#cool animal facts

[vincaminor42]

I can answer the snail/slug slime one, at least: it's a matter of defense. Snails have a shell to retreat into if they need to, so the only slime they usually make is the gliding sort they use to move around. Slugs otoh are all squish, so they can produce a sticky gross slime that will hopefully make predators not want to eat them. Gliding slime washes off, but sticky slime by its nature is made to stick around.

Least I'm pretty sure that's how it works, if any actual gastropod scientists know please correct if I got anything wrong

A friend has once again brought it to my attention that it is unusual to have an intact chronological memory of life prior to age 12 and you know what’s weird to ME is that the rest of yall forgot how to sing the clean-up song

[fucxingcuties]

[multifandom-carnage]

Oh btw

(pt 1/?)

[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!

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Giant Emerald Pill-Millipede: when these enormous millipedes are all rolled up, their bodies can be as big as a baseball, a tennis ball, or a small orange

This species (Zoosphaerium neptunus) is commonly known as a giant emerald pill-millipede. The females can measure up to 90mm long (roughly 3.5 inches), making this the largest species of pill-millipede in the world.

There is a significant degree of sexual dimorphism in this species, with the males measuring only about 45mm (1.8 inches) long -- roughly half the size of the females.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes are found only in Madagascar, which is home to several endemic species of giant pill-millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida). The Malagasy name for giant pill-millipedes is "Tainkintana," which means "shooting-star."

Pill-millipedes use conglobation as a defense mechanism, which means that they can curl their bodies up into a spherical shape so that their dorsal plates form a protective shield around the softer, more vulnerable parts of their bodies, just like an actual pill-bug or a "roly-poly."

When they roll themselves up completely, they look almost like gently polished chunks of malachite, emerald, or jade.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes will sometimes form large swarms that travel together as a group. This is the only species of giant pill-millipede that engages in any sort of swarming behavior, and the purpose of that behavior is still unclear. The swarms often contain thousands of individuals, with almost all of them moving in the same direction, even when there is no physical contact that might allow the millipedes to "herd" one another along.

Their swarming behavior also has some very peculiar features, as this article explains:

During swarming, Zoosphaerium neptunus individuals pay little attention to their surroundings; many specimens were observed walking straight into and drowning in small puddles. Some swarms even display ‘cliché lemming behaviour:' in Marojejy, a large part of a swarm walked into and drowned in a small river.

No single specimen was observed walking ‘against the current,' all specimens were moving in the same direction (southeast), even when not in contact with one another.

Of 273 randomly collected individuals, 105 were males, while 168 were females. The males were 8.3 - 14.1 mm wide (average width 10.4 mm). According to the inner horns of the posterior telopods, all males were sexually mature. The females were 9.95 - 15.4 mm wide (average width 11.4 mm). All females displayed non sclerotized vulvae and were sexually immature.

Some researchers argue that the swarming serves as a defense mechanism, providing a layer of protection (or at least some cryptic cover) against local predators, but the swarming behavior is still poorly understood.

Important Note: I just want to remind everyone that these animals belong in their own natural habitat -- they should not be trapped, bought/sold, traded, shipped, collected, or kept as pets. This particular species does not survive well in captivity, either, and the demand for these "exotic" invertebrates is putting the wild populations in jeopardy. The previous article discusses those issues, too:

Another possible threat for Z. neptunus swarms are collections for the pet trade. There exists a large demand in Japan, Europe and North America for 'green -eyed monsters’ as pets. Giant pill -millipedes from Madagascar unfortunately have a very short survival time in terraria. The species is specialized on low-energy food (dead leaves), and adapted to the cool climates (<20°C) of the highlands. Specimens in terraria often starve to death quickly.

So I know that they're adorable and really, really fascinating...but let's just let them be their chunky, adorable little selves out in the wild where they belong.

Sources & More Info:

European Journal of Taxonomy: Seven New Giant Pill-Millipede Species and New Records of the Genus Zoosphaerium from Madagascar

Madagascar Conservation & Development: Swarming Behavior in the World's Largest Giant Pill-Millipede, Z. neptunus, and its Implication for Conservation Efforts

Bonn Zoological Bulletin Supplementum: The Giant Millipedes, Order Sphaerotheriida (an Annotated Species Catalogue) (PDF)

African Invertebrates: Madagascar's Living Giants: Discovery of Five New Species of Endemic Giant Pill-Millipedes from Madagascar (PDF)

[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

[sharksplease]

Shark fact:

Sharks will wear Remoras as hats. This is because they are best friends.

[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

[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

[gracieellenhazel]

The biggest caterpillar I've ever seen. He crossed the whole road with my supervision. Look at that color!!

Polyphemus moth caterpillar.

Found in NY:)

[puppppppppy]

learned something about myself lately

[smolchai]