#mermaid anatomy

[shirecorn]

Since your merpeople are descended from fish, do they have pelvises? Are they able to assume a "sitting" position?

They do not have human pelvises, but rather they have operculum and preoperculum that rest in the hip area.

This is a very old drawing so I might update it in the future.

Technically they really should not have a great deal of movement in the area (certainly not 90+ degrees) but I choose to let them bend however they want as an artistic decision. Some of my choices are "I haven't figured out the specifics of how this works but I will one day" and others are "I have figured out that this is impossible and chosen to ignore that fact"

If they do assume a sort of sitting posture, they usually use one of both arms to support their torso and not put all the weight on the hips. So they form a tripod of weight distribution and balance.

If they sat on their tail only, they would likely fall over, as it's not built for that.

While underwater, sitting is less about putting weight somewhere, and more about managing buoyancy. Mermaid swim bladders (and almost nothing else) are in the humanoid ribcage area, so whenever they are at rest, they will automatically bob into an upright position. So "sitting" on the ocean floor is less about propping their torso up, as it is about controlling their swim bladder to be neutrally buoyant so they don't float away.

Only mermaids without swim bladders (be it pathology or evolution) have to worry about weight while resting on the ocean floor. Above the surface, however, things get tricky.

[vcreatures]

Mermaids are high complex creatures. An anatomy that seemingly incorporates aspects found in both aquatic mammals and fish. Despite this vast dimorphism, the internal anatomy is largely shared amongst the varying species with some evolutionary adaptations that may be specie specific such as the Labyrinth Organ.

Bestiary log: The term mermaid, despite it’s intrinsic feminine connotation, holds no gender specific marker when discussed or noted. The vast majority of Mermaid, or Merfolk, species have both males and females. Some with obvious sexual dimorphism, others more subtle. However there are species that are hermaphroditic and even fewer that are single gendered, such as Tritons. 

[walk-the-plank-the-what]

Would mermaids live like animals or do they have more structured society like humans? So maybe they live in underwater houses and stay “inside” more than they go outside? Bc they’re basically sentient people, and humans eventually went towards living inside and having societal structure, so if a merperson were captured and put in an aquarium with fish, that would be like putting a human in a forest enclosure with bugs and mice and stuff instead of a house with plumbing. And by the logic that they treat the rest of the ocean like ppl treat the earth, would they have pets? Bc they probably wouldn’t just have a slew of fish friends unless they were some kind of conservationist or something.

Also, I feel like merppl would definitely need plumbing bc otherwise they just breathe in their own nastiness all day

And maybe they prepare their food in a way comparable but different to how we cook food, so just throwing a few fish into their enclosure for them to eat is like if your captors handed you a live bird and expected you to swallow it whole

And if they do live in societies, idk if they would wear clothes or anything like that, but they would have to manufacture materials that don’t degrade underwater as easily, for both clothing and for buildings and tools, and would human captors be prepared to provide more of those if needed? Or they might just have blubber, or be cold blooded and so it’s meaningless for them to have heat insulation

Also, would they have copper-based blood instead of iron based blood like horseshoe crabs? Bc most fish have iron based blood anyway and bleed red, but idk the specific conditions that allowed for some animals to have copper-based blue blood

But maybe land is the only place sentient life like humans could form due to it being important to survival, bc in the ocean sentient life is mostly octopi or dolphins, and they didn’t need to evolve past that for survival so they didn’t, and so all these questions about if they would have inherited a need for societal structure and houses and clothes are meaningless.

[vampboykaz]

What’s this?? More fun species concepts??

Again this isn’t representative of this species as a whole, this is just my version of them for something I’m writing and I wanted to share it with y’all!

Merfolk and Sirens!

Merfolk and Sirens are very similar, merfolk just live in shallow water and sirens live in much deeper water! They’re the same biologically and are compatible for reproductive purposes. If they live together their territory’s tend to intersect in kelp forests! While it’s not common for them to be mates, it’s not impossible!

Their tails can mimic any marine species! Sharks, whales, fish, etc! But they aren’t actually related to these creatures, it’s just imitation! Their tails are also incredibly heavy, often weighing upwards of 200 pounds. They also aren’t mammals! Their upper half looks human but they don’t have nipples or a belly button, they also lay eggs!

Merfolk also don’t have male or female like we do, they all have both parts! They do have gender though, but it’s in presentation not related to parts at all!

Unlike angels they are not compatible with humans! In terms of making a child at least. They can absolutely have sex, it just wouldn’t produce any offspring!

Their genitalia is more similar to humans than anything else in function, but isn’t quite the same. Their penis like appendage is long and thing, sort of tentacle like, much longer than a humans, 10-12 inches, but thinner. It essentially functions like a large ovipositor. They don’t really have anything like testicles, rather something more internal that holds eggs that they lay through the tentacle bit into the “female” part of their partner. The tentacle part remains inside them unless aroused, and under it is a part similar to a pussy, since the male part is what lays eggs, they don’t have any sort of menstruation. It’s just for holding eggs. The receiving partner carries the eggs for a little while and then lays them. Merfolk don’t care for their young so that’s pretty much it- they just leave them lmfao. Fish behavior

The eggs are marble sized and tend to somewhat match the color of the tail of the merfolk laying them.

Hopefully that makes sense- trying to explain how mermaid sex works lmfao

also if the eggs were laid inside a human absolutely nothing would happen and they wouldn’t be fertilized since it’s the female part of a mermaid that does the fertilization

Mermaid skin is also a lot thicker and rougher than human skin, but their underbelly tends to be really soft. Their internal temperature is also super high, not uncomfortably so, but warmer than a humans would be

[strawberico]

I've recently fallen back in love with merpeople mostly cuz I've been rewatching my favorite Barbie movies!!! 💋💋💋

This betta fish mermaid

Ik the pretty ones are male but I don't care I wanted to draw a pretty mermaid so ig she's trans💋

[sadclownvibez]

gay mermaids cause i still can't focus on school

[revretch]

I saw a post where someone interpreted a mermaid's lower half as being 100% accurate to fish anatomy and that bothered me because like

But if that's where you want your mermaid's butt to be, go on ahead

[gomzdrawfr]

cw: sea animal death

okok, I've never ran walked home this quick just for some doodles inspired by this and this (if you haven't already, go check it out)

tags u...@on-a-lucky-tide

[albanenechi]

Drawing bases & references #27

someone suggested squid mermaids 🦑🦑

[koifishanonymous]

@havanillas’s rtrn mermaid au has been giving me brainworms chat

[bastart13]

How do you imagine hybrids work in love and legends? We've seen elf/humans.

So there are 6 different species and aside from the mermaids, they're all compatable to have children.

I headcanon life expectancy, colouration, and the shape of facial or body features to be gradient traits, so they pretty much randomly combine between the two parents like any other child

Magical traits are probably more binary. So a fairy hybrid child could inherit the eyes, wings, and/or sparkles, or none, with no middle ground. A demon hybrid will usually inherit a faded form of the markings, but they won't always be able to transform or earn horns. Dwarf hybrids might inherit the ability to echolocate vs just having larger ears.

If two species with strong magic have a child, they're more likely to inherit magical traits (e.g. elves and fairies with strong magic vs humans and dwarves with low magic)

Considering the domains are all friendly with each other, I imagine it's fairly common to have mixed ancestry and there's no real taboo aside from the grief of lifespan differences

[shirecorn]

@lux-lumen Mermaids don't need top surgery because they don't have any breast tissue!

The physical features that mimics human breasts are stretchy empty sacks that can be filled with water. They are deflated when swimming for better hydrodynamics, and can be flat or filled with water when at rest, depending on the mermaid's preference. All sexes of mermaids possess the pouches, their use has nothing to do with the mermaid's gender, nor their reproductive sex.

To learn more about this world, follow @worldofvonder

Originally, mermaids evolved to mimic the beauty standards of humans in their regions. But now, mermaids look however they want without caring how humans think they "should."

Some mermaids happen to fit modern human preferences, to the chagrin of insecure people everywhere. Though many humans and mermaids have successfully courted each other... They are still formidable predators with endless defense systems, should you overstep.

While not human, mermaids are still people. Treat them as such.

Now, do stop laughing.

[wtfforged]

ive been seeing a lot of mermaid zoros lately and i like him and i think that silly octopus that he let cling to him in the jaya arc should be his little-mermaid-flounder-sidekick friend

[dangerdazee]

me wanting to do a full in-order rewatch

vs

my list of favorite episodes

[null-entity]

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[alvivaarts]

How does mer Leon go through labor and delivery?

Oooh! This idea got me thinking of a scene, which got me drawing for four straight days. (The page is divided, but warning for those who aren't a fan of viewing birth, blood, or 'eggs' - clear eggs? I'll get into it. They aren't actually eggs.) Anyway, full image below the break! Let's get into how it works first.

Anatomical charts/explanations and more below the cut!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

ASK BOX - Got questions for or about the Resident Mers? Ask here! Mersona Commission Page

Anatomically and reproductively, most species of mer fall into the first example- the male can deposit genetic material into the female, the eggs in the female are fertilized, though females have a very long/large clitoral structure that is perfectly positioned to get into the male's 'sheath'. This locks them together fairly well and is the reason that mers tend to produce very quickly and in large numbers (though infant/childhood survival rates are another discussion altogether).

Leon, Ada, and their other pod members fall into another category: Their reproductive anatomy is very unique in that the interlock is very initially hard to get. The female also has a structure that comes out of her sheath very similar to that of a female hyena- there is a hole along the shaft that allows her eggs to be deposited elsewhere. Again, much like seahorses, this species found it more beneficial to have females deposit the eggs into a pseudo-womb in the male, which is either self fertilized by the male, or fertilized by other males. This way, the females can get right back to producing eggs and gathering enough nutrients to feed the young when they're born- which helps, because their infancy survival rate is much lower and their prime living conditions are much more particular. It also works out well, considering the social structure of most mers is already extremely matriarchal- so the eggs would be safer in the parent/guardian that's remaining in the den/home territory area. However, under extreme circumstances, females can and will carry their own eggs. They also vary in that they carry for 3 months longer than other species (ranging from 9-10 months), with fewer pups upon birth, and there's practically no 'egg stage', eggs are broken immediately after birth if it's safe to do so.

Ada and Leon's (and Luis', though none of them knew that at the time) gestated for about 9.5 months. They were hanging out on the beach, though Leon had to stay in the shallows because it was far too much of a hassle for him to move on land. While he had experienced contractions in the months leading up to it, once the actual contractions hit, so did the new stress hormones, which tipped off Ada and Jill. They made their way down to deal with it. It should be noted that, at this time, Luis had been allowed to interact freely with the pod and was recognized as Leon and Ada's mate, however, being human, Jill wasn't thrilled on him being present for the birth or being directly in their den. (Also considering they were still being documented pretty thoroughly and it was pretty much a must for Luis to record what happened, at least for his fellow researchers). Leon had already insisted, however, so he was pretty quick to get geared up and come down. Normally births happen in a den, but the birth actually ended up happening outside the den. Though they did initially get there to hunker down in one of the bottom alcoves, the labor was taking about an hour and a half at that point, and Leon was getting restless. It actually ended up happening just outside their den while Luis kept his distance (for his own safety, considering Jill in particular was getting very territorial).

Of course Ada was present, though he was assisted by Jill (her being their matriarch and his defacto sister) and Sherry (considering she was already courting at the time and would likely have to assist her own mates in the future). Manuela and Ashley were a bit too icked and ended up cheering from the sidelines while their other pod members patrolled to keep any blood-scenting predators away from the area. Thankfully, they're already located in a very safe area, with lots of protection from the neighboring pod, so it went off without a hitch.

That didn't make it any less painful, though, and it's not like mers have access or the tools to use painkillers. The full labor was fairly quick and took about two hours, with a lot of yelling, swearing, wiggling and pushing. Ada helped a bit by pushing with her own hands, though she became pretty occupied as soon as the first pup was born. She was pretty quick to nurse all of them, though three total pups came out. Normally mers will 'wet nurse' for each other, but they weren't able to do it within their own pod, so they had to wait until Ada's cousin from the neighboring pod could come over (considering she'd recently had her own pups).

Lillie was born first, with a half hour gap between Lucia and Amaya... who were pretty obviously also Luis'. Which led to some shit for him on the surface, but hey, new babies!

Sorry for the extremely long post!