#with two premolars and the molar

[k9catastrophe]

letting the EVIL dog speak, i LOVE collecting bones. i love knowing there's another- albeit dead -creature that i can take apart and put back together and play with just a few feet away . sure, that creature is incomplete and broken, but honestly me too, man, me too

[yandere-writer-momo]

Yandere Stories:

The Tooth Fairy (prequel)

Yandere Serial Killer x GN Reader

A bracelet made of pearly, white incisors was placed under your pillow. Silver wire intricately held each tooth in place to form a grotesque version of jewelry. A mockery of the silver bracelet that had recently gone missing under your nose.

A bit of dried blood on the crown of the two teeth which brought a shiver down your spine. Who on earth would bring you such macabre tokens of affection?

You sighed and analyzed the bracelet. This was the fifth piece of handmade jewelry, if you could call it that, in the last few months.

You placed it with the other trinkets on your dresser. A pair of earrings made of human canines and a necklace made with various premolars and molars. And now you had a matching bracelet for your grotesque jewelry from your secret admirer.

You glanced at your window that had the lock obviously tampered with. Whoever they were, they always managed to break in without your knowledge. Were you still waking up and that was why you were so nonchalant about it? Or was it your fascination with serial killers that made you less inclined to notify the police of your… growing collection.

You rubbed your temple as you felt an impending headache grasp you in its hold. No… you couldn’t reject them. Gods only knew what they’d do if you reject them. Kill you? Pull your teeth out one by one? Torture you? You didn’t want to find out, so you became an unwilling accomplice to this matters individuals scheme. Whatever that may be.

You began to get ready for work at the dentist office but not before you checked your reflection.

Your fingers poked at the corners of your mouth to turn your lips into a smile. Your teeth now on display in this fake display of happiness, the perfect costumer service face.

“Smile…” Because you never know who was watching you.

.

.

.

You sat at your desk with your signature customer service smile and sugar sweet voice. A smile that never quite reached your eyes, but it got the point across to the various customers that came in for their dental appointments.

Another day in your other wise boring life save for the obtuse way you handled your stalker. Perhaps you should buy a gun? You’ve never fired a firearm before so you’d need training…

“Good morning!” You nearly jumped out of your skin when the dentist, Dorian Zimmerman, placed his hands on your shoulders.

“Jesus, Dorian! You scared me.” You clutched your chest as your heart nearly escaped from your chest. An amused smile on his face as he eyed you up and down.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so lost in thought.” Dorian shrugged while he scanned the list for every patient. “Will there ever be a day I see you on this list?”

You shook your head. “No, I still go to my family dentist.”

Dorian sighed, “a shame. I’d love to look at your pretty teeth.”

Dorian sauntered off, but not before he cast you one last look. “Can you stay over a bit today? I have something for you.”

“Okay.” You agreed, there was nothing weird about the dentist asking you to stay over, right?

Dorian expression lit up like the sun. “Great. I’ll see you then.”

He then ducked around the bend to get back to his customers. You then diligently went back to your front desk duties.

“He has such pretty teeth.” You whispered to yourself before you noticed a man in all black in front of your desk. “Oh hello, do you have an appointment?”

The tanned man clicked his tongue, his gray eyes glanced you up and down. “Yes. My name is Zahn. Zahn Pain.”

Oh, it seemed you had an edge lord on your hands. But perhaps you were making assumptions based on his gothic appearance and prominent eye bags. His choice of jewelry was rather interesting as well… various animal teeth and crystals were parts of his necklaces, rings, and even earrings.

“Ah yes, your appointment is in about fifteen minutes-“ you were shocked when he placed his face closer to the glass, his eyes locked you in place like a predator staring down his prey.

“Do you like the dentist’s teeth?” Zahn muttered, his hands shook a bit while his face remained unreadable and stoic.

“Oh? Doctor Zimmerman has to have nice teeth to show his clients.” You nervously laugh which made Zahn back down. Why was he so strange?

Zahn hummed and shoved his hands in his leather jacket’s pockets. “I think your teeth are prettier since they’re not veneers. Have more personality.”

You thought for a moment. You hadn’t realized Dorian had veneers… which would explain their uncanny valley perfection. Zahn was surprising observant.

The gothic boy took a seat far away from the other patients in the very back of the lobby that had the perfect view of your desk. His gray eyes bore holes in your head while you continued to work.

You just couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that pooled in your stomach…

[hazelsmirrorball]

My Girlfriend is a Werewolf | Hazel Callahan

Pairings: werewolf! Hazel Callahan x fem! Reader 

Summary: People are going insane trying to kill the new werewolf in town due to the fact they have a big bounty attached to their head. Y/n desperately needs the money but Hazel is a little defensive of the fact that the trio wants to kill a werewolf.  Warnings: death, blood, werewolves. Not proof read. Sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my main language.  a/n: something for halloween! Hope you guys like it! I really love reading ur comments, they really make my day <3

part two

The term supernatural beings wasn’t new to people at Rockbridge. The phenomena or entities beyond the laws of nature was something familiar to them. Angels, demons, gods and spirits people knew of them but they never expected them to be real and come to their town. But when a new lycanthrope had shown up to Rockbridge taking its citizens as bait made people worry for their lives not wanting to be killed by the claws of a wolf. 

The first werewolf had shown up almost a century ago. A group of sorcerers had enslaved a powerful demon and when they had removed the spirit, they had put it in a powerful box named “triskelion”. The sorcerers had selected an honorable demon hunter to bestow the triskelion upon him. The power of the triskelion turned the hunter into the first ever werewolf who was full of rampage. After an ungodly amount of years of running in rampage, the werewolves disappeared, until now. 

The people were going insane when it popped on the news that a student from Rockbridge High had been found with his chest slashed. The citizens knew that this was an act of a werewolf and they were coming to get vengeance on the town that had vanished them. 

50,000,000 dollars to the person that brought the werewolf that was going around town dead or alive to the authorities. 

All the news headlines were the same. Rockbridge was a town where people had monster hunting in their blood. Everyone wanted to get their hands on the werewolf for two reasons, the money they had attached to their name or the safety of the town, but mainly it was the money. 

Everyone was scared, yes people around here were supernatural things coming from time to time but that werewolf had killed hundreds of innocent people. People were aware that he was powerful. Due to the things that were going around town, students were taught about  the history of a werewolf and how to deal with one. 

Lycanthropes have enhanced physical capabilities that are far greater than any human or animal. They had razor-sharp claws & fangs that could be used for killing their prey. All werewolves are seen with blue, gold, or red eyes which seem to glow, seemingly when the werewolves are feeling considerable emotion, oftentimes anger.

Although werewolves often use their claws to slash through things and slash their prey in half, they are quite capable of being used in gouging attacks and are often best-suited for holding onto an unfortunate victim while the larger and sharper canine teeth are used to kill. A werewolf's bite is indeed very powerful, easily capable of breaking the thickest bones of any animal of any size comparable to cattle and below. The tooth pattern of the werewolf is similar to that of a wolf, with four very large canines, two on the upper jaw and two on the lower, with four incisors in between each. Behind them are the premolars which are used to tear flesh, and finally, the molars at the very back for chewing. The musculature of the head is presumably that of an enlarged dire wolf's, in that the structure and shape of killing.

How did Y/n know all those things about werewolves? Well, she could assure you it wasn’t the fact she had learned it at school, that’s for sure. She had investigated, well all her friend group had investigated about the supernatural creature. PJ, Josie and Y/n were certain that they were going to catch that werewolf and kill it. All three of them desperately needed the money so they were going to risk everything to get it. 

The reward had originally started at 100 dollars but as the beast killed more people or got older the amount would increase exponentially. There was a rumor going around town that they were going to push up to a rough $500,000,000 due to the latest kills the werewolf had done. 

“Tomorrow’s a full moon. I personally think we should go to the woods and find that damn wolf. People don’t want to risk their lives by going to the woods on a full moon so it increases our chances of getting the money for just the three of us.” PJ said, placing her sandwich down as she looked at the new “lycanthrope” book Josie had checked out from the library. Josie and Y/n stayed quiet not knowing if it was a good idea to put themselves in the middle of the war zone. Yes, it was a huge amount of money but was it really worth it if one of them died or worse the three of them were ripped to shreds.  Before one of them could say anything, Hazel Callahan sat next to Y/n placing a soft kiss on her lips. 

“Hey babe” Y/n smiled softly staring at Hazel in aw while PJ threw her head back groaning. Hazel turned to PJ seeing the book in her hands rolling her eyes dramatically. 

“Hazel. I’ve already told you this, you are not a part of her club. This is a private meeting and locking lips with Y/n doesn’t excuse you to the rules. So please do us a favor and leave” PJ replied, closing the book roughly sending a glare towards Hazel as she placed her things down not giving PJ a second thought. 

“PJ, everyone in school knows that you guys want to kill that poor werewolf. It’s not that big of a secret. If you guys wanted it to be a secret I wouldn’t turn the cafeteria table into a detective string board, it’s a dead giveaway.” Hazel said while taking a bite of her food as Y/n leaned towards her. 

“Oh, shut up Hazel. Poor werewolf? You don’t know a thing about our plans or about werewolves so why don’t you shut it” PJ exclaimed angrily, while she slammed her hands against the table. 

“Actually, I do know about your guys' plans. Just because I sit next to Y/n doesn’t mean I don’t  hear the dumb shit you three say. Werewolfs are dangerous and I know you guys act all strong in fight club. But we are not talking about teenage girls, we are talking about a man eating werewolf. They could snap you in half just by looking at you. Personally I think you guys should drop it, this week werewolves are as vicious as possible because the full moon is near and I really care about you guys to find you three dead” Hazel said, dropping her spoon to look at the girls seriously. 

“Hazel, you are literally the strongest of the three of us. You almost killed Sylvie with that punch you gave her last week. You are inhumanly strong. If you helped us we could take down that werewolf. We could split the money four ways. Don’t you want to be ric…You know what scratch that. We already know you're loaded. Help your girlfriend out, you know she needs it.” Josie started looking at Hazel with sympathetic eyes. She shook her head now wrapping her arm around Y/n protectively. 

“I’ll help and protect her by telling her to stay in and not do dumb shit with you two. Forget about that money, haven’t you guys seen how many people died trying to kill it. I know that werewolf isn’t trying to kill people, maybe it’s just defending itself” Hazel said defensively squeezing Y/n’s side. 

“Hazel, since when did you become the biggest werewolf defender? It’s killing people so it should fucking die and rot in hell.” Pj responded in the same tone. Y/n let out a sigh making Hazel turn to look at her.

“I really need that money, Haze.” Y/n said, breaking her silence while Hazel looked at her with pity eyes. 

Hazel knew that her girlfriend wasn’t one of the richest persons around. She lived in the poorest part of town and her parents barely made enough to keep the three of them alive. Hazel also knew that she really needed the money and that Y/n’s parents were at the verge of being fired. Y/n had big dreams, going to college with her friends was one of them but the bad income surrounding her life made it quite impossible for her to dream. Putting herself out in the wild to kill the werewolf would finally make her economically stable but at what cost?

Hazel Callahan was scared. Deadly afraid of being killed at night, but not because of the fact that there was a raging killing werewolf but the fact that people wanted to kill the raging killing werewolf. Hazel’s name was worth 500,000,000, everyone wanted her dead or atleast the wolf version of herself. 

Hazel had inherited her great grandmother's lupine parvovirus which was responsible for her lycanthropy. Her “powers” had shown up around freshman year, superhero strength, innate wellness and immunity to all diseases, animal senses and enhanced mobility, combat ability, endurance and stamina, meta regeneration and much more. Hazel at first had everything under control, she had informed herself about everything and had managed to keep herself and everyone safe why she was in her wolf form. She had found in her basement inhumane chains, which she had found herself chained up to every full moon. But everything changed when her feelings got involved with her inner wolf. 

Even though Hazel thought she had everything under control, when she had heard a football player talking about her girlfriend all she could see was red. She had ended in the middle of the woods, something that she rarely did after she became a wolf. As she tried to ease up out of nowhere the football player had shown up  and Hazel had snapped to reality when she noticed the dead football player under her. After all that, hell had broken loose. 

Everyone had it out for her, she had found herself trying to hide her wolf form but after that killing she couldn’t control it anymore. She didn’t want to kill all those people, but all of them came launching towards her and in her wolf form all type of hits were deadly. 

So after the night hit, Hazel wasn’t in control, she became a man eating monster. All she felt was rage and hate. They had increased the bounty on her, which angered her more than ever. If people were really out to get her she was going to make their lives a living hell. Hazel stood in hiding waiting for someone to show up, she knew that someone was going to be brave enough to kill her before the full moon. She could see from her hiding two silhouettes approaching her area. Hazel took a whiff smelling the wolfsbane near, they came prepared, they had true intention. So before they could come near her, Hazel lashed out not even waiting for them to say a word, ripping them into  pieces. All she could see was red, blood covered all of their bodies as she continued pounding onto them. Screams and cries for mercy begged her to stop which made Hazel go even rougher on them. She could hear both of their heartbeat stopped.  Her breath became heavy as she tried catching up with her anger but before she could continue going any further she looked at the familiar lifeless eyes looking at her. She could feel her heart stopped and her body slowly shifting in her normal form. She slowly reached for her clothes, slipping them on quickly while looking down at the bloody faces. Hazel could feel her heart stop as she looked for words to say at the dead bodies in front of her.

At first, Hazel had felt bad for killing but as the weeks passed by she felt content because she knew they were out to get her. The people that wanted her dead didn’t have a reason so she did have a reason to kill them. But right now, it was like a sense of humanity had shown up once again. She felt horrible, like a true evil monster from those films she would watch with Y/n. 

She hoped the pair would succeed in killing her, knowing that they actually needed it. That if she was dead they could be happy and she wouldn’t even mind at all. But now they were dead and all she could feel was the guilt spilling upon her. The people that had received her with open arms were dead on the floor. The family that had shown her nothing but love and accepted her in their family were dead because of her. The two people that had supported Hazel through everything while her mom and dad were mia, were dead.  

Y/n’s last hope of family was dead, killed by the claws her girlfriends had. So not only were they dead, now Hazel was going to be dead to her.

...

next part

Thank you for reading

[catchthattherian]

Askin for some help identifying this skull ! ! :]

Edit: I’ve concluded it is a raccoon skull based off research and help from others ! It still has two molars and one premolar attached :3

[obscurefossils]

Iberica hahni

Iberica was a genus of multituberculate mammal from the Early Cretaceous Period. Its type and only species is I. hahni. Known specimens were found in the El Castellar Formation in Galve, Spain. While the fossils assigned to Iberica have been known since the 1960s, they were not officially named until 2011.

The name Iberica comes from the fossil's location on the Iberian Peninsula. The specific name hahni was named in honor of Gerhard and Renate Hahn for their research on Iberian Peninsula multituberculates.

Known fossils of I. hahni include seven P1/3s (premolars), which are the type specimen, as well as the referred material of a P4 fragment (premolar) and two M2s (molars). Its autapomorphies include the four cusps on its premolars, as compared to three cusps from related genera, as well as cuspules on the mesial and distal margins.

The material assigned to I. hahni, especially the referred P4 and M2s, cannot be certainly assigned to either Eobaataridae or Plagiaulacidae. The type premolars are similar to that of Parabolodon elongatus and Eobaatar? pajaronensis. The P4 fragment is also very similar to that of Cheruscodon balvensis. The tentative assignment to Eobaataridae seems somewhat unlikely.

References: Original description by Ainara Badiola, José Ignacio Canudo, and Gloria Cuenca-Bescós; cladistic assessment by Thomas Martin et al.

Wikipedia article: Iberica hahni

[musesofthesun]

// i will be reposting some N hcs from last year, so have some N Biology Facts! N-atomy, if you will..... facts and ref below cut! cw: some robo- and bio-body horror.

on his top jaw, he has two fangs, two supplementary canines after those fangs, and incisors in between his fangs. the rest of his teeth behind those primaries are serrated and triangular. his bottom jaw is identical save for the primary fangs; instead, he has three smaller canines.

he has a pharyngeal, or "second", jaw further inside his mouth. it has hooked, serrated teeth in front and premolars and molars in the back; it's used to grind up things but also can drag prey/parts further into his mouth.

he's got a sheathed, rough, and rubber-like tongue that's prehensile and can extend and retract. it has a sharp tip and functions like a straw <3 it also has some sponge-like spots to help absorb that oil baybee

there's a sheet of malleable metal alloy on the "mouth" part of his muzzle that basically functions like the skin/cheek areas on a human's face. this is a shared thing with worker drones and allows the robots to emote exactly like they're animated in the show

his head is actually mostly just... mouth and screen/optic circuits. lol

his core is in the center of his chest. honestly, his chest chassis is pretty unsettling on the inside. past the plating, it's an organic mess with wires and circuits in there. his data drives and other components are in there and they're all connected to the core.

he has a ribcage! it's an amalgamation of bones and metal that's there to keep things in place and provide protection for the core.

N also has biologically-based "organs," but only two, and they're not really essential to his primary functions: nanite-producer and nanite-neutralizer. one of them is responsible for processing liquids into nanite acid, and the other is responsible for his neutralizing saliva. they're rather small and sit on either side of his core.

there's an organic kind of tissue that, alongside all his wires, acts as cushioning for everything in his chest.

everything is steered by his core. it directs functions, holds protocols and processes, protects data drives, can make backups of important data very fast, and a lot of other stuff. it's basically his brain and heart; it holds his essential C:// drive (all his personality and preprogrammed stuff), his blueprints, and his power source. his core is composed of essential parts that are glued together with organic matter. that's why it can survive independently in the event he's destroyed and active the solver program to glue him back together, 'cause it has the parts that make N himself.

i bet you're wondering how he can fit so many weapons in his arms and swap which arm they're in, huh? well, his arms are filled with malleable metallic liquid that can shape itself into anything within nanoseconds. the selection of weapons he has is due to blueprints stored on special drives in his arms. you could theoretically delete one of those blueprints to remove one of his weapons. you could also add a weapon blueprint, but there are a lot of parameters it has to fulfill and boundaries it has to be within. ( like it has to be in a certain size range, can it have sufficient ammo provided for it, how much power will it draw from his core per usage, etc. )

N's tail length is mildly adjustable. he has extra extensions for it in his chassis just in case he needs a few more centimeters or an extra foot of length. it's not much, but it's there!

his neck has wires that connect to his tongue and jaw. there's also a pump in his neck that funnels oil down into mechanisms around his core that process it into coolant and distribute it.

the bottom of his feet are jagged for grip purposes!

due to the fact his arms are his main means of defense, they're probably the toughest part of him. they can take a LOT of punishment, so he freely uses them to block hits and such.

the second most durable and tough part of him would be his legs. he has a lot of kicking power and motor strength in them, so they're actually weapons in their own right

his wings operate on the same principle as the weapons in his arms! he has ports on his back to dispense and retract the metal that makes them.

his wings are somewhat prehensile in places. he can move the blade at the end and the two blades near it somewhat independently.

the yellow rings on his wings are not only joints, but they're also where his antigravity jets are. he can exert an aura from them that allows him to fly easier/just hover in the air. in combat, he likes to concentrate them in blasts to throw his targets off kilter.

his stinger is doubly-barbed, unlike his squadmembers'. his tail also has a fair amount of motor strength in it, which is why he uses it to stab targets and fling them around!

✨️N-antomy <33✨️

[blackbackedjackal]

APBT mix with hyperdontia -two extra premolars, one on either side of her mouth. She also had an infection stemming from an injury on her palate which spread to the roots of her molars.

[lilflowerpot]

Hey quick anatomy question if you have time!! I know galra are mammals so it makes sense that kits are born without teeth or very small teeth so that they can nurse, without causing too much pain to their mothers but do galra lose baby teeth? Or do the teeth they first grow just grow stronger and larger and as their skills grow new teeth grow in the back? What do you think? Question inspired bc a saw one of those pics of toddlers/young kids skulls with the adult teeth growing above the baby teeth that hadn’t fallen out yet!

Thanks for answering questions like these I love the lore and learning about galra it’s so fun and interesting. I remember one of the shows creators saying theyd like to explore the blades of marmora more either through a book or separate series. But since the fandom was so batshit and hostile to the show creators I wouldn’t be surprised if they never want anything to do with this media again which is unfortunate. Finding your fic was like a balm for my curiosity bc I’ve always thought the galra were so interesting and it’s sad we didn’t get to learn more about really any of the aliens, would’ve been real fun I think

Ty hope you are well!

So most mammals are born toothless (due to their initial food source being their mother's milk) and will go forth to have two sets of teeth in their lifetime, the first being their baby—or deciduous—teeth as they wean, and their second their permanent adult teeth as they mature. The galra are no exception to this!

So yes, galra kitlings are born toothless and remain that way until they're weaned at around 10 imperial decaphobes—that's right, a full decade!—which, if you're in need of a refresher on galra lifespans, is the human equivalent of 2-3 years old. At this age kitlings begin teething, their first set of teeth making a rapid appearance until they have the full set of 20: twelve incisors, four canines, and four carnassials. These deciduous teeth last them far longer than the human equivalent, as galra children don't typically begin to lose them until early adolescence (~40idp) and their permanent replacements might not finish emerging until young adulthood (~70idp). Eventually, however, they'll find themselves with a truly magnificent set of 32 pearly whites—the same quantity as humans, but with an entirely different distribution.

12 / 12 Incisors: these are the sharp, flat, thin-edged teeth at the front of the mouth used for both grooming, and shearing food. Both kits and adults have twelve of these teeth—eight central incisors at the front of the mouth, four on each row, book-ended by four lateral incisors.

4 / 6 Canines: these are the sharp, pointed, sickle-like teeth that sit next to the incisors—the longest of all the teeth and deeply embedded in the jaw bone, they're designed to grasp and tear tough meat. Kits have four of these teeth, while adults have six, and the additional pair are the largest, situated in the upper jaw next to the lateral incisors.

0 / 6 Premolars: these teeth are larger than both incisors and canines, with many ridges to help chew and grind up food, but do not emerge until adolescence.

4 / 4 Carnassials: the largest tooth in the jaw, these teeth are modified pre-molars—elongated like scissor-blades, and specialised for cutting and shearing meat. These are the only type of tooth that humans do not have an equivalent of, with carnassials on Earth being found in the mouths of carnivorous predators such as dogs, cats, hyenas, and bears.

0 / 4 Molars: larger than all but carnassials, these teeth have a flat ridged surface that serves to chew and grind up food. As with premolars, these teeth do not emerge until adolescence.

[homenecromancer]

you read my blog, you sign up for weird updates about my personal life, that’s the rules

having two teeth extracted has actually been less comfortable than my hysterectomy was, lmao

like, ok. to be fair. the human body is not great at detecting/properly localizing pain in the internal organs. so once the external stitches were out, i’ve only had brief flashes of pain that i attribute to my hysterectomy, and they’ve gotten less frequent with time. six weeks after my surgery, i was back at work and able to more or less forget it had happened (for brief periods of time)

the upper jaw, however, has excellent nerve supply, in comparison — and although my stitches are gone and the external incision has healed, the fact that i’m now missing two molars means that biting down puts pressure on a premolar that is not meant to take the kind of stress that molars do. which helps cause / exacerbate pain in the extraction area if i chew too much, so i am trying to keep to a softer diet than i was previously accustomed to.

and lemme tell ya it’s not too fun to have my work lunch options limited to: chef boyardee; rice with cheese or eggs; instant macaroni and cheese; soft granola bars. bc i can eat sandwiches or other things, but i know i’ll pay for it with pain later

like it’s been six weeks and this shit is still driving me nuts — and i have three weeks to go before i see the oral surgeon again. aag

(also i will make a post in a couple weeks about The Hysterectomy Experience, because holy fuck it’s been a year!!)

[vees-strangeworld-omniverse]

ARGONUS INFO: the Elkinets, an "advanced" guide

(NOTE: description copy-pasted from DA where i normally post my works. any context that is missing here on tumblr can be found on my DA [linked here and on pinned post] )

[this is a single image best view if opened in a new tab. the top image was the first formal post about them, before i actually started my argonus worldbuilding series]

[re-uploaded due to original being posted from main]

[tumblr edit: this guide is meant to be a "basic" guide to the elkinets themselves. obviously, because they represent airplanes and airplane-like drones, they come in such a wide variety. also, idk how the formatting is, so excuse any issues and mistakes. i also edited some grammar issues as well. ]

GENERAL BASICS elkinets, on the surface, look like your everyday generic aeromorph, that is a living aircraft with a humanoid shape (a rather "basic" one at that).

they have a clearly defined head, neck, body and tail. they stand on two legs, and the wings act as arms and hands when not used for flight. however, there are some things that separate them from other similar aeromorphs.

-excluding the engines (Later on that), they and the other aeronoids both have an entirely biological existence and an evolutionary background, being highly derived from argonus's early Psittacopasserae birds (parrots and passeriformes) during the late paleocene.

-the legs and feet aren't landing gear, rather they are much like that of birds and theropods, further reflecting on their evolutionary past.

-their skin is soft and leathery, not unlike that of a human's (kinda creepy, but whatever) it is, however, comparably the same thickness as our own.

-their cockpit / canopy / windows are purely aesthetic, having no real function. it is solid in color and made of skin like the rest of the body (they are often called "canopy/window integument")

-they have a skeletal structure not unlike other tetrapod's, alongside organs as well.

-there exist a dwarf / pygmy version of them, which occurs when there is a lack of natural resources.

 now that's established some of the basics, we can get into the specifics of it. BODY SYSTEMS      being a tetrapod, they have various organ functions, though here are listed some of the important one:

SKELETON: the skeleton of an elkinet is still similar to birds, but there are a few highly-derived parts of it. two major examples are the skull and arms.     much of the skin covers the head like it would with the skull. it has lips to cover the "teeth", keeping them lubricated with saliva. these "teeth" aren't actually true teeth despite initial appearances. they are instead tomium (what geese have) that have the same function as canines, premolars and molars, covered in the same material as the beak. their incisors, however, are what's left of the actual beak they once had. both the beak and teeth constantly are growing, and while the process of mastication (chewing/grinding of the teeth) is often enough to keep them trimmed down, proper dental care is still required.     the arms are also very derived from the original animal. everything is normal right up to the metacarpals, where we see the metacarpals small and atrophied. the metacarpal isn't completely useless, since it (alongside some cartilage) help anchor down the many muscles that make up the other half of the arm.      just like modern birds, the bones are hollow. this allows them to stay relatively light in weight so they can much easily fly, but does raise the risk of injuring those bones. this is especially a problem with older, larger individuals.

MUSCLES: an elkinet's strength varies from aircraft to aircraft, but in any case they are pretty muscular regardless.     the area with the most muscles are the half end of their wings. these muscles help move and control the rest of the wings, but more importantly they help manipulate objects. this is, obviously, because they have no fingers, so having those muscles are really useful for delicate task like writing.     their legs are also pretty muscular, which is a given since they use them for getting around on the ground as well as taking off and landing.      the tail stabilizers, canards and prop blades can also move around. those parts can move in a similar fashion to the wings, though more weaker and are often used as more of displaying emotions.

RESPIRATORY AND CIRCULATORY: while two different body systems, they go hand and hand together.      -respiratory- the elkinets have a strong respiratory system. their lungs are large, having various air sacks to help with gas exchange. in addition, elkinets have re-evolves diaphragms. elkinets primarily breath through their nostrils, which can sometimes hide behind the engine intake if said engine is on the face.     -circulatory- elkinets have a four-chambered heart, not unlike any other tetrapod. their blood is red, and so is a fresh wound. however, said wound then turns grey during the healing process (unless injury is permanent, then it stays gray). apart from where you'd usually find mass amounts of blood flow, the engines are also a major place for blood to go through, especially if being used in flight.     the engines is always loosely connected to both circulatory and respiratory systems. when running, the engines can take in oxygen and puts it into the bloodstream. this is, however, not super effective since it only takes in 1/10 the amount than the lungs.

DIGESTION: contrary to what one may think, elkinets do not consume jet fuel, nor any kind of fuel, rather they eat actual food.     elkinest are, for the most part, just as omnivorous as we are. they are capable of consuming both plants and meat, and have been domesticating animals and plants for food for many, many centuries. however, exactly which one they consume the most can vary. for example, larger aircraft may stick to a more vegetarian / vegan diet because plants are far more easier to produce and yield more food than animals. on the otherhand, some places don't have much land for growing crops, so they stick to eating mostly animals. and, of course, we cant forget about the various cultures and what they eat as well.     since the elkinets have the tomium to help grind down food, they have de-evolved their gizzards as they serve no real purpose anymore. they do, however, still have a cloaca, the single hole on their butt that used for everything down their (waste + reproduction).

REPRODUCTION: i won't dwell on this too long since i don't like talking about it. all you need to know is that while their cloaca conceals their reproductive parts, they still have the usual reproduction organ that most other tetrapods have. they also lay eggs, like birds

PHYSICAL APPEARANCES & ANATOMY

now we head to the rest of the body and their physical appearances.

HEAD:     like said with the skeleton, elkinets have a reduced beak that act as incisors while the tomium act as the rest of the teeth. but apart from that, what else is going on?

-canopy/cockpit: like said in the beginning, the canopy has zero function, at least by our terms. they do, however, serve as identifying features between individuals. the color of it will vary; most of the time it's some shade / hue of blue, but it can also be any color. the canopies' color always stands out from the rest of the rest of the body.

-eyes: eyes are rather human-like in shape, but the general style of them can vary. regardless, elkinets always have a clearly defined pupil and iris. and they come in a wide variety of colors (another way of identifying individuals). in very rare instances with trainer aircraft (particularly ones with separate canopies), the elkinet may have four eyes, much like the other argonian fauna. it's unclear why it's specific to trainer aircraft and not other kinds.

-ears: the one thing that remains consitant with the rest of argonian vertbrates are their ears; they have four earholes, which are covered by a flap of skin akin to an earlobe. they are desgined to protect their hearing durring flight.

-fangs: sometimes the canine part of the tomium can stick out of the mouth. these are usually small and dont create much of an issue.

NECK & BODY     all elkinets have a neck, however short they may be. the neck and spine are very flexible, and the neck can turn a near 180 degrees. when standing, the body creates and S-like shape. although they may look top-heavy, they're center of gravity is actually around the pelvic region (Often helped with the tail), so they don't constantly fall over.

ARMS / WINGS     the "hand" part of the wing is called the "paw", and in spite of it's shape it is extremely dexterous. alongside the muscles at the wingtips that control the appendage, the paw's underside (their "palms" so to speak) are as soft and sensitive as our fingers. the palms, as well as the underside of the paw in general, are also covered in setae (same stuff some geckos have), which they can control to hold / drop items. this allows them to hold smaller objects without moving much of the wingtip's' muscles.     the length of the arm, regardless of aircraft, is always long enough to do basic arm stuff (grab, stretch etc.). they are also never past the neck of the elkinet, and are always directly connected to the body around the chest /abdomen area. in the multiplanes (biplanes, quadplanes, ect), there are no support beams between the wings, and as expected those extra wings will also function as arms.

LEGS AND FEET    the legs of the elkinet are directly underneath the wings. although no longer needing to live in the trees like their passeriform relatives, most elkinet feet still are still capable of and used for perching and grabbing onto stuff. with some of the longer-winged aircraft, there comes longer legs to keep the wings from dragging onto the ground. the colors of the legs are always greyish in color, though can have a little tint to them. there are five major feet types when it comes to variations:

-standard anisodactyl: one of the most common leg types, all aircraft can be born with anisodactyl feet. these kinds of feet are not exclusive to one aircraft type, though sometimes they're more rarer in some types of aircraft than other.

-zygodactyl: another very common and non-exclusive feet type, these kinds of feet are more common in the smaller and lighter aircraft, especially in civilian and non-combat aircraft. some elkinets use zygodactyl feet to hold and manipulate objects, much like parrots do with their feet. skiplanes have a unique variation of this foot type that's semi-palmate (partially-webbed).

-dromaeosaurid: heading to the more exclusive kinds of feet, the dromaeosaurid feet (also known as raptor feet) are only seen in the small and medium-sized aircrafts. they are especially common in combat aircraft like bombers and fighters. although tipped with a large talon, rarely is the big toe ever used in combat outside of the military.

-webbed: while these feet are often in the shape of you average palmate (Like ducks and geese), they can also take the form of lobate feet (Like grebes and coots). they are exclusively seen in seaplanes and very rarely in other types. curiously enough, those rare times are often in navy and coast guard aircraft. as expected, these provide better mobility in water.

-carnosaur: of all the feet types, this is the only one that is incapable of perching or grabbing due to a heavily reduced rear toe. these are only found in transport aircraft and no other kinds have them. they are especially common in some of the biggest and heaviest of them.

TAIL     beyond with flight, the tail also serves as a balancer to keep elkinets on their two legs. the tail is flexible and capable of moving around. the tail can be used as an indicator of emotions; an example is their tail swaying side to side. this is typically associated with being happy or content.      all elkinets have a tailbone and some form of a tail. the twin-boomed aircraft are very interesting, in that their tail is boneless and part of the arm. each boom is separated from each other, allowing them to move independently. when in flight, however, they are held together by setae, same thing on the wingtips. they are limited in movement, however, and are primarily controlled by the base of the boom.

SIZE AND HEIGHTS     from nose to tail, a normal elkinet is around the same lengths as their aircraft counterparts. however, that is not always the case; elkinets also have a pygmy version of them. pygmies are half the size of a normal elkinet, and come into the world of two way; being born by pygmy parents (Most common) or being born from a normal elkinet (very rare). the latter occurs when there is a lack of natural resources (water, food, etc.). this has, historically, happened on island and island continents, but in modern time it became prevalent in places of poverty. apart from the size, they're about the same as a normal elkinet. sometimes, especially with some of the smallest aircraft, pygmies can be smaller than humans.     with individuals, however, there are some variations in size much like us. some individuals of the same age and kind can vary a little bit. this is especially in females, since they tend to be slightly larger than males.

GENDER DIMOPHISM     female and male elkinets look almost identical, though there are some external giveaways to their gender.

-females: females, like said previously, are slightly larger than males. in addition they'll have some much fuller eyelashes, and often have a slightly more curved chest than the males (of which is mostly fat)

-males: the almost opposite, males are slightly smaller, with a flat chest and less full eyelashes (or in my drawing style no eyelashes).

[tumblr edit: later on, i would call males "toms" and females "sheplanes". also, yes, i know, typical "girl vs boy" anthropomorphisation. come complain to me..]

COLORS AND LIVERY     contrary to our aircraft, elkients do not have any obvious letters, numbers or symbols as part of their liveries. they only have colors, patterns and markings (seen on last image). at most they'll have markings that very, very vaguely look like said symbols. the closest thing to having those as part of their livery is if it's tatooed on, otherwise it is worn as some form of clothing or accessory.     while most of their livery is based on their real-world counterpart, they practically can have any kind of colors and liveries.

GENETICS & HYBRIDS

    all elkinets are part of the genus aeros, and because of how closely related different kinds are, there is indeed a possibility to get a hybrid. between different aircraft, hybrids can vary from uncommon to very rare. in all cases, hybrid elkinets are usually a mix-and-match thing, having certain physical attributes greatly resembling one parent than the other, the most common of which is being one parent' species and the other's colors/livery. sometimes, though, other body parts can be taken into account like head, body, tail, engines, etc etc...however, there is more at play than just having the parents be two separate species.     see, what comes out depends on the size difference between the parents. usually, the rule of thumb is that the smaller the mother is compared to the father, the more likely it is the baby will be the mother's species. here, i have a set of examples (disclaimer, I'm horrible at percentages):

if the mother's smaller than the father, it's the following statistics: -60%-90% chance of baby being mother's species -30%-5% chance to be father's species -10%-5% chance of baby being hybrid

if father's smaller than the mother, the statistics are swapped: -60%-90% chance of baby being father's species -30%-5% chance of baby being mother's species -10%-5% chance of baby being a hybrid

if both parents are close to or of exact same size, then it's different: -35%-40% chance of baby being father's species -35%-40% chance of baby being mother's species -30%-20% chance of baby being hybrid 

    of course, this is if the baby is conceived naturally. though, in the more modern age, parents can instead go to specialist to have their baby artificially conceived. the most common way of doing this is having a fertilized egg sit in an artificial "womb" until it developed into a more proper elkinet egg. these artificially conception creates the same chances of what comes out as if the parents were of same size. this method, however, is pretty costly and does require the two parents to go through paperwork and make sure that they're capable of taking care of the child.

ENGINES AND FLIGHT     just like real-world aircraft, elkinets are fully capable of flight. however, their flight is pretty different than our aircraft.

ENGINES: the elkinets fly primarily with their engines. the engines are near-identical to our non-living aircraft, having the near same mechanisms and what not, particularly the insides of it (fanblade, compressors, turbines, ect). however, the materials are actually partially-biological, having keratin make up at least 30% of those part. this makes elkinets (alongside all other aeronoids) one of the very few times a biomechanical organism has evolved naturally.     another thing that sets the elkinet's engines apart from normal aircraft is how resistant they are. things that would normal damage or strait up ruin an normal engine (water, debris, ect) have little to no effect on the elkinet's. their engines (if on the wings) are also firmly attached to the arms via cartilage, so it would take significant force or trauma for them to come off. however, the insides of the engines are also pretty sensitives, and they definitely would feel debris if it was caught up in there. thankfully the debris usually will comes out by itself with a few start-ups.

FLIGHT IN GENERAL: elkinets take off by having their engines at near-full power and either launching themselves into the air or getting a brief running start. once they've got air, engines go into full power and they fly off.      regardless of what aircraft they are or the type of engines they got, all elkinets fly at the subsonic speeds of 200-210 mph (dependent on respective aircraft/engine types). since elkinets have no flaps or speed brakes, they usual stop/slow down by positioning themselves so that they reduce their speed (Much like what birds do when they come to land). elkinets will even deploy reverse thrust if they need to further slow down.     like that famous saying from Issacs newton goes "what goes up must come down", and that stays true for the elkinets. for one, flying itself can burn alot of calories, especially if the engines are constantly running. another thing that limits the amount of time in the air is the fact that they have to hold their arms / wings strait out. while they have evolved to hold their arms out for long periods, they cant hold them out forever.     in addition to normal flight, all elkinets are capable of gliding as well. and, depending on engine placement, they can also hover in the air even if they aren't vtol aircraft themselves. this, like with birds and the above stated, takes up lots of energy.

DEVELOPENT & LIFE CYCLE     like practical any organism, elkinets have a life cycle and different life stages. typically, elkinet on average live for roughly 110-120 years, and have weird developmental stages too. although they reach a certain point where growth is suddenly slowed, elkinets never really stop growing. some of the largest elkinets are also some of the oldest. there are considered five different life stages

EGG (0-3 months): five months after conception's, the mother will give birth to an egg. the egg, while varying in color and sizes depended on species, will always be of the same shape. elkinet eggs are soft and leathery like a lizards, and create their own heat. however the egg must be protected and kept an eye on at all times, should the egg ever hatch or get damaged. the parents can either place the egg in a special nursery, or take the egg wherever they go. the gender of the child can be told two to three weeks prior to hatching via ultrasound.

INFANT (hatchling/hatchlet), 3 months-4 years: when first hatched, the infants eye are closed for the first five days. infants lack the tomnium when first born, an only gain them once two years of age. in the meantime, they are fed bland, pureed food (Not unlike our baby food), or if one to go the all-natural route, pre-chewed food.     infant elkinets begin "walking" at age 5-8 months. or, more accurately, hopping. they start by bunny-hopping, that is lopping on all fours not unlike that of a rabbit. eventually, they'll begin to clumsily hop on two legs like a drunk kangaroo, and later at age 3, begin to walk normally. infants, before they're able to start talking, will make various chirps and hisses (which is said to be very much like that of a cheetah cub, caracal or baby racoon). they are also, obviously, incapable of flight since they lack the parts nessisarly to fly.

CHILD (aeroling), 4-14 years: at this age, not only are they talking and eating solid foods, but they've also developed the engine parts that allow them to fly. however, the engine are still very weak; at most they can glide short distances, so they need to exercise them in order to be able to properly developed flight. it's also at this age that they're put into the education system.

TEEN (Middling), 14-27: the midway point from child to adult. at exactly 16-17 they're considered sexually mature, however it is considered that the age of 22 is the appropriate age of consent. at this point, they're fully capable of flight, and at 19 they're considered old enough to work, go to collage or join the military.

ADULT (30-90): at this point, the growth is heavily slowed, but not stopped. apart from that, this is your typical adult stages you'd expect.

ELDERLY (100-130+): the final stages, elkinets begin to loose their flying abilities as their engines begin to weaken. any form of bright colors they had become darker and duller, and their health complications begin to rise. most elkinets will end up with mobility issues and will inevitable be unable to walk. usually these complications strikes larger aircraft earlier than the smaller ones

now, in some freak circumstances an elkinet's growth does not slow down much, if at all. it's very rare, and this most commonly happen in the pygmy elkinets. while this does sound cool, it only leads to a shorter lifespan.

MISC TRIVIA  here, i have some various info and facts about the elkinets that don't entirely fit into the different points.

-elkinets, and practically all other aeronoids can survives slightly more hotter /colder temperatures than we do. they've only go into hypothermia (cold) when their body temperature hits 89.6 F, and hyperthermia (hot) when it hits 105.8 F. both those temperatures would kill us humans without immediate help. however they obviously try to avoid those dangers and will stay cool / warm when they can.

-elkinets will also wear clothing and accessories, not just for the above reasons but also for other reasons like vanity or rules and regulations.

-elkinets do indeed have vehicles. not surprisingly, most of them are aerial-base, but there are a plethora of land and water ones too. most of these vehicles, however, don't go as fast as you think. with the flying vehicles, they only go slightly faster than the fastest elkinets, if not the same speed as them. they're primarily used for long-distance travel and heavy transport.

-adult elkinets still do make animalistic noise, though unlike when they're young these noises are more akin to large carnivorans, such as growls, roars, screeches, and yowls. however, the noises aren't part of their actual language, they're more of sounds that display certain emotions. 

-while capable of eating thing us humans can eat, there are also some foods they only they're capable of eating. holly berries are a good example, as they've been domesticating them for years for things like pastry filling, candy and rum (which, funny enough, made them less poisonous to humans).

-elkinets prefer to sleep on the bellies as it's more comfortable as apposed to sleeping on their backs

-elkinets usually do not naturally have any armaments to them whatsoever (missiles, guns, ect). those are usually part of armored suites worn by the military.

anyways, that's this post for now.

[sirompp]

numbat

whadda hell...

its got a tong and evrything...

its an insectivorous marsupial.... its diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites........ its endangered.............

The numbat genus Myrmecobius is the sole member of the family Myrmecobiidae, one of four families that make up the order Dasyuromorphia, the Australian marsupial carnivores.[11]

The species is not closely related to other extant marsupials; the current arrangement in the order Dasyuromorphia places its monotypic family with the diverse and carnivorous species of Dasyuridae. Genetic studies have shown the ancestors of the numbat diverged from other marsupials between 32 and 42 million years ago, during the late Eocene.[12]

Two subspecies have been described, but one of these—the rusty coloured Myrmecobius fasciatus rufus Finlayson, 1933,[13][14]—has been extinct since at least the 1960s, and only the nominate subspecies (M. fasciatus fasciatus) remains alive today. The population described by Finlayson occurred in the arid central regions of South Australia, and he thought they had once extended to the coast.[13] The separation to subspecies was not recognised in the national census of Australian mammals, following W. D. L. Ride and others.[a] As its name implies, M. fasciatus rufus had a more reddish coat than the surviving population.[15] Only a very small number of fossil specimens are known, the oldest dating back to the Pleistocene, and no other species from the same family have been identified.[15]

areyou seeing this shit? oh ym god.

The numbat is a small, distinctively-striped animal between 35 and 45 centimetres (14 and 18 in) long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body. Colour varies considerably, from soft grey to reddish-brown, often with an area of brick red on the upper back, and always with a conspicuous black stripe running from the tip of the muzzle through the eye to the base of the small, round-tipped ear. Between four and eleven white stripes cross the animal's hindquarters, which gradually become fainter towards the midback. The underside is cream or light grey, while the tail is covered with long, grey hair flecked with white. Weight varies between 280 and 700 g (9.9 and 24.7 oz).[15][19]

Unlike most other marsupials, the numbat is diurnal, largely because of the constraints of having a specialised diet without having the usual physical equipment for it. Most ecosystems with a generous supply of termites have a fairly large creature with powerful forelimbs bearing heavy claws.[20] Numbats are not large, and they have five toes on the fore feet, and four on the hind feet.[15] However, like other mammals that eat termites or ants, the numbat has a degenerate jaw with up to 50 very small, nonfunctional teeth, and although it is able to chew,[15] rarely does so, because of the soft nature of its diet. Uniquely among terrestrial mammals, an additional cheek tooth is located between the premolars and molars; whether this represents a supernumerary molar tooth or a deciduous tooth retained into adult life is unclear. As a result, although not all individuals have the same dental formula, in general, it follows the unique pattern: 4.1.3.1.43.1.4.1.4[15]

Like many ant- or termite-eating animals, the numbat has a long and narrow tongue coated with sticky saliva produced by large submandibular glands. A further adaptation to the diet is the presence of numerous ridges along the soft palate, which apparently help to scrape termites off the tongue so they can be swallowed. The digestive system is relatively simple, and lacks many of the adaptations found in other entomophagous animals, presumably because termites are easier to digest than ants, having a softer exoskeleton. Numbats are apparently able to gain a considerable amount of water from their diets, since their kidneys lack the usual specialisations for retaining water found in other animals living in their arid environment.[21] Numbats also possess a sternal scent gland, which may be used for marking their territories.[15]

Although the numbat finds termite mounds primarily using scent, it has the highest visual acuity of any marsupial, and, unusually for marsupials, has a high proportion of cone cells in the retina. These are both likely adaptations for its diurnal habits, and vision does appear to be the primary sense used to detect potential predators.[15]

fucking. aminal

[moonlight-seraph]

Uh.

Are those teeth?

... Yeah I think... Those two are my molars, and that one is a premolar.

What the fuck, Draka?

You think I know? I-

This is horrifying. Why are your fucking teeth falling out?

No idea, Cari.

[ferinehuntressmoved]

[ A ] HRI'S PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES .

Ahri is a unique and beautiful Vastayashai'rei who carries the traits of the only nine-tailed fox in existence on Runeterra. While there may be other fox-like Vastaya, there is no Vastaya like Ahri. She is the only ninetails with the powers and abilities and appearance she is.

While Ahri has a bipedal human-like appearance, she is not human. Perhaps she once was, but when she joined with the spirit, her entire anatomy, DNA, and genetic structure changed. She isn't human anymore, but an entirely new race, just like all the other Vastayashai'rei when these spiritualists bonded with spirits. They are not human nor are they spirits. They are a species of their own. For example, take a Bat and a Bird. They visually look similar, they have wings, they can fly, and they are small. And yet, they aren't related in any form or fashion. Ahri may look human and have some human-like traits, but she is not human and never will be.

Starting with the face. Ahri has a human-like face, a nose, and lips like any human. However, she has strips against her cheeks which when someone touches them will notice a very short layer of red fur against them. Her hair is a dark black-blue tone and is very wild and untamed. Sometimes she will braid it, and sometimes she just leaves it free. It will stick up and react to her actions. If she is scared or angry, her hair will bristle and flare to make herself look bigger.

While Ahri has a bridge down to her nose, her nose is a bit less human as well. It has a touch of a button look with large nostrils that allow more scent to enter in. Her sense of smell is extremely acute and this little button like look is more fox like then human.

Ahri's teeth are all fox. Her front four incisors are slightly sharper, better for tearing into the meat and slicing through it. She has 1 set of canines on the upper and lower jaw and they are very long and slightly curved. Then toward the back, her premolars, 3 premolars, including the back one being a carnassial, and then 1 molar. All of these teeth are angled and sharp, and each has gaps in them so they fit into place. Her teeth are all fox and meant to help shear and tear flesh and cartilage, and her canines allow her to latch onto prey. While most of her teeth stay hidden, her upper canine teeth sometimes stick out around her lips while the lower ones rotate slightly back into her mouth which hide better.

Her eyes are gold and react to sunlight. If she is in a dark area, her pupils will be round and big. The brighter the area, the more her pupil will contract, to the point it can be a slender slit pupil. She also has a tapetum lucidium, which often reflects light and gives her glowing eyes at night, allowing her to see in the dark. Ahri's eyes when using magic will turn blue and glow blue.

Ahri has no human ears. If you pull her hair back that is around her face, no ear can be found. that's because she has a set of fox ears on the top of her head. These ears are very long and have lots of fur around them. They are highly mobile, able to rotate and angle her ears in 150-degree rotation to pick up on sounds in front, beside, and behind her. With the massive size of her ears, she can catch and funnel sound easily, noticing if someone is sneaking up on her if they are a distance away, or listening to sounds below ground as well. Her hearing is far more sensitive than a human's, with a significantly stronger capability of hearing things farther away and even deep inside the earth. She can also tell the difference in tones and what belongs to whom, whether its a deer, a wolf, or a human.

During major situations, be it severe bad weather or even a warzone of fighting, Ahri can move her ears forward to create a sort of noise cancellation. This protects her ears from damaging sound but it also makes it more difficult to tell who or what is around her.

Ahri had her ears pierced twice on both sides, wearing two gold rings.

As we travel away from her face and down to her upper body and arms, Ahri has a very peach-tone flesh to start with. However, if someone gets close up, they will notice that there is fur on her body that people assume is skin. What she has is a very short layer of fur on her skin. It's most noticeable upon her shoulders and the cleavage of her chest, where the fur will stick up and bristle upward. It's velvety soft in touch. Her forearms to her hands are covered in black fur, slightly longer than the short fur on the peach elements of her body, but still short that some assume her hands are tattooed in black. Her hands look human but are actually fox-like. Take the fox paw and simply morph it onto the hand. She has little pads upon her fingers and where nails would be are claws.

While normal foxes claws are semi-retractable, due to Ahri's bipedal nature she cannot retract the claws on her hands. They stay long and visible and can tear and maim flesh or hold down her prey. However, her claws are useful for climbing and digging as well.

Much of Ahri's body from her stomach to her hips and thighs looks human. Nothing is truly different in that aspect, except for the once again, very short peach-tone fur that covers her body but people don't notice it because it looks like skin.

However, her calves are where things change. Black fur covers her mid to lower calves, and instead of feet, she has a set of two fox feet. She has four toes and on the inside of her foot is what is called the Dewclaw, which functions much like a thumb would on a hand. Her digitigrade feet allow her to walk on the toes and pads, but while humans can rest a flat foot with their heel on the ground, Ahri's heel is further up just like a fox foot. She has paw pads upon her feet, often covered in black fur called awn, to protect against burns and reduce the loss of heat against them. Her claws are semi-retractable but tend to be visible.

Her feet allow for her to be far faster than humans, moving in ways that give her speed and agility. It also allows her to walk practically silently, and the semi-retractable claws do not make sounds if she pulls them back. These claws are extremely sharp and allow her to leap and slash into prey and maintain a grip if needed. Just like her hand claws, she can dig and effectively climb with them.

Last, but not least, are Ahri's nine tails. Ahri has the capability of weaving her tails together, much like you can do with braiding hair, to give the appearance of one single tail. However, she can unfurl them so they are all nine tails are visible if desired. She cannot use magic to 'split' her tails, though humans often describe it that way because how can one tail become nine? Ahri uses this function to not draw attention or she uses her illusion powers to hide her multiple tails.

Ahri's polycaudal structure starts at the base of her tailbone. The vertebrae start with her spine, down her back to her tailbone. Where it stops in humans, hers continues. The tail bifurcation starts at the sacral region, often called a V split, which extends into nine different vertebral tails. She has complete control of her tails, able to move each one just like someone would move their left or right arm, Ahri has full function over her nine tails and how they move.

All nine tails assist in balance, and with nine she has far better balance than say an animal with one tail. Her nine tails also function as a means of warmth and comfort, which she will wrap around herself when she sleeps. Her tails are covered in dense long thick fur. Her tails act defensively as well, if she is scared or angry they will spread out, fur bristle, and make herself look larger than she is. All of her tails are white.

Her coloration, with her black ears, feet, and arms while her tails are white means her variation of fox breed is a white marble Fox, that of a blend of white and black.

[monster-genes]

Mermaids Part Two

Hello again! It's me, Aydian! This part two of mermaids. In this post we will talk about how mermaids evolved. We will use early humans as an example.

So lets say about 5 million years ago a group of homo sapiens started to spend more time at sea. We will see the first few changes to them, their ability to hold their breathe, their diet and teeth.

They still live on land, so no large physical change that can be seen. A small physical change that can be seen is their teeth. The reason is because their main diet will be raw seafood, as fire has not been made by our kind yet. Their canines are still sharp but the incisors are starting to become pointy to help cut into the meat. Premolars and molars still look the same and haven't changed.

A none physical change is their spleen. The spleen would grow in size. The spleen holds oxygen while we are not breathing. This can also be seen in aquatic mammals as well.

A few million years later they have changed a lot. They spend very little time on land. They have traded their arms and hands for flippers. They also no longer have body hair, since that would slow them down. They also have a layer of blubber to help keep them warm. Their legs have fused together at this point to form a tail. If you looked at it's skeleton, you would see it once had two legs. It's fusing together as well and become a tail fin. Though the tail fin isn't very big, making the early mermaid a slow swimmer.

Now in modern times they are fully aquatic mammals. It hasn't changed too much since we last seen it. It no longer has a nose like you and I, but like a seal. Their tail is now an actual tail and their tail fin is larger, making them a faster swimmer. Their coloration has changed over the years as well. Their upper bodies are more of a bluish grey color and their underbellies are light grey to white.

And that is the end of The Mermaids. Let me know your thoughts and stay tune for Monster Genes!

[obscurefossils]

Sulestes

Sulestes was a genus of deltatheroidean mammal from the Cretaceous Period. Its type species is S. karakshi. The known specimens were found in the Bissekty Formation, Kyzyl Kum desert, Uzbekistan. Sulestes was the first and currently only identified metatherian taxon from the Bissekty Formation.

Its autapomorphies include the first premolar's oblique orientation relative to the dentary, an asymmetrical third molar, the presence of a fourth non-vestigial molar, and a double-rooted first premolar.

Sulestes is known from its holotype, a left maxilla fragment, as well as referred specimens. These specimens were originally labelled under "Deltatherus" and "Marsasia" and consist of a right petrosal, right maxilla, two left maxilla fragments, left coronoid process, several right and left dentary fragments, and a few isolated teeth. Sulestes is recovered as the sister taxon to Deltatheroides and Deltatheridium within Deltatheroida. 

Citations: The original description paper, Nessov 1983, is not available online. Nessov and Russell 1994 (description); Averianov, Archibald, and Ekdale 2010 (referred material).

Wikipedia article: here

[wetbloodworm]

so bailey and i have a modern au where my kid zenith and her boy cole meet up when zenith invades one of his dreams. cole, a cryptid hunter (positive), takes it Really Well, and zenith is always delighted to find people who actively WANT to talk to them. using skills he's picked up hunting for supernatural creatures, cole has a fun time examining features and behaviors to classify what type of creature zenith is and what they're like. ends up knowing more about why zenith is built the way they are than zenith does, considering they don't think about this sort of thing.

(feature and behavior analysis under the cut later, along with the lineart)

anyway cole here has figured out that zenith does in fact have a mouth (they prefer telepathic communication and most of the sounds they make don't require them to open their mouth) and is checking out the situation. i'm not SUPER happy with cole's positioning/proportions/etc but i couldn't quite figure it out, and i'm impatient with my art so i'm not gonna keep fussing with this. the scale between the two might be a little fucky, it's hard for me to judge when zenith isn't like. totally straightened out.

standing in a nothing kind of space because it's a dream. that's my excuse

here's a close-up! because i love how cole's right hand and the glowing effect turned out! also i just like the galaxy patterns and wanna zoom in

and lines! you can see zenith's claws a bit better here, the front one looks ehhhhh but the further one is more accurate. long claws, the webbing just makes them look weird and and short. looking at this now, i think their tail should be longer since it's more than half their body length.

and finally, a handful of things you can infer from zenith being built the way they are:

that many sharp teeth indicate a carnivorous diet - or partial diet, considering zenith is open about the dream-eating thing

teeth are backwards-facing so likely used for securing prey and preventing escape, which makes sense since zenith's neck is longer than their arms so while they can twist about easily it's more efficient to not need to use their hands to hold onto food.

the securing-prey thing is a partial explanation for something that comes up in convo, that the teeth grow back after getting pulled out or just regularly as a maintenance thing.

teeth don't have grooves so they likely don't inject venom.

also no molars/premolars so likely eats food whole or otherwise doesn't need to chew.

sorry there's so many about teeth but [gestures at self]

webbing between the fingers/claws indicate that they live at least partially in either an aquatic environment or, more likely with how zenith tends to float around in the air, in a foreign environment where the webs will assist with movement.

them having a (very flashy) threat display might mean they aren't totally isolated and encounters others of their species and/or other creatures that they need to be able to ward off.

the ability to laugh (or their laugh-equivalent, a quick high vaguely electronic kind of chirping/clicking sound) can indicate that they're from a social species. (one theory re: laughter is that it at least partially replaced grooming between individuals as the human population grew, since it's not feasible to groom that many people you're trying to form positive bonds with, and it's a quick way to communicate comfort and good intentions to multiple people. THIS IS FASCINATING TO ME)

this is reinforced by the fact that they speak, make frequent and varied vocalizations, and also, y'know, invade dreams to talk to people and return to individuals frequently if they show a willingness to interact.