Science Memes

10271 readers

2701 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules

Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
Keep it rooted (on topic).
No spam.
Infographics welcome, get schooled.

Research Committee

[email protected]

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

473

Behold: Pufferfish Bones (mander.xyz)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

16 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 48 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Are you serious? They really have what amounts to an exoskeleton? Or maybe it's more accurate to call it a whole-body rib cage?

Just searched and found this fun article. Not really a skeleton but a collection of really stiff hairs or feathers (loosely: the genes are the same ones responsible for "other skin appendages" in vertebrates).

[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Looks like it's fake. This research paper shows a more normal skeleton, though they do apparently lack ribs and a pelvis.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

I think it’s just inaccurately labeled as a skeleton. These appear to be skin spikes. https://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(19)30185-3.pdf

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Interesting. That page says "few vertebrae", but the image makes it look to me like a full set.

On the other hand, if I found an animal with no ribs and pelvis and only the rudimentary limbs typically found in fish, I'd tend to say that the skeleton was missing. Or at least, ahem, skeletal.

Thanks. My first impression was that there was some funny business, but then I found what I thought was a decent article.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So you're saying all my skin tags are just puffer fish thorns?!

Amazing.....

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Do they scare away predators also?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Only if you inflate yourself.