#Venom In Dorsal Spine

[subbalakshmisastry]

STONE FISH - World's Most Venomous Fish

[distant-velleity]

this was supposed to be a sketch and then i got carried away so i had to stop myself

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

48 / 1.1k / shark mermen Ghost and Soap + lionfish mermaid reader, courtesy of @porcelainpot :)

...

The moment you and Soap lock eyes, you push yourself up off the soft sea floor. Tendrils of sand, gold in the sun, trail after your tailfin all the way back into the tangle of reef coral you’ve claimed as your home.

Soap laughs behind you.

Why is he so obsessed with this? This stupid game he plays. Ghost—who rolls over near the sunny patch where you were just lazing together—doesn’t care when you’re around. You don’t bother him; he doesn’t bother you. But Soap won’t leave you alone. He all but ignores the clear warning signs all over your body—the auburn striping your tail; your bright, fanlike fins; the enormous fuckoff venom-coated spines running the length of your dorsal line, arms, and ear fins.  

You scowl. Every time you think he won’t find you when you venture out into the reef, every time you let yourself relax after the day’s hunting is done, he turns up. Watching you the same way he’s looking at you right now: too fucking closely. His eyes flash with mischief and lock onto your fins through the sparse gaps in your coral cave.

“Think she bites?” he asks Ghost.

Ghost grunts. “Most things do.”

“Saw her lookin’ at you like she might want to take a piece home.”

“Doubt it.”

“Doubt you’d feel it if she did. Could hardly kill a minnow with those wee teeth. Don’t know how she hunts with ‘em.”

You duck down back into the entrance of your cave with a flick of your lacy tail. He’s talking loudly enough for you to hear on purpose. “You’re never getting close enough to find out,” you snap.

Soap’s smirk stretches into a grin. You took the bait. “Can’t hide in your cage forever, can ya?”

Ghost rolls back over. “She’s got more sense than the ones who swim toward you.”

“Oh, piss off. Fleein’ from a predator is what prey fish do. It’s a natural response.”

You lurk a little further outside your cave. “I’m not prey. I’m just as much a predator as you sharks.”

This time, Ghost is the one who scoffs. “Sure you are.”

Soap swims up closer to your hiding spot, eyes roaming over your form. You bristle instinctively and raise your spines in warning as he drifts closer. But it doesn’t drive him away. If anything, it seems to draw his interest even more.

“Ya’ve got an impressive display, I’ll give it that,” he says. “But you’re a scrap compared to us.”

“So? I don’t need size to defend myself.” You fan your fins up higher, emboldened as you rise with the current.

Soap grins even wider at the threat display. You’re all barbed fins, colorful scales, and angry pout. His gaze reflects the challenge you’re issuing him. “Careful sayin’ that. I’ll chase you if you tease me.”

Ghost lets out an irritated growl at Soap’s flirtation, knowing very well Soap only says these things to get a rise out of you. “Those spines aren’t just for show, Soap. You know what lionfish venom feels like. Bet hers is worse. Might kill you. You think it's worth dying just to prove a point?"

“I think spines break as easy as they sting.”

Anger surges through your chest. “Brute,” you snap.

Soap laughs. You don’t seem to notice you’ve drifted some distance away from your hiding spot, but he has. Ghost shifts, side-eying both of you more closely.

“I’m just curious, gorgeous.” His senses sharpen with the thrill of your threat display and your anger. Of course he thinks it’s sexy. The more you insult him, the more he wants to see what it takes to earn more than just that sharp tongue of yours. “Think touchin’ you might be worth the sting.”

“You’d be wrong.”

“You’re cute when you’ve got a problem with me. Gnashin’ like a miniature barracuda.”

You puff up a little more, daring to swim closer. You’re smugly satisfied when he backs away a little in response.

“Try it,” you bluff.

Soap’s eyes drop down, tracing the length of your fins, and he grins. He’s just as aware of the lethality of any lionfish's wicked barbs as he is of their beauty, but he doesn’t seem particularly deterred by the threats of this particular mer wielding them. “Bet you wouldn’t bite me too hard.”

“Soap.” Ghost’s voice is calm, but a warning lurks in his tone. “Don’t provoke her.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Soap replies without looking away from you. “Bet those spines are brittle.” He reaches forward to touch one.

You hiss and whip your tail away on instinct, darting back. Your spines are still raised in defense. But your rational mind doesn’t want to risk him getting any closer. You don’t want him to know what happens if he's stung--that your venom is a faulty mimic of a true lionfish. He needs to think you're dangerous and keep his distance. And you need to keep your pride intact.

Soap hardly notices how upset you are. He’s thrilled to provoke an interesting new reaction out of you. Before he can reach out again, though, Ghost grabs his wrist and jerks him back, forcing him out of your personal space.

“Don’t be an idiot. You’re not fast enough to avoid a sting.”

“You’re no fun, Ghost.”

“Fuck off,” you snap. Your heart is pounding. He got too close, way too close.

You retreat while Ghost has ahold of him, slipping down into your small den and out of sight. Soap calls after you, but he’s not surprised when you don’t come back out.

Soap rips his wrist out of Ghost’s claws with a muttered curse. At Ghost’s hard look, he snaps, “Like you wouldn’t do it too.”

“That’s not the problem. She’s a pincushion. You go pissing her off too much, you’re going to wind up full of poison.

“Aye.”

“And it'll probably kill you. Hurt the whole time doing it. It’s all fun and games until you’re dying because you just couldn’t help but poke a pretty fish.”

Soap scoffs. “You’re exaggerating. No sting can kill me. It'll hurt a little an’ I’ll be fine.”

Ghost gives Soap an unimpressed glance. “And if you're wrong? You think you’re strong enough to fight off a neurotoxin.” He snorts. “You want to test that hypothesis?”

Soap glances back at your den with a frown.

“Keep your bloody distance,” Ghost mutters, giving Soap a shove back toward the center of the reef. “She’s no prize.”

Soap gives in and turns back toward the reef, turning a restless corkscrew in the water. Still, the smirk reappears on his face. “Aye. Little nightmare, isn’t she?” He sighs. “All bite and no kiss.”

...

[part 1 ] / part 2 by porcelainpot here!! <3

more mer au / more Soap / masterlist

[protectoursharks]

Just found your blog! Utterly delightful stuff. Do you know anything interesting about horned sharks? I like them because they go :3

Thank you so much!!!!

Horned Sharks // Heterodontus francisci

Horned sharks are a member of the bullhead shark family! These sharks get their name from the two small "bumps" behind their eyes and the spine (or horn) in front of their dorsal fin. This spine is actually venomous and is used in self defense! Their venom is not deadly to humans but it will still hurt like hell if you get pierced. Their venom, like many other venomous Chondrichthyes, is very understudied. Most venoms that have been studied within this class are stingrays.

These sharks like to hang out on the sea floor or in rocky crevices. They most commonly eat crabs, sea urchins, and any small fish that wander too close. Horned sharks are also some of the few sharks that actually lay eggs, making them oviparous. Approximately 40% of sharks are oviparous, meaning that they lay eggs externally, and horned sharks do just that! The female will deposit the eggs in rock crevices to protect them from predators, and 6-9 months later they'll hatch!

[lauralot89]

You know what it's time for?

WEIRD SHARKS THAT'S WHAT IT'S TIME FOR

(IDs are in the image descriptions)

Pocket Shark

Pocket sharks are named for two small pocket glands appearing behind their pectoral fins. These glands are theorized to be luminous. Pocket sharks look like tiny, tiny sperm whales.

Angular Roughshark

Also called the pig-faced shark or the pig fish, angular roughsharks grow to be about 3 feet 4 in long on average. I personally think they're more bat-faced.

Goblin Shark

Found in the deep sea, goblin sharks are known for being able to extend their jaws like a grabber tool made of teeth. Wikipedia says that these sharks' "flabby bodies" suggest that they are sluggish in nature.

Cookiecutter Shark

The cookiecutter shark only grows to about 20 inches in length, but that doesn't stop it from biting into orcas, great whites, or humans. It suctions onto its meal with its lips and then goes to town. It removes perfect circles of flesh, hence its name.

Wobeggong Shark

Wobeggong refers to twelve species of carpet shark, so-named for their resemblance to a shag rug. They dwell on the bottom of the sea floor and wait for smaller fish to swim nearby.

Swell Shark

Swell sharks like to hide in crevices of algae-covered rocks, waiting for prey to swim by. They are so named not because they're really swell (though they are) but because as a defense mechanism, they can swell up to double their size by swallowing sea water.

Greenland Shark

The Greenland shark has high concentrations of urea in its body. It is theorized to have a lifespan of 250 to 500 years, and it can grow up to 23 feet long. Greenland sharks have been found with moose and reindeer in their stomachs. Because of the shark's toxic levels of urea, its flesh must be fermented or otherwise treated before consumption.

Viper Dogfish

Like the goblin shark, the viper dogfish's jaws can protude from the rest of its head, though its coloring means the viper dogfish looks significantly more Xenomorphish when doing so. This small shark is a member of the lanternshark family, and its underside glows.

Pointy-Nosed Blue Chimaera

Also know as the abyssal ghostshark, this deep sea shark has a venomous spine on its dorsal fin used for defense.

Genie's Dogfish Shark

Genie's dogfish shark is a small species found in the gulf of Mexico and the west Atlantic Ocean. It has real life anime eyes.

Ninja Lanternshark

The ninja lanternshark is a small bioluminescent shark. It is all black except for white markings around its eyes and mouth. It reaches about a foot and a half in length.

Frilled Shark

The frilled shark is sometimes called a living fossil, as it is basically unchanged in the past 80 million years. They are named for their teeth, which each have three points.

Epaulette Shark

Epaulette sharks are named for the large spots behind their pectoral fins. These sharks frequently visit tidal pools and have adapted to long periods of oxygen deprivation by shutting down non-essential neural functions. Epaulette sharks often "walk" with their fins on the sea floor rather than swim.

Horn Shark

Similar to the epaulette sharks, horn sharks like to walk on the sea floor with their fins. However, these sharks have sharp spines to deter predators.

This Ridiculousness

A prehistoric shark, helicoprion lived 20 million years ago and was apparently part buzzsaw. A fossil unearthed in Idaho in 2014 showed that these sharks had no teeth in their upper jaw, and a whorl of teeth in their lower jaw. It's a shame Junji Ito wasn't introduced to this shark during the writing of Uzumaki.

[chimkin-samich]

Redesigning the merboys! Heres Sun first!

Based off a lion fish, from head to tail hes about 8’6

Hes the most acrobatic and agile of the 3, as well as longer than Moon but not by much

Also has the venomous spines like a lionfish on his dorsal fin, lower side fins and on his elbows, hes able go control if they eject venom or not but if he gets startled they can still eject a small amount that causes alot of pain and sickness

His old design is going to be under a read more

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #597

Spotted ratfish!

They have a venomous spine at the front of their dorsal fin, which they’ll use to defend themselves! They get their name from their long, thin tail, which can be nearly half of their body length.

[respect-the-locals]

🐠 Daily Fish Fact: 🐠

Lionfish have established themselves as significant invasive species off the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. adult lionfish have few identified natural predators, likely due to the effectiveness of their venomous spines: when threatened, a lionfish will orient its body to keep its dorsal fin pointed at the predator, even if this means swimming upsidedown.

[vestaignis]

Единение с природой - купания с хвостоколовыми скатами.

Unite with nature - swimming with stingrays.

Морской кот – это скат-хвостокол, рыба, которая широко распространена в теплых водах Атлантического океана у берегов Африки и Европы, а также в Черном, Азовском и Средиземном море. Такое название она получила за подрагивающий длинный хвост и любовь к ночной охоте.

Хвостокол – крупный морской житель. Тело плоское, гладкое, ромбовидное, отсутствие хвостовых и спинных плавников, тонкий длинный хвост с ядовитым шипом в середине. Спинка у хвостокола серо-коричневого цвета, а животик – белый. Но окраска может немного меняться в зависимости от места обитания. Во рту у морского кота довольно много мелких, притупленных, но достаточно мощных зубов. Самый большой морской кот может достигать в длину 2,5 метра. Весит скат до 20 килограмм. Самки, как правило, крупнее самцов.

Скаты обитатели донные, любят песчаные отмели, где маскируются и охотятся. Морские коты поедают мелких донных животных, таких как ракообразные, моллюски и полихеты, крупные иногда рыбу. 

Скаты-хвостоколы обычно не нападают на людей, однако могут атаковать, если на них случайно наступить. Яд этого животного опасен для человека и может вызывать спазмы, падение артериального давления, рвоту и мышечный паралич, в некоторых случаях возможен и летальный исход. Тем не менее эти животные классифицируются специалистами как неагрессивные и не представляющие непосредственной угрозы для людей.

The sea cat is a stingray, a fish that is widespread in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and Europe, as well as in the Black, Azov and Mediterranean seas. She received this name for her long quivering tail and love for night hunting.

Stingray is a large marine inhabitant. The body is flat, smooth, diamond-shaped, there are no caudal or dorsal fins, a thin long tail with a poisonous spine in the middle. The back of the stingray is gray-brown, and the belly is white. But the color may vary slightly depending on the habitat. In the mouth of a sea cat there are quite a lot of small, blunt, but quite powerful teeth. The largest sea cat can reach a length of 2.5 meters. A stingray weighs up to 20 kilograms. Females are usually larger than males.

Stingrays are bottom dwellers and love sandbanks, where they camouflage and hunt. Sea cats eat small bottom animals, such as crustaceans, mollusks and polychaetes, and sometimes large fish. Stingrays do not usually attack people, but they may attack if they are accidentally stepped on. The venom of this animal is dangerous to humans and can cause spasms, a drop in blood pressure, vomiting and muscle paralysis, and in some cases death is possible. However, these animals are classified by experts as non-aggressive and do not pose an immediate threat to humans.

Источник:https://t.me/+t0G9OYaBjn9kNTBi,

//www.oceandimensions.com/stingrays-in-the-maldives/,

/anapacity.com/ryby-chernogo-morja/skat-hvostokol.html,

//nhero.ru/kto-takoi-morskoi-kot/,/poknok.art/24400-morskoj-kot.html,

//myanapa.ru/fauna/fishes/dasyatis-pastinaca/.

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Spotted Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei)

(Photo from Aquarium of the Pacific)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Eastern Pacific Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 90 cm

Diet- Small fish; Crustaceans; Shellfish

Cool Facts- With fossil records going back 400 million years ago, the spotted ratfish lived before land plants even existed. The majority of their lives are spent wandering the ocean floor almost 900 meters down. Using their sensitive snout, spotted ratfish search for anything that can fit in their mouths. During their spawning seasons, females travel to shallower waters to lay a dozen egg sacks in the sand. Once the deed is done, mom leaves the eggs. Due to their plant-like appearance, the eggs are generally undisturbed for the entire year it takes to hatch. Spotted ratfish are generally shy and prefer running to confrontation. However, some larger females are willing to chase people from their territory using a venomous spine on their dorsal fin.

Rating- 13/10 (Was around before and after the dinosaurs.)

Requested by @keaneblr

[jomindraws]

Finished with Superphylum Near Bilateral, here we get an instant 3 for 1 on Superhylum Deep Bilateral !!!

Superphylum Deep Bilateral

A taxa of animals possessing a hollow dorsal tube and no notochord-analogous structure in the initial stage of development; occupying the lower stratification of the aquatic biosphere.

(AN1 A3) Clade: Hadalae

A clade of deep bilaterans that contain a hydrous, pressurized, and segmented skeletal structure for integrity at intense pressures.

PHYLUM EXTRAL BEASTAE

Phylum containing an explicitly dorsal spine column that are mobile and mostly pelagic post-embryonic.

Class Cartilage Mouthed Deepbeasts

Class of deepbeasts that contain a flexible cartilage gizzard and a foremouth.

Class Nonjawed Deepbeasts

Class of deepbeasts that do not have any jaw structure and feed via suction, a non-mobile gizzard, or a muscled tongue.

Class Jawed Deepbeasts

Class of deepbeasts that contain a fixed jaw structure and at least one set of jaw-inlaid teeth.

PHYLUM ROOTED BEASTAE

Phylum containing no specified spine column orientation that are typically non-mobile and explicitly benthic post-embryonic.

Class Floorvents

Class of rooted beast that have a ring of eyes around a central tagmatic disc, and eject waste from sets of vents on the dorsal side.

Class Pelagic Rooted Eels

Class of rooted beast that affix themselves to the ocean floor during adolescence and can only move via innard ejection and peristalsis, but never move from a nest once rooted.

(AN1 A4) Clade: Abstracta

A clade of deep bilaterans that contain a porous, gas-exchanging skeletal column for integrity at intense pressures.

PHYLUM DEEP ABSTRACTIDS

Phylum containing an internal support column and an external exoskeleton that are mobile and mostly benthic for all of their life cycle.

Class Abyssal Walkers

Class of abstractids that utilize arachnid locomotion, have multiple barbed leg ends, venomous dorsal defensive spikes, and are exclusively detritivores and scavengers.

Class Color Chromids

Class of abstractids that utilize a variety of rotating and pedal forms of locomotion, contain venomous toxic plasmodial fluid, have brightly colored bioluminescent dermal layers, and consume autotrophic seafloor organisms.

On Jom'Gol, the oceans are stratified between the upper and lower stratifications. Around 2000 meters down--near the edge of the midnight zone-- exists the Bramblesheath. The Bramblesheath is a nearly 500 million year old structure that is an amalgam of various deepwater flora, mycota, and an ensemble of ancient sessile fauna such as sponges, corals, and many others. This Bramblesheath wraps around almost the entire globe (from between 1 meter in thickness to 10 meters near the equator) and forms its own self-sustaining ecosystem, taking marine snow and low-falling plankton and recycling them before outputting its own form of marine snow beneath.

Because of this stratification, animal life branched off a long time ago-- near the formation of this structure-- and is so different phylogenetically that it is now its own superphylum. The Bramblesheath does allow some extremely small microorganisms and a FEW migrating species through occasionally, but for the most part everything below may as well be a different planet from everything above-- at least for the past 400 million years.

[sharkie-malarkie]

DYK…

dogfish shark sport sharp, venomous (poisonous) spines in front of each dorsal fin. their bodies are dark gray above and white below, often with white spotting on the sides.

dogfish shark are small with slender bodies and pointed snouts. don't let their small size fool you though, as their strong jaws and sharp teeth make them excellent predators. some young dogfish are even known to attack prey two or three times their size!

dogfish shark tend to feed primarily on crustaceans, while larger dogfish like to eat jellyfish, squid, and schooling fish. dogfish are preyed upon by cod, red hake, goosefish, other spiny dogfish, larger sharks, seals, and orcas.

[gaycousinkris]

ITS TIME FOR AN INFO DUMP ON MY SPECIAL INTEREST.

Below cut is a whole buncha stuff about the Australian Ghostshark ✨

Did you know there's an incredible fish that calls the deep waters around southern Australia and New Zealand home? It has large pectoral and pelvic fins that allow it to glide through the water efficiently, covering long distances while conserving energy—pretty amazing, right? Another awesome fact: its dorsal fin has a sharp spine that some believe might be venomous. Thankfully, there haven’t been any serious injuries reported, but it adds more too why I like it. It thrives at depths of 200 to 6,600 feet, where the water is near freezing. It can grow up to 49 inches long and has a lifespan of around 15 years. When they’re just juveniles, they hatch from their capsules after six to eight months, measuring about 4.7 inches long. I love sharks.

[amnhnyc]

👹Does Halloween have you feeling as ghoulish as this sea critter? 🐟The bearded ghoul fish (Inimicus didactylus) lurks on the ocean floor in the Indo-Pacific, using its pectoral fins to pull itself along the sand. When hungry, it buries itself beneath the sand and, with its upward-facing eyes, seeks out small fish to ambush. Few animals dare to eat the bearded ghoul, as it can inject a powerful venom via its dorsal spines—which is why this fish is also known as the demon stinger. Photo: Bernard DUPONT, CC BY-SA 2.0, flickr #AnimalFacts #dyk #nature #OceanLife #ocean #fish #halloween #BeardedGhoulFish #ghoul https://www.instagram.com/p/CkW7OtaLkZs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[floriianthefool]

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering if there was any fish species that your mer Dick & Bruce are based on? I know bruce is mostly monochromatic/transparent in terms of scale coloring & dick mostly is red/yellow, but I was curious if there was any IRL inspiration for their tail shapes! TYSM :)

Hiii!! You don't know how excited your ask made me! Feeling real giddy as I type this up!! 😆 Anyway, back to your question. Yes! They're both inspired by real fish species. I've taken a lot of creative freedom, but, they both are inspired by real fish, or, an amalgam of several fish.

Regarding Bruce, he's inspired by both lionfish, lionfish larva, and a leafy sea dragon.

You're right that he is kinda monochrome, all the scales on his lower body are black. His ear finning is black as well, but, he's got transparent and translucent (depends on which you look at and the lighting) appendages there as well. Like the lionfish, he has spines, and venom (like the lionfish), which hasn't come up yet, they're mostly black, but, like the leafy sea dragon as well, he's got these sort of floaty appendages on his lower body and back, like a dorsal fin (transparent/translucent depending where on the fin you look at), which are a mix of black and transparent/translucent (mostly transparent/translucent). That's why he's so glittery, and Reader keeps mentioning that as well. He's also got this light finning (idk, I don't think that's a word but I'm going to use it anyway) draping from his elbows, similar to Dick.

And Dick, the little mer. I felt so clever for this.

I was inspired by pictures of this fish right here.

This, this right here? That's a Sea Robin (😉), also known as a gurnard. 😏😏😏, felt so smart for this.

Once more, I've taken creative liberties with this, but, hey, ¯⁠\⁠⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠⁠/⁠¯. Dick has the reddish body, except brighter, more pigmented, and rather than those gorgeous pectoral fins, the green ones with blue spotting, he's got twin bright emerald green dorsal fins meeting on the ridge of his spine, like little wings. 🤗. He's got some light finning at the elbows, soft, not spines, and yellow pelvic, anal, and caudal fins, as well as the fins at his ears. That's what he looks like. 👍

So, their designs were both inspired by real fish, several different types, and, btw, I did not mind you asking! 🤗. I loved your question, and really enjoyed answering it! If you have anymore, go ahead!!

Have a nice day!!

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #430

Stonecat!

They possess mild venom in their pectoral fin and dorsal fin membranes, which allows their spines to pack a punch! Getting stung can feel akin to a wasp sting, and it is therefore recommended that you never attempt to put yourself in a situation where you might ever have your skin punctured.