#nattereri

[drafthearse]

Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1858, Red-bellied piranha; Karlsruhe Zoo, Karlsruhe, Germany.

[daily-batposting]

Natterer's Bat, unknown photographer, (source)

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

Range: Amazon River Basin, Paraguay River Basin, Paraná River Basin, & Essequibo River Basin. Also found in coastal rivers of Northeastern Brazil

[artsfromspace]

Red-bellied piranha Pygocentris nattereri

Another little amimal! I probably won't keep going at 1/day, this one's already a little rushed, but I do want to keep doing them.

I even put together a little page to collect them at!

And now, something else I'd like to make a regular occurrence...

You can look them up or go by vibes :D If someone suggests something else and it doesn't win, I'll add it to my list for the future!

[birdirectory]

ochre-breasted pipit (Anthus nattereri) by Rafael Fortes

[valerianodrawsthings]

MerMay's 22nd mermaid was a Red-bellied Piranha! Mind them chompers!

[rondaincorporated]

Hummingbird Species, Part 36

Today’s featured hummingbird is the Cinnamon-throated hermit, Phaethornis nattereri. The cinnamon-throated hermit hummingbird, also known by its scientific name Phaethornis nattereri, is a fascinating species of hummingbird found in the neotropical region. These small, brightly colored birds are named after their cinnamon-colored throat and are a common sight in the rainforests of South…

[loveisinthebat]

NEW BAT JUST DROPPED

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: red-bellied piranha

For today's Wet Beast Wednesday, I'm discussing probably the most slandered of all bony fish: the red-bellied piranha. Be honest, when you hear piranha what comes to mind? I'd be willing to bet you thought of roving hordes of hyper-predatory fish that devour everything they find in minutes. Well that's not how red-bellied piranhas (or any piranhas for that matter) act. You've been lied to by the media about these fascinating fish. I'm here to correct the record.

(Image: a red-bellied piranha. It is a laterally flattened, round fish with a blunt head and prominent lips. It is a dark gray color with silver flecks and a bright red underbelly. End ID)

The red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is the most well-known of the piranhas and is the species you think of when you think piranha. They are medium fish, growing to an average of 35 cm (14 in) long and 1.8 kg (4 lbs),maxing out at 50 cm (20 in) and 3.9 kg (8.6 lbs). They have round bodies flatted on the sides and gray to black scales with red underbellies and occasional black spots. Famously, they have large, sharp, interlocking teeth set in strong jaws that are usually covered by thick lips. Piranha lose and replace their teeth throughout their lives.Red-bellied piranhas are often confused with other species of piranha or the closely-related red-bellied pacu, whose juveniles have a similar coloration. As pacu and piranha have similar body shapes, an easy way to tell them apart is the teeth. Piranha have sharp teeth while pacu have blunt teeth.

(image: a close-up of a red-bellied piranha showing the teeth, which are large, triangular, and very sharp. End ID)

With teeth like those it's not surprising that piranhas eat meat. What may surprise you is that they also eat plants. In fact, plants, including seeds and fruits, make up a large portion of their diet. When they do eat meat, they prefer to scavenge or go after small animals like small fish, worms and other invertebrates. They will also opportunistically nip off fins or scales from other fish. This isn't unusual for piranhas. All species eat plants and some are exclusively herbivorous. Red-bellies eat so much carrion that they are comparable to vultures. Both animals help control disease, clean their environments, and recycle nutrients. When Piranha do attack large animals, it is usually in times of hunger or because the animal is injured. Red-bellied piranha do not hunt in packs, but they will rarely engage in feeding frenzies that let them take down animals as large as capybaras. Red-bellies shoal not for hunting, but for protection against their own predators, which include caimen, river dolphins, larger fish, and various birds. Shoals can grow to be hundreds strong. During the wet season, when the rainforests flood, piranha will spread out through the floodlands and primarily browse on vegetation. During the dry season, when their range contracts, the reduced amount of food leads to higher rates of carnivory. Piranha communicate with each other through displays of aggression and drumming sounds produced with the swim bladder.

(Image: a small group of red-bellied piranha. End ID)

Red-bellied piranha mate during the wet season, during which time their red bellies will turn gray. Males will dig shallow nests in sandy bottoms where grass grows and attemptp to woo females with swimming displays. When a female selects a male, the two will swim together in a nuptial display. The female then lays her eggs on the grass for the male to fertilize. The parents will then guard the nest until the eggs hatch after a few days. Larvae and juveniles hide amongst plants until they are large enough to join a shoal. In addition, younger piranha tend to feed during the day while older and larger ones shit to feeding mostly in the morning and evening. Piranha can live for over 10 years.

(Image: a juvenile red-bellied piranha. It has the same body shape as the adult, but its coloration is different. Its body is silver all over with black spots and the anal fin is red. End ID)

Red-bellied Piranha have not been classified by the IUCN, but they are considered abundant in their natural range and have been introduced outside of their range, often as a result of people releasing exotic pets. Several places, including the Philippines, restrict their import to avoid them becoming invasive species. Piranha have become popular as exotic pets, though they have some specific care requirements. Piranha are a common food fish in their native range. Piranha attacks on humans are rare and usually happen when the piranha are hungry or the humans are disturbing them. Few fatal attacks have been recorded and even those numbers may be inflated as bodies that piranha have scavenged may have been mistaken for kills. The reputation of piranha as savage predators has been traced to an expedition to the Amazon by former US president Teddy Roosevelt where he reported a story that some native peoples herded a cow into the water and it was devoured in minutes. It was later found that the natives had used nets to capture and starve the piranha in advance to put on a better show. Roosevelt's report of the incident became very popular and has influenced the popular perception of piranha ever since.

(Image: a piranha feeding frenzy. Multiple piranha are eating a pair of fish, which have been stripped to the bone. End ID)

[anonymous-dentist]

Bleeding Heart Part Three

Part One | Previous Part

-

Cellbit leaves his apartment an hour after midnight, hoping to make a bad impression. He's going to be late. He's going to be rude. He's going to be annoying. He's going to be the worst person that Hombre Misterioso has ever met, and he is going to make them hate him and never want to associate with him again.

The aquarium is clear across the city from Cellbit's apartment, and the busses don't run this late at night (especially not in the Favela.)

So, naturally, Cellbit skateboards, and he ignores the car following him the whole way there.

He has had just under a week to plan out exactly how this meeting is going to go. And he's sure that it's going to be the worst meeting ever. Of all time.

After a solid hour and a half of skating, he finds himself in front of the aquarium's main entrance holding his skateboard and trying not to pass out because, wow, he's out of shape. Fuck.

(The car pulls into the parking lot and idles under a broken streetlight. Inside, the driver reaches into the passenger seat and opens a backpack.)

Doubled over and struggling for breath, legs sore and shaking like jelly, Cellbit looks up at the two ceramic dolphin statues flanking the aquarium's doors. The lights at their bases paints them a bright pink, and Cellbit kind of fucking hates them, actually. (Bad memories.)

He's two and a half hours late, so he takes his time picking up his skateboard and tucking it under his arm. He takes even longer to pull out his phone and text his accomplice the first code phrase of the night:

'I'm awake.'

A few seconds later, the aquarium's doors audibly click themselves unlocked, and the security cameras hidden in the dolphins' eyes go a bit fuzzy. Their video feed will already have been looping footage from eleven p.m., but now they're also looping audio. (Or something, Cellbit never was the security guy of the team.)

With a sigh, Cellbit brushes a chunk of hair out of his eyes and behind his ear, and he enters the aquarium.

Tonight, nothing is going to happen. He's decided this. Whatever deal Hombre Misterioso wants to make with him won't happen. Nothing will happen.

Cellbit walks past the first coral reef of the building. The tank's lights are off, so he can't see the fish inside. But the emergency exit sign by the nearby bathrooms light the whole room a vibrant (beautiful) red.

Nothing will happen.

Hombre Misterioso hadn't told Cellbit where exactly in the aquarium to meet them, so he's stuck going through each and every room in order looking for them. Which. Sucks.

Even his accomplice in the car hadn't been able to find Hombre Misterioso on any of the cameras on the way to the aquarium; he'd apologized even as Cellbit asked him why he was hacking and driving at the same time, Really? That's the kind of example you're setting here? Being reckless? What'll Richarlyson think?

So Cellbit goes through the first coral reef. He passes the penguins. He walks past the freshwater fish.

...He pauses in front of the tank full of piranhas. Pygocentrus nattereri, the red-bellied piranha.

He looks at the sleeping fish. The tank is dark enough that he can see himself in its reflection, and he does not like what he sees.

His phone buzzes in his pocket:

'Isn't he cute??? 🥰😭'

And then there's a picture of Richarlyson asleep in the car's back seat snuggled up against a huge Pikachu Squishmallow and wearing one of Pac's hoodies and using it as a blanket.

Despite himself, Cellbit smiles.

His smile freezes as a gust of cold wind brushes against the back of his neck.

He spins around, phone buzzing with picture after picture after picture being uploaded to the family group chat. And he finds himself inches away from Hombre Misterioso's face.

"You're late," they plainly say.

They're so close to Cellbit that he can actually feel the faint exhales through the gas mask's filter. But, despite the proximity, he can't see their eyes. It's too dark, and the glass is too thick.

Silently, Cellbit turns his phone off with a press of the button. He slides it into his back pocket.

Hombre Misterioso's head tilts curiously to the left. "You aren't wearing a mask."

Cellbit shrugs, crossing his arms. "Figured there wasn't a point. What do you want."

It isn't a question. Cellbit already knows what they want. He's just being polite.

Hombre Misterioso doesn't move.

Cellbit blinks, and then they're crouched in front of the piranha tank poking a gloved finger against the glass repeatedly.

"-name was originally supposed to be 'Piranha'," they say, apparently in the middle of a sentence that Cellbit didn't get to hear the first part of, "but you said that that's actually some sort of slang in Brazil."

Cellbit's mind races, what? When did he...

Oh.

Cellbit snorts humorlessly. "Never let journalists name you. The Demon learned the hard way, he wanted to be called 'the Muffin Man'."

"That's terrible," Hombre Misterioso comments. They stand and turn to face Cellbit again. "I learned from you. I gave the police my name, just like you did."

"Yeah, because you're stupid," Cellbit snaps. "Why would you even contact the police?"

"Because they're stupid. They really thought that I was you."

Cellbit can practically hear their offended eye roll; he doesn't know whether he should be offended or not. No, right?

Whatever.

"Still stupid," he huffs. He can feel his phone blowing up with texts in his pocket. What is Pac doing?

Hombre Misterioso's head tilts again. This time, their entire body tilts with them as if they're trying to get a look at Cellbit's back.

"You were late," they say, "and you're communicating with someone."

They finally notice his skateboard, and they visibly double-take.

"Did you skateboard here?" they ask, looking back up at him.

Cellbit ignores them. This is a bad meeting, and nothing will happen.

"Whatever you're doing with the Federation, you should just give up," he tells them. His mouth tastes sour just from the insinuation that he's on the Federation's side, but it's fine. It's part of the plan.

Judging by the way Hombre Misterioso's shoulders tense, the plan is working.

Cellbit bites back a smirk and continues, pacing away from them and heading further into the aquarium: "It isn't worth it. They're too strong."

He turns the corner towards the manta rays, and Hombre Misterioso is by the touch tank. Waiting.

"What are you talking about?" they quietly ask, and, wow, even their voice modulator sounds offended. Perfect.

Cellbit just shrugs. "I retired for a reason, man. It's pointless to even try."

Hombre Misterioso's fists curl at their sides. "Right."

"I'm telling the truth! After Sharkboy fought me that day, I realized that there was no point in continuing to fight the Federation."

He walks calmly past Hombre Misterioso and the rays. (He makes a mental note to bring Bagi here one day soon; they can make up for lost time.)

"Enigma-"

"Enigma is dead!" Cellbit snaps. (Rude, irritable, annoying-)

He's walking into the next room as his phone actually rings.

Oh, no.

Hombre Misterioso can fuck themselves, if Cellbit's accomplice is calling, then something has gone terribly wrong.

In a flash, he has his phone out, and he has it to his ear.

"What?" he demands in Portuguese (can't take any risks...)

"I'm so sorry," Pac breathes, "I tried to stop him, but-"

Cellbit freezes. "Stop who? What happened?"

"Thank goodness the cameras are still hacked, Bagi would kill us if she got this footage..."

Ignoring Hombre Misterioso's still form in the other room, Cellbit leans against the big open doorway and puts his face in one hand with a groan.

"Calm down," he says. "Just tell me what happened. Do I-"

He's cut off mid-sentence as he hears a very familiar voice shout from the piranha room, "Stop, villain!"

And then he's dropping his phone to the floor and booking it across the room. Fuck Hombre Misterioso, fuck Hombre Misterioso, fuck the plan, fuck, fuck-!

Hombre Misterioso is still by the tank.

And then they aren't. They're running towards the door to the piranha room with their sword drawn.

And a bunch of piranhas with legs are running out of the piranha room and right towards Hombre Misterioso.

Cellbit grins proudly despite the whole Thing going on. That's his kid!

His face pales. That's his kid.

"What the fuck is this?" Hombre Misterioso demands, swinging their sword at the piranhas.

Cellbit answers by pulling out his skateboard from under his arm and swinging it right at their big stupid head. It CRACK!s against their skull and splits right down the middle, sending them staggering forward right into a piranha's jaws.

Suddenly, the aquarium's lights all turn on. That'll be Pac, then. But... why? What the fuck are the lights going to do?

Abandoning his skateboard, Cellbit runs past a very angry Hombre Misterioso and into the piranha room.

Richarlyson, standing by the tank holding his iPad, grins and waves with one hand.

"You," Cellbit hisses, running forward and scooping his son into his arms, "are so grounded."

Over Cellbit's shoulder, Richarlyson continues drawing more piranhas on his tablet. More fizzle into existence around the two of them and charge towards Hombre Misterioso.

Entirely unconcerned, Richarlyson shrugs and says, "They put you in the hospital. Fuck them."

"You were supposed to stay in the car!"

"You really thought I was gonna do that?"

Cellbit groans, "He said he was going to have you under control!"

"Get a babysitter next time. I want Uncle Bad."

"Do you know how late it is?"

"Uh, yeah. Uncle Bad lets me stay up this late all the time."

"Then Uncle Bad is grounded, too," Cellbit declares.

He manages to take one step with Richarlyson in his arms before he's being choked from behind by two very strong hands.

"Leaving so soon?" Hombre Misterioso taunts. "We haven't even gotten acquainted yet!"

Richarlyson gasps and squirms, trying to get free, but there's no way Cellbit is letting him loose in a room with a supervillain. What kind of parent would he be if he did that?

But. But he can't breathe.

(But he can smell blood.)

"Now," Hombre Misterioso muses, leaning in close, so close that Cellbit can feel their voice rumble down the length of his spine, "who do we have here?"

Frantically, Cellbit's eyes flick towards the room's security camera. Pac, hello? Fucking hello?

Richarlyson responds by smashing his iPad into Hombre Misterioso's face.

They shout in alarm and recoil, hands momentarily lifting from off of Cellbit's neck.

But that moment is all Cellbit needs.

He spins and takes off in the opposite direction from the entrance. It'll loop around eventually, he knows it.

As he brushes past Hombre Misterioso, he subtly extends a hand towards their body, and then he closes said hand into a fist. He runs, and he gets farther away, and he pulls, and-

And Hombre Misterioso is in front of him with their sword pointed directly at his chest- at Richarlyson's back.

At Richarlyson's back.

Cellbit skids to a stop. He takes a step backwards.

Hombre Misterioso follows him, step for step, inch for inch, head slowly cocking to the side with every passing second.

"I see," they lowly say.

They laugh, slowly. Deliberately. "Hah. Hah. Hah."

Teeth grit, Cellbit adjusts his hold on his son- one-handed.

(He can smell blood.)

He whispers, "Be ready to run back to the car. And take the board with you."

Richarlyson grumbles, but he knows better than to argue when it comes to the skateboard; it's sacred.

To Hombre Misterioso, Cellbit says, "Fun fact, piranhas are actually pretty chill animals. They're omnivores."

"Cool," Hombre Misterioso responds. "But what about you?"

By his side, Cellbit's hand angles itself towards Hombre Misterioso's body. They're bleeding somewhere...

"Oh," Cellbit mildly answers. "I like meat."

For whatever reason, Hombre Misterioso pauses at that. And it's a real pause, not one of their... weird pauses.

That's fine! Perfect, even.

In one swift, motion, Cellbit turns on his heel and ducks towards the ground. With one arm, he puts Richarlyson on the floor. With the other he closes his hand into a fist, and he jerks his arm back as if he's shooting a bow and arrow.

Immediately, blood comes shooting out of a wound on the back of Hombre Misterioso's thigh, hidden by their cloak but absolutely caused by Richarlyson's drawings.

They cry out in pain and crumple to the ground, dragged down by their own blood as it ties itself around the leg of a nearby bench into a knot, signaled by a flick of Cellbit's wrist.

"Go!" Cellbit shouts, not looking behind himself.

He hears Richarlyson run for it, little feet tapping against the floor.

And then, it's just him and Hombre Misterioso once again.

Sniffing back a nosebleed, Cellbit stands. He wobbles on his feet slightly, but he manages to walk past Hombre Misterioso and towards his abandoned phone. He picks it up and sighs at the cracked screen.

Great.

Hombre Misterioso struggles to stand, but the blood rope keeps them on the floor.

"I told you before," Cellbit tells them, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "I'm not interested in helping you."

He looks at them and shakes his head.

"I can connect you with the Order," he continues, "but that's as far as I'm willing to go. I'm done. With... with all this."

Hombre Misterioso's grip on their sword tightens.

And then they laugh, tossing their sword to the side and collapsing onto their belly on the floor.

Cellbit takes a hesitant step backwards, body tensing as they just laugh and laugh and laugh.

"Good!" they cackle. "Good! You've still got conviction! I'm impressed, Enigma!"

"There is no Enigma. There hasn't been in years, and there never will be again."

"Mhmm, I get that. But you've convinced me. I don't need Enigma anymore."

(As they look up at him, Cellbit swears that they're smiling.)

"I just need you."

With that, the aquarium's lights shut off again, probably Pac trying to help.

Cellbit's eyes adjust to the darkness. When he can see again, Hombre Misterioso is gone, and a trail of blood is left where they laid on the floor.

...Fuck.

---

A/N: Let me know what you think in the tags or in my inbox! I want to hear your theories, thoughts, opinions, everything!

[uncharismatic-fauna]

I too saw a native slug, or at least one I recognized from elsewhere in europe

Congrats! Tbh I'm terrible at ID'ing insects, but I saw a velvet worm the other week which was really cool!

Just as cool, you get a redbelly piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)!

[markscherz]

Hi! Love your blog and your work! What do you know about these guys? Are false eyes common in amphibians?

https://www.tumblr.com/vintagewildlife/734070740510507008/cuyaba-dwarf-frog-physalaemus-nattereri-showing?source=share

Yeah false eyes are really quite common in amphibians. We normally call them inguinal spots, which is a fancy way of saying hip spots. They show up in hundreds of species across numerous families. Few are quite as developed as Physalaemus nattereri, but e.g. Plethodontohyla ocellata is also pretty impressive.

[this fantastic figure from Noble's Biology of the Amphibia, 1931]

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)

(Photo from National Geographic)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Amazon River Basin

Size (Weight/Length)- 1.8 kg; 20 cm

Diet- Fish; Crustaceans; Insects; Algae; Aquatic plants; Fruit; Small mammals

Cool Facts- Most people know how piranhas, especially those of the red-bellied variety, can rip humans apart in seconds. However, fewer people know how that’s a complete myth. Red-bellied piranhas are actually more similar to water vultures, timid and carrion eaters. They form large shoals for protection against predators, such as dolphins and caimans, not hunting. Red-bellied piranhas warn each other of predators by creating a booming noise through their swimbladder, triggering the shoaling behavior. 

Rating- 11/10 (Despite the teeth, there’s nothing to fear.)

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

Sure, I'll be sad when butterfly week ends, but as long as I still have tasty flowers, I'm good.

Natterer's Longwing (Heliconius nattereri) AKA Maria-boba

Minas Gerais, Brazil

Status: Critically Endangered

---

Butterfly week day 7: South America

I wanted to put Maria-boba on the picture as it's a nicer name, but it refers to multiple orange-black butterflies, some that are similar but much more common than this one (and maybe not this one at all? I'm not sure.)

The name is for Maria Sibylla Merian, who traveled with just her daughter to now-Suriname in 1699 for the sole purpose of painting butterflies. Boba is short for borboleta, butterfly.

[bonefall]

sorry if you've talked about this before, but I'm curious if clanmew have different words for different bat species? they obviously differentiate insects and birds, but bat's are harder to distinguish at a glance. cats would have an advantage with their hearing, being able to hear bat's squeaks (and I think different species make different patterns and sounds?) but like. I don't remember how many bat species there are here (I think noctule, pipistrelle, greater horseshoe, lesser horseshoe, daubenton's, whiskered, barbastelle, and serotine? I mightve missed a couple), but I love bat's so thought I'd ask. pipistrelle are the most common though I'm from the south-east of England so I occasionally see daubenton's too.

FOUR bat species! Over here in the main entry for birds, check there if you'd like more trivia on them. Clan cats count them as very special, blessed songbirds.

The ones that Clan cats have words for so far;

Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) = Popep

Soprano Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) = Ipi'ip

Long-eared Brown Bat (Plecotus auritus) = Fepfr

Common Noctule (Nyctalus noctula) = Shi'po

There are four more kinds of bat, for EIGHT total in this region, that I have not yet described because I don't have good access to their song recordings (Even the main four were ass on butts to hunt down) If you have clear recordings of the songs of these four I'll add them too.

Pipistrellus nathusii

Nyctalus leisleri

Myotis daubentonii

Myotis nattereri

[sasindi-mga2024mi5018]

Piranha, also called caribe or piraya, are any of more than 60 species of razor-toothed carnivorous fish of South American rivers and lakes, with a somewhat exaggerated reputation for ferocity. In movies such as Piranha (1978), the piranha has been depicted as a ravenous indiscriminate killer. Most species, however, are scavengers or feed on plant material. Most species of piranha never grow larger than 60 cm (2 feet) long. Colors vary from silvery with orange undersides to almost completely black. These common fishes have deep bodies, saw-edged bellies, and large, generally blunt heads with strong jaws bearing sharp, triangular teeth that meet in a scissorlike bite. Piranhas range from northern Argentina to Colombia, but they are most diverse in the Amazon River, where 20 different species are found. The most infamous is the red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), with the strongest jaws and sharpest teeth of all. Especially during low water, this species, which can grow up to 50 cm (about 20 inches) in length, hunts in groups that can number more than 100. Several groups can converge in a feeding frenzy if a large animal is attacked, although this is rare. Red-bellied piranhas prefer prey that is only slightly larger than themselves or smaller. Generally, a group of red-bellied piranhas spreads out to look for prey. When located, the attacking scout signals the others. This is probably done acoustically, as piranhas have excellent hearing. Everyone in the group rushes in to take a bite and then swims away to make way for the others. The lobetoothed piranha (P. denticulate), which is found primarily in the basin of the Orinoco River and the tributaries of the lower Amazon, and the San Francisco piranha (P. piraya), a species native to the San Francisco River in Brazil, are also dangerous to humans. Most species of piranhas, however, never kill large animals, and piranha attacks on people are rare. Although piranhas are attracted to the smell of blood, most species scavenge more than they kill. Some 12 species called wimple piranhas (genus Catoprion) survive solely on morsels nipped from the fins and scales of other fishes, which then swim free to heal completely.