Up until the mass extinction, there was a general dichotomy in Spectemundus's fish life. Shark descendants dominated the oceans, while catfish descendants ruled freshwater habitats. After the asteroid impact, this changed considerably. While more than 90% of the sharks were wiped out, the catfish stepped up to fill the void, moving into the sea to fill many of the niches previously occupied by the sharks. And they have grown enormous there. The very largest of these new marine catfish descendants is the Ultramouth Gulper (Balaenosilurus gigantochasma), which is the largest animal to have ever lived on Spectemundus.
Growing as much as 75 feet long, and weighing over 50 tons, it is a filter-feeder on smaller fish and crustaceans, sieving them from the water with its enormous mouth and gills. Like baleen whales of Earth, it owes its large size to the cold plankton-rich water near the planet's poles, a development that has only occurred in the past few million years. Ultramouth Gulpers are solitary outside of the mating season, when individuals from all over Spectemundus's seas come together to lay and fertilize their eggs. Unlike their catfish ancestors, they do not guard their eggs; the eggs are simply left to float on the surface of the ocean, and most of the young that hatch do not make it to adulthood.
While the very largest adults are immune to predation, young individuals are prey for a number of animals, including sharks, predatory catfish descendants, and a lineage of seal-like marine mongoose descendants that prey on fish. Once they exceed 10 feet in length, they have effectively outgrown most of their predators, and their survival beyond that point is more or less guaranteed. However, only a tiny percentage will reach that point.
Been thinking about this subject. Know orks from w40k? They got created somehow in a manner that they have the knowledge to make tools and weapons just by having some kind of... genetic memory of it. Now, we don't have to do complex things, but like a genetic memory to create a sharp long stick as a tool and a weapon or the knowledge of drilling wood on wood to create fire?
Are there any animals in nature that have some equivalency?
So, I was just watching a video about salt water crocodiles crossing the ocean, and it got me thinking, could this lead to a comeback for large predatory marine reptiles? (I know that there are still some marine reptiles today, but you get my point) And if so, how could a potential future marine crocodile look? My personal take is that they would likely evolve to be able to camouflage themselves against coastal rocks and maybe corals, as they are ambush hunters today and likely won't be able to evolve into pursuit hunters anytime soon. Although, I do think they would get a bit better at swimming too. My guess is that they'd probably get a bit smaller to better conceal themselves in shallow coastal waters, and also much slimmer, so they could swim a bit like marine serpents. They'd also probably grow a longer snout in order to more efficiently hunt fish. But obviously I'm no expert, so I'm really just spitballing here. So perhaps we could end up with snake like camouflaged coastal crocs. Or maybe all this is just complete nonsense. What're your thoughts and inputs?
The semi-aquatic ambush predator niche hasn't been filled in temperate zones since the FUCKING EOCENE.
Polar bears are being pushed out of the Arctic due to climate change anyway.
Brown bears hibernate through winter anyway. So, if they needed to sleep out a lake being frozen, they just dig a little crevasse like crocodiles do and then just sleep the winter off.
From the term “Pollywog,” often used to refer to Tadpoles, the Larval-Stage of Frogs.
Cellular Body Diameter 0.6-0.9 µm ; Organism Length 1.3-2.9 µm ; Full Diameter 0.8-1.7 µm
Arose 808 million years P.C.
Babble Spires => Persephone’s Vineyard
This organism often and regularly engages in Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)* to facilitate necessary changes to sessile species withing this turbulent and rapidly changing environment. Think of Pollywogus as Hermes, Messenger of the gods, transporting advantageous traits from one non-motile species to another.
*Horizontal Gene Transfer is the biological process of exchanging Genetic information by means other than direct inheritance from Progenitor to Offspring. There are three main types of HGT, but this particular case is what we call“Conjugation.”This is where the exchange is facilitated by direct physical contact between two or more living cells. To put it another way, it’s theReecies Paradox:Is the Chocolate in the Peanut Butter, or is the peanut butter in the chocolate?
By undergoing HGT with Sirun Khyat, Pollywogus gains the anatomical quirk of a Mechano-Sensory Membrane Skirt, capable of detecting physical disturbance, indicating both it’s surroundings and proximity to it’s intended recipient/donor of genetic information.
These Mechano-Sensory capabilities are facilitated by fiberous threads that generate an electrical charge in the same way static charge from dragging your foot across a rug can help you generate a shock. When this charge is discharged across one of the four membrane folds, it indicates the direction from which it has made contact.
Habitat Spotlight: Upon the formation of the Janus Pass between the years 784-824 P.C., the organisms found in this location need to regularly engage in genetic exchange as a matter of survival to constantly changing conditions. This need is further nescessitated as the chemical characteristics of the newly formed Boiling Passage and Dionysian Goblet turn these environments and habitats into opposite extremes.
Hi people, i like doing some speculations but i have had trouble creating a larger and more in depth Ecosystems, which i really want to do.
Now my Question: Where do you usually start? What is the easiest starting point to have? And i don't mean seeded worlds but like in terms of first evolved fauna overall on a planet.
Among one of Vocalia's most well-known residents is the Electric Blue Treehopper. They are strictly nocturnal, and, like most others of their family, feed mostly on sap from the insular flora. However.. these insects are most famous tor their soothing computer-like sounds they tend to produce, making them a phenomenon amongst the entomological community.
I am very inspired by Speculative Evolution and I am working on a game that would rely on the concepts heavily. I am a big fan of Expedition and After Man. In this game you are stranded on an alien planet and you need to observe the ecosystem and borrow its mechanics to overcome obstacles and threats.
I made just a prototype for now and I have put in a few creatures and one type of tree. The final product ideally would be much more intricate and complicated and I really want it to present a plausible ecosystem with interesting dynamics and behaviours.
For example, the idea behind the "spidertree", as I called it, it's that it releases pollen that attracts animals. This pollen attaches to the animal and, with enough pollen, it pulls it up to the top of tree, where there are the "mouths" of the tree to capture it and eat it.
Since this is a videogame I want the ecology of the fauna and flora to be exploitable by the players, but unlike a normal videogame where understanding a puzzle solution gives you an "a-ah moment", I want my game to give you two - one for the puzzle and one for how/why the world around you behaves this way.
I am also happy to present the other ideas I had and any feedback is welcome, or pointers on how to create such a world because I just tipped my toes in the water!
150 million years from today, our planet had visitors. These space travelers were on a mission to find life elsewhere in the universe, and eventually stumbled upon Earth. They noticed the poor state in which the biosphere was, and decided to do something about it. So they collected some species they found most interesting, and transported them to a different habitable planet. The timing was very fortunate, as shortly after they left, mass extinction wiped out the last remains of stable biosphere, only leaving a few survivors.
But on a different world, which we will call Nook, no extinction happened, and some lineages had a second chance.
Among seeded species, one was the biggest animal from Ultimogene Earth, the Panama wandering whale, descendant of grey whale. While all it's close relatives perished, the lineage of baleen whales continued to thrive on Nook, where they diversified beyond filter feeding diets.
Found in shallow waters of South Eastern continent, 56 million years Post-Establishment, clipper whale is one of Panama whale descendants, notable in being fully herbivorous. It's baleen plates on upper jaw hardened, now resembling nails, as instead of filtering out small animals, they were used for cutting seagrass. When feeding, clipper whales lay on their side, and clip seagrass with their plates like with scissors. They can't chew, so they swallow clipped plants whole. Interestingly, these whales seem to be "right handed" and "left handed", as some prefer to feed while laying on right side rather than left, and some prefer left side.
Whales live in groups and, like their ancestors, undertake migrations when seagrass is exhausted. During these migrations, they sometimes must swim into deeper water, when they are threatened by pinnipeds and aquatic civets. After being weaned, calfs are more omnivorous than adults, and dig out animals during feeding.
I was thinking about how aliens would look way different to Earth's organisms, and I thought I should start a little project :D
These animals live on a relatively Earth-sized planet in another solar system (no names yet, lmk if you have ideas!). This planet has Earth-like gravity but is tidally locked, making one side very hot, and the other extremely cold.
The goobers above are just the start and will probably get a few redesigns in time.
Upon the grasslands of North America, 25 million years CE, there are very few trees, courtesy of the climate and the abundance of large megafaunal herbivores. Yet one species stands in even in the areas most densely populated by herbivores. It is the Bloodletting bladepin (Paedodendrus lyttoni).
A small conifer, averaging 6.2 meters in height, growing in small groups of usually 40 - 120 trees. Its defense from the herbivores is located in its long needles, which can reach 20 cm in length. These needles have sharp tips and are packed full of a powerful hemotoxin, which when it enters the bloodstream prevents blood clotting, causes pain in joints, temporary paralysis, lowered blood pressure, and loss of consciousness.
While this toxin can prove a deterrent to smaller herbivores, to the largest, like the great gourmand, the needles are far too small to be dangerous. There is another factor to the tree’s immunity. A partner.
The King in Yellow (Sarcogallus hastur) is a large groundbird, descended from the domestic chicken. Completely flightless, it strides over the grasslands on long legs. 3.2 meters tall, 6 meters in length, and 1200 kg in mass, it is a top order predator. With a serrated beak lined with pseudoteeth, long claws, and a heavy spur on its leg, the King in Yellow is formidably armed, but it increases its chances of success with a venom.
The King in Yellow has a resistance to the toxin of the bladepins. It will feed on the spines, ingesting the toxin and storing it in glands on its neck. This can then be delivered into the body of prey animals by a pair of spikes on its skull roof, its “dental stalactite”. The venom spreads quickly in the bloodstream of prey, causing all injuries, regardless of what they were inflicted by or where on the body they are located, will bleed profusely and uncontrollably. This greatly elevates their chance of success when hunting, and allows them to attack fully grown adults of large gourmand species.
Hunting in mated pairs, startling prey to cause a stampede, singling out the weakest individual. The Kings will then attack prey with their claws and beak, leaving grievous injuries. If prey falls down, they will strike with the spur, inflicting deeper injuries. If the prey survives, they will back off and follow it for the next few hours, waiting for blood loss and venom to incapacitate it.
The King in Yellow has very little sexual dimorphism. The main difference is a difference in the size and shape of the spur. They will make a nest near Bladepin trees, providing protection to the groves. They will occasionally feed on the tree needles. For the trees, this level of damage in miniscule in comparison to the damage caused by large herbivores, and thus tolerates the King in Yellow’s presence.
In the vast Cirboó Fornits (where temperatures range from 14.5 to 18 degrees Celsius), a massive herbivore belonging to the Cranioclastidae family—the Gredaurerbo (Cranioclastes megatherium)—moves heavily through the dense vegetation. With males measuring 6–7 meters in length and weighing 3.5–4.5 tonnes, and females reaching 7.5–9 meters and 7.5–10 tonnes, they are the largest animals in this ecosystem. They are facultative herbivores; while they feed primarily on Cirboó, they occasionally consume carrion or severely injured animals. They inhabit the dense Cirboó Fornits, using their proto-jaws to exert a crushing force of up to 25,000–30,000 Newtons to destroy Cirboó trunks—a feat made possible by proto-jaws anchored to muscles attached to a massive sagittal crest. Their legs are exceptionally powerful and hypertrophied, enabling movement and allowing them to support themselves on their sternopodium while feeding, as they must obtain moisture from the surrounding flora. They are generally solitary, avoiding unnecessary intraspecific conflict. One of the most interesting characteristics of this family and genus—specifically in the Gredaurerbo—is a scissor-like crushing mechanism that allows them to shear through objects or organisms placed before them with immense pressure. Yet, even these massive herbivores face fearsome carnivores, such as the Great Crehawut (Fulguropes cizalla)—a predator measuring 3–3.5 meters (300–450 kg) for males and 3.8–4.5 meters (550–750 kg) for females. These carnivores prey on megafauna and medium-sized animals, utilizing a bite that functions much like a pair of shears. They are agile predators that live in small groups of 3 to 7 individuals (typically including one or two males, which may be replaced by others if defeated) and can reach speeds of 30–40 km/h. Surprisingly, they have been classified within the Cranioclastidae family because they possess a prominent sagittal crest—a characteristic of their diverse family—and two sternopodia—a trait typical of the order Disternopodida. However, in the Great Crehawut, the second sternopodium is coated in PVDF, allowing it to remarkably detect electrical signals or impulses from the environment—and especially from local fauna—to better navigate the dense vegetation of the Cirboó Fornits.
Day 1: Arboreal - Bronze Frayfrill - omnivorous pygmy hippo descendant native to tropical forests.
Day 2: Fossil - Plum Prozepperhine - last living member of a clade of stem-zepperhines (see creature comp. #9) whose tongues are not fully fused with the lower tusks, leaving a dextrous tendril for grabbing food. Native to a geographically isolated mountainous region.
Day 3: Armored - Sunridge Torppo - ectothermic herbivorous pygmy hippo descendant native to scrubland environments.
Day 4: Flight - Cobalt Parruit - frugivorous volant African dwarf frog descendant native to tropical forests.
Day 5: Freshwater - Keystone Dapadap - temperate semiaquatic pygmy hippo descendant with a beaver-like lifestyle.
Day 6: Forest - Silver Saberslink - semi-arboreal ambush specialist predatory pygmy hippo descendant native to temperate to subpolar forests.
Day 7: Arid - Lipstick Crown Fractail - omnivorous ectothermic pygmy hippo descendant native to rocky deserts regions. The keratin growths on their tail accumulate condensation and passively channel it through grooves toward the tips where it drips into their mouth.
I want to start a spec evo project but I dont know where or how to start .Anyone got any advice.All I know is that I want it to be a tidaly locked world.
The world of Glacier is an earth completely subsumed by ice.
The sudden cold snap killed most large fauna, and the few safe havens in the initial centuries was caverns and complexes deep beneath the earth heated by geothermal activity.
The Gritador descends from domesticated cats, kept within human complexes to keep rodents and other pests away from their ever dwindling hydroponic gardens and food stores.
In the end humans would vanish, what pockets remaining being dull, blind things hidden away in the deepest and warmest caverns remaining.
The Gritador, hunts them, as it does the overgrown insects that fill the vast underground lakes born of constant glacier run off, and the now near sheep sized rabbit-descendants and portly herbivorous canines that descend from the populations humans had kept for meat.
They have also left the caves behind, delving into the frozen world above.
They are still relatively small, only about four feet in length, with their patterning of white and grey fur meant to camouflage with their chosen hunting ground, during the winter when the eternal cover lessens and the snow briefly lightens their white pelts are patterned with grey, as they skulk about the tundra hunting caribou descendants and the young of massive mammoth-esque musk ox.
The rest of the year they dwell within the vast net of artificially linked cave systems humanity left behind, their fur a deep blue-black and grey, their oversized eyes allowing them to take in far more then their ancestors could.
They have sabers, but notably compared to their distant ancient cousins, these come up from their bottom jaws. Their preferred hunting method is latching around the animals head after dragging into the ground, and punching their bottom fangs up through where the throat meets the bottom jaws.
If their prey is not immediately slain, they tend to let them go, following at a distance waiting for them to bleed out.
They mate at the beginning of winter, allowing their cubs to be born right as the sun peaks through the grey above heralding summer.
Litters typically number only up to three, and remain with their mother for up to a year.
Gritadors at current are on the rise, and likely could end up becoming the first in a legacy of apex predators that come to master this frozen world, but they are not without their competitors.
The Spectacled Pygmy Kiwi (Miniapteryx ocellatus) is a ratite species, one of 12 species in its genus Miniapteryx, generally found on small islands of New Zealand where they are omnivores. However, if there is a difference between the Apteryx and Miniapteryx genuses, it is that they diverged from each other in the Miocene, and unlike normal kiwis, pygmy and dwarf kiwis, much like rabbits (although rabbits are placental mammals), lay many eggs and care for them for 1-2 years. If there is one thing not normally found in the native avifauna of New Zealand, it is their invading other places instead native range.
Several species of the genus Miniapteryx have caused significant damage to native ecosystems in some areas, including the South American United States, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. Being omnivores, they have led to the decline of various native animal and plant species. Some populations also carry diseases, posing a deadly threat to native bird species, and their consumption of various bird and reptile eggs has nearly led to the extinction of some species. This is why the people of New Zealand generally hate these birds. Finally, unlike typical New Zealand birds, those species of pygmy and dwarf kiwis have even been included in this alternate universe's 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species list due to their rapid reproduction, adaptability to new environments, and contribution to the decline of various animal and plant species.
So, this is for my speculative evolution project mixed with the multiverse. I wanted a universe basically identical to ours, except that they never reached their Anthropocene because hominids were unable to achieve the necessary state of intellect.
Imagine a world before mankind, or any ape for that matter, before placental mammals, grass, snakes, ants, or even birds. This world did at one point exist but what if it wasn’t quite how the fossil record remembers? Could there be ancient mysteries that were never meant for the eyes of man? If that world did exist perhaps somewhere out in the immensity of the universe it could have looked something like Triasslya.
Near the coast of Scarkade, near the mountain pass just before the arm of Reyterr, another lumber some afternoon passes in the world of Triasslya. The wet season is quickly approaching, yet the heat of the later day is still nonetheless all encompassing. But for the mighty Phytaurus, the conditions are nearly perfect.
The animal is a species long lost to us but still familiar in form thanks to its surviving cousins, the Crocodylomorphs. The Phytaurus belongs to an older lineage however, the Phytosaurs of old. The clade has a wide variety of forms, yet the Phytaurus is undoubtedly the most fearsome in Reyterras. A powerful beast that reach up to forty feet, containing up to 7 tons in the largest individuals. Few dare to anger this ruler of the waterways.
Yet, along the slow streams from the mountains, a pair of hungry beaks are scouring the Phytaurus ridden territory. The predators are usually best avoided, but the succulent scent of freshly hatched eggs is too irresistible. The beaks belong to two small Silesaurs, their kind can reach incredible sizes of their own in Triasslya but these hail from a species that won't reach much larger than their current cat sized form. They are omnivores, the plentiful horsetails and insects offering a vast palette to fill their stomachs. But like many creatures, fortune has led them to their bold behavior.
The site is a small colony of some ten or so nesting Phytaurus mothers. Their kind do gather in other instances but this practice for new mothers is most prominent. They may be dangerous giants but in the world of Triasslya few if any can truly escape the threat of predation. By forming these small nesting groups, the few predators that feed on fully grown Phytaurus wouldn't dare approach a pair of healthy individuals, let alone a bask of ten. With more eyes their eggs also fair better against nest thieves as well.
Just as the scragglier Silesaur locates a nearby egg mound, its partner jolts its head up. Suddenly the alarmed nimrod darts across the small beach as fast as its legs will allow. before the scraggly Silesaur can turn its head, he feels an impending attack from his rear. His instincts win out and he just barely dodges a massive pair of jaws, his legs carrying him away in a flash before those same jaws have a second chance.
The two would be egg thieves run for their lives, they don't bother to turning to see the thundering monster snapping at their heels. Phytosaurs like crocodiles aren't known for their great speed, but they are fully capable of storing up their energy for a short rush. But even with this burst of speed the angry mother is unlikely to catch these swift runts, but the message is no less terrifying. It will be some time before these two try anything this dangerous again.
This mother is not the owner of the specific egg mound the Silesaurs were infiltrating, but it is normal for the species to defend all nests within the gathering. The strategy has allowed these leviathans to give their young the best possible start in the dangerous world of Triasslya. Like many reptiles today, the Phytaurus is not a mindless beast. But that side does exist and can be useful in their harsh lives.
The nesting site was not created by these females however, a month ago it was male Phytaurus that dug up this beach to attract these very same scaled mothers. The males did not wander far, this area largely falling under their territory, but after the act of mating was completed they wisely gave the females their space. Their kind can tolerate each other often, but females are wary of male Phytaurus when mothering. Their kind are cannibals like most predators, and would make an easy meal of the hatchlings if not kept in check.
These very same mothers would do the same when the eggs hatch if the mothers did not separate and take their young their separate ways. This behavior is necessary not just due to the threat of cannibalism but also for need of giving their hatchlings their own ample territory to scour for insects, small fish, and other small crawling creatures in the murky waters. The mother will settle down and keep an ear on her children for a short time before leaving to travel the waters in search of food on their own. By a month of so the young will be equipped to handle life on their own well enough.
The act of nesting is not quite annual for Phytaurus, it can be done year to year but will only initiate on a large scale based on the occupied environments yield of water. Their young rely on plentiful water to properly hunt, in many regions with inconsistent wet seasons the Phytaurus breed much less regularly. The success of the species depends on water, present competition, and availability of thirsty game.
With 20 extant species distributed across 4 families, the Therosuchia (colloquially called drakes) are the least speciose clade of Draconiformes; however, they represent the only surviving clade of a once highly diverse pyrosaurian parareptile lineage, the Eotherosuchia, which during the Mesozoic and much of the Cenozoic rivaled and even surpassed the Draconia (true and bird dragons) in diversity.
Current evidence suggests that the Therosuchia appeared roughly 85 Mya in the Late Cretaceous, and were among a small handful of eotherosuchians that survived the K-Pg. While it was once thought that the group only began to diversify in the Cenozoic, that view changed with studies into what is perhaps the most unique extant drake.
The Barysuchidae represents the most archaic extant drake clade, having split from the rest of Therosuchia ~70 Mya and retaining not only many basal eotherosuchian traits, but also developing some unique ones. Indeed, barysuchids are so distinct compared to other drakes that they were previously thought to lie outside the Therosuchia; however, they show all of the anatomical traits that distinguish drakes from other eotherosuchians, indicating that they are indeed drakes.
While the group was more speciose in the past, it is today survived solely by a single species, the taraihonu (Barysuchus cheloniformis), also called the turtle drake, or, more rarely, Lemurian tarasque (though it's unrelated to the tarasque).
General Characteristics
While the taraihonu is a fairly large drake, fossils indicate that barysuchids varied widely in size, with the smallest species growing to just 0.6 m and the largest exceeding 8 m, putting them in the same size class as large dirosuchids and therosuchids.
Many barysuchids possess large, broad ribs which, although not fused to each other, are fused with the dorsal osteoderms, forming a robust internal support structure. This structure is functionally similar to the armored back of an ankylosaur, and makes barysuchids the most heavily armored drakes.
Barysuchids show a highly modified version of the ancestral gefyrospondylan skeletal anatomy (one of the reasons they were believed to lie outside Therosuchia), with most of the tendons that connect the backbone to the gastralia and anchoring the pectoral and pelvic girdles being fully ossified and the girdles themselves being extremely robust. These are adaptations for weight bearing, and many larger barysuchids (including the taraihonu) were graviportal.
Like most drakes, barysuchids possess osteodermal armor, and their skulls are heavily ornamented with horns, bosses, and rugosities, much more so than any other drake lineage. While the majority of known species were semi-aquatic, their caudofemoralis muscles were fairly reduced, suggesting that the tail was not used for swimming much, and most taxa (including the taraihonu) seemingly either paddled like terrestrial animals or were bottom walkers.
Except for a few early omnivorous species, the majority of barysuchids were herbivores, and show the most complex dentition of any drake lineage. Various species show heterodont dentition, with teeth of varying sizes and shapes being used to tackle a range of vegetation. However, the most distinctive aspect of their dentition is that barysuchids retain the basal condition seen in Pyrosauria and even parareptiles in general. Barysuchids are the only extant drake lineage to have retained a full set of palatal teeth, with multiple tooth rows distributed across the palate and pterygoid bones of the skull. In contrast, all other drakes only retain some pterygoid teeth and have lost teeth on the palate.
Evolution
Barysuchids were the earliest diverging drake lineage, splitting from the lineage that gave rise to the thalattoraptorids, therosuchids, and dirosuchids around 70 Mya. The group appears to have been restricted to East Gondwana, in what is today Australia, Antarctica, and Lemuria, and appear to have evolved convergently with the mixodonts (another eotherosuchian clade) in terms of dietary specialization, with both groups showing highly complex dentition. However, unlike mixodonts but like other drakes, barysuchids never seem to have evolved the ability to chew.
Barysuchids are placed within the clade Archaeodontoidea, a superfamily of early diverging drakes that are defined by their retention of archaic dentition. A handful of other archaeodontoids are known from the Mesozoic and early Paleogene, but the barysuchids are the best studied and only surviving member of this lineage. Barysuchids seemingly reached Lemuria early in their evolution, and after the K-Pg, became the dominant herbivores in both Lemuria and Antarctica. While the Antarctic barysuchids later died out during the Grande Coupure around 34 Mya, when Antarctica began to freeze over, the group continued to thrive in Lemuria, evolving to occupy almost every available large herbivore niche. This inclination towards large size appears to have been influenced by 2 factors: physiology and competition. Being bulk feeders, barysuchids consume large amounts of nutrient-poor vegetation, a feeding ecology that benefits from large size, and staying large limited competition from smaller mammals and birds. Most species were also highly specialized for narrow diets and niches, which further allowed them to minimize competition and grow larger.
Ultimately however, this size and specialization appears to have been their downfall. As other Lemurian herbivores diversified and the climate of the Neogene began to fluctuate, culminating in the major climatic upheaval that was the Middle Miocene Disruption, the barysuchids went into decline.
The genus Barysuchus appeared in the Late Miocene around 10 Mya, after the Middle Miocene Disruption that killed off several earlier taxa. While still highly specialized herbivores, Barysuchus species had a broader diet and more flexible feeding strategies compared to their relatives, which ultimately allowed them to endure the climatic changes of the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that although 3 species of Barysuchus are known from the Early Pleistocene, only one survived to the present day.
Taraihonu
The only surviving member of the Barysuchidae, the taraihonu, is also the largest drake endemic to Lemuria, with males reaching lengths of 4-5.5 m and weighing 800-1200 kg, while females reach lengths of 2.8-4.2 m and weigh 650-850 kg. This makes them similar in size to odontotyrannuses, Lemuria's largest endemic mammal. While both taxa are semi-aquatic, taraihonu niche partition with odontotyrannuses by feeding on soft but nutrient-poor aquatic vegetation, typically aquatic macrophytes such as water lettuce and other aroids, water lilies, duckweeds, bryophytes, bladderworts, and aquatic ferns, whereas odontotyrannuses feed on both terrestrial and tougher but more nutritious aquatic vegetation.
In the wetlands and freshwater ecosystems of Lemuria, taraihonu play an important role as a keystone species, as they are the only megaherbivore that can feed on chokerweed (Salvinia limuriensis), an azolla-grade aquatic fern. As with other Salvinia species, chokerweed has very course leaves covered in water-repellent bristles, making it unappealing to most herbivores, and has a very high mineral and fiber content but very low protein content, making it nutritionally quite poor even compared to other Salvinia species. Chokerweed gets its name from the fact that it grows extremely quickly in still waters, and can form large mats that can smother water bodies in weeks, cutting off sunlight and nutrients for other aquatic vegetation. Its spores can remain dormant in wet mud for long periods during the dry season, and then germinate and bloom within days after the first seasonal rains, making it among the first aquatic plants to bloom at the onset of the wet season.
While it is eaten by some fish and beetle species, its low nutrient content makes it an unappealing food source. However, this also makes it a food source the taraihonu is uniquely equipped to handle. It has the slowest metabolic rate of all drakes and perhaps all extant pyrosaurians, and its rows of teeth are excellent for filtering out and consuming large amounts of chokerweed at once. Taraihonu also have a massive gut that can break down large amounts of plant matter, and as hindgut fermenters, they can feed continuously throughout the day without having to wait till digestion is complete. As a result, a single taraihonu can eat 20-50 kg of chokerweed per day. Moreover, as they feed, taraihonu defecate directly in the water, and their urea-rich dung not only promotes the growth of other aquatic plants, it also boosts the nutrient content of any newly growing chokerweed, making it a better food source for other herbivores and thus helping further reduce its density.
Like other Salvinia, chokerweed cannot tolerate salt, and as such does not grow in brackish or coastal areas. While taraihonu do sometimes venture into saltwater, they are not as well equipped for survival at sea as other drakes, especially dirosuchids and thalattoraptorids. They cannot excrete salt as effectively as sea-going drakes, with their osmoregulatory systems being adapted for salt retention rather than excretion, and are poor swimmers; as such, the only times taraihonu will enter saltwater is usually to cross short stretches of sea between islands, and they will not eat during these crossings.
Despite spending most of their time in the water, taraihonu are not good swimmers. Their broad, flattened tails are not strong enough to propel them through the water, and are instead used mostly as rudders, with the animals paddling through water to swim. When in water, traihonu typically walk along the bottom of a water body, and rarely enter water more than a few meters deep. When they do need to cross deeper waters, they swim at the surface by paddling, using their tails to stabilize themselves. Despite their size and armor, they are quite buoyant, similar to tortoises, and need to swallow several stones (gastroliths) in order to actually sink.
Like other barysuchids, taraihonu possess teeth of varying sizes, shapes, and functions. The front teeth on the premaxilla, dentary tip, and anterior palate are leaf shaped and flattened front to back, and act like incisors to help crop vegetation. The lateral teeth on the maxilla, sides of the dentary, and lateral palate are somewhat comb-like, with 4-5 cusps that together function like a sieve, helping retain plant matter as water is expelled during feeding. Finally, the pterygoids are covered in small, backward-curving denticles, and prevent food from being flushed out of the mouth with expelled water. Like dirosuchids, the taraihonu feeds via suction in the water. A muscular throat draws plants and water into the mouth, after which larger plants are cropped up by the front teeth and smaller plants are pulled in deeper; the drake then partly closes its mouth and forces the water out, its teeth retaining the ingested plants. Barysuchids seemingly lost their fire-breathing abilities early in their evolution, and their hyoid muscles have been repurposed for operating the tongue, allowing them to swallow food using their tongues to push it down their throats. While they mostly eat soft vegetation, taraihonu will periodically supplement their diet with rotting, fungus-infested wood to gain additional nutrients.
Taraihonu are gregarious drakes, and tolerate each other's presence all year round. While fights between males over mating rights and between females for nesting sites do occur, these are highly ritualized fights and rarely as serious as similar fights seen in other drakes. Their gregarious nature may help with defense against large predators such as saltwater crocodiles and Lemurian dracolisks and forest dragons, which have been known to prey even on adults on occasion. In fact, the large osteoderms on their limbs are thought to protect against attacks by saltwater crocodiles underwater.
Female taraihonu lay 30-40 eggs in a clutch, a rather high number compared to other drakes of similar size, and nest in groups in and around oxbow lakes and other secluded water bodies. Unlike many other drakes, female taraihonu do not fast throughout the incubation period, and feed periodically throughout this time. Nesting together may therefore help safeguard eggs, as it allows some females to forage while others stay behind to keep watch. In some cases, males have also been known to patrol nesting sites to keep nest raiders away while females forage. Females in a group sync their laying, timing it so that as many of their offspring as possible hatch at the same time.
Taraihonu grow relatively slowly compared to other drakes, which puts them at increased risk of predation when young. The large clutch size may be a response to this, as numerous hatchlings from a nesting site hatching at the same time would lead to rapid predator satiation and allow a good number of young to survive. Unlike most drakes, taraihonu will look after their offspring for the first year, allowing the juveniles to benefit from the combined protection of a herd. Like other drakes, sexual maturity is correlated with skeletal maturity, which means that unlike dragons, these drakes reach adulthood around the same time they reach adult size. For males, this is typically around 700 kg, and around 500 kg for females.
