@drownedPrecipice — #animalfacts
Parrotfish feed off the algae growing on coral and rocks. Which means they're very important to reef ecosystems! By preventing algae overgrowth. And. RedistribUting coral sands. BUt also! After they digest the edible portions of rock. They process the non-edible portions and excrete it as sand. Some species of parrotfish can prodUce Up to 90kg of sand per year! Something to think aboUt. The next time yoU're on a beach. Haha. ・・・𝛾
FUn fact! Lionfish may be venomoUs. BUt! They are also edible if prepared correctly. In regions where they are an invasive species, eating them is very mUch encoUraged! SUpposedly they taste qUite bUttery! A food I woUld like to try in the fUtUre. If yoU cannot eat the king of the jUngle. Then. Try the lion of the sea! Haha. ・・・𝛾
A fUn fact! There are over three thoUsand known species of nUdibranch. And! All of them are cUte! ・・・𝛾
Hm! It has also been a while. Since I posted a fact! So. YoU might have heard the term "carcinisation" before. A form of convergent evolUtion in which non-crab crUstaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. This has occUrred at least five times! BecaUse of this. King crabs, porcelain crabs, hairy stone crabs, coconUt crabs, and the patagUrUs rex. Are all technically not "trUe crabs"! They are decapods independently evolved. And. Not part of the brachyUra infraorder. ・・・𝛾
Hermit crabs are very thoroUgh when they select a new shell to live in! It can be a lot of fUn watching them. They test for movability. A good textUre and external shape. A solid opening. EnoUgh room to fit inside and make qUick withdrawals if needed. And. They flip the shells over too! To make sUre they can be easily righted. Hermit crabs will also exchange shells with each other! Very cUte behavioUr. ・・・𝛾
BUsy, bUsy. So early in the evening! And yet. Trolls on the feed are already looking very bUsy. Some of yoU never seem to stop! MUch like the Great White Shark! As an obligate ram ventilator, some shark species like the Great White need to keep moving to let water past their gills. And. Extract its oxygen. The species that rarely rests! It can only Use cUrrents to its advantage to passively pUsh water aroUnd it. To enter a state similar to slUmber. ・・・𝛾
Hmm! I see! There is a Perigee of Pride! Happening now. Interesting! Well. I have already once mentioned that some animals can be "yaoi" or "yUri". So! Here is a fact aboUt one of them! Bottlenose dolphins can form male pair bonds with one another. These can last for a lifetime. And. Involve activities like hUnting and coUrting females together! ・・・𝛾
Speaking of memory! It is a common misconception that a goldfish's memory only lasts three seconds. In fact! StUdies have shown that goldfish memories can last weeks. Even perigees! In some cases. They have qUite good pattern recognition! ・・・𝛾
It is also known that there are specific parasites that latch onto the eyes of Greenland Sharks. And. For a long time it was believed that the sharks were fUnctionally blind. As a resUlt of the parasites. BUt. Recent research has instead discovered that the sharks have a DNA repair mechanism that enables them to maintain their vision. With no signs of retinal degradation! Hm! If only oUr own species' vision did not degenerate either! Then. I woUld not need my reading glasses! Haha. ・・・𝛾
I have been reading some recent scientific pUblications tonight. And. Discovered a new fact! PUfferfish are the only known species of bony fish capable of closing their eyes! BUt. Not becaUse they have eyelids. Like other species. Rather. They sink their eyeballs deep into their sockets and pUcker the skin sUrroUnding their eye together. Hm! That seems rather inefficient. BUt. If it works to protect the eye! Then. It is UsefUl. ・・・𝛾
Ah. It has been a short while! Since I posted an animal fact. I have been distracted! With that memory box. Haha. So! It is cephalopod time once more! An octopUs' body is made of soft tissUe. Which can allow it to sqUeeze throUgh gaps as little as one inch in diameter. Their arms are also the most flexible in the animal kingdom! Sometimes I think it woUld be fUn. To sqUeeze into a tiny space. My own secret hideoUt! BUt. Alas. I am not that flexible. ・・・𝛾
Hm. In the interest of singing in-tUne with the cUrrent feed. And. Noticing that there are a nUmber of people of the canine persUasion online. I think it is appropriate to share a fact aboUt the dogfish! Which. Are a an order of sharks. Highly migratory ones! One dogfish was tagged in the western region of Alternia. And then was tracked all the way to East Alternia. 8000km away! A marathon swimmer! ・・・𝛾
ActUally! I have changed my mind. There is a fact I know aboUt mating! That is also YSFW ("Yes! Safe For Work". Is what that acronym means. Haha). It is the coUrtship ritUal of the white-spotted pUfferfish! The males of the species will spend over a week constrUcting elaborate geometric patterns in the sand. For the females to lay their eggs in. How amazing! I think little of love and coUrtship. BUt. Even I woUld be impressed! ・・・𝛾
I mentioned sea bUtterflies and sea angels earlier. BUt! I did not provide a fact aboUt the latter! It mUst have slipped my mind. While I was watching the entrancing gif loop. Haha. So! There is a species of sea angels native to the soUthernmost region of Alternia. Which has evolved the ability to prodUce a chemical compoUnd that deters fish. I woUld not recommend eating them! They woUld be qUite disgUsting. Something they and I have in common! Haha. ・・・𝛾
I see people talk aboUt sea angels from time to time. They're sUrprisingly popUlar! For sUch an UnUsUal creatUre. BUt. There are also sea bUtterflies! Which are somewhat of a misnomer. As they are gastropods! Marine snails that fly throUgh the water with their wing-like feet. The way they move is fascinating! ・・・𝛾
Speaking of the abyssal zone fish. Lets look at the tripod fish! Well. They cannot look at Us. BecaUse their eyesight is extremely poor! To the point of near-blindness. BUt. They Use their tripod-like fins. Not jUst to stand tall. BUt to feel the vibrations made by approaching creatUres! ・・・𝛾
There are more spotted handfish left in the wild compared to their red coUsins. BUt. Still fewer than 3000! As a matter of fact. A shame! For sUch an adorable species. And. So very Under-stUdied! It is difficUlt for me to find facts on them. ・・・𝛾
Tonight! I have a new fact for yoU! It is the existence of a rare and critically endangered species. The Handfish! And. Yes! They do walk on the ocean floor Using their hand-like fins! ・・・𝛾
Hm! Well! It seems I have been compelled by "The Dark One" to post another fact! This time aboUt vampire sqUids! A fUn fact is that they are actUally their own family of cephalopods! Separate to that of octopi and sqUids. And. They are also the only species of cephalopod that does not primarily consUme live prey. They are detritivores! ・・・𝛾
Hm! I was thinking of posting a fact aboUt catfish. BUt! I saw something on my feed. And. Now I am compelled! SqUid facts! More sqUid facts!! There have only been twenty-nine reported sightings of non-lUsUs species of colossal sqUid. An elUsive beast! There are beings more elUsive than them. BUt. They are cephalopod only in appearance. ・・・𝛾
I am thinking aboUt sea Urchins! There are some species whose common names are "Boring Urchin". DUe to their habit of bUrrowing. Or boring. Into coral and rock sUrfaces. BUt. That is not the first definition yoU woUld think of when yoU hear the word "boring"! It is a little sad. They are not Uninteresting creatUres! They shoUld be called the "Exciting Urchin"! Instead. Haha! ・・・𝛾
Hm! I see! I have condUcted my own research. So I am no longer a knave. And. I have learned what “yUri” and “yaoi” is. So! That means I have a fact to share! PengUins can be yUri and yaoi. As can bottlenose dolphins! And. Some species of orca. Among others. ・・・𝛾
Hm! Warmbloods! That is a term Unfamiliar to me. Except in one circUmstance! There is a fish known as the Opah! Or. The Moonfish. And. It is the only known warm-blooded fish! I think it looks qUite cUte! ・・・𝛾
Another cephalopod fact! HUmboldt sqUids are very vicioUs hUnters. In some regions they are known as "diablos rojos". Or. Red devils. They have been known to attack scUba divers! Among their UsUal prey. I think. Having watched some of the feed tonight. We may have some "diablos oro" in the ecosystem! Haha. ・・・𝛾
Hm! I can smell the stale scent of blood in the water. On the feed tonight. Which can only mean! Time for a shark fact! It is a common misconception that sharks bite trolls becaUse they mistake them for seals in the water. In fact! It is a nibble of cUriosity! To identify an Unidentified object. When hUnting seals. The Great White will sUrface qUickly and attack violently! Attacks on trolls are less violent. In comparison. ・・・𝛾
Speaking of herring! Here is a fact for #FishingFriday! Schools of herring can occUpy Up to 4.8 cUbic kilometres in volUme! What a feast that woUld be! Haha. ・・・𝛾
Hm! I see there are discUssions aboUt love and dating tonight! Well. I do not know aboUt either. I love my friends! And. I love science. And many other things as well. Like. Sharing fUn facts! Some species of seahorses are known to mate for life! That is a somewhat well known fact aboUt them. BUt. So do the French angelfish! They are almost always observed in pairs. I think trUe love is foraging and defending yoUr feeding territory together forever! Haha. ・・・𝛾
While cephalopods are by far my favoUrites. I have an affinity for other sea creatUres as well! SUch as. The starfish! Did yoU know! If yoU cUt a starfish in half radially. It will regrow into two separate bUt identical organisms! The same coUld be said if yoU cUt it radially five times. To separate each limb with its own core. It makes yoU wonder. CoUld yoU theoretically prodUce infinite starfish? The answer is yes! If yoU want that responsibility for caring for so many. Haha! ・・・𝛾
Ah. Right! I had posted aboUt dUmbo octopUses the other night. BUt. Forgot to provide a fact as well! So! Did yoU know! They are very elUsive deep sea creatUres! And. Some species have only been sighted in a single recorded observation. A shame! I think we shoUld all be able to see these adorable cephalopods! ・・・𝛾
Ah. I see! Tonight we celebrate #FishingFriday! Well. How aboUt instead of a cephalopod fact. I bring yoU a fish fact! I really like eels! And. The moray eel is known for having a pharyngeal jaw. YoU know what they say! When its jaws open wide. And there's more jaws inside. That's a moray! Haha. ・・・𝛾
Hello! I have another fUn cephalopod fact for the feed! The signatUre rings of a blUe ringed octopUs illUminate whenever it is agitated or distressed! Like. A neon warning sign. Haha. One with enoUgh poison to kill 26 adUlt trolls! ・・・𝛾
One last cUttlefish fact! BecaUse. Two's company. BUt. Three's a crowd! Haha. CUttlefish ink Used to be Used for writing. The word 'sepia' is derived from the Latin word for cUttlefish! Nowanights it is more known for its cUlinary pUrposes. SUch as for risottos. Pastas. And. Even bread! It's very delicioUs! Umami flavoUr. They say. ・・・𝛾
Another cUttlefish fact! The giant cUttlefish is the largest known non-lUsUs species of cUttlefish. It's total length. With its tentacles oUtstretched. Can be Up to 100cm long! Or. 3'3 in feet and inches! That's a lot of cUttlefish. To cUddle! ・・・𝛾
Well! No one said no. So. Have a fUn fact! CUttlefish have three hearts! Two hearts are Used to pUmp blood to their gills. And. The third heart is Used to circUlate oxygenated blood throUghoUt their body. It also makes them three times as loveable! Haha. ・・・𝛾
