The pink whipray (Himantura fai) is the only species of stingray know to engage in this sort of piggybacking behavior. In fact, multiples pink whiprays piggyback on others rays of the same species, and this is unexpected, elasmobranch, in general only interact when they try to eat each other.
The pink whipray is a large ray that occurs in coastal soft-sediment habitats in the Indian Ocean.
But apparently they love it, and
pink whipray
piggyback in another species. Pictures don’t lie.
The reasons for this behaviour are unknown, one possibility is that piggybacking is a predator defence strategy that allows the smaller rays to appear larger than they actually are and breaks up silhouettes on which predators can focus. There may also be some hydrodynamic or foraging advantage to the smaller rays in travelling with larger species in this manner, although this does not explain why these rays piggyback on other rays resting on the seabed or at cleaning stations.
Photo b)
Pink whiprays piggybacking on a blotched fantail ray (Taeniurops meyeni) at a cleaning station.
The presentation of Kylo Ren as a whiny, insecure little shit is brilliant because, frankly, whiny insecure little shits are usually the people who actually do become evil in real life.
Nerds want a Star Wars bad guy to be a stone-cold badass like Darth Vader because this lets them off the hook for self-examination, as nerds are absolutely nothing like Darth Vader. Kylo Ren, however, is a nerd: he acts like one, he has the backstory of one, and when he takes his helmet off, he even looks like one. Far from ruining the film, this actually makes it the most mature entry to date in the Star Wars canon, because it forces the greatest amount of self-examination on the part of its core audience.
Rules: It’s harder than it looks. Enter your answers and then tag 10 people! Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. Real answers only. If the person who tagged you has the same initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use the same word twice.
What is your name? Tatiana A four letter word? tart A boy’s name? Tony An occupation? technician Something you wear? trousers A color? tangerine A food? taters OuO Something you find in the bathroom? toothbrush! A place? Trondheim A reason for being late? t…turbulence? Something you shout? “tell me!” A movie title? …Titanic Something you drink? Tyskie beer? I dunno, feels like cheating. An animal? tamandua <3 A type of car? uuuh, terrain cars? Title of a song? Tiny Tears
