#bio-luminescent shrimp

[sspacegodd]

The Weeping Stone by is created with bio-luminescent shrimp found in the Seto Inland Sea in Okayama, Japan.

There may not be an Intelligent Designer but there's surely an Interior Decorator.

[draptorronin]

Behold! The Great Cosmic Slurf!

A fantastical creature native to Zelem's Nexus! Bio-engineered to be gain sustenance through cosmic radiation, while occasionally luring-in small prey items via bio-luminescence, these strange, sedentary organisms are a common fight around the Flying Reefs of the Southern-rings of Zelem's Nexus.

They are preyed upon by various species of Space Barracuda, Quark Trout, and the passing Flarkdrive Shrimp.

Common prey items for the Great Cosmic Slurf include Flying Rods, Wormhole Mantis Shrimps, and if they're lucky, a Zboffit (a Quantum-genetic breed of Spoffit).

[ramshacklestar]

@sweetlybite sent || "This was the ONE thing i told you not to do, Snow Shrimp." Floyd chuckles, idly twirling his pen between his fingers. "Just a lil rulebreaker now, aren't ya?"

𝑫𝑰𝑹𝑬 𝑺𝑰𝑻𝑼𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 || Accepting

Her curiosity preceded her, often getting her into more trouble than was necessary but ended in a lesson never truly learned. However, it was really a concern at the moment as her attention was more of on a particular bio-luminescent fish that Yuu had hoped to get a closer look at but had always quickly paddled away before she could get too close. Other students of the dorm had simply watched her, bemused by her jogging back and forth essentially chasing the creature in the large aquarium window within Octavinelle's Mostro Lounge. Yes, she and Grim both had been told in the past to leave the sea life alone; yes, for the most part she'd listened while Grim stared mouth dripping at the tasty prospects but this time was different.

Even still though she hadn't thought about it she had known she was likely distracting the other patrons, and in following this glowing fish around she most definitely wasn't preforming her task in waitressing her job all but forgotten for the moment.

It wasn't until she felt herself bump into a larger member of the staff that her attention finally moved from the fish in question, which had finally dove behind a rock, and up towards the person or rather merman she'd nearly run face first into. Words of 'don't get distracted' instantly filled her mind bringing her back to the time where she was still new and needed proper training, Yuu's face paling as Floyd chuckled down at her. She'd been so focused on such a small thing she hadn't realized she'd caused such a disturbance in the lounge, other staff and patrons alike clearly irritated. One of the other waiters must've gotten Floyd, and if Floyd knew Jade would eventually know which would get back to Azul which would mean...

"Don't tell!" Yuu placed her hands in front of her face in a pleading manner. "I-I'm sorry it was just so pretty and I wanted a closer look and I didn't mean to--it wasn't my intention to do any of...this." She waved her arm behind her the glowers not at all receding back any. "And-and I know I'm not supposed to get distracted by the sea life and I'm supposed to leave nature be, but you know like I said it was so pretty I just wanted to see what it looked like closer but it kept swimming away when I got close and I don't know I was determined." She spoke quickly in effort to defend herself, her words blending together nearly in a way that it was hard to fully keep up, it was pitiful really.

"I won't do it anymore, I promise. Just please don't tell. Please Floyd, please!" Whether she actually wouldn't get distracted again was highly unlikely of course but for now she had known she wouldn't be any more a bother.

[xasha777]

In the verdant undergrowth of the Hegemony-controlled planet, Verdanth, an exceptional discovery was made. The snails, native to the lush ecosystems, had evolved in a most peculiar and visually striking manner. Their shells, vibrant with the colors of freshly ripened strawberries, and bodies glistening with moisture, were unlike any other terrestrial species.

These snails carried within their DNA a secret power, a bio-luminescence and bio-energy conversion system that puzzled and amazed the Hegemony's top scientists. The Hegemony, a vast interstellar alliance known for its ruthless acquisition and exploitation of resources, saw an invaluable asset in these creatures for their biotechnological potential.

Dr. Elara Mirene, a brilliant but renegade scientist, spearheaded the research. She believed that the snails' unique genetic make-up could revolutionize energy production across the galaxy, potentially ending the Hegemony's destructive reliance on planet-stripping for fuel.

Hidden in her secluded lab, nestled deep in the forests of Verdanth, Dr. Mirene began her controversial experiments. She aimed to harness the snails' energy conversion capabilities to create a sustainable, almost inexhaustible power source. Her work, however, drew the ire of the Hegemony. The ruling council feared her success would undermine their authority and control over the energy markets.

As the Hegemony dispatched their enforcers to seize her research, Dr. Mirene faced a critical choice. She could either flee, continuing her work in secrecy, or confront the Hegemony, risking everything to share her discovery with the wider galaxy and potentially spark a revolution.

Amidst the shadows of giant leaves and the soft glow of bio-luminescent flora, Dr. Mirene prepared her final experiment. With the enforcers closing in, she injected herself with a serum derived from the snail's genetic material. Her body began to shimmer with the same radiant energy as the snails, a living testament to her discovery.

In the ensuing confrontation, her newfound abilities stunned the Hegemony's agents. Dr. Mirene, now more than human, became a beacon of hope and a symbol of resistance. Her story spread like wildfire, inspiring planets under the Hegemony’s grip to seek new ways of living harmoniously with their environments.

Thus, the snails of Verdanth were not merely a species to be cataloged in the annals of science but the catalyst for a broader rebellion, marking the dawn of a new era where energy was not merely consumed, but shared freely across the stars.

[aesthesiamag]

Shooting Sea Fireflies Lighting Up the Rocks On a Japanese Beach

Shooting Sea Fireflies Lighting Up the Rocks On a Japanese Beach

Shooting Sea Fireflies Lighting Up the Rocks On a Japanese Beach

This series of images was made using bio-luminescent shrimp as the blue light source. It was photographed in Okayama, Japan, which is home to these rare and beautiful creatures.  The bio-luminescent shrimp are scientifically known as Vargula hilgendorfii, but are more commonly referred to as sea fireflies and locally known as…

[lollich0p]

There should've been more specifically deep sea life outside the windows of rapture!!

Imagine being able to see hydrothermal vent dwellers clustering similar waste water vents yeti crabs, tube worms and ghost shrimp vying for space on a newly constructed vent.

Seeing all manner of fish and crustaceans swarm around refuse dumped out an airlock only too be spooked off by a scavenging shark!

Seeing a smaller species of squid zip by a window hunting or being hunted by a fish.

Having all sorts of bio luminescent fish light up one of those walking sections between airlocks in bio2.

Having a skate or ray cruising around a vent looking for a tasty crab!

Or if you don't care about location being able too see a big spider crab walking around would be so neat!

Seeing a basking shark drift by in the distance. Or maybe even replacing the blue whale that swims under you in bio1 with a basking shark.

[ask-aurachnid]

I wonder if consuming luciferins will increase the output of my bio-luminescence?

Like, if I eat a fuck ton of mycena chlorophos, and like, firefly shrimp, will I glow brighter?

[youneedone2]

The Weeping Stone by Tdub Photo is created with bio luminescent shrimp found in the Seto Inland Sea in Okayama, Japan

[cryptidcalling]

Fourth Aquarium profile: Ormad (who belongs to @twistytwine)

Document written by: Head of Species Study Horace Stettler

Name: Ormad

Species: Unknown

Age: 49

Height head to tail: 7′

Diet: Crustaceans, muscles, shrimp, salmon

Display consent status: Denied 

Threat level: Minimal (Use caution)

Physical description: Ormad is a very large creature with a lean upper body and thick tail. His upper body is a light grey, with a number of black patches that fade to grey towards his wrists. His torso also has an array of scars, most noticeably a large scar that mirrors one on his back of a similar size and shape. His tail is a deep black with sharp, jagged purple fins. He has many features resembling those of the deep sea angler fish. He has a movable rod extending from his forehead, on the end of which is a purple bio-luminescent bulb. He has long thin teeth, some of which poke out passed his lips. He also has long thin spines coming from his elbows, shoulders, ears, and along his spine. He has large sharp claws on his hands. His hair is short, black, and spiky, with a number of grey strands. His eyes are glassy, and solid purple. 

Personality: Ormad is a highly solitary creature. He does not like to be looked at, preferring to hide in the back corners of his tank. When staff are in the room he often remains perfectly silent, even when directly addressed. However, he has spoken to me a small number of times, and does not speak above a mumble. Our cameras have picked up on gentle humming sounds when he is completely alone. Ormad does not like to be disturbed when he is trying to sleep, and has bared his fangs at multiple staff members when he has deemed them a disturbance. However, he has yet to seriously injure any staff, even when they have entered his tank or touched him. However, he has been known to hiss aggressively and hit, leaving bruises and claw marks in certain cases.

Handling instructions: -Ask for handling consent before attempting any procedures. If he does not cooperate he must be fully sedated before any tests are performed. -Avoid making loud noise near his tank, they startle him and make him act aggressively. -His tank MUST be kept very dark at all times, even in emergency situations. Should an emergency arise where it is necessary to find and collect him very quickly staff must use our facility’s  water-safe night vision goggles. -Feeding staff must make sure he has eaten before leaving the room. -Staff must check twice a week for any damage that could have been done to the temperature and pressure regulators in his tank. -Ormad is NOT to be put on the display floor for any reason. -Cameras watching the top of his tank must be monitored at all times in case of self-inflicted injury 

Species specifics and attributes: It is unknown what species Ormad is exactly. He seems to be some sort of deep sea merman, although when asked he denies this. He does sing on occasion, meaning he could potentially be a siren, but he has yet to sing with a person in the room. Therefore it is unknown if his singing has any hypnotic affects. 

Reason for permanent stay: Ormad has been proven to attempt significant harm to himself, and therefore cannot be trusted to live on his own without supervision. He has attempted to starve himself multiple times, and once early on had to be administered a feeding tube for a period of  9 days until he agreed to eat. He has purposefully swam into waters that cannot support him, as they are too near to the surface. This behavior has been seen multiple times, therefore ruling out confused or lost wandering. This has yet to be proven, but it is suspected that a number of his scars are from self inflicted wounds. It is believed he suffers from a number of mental health issues, but we have not yet been able to convince a psychologist to come in to talk with him or confirm any of our suspicions. 

Initial capture: We received numerous reports of a large deep sea creature swimming near the surface of the ocean, about .76 miles from a coral reef. A team, including field medics Persephone Diggs, Dakota Schultz, and Ragan Odom, was sent out to capture him and relocate him to deeper waters. However, he was injured and malnourished upon discovery. He was brought into our facility to be treated. He had reached a healthy BMI after 12 days, and was released into deep sea waters.

Second capture: 3 months after Ormad’s release he was once again spotted in waters far too close to the surface for his health. Once again he was in very poor health, with additional scars and returned malnourishment. He was brought back to our facility and placed in a permanent tank, which has been set up to imitate deep sea waters. 

[cxrnxticn]

@futuredived​ || To You

Several weeks worth of planning, and the day had finally come for the fruits of Mariko’s labor to be put into action. She was determined to make Haru’s birthday something for him to remember. After all, it was his special day, a day to show him just how much his existence meant to her. 

The day consisted of an afternoon picnic at the beach with the main theme of the meal being, naturally, mackerel. Grilled mackerel over rice, and to top it off for dessert, mackerel cake. That one was by far the biggest culinary challenge of her lifetime. Many gag-worthy concoctions were made until she came up with a surprisingly decent combination of salty, buttery, and a hint of sweetness without it tasting off-putting. One bite, and the fragile, spongy morsel melted on the tongue, a favorable effect she had hoped to pull off. Overall, she was proud of herself for overcoming that seemingly impassible obstacle.

After bellies full of fishy goodness came the highlight of the trip, and the boyfriend’s favorite pastime: Swimming. For this, she had another surprise in store for him. Unbeknownst to him, she was wearing a swimsuit underneath her sundress, one she would usually never be caught in because of its elaborate design: A seashell shaped top and matching bottoms with a scale pattern. She grew timid upon her reveal, both for the swim wear, and for facing her fear of the vast ocean before her. Yet, her urge to share Haru's joy of the water overcame her doubts, slowly but surely throughout the days of their ever-growing relationship.

“I...I’ll try to be a fish for today. For you.”

She gulped before immersing herself in the cool, salty liquid, ignoring any concerned protests from the other. As soon as she was waist-deep, that was when her eyes averted from Haru's, and jolted to the open waters. Her stomach dropped. There she was, exposed to the seemingly endless sea where who knows what could be lurking fathoms below. 

Before she could panic, she returned her attention to the only deep blues that gave her comfort. He was the reason she was going through with this, and that was enough for her to face her fears.

As long as he's here, everything will okay.

She attempted to alleviate the tension with a playful splash in her boyfriend’s direction. His dumbfounded reaction was enough to make her laugh, and ease into a more relaxed state as she continued to prod him with more splashes to coax him into a proper water battle. The rest blurred into a series of over and underwater embraces. It was through these experiences that Mariko discovered a newfound beauty in one of her greatest fears. The ocean was no longer as threatening as she perceived it to be.

Before they knew it, the sun had already slipped beyond the horizon, leaving the darkness to take over their surroundings. Despite his insistence that they leave, Mariko stubbornness paid off. They will stay just a little longer. 

With anticipation came concern for potential disaster. What if there was no cherry to top off her perfect plan?

God, I hope this is the right location. What if they moved? What if it’s too early or too late in the season?

Suddenly, a single glimmer caught her eye within the water, and she dove forward to cover Haru’s eyes before he could see. 

“Sorry but I need you to close your eyes for a minute,” she requested with a widening grin that radiated pure delight while observing the natural wonder that emerged around them. They were now bathing within a glowing, blue mass of bio luminescence in the form of tiny shrimps that emerged for their nightly meal, a phenomenon she had done thorough research weeks prior to today.

“Okay, you can open them now.” He had no choice in the matter since her hands did the job in concealing his sight but she released their hold for him to appreciate their surroundings. She would join him in his wide-eyed, slack-jawed reaction but she was too entranced by another wondrous sight. Her eyes never left him, not once. Everything lead up to this moment, and it was more perfect than she ever imagined. Seeing him, glowing in the light with mirth dancing in his eyes, was a sight she will forever treasure in her memory. 

As if drifting through a dream, she floated over to him, and enveloped her arms around his larger frame in a tender embrace, holding him with all of the love in her heart. 

“Happy Birthday, Haru.” ♥

[the-cyber-fish]

Just found your blog and I absolutely love it. These animations look so interesting. Do you have any kind of summary of the story for your characters? (if there is one)

Thanks! You just have to dig through the blog. I’ve summarized stuff a couple times, but perhaps not the whole thing? Idk, it’s been awhile. I can write one up again!

Viiveh was hatched as a fuchsia blood and raised part-time by Gl'bgolyb, as she is responsible for all the fuchsias, and they are responsible for her. Since she can’t care for all of them at one time, Viiveh had a Gamzee situation where his lusus was not always around past his grub stage. Without his lusus to teach him how to defend himself, Viiveh learned to hide from danger instead, which worked for him as he was very small and weak. 

His favorite thing to eat were shrimp, which gave him a pink-ish tone to his skin. His freckles are colored like his blood and glow from bio-luminescence, but I’ve gone back and forth between them getting their color and glow from the shrimp, or just from being a seadweller.

Viiveh grew up to be friendly with others, but found that being a fuchsia means many trolls will want to take advantage of him, either for protection based on sharing a quadrant with a seadweller, or just fear that they have to be friendly with him because of his blood. He would come to realize this and cut out the few friends online he thought he had.

On my version of Alternia the fuchsias are all competing for the top spot, the heiress to the throne. Some have a better standing than others based on times of hatching. Viiveh is relatively older than most, and was steadily moving closer to the rank of heiress when the other fuchsia’s older than him were dying to others. Viiveh, however, didn’t want to be the heiress, or the empress; he doesn’t want to rule.

Around 5 sweeps old, Viiveh would meet a violet blood whom pretended to be his friend, and would come to protect him from other fuchsias, acting as a bodyguard. The violet planned to make a power grab, using a weak fuchsia like Viiveh to take the throne and rule through him. Around his 6th sweep, Viiveh eventually realized their friendship wasn’t real and what he was really after, but he couldn’t cut the violet out of his life because he kept him safe. The violet wanted one of his quadrants so they became moirails, because of the protection, but he’d later realize they should’ve been kismesis’.

Now Viiveh’s life was on a set path for the throne, and he was miserable. He didn’t believe he could do anything about it. His “moirail” would just find a different fuchsia to manipulate and leave Viiveh for dead. The sweeps became more and more stressful as he would soon resent the violet. Falling into depression around his 7th sweep, Viiveh would make a lone trip to land to clear his mind and forget about his worries for awhile.

On my version of Alternia it’s not rare to sea a seadweller in the city, or anywhere on land, but they’re almost exclusively violets. Fuchsias are a very rare sight, since they are responsible for keeping Gl'bgolyb calm and quiet, and need to be in the water to do that. On the other hand, some consider it either beneath them to breathe the same air as landdwellers, or that it’s simply too dangerous since they’re more used to swimming than walking and running, and thus at a tactical disadvantage. Also rebel trolls could be anywhere, there’s a variety of reasons.

For Viiveh, he was in such a state of mind he needed to escape the waters, just for a week or so. He didn’t have anyone to protect him, but he also didn’t perceive much of any threats during his time. He explored the cities, stayed in a fancy highblood hotel, made light conversation with highbloods and lowbloods that seemed genuinely nice to him, browsed the markets and street vendors, found some cool technology that hadn’t made it’s way underwater yet, like the headset, or the tech that makes it work.

Viiveh realized things aren’t so bad outside his bubble of seadweller life, and that maybe he just had some bad luck making friends online. It didn’t last. nearing the end of his trip Viiveh was ambushed by a group of rebels, tipped off about a fuchsia wandering the city the last few days. They intended to kill him and use his blood to paint a message against the tyrannical government, until a juggalo caught them, beat them to death, and saved Viiveh. He wasn’t quite the same after that; it was a chilling reminder of what he was trying to forget.

Viiveh would go back to his hive underwater, locking himself inside. Before now his life had only two paths: become heiress/empress or die. But now he found a third option: run. And so he did. Viiveh packed some things like clothes, food, and gold, and he just ran, abandoning his entire life up until that point. 

He returned to the city and wore a cloak to cover himself and hide some of his fishy features. He started wearing the headset that tracked his eyes to hide his eye color. For awhile he wore makeup to cover his freckles, eventually ditching makeup and the cloak for a full body suit, and changing his name to Vexxin. His pink-ish skin tone eventually fades back to straight gray since he wasn’t living off a diet of shrimp. In the beginning he would just say he’s hemoanonymous, but started to notice how often he was thought to be cerulean or teal. Eventually he starts playing to that, letting people assume he’s cerulean, or straight up saying he was if it benefited him.

Up to the latest in his timeline, he has been Vexxin for half a sweep (7.5 sweeps old). He lives in the troll-version of an apartment complex and has a few friends now, though they don’t know his true hue. He has no quadrants filled, but the drones don’t give fuchsia’s trouble, or care if a fuchsia is masquerading as a lower blood; it makes no difference to them. The real trouble he faces is how close he is to adulthood. Typically a fuchsia is not supposed to live past 8 sweeps unless they are the empress, but Vexxin thinks he can get away with it as long as no one knows his age. It helps that he looks very young.

[fantroll-purgatory]

Vexxin Telore

@eldritchdraaks

This is a follow up to my previous troll, Viiveh. This is also Viiveh, just some months later.

Planet: Alternia

Name: Vexxin Telore In an effort to abandon his old life, Viiveh took on a new persona. That includes a brand new name, Vexxin. There isn’t anything special about it, he just thinks it sounds cool. It’s based on the idea that if there’s an X in your name it’s automatically cooler. He still kept the last name, but I don’t have a good enough reason for it other than I didn’t want to change it. At the least, He doesn’t give it out.

That’s a really good reason for picking a name, to be fair. It also sounds at least tangentially similar to Vexing, which implies worry or distress, which is part of his motivator for hiding away. 

Age: Nearly 8 sweeps.

Blood color: Hemoanon His real blood is Fuchsia, however due to his appearance most assume he’s Teal or Cerulean. He doesn’t try to correct them.

Sign: Again, no meaning behind his sign, however it’s more excusable since he made it up. It looks somewhat like Tony Stark from the movies.

This coloration would imply that he’s a mutantblood proudly presenting himself. Though I won’t change your accent colors, this would need to change to aid his survivability. 

Trolltag: invalidTechnophobe It’s a clever way to say he’s a technophile.

Maybe inverseTechnophobe instead? Invalid doesn’t imply an opposite state, I think inverse would give the clever subtle indication better.

Quirk: Uses a double backslash and a space as a prefix; Holds the shift key while typing, and uses underscores as a space. Proper punctuation gets replaced with shift variant. Originally the quirk was designed to look like code, but he got lazy having to press shift+underscore after every word, so he just held shift down.

IT:\ ARE_YOU_NUTS?_THIS_ISN"T_HOW_WE_DO_THINGS_AROUND_HERE>_LET"S_ALL_CHILLAX_AND_DO_THIS_PROPERLY<_OKAY?

Maybe when he gets better at coding he can just write a script that does this automatically.

Special Abilities: He has lost the pink coloration of his skin and freckles due to eating far less shrimp on land. His freckles will still glow from bio-luminescence so he keeps them covered up.

Personality: He’s still mentally weak, but has the advantage of no one knowing who he really is now. I forgot to mention before that being a fuchsia means the other blood castes either treat him as nobility or wish for his demise, which isn’t fun. He reaches a breaking point on a trip to land where he was nearly assassinated and didn’t have his manipulative moirail around to protect him. Unable to take it anymore, he ran from his problems, going incognito as Vexxin. He lives alone in a communal hive stem; he couldn’t get the drones to build him a new one without exposing his royalty to others, so he settled for renting. He actually has friends now.

I’m happy he got out and has a chance to develop himself! It is certainly an interesting experience. Does he pretend to be more confident than he is now that he’s here? Like put on an act or play a role? Or is he still fairly open about his personality/nature? Is he working on his self-confidence and his ability to fend for himself? This is just stuff to think about with regards to his current position. 

Interests: His interests are relatively the same. He likes to figure out how things work. Shrimp is still his favorite food but he no longer has an abundance of it to eat. His interest in landdweller tech has grown now that he can get get his hands on it more easily. Sucks at writing code and hacking, but has a fondness for electrical wiring and soldering. 

Outfit: He wears a suit to cover up all his freckles, his gills, and his fins. The clothes he wears over the suit are basically the same as what he used to wear: a tank-top and board shorts. Because he’s walking on land instead of swimming in water he wears steel-toed boots to protect his feet. The headset he wears hides the color of his eyes and more freckles. He thought it was cool as heck to have the digital screen eyes that mimic his real eyes. The piece around the base of his horns keeps the headset on his head, and powers the headset and the cyan lights of his suit and boots. His sign glows through the tank-top.

Responding to questions about Viiveh:  On my Alternia the role of Empress is applied to any fuchsia that rules, regardless of gender; Empress and Heiress are gender neutral.

The thing with liking shrimp and being pink because of it was based on flamingos. If Viiveh had his own lusus instead of sharing Gl'bgolyb, it’d be an aquatic flamingo (see here). 

Viiveh IS actually small and shrimpy, being only 5ft tall.

On my Alternia, some tech, especially the newest kinds, aren’t always water proof. Sometimes it takes awhile to get it ready for underwater use, sometimes it may be impossible without compromising functionality, and if it’s niche it might never make it underwater. Seadwellers are only 1% of the population here.

You were correct, Viiveh would not play sgrub. This is more Hiveswap than Hivebent. However I do have a hypothetical godtier for him, being a Sylph of Hope, Derse dreamer, although I can’t recall the explanation behind it.

All interesting stuff! Hmm... I still feel like doom/prospit might fit him better, but figuring that stuff out can be really intricate and tricky. 

That should be it. If you have any questions just ask, and the blog for Viiveh/Vexxin is @the-cyber-fish.

Design stuff!:

Hair: I tousled it a little more to make up for the lack of tiara. 

Mask: I decide to utilize a blue instead of a brown to lean into the idea that people might assume he’s a cobalt. I also wanted to restrict his color palette just a little in general. 

Symbol: I utilized the same symbol, but made the top part open up a bit more and also added an arrow for a similar reason to the blue. I made it the hemoanonymous color, #636363, for the reasons I discussed above. 

Shoes: I wanted to make it clearer that it was steel-toed boots, so I made the distinction start farther up and also added some notable screws. 

Thanks again for sharing!

-CD

[sixpenceee]

The Weeping Stones

Created with bio luminescent shrimp found in the Seto Inland Sea in Okayama, Japan. The series was created by photographers Trevor Williams and Jonathan Galione. (Source)

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species Friday: Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios)

This week’s featured species is one of the most elusive and least understood species on the planet: the Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios). Since it’s discovery, it has been observed 103 times, 102 times recorded at the last IUCN review in August of 2015, and another was observed in July of 2017 (Simpfendorfer, & Compagno, 2015; Gibbens, 2017). The megamouth shark is known for its stout body…

[anidiotsguidetoanimals-blog]

SHOW NOTES: Episode 16 Megamouth Shark vs. Marsupial Lion

Go big or go home: on this episode the AIGTA team discuss megafauna, both living and extinct.

Introduction

Peacock spider correction

Theme: megafauna

Listener animals: hammerhead worm, nudibranchs

Kirsten’s Animal: Megamouth Shark (10:55)

Classification Phylum: Chordata Class Chondrichthyes – cartilaginous fish Order: Lamniformes – mackerel sharks; 2 dorsal fins, five gill slits per side and a mouth ending behind eyes. One of the oldest groups of sharks & includes some of the fastest sharks like mako and salmon sharks. Family: Megachasmidae: megamouth sharks (1 species) Genus: Megachasma Species: M. pelagios

Discovered in 1976 off Hawaii – became entangled in a sea anchor. Winched out of water but tail fell off and shark had to be retrieved by divers. Known from 102 specimens (as of August 2015)/17 sightings.

Description

Maximum substantiated size 577 cm, smallest 177 cm but unknown if close to birth size

~750 kg

Blackish brown above and white below (counter-shading – comes up to surface)

Well-developed large upper lobed tail, small dorsal fins with pivoting base

Tapered, cylindrical body: fleshy, flabby, blubbery with loose & flabby skin

Mushy muscles and poorly calcified skeleton

Huge head, short snout, rubbery lips, very large mouth and tongue (up to 1.3 m wide?)

Small eyes and no nictitating membrane

Mouth has over 50 rows of small hooked teeth but only first 3 rows are functional

White band on snout above upper jaw, sheets of silvery tissue in mouth, may be bio-luminescent but no current evidence of this

Swims in slow stiff movements – not as good as whale or basking sharks but can breathe by gill pumping rather than relying on constant swimming like other lamnoid sharks.

A Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios. Source: NOAA Photo Library. License: Public Domain

Head of the 3rd known Megamouth Shark, washed ashore at Mandurah, Western Australia, in August 1988. Source: Barry Hutchins / Western Australian Museum. License: All rights reserved

Illustration of a Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios. Source: FAO / EOL. License: CC by Attribution-Noncommercial

Habitat and Distribution Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans - probably wide ranging and circumtropical in distribution. Most specimens in tropical waters, a few temperate. Likely between 150 and 1000 m but has been found as shallow as 5 m in a bay and 40 m on continental shelf , pelagic zone 8-1500 m in water 348 to 4600 m deep.

Reproduction Ovoviviparous. Internal fertilisation and live young BUT no placental connection – unborn young nourished by egg yolk. Basically has eggs but hatched inside body.

Predators Sperm whales seen attacking one off the Italian coast: “the shark was swimming slowly and still rather bewildered at the surface.” Also marks observed, likely from cookiecutter sharks.

Feeding

Most of what is known is from the tagging of one individual for two days in 1990 – another was recently tagged for shark week 2015

http://sharkopedia.discovery.com/types-of-sharks/megamouth-shark/#coming-face-to-face-with-a-megamouth

Spend day in deep water, ascend to mid-water at night – likely in response to prey movements. Fishermen say only when moon = dark, between storms in typhoon season and during a black tide (when tide reverses) – all linked to stirring up nutrients to surface

Planktonic prey such as euphausiid shrimp (krill – primary food), copepods and jellyfish. They may potentially eat small fishes too.

Filter feeder

May feed by swimming open mouthed through food congregations but not observed – physiology suggests feeding may be a bit more active.

Jaw can protrude – pushes out upper jaw – bring in more water then expelled through gills

Schematic showing the Megamouth's protruding jaw; via Archive.org.

Then the small teeth (gill rakers) separate edible food and tongue helps move to back of mouth – swallows then expels water.

If it actively expands mouth and essentially sucks in water, this is engulfment feeding as seen in e.g. humpback whales – not seen in sharks before

Ampullary pores (electroreception) – lowest abundance of any shark, almost none on lower body, likely due to mouth location right at the front (other sharks have mouths further back and don’t have many pores to the back of the mouth). The pores it has are all facing forward allowing for detection of plankton around the head – may indicate whether it is worth expending energy on active sucking in if this is the feeding method.

Conservation IUCN: Data deficient Showing up more and more as bycatch esp. SE Asia.  Based on body size and depth distribution, high likelihood of being threatened with extinction if subjected to fishing pressure. Increasing deep-water fishing is likely to affect population numbers.

References https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/10/807/2236134/Saving-the-World-s-Terrestrial-Megafauna http://eol.org/pages/218968/details http://mentalfloss.com/article/56694/11-facts-about-megamouth-shark http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.01880.x/full http://sharkopedia.discovery.com/types-of-sharks/megamouth-shark/#how-to-spot-a-megamouth-shark http://www.int-res.com/articles/ab2010/11/b011p225.pdf

Adam’s Animal: Marsupial Lion (27:45)

Thylacoleo carnifex A species of extinct animal that was native to Australia. It lived around the early to late Pleistocene period; so from 1.6 million years ago to 46,000 years ago. Although it’s known as the marsupial lion, it’s not related to lions it is a member of the order Diprotodontia which means two front teeth. Other species in this order include kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koalas and wombats, along with many other extinct marsupials.

Description Marsupial lions were the largest meat-eating mammal known to have existed in Australia. They ranged from 75 cm high from the shoulder to the ground, and about 150 cm from head to tail. Measurements that have been taken from some specimens show that they would have weighed anywhere up to 164 kg (about the size of a female tiger). They were a strong, robust animal and had powerful jaws and very strong forelimbs. They also possessed retractable claws, a lot like lions and tigers. This would have served to protect the claws from being worn down on rough surfaces and kept them sharp. The claws were well-suited for securing prey and also for climbing trees.

The first digits on each hand, their thumbs, were semi-opposable and had an enlarged claw. This was believed to be used for grappling their intended prey and for providing them with a sure-footing on the trunks and branches of trees. The back feet were very different; they had four functional toes. The first digit was reduced in size but possessed a rough pad (it sounds like it would have looked very similar to the hind legs of a possum). It is assumed this adaptation would have assisted it in climbing. It’s not known whether they had two fused toes on their hind feet like koalas or possums but it is assumed it did. This feature is often referred to as a grooming claw which would have been handy in removing parasites.

The marsupial lion was quite muscular in the front. Hind quarters were also well-developed, but not as much as the front. The remains of this animal show that it had a thick, strong tail and the vertebrae possessed chevrons on its undersides. Chevrons are a series of bones used to protect important and critical elements like nerves and blood vessels from being damaged when the animal supports weight on its tail. So it can be theorised that the marsupial lion used its tail in a similar fashion to that of a kangaroo.

Evolution Unusually for carnivores, the ancestors of the marsupial lion are thought to be herbivores. Cranial features and arboreal characteristics suggest that marsupial lions share a common ancestor with wombats. It is thought that due to Australia’s isolation, it left some niches to be filled by normally docile herbivorous animals. It was first thought that the marsupial lion’s possum-like features meant that it shared the possum’s ancestor however scientists are now of the opinion that they share a closer ancestor with wombats.

Diet Based on physiology it’s theorised that the marsupial lion probably couldn’t run fast so it’s thought they were ambush predators, sneaking up on their prey or jumping down from trees.  Their diet is thought to have consisted of large animals such as giant kangaroos and other large megafauna. They are also thought to have scavenged when necessary.

Marsupial lion dentition suggests that they were highly specialised carnivores. Like other diprotodonts, it possessed enlarged incisors on both the upper and lower jaws; these teeth were shaped more like a dog’s canine rather than those found in, for example, kangaroos. The most unusual features of their dentition are the huge blade-like teeth located between their front teeth and their back molars on either side of their jaw (carnassial teeth). The top and the bottom teeth worked together like shears and were very effective at slicing off chunks of flesh and cutting through bone.

The jaw muscles of the marsupial lion were quite large for an animal of its size, giving it an extremely powerful bite. Calculations have been done showing that it had the strongest bite of any known mammal, living or extinct. A 100 kg marsupial lion would have a bite force roughly the same as a 250 kg African lion. Marsupial lions were found to be unable to use the prolonged suffocating bite commonly seen in big cats today. They had an extremely efficient and unique bite. They would use their incisors to stab and pierce the flesh of their prey while the more specialised carnassials were used to crush the windpipe, sever the spinal cord and lacerate the major blood vessels such as the carotid artery and jugular vein. This technique was extremely efficient; where an African lion can take up to 15 minutes to kill their prey, a marsupial lion could kill theirs in less than a minute. Their whole skull is so specialised for catching larger prey that it was thought they were quite inefficient at catching smaller prey items. This could have been a major factor in their extinction.

Extinction Marsupial lion extinction is thought to have coincided with the arrival of humans to Australia around 40-50,000 years ago. It’s thought that a lot of its major food sources were hunted out and as they aren’t as efficient at catching smaller prey, this was detrimental to their population. The extinction of marsupial lions in Australia is unique because no substantial apex mammalian predators have replaced the marsupial lion since their extinction.

Outro (45:25)

Rich picks a winner and gives his reasons why

Idiot of the week: shark dragging

Holiday stories

Soundcloud link to full episode: https://soundcloud.com/anidiotsguidetoanimals/megamouth-shark-vs-marsupial-lion

iTunes link to all episodes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/an-idiots-guide-to-animals/id1212673853?mt=2

If you enjoyed this episode, please take the time to rate, review and subscribe on whichever podcast app you use, or alternately please consider donating on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/AnIdiotsGuideToAnimals

Many thanks from Kirsten, Adam & Rich

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New discoveries are made about animals every year. We may learn more about their origins, one of their amazing abilities or something completely off the wall. Here are some of the latest and coolest facts we’ve picked up about our earthly companions.

#1 Limb Regeneration The ability to fly, super speed, super strength… these are just some of the superpowers every kid (and most adults) wishes they have. But how about the ability to regenerate limbs? This power has long been observed in amphibians like salamanders and newts, and scientists have been trying to find ways to pass this amazing ability to humans. Researchers from London discovered that a chain of proteins called the ERK pathway plays a vital role in the regeneration of a salamander’s limb. Unfortunately, this chain of protein isn’t fully active in mice (and therefore humans), but it could be activated with force to increase the chance of acquiring a regenerative ability. Even though we’re still very far from human limb regeneration, this is great news for people who want to be Wolverine and even greater news for cannibals.

#2 Baboon Hierarchy In most cases, dominance hierarchy is commonly observed in males. But female baboons have been observed to be ranked in their society according to how highly ranked their mothers are. This means that a female baboon’s status is predetermined before she’s even born, and a higher-ranked mother means a better life. This was determined by a team of researchers who studied nine social groups of yellow baboons over a period of 33 years. They found that higher ranked baboons tend to bully those of the lower class to show them who gets food first. Having more sisters could boost a female baboon’s ranking because they tend to team up against other baboons, and even against their sisters from another mother. Like most hierarchies, the older a sister is the higher her rank in the family, and she is in no way willing to give up this position to her younger siblings. Males, meanwhile, bear very little influence on the social ranking of a female baboon because they mate with multiple females.

#3 Dolphin Origins A new study suggests that dolphins might have existed six million years earlier than previously thought, and they might have originated from the Pacific Ocean. The family of Delphinidae is the most diverse among living marine mammals, and the lack of good fossil specimens has raised many questions about their evolution and fossil record. But a further study of the oldest dolphin fossil discovered in Japan back in 1977 has solved some of these questions. The species, renamed Eodelphis kabatensis, was discovered from sediments in a river and is believed to have existed about 13 to 8.5 million years ago. The study of the skull provides an important link to the evolutionary history of dolphins. Prior to the study, there was a huge discrepancy as to the age of the oldest dolphin found — fossil records suggest it to be less than six million years old, while molecular studies suggest they started to diversify about nine to 12 million years ago. The new study not only solved this discrepancy, but also provided implications as to the geographic history of dolphins.

#4 Fish Aren’t So Dumb After All We tend to think of fish, particularly goldfish, as unintelligent. There’s a common myth that goldfish only have a memory span of about three seconds, making every day in their bowl an exciting new adventure. Well, some fish have been observed using tools, which is a standard sign of intelligence. As for the memory myth, a study conducted in Australia could finally put it to rest. The study found that fish actually have a fairly long memory span. They trained fish to remember the location of food and other objects, and fish in a community that cooperate with one another can recall a particularly uncooperative fish and will no longer work with that fish on future fish activities. There’s a reason fish are always in schools.

#5 Colorful World? Mantis shrimp are colorful crustaceans that live on reefs and are known for claws that are so fast and strong it puts some professional boxers to shame. They also have eyes that can move independently of each other, and  researchers found that these eyes might be seeing a more spectacular rainbow than us. Their eyes have 12 color receptors, much more than the three found on humans that are used to differentiate between the hues of red, green and blue. Some animals are lucky enough to get an extra receptor for UV light, so at first it appeared as though mantis shrimp won the eye lottery to get an additional nine. But they’re actually not that lucky. After researchers did a little experiment, they found that instead of having a more colorful and detailed view, the shrimp are actually not seeing colors in as much detail as other animals. Humans can see the difference between colors shades about five nanometers apart, while mantis shrimps can only differentiate those 25 nanometers apart, the difference between orange and yellow. Humans see color by comparing the outputs between the red, green and blue receptors, while scientists believe the reason for the mantis’ bland vision is that they use all 12 receptors at once and pass the entire output to the brain without processing the information. Sometimes less is more.

#6 360 Degree Vision Speaking of eyes, what evolution has done to the Glasshead barreleye is quite amazing. The barreleye is a deep sea fish living at a depth of about one kilometer. Since very little light reaches this depth, the fish had to develop something to help it adapt to the darkness. Most deep sea creatures have developed bio-luminescence, but the barreleye developed a reflector eye, something usually found in mollusks. Its main eyes are pointed upwards and the light from above hits the retina to help it see predators, prey and even potential mates. Then a secondary lens is hit by bio-luminescence to be focused on another set of retinas that helps it see to the side and below, giving it a mirror-like 360 degree field of vision. This is a huge advantage when you’re looking to eat or avoid being eaten.

#7 Birds Adapt to Radiation A raven stretches its wings as it sits on a post inside the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the village of Babchin The infamous Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear accident in history, with hundreds of thousands of people exposed to potentially deadly radiation. However some birds from the area were found to have actually adapted to the radiation. Researchers found that birds living in areas with high levels of radiation have more glutathione in their blood, which is an antioxidant that helps get rid of highly reactive and damaging molecules created when exposed to radiation. Animals and humans have been seen to adapt to low levels of radiation when exposed for some time, but the birds in Chernobyl were the first to be seen adapting to radiation in the wild. The study also found that as the amount of radiation increases, the level of antioxidants likewise increases, while damage to DNA decreases.

#8 Smoking Seals A new study found that carbon monoxide, the same gas that poisons chain smokers, is found at a surprisingly high level in the blood of elephant seals. But instead of acting as a poison, the odorless gas appears to helping the seals with their diving. Researchers believe that the high level of gas has something to do with deep diving. Because seals can dive as deep as 1.5 kilometers they tend to hold their breath for a very long time, which restricts blood flow between tissues. And since injuries are known to occur once the restricted blood flows back to the tissues, the researchers hypothesized that the gas protects the elephant seals from injury. Don’t start feeding them cigarettes, though.

#9 Little Architects Israeli scientists found that a scorpion’s burrow isn’t just a simple hole, but rather was built with a design that meets their physiological needs. Scorpions rely on external sources to regulate their temperature, and the researchers found that each burrow begins with a short, vertical entrance that leads to a warm horizontal platform where they regulate their temperature before going for a night hunt. The platform then leads downwards to a cool chamber, which is where they stay and rest during hot days. Studying the relationship between a burrow’s structure and environment conditions could help determine how these architects will respond to climate change.

#10 Fighter Jet Flies You know that feeling when you try to swat a fly and it easily evades you, then immediately comes back to continue its harassment, probably while saying “Ha! You missed me!” Just how can these dumb little bugs avoid our attacks so easily? With the help of three high-speed cameras that can take up to 7500 shots per second, researchers recorded the incredible flight behavior of a common fruit fly species. They found that when a fruit fly is threatened it can change its course faster than the blink of an eye. The flies will then accelerate away from the threat, or perhaps return to tease you, and it’s all done at a ridiculously fast pace. How they’re able to detect and avoid a threat so quickly is still unknown, but perhaps their tiny brains aren’t just for simple decision making.

Source: TheRichest