Talk:2872: Hydrothermal Vents

Current text: "... but could theoretically repopulate the surface if there were ever extenctions in the real world, as there have been in prior times."
Should extenctions be extinctions? 172.69.195.176 12:01, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I was the one who (somehow mis)typed that, and indeed it should. If it hasn't been corrected by the time I get there, I'll do it. (Related, or not, but my on-screen keyboard appears to have updated over the last day or so. I had to reset it back to how I like it (no drag-to-type, no 'suggestions' bar above, remove the emoji button) and I'm sure it's also resized vertically, meaning I may mis-hit 'keys' on different rows, but not sure how I got 'e' instead of 'i'. Put it down to an inexicable Thinko, perhaps?) Also, I might change to make clear that (e.g.) hydrothermic crustacea might (re)redevelop 'regular' phototropic versions (or those atuned to photosynthesis-rooted food webs, or something), instead of being chemosynthesis-rooted. But that could be too difficult to summarise.

...darnit, where's the tilde on this changed OSK? (Ah, there it is. Looks like they added a 'handy' numberpad setting, which I need to switch away from to get where the ~ still resides!) Yet another bothersome 'improvement' that I'll have to see if I can deal withn in the settings... Sheesh... 172.69.194.225 14:18, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Regarding the ethology of the benthic species of Rangifer tarandus, the May-Marks navigational hypothesis has now been largely supplanted by the idea of the "angler deer", in which the low-frequency luminescence around the covering of the turbinate bones is used used as a lure, attracting abyssopelagic subspecies of Daucus carota that would ordinarily avoid regions of such extreme temperature. Yorkshire Pudding (talk) 12:23, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

This may well be the most dark Christmas comic ever in the history of xkcd! And not even really funny. Don't get my wrong I can still be amused but find it a bit out of the ordinary for saying Merry Christmas ;-) --Kynde (talk) 13:36, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Oh, don't worry, this only traps benthic santas. As you'll have noticed, your own Julemanden has remained unaffected... As you can tell by the lack of charboiled reindeer or nisser, just beyond the 'chimneys' themselves. 172.69.194.225 14:18, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

The link to an article explaining Buffy the Vampire Slayer's slayer replacement system, is humorous & mostly apropos, but I feel that a link to The Santa Clause would be much more directly relevant?

The ecology and behavior of "benthic santas" (putative taxon Abyssosanta bathytroglodyta) may have been [ahem] profoundly different from the extant species. The clues are few, but they support the hypothesis that A. bathytroglodyta sought out chimney-like structures and other crevices for shelter and food, to which they were perhaps guided by a symbiosis with Rangiferpisces rubrum, the red-antlered reindeerfish. Predation pressure from hydrothermal vent chimney mimics (Nigroventus abyssosantavorus) would have driven A. bathytroglodyta to the surface. In a possible analogy, the Atlantic clawed lobster, Homarus americanus, initially a deep-water species, was driven to the intertidal zone by predation from Gadus gadus (cod) and other large fish - only to be confronted with intolerable predation pressure from humans, to which they eventually adapted. By this model, the modern Santa (Santa donator) evolved from its precursor species under strong human selection pressure. At least S. donator was, from its precursor's traits, preadapted for a high-pressure existence, and for the cold and dark of the Arctic. 172.70.214.80 16:51, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

<applause />162.158.33.141 17:57, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

By my theory, if Black Smokers are responsible for drawing in Benthic Santas, and removing them from the ocean, White Smokers are where Pelagic Popes spontaneously spawn from. Whether the two phenomena are directly connected (e.g. mass-for-mass) requires further study. 141.101.99.34 21:34, 26 December 2023 (UTC)