TORDOISE!!!

something isn’t right here..

more vamp! au jordsker doodles below because vamp wesker is taking over my brain right now for some reason, cw for mild gore but it isn’t anything special:

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our first Cnidarians are the anthozoan class Octocorallia. It comprises three orders: Alcyonacea, Helioporacea, and Pennatulacea, containing marine animals with the common names “blue coral”, “soft corals”, “sea pens”, “sea fans”, and “sea whips.”

Like other corals, octocorals are colonial organisms, with numerous tiny polyps embedded in a soft matrix that forms a visible structure. The matrix is composed of mesogleal tissue, lined by a continuous epidermis and perforated by numerous tiny channels. The channels interconnect the gastrovascular cavities of the polyps, allowing water and nutrients to flow freely between all the members of the colony. The skeletal material, called coenenchyme, is composed of living tissue secreted by numerous wandering amoebocytes. Although it is generally soft, in many species it is reinforced with calcareous or horny material. Octocorals resemble the stony corals in general appearance and in the size of their polyps, but lack the distinctive stony skeleton. Each polyp has only eight tentacles, each of which is feather-like in shape, with numerous side-branches, or pinnules. The polyp is largely embedded within the colonial skeleton, with only the uppermost surface, including the tentacles and mouth, projecting about the surface. The mouth is slit-like, with a single ciliated groove, or siphonoglyph, at one side to help control water flow. They are filter-feeders, with individual polyps catching plankton and other particulate matter using their tentacles.

Octocorals reproduce by coordinating a release of sperm and eggs into the water column; this may occur seasonally or throughout the year. Fertilized eggs develop into larvae called planulae which drift freely as plankton before settling on the substrate and developing into the more sessile corals, cloning themselves over and over to become a colony of polyps.

Octocorals have existed since at least the Ordovician Period. The Cambrian Pywackia has been interpreted as an octocoral in the past, though this is disputed.

(source)

Propaganda under the cut:

PLEASE SHARE IF YOU CAN

As a reminder, Round 2.5 is a redemption round for Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Tardigrada, and Ctenophora, as they are phyla which did not make the Top 3 but still scored over 1,000 in Round 1. (Onychophora is also a part of this, but as it does not have any classes or orders, its two families will automatically advance to Round 4 because I can’t do anything with them until then lol.)

Round 2.5 will likely have less winners than Round 2 proper, but it could be a chance to get some favs back in the game. If any groups from Round 2.5 score above any of Round 2’s winners (the lowest of which was 853), they will automatically move forward to Round 3. However, if none of them score above 853, only the single top scored group will move forward. As a special treat, as their last shot at redemption, and to make Round 3 as diverse as possible.

When decorating for the holidays, why not ask the decorator worm to help? These worms are named both for their beautiful irridescent 'plumage' and the tunnels they construct benath the ocean floor, which are often lined with bits of algae, coral, and shells. These tubes can be up to .9 m (3 ft), and are used by the worms to hide from predators.

Watched Alien movies