this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2025
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Science Memes

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1094
confused flatfish noises (infosec.pub)
submitted 4 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 204 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (31 children)

I think that's specific to mammals. Just off the top of my head...

Invertebrates? No. All out

Fish? No. Also a Hammerhead would've really sold this comic lol.

Birds? No. Though, even on the side they do often have a tilt toward frontal in a lot of predatory birds. It could be argued...

Reptiles? No.

Amphibians? No. There's no even trying to place rules on that optical chaos.

Mammals? Yeah, pretty much. Can't think of an outlier but I'm sure there's plenty of obvious ones.

Edit' Ah, there we go. Of course marine mammals are an exception. But back in land, as too are llamas. Makes you wonder...what are the llamas plotting?

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 56 points 4 months ago (1 children)

whales and dolphins are mammals, and they have eyes on the side. Don't think anything preys on them (at least for the full-grown ones, pretty sure baby whales are preyed on)

[–] roguetrick@lemmy.world 39 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Sperm whales are apex(orcas will target calves but they stay the hell away from bulls) but they don't hunt their monstrous cephalopod prey(which in any sane ecosystem would be apex themselves) with eyes.

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 34 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

A non-predator mammal with front facing eyes: llamas.

[–] FeatherConstrictor@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Are llamas' eyes not side-facing? That's what it looks like in photos to me

[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

They need them for spitting.

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

Llamas are dangerous, so if you see one where people are swimming, you shout: Look out, there are llamas!

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[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

pretty sure they face forwards. That's what Minecraft ones look like, anyway, and a quick search of real ones look like they have forward-facing eyes

[–] lazyViking@lemmy.world 29 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Source: Minecraft block model is a legendary reply

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[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

They're sideways facing eyes, but a bit diagonal. Definitely not forward facing though. They're just a bit bulgy.

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 5 points 4 months ago

So like halfway. I'm half right then. Half of a yes!

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago (15 children)

Pandas as well. Non-predator but clearly front facing eyes.

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[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago

They want your sweater back.....

[–] illi@piefed.social 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I remember there used to be a goat on some island (now extinct) that didn't have any predators so it evolved forward facing eyes

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[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Exception: Sloth

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Sloths are weird all the extinct sloths had side eyes. The ones today dont. I'm guessing depth perception for climbing. Because the list goes really big when arboreal prey animals are involved. Lemurs, sugar gliders monkeys great apes.

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[–] marzhall@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

Invertebrates? No. All out

I invite you to meet the awesome jumping spider, whose eyes are very especially needed set up to be forward-facing for depth perception for their jumps, and who hunt other spiders, as well as the wolf spider, who are also a hunting (as opposed to web) spider.

In fact, you can use the chart of spider eye layouts to pretty much identify whether you're looking at a spider who builds webs and waits or a spider who hunts:

a drawing of different spider faces to their names

Anyone with two big forward-facing eyes is probably looking around for their next meal; the rest are building a web, trapdoor, or taking some other approach.

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[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Birds? No. Though, even on the side they do often have a tilt toward frontal in a lot of predatory birds. It could be argued...

Birds of prey absolutely have their eyes positioned on the front of their heads. It's most obvious in owls, since they have the largest eyes and wider faces, but all of them have front-facing eyes for binocular vision.

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[–] prex@aussie.zone 161 points 4 months ago (3 children)

[–] Senseless@feddit.org 61 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The same facial expression I make one week into the month when looking at my cheque account.

[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 38 points 4 months ago

I think we can therefore safely conclude that the shark is also looking at your cheque account.

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 18 points 4 months ago

Pls respond.

[–] mika_mika@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago

hello, yes, this is shark!

[–] mech@feddit.org 123 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Yes Sharky?

CAN I PLEASE MOVE? I'M SUFFOCATING!

[–] notsure@fedia.io 52 points 4 months ago (1 children)

...300 million years, can't sit still, smh...

[–] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately I promised the wife Flake tonight.

[–] mech@feddit.org 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Protipp: To make this dish more interesting, simply bury the meat in your back yard for a year.

Hákarl

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 9 points 4 months ago

TIL Greenland sharks can live up to 500 years, take 150 years to reach sexual maturity and have a gestation period of up to 18 years. And apparently it takes a year in the back yard to prepare as well.

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[–] mr_account@lemmy.world 48 points 4 months ago (7 children)

Last time I saw this kind of comment/meme someone pointed out that dragons are usually depicted with eyes on the sides of their head. What hunts them, I wonder

[–] Mr_Fish@lemmy.world 33 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's like how in dnd lore the tarrasque, basically the biggest, scariest monster, is always depicted with big spikes on its back. Animals evolve spikes like that to ward off predators. That means something at least used to hunt tarrasques

[–] TheOctonaut@mander.xyz 31 points 4 months ago

Actually they develop in its juvenile state when they are vulnerable to more mundane predators but are then retained for sexual selection in adulthood.

There is only one tarrasque in existence, resulting in it taking its sexual frustration out on level 20 adventuring parties and parties that keep making fun of the lore- uh, history- of the world they grew up in.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 26 points 4 months ago

Human.

[–] pressanykeynow@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

Adventurers...

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 4 months ago

Bigger dragons.

[–] Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 7 points 4 months ago

Horny donkeys

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[–] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 28 points 4 months ago

That's if sight is your primary sense for hunting / evasion, right?

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 7 points 4 months ago

Sharks see with their jaws, though.

[–] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Is it actually possible for a fish-like animal to have eyes at the front (i.e. an animal with a hydrodynamic shape that spends all its time underwater)?

I feel like that's really difficult for evolution to achieve, especially because the mouth has to go somewhere at the front too. I mean, look at where the lights of a high-speed train are placed and their shape.

Intuitively it feels easier to just put the eyes on the side. Plus it feels like there's a lower risk of damaging them when bumping into something.

[–] drath@lemmy.world 19 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Is it actually possible for a fish-like animal to have eyes at the front

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 8 points 4 months ago

was gonna snark "me before coffee" but tbh this is also me after coffee too

[–] Hathaway@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 months ago

Barreleyes get sorta close. They look up but can look forward too.

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[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Is this the guy who got his bike stolen

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[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Axe-u-a-lee...

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