typhlonectes

[typhlonectes]

A white-throated earthcreeper (Upucerthia albigula) near Putra, Chile

by Paul Ellis

[typhlonectes]

im sorry seals molt? my association with that word is insects so i am confused and intrigued

They do! I’d say most species of animals sloughs off “old” parts of their bodies at some point of their lives in some capacity. The word “molting” is used as a catch-all term for this process, although exactly what body part they shed and how they do it varies from animal to animal. Arthropods grow an entire new exoskeleton and shed the old one, but for most other animals, this process only involves shedding the outermost layer of their bodies, the pelage and/or their first layer of skin. Reptiles are quite famous for this because they sometimes manage to come out of their old skins and leave them almost fully intact as if they were kigurumi pajamas:

Mammals tend to mostly only shed fur or hair, growing thicker fur during colder months and losing it in favor of shorter fur during warmer months. How obvious this is depends on the climate, though. It’s quite perceptible in mammals that live in the arctic whose fur changes color depending on the season:

But even the difference between the summer coats and winter coats of domestic dogs can be palpable if you live in places with colder climates!

(I’m quite fascinated by this because I was born and raised in a tropical country and my dogs look the same all year round heh)

But back to the seals. Pinnipeds don’t really use their fur to keep warm like other mammals do, but they still have it, and they have to shed their old coats and grow new ones accordingly, which they do once a year!

In elephant seals, this process is so sudden and so extreme it’s called catastrophic molting. They don’t only lose their fur, but also a layer of dead skin all at once and this forces them to stay on land for a full month without swimming (and therefore, without hunting and eating) until the process is fully done. Because molting requires redirecting blood flow towards the skin instead of to their vital organs as usual, if they swam in the cold waters they’re usually accustomed to while molting, they’d freeze!

Bonus fun fact: despite having lost their fur during the evolution process, cetaceans like whales and dolphins also go through a molting process where they lose a layer of dead skin, which they scrape off by rubbing against rocks and rolling on sand banks.

It’s been recently discovered (as of 2020!) that the reason whales migrate annually from arctic waters to tropical waters is the exact same reason elephant seals spend a month on land: to molt! It’s much easier for a whale to keep warm while shedding its skin in warm waters than it is in cold waters.

[typhlonectes]

Hi I just learnt that grebe the bird existed and I am intrigued do you have any knowledge to drop on the dudes

BOY DO I! grebes are my favorite waterfowl!

they're specialist divers and fish hunters, and they're a pretty wide group with a LOT of species!

and they're all freaks. every single one of them.

they're most closely related to FLAMINGOS, of all things, which is why their feet are so weird! they evolved completely separate from other waterfowl like ducks and geese, so they did the flipper thing totally backwards.

this is going to be a theme, nothing these birds do is normal.

unlike other specialist diving birds (coughcough LOONS coughcough), they aren't totally incompetent on land! just, again. total freaks about it.

aaagh I love them so much I might actually explode

also they swim like frogs, babies can dive pretty much immediately after hatching, and adults can minutely adjust their buoyancy in the water at will like a fucking submarine. you just can't make any of this shit up.

weirdest fucking bird 100/10

[typhlonectes]

"Sabo Says: Challenge your Superiors"

Spotted in Berks County, Pennsylvania

[typhlonectes]

Banteng (Bos javanicus)

Also known as tembadau, this species lives in the tropical forests and grasslands of Southeast Asia. The individual shown here is female; males are a much darker brown. Though they are endangered in the wild, they have also been domesticated, and are used for meat across Southeast Asia. The bull featured on Indonesia’s national emblem is actually a banteng!

[typhlonectes]

S T U R G E O N S T A M P S ! !

[typhlonectes]

Do you have a favourite fish species? :0

Noooo how am I supposed to pick one? ;_; I know what, I'll pick some favorites off the top of my head

Oceanic whitetip shark

Frogfish

Oceanic sunfish

Viperfish

Leafy seadragon

Spotted eagle ray

Hippocampus bargibanti

Mudskipper

Sawfish

... actually this is going to take forever... fishes are awesome...

[typhlonectes]

[typhlonectes]

finch fancam❤

[typhlonectes]

Daniel Millar photographed by Jingxiong Qiao

[typhlonectes]

Love the creature posting combined with the naked men posting!

It’s like when you find out about a store that has everything you need so you can do your groceries all in one place.

It’s convenient, you know?

It really is all about customer service!

[typhlonectes]

Baby okapi

[typhlonectes]

you bottle Miette??

[typhlonectes]

Omg this is like 800 metaphors rolled into one megaphor

[typhlonectes]

Charles E. Burchfield - Sunset at the Bay (1910)

[typhlonectes]

Renan Andrade, wearing Bannanna

#nsft #humans

[typhlonectes]