#critter facts

[thatnostalgiccarp]

Critter fact #87:

Moray eels have two sets of jaws! When the jaws open wide and there's more jaws inside, that's a moray!

[saintforan]

I think this lil guy reminds him of someone

ignore how messy it is, its like 5 am here n i needed 2 get this out of my system

[critter-catcher]

On this day of freedom, let's talk about how bald eagles are queer!

It starts with a female eagle named Hope and a male named Valor I. The two settled down to neat together, however Valor I wasn't a great dad. He did show up to incubate the eggs and basically never came around.

In comes another male, Valor II. He immediately did what a good eagle dad is supposed to, incubate, maintain the best, all that. This lead to him becoming Hope's new mate.

Here's where it gets interesting, Valor I didn't seem to mind and actually stuck around! Eventually Hope started mating with both of them, and Valor I even learned to be a good dad!

Unfortunately in 2017 Hope was killed by intruding eagles, but! The two male's actually stuck together and successfully raised their chicks!

Soon enough a new female named Starr came along and joined the two, and now she mates with both males every season!

This arrangement allows for the eagles to have a much more successful rate of raising chicks and fighting off other predators!

This particular story isn't the only one! Bald eagles have been seen in multiple arrangements including two females and one male!

[keeper-of-gates]

dogday...

[critter-covenant]

"ooooh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!"

They'd be good friends I like to thinmk

[bubbl3gumb1tchstuff]

yall see my vision, right........

+ catnap's edgy pony oc

[pokimoko]

Could you do a bi and trans ratcoon?

Lucky for you I did a raccoon critter last year, so it was simply a matter of recolouring those to fit. Here you go! :D

[raycatzdraws]

I didn't sleep two nights ago! :D Last night was good though! Getting that sleep schedule fixed bit by bit before school starts would be good! 👍

Requests open! Please send me the most silly interactions with animals you can think of.

I want to practice drawing animals by doing really rough silly doodles. They can be LU/gen loz/linkverse aus/fandoms I post about. Animal forms and companions are fair game, too.

[ccycloneblogging]

I have a fun head canon that Toon Bobby can be quite violent if you harm her loved ones.

More rambling under the cut!

I think I mentioned once before that the toons all have their fake background stories to keep them from questioning their sudden existence.

Bobby, she takes after her two fathers - their strength, witt, and the love to perform.

She also has their temper, though she's able to hide it well with her desire to love everyone.

All in all? I think it'd be a fun little twist to have her be the most vengeful toon~

Poor CatNap is in for quite the reunion...

[bethanythebogwitch]

For this Wet Beast Wednesday I'll be going over one of my favorite animals: the horseshoe crab. The first thing you should know about horseshoe crabs is that they aren't crabs. They aren't even crustaceans. They're chelicerates, which makes them a close relative to spiders, scorpions, and sea spiders (not actually spiders). The name comes from the shape of the hard shell that covers most of the top of the body. There are 4 living species of horseshoe crab and many more are known from the fossil record, stretching back to the ordovician period around 480 million years ago. For comparison, that makes them about as old as the first jawed vertebrates if not older, and quite a bit older than the first land vertebrates. They are often called living fossils as they have changed relatively little in millions of years. Living fossil is a misleading term as the species alive today are not the same as those living alongside or before the dinosaurs and there are differences in morphology.

(image: a horseshoe crab from above)

While the most famous feature of the horseshoe crab it its large shell, there's a lot more going on on its underside. At the front of the body are the legs and mouth, which aren't all that distinct. Horseshoe crabs have 6 pairs of limbs. the front pair are known as chelicera, which are used to move food into the mouth. After that there are pedipalps, which most chelicerates use for food handling or for picking stuff up, but which horseshoe crabs use as another pair of legs. Males have modified pedipalps used for grabbing onto females when mating. Finally there are the true legs, the back pair of which is the one used mostly for pushing the animal forward. All legs except to back pair have claws that can be used for picking up food but are too weak to be used for defense. The mouth is located in the middle of the legs. The bases of the legs are rough and serve the same function as jaws, giving them the name gnathobases (gnatho means jaw). Imagine having your legs come out of your face and you have to walk around to chew and you know what it's like to be a horseshoe crab.

(image: a horseshoe crab with body parts labled)

After the legs comes the next body segment, which is home to the gills. Horseshoe crabs have book gills, which seem to be an evolutionary precursor to the book lungs seen in spiders and other arachnids. Horseshoe crabs have five pairs of these gills, each located on a flap that can move back and forward. Each flap is covered in over a hundred tiny membranes called lamellae that are used for gas exchange with the surrounding water. Horseshoe crabs keep their book gills moving rhythmically to keep water flowing over them. They can survive on land for several hours as long as their book gills stay wet. Because the gills can flap back and fourth, they are sometimes used to swim. This is only seen in young crabs as the adults are too heavy and they usually swim upside down.

(image: a horseshoe crab swimming upside down because I couldn't find a decent gif)

At the very back of the body is the telson or tail. Despite looking like a stingray tail and being related to a scorpion's stinger, the horseshoe crab's tail is harmless. They will raise it to try to scare off predators, but its main purpose seems to be flipping the crab over if it ends up on its back. The telson and legs can grow back slowly if removed. Like ofter chelicerates, horseshoe crabs have an exoskeleton and need to molt regularly, leaving behind their old shell. Females are larger than males, who will cling onto their shells during mating. Amusingly, some small horseshoe crabs will cling onto bigger ones just to get a free ride. They are predators whose diet consists mostly of small mollusks and worms. Horseshoe crabs prefer to live in shallow water with sandy sediment and are often found in bays and estuaries. Horseshoe crabs have 9 eyes. The most prominent are a pair of compound eyes that are easily visible on the shell. In addition, there are 3 pairs of simple eyes capable of seeing visible and ultraviolet light located behind the compound eyes, on the front of the shell, and on the underside by the legs. Another simple eye is the parietal eye located just behind the pair of simple eyes on the front of the shell. And if that isn't enough, they have a cluster of photosensitive cells on the tail. Horseshoe crab eyes have the largest rod and cone cells of any animal, over a hundred times the size of a human's. Despite this, they have very poor eyesight, mostly distinguishing between light and dark.

(gif: horseshoe crab righting itself)

There is one species of North American horseshoe crab and three Asian species. The one I am most familiar with and have had the chance to both see in the wild and handle is the North American Limulus polyphemus, which ranges from the Gulf of Mexico up along the Atlantic coast to Maine and southern Canada. Recent genetic studies have shown that there is very little mixing between a population around the Yucatan and the rest, possibly representing a subspecies or separate, related species. Some of the oldest DNA ever sequenced (about 2 million years old) was of L. polyphemus and was found off the coast of Greenland, suggesting their range was much larger in the past when the oceans were warmer. The northern population (north of southern Florida) Have a yearly mating season taking place in the spring during high tides and especially on the full and new moon. Females will crawl onto the beach to lay eggs in shallow burrows, which the males will then inseminate. Female can lay up to 80,000 eggs per year. It takes offspring about 9 years to become sexually mature and they can live an estimated 20-40 years. L. polyhemus has been extensively studied for topics including eyesight, circadian rhythms, and blood clotting.

(Image, mass horseshoe crab mating on a beach)

Horseshoe crabs have been studies for medical purposes regarding their blood. Their blood is bright blue and contains an important chemical called Limulus amebocyte lysate or Tachypleus ambeocyte lysate depending on whether it comes from the North American or Asian species. LAL/TAL reacts with a component in the cell membrane of gram-negative bacteria by clotting. This allows it to detect the presence of many species of bacteria, even dead ones. Tests using LAL allows scientists to detect contamination. The LAL test has been used in the US since 1977 and has been used for vaccine production, making horseshoe crabs responsible for saving millions of lives. To get the blood, companies will catch large amounts of horseshoe crabs and extract blood before returning them to the water where they will tell stories of being abducted by aliens to other, more skeptical crabs. The companies claim to have a mortality rate of 3-5%, but independent studies suggest the proper value should be 15-30%. A few artificial alternatives to LAL have been developed, but adoption of them has been slow and horseshoe crabs are still extensively caught and bled.

(image: horseshoe crab blood extraction)

The living species of horseshoe crab are all classified as vulnerable or endangered by the IUCN. Threats include habitat loss and fisheries. All species are fished for bait and the asian species and eggs are used for food. Catching for blood extraction also poses a threat. Horseshoe crabs are considered vital species in their environments and new protections should be enacted.

[thatnostalgiccarp]

Critter fact #3:

The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii utah, is the state fish of Utah. It is identified by the red mark under its lower jaw, and the presence of many large, black spots.

[saintforan]

drew my pookies in a card cause why not (and cause i wanted a wallpaper of them 🌚)

[critter-catcher]

For today's pride month post, let's talk about white tailed deer!

Now these guys actually surprised me, did you know up to 15% of white tailed deer are intersex? There are deer that are born with both sex organs, females that grow antlers, and even what's known as Velvethorns.

A normal buck will shed it's velvet from late August to early September, but velvet horns never she'd their velvet. As a buck's testosterone level rises as they get ready for mating season their antler's harden and their velvet is shed.

So why doesn't this happen to velvet horns?

Depending on the reason, be it birth defect, or some sort of truama to the testicles, these guys just never get that testosterone boost. It also leads to them having an appearance more similar to a doe than a buck.

They tend to shy away from male or female groups, instead forming herds with other velvet horns, they've even been known to adopt orphaned fawns!

Even the hunting community knows about these deer, some states actually having them tag the deer as "antlered" or "antlerless" to avoid any confusion!

[the-good-ol-art-corner]

Guess who got to watch a total eclipse today!! Might be the only time I'll ever see one in person so that's super rad Also got fixated on Poppy Playtime I.. did not have a great impression of this game when it first came out, but uh yeah those critters got to me and I really enjoyed watching chapter 3 (can't PLAY IT though because my laptop is um not built for Unreal 5 ALHSDGLSGD)

Reblogs > Likes, Thank You!

[awakentrashpanda]

🎲 (A StarStudent hc hehe-)

Kickin tells a really bad joke to the group, but no one really laughs until they start hearing small chuckles come out from Bubba. (Kickin would then feel excessive pride in himself and would try his best to hear Bubba laugh at his jokes again-)

Every time Kickin tells an idiotic joke he and Bubba are basically just like

“You’re smiling~”

“I am and I hate it!”

Sometimes Bubba hates how much he’s endeared by this dumb little bird man 

[sunyandmony]

"As the founder of Playtime CO. I, Elliot Ludwig, announce the grand opening of the Playcare! Where we hope that we can bring a smile to all the children visiting and more happiness in their life... F̘͍͖ͫ͘o̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ẹ̿͋̒̕v͒̄ͭ̏̇ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ ḿ̬̏ͤͅo̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ẹ̿͋̒̕.."

More under cut ⬇

Hihi everyone, it's me!! Your silly:D

After starting this series I knew that all my characters would need a introduction, and with that I also came to the conclusion that I'll give extra the effort to make even some fun facts! For now yes there's only one au for Poppy Playtime, but I plan on making more that I'll take a darker approach with towards the series! (As I myself was not TOO pleased to find out how much cool stuff was scrapped in the newest chapter just to make it merchandiseable..Not saying it's bad, but could've been better!)

Anyways, aside from that all, I present you with the facts!!

Head canons for any aus I have made/will make! (counts for both reality universes and cartoon universes):

🌥️Dogday is actually a very timid being, even if he's brave on the outside when in danger. He is actually the softest at heart and this has got him in trouble with staff/kids/parents/teenagers...Dogday and Catnap were originally made to perform together on a stage, a show for kids that happens once per week. The idea was scrapped and they became attractions at the playcare with Miss Delight. Dogday also likes sightseeing, which is why his area is made specifically for that!!

🌙Catnap definitely is a mood, since he's always distant from people he doesn't like. He opens up so hardly that he mostly gets along with Dogday and the other smiling critters only. He hates adults/parents for a reason... He is very chill and laid back around kids. Catnap was originally supposed to wear clothes, but the idea was scrapped and he was simply given a charm. His prototype outfit did have a blue nightcap, but it was thrown away. Catnap however found it and kept it to himself. His tail can also infinitely stretch!

❤Bobby is the more motherly in nature, and she's always the one to help out overwhelmed kids, since it's part of her. She always helps the others to find the good in themselves and helps them with their emotions, mostly Kickin' and Hoppy are her main focus. She's always gonna be there to listen to you and give advice, or directly try to help(which once get her in trouble, since she's not supposed to go out of the playcare without permission). Over time she has made a quiet corner in the outskirts of the playcare and helped kids find their way there in case they don't like the playcare as is.

🍰Picky is the chef! Something you don't know about cooking or food? She knows it! She's the one that makes food for the orphans and kids, during the day she also secretly sneaks snacks outside to give to the kids since usually they were getting thrown out on a daily. She hasn't been once caught, her stealth always helped out. Picky can also secretly sing just as good as Catnap, since she's there most of the times during nap time to help him out. She just doesn't sing in public.. She also has her own restaurant!!

🧘‍♀️Hoppy is the most agile and has the best reflexes (alongside Kickin'), she always exercises which made the staff make her a separate area which is now a free daily course for kids to learn sports. She always slows down and repeats even twenty times what she said just so the one listening to her can understand what she's trying to say! She always leaves a cold first impression, but the more you know her, the more she opens up! She's the enthusiastic one of the critters!

🏃‍♂️Kickin' is the fastest out of everyone! He's a bit competitive but he never goes too far!! Since he doesn't want to hurt anyone or overdo anything (such as the races in the race away area). He won't bother you if you say 'no' ever again. He respects everyone just as much as they respect him. He looks up to Dogday as a leader, taking examples of kindness from him and trying to recreate them(half of the times failing and actually needing one of his friend's help) to become a better critter.

🎨Crafty is one of the best art teachers! She helps out the kids that like art to improve, giving advice and examples!! She will do the same lesson even ten times just so everyone understands. She doesn't let anyone fall behind! She always gets free time to help everyone, from making people happy to doing bets with Kickin' or painting the 'sky' with a disabled kid, nothing is too much for her!! Dogday keeps calling her out, but she doesn't want to admit it every single time he says it. Crafty always takes her time with her work even if it takes hours, or even days. She won't hurry anything up, because a job is only properly done if it's with patience! Crafty has (asked for) made her own art atelier, in which she does everything with the kids or adults that are interested. She does not have any exceptions just because of age!

💡Bubba is as smart as can be, of course smarter than the average person in their life. From helping kids that go to school with homework to helping the orphans learn anything they want, he will do it all! He won't judge you if you can't learn as fast as other kids, or anything of the like. He has no favorite students. Bubba works alongside Miss Delight in the school, entertaining the kids and being the teacher for other lessons that the Miss Delight teachers won't teach/aren't able to teach(even if they want to).

This all will also be linked in the master post just so anyone new can find it!!:3

Asks are open for everyone, so don't be shy! Even if you're not from the fandom or don't know anything, don't be afraid!

Anything about the au you want to know from me? Just specify it's towards the mod and I'll answer!

Anything directed towards the characters doesn't have to be specified!(if it's in context with everything happening, if not, specify!!!)

Some time later I'll also make a FAQ(frequently asked questions) in case some of them get repetitive! (Which will also be linked in the master post!)

Hope this was worth your time:(