#cool animal facts

[fucxingcuties]

[spot-the-antisemitism]

Ur getting funny horse facts because I have a trove.

Anyway horses have very prehensile lips and often use them to explore. This can be very cute because they lip at your hands or clothes to show affection. (Or be like my girl and shove her whole nose in my neck)

- Soup

Dear soup,

Let me tell you a similar cat fact. Cats seem like liquid because instead of ball and socket joints theirs legs connect to their torso with cartilage. So they can perform feats that would dislocated our arms and legs without missing a beat.

yours,

Cecil

[strangelittlestories]

“Did you really think you could defeat me?” Snarled Arch-Oligarch Doré from his throne of eyes. “You, a paltry magician and your reptilian familiar?”

The wizard Threbb took a second to breathe and regret eir life choices, then immediately regretted breathing too. The weight of the Doré’s magic pressed down on eir chest, forcing air Threbb’s lungs.

It was like a pyramid turned upside down, its point pinioned into a single person.

No, not a pyramid - thought Threbb - a pyramid *scheme*; crushing em with all the impossible pressure of power stolen from a thousand thousand unwitting patsies.

Threbb mewled. The Arch-Oligarch’s sorcery was structural inequality made manifest and it was *killing em*.

And still, even under this weight, Threbb somehow found the strength to whisper a few defiant words.

“‘nsot arr ptl” E wheezed.

Doré leaned forward and the shining metallic eyes in his throne shimmered as they planted their gaze firmly on Threbb’s trembling lips.

“What was that?” The tyrant’s words dripped gilt venom. “I would hear your last words, archmage of fools…”

The pressure eased a hair, a fraction of a newton, a feather’s weight.

“She’s not. A reptile.” Each word was agonising. “She’s … an amphibian.”

The prince of power-brokers paused a moment, then laughed a laugh rich as ruby wine.

“Oh, my apologies, wizardling. I should at least do you the honour of getting the taxonomy of your pathetic parasitic spirit correct. Come here then, toad!”

Doré reached out a hand and liquid platinum flowed up from his fingers. The tiny creature ribbited sadly as its attempt to hop away was cut short by precious, unforgiving tendrils.

“Wig isn’t. A toad.” Threbb’s lungs burned, e could feel something burbling in eir chest. “She’s. A … hairy frog.”

“Disgusting.” Spat Doré, lifted Wig the hairy frog so that the sad creature hung just in front of his face. “But if this creature means so much to you, then you can watch me devour it before I squash you to pulp to wash it down with.”

“Did you know,” Said Wig the hairy frog, surprisingly chirpily. “That there are some people who call hairy frogs the ‘horror frog’?”

“...no. Why?”

“This is why, fucknugget.”

And with that, Wig the hairy frog broke her own leg, protruded the bone through her skin, then stuck the disgusting blade in Doré’s throat.

A solitary smooth *SNIKT* filled the room. A gasp of disbelief. A bubble of blood. Then silence.

Threbb slowly picked emself off of the floor.

A knock sounded from outside the throne room. Then a frightened voice called through:

“Milord … the amassed crowds are waiting to hear news of your ultimate triumph? Will you be addressing them soon?”

Threbb and Wig made frantic eye contact.

“Um…” Threbb waved eir broken wand to disguise eir voice. “Give me half an hour?”

“What seems to be the problem, oh king of all things?”

“I’ve, uh …”

Threbb looked at the Arch-Oligarch, then looked at Wig who still had her leg bone planted in his carteroid, then back to the Oligarch.

“I’ve got a bit of a frog in my throat.”

[snapdrxgon-ivy]

And statement:

The costasiella kuroshimae is a sea slug (and the only animal that we know about) that can photosynthesize by absorbing the chloroplasts in the algae it eats.

This is what it looks like:

Genuinely never seen something look so fluffy and so smooth at the same time what the hell I love this funky fella thank you for introducing me to them

Got my next midnight research topic lined up now 📝

[trammellesstangent]

Did you know that aside from being egg-laying venomous mammals, platypi also fluoresce under uv light *and* can also detect electricity underwater like shark do! I did not know this until today!

[iminaworldofpureimagination]

well.. an owl was a good choice for Stolas ....

[amnhnyc]

Peek-a-boo! Have you ever seen the granulate shellback crab (Hypoconcha arcuata)? Growing about 0.6 in (1.4 cm) long, this unusual-looking crustacean inhabits coastlines along parts of the western Atlantic, with a range that includes parts of the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. Unlike hermit crabs—which hide inside their chosen shells—this critter uses its posterior legs to secure shells onto its back, often shouldering pieces larger than its own body, as a defense against foes.

Photo: Austin Smith, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist

[protectoursharks]

The body shape of a fish can tell you a lot about it! It can tell you where they like to hang out, how they hunt, what they eat, and more!

Let's use the Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) as an example!

Based off the rounded caudal fin (the "tail"), this fish is not a very fast swimmer

Having the dorsal fin and anal fin right near the end of the fish's body suggests it is an ambush predator

The flat head suggests it hunts at the surface

The upturned, large mouth suggests it catches its prey from below

Arowana are ambush predators that hunt at the surface!

They don't need to go very far very fast, hence the rounded caudal fin (which is the slowest moving fin)

Having posterior dorsal and anal fins are a common trait amongst ambush predator

They primarily hunt at the surface! They will sit near the surface and grab small fish, bugs, crustaceans, and even occasionally a bird!

4. Fish that catch their prey from below sometimes do it via suction. They'll open their large mouth, and as the water gets sucked in, so does anything in the water. And the larger the mouth, more water will more quickly fill into the mouth, catching larger and faster prey

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Brenthia Moths: these moths can mimic the appearance and mannerisms of a jumping spider so convincingly that actual jumping spiders will sometimes attempt to court them

The markings, posture, and movements of a Brenthia moth (genus Brenthia, also known as a metalmark moth) all contribute to its disguise; the moths move around in short, jerky motions that mimic the movements of a jumping spider, and their hindwings are covered in black-and-white bands that strongly resemble the tucked-in legs of a salticiid spider, especially when the moth displays its unique wing position. The disguise serves as a defensive strategy, enabling the moth to avoid being preyed upon by actual jumping spiders.

In some cases, that disguise may work a little too well, as jumping spiders may actually mistake the moth for a potential mate and then attempt to engage it in a courtship/mating dance (which must be a pretty awkward and bizarre experience for the moth, tbh).

The resemblance between a Brenthia moth and a jumping spider may not seem terribly convincing to us, as human beings, but as this article explains:

When discussing animals mimicking their predator, it is important to remember that we humans are not the target audience. This means that the imitator may not look too convincing in its mimicry to us, but still manages to trigger a desired response from said predator.

Jumping spiders have also been known to respond to Brenthia moths by exhibiting a territorial display, which is yet another behavior that the spiders generally reserve for other spiders.

This study expands on the adaptive benefits of the moth's disguise:

In controlled trials, Brenthia had higher survival rates than other similarly sized moths in the presence of jumping spiders and jumping spiders responded to Brenthia with territorial displays, indicating that Brenthia were sometimes mistaken for jumping spiders, and not recognized as prey.

The illustration below shows the basic/general resemblance between a Brenthia moth and a jumping spider:

Sources & More Info:

New Scientist: Moth's Disguise is so Good, Spiders Love it Instead of Eating it

Animal Behaviour: Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Science: This Moth Could Pass for a Spider

PLOS ONE Journal: Metalmark Moths Mimic their Jumping Spider Predators

Gil Wizen: Jumping Spider Mimicry in Brenthia Moths

Moths of North Carolina: Brenthia pavonacella

[mochasucculent]

Was looking at refs and since Viktor has two different leg braces I was wondering, do we think he wears them simultaneously?? The refs don't perfectly line up perspective-wise so it's hard to tell but parts of the one he wears during the Hexcore scenes look like they could maybe line up with the brace that he wears over his clothes, but also some parts really don't and look like they'd be super uncomfy. Also HOW does he take these on and off. Experts weigh in

[puppppppppy]

learned something about myself lately

[smolchai]

[xcooki]

cool animal facts #109

[laleywashere]

I am having surgery in a few hours and I am pretty terrified. Y'all send happy vibes? Send stories about happy things. Cat pics. Sanic doodles. Anything happy and chill to make recovery the next few days a lil better? I am by myself in a town I am not familiar with and any kind of comfort would be super appreciative. ❤️

Tell me about anything that makes you happy!

[keferon]

i mean. Prowl needing to know what's going on doesn't disqualify him from being the pilot- it just means he gets to know the environment around him. Chuck transformer jazz at earth, featuring pilot Prowl, and problem solved.

Yeah it would work. But I want a space adventure so

[violetscanfly]

Out of reach