#lionfish?

[lunarskips-fr]

Color Wheel Challenge pt 7

[PHTHALO - SPRUCE]

[captainsamta]

Off topic, but have some fishes for now

[kazieka]

hold up im reading more about the lionfish thing and this one island in Honduras has had such a huge problem with lionfish that the measures they have taken include

• getting special exemption from the Honduran government to allow divers access to harpoons and spears which are otherwise illegal in fishing

• public campaign to teach people how to prepare and eat lionfish (apparently they are very tasty once the poisonous spines are removed) (but watch out)

• holding lionfish combination hunting competition and cookout (reportedly they killed and cooked 1,700 in a day) (someone killed 60 of them with a rubber band spear gun???)

• most recently and apparently out of desperation, the divers in charge of culling the lionfish in the Roatan Marine Park just started. feeding the lionfish they killed to sharks. bc what else are you gonna do with it

• the sharks don’t seem to notice or be affected by the poison and begin hanging out with the divers

• the sharks then were seen hunting and killing the lionfish on their own

like this is nuts to me sorry. the sharks just had to be shown “hey this is food, did you know?? you can eat these!! here try one!!” we are possibly altering an entire foodchain bc we like feeding the big ocean wolves

[marinememes]

………good.

[myarmcanfly]

Koi Dog No. 50

I had to do something extra special for number fifty! I love making koi dogs, and it’s been amazing to see how much everyone else loves them too. Obviously this guy was based on a lionfish (and a lion dog!), but on top of the fancy fins all his markings were actually dyed into the finished surface using silk paints!

This piece is SOLD but I’ll have a bunch of new stuff on my website next friday, 7/26!

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

my and my venomous wife (its ok im resistant to venom)

[thegoldenshi-shi]

I squeaked in a better Mermay piece.

Time to pat myself on the back lol

[tenderandmild]

My lionfish Hawks design for Mermay!!

[daily-grian]

something seems... fishy...

[shirecorn]

There are many creatures in this world that earn the definition of "people." Their paths to sentience are as diverse as the shapes and sizes in which they come. For mermaids, mimicking humans and hunting them in packs led to intelligence, language, and society.

Mollusks never hunted humans. They stayed in the depths and communed amongst themselves and eventually with the mermaids who shared their habitat. Long before humans knew of their existence, mollusk and cephalopod people were part of many bustling mermaid societies.

Small wonder, then, that humans referred to them as mermaids on every occasion in which we encountered them. As far as sailors knew, things that swim are fish, and thus octopus are fish, and thus octopus people are mermaids.

In truth, mermaids evolved from fully formed fish, which had long split off from the ancestor of mollusks. The other phylum was forging a new path without bones. Thus, sentient creatures who arose from mollusks could not be mermaids any more than they could be fish.

But the name has stuck around. "Octopus mermaid" is more easily parsed than "Octopus person," despite the scientific community's insistence on the latter. Those that make a distinction have coined the term Cecaelia for them, but this has yet to catch on. Beneath the waves, mermaids refer to them by a variety of names, depending on the language. In sea common, the term they use directly translates to "Mirror."

This arose because cephalopods have skin made of chromatophores; cells that flex to reveal and hide their color. These "mermaids" use this trick to create a pseudo face on the top of their mantle, with which they interface with actual fish-mermaids. Their real eyes are held on either side of their head, in the place where our ears would be. To further the illusion, the arms branch and split in a simulacrum of mermaid form: head adornments, two arms, a chest, waist, and tail. So creatures that evolved to mimic humans were in turn imitated, though for different reasons.

There are none more talented at disguise than the mirror known as the Mimic Octopus. This creature is able to stretch its form and change its colors to look like a variety of animals to hide, intimidate, or entertain.

This specimen is seen conversing with a lionfish mermaid on a peaceful coral reef. At first, the colors and shape shift only gently, as the mimic is relaxed in its natural form. Suddenly, it stretches out its spiraled tentacles, the subtle stripes growing into thick bands to match the venomous spines of its lionfish companion.

The two of them continue their conversation, punctuated by the cecaelia's kaleidoscope of shifting skin. Perhaps this is how they laugh.

If you are curious about other people of the sea, you can find more research in the following libraries:

High Resolution || Mermaid Requests || Discord || @worldofvonder

[indimiart]

happy mermay from the sappiest fish out here 🩵

[sweetfrani]

🐧 ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 🦁

Lionfish Content I forgot to post here!!

[avocadoraisin]

I am not immune to mermay

[rrcenic]

new comfort ship unlocked!!

[yellydany]

SOLARIS PANTHERA 🐯 ☀️ (Solar Panther) Also known as Tonalincelotl (daylight panther)

"The solar panthers are solitary felines with photokinetic abilities. Thanks to the specialized light-absorbing cells in their tissue they possess the sinister ability to draw all of the thermal energy of an area (including other organisms) into themselves and instantly kill everything in the surroundings out of a sheer cold shock, this being their main source of sustainability- to consume energy be it heat or light.

As such, they are big threats to the environment and civilization so they are (while not advisable) hunted down and the suspected places are marked so no one steps any closer into their territories. Since they have developed fins —not to mention they have a very aquatic appearance overall— and fantastic swimming skills it isn’t rare to find them wandering around water masses." *Creature design from a dream I had a few years ago! one of my favourite🐆

[myarmcanfly]

Koi Dog No. 50

I had to do something extra special for number fifty! I love making koi dogs, and it’s been amazing to see how much everyone else loves them too. Obviously this guy was based on a lionfish (and a lion dog!), but on top of the fancy fins all his markings were actually dyed into the finished surface using silk paints!

This piece is SOLD but I’ll have a bunch of new stuff on my website next friday, 7/26!