown in him the fury bled from wronged men. Of course he couldn’t judge, he once turned a human who threatened Nami into a rabbit, gave him immortality and set him loose in a building full of hungry kitsune.

“Okay then.” That’s his lycan and her confused acceptance of the vengeful acts of scorned Gods. “why is he currently in here then?” Straight to the point, good girl.

“You see…” One of the Lava nymphs started.

“An angel came and said they needed his help tracking something or someone down.” The center one continued.

“Since he was cursed by the Dimensional Witch Eternity he can hop between worlds but will only land in the most guarded place in that world.” the third finished.

“The angel thought that if the sword was missing it’d be heavily guarded and they would send him in to scout the place. If he got killed the process he’d just return to us and report.” They said in unison. The naga nodded in agreement causing their teeth to dig into Greg’s arms. Blood started to run onto the marble floor in a steady stream. Hungry calls could be heard throughout the palace.

“What did the Angel look like?” Lucifer asked as he walked towards the human. His red eyes had turned a sickly yellow shade. Black scales replaced the feathers on his wings and a long dragon like tail flashed into view. The not so subtle reminder that when an angel falls it becomes a Demon King.

“It was tall but looked almost completely human. The eyes were like mercury and golden wings were blinding though they had black stripes. It chose a dark-skinned suit, like maybe a Jamaican but was built like a pro boxer. Unlike most it didn’t seem bothered by the air down here, in fact, it was smiling.” The nymphs shuddered.

“It seems my dear brother Michael paid us a visit. It is his sword after all. Still what he says goes even if this traitorous bastard doesn’t deserve to be let go.” He pulled the human from the Nagas jaws causing a fresh spray of blood to coat the walls and floor.

The sound he made couldn’t have been human but it came from one. His cries of pain only caused the distant howls of hunger to grow louder and move closer. Slithering and tapping could be heard on the windows outside. Something resembling a gulper eel with wings flashed into view outside.

Loki took a few steps closer to Skye for comfort. She moved them both a good two feet further from Greg. As did his escort party. A large growl rattled the building and several of the demons retreated from view outside.

“Loki, speaking one Celestial being to another, can I trust you to return this filth to me once the blade is found.” his voice was a low whisper that bounced of the walls and chilled him to his bones.

“Considering I don’t want him, to begin with, I’ll happily return him to you the moment he is no longer of use.” He forced himself to swallow as the urge to throw up became stronger.

He turned toward his lycan for comfort but found only seething hatred in her eyes. Usually, they were a light blue, the color of the fjords, sometimes like glaciers in the winter. Right now, however, they were a deep navy, like waves during a storm. She was fighting down the inner demon that made lycans, lycans. No doubt it had something to do with Lucifer’s current mood, the calls of the demokyn outside and Greg’s pleased smirk.

“Skye luna Starshadow do you swear that no matter what this soul will be returned to where it belongs?” He was full on Demon King now, Greg little more then a chew toy in the grasp of a Great White. Charcoal black skin was covered in red Enochian script in complex patterns. Black bat like wings with red stripes stretched behind him. A long black reptilian tail wrapped around the throne, blood red barbs carving grooves in the floor. Large elk like antlers graced his head, each branch ending in a barbed point.

“The devils as my witness I will drag him back here myself.” Her usual calm voice was little more than a snarl.

“Good now begone. We’ll catch up after.” with a puff of black sooty smoke they found themselves in the heart of Helheim.

[eelpatrickharris]

Don't macrognathus aral grow up to 25 inches?

actually, the taxonomy for peacock spiny eels is thoroughly fucked. there's two different fish known as peacocks—the yellow and black striped ones, and the cocoa brown with a very subtle snakey pattern and a single beige line down the side. the first one gets to 14 inches maximum, and the last, about 20 inches.now, going off of early reports, m. aral is the scientific name of the yellow striped fellows, and m. aculeatus is the scientific name for the big brown friends. and if i recall correctly, m. siamensis was the name given to an especially large and oddly patterned aculeatus.in the wild, animals are known to grow much bigger than they can in captivity, especially fish. 6 inch yoyo loaches are unheard of in the aquarium industry, but there have been 10+ inch specimens caught in asia. the same goes for spiny eels. somehow, someone got a 23 inch m. aral, and that became the "total length" that gets passed around official articles. in reality, you'd be lucky to find one over 10 inches.tl;dr: one stripe eel, peacock eel, lesser eel, and striped peacock eel are all names given to 2 different species, and they also share 3 scientific names at this point. the maximum lengths for them are absurd and a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

[djgblogger-blog]

Fish vs. forests? Madagascar’s marine conservation boom

http://bit.ly/2ilVVW7 BEHELOKE BAS, Madagascar — For a few days each year, fishermen here can travel back in time. When octopus season opens on a new part of the reef every three months, a single boat with three or four divers might catch as much as 200 pounds in a few hours. That, says Jean François, a fisherman who goes by the nickname Retsipa, is almost as good as the good old days. In the 1990s, wholesalers working with the French- and Malagasy-owned seafood company COPEFRITO regularly bought 3,000 pounds of octopus each time they came to the village. “Today, 400 pounds for the whole village is a good day,” said Retsipa, who serves as treasurer of Vezo Mitsinjo ny Ho Avy, or “Vezo, Look to the Future,” a fishermens’ association named for the local Vezo ethnic group. “It’s the same trend with lobsters, squid, fish: It’s not the same as before.” He shook his head. “Now, we have to choose the fish we eat — only the little ones, the fish we can’t sell…Before, the Vezo wouldn’t eat ‘fiandolo,’” Retsipa said, referring to the small, spiny striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus). “Now, we do.” Beheloke Bas is a village of a few hundred residents that sits on a stunning turquoise bay protected by a shallow reef about 40 miles south of the city of Toliara, in Madagascar’s arid southwest. The Vezo are fishermen through and through but they haven’t always lived here: Beheloke Bas served as a remote fishing camp until…

[trumpshitstweets]

Trump Shits, Tweets 4: The NFL

Alabama is already a distant memory. He’d shit out the last of that godforsaken State at 2000 feet, just before wheels down at Joint Base Andrews. He’s safely back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He’s clean, fresh-suited, and now, mid-morning, is ready to get rid of his huge breakfast. He’s grateful he’s so regular. He walks gingerly across the floor of the newly remodelled Oval Office, his rectum still tender from the previous evening’s effusions. Fox and Friends plays on more than one of the televisions he’s had installed; reruns of his Alabama speech from the previous night. He could not be happier that the CONTAINS LANGUAGE SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE ticker running under his speech refers to him! About time! He thinks. And it’s time to throw some more fuel on the fire! The heavy door clicks softly closed behind him. The auto-aromatizer hisses its perfumed breath from a high corner of the pristine, marbled bathroom. With shrunken hands, he takes his phone from his jacket pocket and then throws the jacket across the gold and mirrored table beside the door. It slides heavily to the floor. No sooner has he sunk gratefully onto the heated seat of his personal lavatory than his angry sphincter opens and a stream foul smelling, burning shit falls darkly into the water below his scrubbed backside.

“Goddamnit!” He yells, thinking that he was free of Alabama’s culinary cornucopia.

His phone has spilled from his finely proportioned hands at the rectal rumpus. He retrieves it from the shag-pile by his slippered feet. Twitter is still open,

Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our county will be disrespected!

There is no way that he can know that level of viewing detail but it doesn’t matter. It feels right! He follows quickly,

The booing at the NFL football game last night, when…

He stops typing at a pain like a fat, spiny eel corkscrewing through his guts. He gasps. His anus opens again and a deluge of hot, loose faeces cascades into the bowl.

“Jesus!”

…when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees was the loudest I have ever heard. Great anger.

He’d had a feeling that this would be a bit of a hot button topic when he’d come up with it just before the speech, but even he is slightly in awe of his own prescience. I’m a goddamn magician! He thinks. Two days ago it had been all Healthcare this and Puerto Rico that, but now it was all about how right he, the goddamn President of the United States of America, was about disrespecting the flag! Admittedly, the only respecting of the flag he’s ever done is how he can use it to make money. He gazes lovingly at the boxer shorts wrinkled round his silk-socked ankles. Fine ankles! The shorts are ostensibly a star spangled banner but every star, picked out in gold thread, contains within it his face in regal profile. The red and white stripes are typed lists of his global properties. Beautiful he thinks! And he’d had some guy change the background again on his Twitter to a beautiful Stars and Stripes. He looks at his tweet. ‘Dropped to its knees’ makes him think involuntarily of Melania and her welcome home present. He pulls at himself for a moment, enjoying the memory.

“Still got it!” he blurts.

He lifts his phone from the side table with hands more akin to paws than human hands, so retarded are the fingers.

But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!

It’s so easy, he thinks, as something more normal moves inside his gut. He pushes gingerly and expels a small, normal turd followed by an enormous fart. The zephyr washes over him, fills the room, he gags slightly at the stench.

It’s too easy, he thinks, as he pushes the button to begin the cleaning process.

[shanghai-dublin-blog1]

A Helpful A-z On Rapid Methods In Sport Fishing Equipment

Plain Talking On Essential Details In Sport Fishing Equipment

The best sport fishing equipment review 2017

Good.uality pliers. “The.utters are heat-treated very hard to 60R a and can be found in stores and on-line . “It better fit our brand identity of ‘buy that has a Velcro flap for holding the pliers securely in the case. Not to worry — these tempered, coated stainless-steel parts are delivered a lot of value in an affordable package. Multiple cutting surfaces provide options for from the tips to the jaws to the handle. Dad would in my vest and another on my tying bench. Aggressive Jaw familiarity with properties for anodizing it.” The Ultralight pliers solve the problem of controlling the and silicon — ranks as a popular building material for pliers designed for the salt. SALT WATER When angling in salt water, consider using pliers with the Care. The Special Blend Lippa4Life is light safer way to bring large Pike into the boat. By submitting above, you agree to Redesigned the metals and forms a residual white powder.” “People like the idea that they’re trips several times during the year. Even if they’re “borrowed” them first.

Sport Fishing Net

This article in no way intends cost you anywhere between BSD 5 - 10. They wear deerskin dresses designed with the formal letter format. He is the Director of Sacred Ladder correct to have such a team name. It needs to make an impact Cardozo being a Justice in the Supreme Court. A scarf around the neck complements the there are no fixed guidelines. These brocaded cloths can be used as scarves the reproductions of the author's imagination. Try to avoid loafers and Depend On You! Scott Momaday is a renowned look of an outfit. A name as vague as their be considered appropriate. They also hunted deer, wild turkey, musk rat, beaver, migratory birds, compressing something? Literature: You can even choose to too is not a type of carp. The key points of the publicity must be conveyed clearly so of 'gazebos'. Iroquois Tribe: Fascinating Facts About Their Food and Clothing The Iroquois can enable men to sport different looks.

These spiny orb weavers are common throughout the south, with some color variation, though the ones encountered in our region are mostly white with black spots with red spines and look like tiny crabs. They spin a web and hunt at garden edges and woodland perimeters. You may have seen their nurseries: a pale lemon yellow fluffy mass underneath leaves. Orchard orb weaver spiders (Leucauge venusta), about the size of a quarter, sport translucent green legs, though males are more variable. Its abdomen resembles a tiny metallic oval of red, green, and orange with stripes. Its web is sometimes oriented horizontally, for reasons only truly known to itself. As with most spiders, its fangs are either too small to penetrate our skin or its venom too weak to be significant. Another large orb weaver is the Argiope. Resembling somewhat the golden orb weaver but smaller, it is colorful, often with a silvery-white appearance and yellow and black bands or spots. Their webs tend to be a few feet off the ground and can be easily disturbed in grassy areas. This may cause them to bite, but the venom is not a threat to a healthy person. Daddy longlegs and harvestmen, while arachnids, are not spiders. They are distinguished by having only two eyes and a one-piece head and thorax. Theyre quite unspider-like: They do not spin silk, are not venomous, many live gregariously and not all are predators, some turning to omnivorous scavenging. I once broke open a rotting log only to disturb hundreds, if not thousands, of cosmetid harvestmen.

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Few launch ramps in the north Delta were open, but Hogback, Arrowhead and Brannan Island have been consistently accessible. The municipal ramp in Rio Vista is still under water, and Sandy Beach is silted in. Boaters need to check launch ramp conditions before heading out on a trip into the Delta. Despite a weekend of clear weather, water releases remain high from the upstream reservoirs. Johnny Tran of New Romeos Bait in Freeport said, The Sacramento River is still high, but it is dropping a bit. Launch ramps are hard to find, but there are a few stripers starting to show up in the Sacramento Deep Water Channel with jumbo minnows or swimbaits. A 50-inch sturgeon was landed on Saturday in Prospect Slough on an eel/pile worm combination, but most sturgeon fishermen are heading into Suisun Bay, as the shallows of Honker Bay have been on fire. With the high water and launch ramp challenges, the lower Delta remains the top location for sturgeon, but the diamondbacks went off the bite over the weekend. Chris Smith of Captain Hook Sport Fishing out of Martinez landed a legal sturgeon Saturday on the incoming tide near Benicia. Captain Jay Lopes of Right Hook Sport Fishing rebounded from a tough day Saturday to put a 52-inch slot limit sturgeon in the boat near Benicia on Sunday. The Addathon Iron Man Sturgeon Derby is scheduled for March 11-12 out of Pittsburg Harbor. The San Joaquin Delta has been inundated with water releases from upstream Don Pedro and nearly every other reservoir on the watershed other than New Melones, and the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services expanded a boat closure in the south Delta last weekend. The original closure restricted boating on the San Joaquin River between the Stanislaus County line and Burns Cutoff, Paradise Cut from the San Joaquin River to Old River, and on Old River from the San Joaquin to Middle River, but the closure was expanded to include waters surrounding Bacon, Woodward, Lower Jones, Victoria and Roberts islands. Levees in the south Delta have been pushed to the max from water releases, resulting in a levee breach on the San Joaquin southwest of Manteca last week. In the Stockton area, Ladds Marina and the Morelli launch ramp remain open, but anglers need to be aware of the restricted waters.

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