I've written my interpretation of what mermaids could be like
Sorry if this doesn't go here. I see many posts with pictures of their interpretations of mermaids. I don't draw or anything, but I wanted to add mine. And since I do like writing, here's mine:
Mermaids are ovoviviparous, often giving birth in a nursery area with others in their pods. Children stay in the nursery for the first three years of their lives, rapidly growing. At age three, they begin the transformation process, allowing them to switch between their normal aquatic forms and a more human one. The transformation acts as a defense mechanism, which is why it begins so early. Shortly after, they leave the nursery with the women to learn to hunt; once they get their first kill, the pups are handed off to their fathers and join their parents' pod. Pods usually consist of 20–50 mermaids. Most children stay with their fathers until their teen years, and the father teaches them day-to-day activities. When they reach physical and mental maturity, they either stay in the pod or are driven out by one of the matriarchs to start their own.
While they can get pregnant year-round, they prefer late winter or early spring. Mating often occurs in their human forms, while birth happens in their mermaid form due to the high number of predators in the ocean (their planet is 85% ocean). Women go through a 14-month pregnancy every two to three years, having one to three pups at a time. Most pods roam and won't stick to a territory longer than needed. Because land is rare, most of it consists of islands, sector 0 (the Arctic regions), and their south pole. They rarely go onto land outside of late winter or early spring because transforming is painful and taxing.
Some pods stay in one territory year-round. In these pods, you'll find more disabled or elderly mermaids, or those who help them. These stationary pods are more common in arctic waters than in warmer, tropical waters and contain most of the nurseries. All mermaids use shallow water for nurseries; the Arctic ones stay year-round, while warmer ones tend to be temporary, with many pods traveling to them to give birth. Members from different pods come together to raise pups. Nursery exit rules are flexible based on the temperament and social structure of the child.
When a mermaid is driven out, they either join a new pod or start their own. The strongest female leads the pod because of the vast predators on the planet. These predators range in size from the 11-foot Treader's to the 350-foot ghost whale. On average, mermaids are between 6 and 10 feet. Having the strongest lead ensures the rest of the pod has a chance to escape.
Females are typically more dominant than males. While females handle more hunting and resource gathering, it depends on individual strength. Similarly, males handle much of the scouting and care for the young and loved ones. Both women and men are affectionate to almost every pup in a pod or nursery. They also have diverse body types; those in the arctic regions or who dive deep into the oceans (which are roughly 14,672 meters deep, though most only go down to 2,000 meters) have more fat and blubber.
Strength is measured by both physical force and tactical intelligence. Within the pod, any female can challenge the matriarch, but they only get the position if they defeat her, which can end in death for either party. In their human forms, they look almost human, with slightly bigger eyes, smaller noses, slightly cooler skin tones, and some bioluminescence around their collar, cheekbones, stomachs, and arms. They have one set of lungs and two stomachs—one for indigestible material like bones, and one for digestible foods. Mermaids have gills on the sides of their necks and torsos, keeping this feature in their human form. While they can be upwards of 14 feet in their mermaid forms, they are typically 5–11 feet in their human forms. They also produce an enzyme that protects them from the Mora virus.
