“The finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is one of six porpoise species. In the waters around Japan, at the northern end of its range, it is known as the sunameri. A freshwater population found in the Yangtze River in China is known locally as the jiangzhu or «river pig»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A newly born Yangtze finless porpoise (top) swims with his mother at the Hydrobiology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on June 3, 2007 in Wuhan of Hubei Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Costumed attendees participate in the Dragon Con Parade, during the annual science fiction, pop culture and fantasy convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 02 September 2023. Thousands of attendees, some costumed, crowd downtown Atlanta for the annual Labor Day Weekend gathering. (Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA/EFE)

Omsin, a 25 year old femal green sea turtle, rests next to a tray of coins that were removed from her stomach after a surgical operation at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, March 6, 2017. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Cambridge University Professor and Fellow, circa 1985. Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76. (Photo by Gemma Levine/Getty Images)

Costumed characters participate in the 30th annual Dragon Con Parade in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 03 September 2016. Thousands of attendees crowd downtown Atlanta hotels and streets during the Labor Day weekend for the Dragon Con science fiction and fantasy convention, many dressed as their favorite characters. (Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA)

Jenny Parks is a scientific illustrator that also happens to be a shameless nerd, with a penchant for drawing animals, dinosaurs, imaginary creatures… and occasionally, people as cats. Somehow, she found herself with a bit of internet fame with the illustration ‘Doctor Mew’, and has been baffled ever since. With a BFA in illustration from the California College of the Arts, and a graduate degree in Science Illustration from UC Santa Cruz, she now resides in San Francisco as a freelance illustrator, fulfilling her destiny to make a living drawing cute, fuzzy things.

Tempering the violence of modern weaponry with charmingly rendered creatures, artist Xiau-Fong Wee captures a dark humor in her quirky drawings. While some of the weapons appear terrifyingly realistic, others such as in the ray gun wielding bunny portrait, speaks more to the fantastical worlds of science fiction. The anthropomorphic dispositions of the spectacle-wearing creatures also range in merry reverie to stern seriousness, adding to the delightful nature of these well-executed portraits. View more of the drawings below.

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station experiences months of darkness. The sun dips below the horizon on March 21, after which follows several weeks of twilight before complete darkness results. Photo taken on June 25, 2009. (National Science Foundation/Jeremy Johnson)