AniaR, it's that they have rays, everyone make such cool designs out of the rays. Flukes would actually be so boring.
Wesley's statement is most likely there.
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AniaR, it's that they have rays, everyone make such cool designs out of the rays. Flukes would actually be so boring.
Wesley's statement is most likely there.
Caudal is so scientific sounding...when we say fin, it's mostly referring to monofins, and fluke became part of the popular vernacular when referring to a finished, covered monofin. Even though mermaids are depicted as half fish, it's obvious by our air breathing, breasted, hair growing upper half that we are more mammal than fish, not to mention our horizontal "fluke".
Or it's just the popular slang. I doubt I've ever said the word "caudal" out loud in my life.
OK - Everyone together - Caudal -
K, it's our secret now, don't tell anyone.
Just don't get folks started on the whole egg vs. live birth debate. ;)
ooh! whole egg vs. live birth?
Ya know that would be pretty defining wouldn't it.
Humm?
That should be a new thread. Hang on.....
Dan- I didn't do it, Lostariel did it.
Dude, you got that wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkF
It's not about the rays, it's about anatomy.
Aquatic mammals have horizontal flukes.
Fish have vertical caudal fins.
You can put all rays you want on a fluke, but as long as it's horizontal, it's still a fluke.
There is not a single mammal on this planet who has managed to swim with a caudal fin.
(believe me, people tried.)
And now were are getting picky.
Bones- It's in the bones or would that be a fluke. "Pun intended"
Hang on, gotta find more chips. got the munchies.
Caltuna nailed it on the head. It's how it moves and what it's attached to.
We have flukes just like we associate and socialize in pods.
If we want to have the debate over other depictions of mermaids that might make sense, but as for us, the people who swim in tails.... We're mammals, we swim with an up and down motion rather than a side to side motion... So it's a fluke, no matter how fishy it looks (and some mers flukes don't look fishy at all)
Hmmmm... Is ' anal retentive' hyphenated?
Get over it. Say caudal in the lab.
Btw, my FLUKE is based on an insect wing. Stick that in your wave and swish it! :rollover:
:thinks:Geez, need a little more freedom here.
Who says mammals can't have boned and skin fins.
Bone Rays as a support structure don't mandate a fish. "I'm not a believer in the half fish and half person."
Seals to Beavers are close enough for imagination to make the difference. Though the horizontal flippers still stand true.
The anatomy of a fluke doesn't have bones, more like your nose.
Insect wing?
fluke fluke fluke. flukity fluke fluke fluke :D
I throw my fluke up in the air sometimes, saying hey=oh, fish or mammal bro? Im gonna swim my way and live my life, cuz the semantics... no one cares ohh!!
(lol Im sorry I couldnt resist)
Seriously though I always think it's so dumb to debate things that aren't real. There's no standard for mermaids. I get really irked when people get jerky saying "real mermaids have long hair, real mermaids dont wear tops, real mermaids dont have knees." newsflash. Mermaids arent real. We portray a fictional character that we can make whatever way we want, because we are establishing it. If you don't like someone's version, move along.
Don't get me started on fish anatomy. I love it! lol. I studied marine medicine for a bit and still do sometimes. I call it the caudal fin because mermaids are considered half human and half fish. We have scales and multiple fins. The way fins are formed compared to the flukes of our awesome sea mammals, it's still a fin, BUT everyone can call it whatever they want.. These mermaid fins look nothing like flukes to me. I had to learn both for blood collection and they don't look similar to me at all unless you don't have any visible rays.
Let's just classify it as both for mermaids sake, yes?
Fluke, fluke, fluke, fluke of pearl, pearl, pearl... ;)
:lol ^:Quote:
Originally Posted by AniaR
Odette, do we have spots on our blood cells? Just kidding ;)
HAHAHA! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Merman Dan
Yes, my fluke is based on cicada wings, even though they are a bit truncated.
I read my last post and it sounds mean, and I didn't mean it spitefully, I was laughing when I wrote it. Then again, Pearlie Mae don't give a fluke! ;)
And I think Raina's cheese done slipped off her cracker. ;)
What Raina said. We are a community built on imagination, and each person's imagined mer world is as valid as the next.
Pearlie, I thought so.
As for me, if I'm not in trouble I'm being ignored and I don't like being ignored. :D
You have no idea how long I've argued with myself over this topic...
Sorry to double-post, but couldn't different types of mermaid experience different types of birth, much in the way that some sharks birth live pups and others lay eggs? Maybe we have different species and/or sub-categories (undine, nereid, melusine, siren) that the whole caudal vs. fluke and behbehs vs. eggs could work... just saying.. *tosses two cents into the throng*
in mythology?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaila Mermaid
certainly.
within the community? hardly.
everyone here has a fluke.
if someone managed to swim with a caudal fin, please post a pic of your spinal cord, thanks.
Some how I've always thought of Mermaids being live birthing.
I'm unaware of breast feeding egg layers.
Lol Mermaid Cyanea has ranted at me about how it drives her mad that people call them flukes and not caudals :P She's a zoologist though, so I can see how it might bug her! She still goes along with it becuase it's just become mer-terminology more than a scientific thing at this point.
MonotremesQuote:
Originally Posted by MarkF
But, to be fair, the next time someone catches a mermaid in the wild be sure to ask her. ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winged Mermaid
For me it's octopi. Whenever I hear that word I have to rant about Greek versus Latin plurals, importing words into the English language, etc. It's octopuses, people, unless you want to be snarky then you can say octopodes.
I call it fin or tail.
I whip hip my tail back and forth I whip my tail back and forth --
I'm sick.... I have a job interview with the Disney store tomorrow.... Fml...
Dress as "Sneezy"?Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaGlass Siren
Maybe sleepy or grumpy lol
I'm so pissed at my work right now. They called me half an hour ago basically demanding that I work tonight. I told them I didn't think I
Could because it's my uncles birthday (a lie. I'm just exhausted and have homework) and they said I'm the only one who can do it and they need me to. I had no choice but to agree to it. Now my night is in the toilet, I'm gonna end up behind on my
Homework, and I was really looking forward to my night off too......
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Jerks
Had to see my ex for the first time in months. It was horrible I'm amazed I didn't have to leave.
Back from work. Guess who has to work tomorrow now too! Inconsiderate.
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Someone stole all the cans my grandpa collects from the area on the side of our house where we keep our recycling, organic, and landfill trash bins. Like, that's what my grandpa does for his money. He collects cans (he likes to live like he did in Iran after the Shah was overthrown. I think the revolt kind of screwed him up and made him a little nihilistic about wealth) It was a good $100 worth too. Ugh. I mean, Sina said he'd just give grandpa the money, but grandpa's very proud, and I can tell it hurt his pride to have to admit he needed money. I could also see he was visibly distressed that his stuff was stolen in what my dad has repeatedly harked to him was a safe neighborhood, and it made me feel shitty. Even in Iran, no one stole his stuff, but he lives here, and people steal his stuff at least once every few years, and twice he's been stolen from living in this new place with my dad, and it's only been a year. :/
Why not leave the cans inside his house..?
That sucks, Anahita! One feels so violated when thieves take your stuff! I understand how his pride was hurt and it's even more frustrating to have someone undo all the hard work you've done to earn that money.