Lol I used to get into it with people about how impractical mermaid designs would be for any actual creature living in the ocean - though I do still like a lot of how they're portrayed.
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That said... as far as I know, mermaids and sirens have always been creatures of horror. We just turned them into something more fanciful as we started depicting them in art and stories
But what if the mermaids lived in a river, or a lake and were smaller? Would the keep their fairytail form?
Because if I think about it, rivers aren't that deep, so there is less water pressure... so the mermaid wouldn't need to increase mass to level the amount of pressure on her body
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Does this make sense?
Granted I'm no expert, but I think to answer that question a place to start would be mammalian species currently already living in rivers. Most of them that I can think of still are covered in fat and/or fur. Hippos, otters, river dolphins, beavers, platypus, etc
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However, I'd think it could be plausible that in a warmer environment a mermaid could develop a more svelte form. Perhaps even selectively storing blubber around their hips and chests -- potentially similar to how camels store it in their humps or, better, crocodiles store it in their tails (and can live off these stores for extended periods of time).
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This would work to serve a dual-purpose as part of the predator-prey tactic mentioned above as well, if we are still going with the concept that they do kill humans. There are species of reptiles, for example, whose tails have evolved to look like grubs at the end, and they wiggle their tails to lure unsuspecting prey animals to them.
This would still leave them open to sunburn, though, which would be a greater threat in shallower waters -- particularly if they are surface-breathers.
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Long hair also seems like it would be tremendously impractical... unless perhaps it's actually a structure more akin to a jellyfish's tentacles, and actually can move somewhat independently --- and act as a defence mechanism. Possibly also as a lure for smaller prey like fish.
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And speaking of crocodiles and hippos -- mers likely would be competing for territory with them, or creatures like them, so the mermaids would need some way of dealing with that. Looking like a sexy half-human doesn't tend to be as effective a deterrent against other predators haha
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I'm also curious what merbabies would be born with, and how far developed. They'd likely need to come out a bit more developed than the average human baby.
Is there a possibility that a mermaid could lay eggs instead of giving birth?
If they were to give birth to a more developed baby it would be a painful and complicated birth.
But taking in consideration that most of their anatomy could be soft blubber and fat then it's easier.
Or what if they naturally created their own suncream like oil that covers their body?
Either way it is impractical I agree, maybe they existed some time but went extinct, or evolved into... a dolphin for example? Or if we want to keep the eating humans theory then maybe they evolved into sharks?
`
That said... as far as I know, mermaids and sirens have always been creatures of horror. We just turned them into something more fanciful as we started depicting them in art and stories
Because if I think about it, rivers aren't that deep, so there is less water pressure... so the mermaid wouldn't need to increase mass to level the amount of pressure on her body
,
Does this make sense?
`
However, I'd think it could be plausible that in a warmer environment a mermaid could develop a more svelte form. Perhaps even selectively storing blubber around their hips and chests -- potentially similar to how camels store it in their humps or, better, crocodiles store it in their tails (and can live off these stores for extended periods of time).
`
This would work to serve a dual-purpose as part of the predator-prey tactic mentioned above as well, if we are still going with the concept that they do kill humans. There are species of reptiles, for example, whose tails have evolved to look like grubs at the end, and they wiggle their tails to lure unsuspecting prey animals to them.
`
Long hair also seems like it would be tremendously impractical... unless perhaps it's actually a structure more akin to a jellyfish's tentacles, and actually can move somewhat independently --- and act as a defence mechanism. Possibly also as a lure for smaller prey like fish.
`
And speaking of crocodiles and hippos -- mers likely would be competing for territory with them, or creatures like them, so the mermaids would need some way of dealing with that. Looking like a sexy half-human doesn't tend to be as effective a deterrent against other predators haha
`
I'm also curious what merbabies would be born with, and how far developed. They'd likely need to come out a bit more developed than the average human baby.
If they were to give birth to a more developed baby it would be a painful and complicated birth.
But taking in consideration that most of their anatomy could be soft blubber and fat then it's easier.
Or what if they naturally created their own suncream like oil that covers their body?
Either way it is impractical I agree, maybe they existed some time but went extinct, or evolved into... a dolphin for example? Or if we want to keep the eating humans theory then maybe they evolved into sharks?