#that last picture is adorable
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So a while back I made this post
And it became very popular. While many people already knew, I did get some asking why humboldt squids are scary. So for this Wet Beast Wednesday I'm going to teach you why you should be afraid, or at least respectful, of molluscoid menace that is the humboldt squid.
(image: a humboldt squid)
Known to scientists as Dosidicus gigas and to many others as the jumbo squid, pota, jibia, and diablo rojo, the humboldt squid is the 5th largest squid in the world and the largest of the flying squids. Don't worry, it can't actually fly. They reach an average mantle length (tat's excluding the head and arms) of 1.5 meters, with some specimens reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) in mantle length. The arms can reach up to another meter in length. Adults can weigh up to 50 kg (150 lbs), with females generally being larger than males. They live in the Pacific along the cost of the Americas, from the tip of South America up to California in North America. Some individuals have been known to travel farther north, up to Alaska, which is outside of their historical range. It is possible that as the ocean warms, their native range will continue to expand north.
(image: a humboldt squid releasing ink as a defense mechanism)
Humboldt squids reproduce in deep waters, and as a result we don't know much about their courtship. Males use a modified arm called the heterocotylus to transfer sperm into the female's mantle. She then lays a transparent, gelatinous egg mass that is left to float in the water column. These masses can range between 1 and 4 meters in diameter can can contain up to 4 million eggs. Hatchlings receive no parental care and most will die before adulthood. They grow extremely rapidly, likely as a self-defense against cannibalism by larger squids. Like many squid, humboldts only live for a year and die shortly after mating.
(image: a humboldt squid next to a much braver diver than I will ever be)
As with most cephalopods, the humboldt squid has cells called chromatophores that allow it to change color. Cameras attached to captured and released specimens have show two types of color-changing behavior: flashing and flickering. Flashing is when the animal changes rapidly between red and white. This is done in the presence of other squid and is likely a means of communication, possibly a form of courtship or warning to stay away. Flickering is when waves of red and white travel down the body. This is likely a form of camouflage to blend in with light flickering through the water. In addition to flashing and flickering, cameras have seen multiple forms of color changes and communication behaviors, indicating that they have a rich social life. The red color the squid turns when hunting contributes to its nickname amongst Mexican fishermen: "diablo rojo", the "red devil".
(gif: humboldts changing color)
So all that sounds pretty normal, why are they scary? Well that comes down to their feeding behavior and aggression. Humboldt squids hunt in shoals that can include thousands of members and go into feeding frenzies that can make shark feeding frenzies look like a child's tea party. They are infamous for their aggression and there are many stories of them attacking divers and fishermen. Not even they are immune to their predation, as multiple studies have found between a half and a quarter of all dissected specimens have recently fed on others of their species. Cannibalism may make up a major portion of their diet, though cannibalistic behavior seems to increase in response to stress. Their typical diet consists of fish, crustaceans, and other squids. Humboldts typically keep their two long tentacles coiled up between their arms, only for them to suddenly lash out and grab prey. These tentacles have multiple sharp hooks that have been reported to cause severe cuts in humans. Captured prey is then pulled in toward the beak and consumed. Feeding happens so fast that scientists need to us high-speed cameras to record the capture as the tentacles move so fast they prey can be caught and reeled in between frames. Eating is also fast enough that they can grab a hooked fish and skeletonize it in the time it takes a frustrated angler to pull their catch in. And if that wren't enough, they also engage in cooperative hunting, working together to catch prey. When not feeding or being hunted, they have been described as curious, though they often react to unfamiliar stimuli with aggression. Some divers have reported that humboldts will come investigate them and even act friendly, though I can't say I'd be willing to try it.
(gif: a squid attacking a camera)
(gif: hunting squid)
Numerous fishermen's tales and news stories tell of attacks on humans, but the squid do have a reason to not like us. They are fished heavily, especially off the coat of Mexico and are the most important squid for commercial fisheries. Humboldt squids make up about a third of all squid fished every year and are the most popular food squid. Squid meat is saturated with ammonium chloride, which they use for buoyancy, and must be prepared to remove the taste before eating. Not much is known about threats to conservation, though some speculate that overfishing and global warming disrupting their food supply could threaten the population. They are listed as data deficient by the IUCN. As scary as they might be, humboldt squids serve a very important ecological role in their territories, both as primary predators and as prey to sharks and toothed whales, and more research on their sustainability and conservation needs is important.
(image: a scientist attaching a crittercam to a humboldt squid)
#wet beast wednesday#marine biology#biology#zoology#animals#ecology#animal facts#humboldt squid#jumbo squid#squid#cephalopod#that last picture is adorable#he has a little vest!
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ruby the lesbian calico kitten!
ruby is part of a set of 10 pride-themed kitten plushies, coming soon to kickstarter!!
#ruby the lesbian calico#colorful kitties collection#lesbian#lesbian pride#pride#plushies#plushblr#EEEEEE ruby i love so so much and I adore how the last picture turned out I hope you like it :3c#i hope my fellow lesbians love ruby she makes me cry (positive)
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Roger playing with dry leaves brings me so much joy (x)
#roger federer#and a bit of mads mikkelsen in the second gif#sidequesterer#also yes i'm back to making gifs!#best swiss tourism ambassador they could've picked ngl#this ad is ad-ing#look at how adorable roger is !!!#his smile is so precious#the last gif is sure to be rotating in my brain as if in a microwave for at least the next two weeks#i can't get over how soft it is#might inspire a fedal fic all on its own bc i can already picture him playing with little rafa and a pile of dry leaves#rafa finds roger on the floor and little rafa burying him under leaves and is like wtf are you two doing but smiles fondly at them
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I love playing around with different concepts and head cannons for the Fenaorians but the one thing that will AWAYS have me in a choke hold and that I could be thinking about at any given point of the day is that Maedhros is his Grandmother's mirror image. He's beautiful, beloved, talented, but also so irreversibly tainted and disheartened about he world and their role within it so much so that both choose death by their own hand then spend another second experiencing the repercussions of their actions
Im just so charmed about the idea that both Feanor's mother and eldest child (the one that gave him the world and the one he left the world to) killed themselves because they both couldn't handle the burden of Feanor's choices
#amber rambles#Silmarillion#silm#maedhros#miriel#feanor#feanorians#lotr#ANYWAYS love the concept that the Silmarils have a part of feanors fea in them just so i csn picture#that miriel dies holding her infant son to her chest and mae dies clutching the silm to his#both having horrid visions of death and flame and they hold their son/father for the last time#also i LOVE and ADORE 4th age fix its but i really do think that mae would choose to not be reborn like miriel
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Okay I can't work on it right now but someone please remind me in like a week that I want to make a cria plushie, closer to life size than I usually make my plushies
#my aunt and uncle run an alpaca farm and it's cria season#and they keep posting pictures and they are so ridiculously adorable#I mean technically they are not my aunt and uncle#they are my dad's friends that I (as a small child) unilaterally decided were family#because my uncle is really really good with animals and they always had a bunch#and I loved animals so much as a little kid I was like okay clearly they have to be family#so that I can visit more often and see puppies. the only solution#and then I taught my little brother that they were our aunt and uncle#not really on purpose but also by that time it stuck#and I did get to see the puppies more often!#and now they run a farm! and people bring them rescue animals all the time#I haven't seen them in a few years but last time I was there my uncle walked up to me and handed me a sheep#and then I was just standing there very surprised holding a sheep who was also very surprised#the first time I ever saw a frog in real life (and not at a zoo) was at my aunt and uncle's house#it wasn't their frog it was just a frog chilling on the wall by their door#that's not relevant I just think they are super cool#both frogs and my aunt and uncle
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#'childlike soul'#and here's a kyleo dump#i had so many of their pictures and snippets from their interviews saved on my phone even during my agenda era lmao#chalking it up to my narrative foil senses tingling#adore the last pic btw. smth very cute abt mbappe ducking so messi's short ass can reach his head#mentor/protege vibes off the charts#kylian mbappe#lionel messi#q
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[ID: A digital drawing done in pink pencil of Galadriel and Orion from The Scholomance book series. They’re cuddling, and Orion has his arms and one leg wrapped around El, the other dangling next to her legs. Orion has his eyes closed and is grinning. He wears a hoodie and baggy cargo pants, and his socks are falling off at the toes. El has an arm wrapped around Orion, and she looks down at him in a subdued loving way, with a slight smile. She’s wearing a t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. A flurry of hearts is above Orion’s head, and a single heart in a word bubble is next to El’s head. /end ID]
I just really like cuddles :3
#grim draws#is the id too long? new to this and I tend to over explain things#I can shorten it I just wanted to point out orions cute loose socks#ALSOOOOO UGH THEYRE SO STINKIN ADORABLE I WANT TO CHEW THEM UP#finished the series earlier today and they’re officially my pookies. I am becoming a ya girlie(dismay. despair. also not true)#anyway tags. hi#the scholomance#a deadly education#the last graduate#the golden enclaves#galadriel higgins#orion fuck what’s his last name#help#orion lake#how did I forget such a simple last name that’s so embarrassing#anyway. proud of this actually they look so cutie#orion to me is short and scrawny strong and has brown hair and I refuse to change my mental image. sorry he’s too good#if you wanted me to picture him right maybe you should have described him before 2/3 of the way into the second book. consider#and if she did. sorry i wasn’t paying attention i was too busy looking at how cute my orion is
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Today is fandom Christmas
#the last picture is doing things to me im not going to explain#THREE GLASSES PICTURES#THREE#whats happening are we dead is it christmas our birthday???????#theyre all adorable and hot and statemanlike and lovely at the same time
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odaiba day celebration
#my art#digimon#digimon adventure 02#not tagging all the guys because there's too damn many#my first proper odaiba day as a real fully initiated 'watched all of the essentials' digimon fan can you believe it.#this time last year i had only seen tamers and i was normal about it . i didnt even think about it taht much. oh how times change.#i really wanted to make something bigger than this ..and i still am going to haha. its just on the backburner for now#postponed. as it were. since ive been very busy with art fight up until yesterday and am now very burnt out after drawing an obscene amount#even so i really wanted to draw a picture to try to bottle up my love nad adoration for digimon and 02 specifically since its a holiday lol#its very sloppy and i was gonna do more but i think im tapping out .... so it will have to do for now#hopefully i could convey my feelings :3 enjoy lalala
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i haven't been able to sleep that well these days cause i've been using the thinner blanket (my fav blanket doesn't fit in the machine at this accommodation and it costs like $13 per wash in the laundromat) but i've found it. i've found my pajamas™️. obscenely oversized hoodie + jogger pants + fuzzy socks my beloved.
#rin rambles#had the coziest eep ever#i dreamt of zhongli and noovy last night#somehow we were going around teyvat and taking odd jobs like investigations and resolving problems#and like there was one job in mond where some people complained the water on a lake has been weirdly making waves or something which is-#-weird af i mean it's a LAKE#and we visited it and noovy does his smash-cane-on-ground-and-shout action#and the lake calmed down somehow lmao#it was so silly#also zhongli was somehow holding diona in his arms it was the adorable-est picture ever#dunno why diona but i'm not complaining it was cute
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Brian Michael Smith via leoshengsnaps on instagram
#brian michael smith#911 lone star cast#bms ig post#!!! that last picture#SIR#did I make this whole post just to stare at that last one? yeppppp#I mean the other ones are good too and he and his wife are adorable#but I MEAN—#that last one might be one of my fave brian pics#bms update
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youtube
#russ ballard#get your love#the bottom line#new york#1976#his facebook posted this because apparently they just found it for the first time on youtube#and i was like omg#and i went to it#and saved it#and it turns out i already had it saved#they should let me help tear the internet apart for them to find everything he's ever done because i do that anyway#anyway this is russ doing one of the songs he wrote for roger daltrey's album#on probablyyyyy the last tour he did? maybe? before he quit touring for a long time to be with his family? or one of the last#there's like#next to no footage#audio or video#of him touring back then#so i love so much that this exists#WHY IS HIS VOICE ALWAYS SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD#and also very adorable when he introduces the song he sounds so cute aashjgjsdgsdsg#i'm gonna quote one of the comments on it#from the video uploader ->#''I cannot understand why oh why we don't hear more about Russ''#<- because YEAH WHY#WH#WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY#i guess i know why but it's still like. BUT HOW AND WHY#well i'm doing my part to change that at least#because everyone around me is going to hear about him forever#ALSO THE VIDEO HAS ANOTHER PICTURE FROM THE SEER PHOTOSHOOT THAT I DIDN'T HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE
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sad to inform that there’s no room for anything else inside my brain, just this woman and everything she does
#i’ve spent the last 4 hours watching videos seeing pictures listening to her music and her covers#i literally absorbed every piece of media she touched#also her husband is adorable#i saw someone on the bird app calling him ugly#and ffs those ppl are just rude#theyre too cute#thank you gen v for giving me a new obsession#london thor
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I don't know... horrible things happen all around the world and it's not a competition
Atrocities are committed against multiple groups in multiple parts of the world at the exact same moment, and none of them erase each other. They all matter, all the people in this world who are being brutalized matter. There shouldn't be any line you draw where one group doesn't actually matter as much as another
You're welcome to prioritize your energy towards helping one group or another, but what's not ok is invalidating or dismissing people who are actively being harmed
Same goes for trying to figure out which social group has things worst (and lets be honest, always using a US lens)
Like... maybe the important thing is to prop each other up and help everyone get on their own feet rather than trying to... pick fights about if physical disabilities or mental illness are less respected (I'm trying to pick a more absurd example but sadly I've seen exactly that argument happen before). Maybe it doesn't really matter and what matters is helping who we can when we can
I'm tired of it, I'm just fucking tired of it. Support people, champion them when the world is just brutalizing them, but you don't need to throw a single other person under the bus to do that
Which seems to be an absolutely impossible lesson for people to learn
#I won't say anything else on this; but I will say that to me one of the groups that it feels like is most forgotten is Syrians#including by me if I'm honest#I don't know what's currently happening in Syria... but... my understanding is it still hasn't really gotten better#assad is still brutalizing people last I had heard#so rather than saying anything else I'd prefer to simply focus on some people it feels like were forgotten back during Obama#and... and have remained forgotten#and I'm sorry I can't do more to help with the suffering in the world#but... you notice what I'm not having to do here?#I'm not having to throw a single other person under the bus#I'm able to just focus on how much I wish for Syrians to be ok (which is a hollow gesture on my part in many ways I think)#and I can keep all the focus on Syrians rather than throwing anyone else under the bus or doing any whataboutism#and that's literally all I'm asking of you fucking people#don't downplay human misery to try and make your thing seem more important#they're both fucking important... they're all important#there's so much suffering I can't even keep up with it#there's so much of it that I can only name without knowing the details; Congo; I believe Sudan is still suffering; Haiti#I don't know how things are in Ethiopia right now... I can't keep track#and none of these situations and the horrible things they're dealing with; things I haven't even been able to follow#none of it detracts from and of the issues I am following more closely#I don't need to compare them and say 'well it's not as bad'; because... bad is bad and any is too much#and nothing I say here will do a damn thing; no one'll hear and even if they did they'd ignore it or get pissed#that's what my evidence shows me about how people behave#but suffering isn't a competition; the correct amount is zero#and... perhaps I'd have more tolerance if I hadn't watched how you behave with stuff#...the worst part is the person I adore who... man... I wish I could just get them to really think through their words#they mean well; they're coming from a place of love; but I just haven't been able to paint the picture for them of the harm#and I'm flawed; I don't have all the answers; I could be wrong here#but... can you at least see why I feel that maybe we shouldn't pit misery against each other#that the people suffering have more in common with each other than opposed and... maybe westerners aren't fucking helping#eh... too fucking drained thinking about this; end of tags
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Textmen from ganz my beloveds...
#sigh..#kat text#the last picture one....#idk if they have a good texture or nah but i still adore these guys
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