#fish exist

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I have a question for you that is tangentially related to some of your recent posts. I remember reading a while ago that the term "fish" is somewhat controversial for taxonomists because of how many animals are fish and (I think) that what are generally considered fish don't fit in a single clade without including all other tetrapods (and maybe also vertebrates) (on a related note, I'm pretty sure the same is true for trees but without the controversy). Do you know if I my memory is correct and, if so, where do you stand on the controversy. I'm assuming you'd be pro-"fish" as a term. Also very sorry if this doesn't make sense. I tried my best but I feel that it may still be confusing. Also have a great day! (And happy late/early birthday to your spouse! (you have one of those I think))

Hello! (Spouse's bday is Feb 12 :) so veeeery early and he's scared of turning 32 so)

so we have to do a little history of science here

"fish" is a term that existed before science, or at least, modern science. it basically meant "aquatic organism". it wasn't a relational term, so we didn't treat it like one

then Linnaeus, annoying taxonomist from whom we will never escape, decided that "fish" meant, specifically, certain types of aquatic vertebrates: Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, and Sarcopterygii without tetrapods

so, for most biologists for the past three hundred years, "fish" has meant Aquatic Non-Tetrapod Vertebrate

so the whole thing with "jellyfish" and "starfish" isn't really relevant to the discussion because they were already thrown out of the fish group to begin with

now, we are trying to use cladistics instead of Linnaeus bc linnaeus' system doesn't work for fossil organisms

which means we group organisms based on descent, not traits

which means tetrapods, which descended specifically from lobe-finned fish

are lobe-finned fish

so, we have the situation where whales were fish (pre linnaeus, aquatic organism) and then weren't (mammals aren't fish) and then are again (mammals are fish)

the people who say "fish aren't real" are ignoring that important middle step where scientists decided that fish was just a vertebrate term; they're acting like "jellyfish" and "starfish" are still considered fish when they haven't been for 300 years

so, yeah. I'm pro fish. much of tetrapod anatomy is only explicable when you remember we are fish. but, ultimately, I'm not going to correct people on that one

alternatively, we just start calling everything actinopterygiian or sarcopterygiian or chondrichthyan or whatever. I doubt people will get behind that though

yeah I wish the history of science was taught better bc a lot of these discussions would become sooooo much more streamlined

[melioristicbeast]

"Knock knock! You boys up-" "NO! You can't come in, he's not DECENT!"

Stiles stilinski makes goo eyes at and jealously hoards soft derek hale send tweet

Part two of the brainworm @nerdherderette's request gave me (: Derek in stiles' clothing - the pajama bottoms are my own though (10+ years old target purchase, sadly not available anymore or i would've purchased a backup pair)

In my heart of hearts soft derek in comfy clothes makes stiles go HEART EYES MOTHERFUCKER in a markedly different way from nudity (◡‿◡✿)

[erineas]

OH my god I gotta continue Tilikum!!

[iliothermia]

Hey y'all! For those who don't know me, I'm a trans guy who makes mostly culturally inspired queer fantasy art since my disabilities worsened. They've been getting worse again after a couple years of better health and I'm hoping to get a bit more stability through my Patreon. I post full WIPs of my work, exclusive stickers for each month, have a super kind discord community and more. The little sticker up top is this month's exclusive! You can grab it until the end of the month. Thank you for considering supporting my work or sharing! It means a ton to me. 💗

[waitineedaname]

yoohankim connected by a red string of fate, but the red string is something han sooyoung wove herself, and the red string is the lifeline keeping kim dokja from drowning, and the red string is the outline of a person that yoo joonghyuk filled in. do you understand.

[psalidodont]

plenty of sea in the fish or some shit like that idfk

[wasyago]

something incredibly self indulgent

[codgod]

it’s already june here but it’s mermay in Most Places still, so here’s some several-years-post-canon codfather

[naorazy-vavilon]

My favorite thing about science is that it usually says that nothing in our world is specific ,categorysable or simple

And it usually is funny because

"Oh you study Xscience? Can you tell me about X?"

'X doesn't exist.'

Love science

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

the problem is that i cannot be normal when the opportunity to draw merfolk presents itself to me

[benevolenterrancy]

@fluffypurpleglitterdemon hey. hey. i just want to talk.

[wojakgallery]

Title/Name: Fishjak / Soyfish Wojak Series: Animal (Variant), Soyjak (Variant) Image submission by: @existing-everywhere on Tumblr Image by: Unknown Main Tag: Fish Wojak

[honkceasar]

Thinking about riptide 86 again. Shocker to absolutely no one

[serpentface]

Yotici got another redesign (pictured here with tentacles dropped, which would usually be held flat under the body when not in use).

They still have no definitive place in the tree of life besides 'some kinda stem fish lineage that doesn't exist irl', loosely set within the lobe-finned fish. Their beaks are very similar to parrotfish in being formed of fused teeth, which are very tough and accommodate wear from sediment in their diet (mostly consisted of seagrass, but also including kelps/other seaweeds, algae, living corals, some invertebrates). The tentacles are derived from clasper-like reproductive organs and are functional, fairly strong manipulating limbs (though not built for heavy lifting).

They are large, slow moving animals, capable of delicate maneuvering and short bursts of speed but not continual fast pace. Size and community protection provides most of their defense from common predation, though they are very vulnerable to predation from People with Harpoons due to their slow speed and shallow water habitats.

[butchriptide]

I've seen people make human AUs and equate Winter's scavenger fascination with being like. a crazy cat person. and while that is really good and I do think Winter would and should be crazy about cats, I do think like... if you are going to give him an equivalent interest you gotta go nicher than that. Like, being a Cat PersonTM is a thing like half the population identifies at. You GOTTA go stranger. He needs to be regularly attending reptile conventions. He needs to daydream about owning a praying mantis. He needs to yell at underpayed PetSmart workers about how small the fish tanks are that they keep the bettas in. He needs to be offered the chance to hold a snake and he needs to talk to that snake like he's greeting the queen. He needs to show you photos of tarantulas please please please look at his pictures please of his tarantulas

[silusvesuius]

testing out drawing maormer 🪸🐚🪸 and a nelvas 🧣📜🩷 i'll ramble about maormer a bit in the tags