Pretty Spooky Things 🎃
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prettyuglythings.bsky.social
Pretty Spooky Things 🎃
@prettyuglythings.bsky.social
Amateur naturalist, serious collector, and appreciator of the unusual things our planet is capable of… based out of Tucson!

Purveyor of minerals, succulents, isopods, and information
https://prettyuglythingsaz.com // https://prettyuglythingsaz.etsy.com
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Oh hi
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Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄⚒️ @berkeleymews.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 12:17 PM
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time to resurrect the victorian xmas card quoteskeet thread happy quahogmas one and all
December 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
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#MineralMonday Wulfenite, mimetite, Rowley Mine, Arizona USA. Approx 3 mm wide. ⚒️ #geology . No MAGA! Science = Resistance! #standupforscience
December 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I just learned of glauberite this year after getting some gypsum-after-glauberite pseudomorph specimens from Camp Verde, AZ, via a local rockhound.

Look at this weirdo.
December 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
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The Seasquare 😂

📸 Prof Michael Sweet
December 23, 2025 at 3:52 AM
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Today I visited the Takeshima Aquarium in Gamagori, which specializes in deep sea animals. I saw giant isopods, spider crabs, deep sea octopus and all kinds of fascinating #invertebrates.
December 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
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My absolute favorite holiday tradition is Lampreia de Ovos, a Portuguese Christmas dessert which contains zero (0) actual lamprey but 50 (!) egg yolks, sugar, and almonds - and is shaped to look like a lamprey. Don’t forget cherries for the eyes! #25DaysofFishmas www.atlasobscura.com/foods/lampre...
December 22, 2025 at 2:36 PM
I’m prepping some “fairy forest” epidote quartz for sale, and my favorite subtype is when the quartz has phantoms. Excellent zoning!
December 20, 2025 at 8:52 PM
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Tonicella lineata - lined chiton (2023)

Imagine a really flat slug wearing plate armor; that's basically what these guys look like. All the other mollusks downsized on their shell pieces but the chitons said "nah I think 8 pieces are still in fashion"

#invertebrates #mollusks #chitons #art #sciart
December 20, 2025 at 1:43 AM
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Good morning! A starfish clearly saluting their greeting. Surrounded by many barnacles and anemones for #crustmas.

#nature #oregoncoast #christmas #crustacean #love #smallwonders #cool #bluesky #nokings #marinelife #photography #seastar
December 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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348 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Aragonite:
- A calcium carbonate mineral
- Forms via metamorphism, precipitation in warm marine water, around hot springs and in caves
- A component of mollusc shells and coral exoskeletons
- Named after its type locality Molina de Aragón in Spain #minerals
December 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
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December 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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Just a beautiful fold!! I hope even non-geologists can appreciate the beauty of what pressure can do to a rock. #FoldFriday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Ash Meadows is off the beaten path but an absolute treasure. If I recall correctly, it has one of the greatest concentrations of endemic species in the world!
December 11, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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One is the loneliest number: the Pahrump poolfish is the last living member of its genus (Empetricthys). The 3 others (Ash Meadows poolfish, Raycraft Ranch springfish + Pahrump Ranch killifish, all also found only in Nevada) had gone extinct by 1960 due to human activity #25DaysofFishmas
December 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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Sugared Sunburst Lichen (I love that name), Xanthoria sorediata. Northwest Territories, Canada.
#lichen #fungi #fungifriends
December 11, 2025 at 12:09 AM
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#tidepooling Last month my cousin got married in Laguna Beach during king tides, so I snuck out just before the rehearsal dinner and saw a bunch of new critters! Here's a branched dendronotid nudibranch (~5 mm long), Dendronotus frondosus - a new one for me! 🦀🦑
December 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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One of my neighbors has been putting up these fish facts posters. All kinds of different fish, marine, freshwater, deep, shallow, all kinds. This is a good one. “Stg this real fish” took me out. Good work, neighbor.
December 7, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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334 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Spinel:
- An oxide mineral
- Forms via metamorphism
- Can be various colours due to impurities
- Its name comes from the Latin word "spinella" (little thorn) because of its pointy octahedral shape #minerals
November 30, 2025 at 12:48 PM
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Doodles for Hong Kong 🇭🇰

In response to the tragic Tai Po fire, I'm doing charity commissions. Anyone who puts over £25/250HKD into "Feeding Hong Kong" or Hong Kong SPCA can request a coloured doodle of any prehistoric animal 🙏
November 29, 2025 at 12:53 AM
I enjoy rescuing moths from water. They often find their way into bird baths and water dishes, I just put a finger under them, lift out, and let them rest until they dry off.
December 2, 2025 at 5:34 PM
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thrips
December 2, 2025 at 1:34 AM
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I learned about two projects that are supporting people to get food.

This one allows you to cover someone's groceries: findagrocerybuddy.com/become-a-don...
Become a Donor | Find a Grocery Buddy
Fund a verified grocery order through Find a Grocery Buddy. Pay securely via PayPal — we’ll place the Instacart order and send you proof of delivery.
findagrocerybuddy.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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This is the Sunburst Candy Spider from Thailand. Not AI (sucks to have to declare this). Very real and had been on my wish list for a long time.

The taxonomic placement is unclear, so we are leaving it at Cyrtarachninae.
November 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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@franzanth.bsky.social you may already be aware of the existence of this, but I felt like it needed to be brought to your attention if not: store.steampowered.com/app/2053910/...
Save 20% on Isopod: A Webbed Spin-off on Steam
You're a tiny pill-bug in a big world! Roll, zip, and slam your way through the gorgeous landscapes of the Australian bush, unite your fellow bugs, and fight back the greedy Fire Ant Conglomerate!
store.steampowered.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:18 AM