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bethanythebogwitch · 1 month

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Wet Beast Wednesday: moray eels

This week on Wet Beast Wednesday I'll be going over something amazing, a fish with a sense of morality. You see, the moral eel is known for, what... I think I'm reading this wrong. Oh, MoRAY eel, not moral. Well this is awkward. Hang tight, I need to go redo my research.

(Image: a green moray (Gymnothorax funebris) swimming outside of its burry, with its whole body visible from the side. It is a long, slender fish that looks a bit like a snake. A long fin starts just below the head and continues down the length of the body. The body is arranged in a wave pattern. It has a pointed snout and small eyes. Its body is a yellow-green color. In the background is the sandy seafloor, dotted with various sponges and corals. End ID)

Moray eels are true eels, meaning they are in the order Anguiliformes. Yeah, I did wolf eels, electric eels, and lamprey eels before I got around to actual eels. There are over 200 known species of moray eel in 15 genera. Like other eels, they are elongated bony fish with extra vertebrae and reduced fins. Moray eels have fewer fins than most eel species, only having a dorsal, anal and tail fin that merge together and run down the back of most of the body and underneath portion of it. They achieve motion by undulating this long fin and sometimes undulating the rest of the body as well. Moray eels aren't the fastest of fish, but they can swim backwards, something almost no fish can. The head has a long snout with wide jaws. Most species have long fangs used to grab onto prey, but a few species are adapted to eat hard-shelled prey and have molar-like teeth to crush through shells instead. Probably the coolest feature of morays are the pharyngeal jaws. This is a second set of jaws located in the back of the mouth. When the eel bites onto prey, the jaws can be shot forward to grab the food and help pull it into the throat. While lots of fish have pharyngeal jaws, morays are the only ones who can extend their pharyngeal jaws forward and use them to grab prey. Morays have smooth, scaleless skin that is often patterned to provide camouflage. The skin is coated in mucus that provides protection from damage and infection. In some species, the mucus can be used to glue sand together to help reinforce burrows. Morays lack lateral lines, a system of organs found in most fish that senses changes in water movement. Their sense of smell is their primary sense. The size of morays varies between species. The smallest species is the dwarf moray eel (Gymnothorax melatremus) which reaches 26 cm (10 in) long. The largest species by mass is the giant moray eel (Gymnothorax javanicus) which can reach 3 meters (10 ft) and 30 kg (66 lbs) while the longest species is the slender giant moray (Strophidon sathete), the longest known specimen of which measured in at 3.94 m (12.9 ft).

New reaction image

(Image: a giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) emerging from a burrow. It is brown and mottled with yellowish patches. Its head is pointed at the camera and it's mouth is wide open, aming it look shocked. End ID)

(Image: an anatomical diagram of the skeleton of a moray eel emphasizing the pharyngeal jaws and the muscle attachments. End ID. Art by Zina Deretsky)

Moray eels are found throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Different species are found in different temperatures and depths, though most species live in relatively shallow, warm water. Several species can live in brackish water and a few will swim upriver and live for a time in fresh water, though there do not appear to be any species that live their entire lives in fresh water. Morays are ambush predators who rely on the element of surprise. They live in small, tight places such as holes in coral, gaps between rocks, or sandy burrows. When prey passes, the eel can lunge out and grab it. Unlike most fish, the eel cannot use suction feeding due to the shapes of their mouths. They have to rely on lunging froward and catching prey with their mouths. Their mouths are adapted in shape to push water to the sides. This reduces water resistance and avoids creating a wave that could push prey away from the eel. If an eel catches prey that cannot be swallowed whole, it will tie itself in a knot while biting on to the food. By pulling its head through the loop, the eel can rip the food into bite-sized pieces. Spending most of their times in burrows also provides protection from predators, especially in juveniles or smaller species. At night, the eels will come out of their burrows to hunt sleeping prey while the larger predators are asleep. Giant morays have also been seen engaging in interspecies cooperative hunting with roving coral groupers (Plectropomus pessuliferus). The eels can fit into small crevices the groupers can't to flush prey into the grouper's path while catching their own. Morays are mostly solitary species and many can be territorial. They are known to be shy and will retreat into their burrows if they feel threatened. They are also curious and many species are quite intelligent.

(Image: a male ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita) on a coral reef. It is a very long and slender eel with its body curved in many waves. It is brightly colored, with a blue-purple body, yellow fin and face, and a long black and white stripe running down the back half of the body. On the nostrils are two feather-like structures. End ID)

Morays reproductive strategies are poorly known and differ based on species. While many species seem to have no set mating season and will reproduce whenever they can, others will mate at the same time every year. Some species seem to have dedicated spots to lay their eggs and a few are believed to be anadromous, meaning they travel from the sea to fresh water to spawn. Meanwhile, some of the species that spend a lot of time in fresh water are catadromous, meaning they return to sea to mate. Females will lay their eggs and the male fertilize them. After this, they depart, providing no parental care. As with all true eels, moray eels begin life as leptocephalus larvae. This type of fish larvae is notable for its resemblance to a simple, transparent leaf with a head on one end. These larvae are unique and poorly understood, despite being the larval stage of a lot of different species of fish. They are unusually well developed for larvae, capable of active swimming and generally living life. In fact, some particularly large leptocephalus larvae were initially mistaken for adult fish. They feed mostly on bits of drifting organic material called marine snow and can remain in the larval stage for up to 3 years, with those in colder conditions usually taking longer to metamorphose. All leptocephalus larvae start out with no sex organs, then develop female organs, then develop male ones, becoming simultaneous hermaphrodites. They will ultimately become eith male or female and it is likely that environmental factors are the main determining factor. During metamorphosis into a juvenile, the leptocephalus can reduce in size by up to 90%, resulting in the juvenile being smaller than the larva. The process of maturation is poorly understood, but it seems that most morays will be sexually mature by three years of age.

(Image: multiple photos of a particularly large leptocephalus larva (not sure what species). It is a translucent organis, wth a body shaped like a very long leaf, narrow at both ends. In the frint is a very tiny head. End ID)

Morays are shy and generally avoid humans. Though some cultures have hunted them for food, they are often not considered a particularly good food source. Many species have high levels of chemicals called ciguatoxins in their bodies, which can lead to a condition called ciguatera fish poisoning if eaten. The largest threat to morays is habitat loss. This is especially true for the many species that live in coral reefs, which are in increasing danger due to global warming. Attacks on humans are rare and usually happen as a response to a human sticking their hand in the eel's burrow. Some of the large species could cause significant damage with a bite. Some species, usually the smaller ones, are found in the aquarium trade, thought they are not good pets for beginners as even the smallest morays are still large for aquarium fish and have some specific requirements. The curiosity many morays have has led to some becoming familiar with and even friendly to humans, often the result of feeding them. They can recognize individual humans and remember them over the course of years. Aquarium employees sometimes report that the eels will come to nuzzle and play with them and have personalities like dogs. Marine biologists and professional SCUBA divers Ron and Valorie Taylor befriended a pair of eels they named Harry and Fang at the Great Barrier Reef who would remember them and come out to visit them year after year.

(Image: a SCUBA diver hugging a large, brown moray with black spots. End ID)

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(Video: A shot video showing Valeria Taylor and a moray eel she befriended)

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(Video: the song "That's a Moray", a parody of the song "That's Amore" by Dean Martin)

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vacantfields · 12 days

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I'am back!! I've mer-ed K-0999! He is a mix between a yellow moray and an electric eel. (Fun fact, electric eels aren't actually eels, they're knife fish!)

(I'm gonna keep bugging you about it) Please, I hope you're feeling better!! I'm happy you like the mers, but seriously, NEVER forget how great of an artist you are!! I can't emphasize this enough! You're a phenomenal artist!! Be proud of yourself!!!!

Have a wonderful day/night!!!

OHHH MY GOD SKJGHKJSHG GOES CRAZY GOES CRAZY!!!! HE LOOKS SO COOL OMGGG RAAAAAAH

ur so so nice thank you so much omg ))): <3<3<3<3<3<3 I LOVE THIS AND I LOVE ALL OF THEM OUGH SKJHGSKJHG

#noah answers #K9!!!!#ARGHHHH #THIS IS LITERALLY SO COOLLLLLL SJHKSJHGKSJHGK

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feather-bone · 1 year

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Fangtooth moray eel! They’re nocturnal carnivores with a second set of teeth - called a pharyngeal jaw - in their throat that extends to help grasp prey.

[ID: an illustration of an orange eel with yellow patches and sharp teeth, on a sea-blue background. It is facing to the right and the rest o its body is folded above it. End.]

#ashes to ashes eels to eels #moray eel #eel #eels #marine #fishes

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elysia-nsimp · 6 months

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TWST Headcanons!

Hi everyone! This is the second post in the series where I share with y’all my headcanons for the twst characters.

On todays chopping block, the loves of my life, the fuckers that haunt my every waking moment, the Leech twins!

Alright, let’s get started! There’s a lot to cover, so let’s just touch on physical changes right now.

Both of them look less human, YIPPEE

Their ear fins from their eel forms show even in their more human form. (Floyd’s are broader and face outward, while Jade’s are thinner and face upwards)

Their yellow eye is brighter and constantly gives off a dim light (which gets brighter the darker it is around them)

Their lips and eyelids have a soft teal tint to them

The purple under their eyes is just a lighter variant of their dorm uniform makeup.

Both of them carried over the spots from their eel form in the form of teal freckles across their faces.

Floyd paints his nails! Sometimes Jade does as well.

We don’t really know if it’s canon or not, but the twins have pharyngeal jaws in the back of their throats like real life moray eels.

Great! So what does that all mean?

These changes are actually pretty straight-forward.

The twins revel in freaking people out. Floyd especially doesn’t particularly care how human he looks, so the both of them kind of alter how much of their Be Human medication they take to appear more or less human (they are absolutely not supposed to do this but there’s no major repercussions). All of the physical changes are just bits and pieces of their true forms shining through. They can appear more like they do in canon the higher dosage of their Be Human meds they take.

Any new abilities?

Yes, as a matter of fact! Let’s talk about them!

The twins are sirens, not normal merfolk like Azul. When they sing (genuinely), anyone in earshot will feel compelled to move towards them. They both use this just to mess with people.

Both of them can purr as well, as well as a lot of other more animalistic sounds (ex: tongue clicks either when pleased or in Hunting Mode, they’re very different clicks, a deep growl from the backs of their throats, soft chips when content, even a sound kind of like barking etc etc). These are all things they can do no matter what form they take. Also in Hunting Mode (TM), their pupils get thinner.

The twins are hermaphroditic, like regular eels, meaning they can change their sex.

Other things about merfolk culture that should be noted!

They don’t celebrate the same holidays we do. It’s more seasonal than specific days… except birthdays!

Gift giving is seen as a romantic courting ritual. Be careful when giving the twins gifts, because they might immediately assume it’s romantic unless you state otherwise… Floyd especially.

Biting is TYPICALLY an affectionate show from eelmers, especially if they make an effort to not break any skin. Cheek, hair, and hand biting are more platonic, while shoulder and ear biting are more romantic. Biting can also be a playful gesture (Floyd randomly bites Jade's arm when he's bored, for example)

They speak a whole ass other language in the Coral Sea, so the twins are multilingual.

…I’m not gonna say cannibalism is normalized… but……

Elvers (all children really) often huddle together like otters do to avoid floating away from one another. Most of the time, they have to hide in small holes between rocks if they don't have a structurally sound home to stay in.

Backstory

Wait, this wasn’t in my Jamil post! And correct you are, viewer whom I am 100% projecting onto! Jamil’s backstory didn’t change much, but we don’t really… know much about the twins’ backstory. Because of this… let’s just say I did a lot.

To be fair most of it is in relation to Floyd, rather than Jade, as I worked more on Floyd. A friend of mine does way more with Jade than I do, so assume my comments about Jade are references to that friend.

So I’m not gonna say the twins’ family is running a mafia… but….

Anyway, let’s meet their parents, Hitori and Mirai Leech. Hitori sure wants to be a good father, but he’s… not doing well. Mirai is also trying her best, but she’s doing better. The twins do not appreciate their father, but they love their Momma very much. :)

Eels can have clutches of maybe 10,000 eggs, so… imagine how many siblings they had! Many didn’t even hatch, some died after hatching… some may or may not have been eaten, but then, there were the ones that made it to childhood. There were several, really. More than just the twins.

The Leech family had to move often due to NOT mafia reasons, so they were nearly always on the move from one place to another. During their travels, some elvers would wander off and never return, some were hunted by bigger predators, some even gave themselves up so the rest of the family could eat. Everyone was always sad when they lost another, but it became so normal that the twins grew… mostly numb to it.

Once the family was solidified in one place, and… nearly all of the twins siblings were already gone, the elvers could actually start going to school. While Jade was rather solitary, Floyd was… Floyd, really. Always up and moving, clearly undiagnosed auDHD, unable to fully control his emotions, the whole ordeal. His parents got a LOT of notes from teachers and other staff that he was a PROBLEM at school.

This turned into evening arguments, groundings, lectures, all sorts of things. Floyd hated hearing “why can’t you be calm like your brother?” time and time again. He was trying, but it hurt so bad. It got to the point where Floyd tried to run away, like several siblings before him, on SEVERAL occasions. He was always either found days later, or dejectedly came home, hungry and wanting dinner… Jade worried one day Floyd would leave and never come home, but he always came home somehow.

Of course, the twins met Azul in elementary school and forcibly became friends with him then, but really, he was their only friend.

At one point, late elementary, Floyd had enough of all the nagging because of his behaviour. One day, Floyd just went dead silent. No one could get him to talk. Not his parents, not Jade, not Azul. This lasted YEARS. No one could truly figure out why he did this, as he wouldn’t… yknow. Tell them. Now, only notes of concern for Floyd came in from teachers. With each passing week of no noise from Floyd, everyone grew more and more concerned.

In late middle school, maybe a half a year before the NRC acceptance letter came in, Jade was talking to Floyd, hoping he’d get his brother to snap out of his silence, when Floyd suddenly spoke again. All he said was “Jade, I hate myself.”

It turned into a conversation about Floyd’s mistreatment—how he was jealous that Jade was so seemingly perfect, while he couldn’t do anything right, and how their parents had always wished he was more like Jade… Jade expressed similar feelings of inadequacy, which… turned into both of them crying while hugging the other.

Jade asked Floyd to make him a promise. A promise to never hide who he was, even if others didn’t want to accept it. It hurt more to see him force down every part of himself than anything else… Floyd agreed, saying he’d try.

That brings us to their acceptance at NRC, alongside Azul. Floyd needed a few months in their first year to fully recover from his habits, but without familial pressure to hold him back, he opened back up. That brings us to the Floyd we know and love today. Jade is incredibly proud of Floyd’s progress, actually, but he’s still scared that Floyd may disappear one day and he’ll lose it all.

Haha. Abandonment issues from both of them frfr.

Anyway, that’s the basics of the backstory… mostly from Floyd’s perspective (and off the top of my head). I may add more about Jade’s perspective if I REMEMBER more

Other headcanons

Assorted other stuff, as usual~

While both of the twins go by he/him, neither are cis. Floyd is genderfluid, Jade is agender. Floyd is also pan, while Jade is ace. They joke about how Floyd took all the gender and sexuality in the eggs.

These fuckers EXTREMELY AUTISTIC. Both of them. They’re so autistic it’s unbelievable. Actually they’re both ADHD/ADD as well. And depression

Floyd has BPD.

Concept from twistedblunderhand here on Tumblr, but Floyd especially is understimulated on land due to the lack of water pressure! The pressure gives the feeling of a weighted blanket, so it’s easier to reign in focus when underwater.

Their strand of black hair is actually a hair extension made from their mother’s hair. It’s tradition in her family to give a part of yourself, literally, to loved ones so you can always be with them, even when apart.

Floyd swaps sexes during his afab peers’ time of the month “so they don’t have to feel alone” in the all-boys college. Jade also swaps sexes from time to time for a range of reasons. Both of them hate it when the other does that because their scent changes drastically.

Jade keeps a journal of all his siblings who were lost over the years. Every single entry has their name, the age they were lost, and everything he knows or remembers about them, including any happy memories. The journal is one of his most prized possessions.

Floyd absolutely does not take notes in classes. Instead, his notebooks are full of drawings and sketches. He took up drawing to pass time on land!

The twins are used to being showered in gifts from “family friends” they don’t really care about on their birthday.

Floyd's hugs CAN be deadly, but he has a pretty good sense of his own strength. When hugging people he DOESN'T want to crack the spine of, he's very good at not hugging too tight.

Jade collects shiny trinkets :)

Jade has a major case of golden child syndrome in the worst way possible (for him, that is)

Because of needing to huddle together as elvers, both twins are rather cuddly once they've deemed you trustworthy. It's not a shocker for Floyd, but not many people really think of Jade as a cuddly type.

Also, if the twins like you, they may randomly appear to protect you from the most minor things, as something as simple as a limp or a sore wrist could mean death in the Coral Sea. Just know, if they're overprotective of you, it's likely because they (Floyd especially) have trouble distinguishing what's a major threat verses a minor threat on land.

^ Going off of the above, yes they will back off if you ask them too, but it will make them VERY anxious. If you don't like the overprotectiveness, you may have to assure them you're NOT gonna die from tripping over a rock.

And there you go! May edit to add more if I think of more, but until then, enjoy my headcanons of the Leech twins! BTW, I'm absolutely not demeaning any of the morally grey aspects of either character. Those are absolutely still a part of them, but since that doesn't really change with my AU/headcanons, I don't have much to talk about in regards to that.

#cw: death #LOTS OF IT #I’m so sorry #cw: bullying #cw: depression #twst headcanons #twst floyd leech #twst Floyd #twst jade leech #twst Jade #twst leech twins #i adore these silly guys #my blorbos #silly goofies #sick and twisted silly goofies #fucked up and evil even

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size-two-shrimp · 1 year

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ULTRAKRILL

Sisyphish (Lion's Mane Jellyfish) and Minnows (White Ribbon Eel) Prime

Glubriel (Caribbean Reef Squid)

SubmarV1ne (Longfin Mako Shark (+ Sailfish)) and SubmarV2ne (Great White Shark (+ Sailfish)) (also inspired by the little articulated snake toys)

Rambling about why I chose the beasts that I did under the cut.

Originally I was gonna use yellow tangs for Sisyphus but then I was looking at his design and was not sure how I would deal with his face while going with a fish for the tail. And then I remembered that jellies' tentacles kinda look like the way his hair does in the concept art, and while I was looking for yellow jellies I saw a lion's mane and went. Yes, that one. Very happy with the way it looks it was a lot of fun to draw.

Minos was originally gonna be a deep sea giant isopod, but after I remembered that jellyfish existed I considered going with a sea snake, couldn't find ANY naturally white snakes, thought about an albino moray, then found out about white ribbon eels (which are related to morays, very cool). He's technically the only fish unless you count the V models jkgjkhgf

Gabriel was originally gonna be a paradise/mustard gas betta but I ended up deciding that if I ever drew/wrote about them all I would be so annoyed about there being just. One freshwater fish in the ocean with saltwater creatures just,, bothered me so much that man would be In Pain. So I decided to look for color changing sea creatures, most cephalopods obviously, and one of the first ones that came up was the Caribbean reef squid. I checked to see if they could be red and they sure could so I decided that worked.

Also, his crown(?) is meant to look like gorgonian coral.

V1 was originally going to be a shortfin mako because they're slightly faster, but the silhouette was so similar that I was STRUGGLING to find differences. Longfin wasn't much better though. Regardless, mako shark because they're known for being the fastest shark and among the fastest fish.

V2 is a great white because strong scary y'know y'know. I considered dunkleosteus for the same reasons, but switched to a shark because V1 was also gonna be one and I wanted them to mostly match.

V1 and V2 both have two sailfin sails because 1. big fin to mimic their wings, 2. fast fish. Very cool.

Also the doodles on them are meant to show that the sails can fold back for speed and open to stop quick. The other one is to show that they can swap the tails out for legs if they wanted to.

#turning characters into sea beasts is the highest honor i can bestow #while looking for creatures i learned that shortfin mako and great white sharks are 2/5 living lamnidae species #neat. note that theres at least 35 species listed on the wikipedia page. anyway real tags time thanks for looking at the fish #sisyphus ultrakill #sisyphus prime #minos ultrakill #minos prime #gabriel ultrakill #v1 ultrakill #v2 ultrakill #ultrakill art #ultrakill #my art #merfolk #merpeople #ultrakrill #i might write about this because my silly ass is horrifically obsessed with fish and shrimp and snails and and also ultrakill yipee!#also sisyphus and minos are the first beefy guys ive ever drawn and it was horrific forty seven casualties three deaths twelve missing

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arkaix · 10 months

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Good evening to the poor unfortunate souls who will see this post because today it is LANKMANN HEADCANONS day

thanks to this post in particular by @havoc-bloom go see it immediately what are you still doing here

Anyway. Every Veldigun has some kind of animal features, and yea Lankmann is not one but he's mimicking the form of what one could look like, and personally I've always associated Arg Lankmann (not dr. Lankmann) with sea creatures. Why?

First of all, for one of Lankmann's key features that the other Pastra characters don't have:

a SECOND Set of RETRACTABLE glowing red teeth. My dude really wants to remind us he's a predator. You know who else has this feature? Mostly sea creatures, the prime example being the moray. He even looks somewhat like one with his yellow skin when he dislocates his entire jaw just to smile.

And also I mean look at this motherfucker. This is the Zebra moray eel and could be Lankmann's cousin.

Other sea creatures I associate him with are the Yellow-lipped sea krait and the Mimic octopus. The first for obivious reasons, it's a sea snake with the iconic black & yellow stripes (which by the way is one of the most venomous snakes in the world) ; the second in a more simbolic way:

the ARG Lankmann is technically a creature who's mimicking the design of Dr Lankmann's hallucination form from the old DOAI lore. So yeah mimic behavior

has multiple names picked from Pastra's previous unfinished ARGs and and is using them as his own without permission, with Lankmann being the most used one. So yeah still mimic behavior

his body proportions are all over the place. Like you cannot find 2 sprites of his that have the same body shape, it's like he's a black blob that can stretch and squash at will, unlike Clyde and Simon's sprites who are much more proportioned. One could say that's standard veldigun behavior but as we established he's not a real veldigun

small horns above their eyes ewe I've seen some people draw Lankmann with small horns

tentacular hands. Do I need to say more

Yes I know Lankmann's form was the product of his features and mask distorted by Winfrey's collective hallucination and to understand his real inspirations one should analize Winfrey's mind, this is just fun headcanons.

So yeah, Vincent Network Lankmann with octopus/snake/moray inspo OwO

#if yall disagree with me it's ok I haven't looked that deep into it #and I'd love to know others' headcanons ewe #lankmann #pastra #veldigun #pastraspec #arkaix talks #I'm rambling at this point don't take me seriously

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