#brazilian fiddler crab

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Strange Symmetries #20: The 16 Million Year Fiddler Crab Rave

Many decapod crustaceans have slightly asymmetrical pincers, often with one claw being chunkier and specialized for "crushing" while the other is more slender and used for "cutting".

But fiddler crabs take this sort of asymmetry to the extreme as part of their sexual dimorphism – males have one massively oversized claw, which is used for both visual display to potential mates and for physical fights against rivals.

Some of the earliest fiddler crabs are known from the Miocene of what is now northern Brazil. Although the fossils have been given several different taxonomic names since their discovery in the 1970s (including Uca maracoani antiqua, Uca antiqua, and Uca inaciobritoi) they're currently considered to be indistinguishable from the modern Brazilian fiddler crab, Uca maracoani, meaning that these crabs have remained externally unchanged for the last 16 million years.

Up to about 4cm in carapace width (~1.6"), modern Uca maracoani are found in coastal mangrove swamps and tidal mudflats around the northern and eastern coasts of South America – and some of these environments have also undergone little change since the Miocene. Males of the species can develop their enlarged pincer on either side of their bodies, with lefties and righties seeming to occur in equal numbers.

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#science illustration #strange symmetries #paleontology #paleoart #and also not paleoart #palaeoblr #uca maracoani #brazilian fiddler crab #fiddler crab #ocypodidae #brachyura #crab #decapod #crustacea #arthropod #invertebrate #living fossil #art #crab rave

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BELLUM.  Modern / human verse Findorr headcanons incoming bc ! ! !  :D

Mixed race, Spanish (  father’s side  ) and Brazilian (  mother’s side  ).  Father died when he was three-four years old.  Raised mainly by his grandmother, until she passed away, who taught him a lot of his Spanish heritage but he’s constantly trying to learn more about the Brazilian side of himself because he never knew his mother at all.

He’s a hairdresser during the day, and in his off time he’s also a semi-professional pet hermit crab breeder.  He likes the work of being a hairdresser, but honestly crabs are his real passion.  (  Oh God that sounds so wrong i’M SORRY  )  He just loves these animals and wants to spread that love.  (  God that sounds eVEN WORSE FUCK IT  )

In addition to being a breeder, he has three pet crabs of his own ; the queen bitch Halloween crab named Sarita, a fiddler crab named Carmenita, and a hermit crab named Anselmo.

Has carpal tunnel syndrome focused in his right hand / wrist and sometimes wears a wrist brace to lessen the symptoms.  He’s got a tendency to forget his brace when he goes to work.  If you see him sitting in the salon’s waiting area clutching his hand in pain / frustration when he’s supposed to be on the clock, he’s called one of his roommates and is waiting for them to bring him his brace.  It really bugs him bc sometimes when he’s trying to work on someone’s hair -- or, while he’s trying to interact with his own pet crabs -- sometimes his hand will go numb or start hurting bad enough that he physically cannot finish what he’s doing.

Was in a very bad place mentally and emotionally after his abuela’s death.  He didn’t get into alcohol or drugs, but he did lose his job after having repeated breakdowns and angry outbursts, not to mention his actual job performance was affected.  After losing that job, he was evicted from his apartment and was homeless until he managed to get his act together, get a new job and a new place to live.  (  Probably with some help from Baraggan and also his new roommates.  )

Has five-million puzzle / critical thinking apps downloaded onto his phone at any one time.  They range from match-three games to roleplaying games or visual novels where every choice matters.

Obviously besties with Abirama ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Looks like a twig but holy fuck.  Holy fuck.  He took some swordfighting and self-defense classes and he can seriously kick ass if he needs to.

His birthday is June 27th -- even canonically !  I’m surprised too, even minor characters have canon birthdays in Bleach, I love it -- and it’s also Mixed Race Day in Brazil.  His birthday used to make him depressed because of that fact since he wants to be more in touch with his Brazilian heritage and yet he just ... can’t seem to connect with that part of himself.  Nowadays he does try to keep his birthday lowkey, but it doesn’t make him as depressed as it used to.

Sleeps till fucking noon on weekends like the noob he is.

LOVES AND SUPPORTS HIS ROOMMATES AND SHOWS IT WITH SNIDE COMMENTS AND ALSO LOUD CHEERING WHEN THEY’RE DOING SOMETHING COOL

Is basically addicted to mocha coffee and everyone can just shut up about it iT’S HIS ONE VICE OKAY SHUT UP SHUT UP--  (  there’s a local cafe that has a drink that’s more chocolate than coffee and he has at least one a day like holy shit  )

#is that a fucking gremlin ? ? ( OOC. ) #I’m just flesh and bone ; heart and soul ; and I’ve earned a couple scars. ( FINDORR. ) #that’s just what I think anyway. ( HEADCANON. ) #(( oops my hand slipped ))

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DATING INFORMATION.

NAME : Findorr Calius. AGE : 26 years old. GENDER : Cisgender male. SEXUALITY : Pansexual, female-leaning. ETHNICITY : Mixed Spanish and Brazilian. THEIR PROFESSION : Hairdresser by day, he didn’t have any formal schooling but he’s got a real knack for it.  Semi-professional hermit crab breeder by night !  (  Also a full-time crab dad.  He has three of his own ; a fiddler crab named Carmenita, a hermit crab named Anselmo, and a Halloween crab named Sarita.  ) WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND : The plaza, whether at work or one of the adjacent shops.  Baraggan’s house.  The aquarium.  The pet shop.  The beach, occasionally.  The bar. BIRTHDAY : June 27th. FAVOURITE FOOD TYPE : Sweets- wise, dark chocolate.  Savory-wise, paella de mariscos / seafood paella. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK : White Russian, but if that’s not available, he’ll happily drink sangria. FAVOURITE TRAIT : Intelligence / critical thinking.  He wants someone smart enough to help him find out all of life’s answers so they can get to the next stage of life together. WHERE THEY WOULD GO ON A DATE : Most frequently, the aquarium.  Sometimes the movie theater.  Rarely the club, mainly for dancing. IDEAL GIFT : Books.  Preferably about puzzles or marine life.  He’ll also accept puzzle toys (  like a Rubik‘s cube  ) and anything novelty that’s shaped like a sword (  think, maybe, keychains, pens, stuff like that  ). WHEN WILL THEY DRINK ALCOHOL : Late afternoon / early evening AND nighttime. HOW MANY DATES UNTIL THEY GO TO BED : Three.  Although if the dates have been bad, he won’t go to bed with someone until they can actually impress him on a date.

tagged by   /   I stole it from @zhadnsti  🖤 tagging  /  steal it from me you cowards ! ! !

#this is just another way of procrastinating isn't it ? ( DASH GAMES. ) #I’m just flesh and bone ; heart and soul ; and I’ve earned a couple scars. ( FINDORR. ) #(( what a boy ! #I'll be doing these all morning tbh bahahahaha #also ! ! I added in the AGE BIRTHDAY and ETHNICITY ones so feel free to delete those if you don't wanna use them #it's just info I thought would also be relevant for this meme is all <3 #NOW GO FORTH AND STEAL IT FROM ME YOU DAMN NERDS ))