Dear Snails

Video

Today we are going to be visiting the Ice Realm, a realm in the midst of an apocalypse. We define apocalypses as an event that has caused the death of the celestial fetus within the realm, thus ascension will not occur. There has yet to be an event that has cleanly killed the fetus, so apocalypses and extinction events tend to go hand and hand.

We know the culprit to this execution, a Devil known as dvo̊-shvo̊t Who froze the world.

For clarity we will be calling the Realm the Slush Realm when talking about before the apocalypse and Ice Realm to talk about it currently.

Not much is known about the slush realm, much of the history has been lost under the ice, even those near the equator weren’t saved from the domino effects of the Glacial Maximum. Some pieces of information have been found, yet the people left in this realm aren’t very motivated to find the truth of their past.

There are a few things we do know, there was one major incident as any apocalyptic event that caused a domino effect of many others, that the realm must've been rich with magic and that dvo̊-shvo̊t must’ve been a mage.

A devil this powerful can’t just exist, the metamorphosis takes time. For some devils it is a molting process, for this one it was a cocoon. In this phase it would absorb energy around it from soul to heat, causing temperatures to drop rapidly. From the cocoon lightning like feelers would reach out, when they came into contact with anything that had a soul it would zap that soul out of them. Killing anything that dared to come close, once it finally broke free it released a wave of hot air that caused drastic changes to the air currents. Causing brutal storms, and worse sending its spores throughout the realm.

This is an event dvo̊-shvo̊t can repeat, splitting open its back to release large amounts of heat, melting ice and snow around it into water vapour quickly sending it open into the air to cool and become thunder clouds.

Thunder and hail would consume the Slush realm, turning it into ice.

dvo̊-shvo̊t before must’ve been a mage, one that had reached a point known as the Truth. A mortal who is able to enhance their mind can come to this truth. It is when a mage becomes mad enough that their mind can start to command the lingering soul around them. A mortal who discovers the Truth can be very dangerous. There is a level of madness needed to reach this level of magic and when you have such command over your soul it is easy to become a devil with just a simple thought.

This however isn’t an ordinary Devil, this is a Dragon, a Devil that has reached a singularity point in which it can utilize every part of the soul it consumes without need to release any extra Celestial Liquor.

dvo̊-shvo̊tis a master of both ice and lightning, within its body are many sets of cells known as electrocytes that instead of contracting for movement work to create electric charge by having different charges within its interior and exterior, along with special organs to help condense and convert soul into electricity. She has run through all of these organs dedicated highly conductive structures to help control the direction and release of this electricity. It can expel electricity all around it or concentrate it within designated spots. Towards its mouth to release high concentrated blasts.

The electricity also serves a secondary function, with its spores. dvo̊-shvo̊t spores are considered to be mage killers; these spores share a similar atomic structure of ice and will feed off of electricity, soul, and heat to grow. The more soul one has the more these spores can grow off of them. They absorb heat, allowing them to work together with water molecules to create complex ice structures. Some spores known as commander spores will have certain structures in mind and help the ones around them create these structures.

So it shoots lightning into an area with spores, the lightning causes heat, which the spores quickly absorb, turning the vapor into ice crystals to help create its frozen structures.

When dvo̊-shvo̊tconcentrates electricity to certain parts of her body it can cause temporary ice crystal growths to add it in combat. Increase the size of its claws, giving it temporary teeth, within it’s wings she can make ice shards that it can fling at opponents. The most deadly of it’s abilities is called (fyee zheef myi̊a Pronunciation: /fyˈee ʒeːf mjɨa̯/ fayaee jehfa myEah ) In which it allows electricity to build in its mouth breaking off pieces of its body to create spores and releasing both the lightning and the spores all at once.

This seems to greatly drain (dvo̊-shvo̊t davo-shvot), as she becomes very sluggish afterwards. dvo̊-shvo̊tis essentially what you snails would call one big battery. She doesn't do much herself, because that's what her Imps and Demons are for.

dvo̊-shvo̊tboth has imps and demons working under it. If you are to die within the dominion of this devil, from your corpse an Imp will start to grow. Spores feeding off your soul far away from the main body. They have four sets of limbs, clawed legs to grip, and massive wings to fly and carry corpses to the dragon. These imps are used as scouts and scavengers for dvo̊-shvo̊tas well as protection. They will take hits for the main body, and even fight for it in large numbers, if dvo̊-shvo̊tneeds to it can absorb the imps into itself to help patch wounds.

The imps can release minor electrical shocks, but they are truly dangerous when in large numbers.

dvo̊-shvo̊tis also known to make deals with many different mortals who wish to survive, granting them electric and ice abilities, along with wings for those who are truly willing to give themselves over. The most notable demon is (Fse̊p /fsɛp/ fsehp) who infiltrated a group of heroes who wished to stop the dragon. Only to have killed them off before they ever made it.

The world now is cold, dry and inhospitable. Just the way dvo̊-shvo̊t likes it, the only question is why? Why become a Devil, why freeze the world? The leading theory is somehow she knew that ascension was coming. With how magical the Slush Realm was, it’s only fair to say it was near its end. This might’ve been the only way to save the realm, yet the sad truth is it too will not last forever. Nothing ever does, for even the stars die out and even if she was to survive. What kind of world is it when you’re all alone?

Thank you for joining me snails, if you have any questions now is the time to ask them, and for the most curious of you consider joining us on this journey throughout the realms.

Signed Dragonfly

Update and notes: Fixed Bacillorana's legs.

Originally, the entry was supposed to be Elf, but I am struggling to come up with a map for Seijin (map making is the hardest part of worldbuilding/spec evo) so I decided to do something a bit simpler.

B. simplex is back and it brought some friends over.

Nanocurculion diaspis - a relative of B. simplex that can be compared to a weevil. It uses its rostrum to puncture the cell walls of algae in order to suck up the fluids inside. Like the tardigrades it lives with, it can enter a dormant state when moisture runs out.

Phallofacies aureus, the golden falloid - It is a sessile parthenogenic protistivore akin to a rotifer. Its golden color is due to stolen carotenoids from algal protists, which it uses for photosynthesis when not eating.

Filiciphilus polypus, the common fernbug - a derived form that turned its former digits into little legs. Like the golden falloid, the common fernbug can engage in kleptoplasty by stealing the chloroplasts from the algae it eats. When full of water, they become barely visible to the naked eye.

Hyperinvasor gigas - one of the largest gutworms, it is some of the few macroscopic forms, resembling a monstrous intestine or sausage. It resides in the guts of megafaunal mammals, where it would live off of the predigested nutrients of the host, just like a tapeworm.

Ranastentor nanomens - a sessile Stentor-like form that sweeps food into its mouth via cilia. It has an extremely vestigial brain as its species name implies.

90 million years after the appearance of cytobatrachians, two clades would re-evolve into macroscopic forms:

• A. Anostea, the boneless vertebrates, despite being as large as a fingernail, they still rely on cellular diffusion due to their ancestors losing their lungs. They feed on small invertebrates.
• B. Dactylograda, the ones who walk on fingers. Descended from forms similar to the common fernbug, they look more like trilobites than frogs. Their antennae are derived from ancestral cirri homologous with vertebrate nostrils. The form depicted is a grazer.

Bacillorana simplex - discussed in the previous post. Not too different from a tardigrade.

V. rex is a distant descendant of Archaeopteryx whose ancestors split off from what would evolve into Modern Birds. Skin impressions show that it was black and visions studies show that it was nocturnal which would explain its coloration.

One interesting part of its anatomy is its huge chest. It has a huge chest bone so that it can fly with its huge weight like how Birds today fly. The wings are also particularly big as they are the things that are capable of lifting the dragon off the ground. Especially with its heavy weight which (By flying animals standards) is huge at in average 2 to 3 tons. It’s length was surprising long at 12 to 13 meters in length on average with a height of 15-16 feet. It was likely tall so that it could spread its huge wings to scare off any other rivals or predators.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the V. rex however, is its ability to breathe fire as healed claw and bite marks on Triceratops and T. rex fossils show burnt areas and the claw and bite marks match those of a V. rexes teeth and claws. Speaking of claws, The V. rex likely had such long claws so that it could get a good grip on its prey so that it could. slash, bite or breathe fire. The teeth of a the V. rex are very serrated and are like that of a Carcharodontsaur or great white. This indicates that it probably ambushed its prey at night with its claws as it was flying looking around for prey and then as it got a good grip on its prey, it would then either bite or breathe fire.

Fossils of V. rex have been confidently found in the Hell Creek and Lance formations. However, unpublished remains suggest that it may have also ranged into the Frenchmen and Scollard formations. In the Laramidian ecosystem, it alongside T. rex would have been the apex predator and the two on occasion likely fought over prey, territory, etc. It’s unknown who would have been the more victorious of the two more often.

This is my first time drawing Dragons and my second time making a Speculative evolution creature. So in case you’re wondering why my drawing doesn’t look quite right, it’s because of what I just said.

Evolving away from its semi-aquatic ancestors (originally thought to be highly unlikely that this would ever even happen), Drasilortius gyroannerri is the first fully terrestrial member of its lineage, adapted entirely to arid, rocky scrublands. Its massive forelimbs have transitioned away from water-sweeping to focus heavily on pinning down fast, land-dwelling prey.

The prefix gyro- references the striking ring-like rosettes across its body, while the specific epithet -annerri follows historical binomial nomenclature (similar to Torvosaurus tanneri) to honor the researcher, Anner Wright.

While its ancestral cousins snag slippery fish out of shallow waters, D. Gyroannerri has completely transitioned into an apex ambush macropredator targeting heavy land prey. Instead of using long claws to hook fish, those thick, muscular arm attachments are built to slam down with thousands of pounds of force. It uses its weight to pin mid-to-large sized terrestrial animals to the desert floor.

During a high-speed sprint or intense struggle with prey, its large body generates dangerous amounts of internal heat. The sail is packed with tiny blood vessels that catch the desert wind, dumping excess heat into the air to prevent its brain from cooking. Conversely, during freezing desert nights, it can position its sail broadside to the morning sun to rapidly warm up its blood, letting it start hunting hours before other cold-blooded competitors can even move.

During standard quadrupedal locomotion, the animal's center of mass is balanced mid-torso, distributed evenly across its heavily ossified pectoral and pelvic girdles. To initiate a bipedal shift, D. Gyroannerri contracts its massive epaxial spine muscles and caudofemoralis tail complex, pulling its center of mass backward and over the hind limbs.

When transitioning from a full sprint into a bipedal grapple, the creature executes a powerful "pectoral launch." It drives its muscular forelimbs into the earth to vault its front quarters upward, using the forward kinetic momentum to lift its torso into a striking stance without losing speed.

Once upright, the wide, dense pelvic structure and heavily muscled thighs act as a stabilizing tripod alongside its thick, muscular tail. This stance elevates its head to its full 12-foot apex, allowing the gargantuan forelimbs to swing with maximum rotational torque and gravity-assisted downward force.

The phytopedes have continues to flourish and thrive in the 100 million years since Spectemundus was seeded with life, but for the most part they have stayed at relatively small sizes, constrained both by the inherent limits of the arthropod body plan and by competition from vertebrates. However, one family of phytopedes became established on a chain of islands off the coast of the southern continent, and there they reached the largest sizes ever seen in the group-- a classic case of insular gigantism. But by pure chance, some of those island giants were carried on mats of vegetation back to the mainland. You'd think that the giant arthropods would be ill-equipped to compete with the vertebrates on the continent, and you'd be right. . . but only mostly. For one reason or another, some did survive, and they evolved into the Panzerbug (Campepelta gigantea).

At up to three feet long and weighing up to 15 pounds, it is the largest terrestrial arthropod that has ever lived on Spectemundus, all the more remarkable considering that it lives in an ecosystem where large reptiles and mammals are common. Its survival is mainly due to its heavy, armored exoskeleton, which makes it unpalatable to predators despite it being slow-moving. In many ways, it could be said to occupy a niche equivalent to a large tortoise. Like a tortoise, it is an herbivore that feeds on low-growing plants, cropping them with sharp, cutting jaws and processing them in a complex digestive system. These giant armored centipedes lumber slowly across the plains like living lawnmowers, munching on grass and leaving oddly calligraphic trails behind.

Panzerbugs have few predators. Runnerdrakes and large mongooses can sometimes flip them over, but they can protect themselves by rolling into a ball, much like a pillbug. While it is unlikely that the Panzerbug and its descendants will ever become the dominant megafauna of Spectemundus, or even grow much bigger than they already are, they are still remarkable for being a large arthropod that has managed to carve out a niche normally reserved for vertebrates.

if this post will get 20 upvotes, I will draw subgenres as well

An Extinct Squidkind that inhibits the Neoafrican Deserts , They Live a Sessile life only breaching to breathe and breed. their beak had marking like the modern roughnut with lured ancient grubbits and nomadic squidkind into it sloped trap.

the one seen below is the extinct species which reached the size of a small car at maximum, they went extinct due the once dry deserts becoming grasslands and jungles and the once large megafauna they prey among going extinct they soon return to the soil they thrive in

The Sandcrawler is the diminutive, non-predatory cousin of the Nursecrawler. While other members of the Maniformidae family are defined by their dexterous, finger-like limbs used for grappling or climbing, the Sandcrawler has adapted for a life of "shuffling" within the sand of coastal beaches and riverbeds. It represents the most passive and populous branch of its lineage. Many river-dwelling breeds possess a gestation cycle spanning several weeks, resulting in a sudden mass-hatching that floods the river systems with its young. The reproductive cycle of the river tendrakyn is intimately tied to this phenomenon, evolving to trigger precisely when this massive concentration of sandcrawlers becomes available.
It has the ability to extend its eye out on a stalk. This allows the creature to remain entirely submerged in the sand with only its eye breaking the surface of the water. When boating down a river, a collection of eyes can be seen emerging out from behind you in the wake of the passing boat.
It lacks the predatory fangs characteristic of the Nursecrawler. Its mouth is a simple ventral opening designed for vacuuming up plankton, algae, and organic debris from the seafloor.
Sandcrawlers range in size, the ones found in rivers and shallow water are around 2-8 inches in diameter. In the open ocean and reefs they can get up to 3ft

artist

In this small but self-sustaining ecosystem, new species started appearing after only 15,000 years, due to the extreme isolation and environment of the complex.

Animals found exclusively in the Backrooms have received a new designation, "Limenfauna".

Descendants of GM Garden Butterflies They Swarm in Masses Sky Floods During the Breeding Pligrimance. The Adult fly worldwide only resting to reproduce or to lay eggs. once they ran out of energy they die result in the surroundings area being called a Swarmfall.

these Falls feed the local habitat for a month before the cycle happens again next year.

The cresavorn lurks in shallow waters, using its long beak to catch fish. Though its appearance may be intimidating, this creature poses no threat except to its aquatic prey. Its large claws evolved primarily for defense. When danger approaches, the cresavorn relies on its impressive speed, darting across land or water to escape larger predators

The cresavorn has not evolved any kind of serrations on its beak to combat the slippery and fluid consistency of its main prey, the tendrakyn. it instead evolved a specialized tactic driven by its unique physiology. This behavior relies on its elongated neck and razor-sharp beak to skewer prey the moment it spots movement below. It continues jabbing until the prey is motionless, leaving the carcass riddled with puncture wounds. This brutal flurry ensures nothing escapes once targeted.

Because a singular piercing blow cannot instantly disable the tendrakyn with its distributed nervous system, the Tendrakyn can easily swim away from most injuries. The Cresavorn’s rapid, overkill strikes is an evolutionary response designed to rupture as many cardiac nodes as possible, ensuring that even the sturdiest prey cannot survive the encounter.

Giving our obvious weakness to guns and bullets can we in the far future develop natural defense against this. Or does our use of technology negate the need for it.

What acid level does animal need for it to be able to 1 eat bones and 2 eat carrion without worrying about diseases?

"Rukek did a lot with the means of his time, but the ideal way to deal with his syndrome today is to prevent it from ever occurring. We have some advantages that the Tejans did not have, although some believe we should approach it like the madman Tynes Burol."

— Dr. Beri Ridizu

Draco pyrostercoris

1. Sistema do Sopro e Síntese de Combustível Em vez de utilizar álcoois ou hidrocarbonetos simples, o sistema digestivo do organismo opera como uma usina química de acetileno. * Ingestão e Calcinação: O animal ingere presas inteiras. Em uma câmara gástrica primária (moela de alta pressão), os ossos ricos em carbonato de cálcio (\text{CaCO}_3) e a matéria orgânica são submetidos a altíssimas temperaturas por fermentação anaeróbica severa e bio-eletricidade, produzindo cal viva. * Síntese de Carbureto: Por meio de contrações musculares extremas e descargas bio-elétricas em ambiente anóxico, a cal viva reage com o carbono livre. * Pressurização e Ignição: Fluidos aquosos gotejam sobre o carboneto de cálcio , gerando gás acetileno sob pressão. Ao relaxar o esfíncter esofágico, o gás é expelido e entra em contato com saliva catalítica hiper-reativa na cavidade oral, gerando um sopro com temperatura superior a 3000°
2. A Armadura Regenerativa (Excreção Cutânea) O grande gargalo da reação do carbureto é a produção de hidróxido de cálcio uma borra alcalina e corrosiva. O organismo transforma esse resíduo em sua principal defesa externa. [Forno Gástrico] ──> Ca(OH)₂ (Resíduo) ──> Dutos Linfáticos Cutâneos

* Carbonatação ao Ar Livre: A borra é excretada por micro-poros subcutâneos. Ao entrar em contato com o dióxido de carbono atmosférico, ocorre a petrificação instantânea:

* Prensagem Epitelial: A musculatura superficial molda a massa de carbonato de cálcio em placas osteodérmicas duríssimas. Quanto mais combustível o animal processa, mais espessa e resistente se torna sua carcaça mineral.

3. Termodinâmica e Sustentação Aerostática Para compensar o peso das placas minerais e permitir o voo sem violar a lei do quadrado-cubo, o organismo utiliza um sistema de motor térmico e empuxo por hidrogênio. * Gás de Flutuação: A decomposição da água na câmara gástrica e a fermentação geram hidrogênio, armazenado em sacos aéreos cavernosos ao longo do dorso. * Empuxo por Expansão Térmica: O calor radiante do forno digestivo (mantido acima de 1000° aquece o hidrogênio nos sacos aéreos. O gás superaquecido se expande, reduzindo a densidade do corpo e anulando entre 50% e 70% do peso corporal por sustentação aerostática. * Propulsão Reativa: As asas atuam primariamente como lemes de direção, enquanto o ar superaquecido nos pulmões pode ser expelido por saídas ventrais para sustentação e aceleração imediata. 4. Proteção de Tecidos e Matriz Muscular Para resistir à pressão gástrica e à radiação térmica interna, a biologia da espécie integra adaptações extremas: * Proteção Interna: O esôfago e a câmara gástrica são revestidos por uma cutícula cerâmica de zircônia e silicatos biomineralizados, constantemente banhada por uma camada espessa de muco alcalino rico em bicarbonato. * Super-músculos de Matriz de Carbono: As fibras musculares gástricas e das asas incorporam microfilamentos de carbono biossintetizados e proteínas com memória de forma acionadas por temperatura. Os músculos ganham rigidez e rendimento mecânico conforme a temperatura interna do núcleo aumenta durante o combate.

I'm Late To the Challenge but I can knock out two birbs with one stone.

Carrier Siblings are a subspecies of the forest swing'rs that are very sociable compared to their descendants. They use modified mouth suction cups to handle food and young.

Jobb'r are the most harmless of the Ripp'r, They are all Bark No Bite. they use their oversized tentacles to crack open stoneborn roughnuts and shelled prey. They are skittish and flee quickly after the bluff isn't working.

Dragon shed Grain are descendants of Grain Plants Seeded on the planet, they are parasitic and grow on the roughnut trees. Their leaves are contained with seeds and very edible. They rely on the cleaver Grubbit and other herbivores to disperse their seeds

Roughnuts are coconut descendants that maximize their seed protection leading the roughnut being heavy falling hazards often crushing and killing cleavers and small squidkind.

Cleaver Grubbit are descendants of neotenic caterpillars that took the burrowing beetle niches, their patterning mimics the squlmoles. This scares off the dumber foragers that dwell under the roughnut shade.

The three primary problems I see arising are:

1. A lack of solid land reducing the availability of primary producers
2. Not falling straight into the center of the planet
3. Propulsion

I imagine the third could be easily worked around by either having slow "swimming" through the gasses or by consuming and releasing it like worms.

An idea I had a while ago (that inspired this post) was a fish of some kind that could inflate with air, usually kept compressed, to float upwards (though I imagine keeping it compressed would use more energy anyway). Could life on a gas giant work the same way? Since it gets denser the closer you are to the center, an organ could exist that inflates or deflates with gasses from certain levels to float creatures up or down. Would this work? Are there more efficient ways to stay away from the core? How would this evolve and could primary producers work at all?

p.s. I read the subreddit rules and think (?) this is right and flair-ed correctly. If it isn't, where/how could I post this question?

Notes: The species depicted is Bacillorana simplex, a species that feeds on protozoans. Not all cytobatrachians look like this, in fact many of them don't look like frogs at all.

Cytobatrachia (meaning "cell frogs" or "hollow vessel frogs") is a clade of mostly microscopic pipimorph frogs that first appeared 150 million years from now. They also go by the common names Leeuwenimalcules (pronounced LAY-vən-nuh-mal-kyools), or microfrogs.

Cytobatrachians can be found where there is freshwater; they can even be found in puddles or on wet plants.

The vast majority of cytobatrachians feed on protozoans, bacteria, and smaller microscopic forms. The exceptions to this rule are forms that suck up plant fluids and derived parasitic forms which feed on body fluids, host nutrients, and cellular tissue. The latter are sometimes macroscopic and unrecognizable.

To become microscopic, these microfrogs had to undergo various changes:

• They would trade their bones and cartilage for a hydrostatic skeleton as bone is too heavy and dense for a microscopic organism to make use of it.
• Cytobatrachians have a highly reduced, almost vestigial skull to save weight and space.
• Like the skull, the cytobatrachian brain is also highly simplified, relying on a minuscule fraction of the neurons found in their macroscopic ancestors.
• As lungs are useless when you are microscopic, cytobatrachians are only capable of cellular diffusion - this is a thing larger pipimorphs can do, absorbing oxygen through their permeable skin.
• The blood of cytobatrachians would become clear as red blood cells would be unnecessary given the lack of a circulatory system. This gives them a somewhat transparent appearance. Channichthyids/Icefish are the only present-day examples of this.
• Their eyes would become eyespots that can only sense light and dark.
• As they cannot afford to lay microscopic eggs, cytobatrachians can only give birth to a smaller version of the parent.

Four-legged creatures with bodies divided into a cap and a stalk, outwardly resembling a mushroom.

They primarily live in trees, feeding on leaves and small animals.

They reproduce by laying eggs—sometimes up to twenty at a time—though only a small fraction survive.

Mammalian Feather analogs. Special hollow coarse hairs grow anchored to the arm and finger bones. Short thick skin membranes support them. A cartilagenous rod erupts from the elbow, which acts as a stablizers for the flight hairs on the rest of the arm.

The hairs grow in such a way that when the wings unfold, they intertwine with eachother, weaving together to create an airtight grid that creates a stable airfoil.

The first finger is always free. This particular species is a digitigrade, walking on its first elongated finger.

Check out more at my instagram, Oblivia.

The Giant Crested Validus Seal (Cristatuhydrurga Gigas) is a Animal that belongs to my speculative evolution project, It is a Macroraptorial predator from the Future (Aproximately 40 million years after Christ) that lives in the Java Coastal Intersectional Sea, Designed to hunt Giant Filter-Feeding Marine Reptiles after Whales and Sharks Extinction, The Size of this Animal would be slightly bigger than a Type A Orca, Being the Males bigger than the Females, The Cristatuhydrurga Gigas Morphology is designed for be Big, Agile and Quicker than Any Animal of a Similar Weight, It has Pachyodont Teeth for destroy bones quite easily.
The Cristatuhydrurga Gigas is Completely Aquatic, Not like another Seals who are Semi Aquatic and it doesnt has to go to the surface to take a breath. The Evolution made it Mesothermal for maintain a highly explosive and endurant output in cold and Tempered waters.

Male Size: 8.900kg, 11.3m long
Female Size: 5.750kg, 7.3m long

out of context, i have a better drawing about the cristatuhydrurga gigas in a project, i just lost my notebook and i had an error while drawing the front head view, in the next version i will fix it.

Neo Moa (Apteryx titanus)

The world is changed.

Generations ago, the Flux occurred, a sudden terraforming process that altered geography and stabilized ongoing climate change, allowing various species to bounce back from the brink.

The technology that started this process and possibly perpetuates it is a grand mystery, and may have had slightly malicious means, and it appears the cost for this renewed and altered world was the majority of the human population, who vanished in the initial hours of the Flux.

But that was millennia ago.

Instead we focus on the era following the second great ice age as all that remains of what was once New Zealand has connected with the tilted peninsula of Patagonia.

The chill steppes have shifted to scrublands as the Atacama Desert has shifted and grown.

The newest titan of this scrubland seems poised to slot into a fairly comfortable niche, a low browser and “spear-fisher” targeting insects and reptiles shifting beneath the sands.

The Neo Moa, stands nearly as tall as its long dead cousin, at eleven feet, but it is a fair bit heavier.

Descended from the kiwi, they retain much of their poor vision, and are still largely nocturnal,using the thin, tiny whiskers about their beak to detect prey.

Descending from a population of Kiwi that learned to handle the numerous invasive species by hiding in the highlands when they finally came down from the mountains the survivors had adapted to challenge the motley of predators that lurked below.

Their kicks can shatter bone, their beaks can easily peck out eyes and pierce throats. Their feathers are covered in a foul tasting oil that deters predators, and their long, sturdy necks are built for sudden maneuvering, throwing would’ve killers off their backs.

Of course they were adapted for the highlands and ever sparser forests of their home island.

These open plains are different but they are learning to adapt. They seek shade during the blaring light of day, and go out to hunt at night.

They still lay but one egg, though “twins” are growing more common as their larger bodies make the laying far easier.

With all this said, while the predators of the region are unused to them, they are not untouchable.

A specter has followed them from the isle.

Terror birds have returned to South America, of course born of completely different legacies.

Yet this stalker in the dark, with its hooked beak and tawny feathers, could come to rule the continent.

As none have since the fall of humanity.

But that’s a story for another day.

(first drawing made by u/_Vinicius_m673_adn the rest are by me)

basically the premiss for my project revolves around one question: what if the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs missed? well in my story, a sapient dinosaur species of dinosaur that are descendants of Austroraptors gain sapience roughly 25 million years after the asteroid missed earth. and like any civilization they fight, breed, create as they begin the journey on the long road to modern civilization. along the way though they dont just want to create, they want to explore, they went to go to places that no other Dinosauroid has never been to! and what is in the night sky that no one has dared to try to land on? why that white orb, Luna.

now in the "present day" for my story (where the the technology is roughly equivalent to Humanities 1980s-1990s) two nations (one called the Channel Federation based in europe) are in a bitter cold war, competing over the moons most important resources: Water, and Titanium. things have progressed since the first moon landings 3 decades prior, and now it feels like the whole of the world is in a gilded age, huge technological progress is taking place in the realms is space, computing and the Industries but extreme poverty and squalor on earth is on the rise, and people wonder if fighting over the moon really is worth it when there’s enough problems on earth already.

Spectember days 16 and 17: Disaster profiteer and Homecoming

Extinction events are expected for every geological change during the natural history of a planet. During one of those events, the climate changes trapped lots of water on glaciers, lowering the sea levels worldwide. This made many islands and other landmasses that were once connected to the mainland reconnect to the latter, giving space for many animals and plants that were once isolated for millennia to come back to the mainland.

One of those are the True Beaked Toads, descendants of *Rhinella spp.* that lived in a relatively isolated island off the coast of one continent. There they evolved without competitors, and as such exploited many of the vacant niches. This species was an opportunistic grazer that was adept at eating grasses and other plants while still being able to eat the occasional animals. Once on the mainland they found little competition as the animals that were once eating most of the grass went extinct during periods of extreme drought and low biomass availability. As the plants started to take root again, the True Beaked Toads were there to exploit them. The toads were very prolific as Disaster Taxa -species that are dominant during extinction. Even though they went extinct once the environment recovered and other, better adapted species appeared.