sea butterflies, Limacina helicina (Gastropoda: Limacinidae)

source

It's hard to see here... but sea butterflies are a kind of snail

It is literally impossible to come up with a fantasy worldbuilding concept that is more outlandishly weird, wonderous and magical than something that already exists in the real world

No hate to the jellies, which are cool in their own right, but the oldest taxonomic group of animals is actually sponges! The oldest sponge fossil we have is 890 million years old, which pushed back the known origin date of animals by a wide margin. Sponges are considered the basal group to all other animals, meaning they were the first animal group to differentiate and separate, forming their own taxonomic lineage. And it’s no wonder they’ve survived so long, considering that many modern sponges are resilient to extreme heat, anoxia, and ocean acidification!

Note: Phylum Porifera is sponges, Cnidaria is jellies

Tags by @fishyfishyfishtimes

Oh I see, I think they might’ve gotten cnidarians and ctenophores confused? I can’t find any papers arguing that cnidarians came first, but there was some major debate recently about whether ctenophores (comb jellies) or poriferans (sponges) were first. It’s still inconclusive, but seems to be highly dependent on what model is used. Some of the more recent papers are linked below for anyone interested!

OP did clarify that they accidentally mixed up jellies and comb jellies! Here's a screenshot:

...Kind of funny to just throw that in there. But it seems like the matter is pretty complex!

Fishs cross the road.

Anabas is a genus of climbing gouramies native to southern and eastern Asia.

@fishyfishyfishtimes

Determined fellows!

who

who took a bite of him

me.

How did he taste?

@the-lonelyshepherd are they

no they’re not 👍

what if i make puppy eyes at the taxonomists

still no sorry

It’s… complicated!! You can’t just ask if humans are fish and then not provide a definition of what “fish” are in this very context TToTT Are we talking phylogeny or true fish!!??? What a person feels in their heart of hearts??

Maybe that’s the whole point of this poll to be ambiguous and let your heart guide you but RAARRGGHHHH I don’t like it when it’s not clear >:0

Happy pride month!

Fun fact every sturgeon is gay and lesbian

My sea animal keychains (+a chameleon). I collect way too many and this isn’t even all the keychains I have.

Downright chuffed about this oarfish bookmark I bought years ago in Japan and just rediscovered in my drawer. It’s made of shiny metal and the head crest is soft ribbon.

Japanese shiny metal fish bookmarks with soft ribbons!!

OMG yes!! Deep sea buddies 💙

Hey all!

Please tell me about your favourite fish or a fish who ought to be appreciated!

I would like to learn. This is for everyone! :)

Plecos!

They're my favorite.

My baby Mr. Fishyfish is 10 years old. He's a common pleco and they can grow up to 2 feet and live 20+ years (usually they're around 18 inches from what I've seen).

(This was taken right after I fed his tank mates so ignore the mess)

fun fact! if you were to arrange every fish on earth in a straight line, nose to tail, they probably wouldn't enjoy it very much

every day i wake up and realize that like. most people do not know about the ocean sunfish hater/worshipper/apathy accounts. like i keep thinking they’re a huge thing but they’re not…. very sad.

wake my children, we must follow the example of the Great Ocean Sunfish and spread the good word, as they have spread across the length of the Atlantic. Our numbers may not be plentiful but our faith remains unshaken.

From the waters of the tropics to the temperate seas, all hail the ocean sunfish 🙏🙏🙏

if you really valued the sunfish you'd treat it with the same mild indifference with which it regards the world around it

People are always surprised to find out that I am a conservationist by training, given my stance on Ocean Sunfish. Many think that these two values do not align, nay, directly contradict each other.

It's true, all living beings have a right to exist, and we as humans assign value to things that do not inherently have any, good or bad. I actually hate the idea of "useful" or "useless" in biology, because it's such a human centric view.

But Ocean Sunfish aren't living beings. They're pucks of rubber that float aimlessly in our oceans. They're no more than trash that someone has tossed into the sea, clumped together by the waves into something that vaguely resembles a fish, but one that was made by someone who had never seen one before. Ocean sunfish actually do none of the essential functions that define a living being.

I am a conservationist, and Ocean Sunfish are a pollutant that need to be eradicated from our seas.

oh my god they all showed up i’m fangirling so hard right now i love all of you

that is neither too few nor too many people to be informed about the neutrality of the ocean sunfish

i’m deeply in love with all three of you i think we should watch the stars together

Jubilus day! It is Sunfish Sunday, may we hold this magnificent creature in our minds and hearts. May your day be fruitful, as the Mola Mola is an extremely energy efficient hunter. May your day be restful, as the Mola Mola straddles the border between their domain and ours, soaking up the rays of the glorious sun. The Great Mola Mola, however, holds no concept of "Sunday." To It, every day is Sunfish Sunday.

From one Sunfish Sunday to the next! All hail the ocean sunfish 🙏🙏🙏

have an ok day i guess

Not a day goes by where I do not seethe with rage at the existence of these creatures. They are a scourge on this planet and I will stop at nothing to PUNCH every single one.

Holiday Darter (Etheostoma brevirostrum), family Percidae, order Perciformes, found in the Conasauga River and the upper Coosa River systems of the Mid-Southern U.S.

photograph by Ryan Hagerty | USFWS