Beetles 🪲🐞

my fish delivered a hot new reaction image

My evening was spent making tiktaalik hate, I have to share it somewhere

Snails in the genus Julia have a bivalved shell, like a clam!

Even though they have a clam like shell, with 2 sections, they are in fact snails (class Gastropoda). They are marine snails, found throughout the Ino-Pacific. There are 6 species which are various shades of green. Julia are tiny, only reaching a length of up to 6 mm long. They feed on algae, and incorporate the chloroplasts from the algae into their bodies. Some of the chloroplasts remain photosynthetic, and the snails are able to feed on the products of this photosynthesis. This process is called kleptoplasty.

Photos: Julia sp. from Australia  - profmollusc | Inaturalist cc; Julia exquisita from Reuinion Island - Alexandre LaPorte | Wikipedia cc

Did you know that Chiton (specifically the wandering meatloaf chiton) produce the hardest known biologically made material? Their shells are also covered in microscopic lenses that combine to almost make their body into one compound eye. Why they need to look so much, who knows?

17th of October 2024: Creseis virgula

Today we are returning back to the ocean to look at a critter without a common name: Creseis virgula. They’re a type of mollusc who can be found in tropical waters all around the world as well as in the Upper Atlantic [1]. Their species name derives from the latin for small rod [2].

They are indeed quite small, having a maximum length of 7 mm, with their shell being entirely transparent and characterised by a small curve at the top while the front is straight. The curve is a lot more prominent when they are still young. Their bodies meanwhile can be recognised by their small wing-like appendages [3].

They are most common during the late summer and autumn when the temperatures are still rather high. During this time they reproduce a lot [4]. Creseis virgula are protandric hermaphrodites, meaning they start off life as males who may change into females later on [3].

They feed on phytoplankton and protozoa, and have been described as a “clumsy swimmer” [3]. If they ever need to be the ones to escape, they may drop a feeding web made of mucous and sink down with the tip of their shell pointed downwards [5].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

Thank you dear Eurovision audience. Not only a black ocean but also booing but what did the tv station do? Fake cheering....but at least we know how it really went down. I am so not watching btw

lil epaulette and sea bunnies hanging out 🫧☁️🦈 the 9 month reward sticker for silly society members!! it’s going to be a clear sticker and im so excited to see how it turns out!! it’s so exciting especially because weve reached over 100 members in silly society, thank you thank you thank you ^_^ check out silly society here!

For the Bigfin Reef Squid, mating is a serious business. 

New research, led in part by Museum scientist Sam Cheng, shows that a male will scope out nesting sites and scare off rivals in order to improve his mating success. In this study, Cheng explains how this “probing behavior” could be a type of mate-guarding, a mating strategy in which males attempt to prevent a mate’s eggs from becoming fertilized by a rival. Ultimately, this research can help inform biodiversity and conservation efforts.

Photo: Courtesy of Rhododendrites/Wikimedia Commons

via: American Museum of Natural History