Ew! Ew! Tentacle Faced Mole!

[livius drusus]

It's cool to know there's a mammal out there which eats faster than my dad, but my holy God is that a fucked up looking creature.

:cthulhu2:mole from hell. (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6961)

[beyelzu]

damn, it looks like something that came out of a horror movie.

[Ymir's blood]

I've always like moles for some reason (have two plush ones) but the star nose was my favorite. Aren't they just adorable! :D


(no plush starnoses but I do have two Cthulhu plushes)

:cthulhu: :cthulhu2:

[livius drusus]

damn, it looks like something that came out of a horror movie.

I know! And like an idiot I clicked on the englarge pic button even though I was already gagging at the thumbnail. I fear to look, yet I cannot turn away.

[beyelzu]

damn, it looks like something that came out of a horror movie.

I know! And like an idiot I clicked on the englarge pic button even though I was already gagging at the thumbnail. I fear to look, yet I cannot turn away.
I was scared to click on the enlarge pic button.

I may do it now, wish me luck.

[beyelzu]

I've always like moles for some reason (have two plush ones) but the star nose was my favorite. Aren't they just adorable! :D


(no plush starnoses but I do have two Cthulhu plushes)

:cthulhu: :cthulhu2:
maybe you can make your own plush starnosed mole.

you sick, sick man.


:tmgrin:

[beyelzu]

enlarged picture, may have nightmares.

damn. its like something out of clive barker or hp lovecraft.

[livius drusus]

There's no may about it. We'll share a nightmare tonight, my friend. Ymir's blood will be in mine dressed like a ringmaster and laughing like the Joker.

[Ymir's blood]

maybe you can make your own plush starnosed mole.

you sick, sick man.


:tmgrin:
I'm sure if I did a search, someone already makes one...

One of the links on the page led to this page of stats (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Condylura_cristata.html)

They're very very small, btw.
Mass
35 to 75 g
(1.23 to 2.64 oz)

Length
175 to 205 mm
(6.89 to 8.07 in)

...and ballsy!
...the testes of males can be 8.8% of the total body weight during the mating season.

[Legs]

Awww.. I think he's kinda cute, maybe with a little bow or something?

[Ymir's blood]

There's no may about it. We'll share a nightmare tonight, my friend. Ymir's blood will be in mine dressed like a ringmaster and laughing like the Joker.
Yes, but how will you be dressed? :lecher:

[Godless Wonder]

HOLY MOLEY!!!

(somebody had to say it.)

[livius drusus]

Yes, but how will you be dressed? :lecher:

Save that charm for Legs, oh sick one. She'll probably be in my dream wearing a pink tutu with a basket of mole-decorating ribbons on one arm and you on the other.

[Legs]

Hmmm, livius

could you possibly replace me with martha steward? and leave me out of it? :D

Seriously though, the little guy can't help having a tentacle face, now can he?

[livius drusus]

But, but... She's :prisoner: right now. As for hellface, no he can't help it, but he's still supericky to look at.

Man, we need a shudder smiley around here.

[beyelzu]

But, but... She's :prisoner: right now. As for hellface, no he can't help it, but he's still supericky to look at.

Man, we need a shudder smiley around here.
yeah, why dont we have one?

[livius drusus]

We do now. :shudder:

[Ronin]

"Using a high-speed video camera, Catania and his colleague Fiona Remple found that when a tentacle touched something, the mole made very quick decisions about whether that object was food or not, usually in about 8 milliseconds."



Sorry everyone...Kenneth Catania and Fiona Remple (...wait...weren't they Ghostbusters?!)...obviously never studied me, Fred, Marc and Parrish during our 80's era college sinse weekend.

:propeller:

[livius drusus]

Yeah, but I'm guessing the total area of y'all's habitat was no more than one arm's reach from the couch. :bonghit:

[Ronin]

Damn you scientists!

:hulk:

[The Lone Ranger]

Aw, I've always had kind of a soft spot for little Condylura cristata, but then, it seems that I've always been drawn to the critters that most other people don't seem to like too much -- snakes, lizards, sharks, star-nosed moles, bats, etc. Somebody has to love the un-cute and un-cuddly critters! (A few months ago, Sarah and I were visiting the Western side of the state. We were out walking when she nearly stepped on a banana slug (http://members.limitless.org/~emma/nbtsc2000/nbtsc081.jpg) by accident. I spotted the imperiled creature and stopped her before she squished it. Oddly enough, she was less than pleased when I scooped the slug up and started rattling off fascinating details of its biology. Go figure.)

It's not just that moles eat quickly by the way -- they eat prodigious amounts of food. A mole can eat 1/3 of its body weight in food every day, and some will starve to death in less than 48 hours if forced to go without food.

Cheers,

Michael

[Legs]

Okay, you are going to change your minds about our little friend after seeing this (http://img159.exs.cx/img159/8538/starnose5bb.gif)

[Godless Wonder]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/cmscdj/mystery/moleymoley.gif
Mooooole. Nice to mole you. Moley, moley, moley

(I'm in a silly mood. No, I haven't been drinking.)

[livius drusus]

Michael, I like snakes, lizards, sharks, normal moles, bats, and though I have no great love for slugs, I love snails and slugs don't gross me out or anything. The Cthulhu mole is another thing altogether.

Legs, that little dude's nose actually looks like a star, not like a double octopus, so he's cute but doesn't make me change my mind in the least.

Godless Wonder, I don't want to buzzkill your silly mood (which is something I always appreciate), but I've had to put that post on ignore. I'm sorry, really, but it's just too repulsive for my fragile little mind to bare.

[Godless Wonder]

Godless Wonder, I don't want to buzzkill your silly mood (which is something I always appreciate), but I've had to put that post on ignore. I'm sorry, really, but it's just too repulsive for my fragile little mind to bare. :D Haha! Sorry, liv. But hey, you started this thread called "Tentacle Faced Mole"... how can such a thread be complete and not have a silly scene from an Austin Powers movie with one extra level of punning digitally added?

[Ymir's blood]

It took some searching to find a non-sensationalist picture of a star-nose. Most of the photos tend to focus solely on the nose, making it appear the animal has no head. I admit the animal still looks weird, but it isn't quite the horror that the picture in the article make it out to be.

http://www.berkshireschool.org/mountain/wildlife/images/star-nosedmole.jpg

[livius drusus]

He's still pretty gross, Ymir's blood, but much less sensationalistically so, you're right. Now I'm going to have to ignore your post too. Nothing personal.

P.S. - I understand, GW. It really was a match made in hell.

[RevDahlia]

Aw. I like the mole. :cuddle: Poor li'l thing, he can't help being gross.

Naked mole rats, anyone? (http://www.oinkernet.com/molerat.gif)

[Corona688]

I've always thought the star-nosed mole was cool, and kind of cute in that pitbull-ugly way.

Those aren't tentacles, by the way. They can't move, they're more like flesh whiskers. They're also grown in a very odd way; you'd expect them to form like ears and such, but no, they actually peel off the face during foetal development.

[livius drusus]

oh god I'm going to yak.

[Skep]

Naked mole rats, anyone? (http://www.oinkernet.com/molerat.gif)
Naked mole rats completely creep me out. http://skeptech.net/emotipad/cache/Nervous2.gif

[Beth]

Good lord, that is one scary looking creature!

[copiae]

Inspired by RevDahlia's post, I suggest we convert this thread into a collection of scary and ughly critters.

May I introduce the humble dust mite:

http://www.aaaai.org/images/photolibrary/bw-dustmite2.jpg

http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/research/mite/mite.jpg


EDIT: I suppose I should also add that there are millions of these critters crawling around on your bedsheets. =)

[Legs]

they actually peel off the face during foetal development.


Thanks for sharing that :puke:

[Ymir's blood]

Aw. I like the mole. :cuddle: Poor li'l thing, he can't help being gross.
Indeed! Group hug on the star-nose mole! :squeeze:
Naked mole rats, anyone? (http://www.oinkernet.com/molerat.gif)
Heh, that is fugly.

[RevDahlia]

Inspired by RevDahlia's post, I suggest we convert this thread into a collection of scary and ughly critters.
You're on!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the pipa toad. (http://www.carlscreepycrawlies.com/Pipa.html) Fascinating creatures, really. But also REALLY FUCKING GROSS. (http://www.carlscreepycrawlies.com/larvae.html) I like you guys, which is why I stuck that last picture behind a link.

(Speaking of that picture, I posted it on another BBS a couple years ago and the pipa toad is now the official board mascot. It's still gross, but I was flattered.)

[livius drusus]

Y'all are gross, hugging on the cthulhu mole. :shudder:

[Legs]

Speaking of ugly, what do you suppose this is? (http://webspace.ringling.edu/~jgilbert/WTF.jpg)

[livius drusus]

A bad photoshop job? My vote is cat, puffin and dog.

[Beth]

Speaking of ugly, what do you suppose this is? (http://webspace.ringling.edu/~jgilbert/WTF.jpg)
My new Avatar?

[Dingfod]

Speaking of ugly, what do you suppose this is? (http://webspace.ringling.edu/~jgilbert/WTF.jpg)A sabre-toothed pengato.

[RedFox]

Image being a worm in the nice, cozy ground and having one of those come at you. :shocked:

[wildernesse]

I love the mole! He's incredibly lovely. Do they live around here? (Here being Georgia.)

[The Lone Ranger]

I love the mole! He's incredibly lovely. Do they live around here? (Here being Georgia.)

Depends on where, exactly, in Georgia you live. They can be found along the coast that far south, and there's some indication that they may be found that far south in the Appalachians, but they're rare if nonexistent in the interior portions of Georgia.

Here's a range map:

http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Talpidae/Condylura/cristata/images/Condylura_cristata_map.Smithsonian.320.jpg

Cheers,

Michael

[Ymir's blood]

Hmm, there could be some near me! :D

[RevDahlia]

Hmm, there could be some near me! :D
None near me, alas. :sobbing:

[JoeP]

I've always thought the star-nosed mole was cool, and kind of cute in that pitbull-ugly way.

Those aren't tentacles, by the way. They can't move, they're more like flesh whiskers. They're also grown in a very odd way; you'd expect them to form like ears and such, but no, they actually peel off the face during foetal development.
flesh whiskers ... mmm ... now there's a concept to savour.

I like these starnosed moles. I'd like one as a pet. Naked molerats can stay behind glass in the zoo, though, but they have their charm.

[Ensign Steve]

It took some searching to find a non-sensationalist picture of a star-nose. Most of the photos tend to focus solely on the nose, making it appear the animal has no head. I admit the animal still looks weird, but it isn't quite the horror that the picture in the article make it out to be.

Yah, he's way cuter in that picture. The first one is no fair. How cute would any of us look if photographed up our nostrils? Same with the frog larva. No grosser than any of us are in our larval stages. And the peeling of the face skin is similar to how a rattlesnake makes its rattle.

I really need to take a picture of that tapeworm segment.

Okay, people now post pictures of viruses and cancer cells. Those are wicked cool to look at.

[Brimshack]

Okay, this is thread necromancy at its finest (darkest? mostest evilest?), but what better place to post this than the original source thread!?! Because you see I took one look at that damn picture and thought it was the ugliest creature on the planet. I don't know about this fastest eating shit, but it's DEFNITELY the ugliest creature on the planet.

So, naturally I thought, let's make a toy out of it:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e367/Brimshack/MoleGreen.jpg

The sculptor took some liberties in adding a row of teeth, but technically it's a "Dire Star-Nosed Mole," (for those that speak Geeklic). Almost forgot where I got the idea. It was riiiiiiight here. :cheerful:

[The Lone Ranger]

The sculptor took some liberties in adding a row of teeth, but technically it's a "Dire Star-Nosed Mole," ...

:lol:

[beyelzu]

cool, brim,

but the star nosed mole probably already has teeth like that, it just hides them till it sneakes up on you and fucks you up.

[livius drusus]

Okay that's totally brilliant, grossness notwithstanding. :bow:

Who made it, Brim?

[Nullifidian]

Speaking of Photoshop jobs, check out this little beauty:

http://pharyngula.org/images/chimeric_creature.jpg (http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/they_arent_biologically_practical_but_theyre_cool_to_look_at/)

It's Cthulhu-riffic!

[Brimshack]

Okay that's totally brilliant, grossness notwithstanding. :bow:

Who made it, Brim?

The sculptor's name is Jason Wiebe. He does a lot of the monster miniatures used in D&D nowadays. Since he'd done a batch of Molemen not long before this, he was eager to add a pet to the collection, so to speak.

[livius drusus]

:lol: Now someone just needs to invent a matching D&D character.

[Brimshack]

Oh trust me, I did that a long time ago. How else are we going to sell the mole?

[livius drusus]

Of course! I don't know what I was thinking. It's all about the benjamins (yeah).

[Brimshack]

...not many, trust me. I think we've seen one or 2 Benjamines for this guy, but like a while gang of Ben's left to go visit Jason when we got this one.

Funny how that works.

[livius drusus]

You'd think it's hideousness would be a great benefit on the game circuit. I mean, isn't it supposed to, erm, do bad things to your enemies or something?

[Brimshack]

It's supposed to BE an enemy, and do bad things to you. Actually, it sells poorly on the net but quite well in conventions. The oddity of it is a problem with regular gamners who just want another pre-painted troll, but in person we get the spontaneous buy. The Giant Archer Fish was our best seller at the last convention, a fact in which I take great satisfaction, because No-one thought that would sell.

[Ymir's blood]

Okay that's totally brilliant, grossness notwithstanding. :bow:

Who made it, Brim?

The sculptor's name is Jason Wiebe. He does a lot of the monster miniatures used in D&D nowadays. Since he'd done a batch of Molemen not long before this, he was eager to add a pet to the collection, so to speak.
He's done stuff for Reaper, hasn't he? I may have some of his work.

[Brimshack]

He does a lot of Reaper's stuff. For awhile I think he was their main guy actually when to big monsters. That's where I got him from, looking through my own collection of unpainted Reapers, thinking; "now who could make that mole liv was freaking out over..."

(What he's working on for me now will get us both a place in Hell for sure.)

[beyelzu]

what is it??


you can tell me

[Brimshack]

Well, we're callinjg it a "Kitten Golem."

...it's not cute and fluffy, and cat lovers everywhere will hate me. My own cats already seem to be keeping out of my reach nowadays, ever since I commissioned that one.

[Ymir's blood]

He does a lot of Reaper's stuff. For awhile I think he was their main guy actually when to big monsters. That's where I got him from, looking through my own collection of unpainted Reapers, thinking; "now who could make that mole liv was freaking out over..."

(What he's working on for me now will get us both a place in Hell for sure.)
After checking out the Reaper site, I've got a ton of his stuff, including a really nice Cthulhu knockoff.

[Brimshack]

Yeah, they're fantasy figure finder is great isn't it? Wiebe hasn't done much lately, but I understand he's getting started again. Here's hoping...

[Ymir's blood]

Yeah, they're fantasy figure finder is great isn't it? Yeah, I found a figure to use as a proxy for something already.

[Brimshack]

Which one and what for?

(I know, this is way off the original topic, but I figure I animated this zombie, we might as well have fun with it.)

[Ymir's blood]

The Charnel Grub would make an excellent Beast of Nurgle (40k).

I haven't played pen and paper RPGs in years but still collect and paint minis. There is the occasional tabletop game with them. My current project is building a modular dungeon set.

[Brimshack]

Yeah, whenever I quit playing I always start painting a lot. They really are two different hobbies in many ways. I'm increasingly finding the best mini painters (the ones I pay for display pieces) are girlfriends of gamers and they couldn't care less about what this or that thing on the mini means as far as the games go. They just wanna see if they can get the non-metalic metal technique right on the sword.

I wish I had time to paint minis, because now I have all these minis that represent exactly what I want them to represent, ...and I have no time to paint them.

Are you building the modular dungeon from scratch or using the War Forge stuff? Something else?

[Ymir's blood]

Yeah, whenever I quit playing I always start painting a lot. They really are two different hobbies in many ways. I'm increasingly finding the best mini painters (the ones I pay for display pieces) are girlfriends of gamers and they couldn't care less about what this or that thing on the mini means as far as the games go. They just wanna see if they can get the non-metalic metal technique right on the sword.

I tend to be the opposite. The easiest figures for me to paint are ones that have personal appeal or are needed for something specific.


I wish I had time to paint minis, because now I have all these minis that represent exactly what I want them to represent, ...and I have no time to paint them.
I know the feeling. My problem is mostly comes from other interests competing for time.

Are you building the modular dungeon from scratch or using the War Forge stuff? Something else?
My original idea was to paint a stone texture onto foamcore and create the rooms using walls made from blueboard insulation. It worked fine until the foamcore warped. After that, I couldn't find anything that would resist warping but wouldn't be really heavy or expensive. Plus, the idea of painting more stone wasn't that appealing.

The current version consists of two sheets of corrugated cardboard glued together and cut into shapes for rooms and corridors, sort of like textured floor tiles. The downside is that it won't have 3D walls. In either case, doors are represented by paper cut outs designed with a graphics program and attached to plastic stands from board games.