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Off topic, but have some fishes for now

THIS OCTOPUS IS HAVING A NIGHTMARE, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE.

Sleep is a fundamental biological function present in all vertebrates and most invertebrates. Octopuses are really complex animals, displaying active and inactive sleep states similar to those of vertebrates. In particular, octopuses have active sleep states during which they display sequences of camouflage patterns, while remaining relatively quiet and unresponsive to external stimuli. Some scientists have speculated that these states could be analogous to dreaming in mammals.

Now, researchers have recorder what is believing an octopuses having nightmare. During a month, researchers recorded a male Brazilian reef octopus (Octopus insularis), and they detected four brief episodes were identified during which the octopus abruptly emerged from sleep, detached itself from its sleep position, and engaged in antipredator behaviors, despite no predator was present. The longest of these episodes resembled the species-typical response to a predatory attack, suggesting that the animal may have been responding to a negative episodic memory while sleeping.

However, these are just conjectures, as it is hard to be sure, according to scientists, who claim that more studies are needed to ensure that they really are nightmares.

Gif from video: Eric Ramos et al

Reference:  Ramos et al., 2023. Abnormal behavioral episodes associated with sleep and quiescence in Octopus insularis: Possible nightmares in a cephalopod?. bioRxiv.

video can be seen here

Daily fish fact #786

Peacock flounder!

It only takes a peacock flounder two to eight seconds to change its colour and blend into its surroundings! They study their environment and then with the use of pigment-containing cells, chromatophores, alter the patterns on their skin. When not camouflaged, these fish have striking blue rings.

"which reptile is the most catholic?" obviously Komodo Dragons because they have virgin birth

many other reptile lineages also have virgin birth (parthenogenesis), there's even MULTIPLE species of whiptail lizards that reproduce entirely this way!

there are no males in these species. only females.

however! they still court each other and do some copulating.

that's right. MULTIPLE SPECIES OF LIZARD LESBIANS.

LIZBEANS.

This lie was pushed by the White House as well as every major Western news source...

who still haven't recanted it with anywhere near the energy they spread it with.

This lie is still being used to justify the extermination of the Palestinian people

There must be a ferocious reckoning for this.

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

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

It's not every day you see a fish walking on land! However, when the streams and ponds of the airbreathing catfish dry up, this species will readily wriggle across the jungle floor in search of a new home. Thanks to a special organ called a labyrinth organ, they are able to breathe air and can remain outside of water for several hours provided they stay moist.

(Image: A Java walking catfish, Clarias batrachus, by sdickman via iNaturalist)

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

Photinus fireflies are probably one of North America’s most iconic and beloved beetles, and rightfully so. P. pyralis is big and bright, with a yellow-green color to its bioluminescence

I also often see these smaller Photinus with a warm orange glow. I think they could be P. scintillans, which aligns with their size, flash pattern, the yellow sclerites on males, and where I’m located. females of that species are short-winged and flightless, so I’ll try to find one to figure out the ID for sure.

reminder that fireflies eat slugs and snails as larvae! if you like seeing them in your garden, stop trying to exterminate land gastropods and leave some vegetation where the adults can sleep during the day. slugs and “weeds” = more magic glowing bugs

Fast Fauna Facts #3 - Winged Argonaut (Argonauta hians)

Family: Argonaut Family (Argonautidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Like the other small octopuses in the argonaut family many Winged Argonauts appear to have spiral-shaped external shells similar to those of nautiluses or ammonites, but this isn't quite the case - what appears to be an argonaut's shell is only seen in adult females, and is actually a thin-walled, calcium-based case secreted from and held by a specialised pair of arms in order to carry fertilized eggs until they hatch. Found in non-polar waters worldwide, Winged Argonauts are found mainly near the surface in the open ocean (in contrast to most octopuses, which are bottom-dwellers,) feeding on small floating invertebrates and often using their suction cups to cling to flotsam or larger animals (sometimes including other argonauts) for protection; when faced with a predator, they may attempt to position the animal they're riding on between them and the perceived threat to act as a meat shield.

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Image Source: Here

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