#zoology nerd

[adharagranley-writer]

Topic of the day: lesbian lizards.

There's a species of lizards that are entirely female (they really said no boys today honey) living in North America and Mexico. So how do they make baby lizards without males?

They reproduce by parthenogenesis (and are one of the few if not the only species of animal to reproduce only by this method). Parthenogenesis is a reproduction form where the female sexual cells develop without the masculine ones (eggs undergo a chromosome doubling after meiosis, developing into lizards without being fertilized), and it can happen in insects, birds, fishes and reptiles.

The desert grassland whiptail lizard (Aspidoscelis uniparens) does this, but! The ovulation is enhanced by female-female courtship and mating (pseudo-copulation) rituals that resemble the behavior other lizards that reproduce sexually.

So they are the absolute only-female lesbian queens.

[jenfoundabug]

Mr. tree cricket loves you <3 Make sure to turn your sound on to hear his song. Oecanthus sp. Northern California, US

[buggbuzz]

realized today is earth day so i'm celebrating with a sketch of one of my favorite birds: the eurasian hoopoe!!

[affectionatecorpse]

I'm once again getting overly philosophical over horror movies, so here's a study of the death angels from A Quiet Place as observed by a very enthusiastic animal loving veterinarian.

Every time people talk about death angels, it is, understandably, about how violent they are. These creatures are brutal and merciless, and will tear apart anything that makes too much noise. Hence the title of the movie.

Death angels are frankly terrifying, and show no empathy towards the creatures of the planet they invaded. No living thing is safe from them.

... so here's why they COULD be--

Look. Death angels are simply not suited for our planet. It's a noisy, chaotic place full of noisy, chaotic animals. From humans, to raccoons, to birds, to cats, nearly everything in our world is a potential trigger for a noise sensitive animal such as these.

But that's exactly what they are. Animals. And no one seems to remember that fact. People talk about them as though they themselves are sentient, anthropomorphic monsters, but the way these creatures act mimic many real life animals. Animals that don't belong here, but are trying to survive here. On a noisy planet covered in water, which they despise and cannot swim in.

Death angels are completely blind by nature, as seen in many other creatures such as cavefish, moles, and my personal favourite, the olm. Due to a lack of sight, they very clearly use echolocation in the film, to scan their surroundings and... well, not get dead. But echolocation is far from their only tool, as their ears are the strongest asset they have.

Their ears are INCREDIBLY sensitive. Just the slight ticking of an egg timer when heard from their perspective in the first film, is like a pounding drum in their ear. This is fine in a naturally quiet planet, but if a very subtle tick is that loud, then imagine the rest of the noise. Screaming. Explosions. Crashing. Little toy planes. Holy CRAP, that's gotta hurt.

Sounds that loud would definitely cause extreme hearing problems from pressure over time, and easily result in lifelong illnesses and disabilities such as deafness, infection, and so forth, if not stopped. It's going to be painful. It's literally bursting their ear drums inside their heads, and you can't explain to an animal why it hurts. You cannot rationalise with wildlife about treatment and self care. An injured and scared animal is always going to turn hostile, no matter how docile they may be normally. You can't explain to a lion with a knife in it's belly that you can stop the pain if it just doesn't attack you. You can't explain to a death angel that it needs to go somewhere more isolated instead of just destroying the source of the noise to shut it up.

Going to backtrack here a sec. Remember how I mentioned echolocation being another asset this creature has? Which means the slightest movement, the tiniest breath, can immediately allow you to be seen by it. With ears that good, too? It can see you from ages away. It knows you're there. Which means they DON'T attack for sport.

'Evil' is a concept rarely seen in nature. Yes, a lot of humans can be evil. And yes, many creatures can be too. Animals hunt for sport as well. Cats, for example! Although even then, I wouldn't describe it as evil. Calling the death angels evil implies they're attacking out of malicious intent, which just isn't true. In moments of panic, they'll destroy. But they are fully aware of humans around them.

Humans need to breathe, and can't stay perfectly still very easily. The death angels would be able to see our main cast at several points, even when they're being quiet. They don't attack whenever they locate a sign of life. For example, the scene in the basement. Being that close, whether the water was running or not, that alien absolutely would've heard Evelyn and the baby's sharp breaths. It didn't care. It was clicking at them almost curiously before it heard the bang of the silo, to which it ditched them to stop the sound.

This scene is a great example of why they don't kill for sport. Injured and young animals are especially easy prey for a creature built so strong and nimble. Evelyn is shown to be terrified of the mere presence of this thing, but it never actually does anything in the scene. It moves about. Ignores her movements in the flooding water. Investigates the baby. Clicks curiously at her while she backs away. It moves slowly and on all fours, when we know while aggressive, they will stand up on their hind legs (unless sprinting) and move very fast.

This implies it was in... well, not a submissive position, but a nonthreatening one. It wasn't baring it's teeth (as best it could), it had it's claws tucked up and unused, and was in no way in a primed-to-attack mentality. Until the silo made a loud bang. And even then, it could've quickly sliced up the two in the basement before running off, but it DIDN'T. It just left, without a moment of hesitation.

Let's also acknowledge the anatomy.

This is a carnivore. With sharp teeth for ripping apart prey, sharp claws for defence, and thick armour for protection from it's natural climate, as well as strong, long legs for running, this is absolutely a meat eater. The fact it's so well equipped makes me wonder if their natural prey is just as dangerous as them, which is why they have such tough skin. Or if they themselves have something above them in the food chain.

They seem to be pack animals, as usually others aren't far behind when one is about. Such as the trio by the Abbott house, the few at the docks, the ones by Emet's hideout, and even that group sliding down the building in the Day One clip I keep seeing as a gif. With their knack for running included, I wonder if they function like lions? Blending into their environment back home, clicking to hear prey, then the whole pack going on the chase when their target is vulnerable, in a way.

I got distracted. My point was, in a year, all the bodies from past victims vanished. All those people in the town who were swiped left and right just vanished from the town. They couldn't have decomposed in such short time, which means something moved them when it was safe. Something like a carnivore needing food after it felt comfortable in the silent aftermath. The argument that they do it for sport is one I see all the time, and it's just not true.

Everything needs to eat. Carnivores need to eat. Animals need to protect themselves from suspected danger. They never eat on screen because whenever they're on screen, they're surrounded by noise and are DISTRESSED. Have you ever had a sick pet? Most of the time, it won't eat when it's ill because it's too stressed, uncomfortable or in too much pain. When having their ear drums assaulted, a death angel isn't going to sit down with a cup of tea and a grilled cheese. Also, I won't add it because there's blood, but in the scene with the old man screaming in the woods, after it attacks, you can actually see it go back on all fours and sniff about the aftermath, like a hungry predator catching prey to eat. This was probably the first and currently only on screen proof of my claim.

By all means, not all animals are meant to be tamed. Jordan Peele's Nope said that best. Yet I can't help but wonder about the individual. Every animal is completely unique. Some will tolerate more than others. Due to their realistic nature and the similarities to actual animals, in specific circumstances, could they be befriended?

Anyway keep an eye out for A Quiet Place 4 where someone has a pet one that wears doggy ear protectors and accepts meat in exchange for pets-- /j

[troythecatfish]

Here’s My Speculative Evolution Book Collection

[jynxedshapeshifter]

okay so in general I really don't like Daryan's design. It works for his character but his hair ruins it. HOWEVER. I am currently finding myself in a state of REALLY wanting his jacket because the shark theme goes beyond just his hood resembling an open shark mouth and the zipper pull resembling a shark tooth.

His jacket is made up partially of layered fabric. For the sake of showing what I mean by this, I've highlighted the parts of his jacket where that's obvious here:

The red lines are where his jacket has fabric that overlaps. This isn't something I would usually find so fun as a character design element, but here, Daryan's shark-themed. His jacket is designed after a shark. The way the fabric is layered on his jacket, especially his sleeves, looks like shark gills when you view them from a dorsal view. How the fabric is on his left arm also looks like the jawbone of a shark.

Maybe I'm just stretching what the intention was with Daryan's design. I fully acknowledge that I might be. But my silly autistic brain cannot unsee the layered fabric on Daryan's jacket resembling shark gills now.

[rakkikuroba]

Petition to name the blue part her mesosoma and the green part the metasoma!

She's an insect.

[1964worldfair]

Do some people not know that weasels arent rodents...hello

[biodiversesv]

alright, it’s time for the monthly server promo!

if you’re looking for an LGBT+ centered community that loves science and talking about our favorite topics, consider joining the Biodiverse discord server!

we’ve got channels for all sorts of scientific topics, with a focus on natural sciences, biology, botany, and mycology! you’re sure to find something that interests you. it’s sincerely a lovely and chill community with wonderful people :)

we also have a “living thing of the day” segment, as well as frequent trivia competitions and movie nights!

if any of these things sound like something you’d enjoy, check us out!!!

[heliocentricsunflower]

Filo high school levihan AU

arachnid encounters

hs student levi pointing out a particularly large spider to his (currently) bestie hange

"Hey look, is that the huntsman spider thing you told me about?" Levi says, pointing to a brown, large spider on top of a locker.

"Where?!" Hange frantically asks, waving their head around.

"I'm pointing at it, dumbass."

"Oh. Oh! Oh yeah!" they excitedly exclaim, sprinting towards the locker.

"Pantropical Hunstman Spider. Native to the Philippines. A.k.a banana spiders, since they like to take rides on fruit exports," Hange reminds him

"The one that bit you that one time, and it hurt like hell, so you started your arachnid hyperfixiation, weirdo," he remarks.

"Yet who was it who always listened when I gushed over them?" they smirk at him.

"Tch," he rolls his eyes.

"Hmm... it's just a molt," Hange says upon further inspection.

Levi, picking up on their disappointment, puts up an offer.

"So? It won't bite this time. Wanna go scare some people?"

They grin like a mad scientist capturing their next test subject.

[beckmessering]

i kind of think it’s slightly rude when i see something or whatever and spontaneously discover a new emotional support baritone like ??? i’m sorry, i had NO time to prepare ?? can u pls give me a heads-up so i can mentally prepare beforehand & also enjoy it properly, fcking thanks man

[jenfoundabug]

Xystocheir dissecta, a species of flat-backed millipede found only in California. They’re fairly common in forest litter around the Bay Area and show up very well with a black light at night. Like many flat-backed millipedes, they produce hydrogen cyanide as a chemical defense against predators.

Here’s the same individual in white light:

[buggbuzz]

JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION 2

TEMPERATE BIOME ● TAIGA BIOME ● DESERT BIOME

AVIARY

MASTERPOST

parasaurolophuses / spinosaurus / alamosaurus / deinocheirus / yutyrannus vs baryonyx / gallimimuses / pyroraptor / alamosauruses / giganotosaurus / brachiosaurus and diplodocus / carnotaurus

[standfucker]

Tell me about your OCs <3

Thank you so much for looking! It really pumps me up like you wouldn't believe!!!

So I'm going to tell you about another pirate group of mine.

The Scorpion Pirates are a group of minks and fish-men that are all toxic in some way.

They are led by

-"Scorpion" Kukang, a Sunda Slow Loris mink -Diaemus, aka "Diaemus the Vampire", a White Winged Vampire Bat mink, is the first mate and the rest of the crew: The "Sea Snake Sibs", Tigwalo and Sigwalo (Tig and Sig)--a Laticauda colubrina, yellow-lipped sea krait fish-man and Hydrophis platurus, yellow-bellied sea snake fish-man respectively a Northern Short-Tailed Shrew mink named Brevi a Platypus mink named Tambreet a Box Jellyfish fish-man named Fleck a Glaucus atlanticus (Blue Sea Dragon) fish-man who is currently unnamed and their only human member, a Gila Monster zoan named Naddur

Kukang uses his tail to hold a short sword up over his head like a scorpion's tail. A gag is that he's ruthless and calculating, but his personality doesn't match his natural mink face, which is adorable--so he wears a mask. Otherwise he's not very intimidating...

the Scorpion Pirates are side characters in the Storm Pirates' story, so they're not really fleshed out much.

Naddur has Dwarfism and was bullied for it by his peers and lacked a supportive community, but the minks and fish-men treated him as equal, so he stuck with them. For that reason, he's the only human they tolerate. Otherwise they're pretty hostile toward humans.

The Scorpion Pirates are all older for pirates, in their 50s-60s. One of the Storm Pirates, Tero's grandmother Ptero (who she was named after, both lionfish fish-women) was a former member of the Scorpion Pirates before settling down. Tero has the Scorpion Pirates' insignia tattooed on her, something passed down from her grandmother as protection for their family. So when the Storm Pirates inevitably cross the Scorpions, she reveals that tattoo and gains their trust.

[berry-that-is-elder]

I feel this in my SOUL

Animal Crackers for Zoologists