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TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 1:55 am


Merpeople Biology: Species one

Transformation and respiration

All mer species can go to human form. Apart from the Cionai, since they are too fish-like to form legs. A merperson has to be fully submerged in salt water for a complete transformation. It takes about 15 seconds for a complete transformation. Depending on the species. First, their legs fuse together, and about a second later, the gills and pointed ears form. This takes 8 seconds. Then, the legs grow blue scales to the ankles, and then the feet form into a massive bottom fin. Merpeople form pointed ears to hear better underwater, and to balance easily when swimming. Only salt water can change them, since it's the type of water they're adapted to. Salt-less water wouldn't have an effect on them. So, they can go out in rain and nothing will change. A merperson's tail will automatically form to legs when the tail is dry. When the gills form, the lungs to breathe air are shut off and the gills open the moment the lungs shut off. So the merperson will breathe water. The gills are located below/through/above their ribcage. When the torso, waist up, is out of water, the gills shut off and the lungs will open, and the merperson will breathe air. When they go back in water, the lungs instantly shut off and the gills instantly open.



Body Strain

A merperson can be in human form for up to two weeks. Depending on their physical strength. Merpeople need water to survive. If a merperson is out of water for 2 and a half weeks, that could kill them. A merperson has to drink water, or be wet for a period of time in human form to keep themselves strong. They could be fatally weak if not. If a merperson is a certain age and at a certain physical strength, they could be out of water for at least a month.

Swim Patterns

Merpeople have massive, bottom fins at the end of their tails. Their tails cane move in certain ways. Like a normal fish. So, certain flex and twist points in the tail. They move their tails in certain ways to navigate. So, they move their fin right to turn left. Etc. And their fin will be fanned up and down to push them along. Merpeople can swim at very fast speeds. Since a fish-like tail is sleek and smooth.

Fins

The large fin at the bottom is quite thick and powerful. When the tail moves, it acts as a pusher, navigator etc. The fin helps the merperson push along and navigate. The fin can act similar to a jellyfish. Closing and opening, but only slightly. To keep the merperson in mid water.

Arms

A merperson's arms can help keep them afloat in water. Like a human would when swimming. Yet, the tail pushes them along and move, thus supporting them. Their arms can be used as navigators. Like fins. A merperson can move their arms like wings to move. Thus, interacting with the tail and fin. A merperson's whole body is like a fish. Arms like fins, gills, and lastly, the tail.



NOTE: This is my VIEW and image of merpeople! (c) Me!
PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2010 2:29 pm


That's cool! I like the whole lungs-gills explanation.

It all makes sense now!
....But what about mermaids like me? When we're transforming from person to mermaid, do the fins just....come out?? Like, out of nowhere?

aquariaa


TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2010 7:51 am


Fins grow from the skin.
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2010 2:51 pm


this explains j. im not a mermaid, im something else. so i don't really know much about her. thanks

A Troublesome Imp


TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2010 11:51 am


Miss Amaera
this explains j. im not a mermaid, im something else. so i don't really know much about her. thanks
This explains MY view on merpeople and how I see them. Not Jen, FYI.
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 3:30 pm


are you allowed to post other mermaid biologies? like ones you wrote or ones from books?

that way we can create a collection of species in this thread.

Sunishia
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TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2010 3:17 pm


Sure.
PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2010 4:22 pm


wow that is amazing! i did not know a few things in there about mermaids that were in the paragraph

jambajay777


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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2010 3:59 pm


from Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantasical World Around You:

Merfolk [family sirenidae]


As stunningly gorgeous as they are dangerous, merfolk live in loosely structured kingdoms deep in the sea, but occasionally their natural curiosity causes them to come near the shore.

Although usually seen at night out on the jetties or even sometimes on the soft sand of the beaches, they have been spotted in daylight, resting on rocky outcroppings. They have also been found trapped in tidal pools when the sea changes.

Merfolk are at their most helpless out of water. Even though their dual-function lungs can breath air, their silvery scales dry out with overexposure to the sun.
Although merfolk are very beautiful, it is not safe to approach them. Land people and sea people have been at odds since earliest recorded memory. With pollution increasing and more aquatic species hunted to extinction, merfolk are even less likely to consider a land dweller as a potential friend.

Merfolk differ widely in coloration, sharing the distinctive characteristics of fish of their region. Male merfolk, known as mermen, are rare and solitary creatures except during the mating season. They can easily be distinguished from mermaids by their larger size.

As with any culture, merfolk leave behind a significant amout of artifacts that can be found around their habitats. Small piles of discarded shellfish may well be evidence of a merperson coming ashore to dine. Sea people are unused to cooking, so there will be no sign of a fire and there may be some sharp object nearby that was used to pry the food open.

You may come upon sheets of seaweed drying along the shoreline. Merfolk weave a crude kind of fabric from it, called seaweed cloth, that is used for garments, rope, and even baskets.

Merfolk tools are made from bone, discarded land glass, or the sharp teeth of sharks, but never iron. These tools are often bound at one end with eel skin.

You may find shells or pieces of coral with small holes in them. These are from necklaces merpeople wear around their necks and sometimes loop along their tails.

The evidence for merfolk is especially strong if the shell is not native to your beaches. Merfolk have been known to travel great distances and often lose or discard things along the way.



(side notes in the book (having drawings of various merfolk):

Pacific Sea-Maid (Siren pacificus)
-Their "hair" is actually external gill filaments used to extract oxygen from the water.
-This female was approx. 240 years old.
-The filaments only extend from their heads and, like mammalian hair, need to be groomed via combing and brushing ... an action sometimes witnessed when they perch on reefs and rocks during low tide.
-Mermaids have no hair to speak of what appear to be eyebrows are markings merely mimicking human features.

Atlantic Sea King (Siren atlanticus)
-When relaxed, the spiny facial fins behind the head, covering the gill filaments.
-Like those on the lionfish, these spines are very poisonous.
-This merman is in an attack position.

Caribbean Mermaid (Siren caribbeanus)
-Like a sea anemone, her tentacled "hair" delivered a numbing sting to anyone foolish enough to touch it.
-This mermaid had true gills, which opened and closed just below her rib cage.
-This specimen couls float perfectly vertical in the water with these swimmerets that ran up the ventral side of her tail.
-Some individuals release an inky cloud from a sac located in their tail. They then swim off while the would -be predator is distracted. )
PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2010 4:00 pm


note, the above is not what i believe about merpeople, but is from a book.

i love this description, though, because of how much it makes sense.

Sunishia
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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2010 4:10 pm


from my own journal:

-merfolk

They look like the usual. Their gills are located through/above/right below their ribcage. They have a second, transparent, under-eyelid that allows them more clarity underwater. They also have a set of lungs that allows them to sit on beaches and rocks. Merfolk only live in saltwater. The fresh water relatives are for a different time. Merfolk have large pupils and irises, so large that you might not see the white of their eyes all the time. Reproduction-wise, merfolk reproduce the way (something, haven't decided what, exactly) do, but do not lay more than ten eggs. Ten is unusual though. Most of the time they two or three, and in most cases, only one survives, or only one was laid. Of course their main only predators would be sharks, but some merspecies can be very small and will have more predators. Merpeople are never as small as the aquatic species they seem to be similar to. (that means whale merpeople = HUGE.)

(if you don't quite agree, that's alright, no one has the same opinion! wink )
PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2010 11:05 am


Sunishia
from my own journal:

-merfolk

They look like the usual. Their gills are located through/above/right below their ribcage. They have a second, transparent, under-eyelid that allows them more clarity underwater. They also have a set of lungs that allows them to sit on beaches and rocks. Merfolk only live in saltwater. The fresh water relatives are for a different time. Merfolk have large pupils and irises, so large that you might not see the white of their eyes all the time. ...

(after i have typed i realize that i haven't written much after all. it's pretty basic.

i'll add more to it eventually)


It's interesting to see other's views. I like yours. It reminds me of something a friend once designed.

TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2010 11:32 am


Merperson biology - Part 2

Sight

A merperson in mer form, has a second transparent under-eye lid which allows them to see clearly when underwater.

Powers/Abilities

Merpeople may possess powers. Mainly, they either possess the great ability to manipulate water's shape, movement and amount, or the ability to create and control ice.

A list of powers possessed by merpeople:

(INCOMPLETE!)
PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2010 8:46 am


As for me, I like to read lots of books about mermaids. I then decide to take what I have read, decide what I think is absolutely ridiculous or doesn't make sense, and believe all those other things aren't ridiculous and make sense. I think that most mermaids do not mean any harm. I once read out of a mythology book:

''Mermaids do not mean any harm. They simply do not understand that humans cannot breathe underwater.''

I find that to be an awesome line from that book.
I still think there may be a couple species of mermaid that do mean harm to human beings. There's alot more things I believe about mermaids, but that mostly summed up what I believe about harm mermaids could cause humans.

aquariaa


TheStarlessSkye
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:46 am


aquariaa
As for me, I like to read lots of books about mermaids. I then decide to take what I have read, decide what I think is absolutely ridiculous or doesn't make sense, and believe all those other things aren't ridiculous and make sense. I think that most mermaids do not mean any harm. I once read out of a mythology book:

''Mermaids do not mean any harm. They simply do not understand that humans cannot breathe underwater.''

I find that to be an awesome line from that book.
I still think there may be a couple species of mermaid that do mean harm to human beings. There's alot more things I believe about mermaids, but that mostly summed up what I believe about harm mermaids could cause humans.



You got this from a book called 'Mythology' ??

Gold writing and blue cover? Or was it a book called Monsterology??
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Merperson Lives/Stories

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