#detritus worm

[hyperfixation-floodgate]

No fish in the 20 gallon yet, but we do have whatever is going on here

[Video id: Microscope video of a small white worm with a round head on aquarium glass. A comparatively enormous snail glides into view, eating algae. A tiny white copepod is also there, bouncing around.]

[irimori]

The tentacle monsters in the jar on my desk enjoyed some flesh today! They seemed to really apriciate the treat.

[saspitite]

!! EXTREMELY TINY BABY MOLT SPOTTED !!

[m0thkiller]

tbh im kinda surprised that nobody at work has picked up that in trans yet. Theres a small group who *knows*, but only because I specifically sought them out and told them. ive stopped going braless because now it just feels immodest walking in with c cups in a tight black t shirt. and yet nobody is any the wiser SOMEHOW. not one person has been like "yeah yknow i think somethings up with that [Jade] guy, always hanging around the womenfolk and using exclusively the unisex bathroom and sitting with his legs kicked up."

i had a suspicion they all knew and i was just clueless but one guy i told was like

"oh yeah i clocked you basically the second i met you"

"wait what for real?"

"yeah i was like 'Yup hes gay for sure'"

[anaccident4]

When bettas do The Thing™

Reblog if you agree :o

[pisciformshenanigans]

Sometime this month or next month we're getting a 36 gallon :> It's gonna be the first "shared" tank between my fiancee and I, as in we're both gonna pick what fish to put in it (while making sure they're all compatible of course lol). I will be moving Udon, Ramen, and the kuhli loaches into it, but we're looking at maybe some black mollies or even guppies to put in.

And since the 10 gallon will then only have some (five) ember tetras in it, I'll be moving my shrimp from the 5 to the 10. Gods give me strength because I imagine that'll be the most frustrating and time-consuming move of all of them bdsjfh

[appropriate-as-always]

listen, I just think jingles should be illegal

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Stede: what are you thinking about

Ed: I'm -

Ed: who says I'm thinking about anything? I'm just chilling here, minding my own business

Stede: okay but you had your thinking face

Ed: It's silly

Stede: I love silly!

Ed: awright

Ed: do you think, like. Do you think we're best friends in every universe? Do you think we always love each other?

Stede, without missing a single beat: I think so. I can't imagine knowing you and not loving you

Ed: awwwgh

Stede: my only regret is that it took us so long to find each other. But as far as I'm concerned, you've always been mine. I just had to find you

Ed: c'mon man you can't just say this shit

Ed: what if we were. uh. ponies

Stede: you hate ponies

Ed: yeah because of their - fucking creepy-ass eyes

Ed: but if I was a pony I probably wouldn't mind that

Stede: ooh what if you found human eyes creepy instead

Ed: that's not relevant to this thought experiment Stede. just work with me here. What if we were ponies

Stede: then we would frolic in the pasture together. and eat grass together. And I would steal extra sugar cubes straight from the farmer's pockets for you

Ed: what if we were birds

Stede: then we would fly together, and I'd find the best worms for you, and we would make a game out of shitting on bald guys' heads

Ed: what if we were something gross though. Like snails

Stede: well Ed. then I would delight in spending every day consuming detritus with you

Stede: oh no sweetheart don't cry

Ed: I promise I'll consume detritus in every lifetime with you Stede

[dspite]

As someone who recently had to have hardware repair work done on both their laptop and their Switch Lite, sometimes part of (or even ALL of) the problem is something internal being accidentally pushed out of place by something, so the simple act taking part of it apart and putting it back together again lets the parts settle back where they're meant to be.

Regardless, congrats on accidentally fixing(?) your problem! :D

update. I opened the PC up, realized I didn't have a screwdriver small enough to move the cooler and actually have access to the bios so I gave up and connected it back ready for it to not work but it did??? i literally did nothing??? w waddei???

[animalshowdown]

Phylum Round 3

Annelida: Segmented Worms. This group includes earthworms, leeches, and many classes under the umbrella of “polychaete”. This diverse phylum encompasses deposit feeders (eating dirt), detritivores, scavengers, deadly ambush predators, filter feeders, parasites, herbivores, and more. They are broadly defined by their repeating body segments and parapodia, which are nubby appendages used for both movement and breathing. Some have curved jaws for catching prey or scraping detritus off of rocks, while others have wide, elaborate, brightly colored feather-like fans for filter feeding. While able to crawl freely, a majority of marine Annelids spend most of their time in self-built tubes or burrows. Among their many important functions, they play a key role in mixing soil/sediment, breaking down decaying organic matter, and providing a key food source to countless other animals.

Cnidaria: Jellyfish, anemones, corals, box jellies, and hydroids. They have a gelatinous body with radial symmetry, a decentralized nervous system, and tentacles surrounding a simple mouth. The defining feature of this phylum are their cnidocytes, or stinging cells. There are two different body plans of the Cnidaria; an immobile “polyp” attached to a surface, or a free-living “medusa” which can swim or drift in the water column. Many polyp Cnidarians, such as corals, live in colonies. Some corals build reefs which serve as habitat for other animals. Free-living medusa Cnidarians must return to the seafloor in a polyp-like stage as a part of their life cycle.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Just because it looks like a worm, and crawls like a worm, doesn't mean it's a worm-- sometimes it's a worm slug! These gastropods are named for their strong resemblance to common worms; in particular their long, thin bodies and pink coloration. Also like worms, worm slugs are most commonly found underground, consuming bits of soil, detritus, or worm feces as they tunnel along.

(Image: A worm slug (Boettgerilla pallens) by Jozef Grego)

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

right before i forget let's have some creature updates:

peppercorn is in an enclosre with a front opening panel now and every day his enrichment is worming his way against the corners in order to tear his thermometer down

apologies for the weird corner I'm zoomed in to like the leftmost third of his tank so it's reflecting my monitor from across the room

chao update: Loamf. cursing my bloodline with that stare i think.

isopod update: i have a hell of a busy next few days but I will but changing out some of the old detritus for a new set of leaves and handful of vegetable scraps, and will update with pics then

[bestanimal]

Round 1 - Phylum Priapulida

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Priapulida is a phylum of unsegmented marine worms commonly known as “Penis Worms,” due to their general shape and retractable proboscis.

Like kinorhynchs (which seem to be their closest relatives) they live in the mud of shallow waters worldwide. Larger species tend to live in colder seas while smaller species live in warmer waters. They range from 0.2–0.3 cm to 39 cm (15.35 in) long. Their body is divided into a main trunk/abdomen and a swollen proboscis region, called the presoma, ornamented with ridges. The presoma, with the mouth at the tip, can be retracted into the trunk and is used in locomotion as well as in feeding. Members of the family Chaetostephanidae secrete a gelatinous tube, open in both ends, which they live in. Most families are carnivores that feed on slow moving invertebrates such as annelids, but some feed on detritus while others are filter-feeders. They have separate sexes, and usually breed by releasing sperm and eggs into the water, though at least one species is known for internal fertilization.

Priapulid-like fossils are known from the Middle Cambrian, with modern groups appearing in the Carboniferous. They were likely major predators of the Cambrian seas. The mouth of priapulids seems to be an original trait inherited from the last common ancestor of both priapulids and arthropods, though arthropods no longer possess it.

Propaganda under the cut

pingas

Please keep in mind that I am ordering phyla from furthest related to us to closest related to us. Of all the different groups of animals covered so far that we call worms, these are the closest related to us. And I think that’s beautiful.

Some species are very tolerant of hydrogen sulfide, anoxia, and low salinity. They are ~survivors~

In an Alaskan bay as many as 85 adult individuals and 58,000 larvae of Priapulus caudatus per square meter have been recorded. That’s a lot of penis worms!

They don’t even know they look like human penises. Imagine if giant aliens came to earth and made fun of us because we looked like their genitalia.

Okay but would you love your partner if they were a penis worm?

[rumwik]

That video I just reblogged reminds me of the time I lovingly observed a stray detritus worm in my snail aquarium.

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus)

(Photo from Oceana)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Indo-Pacific Ocean; Atlantic Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 38 mm

Diet- Zooplankton; Detritus; Phytoplankton

Cool Facts- Upon first glance, you might think that the Christmas tree worm is a plant rather than an animal. The majority of the worm is actually buried in coral. They then build a complex tube around their soft body that serves as the worm’s forever home. The Christmas tree worm releases a pair of ‘crowns’ that is part of their mouth, sort of like a tongue. The appendages can be used for catching prey along with circulating water through their gills. When their ‘crowns’ retreat fully into their mouth, sharp spines are extended to further protect the worm from harm.

Rating- 13/10 (Symbiotic relationship with coral is still being researched.)

[bethanythebogwitch]

The modern world is nice, but sometimes you just get the urge to go primitive. Because I'm a complete wimp who would die within a day of giving up the internet, I'm going to deal with that urge by talking about primitive animals. It's Wet Beast Wednesday and I'm talking about lancelets.

(image: a lancelet. Not much to look at, are they?)

Lancelets, or amphioxi, are highly basal (close to the ancestral form) chordates that are vaguely similar to fish, but are vastly more primitive. They have all the characteristics of chordates, the key one being a notochord, a flexible rodlike structure that goes down the body. The majority of chordates that are still alive are vertebrates, who have incorporated the notochord into the spinal column. The other groups of surviving chordates are the tunicates (who I'll get to eventually) and the lancelets. Because lancelets are so primitive, they are used at model organisms representing an early stage of vertebrate evolution. It was originally thought that lancelets are remnants of an early lineage that eventually evolved into vertebrates. Genetic studies later showed that tunicates are actually more closely related to modern vertebrates than lancelets. They are still used as a model organism as they are a fantastic representation of early chordates. The similarity of lancelets to the 530 million year old Pikaia gracilens, one of the earliest known chordates, is one of the reasons they are such a useful model organism.

(image: a diagram of lancelet anatomy by Wikipedia user Systematicist)

Lancelets can be found all over the world, living in temperate to tropical shallow seas. The only known exception is Asymmetron inferum, which has been found around whale falls at 225 m (738 ft) deep. They are small animals, reaching around 8 cm at their largest. An amphioxus looks pretty worm-like, with a simple mouth at one end and a pointed tail at the other. The name amphioxus means "both (ends) pointed" which is a pretty appropriate description. The mouth is lined with tentacle-like threads called oral cilli, which are used for feeding. Lancelets are filter-feeders that use the cirri to filter plankton, microbes, and organic detritus. Water and food pass into the pharynx (back of the mouth), which is line with gill slits. This is where it gets weird. The gill slits aren't used for respiration, but for feeding. Mucus gets pushed through the gill slits by cilia, trapping the food and moving it deeper into the digestive tract. Not only to lancelets not use their gill slits to respirate, they actually don't have a respiratory system at all. Instead, they just absorb dissolved oxygen through their thin and simple layer of skin. Their circulatory system doesn't move oxygen around either as there is no heart or hemoglobin present. For what it's worth, they don't have a proper live either. When you look at a lancelet's anatomy, you can see similarities to fish anatomy, just much more primitive and with some parts missing.

(image: the head of a lancelet, with mouth and cilli visible)

Lancelets have 4 different systems used for vision. Two, the Joseph cells and Hesse organs, are simple photoreceptors that are on the notochord and detect light along the back of the animal. Imagine having a bunch of very simple yes on your spinal cord that can see through your skin. There is also a simple photoreceptor called the lamellar body (which confusingly is also the name of a type of lipid) and a single simple eye on the head. Speaking of light, lancelets are florescent, producing green light when exposed to blue to ultraviolet light. In all species, the proteins responsible for this are found around the cilii and eye, but some species also have them in the gonads and tail. The purpose for this florescence isn't exactly known, but a common hypothesis is that it helps attract plankton toward their mouths.

(image: an extreme close-up of a lancelet's cilli fluorescing)

Lancelets have seasonal reproduction cycles that occur in summer. Females release their eggs first, followed my males releasing sperm to fertilize them. Depending on species, spawning can either occur at specific times, or gradually throughout breeding season. Development occurs in several stages. In the frist stage, they live in the substrate, but they will quickly move into the water column to become swimmers. These swimming larvae practice diel vertical migration, traveling to the surface at night and returning to the seafloor in the day. While larvae can swim, they are still subject to the current and can be carried long distances. Adults retain their ability to swim, which is done by wriggling like an eel and in some cases, spinning around in a spiral fashion while moving forward. Unlike the larvae, adults spend most of their time buried in the substrate with only their heads exposed. They typically only emerge when mating or if disturbed.

(image: a diagram of the lancelet life cycle. source)

Because of their use as model organisms, humans have developed methods to keep and breed lancelets in captivity. The majority of research has been done on Branchiostoma lanceolatum, but several other species have been studied. Multiple species are endangered due to pollution and global warming. Several species are edible and can either be eaten whole or used as a food additive. In spring, when their gonads begin to develop for breeding season, they develop a bad flavor.

Mom: "we have garden eels at home". Garden eels at home:

(image: three lancelets sticking their heads out of the sediment)