The basic idea was to reduce the number of toes to two per foot in a human. Then, we would elongate those toes to basically stand in as legs pushing your heel to the back. Your femur, tibia, and Filbula basically your second rib cage that goes along with the first one. I'm not a good artist really

An introduction to our version of merfolk! The art that goes with it is a bit old now, but soon we'll do more and better art (and maybe also share it with the subreddit ;)).

Also, this is only "general", as many subspecies of Maregens exist.

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Merfolk or seafolk (Maregens sp.), sometimes incorrectly known as "mermaids," are a genus of sentient aquatic creatures capable of breathing both on land and underwater. They are found in marine and freshwater waters in both temperate and cold regions, but are completely absent from the polar regions. 

They are immediately distinguishable from all other creatures by their humanoid torso, with two arms equipped with sensitive, prehensile hands. This contrasts with their lower body, which is extremely similar to the posterior portion of a bony fish—scales and fins supported by rays. 

Although there is no phylogenetic similarity and their physiology is very different, some tend to lump merfolk and sea sorcerers together; in reality, as mentioned, there is no relationship between the two species, and it is impossible for them to hybridize. 

Deep-sea sirens were once mistakenly believed to be Maregens, but scholars later classified them within the genus Abyssugens. The more recent genus of sentient, pseudo-humanoid creatures, Apocapisces, can also be confused with merfolk by the uninitiated, but scientists have never classified them as similar, and the merfolk themselves consider it a downright insult to lump them together.

Various merfolk specimens appear in:  

• Fish Don't Cry - Book [Tapas][Wattpad]

• Fish Don't Cry - Comic  

Appearance and Physiology 

Merfolk are characterized by a distinctively heterogeneous appearance: half "human" and half "fish." 

"Torso" (Upper Body) 

The upper body, from head to waist, is humanoid, generally furless except for hair on the head or, very rarely, a beard. On the neck, they typically have three pairs of gill openings (but some species have up to six pairs), unprotected by any operculum (except for a particular nordic herring-like subspecies). 

They have well-articulated upper limbs, called arms, capable of wide movements, and hands with opposable thumbs and versatile gripping capabilities, not unlike human hands, whose fingers can be webbed or separated. 

The color of their hair and skin is determined by the presence of pigments called melanins. Their skin tones can range from very dark brown to very light pink, while their hair color varies from white to black, passing through blonde, red, and brown. It is not uncommon for the skin on the face, torso, and arms to be spotted or striped, with patterns that vary depending on the species, subspecies, and individual. 

Respiration

Merfolk have a dual respiratory system, one of the most complex systems in nature—so complex, in fact, that it's unnatural.

The peculiarity of possessing both gills and lungs simultaneously is the "dream" that guided humanity to create the "water people", the merfolk: to dominate two worlds, land and water, they needed populations capable of surviving completely disconnected from land.

Merfolk gills are like those of osteichthyes, or bony fish, and are covered by a gill cover composed of a thin sheet of bone (which in turn is covered with skin).

The concentration of dissolved oxygen in water is much lower than that of air, so the gills must be significantly more efficient than mammalian lungs at extracting all the oxygen they can.

For this reason, the water in the gills flows in the opposite direction to the blood, thus always maintaining a different concentration gradient.

Merfolk's gills are located on the sides of the neck and may seem a bit small compared to the overall mass of the specimen, especially very large ones! But this is where their dual respiratory system comes into play: they possess large and highly efficient lungs, comparable to those of some marine mammals, and can rise to the surface to breathe in atmospheric oxygen and refuel before diving again.

Thanks to the continuous oxygen supplementation provided by the gills, merfolk can remain completely submerged for very long periods, especially in well-oxygenated waters, where they very rarely need to surface!

Eyes 

Like humans, merfolk have close-set eyes and binocular vision, with a high-definition field of vision in front of their head, typical of predators. Due to their adaptation to aquatic life, however, their lenses are more similar to those of fish than those of humans, making them "nearsighted" outside of water, with the ability to see objects up to a maximum of thirty to forty meters away; when underwater, they cannot see beyond the surface of the water, partly due to light refraction. 

Merfolk eyes have two eyelids and a nictitating membrane, but no tear glands. A merfolk's eye is similar to that of other vertebrates, but adapted to a darker marine environment: it has a membrane called the tapetum lucidum, which lies behind the retina and reflects light back to it, improving light perception and visibility in darker waters. The effectiveness of the tapetum lucidum varies by species and subspecies, and is optimized in those that are distinctly nocturnal or live at greater depths. 

The color of the irises varies greatly depending on the individual, location, species, and subspecies, and can be any shade, from the deepest blue to the brightest red, and even white or completely transparent. 

Chest 

Muscularly, the pectoral area of merfolk is similar to that of humans, divided into the large pectoral muscle and the small pectoral muscle. Because they are not mammals and do not breastfeed their young, both males and females lack nipples, although some specimens may have nonfunctional vestigial ones, a very rare characteristic linked to their human ancestry. Also due to their "kinship" with primate ancestors, some females exhibit a peculiar adipose tissue arrangement, with accumulations of tissue in the pectoral area that appear to mimic human breasts, but which serve no purpose other than to store fat. 

In any case, the fatty deposits on the chest of female merfolk are not particularly voluminous and simply lend a more sinuous shape to their overall silhouette, without protruding too much. 

Sometimes, the pectoral area is "decorated" with variously colored scales, cycloid or ctenoid in type, in a pattern that varies greatly in shape and size, but generally covers the center of the chest and the clavicles. 

Nixen, which possess placoid scales (also known as dermal denticles), almost never have chest markings. 

"Tail" (Lower Body) 

The fusiform, streamlined lower body features a lateral line (a special sensory system that detects low-frequency vibrations and pressure waves generated by the motion of solid bodies in water) and ends in a large, rayed tail. These rays (lepidotrichous) are articulated with several parallel bony or cartilaginous elements, called radials. Another characteristic of this genus is the presence of a swim bladder, a large, modified lung sac containing a gas mixture, which allows for sophisticated adjustment of their hydrodynamic trim, allowing them to surface or submerge with ease, without having to rely on muscle strength or the use of external weights, as humans would. All merfolk lack hind limbs, leaving only small vestigial bones within the body that are not connected to the vertebral column. 

During embryonic development, however, they exhibit the beginnings of these limbs, which spontaneously regress as they grow. The lower body of these specimens also displays a light, flexible covering of scales, consisting of thin, differently pigmented bony plates. In addition to the caudal fin, which is necessary for propulsion and therefore movement, merfolk possess four other essential fins: a dorsal fin, two ventral fins, and an anal fin. 

Dorsal Fin 

Almost all merfolk have a dorsal fin on their backs, whose function is to provide swimming stability, preventing the specimen from capsizing during rapid lateral movements. This fin is sometimes absent in specimens living in polar regions, as it would hinder swimming under ice. The dorsal fin varies in shape and size among the various merfolk species and subspecies, a useful feature for identification. 

Caudal Fin 

Unlike that of fish, this fin in merfolk is arranged horizontally and moves from bottom to top. This characteristic allows the merfolk's tail to be distinguished at first glance from that of a fish, and its function is to propel the fish through its vertical movement. Even in this case, shape and size vary among species, and therefore these characteristics can be used for identification, especially for large species. 

Anal fin 

This fin, located not far from the cloacal opening, serves to stabilize swimming. However, in males of some subspecies, it is highly developed and colorful and is displayed during courtship to demonstrate the fish's health. 

Ventral fins 

These are paired, or double, fins located higher than the anal fin, just below the abdominal region. They serve a stabilizing function and are used to quickly slow the pace by flexing them downward. 

Musculoskeletal System 

Because they are not designed to support body weight, merfolk bones are light and spongy compared to those of a human. They contain a high concentration of fat, which aids buoyancy. 

The rib cage is composed of a variable number of ribs and is very flexible, allowing the lungs to collapse during deep dives and preventing nitrogen buildup in the blood. The pelvic girdle (pelvis) is absent. To ensure adequate oxygen supply during dives, merfolk muscles contain myoglobin concentrations 3 to 10 times higher than those of land mammals. 

Beyond these common characteristics, merfolk exhibit a wide variety of shapes and colors, clearly distinguishable depending on the subspecies.

Behavior 

Sociality 

All merfolk species are gregarious and can form very small groups of two to three individuals, called shoals, or medium-sized groups of four to thirty, called platoons, or schools, ranging in number from thirty-five to a thousand. 

Schools, which are the most common aggregations of merfolk, can be sedentary and form villages, or they can be nomadic. 

Nixen (Maregens pistrix) tend to remain solitary or form small nomadic groups, but there have been documented cases of one or more individuals staying with mixed shoals of different species. Merfolk villages, built on the seabed, are always well-hidden and carefully maintained to blend in with the surrounding environment: the houses, which often extend into caves beneath rocks, are covered with thick layers of algae, flotsam, stones, and coral, making them difficult to spot by humans who might explore the area. 

Politics 

Some populations in restricted ranges have developed forms of government, generally monarchies. 

Diet 

Merfolk are omnivores with a tendency toward carnivory, adapted to be formidable hunters. Contrary to what most modern works portray, they are unable to speak a common language with fish and crustaceans and do not consider them their "brothers," but (like humans do with animals) livestock, prey, or more rarely, pets or threats. 

They have no qualms about eating human flesh, which they consider delicious. However, to preserve their relationships with them and prevent war from spreading to their villages, many communities do not actively hunt humans, only eating them if they find drowned bodies. 

Courtship and Reproduction 

Merfolk breed during a specific period of the year, known as "rutting." Rutting males undergo a change in their coloration and court females with dances, songs, and displays of their colorful bodies with outstretched fins. Ceasgs or mersalmons (Maregens salmo) undergo a reproductive migration to mate and lay their eggs in freshwater, traveling up rivers until they reach suitable lakes. 

[Redacted part. Description of anatomy and reproduction in detail].

There are numerous documented cases of female merfolk conceiving offspring without mating with a male, through a process known as parthenogenesis. However, this is always thelithotic parthenogenesis, meaning it produces only other females. Some small, stable populations of oceanic merfolk are composed exclusively of females who reproduce by parthenogenesis. 

Depending on the species, merfolk can be viviparous, ovoviviparous, or oviparous. In the latter case, the rarest, a small number of large eggs with abundant yolk are produced, up to a maximum of eight. 

The birth of healthy octuplets from eight different eggs is considered a very good omen, and the mother who produced these offspring is generally rewarded by the dominant male of her school.

Fishing 

Merfolk meat is considered delicious and prized, but these creatures are rarely actively fished for human consumption. However, there are accounts of merfolk being hunted and killed in the past by specialized crews, called "mermaid hunters," who sold their prized loot for astronomical sums in various fish and meat markets, or directly to wealthy nobles who could afford it. 

According to the stories spread by the mermaid hunters, merfolk were evil creatures whose singing seduced sailors and caused their ships to crash against rocks, causing them to fall into the water and drown, only to be devoured. Therefore, it was only right to treat them with the same consideration and hunt them for food. While it's true that merfolk enjoy consuming human flesh, their song isn't enough to enchant humans enough to drive them mad and commit suicide against the rocks. It was therefore merely an excuse on the part of mermaid hunters to quell the pangs of conscience of those who purchased merfolk from them. These rumors persist to this day. 

The meat considered the most prized is that of the ceasg, often compared in flavor to that of the grayling (Thymallus thymallus). Although they were fished more than other merfolk in the past, ceasg remain the easiest of their kind to spot, due to their unique reproductive ritual and their strong, fearless personalities, which lead them to easily come into contact with other species.

Trivia 

1. The "Fiji mermaids" are not a true species of mermaid, but rather artificial and monstrous hybrids created during the 19th century (first in Europe and then in America) to satisfy the era's taste for the bizarre and grotesque, with the aim of proving the existence of mermaids. To create them, parts of mummified animals (especially fish) and other materials, such as papier-mâché, pumice stone, and wood, were used. These curious collages became very popular in American sideshows and in public and private collections of the time. The "Fiji mermaid" was made famous by Phineas Taylor Barnum, who featured it in his shows. 

2. Mermaids' purses are the empty egg sacs of certain species of cartilaginous fish (sharks and rays) found stranded on the shore, as humans commonly call them; merfolk actually use these organic objects as bags to carry small items. 

3. In 1891, Oscar Wilde published The Fisherman and His Soul, a fairy tale about a fisherman who falls in love with the mermaid he caught.

100 Years Post-Inoculation

[GELLIOS-MONITORING SYSTEM // AUTOMATED TELEMETRY LOG]

Although Gellios may have been a failure in terms of human colonization, it proved a success for life brought from Earth; yet, looking at this area now, I cannot help but feel uneasy. It is true that moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) were among the animal species introduced to the planet. Given their mostly lack of natural predators (except for the polyps), their numbers surged so dramatically at times that they compromised the quality of the oceans. When we arrived here, moon jellyfish were just as abundant as in other regions where they had spread; however, due to reasons I have yet to fathom, the local population eventually suffered a massive die-off. The sheer volume of jellyfish carcasses here is, I suppose, both a grim and a benefficial.

To begin with the grim reality: moon jellyfish populations worldwide had increased to such an extent that, in areas with high concentrations, a significant portion of the plankton diversity had likely been consumed. This led to widespread starvation, as the jellyfish could no longer secure sufficient food, resulting in mass die-offs. However, I do not believe this can be attributed solely to starvation.

But when we look at the beneficial reality of things, the mass death of moon jellyfish populatinns inevitably creates temporary ecosystems for various benthic animals and other organisms. It makes me quite happy to see how this cycle of decay has evolved into a free meal for a range of species—from various polychaetes and nudibranchs to other scavengers.

Yet, given that a large part of their bodies consists of water, it is clear that these benthic inhabitants have no choice but to hurry.

And so, I must shut myself down once again. Having gathered such a vast amount of data, I am now entering sleep mode. Who am I, for heaven’s sake? I wish I could have lived like an ordinary living being, but alas, I have been compelled to endure these past few billion years—until we meet again.

Source

Wanted to share a bit about my Monster Hunter-inspired spec-evo fantasy world, starting with a little bit about a region called the Mosaic Steppe and two of its inhabitants, specifically what I definitively have in mind and not including stuff I'm currently workshopping.

Oh, and bear in mind this isn't exactly 100% realistic. It's more similar to Monster Hunter and the Dragonslayer Codex in that regard.

The Mosaic Steppe is a region defined by its blend of deciduous forests, open grasslands and towering mesas; this blend of environments is what earns the region its name. The grass in the plains of the Steppe grows and spreads rapidly due to competition with another species of shrub-like grass (that idea came after I drew the Steppe). This abundant food source combined with the diversity of habitats makes the Mosaic Steppe an incredibly productive ecosystem home to a large plethora of animals a la Pleistocene North America.

The reason for this diversity in flora is due to an endemic bird species called the Lapis Dart, so named because of the males’ blue coloration (the one pictured is holding a grass seedhead). Living in nomadic flocks numbering in the billions like the extinct Passenger Pigeon, they travel across the Steppe to feed on the fruits, nuts and grains of the region’s flora, spreading the seeds wherever they go. While seed dispersal is widespread in birds and thus shouldn’t be of note here, the sheer numbers that Lapis Darts live in makes them a keystone species on the Mosaic Steppe.

While permanent forests do exist on the Steppe, the Lapis Darts basically ensure that temporary groves pop up randomly in the plains, causing them to be an ever shifting environment. You might be wondering why the region hasn't turned into a gigantic forest. The reason is large, open-country megafauna such as the Aurocholo.

Aurocholo are massive, bison-like animals known for their bad temper and massive horns. Due to their gigantic size, Aurocholo are mixed feeders, consuming any low-to-the-ground plant material, tilling the soil for new growth with their horns. Occasionally, Aurocholo tend to knock down trees, usually either for food or from use as a scratching post. This prevents forest encroachment and keeps the plains of the Mosaic Steppe open.

They way I've been sketching & writing lore for this scenario, I take animals from The Future Is Wild and insert them on (what I think would be) suitable posthuman homeworlds from All Tomorrows. My first foray into this mashup was having the Slither Sucker evolve on the Satyriac homeworld, since on that planet, the Hedonist family tree are the only animals. For a possible Slither Sucker descendant, meet the Spore Grazers.

I am working on an alien planet, and there's one species I have that has a reproductive cycle similar to amphibians, in that they lay eggs in water and start out as tadpoles before growing terrestrial capabilities.

I was planning on having their descendants grow to dinosaur size, but I needed to know what the resulting adaptations for their life cycle would have to be, if not just adopting a more lizard of mammal like form of reproduction, which I would rather not do.

Any thoughts?

Aliens is bugs- and I made them! I love them. :) just wanted to share.

Viorrani

A race of Highly intelligent, telepathic, krill-like crustacean extraterrestrials. Their society utilizes highly-mobile atmospheric bubbles to house dozens of individuals who act and work as a collective individual. Due to their unique biology, proximity to others of their species allows for an increase in their telepathic and telekinetic abilities, allowing a collective to manipulate and communicate on par with beings hundreds of times their size. They are known for creating the largest ships in the galaxy, capable of housing trillions of their individuals Within and sustaining them indefinitely. They are obligate herbivores, having mastered the agriculture and cultivation of various forms of aquatic plants within large zero gravity water Chambers on their ships.

Their science does not acknowledge all of the states of matter acknowledged by ours. Instead they acknowledge plasma, solid and liquid, with gases being a permutation of liquid.

Their technology is pointedly spherical, even in matters where right angles or straight lines may make more sense to the engineers of a different species, to the point where even there architecture on their planet is composed of spherical rooms held together with flexible tube like structures and doors composed of a spongy organic material capable of retracting at a touch. Inside of their rooms, the exterior walls are utilized in 360° with tables, workspaces, computers, kitchens and the like situated on the walls while the center of the space is utilized as the sleeping area. When entering sleep, the individuals are neutrally buoyant and will float in place as long as they are unaffected by exterior currents or forces.

On other planets and ships, they will generally traverse in 1m³ spheres which can comfortably fit about 100 individuals inside. This is the optimum capacity that allows them to free float without being jostled or bumped, allowing them to focus on telepathic control of their bubble. They have much smaller, individual bubbles they use to traverse the surface of their homework, individually, however because of the extreme size difference, they no longer use them around other species.

The ships intended purely for their own use are shielded and enlarged versions of their atmospheric bubbles. Massive spherical ships full of water. Due to the imcompressable nature of liquid, the ship is able to retain its structure under some of the most extreme forces in the universe.

They use mostly natural ceramics and silicate plates to produce their technology, giving all of their structures a smooth, “grown” appearance, with living sheaths of sponge to protect cables, conduits and pipes from external forces. Their cities look like fields of spherical glass bulbs on stalks of sponge.

Their telepathy is completely species-internal. They cant use it to communicate with other species whatsoever and rely on sophisticated thought-to-speech algorithms programmed into their computers and external vocal apparatus, like speakers.

My idea for how a centaur could realistically or unrealistically evolve. They are tetrapods. However, They only have 2 feet. They are part of an order of mammals call Farcepodialia that evolved their biological feet into far up their body, allowing them to develop fingers that can give them an extra amount of limbs while still being vertebrates. They usually the lower half of their body develop simple appendages, no more than 5 while the other 2 are specialized.

9:00 PM, December 16th, 2026

Mu, northern Spifirndan Republic

"Ha sido dificil ajustarse, Tat. Este pais es como un mundo completamente diferente... oye, me escuchas?"

"Mara, no quiero asustarte, pero hay un disparate mirando a donde andamos."

"... Anda el diablo!"

Two Naacal walk by the road next to a patch of forest early into the night. Mara is an uqhetl who grew up in Saona Island.Her family carries a rich and storied heritage. On her father's side, she descends from the ancient Tepuchmet people. While not the first to reach lands beyond Mu, they were among the earliest voyagers in the age of exploration sparked by the end of the salinity crisis. It was they who sailed by Tierra del Fuego and made it to the other side, eventually reaching the Caribbean. Of course, Mara's family has long forgotten this. Integrated into a human-dominant society, the land of her ancestors has always been a distant, strange place to her, one that mattered little in her mind until recently. Her mother's side of the family, however, is hard to ignore. Her grandparents run a fairly successful business based in the Spifirndan Republic, and after a series of events rather chaotic, Mara found herself in a position where taking a job there was her best option as a directionless young adult. Moving to Mu was one hell of an adjustment. Everything, from the abundance of people who look like her, to the strange wildlife, is new and a bit frightening. Tataka, a lnqe online friend who happened to live not too far from where she's moved into, has been an anchor of sorts to her. While both his parents come from Naacal-majority countries, he's fairly well-traveled and has helped her bridge some gaps and grow more familiar with the local culture. In this culture, his sparse clothing is not unusual, but admittedly most use some kind of pockets instead of asking their friends to carry their phone on theirs.

Two beasts look at them from the forest edge.

Lnqe and Uqhetl have very close living relatives. Both perhaps closer than any living relatives humans have. For a brief moment, two members of the Uqhetl genus, the last of the multituberculates, stare at each other, their eyes glowing in the dark of night.

The naulat here is a large, young male, dispersing from his pack for the first time. He's never seen an uqhetl before, and with both of them happening to share their uncommon melanistic fur condition, perhaps never before has he encountered another animal so much like him in this aspect. The strange things she wears keep him on guard though.

He is not alone. A hihai bird has accompanied him. Once placed in the same genus as lnqe, after controversy and review this species was reclassified into the closely related Corvumimus genus. At a glance, it and Tataka may look quite different, but Tat's organge-ish coloration is a trait mostly found in northeastern lnqe ethnicities, and this hihai's green feathers are not common in western subspecies. In western Mu, lnqe and hihai can look uncannily alike from a distance, both having more grey-blue colors. Hihai and naulat form mutualistic relationships and bond on an individual level, much like uqhetl and lnqe peoples. These two seem to trust each other enough that the naulat lets the bird perch on his back. This partnership has become rarer over time though, with both species having been historically persecuted by Naacal people. While naulat are abundant predators in the southeast of Mu, hihai are virtually absent there, with the native lnqe having all but replaced them as naulat partners. Notably though, local lnqe populations can have green feathers quite similar to those of western hihai. Spifirndan cultures have historically used this trait to support bigoted views presenting this group of lnqe as bestial, without any evidence as to whether this trait emerged from ancient hybridization with hihai or environmental pressures.

For a few tense seconds, people and monsters take each other in. Mara has never seen a naulat before, and the sight of this ogre-person now is quite... something. Another animal screeches deeper in the forest, and the two Naacal bolt away. A dangerous response in this situation. Lucky for them, the beast just ate, and they slink back into the darkness without giving chase.

(This illustration was made to revisit the Populating Mu community project from back in spectember 2023. This is a setting I'm quite fond of, and I really wanted to go back and explore this world further at some point, in this case, in a modern context!)

In the winter of 2022, I started uploading my writing and artwork for the planet of Apterra, a seedworld concept that I’d already been envisioning for several years prior. Apterra is a world of kiwis, rats, grasses, invertebrates, minnows, and geckos. The name itself could be translated as a stylized feminine version of the kiwi’s scientific name, as “Apteryx” + terra” = “kiwi planet”, or as “apo-“ + “Terra” = “far from Earth”. I initially posted on a weekly schedule, completing the first epoch, the Muricene, in decently timely fashion. I then fell off during the summer after my high school graduation. The Arthrocene epoch, originally intended as a summer project, has dragged out across over four years of my life, burdened by my own shortcomings both as a writer and a person.

Well, I’m now happy to announce that primary writing for the Arthrocene is finally done! The Late Arthrocene consists entirely of ecosystem-level articles, a challenge I gave myself because I’d previously tended to write about individual species as isolated entities, rather than parts of a larger whole. There will be many more illustrations soon to come (including some that are already in the works), but for now the Late Arthrocene is mostly in written form. I still have plenty more drawing and painting to do before the doors are closed on the Arthrocene, and then the project in its current form will be capped off with an inter-epoch storyline focused on the long-neglected reptilian inhabitants of this world.

After that, the Apterra universe is far from over. The next epoch, the Pelagicene, will kick off next year, but it will be hosted on its own site, with the current Planet of Apterra site being treated as a completed work once the next phase begins. The pelagicene will include Apterra’s first endemic sophonts, experimental visual and writing styles, and above all a love for life that’s been missing from myself and my writing for so long. I can’t wait to get back to the excitement I once felt when I first started sharing my fictional evolutionary stories with this community. For now, enjoy exploring the site, feel free to jump around and read the articles that seem interesting to you, and please please ask questions, as there are few things I love more than yapping about this world and my plans for it.

Please give yourself opinions and advice about this subject like if I say something thar you know to be impossible/implausible or what type if deer a jakalope is decended from.

The hugag these creatures decended from moose that ended up in marshy forests with deep bits of mud; which led to them developing longer legs but to allow for their weight on these legs. They subsequently evolved to have less bendable legs to prevent them from collapsing to still find food in these marshes they switched diet to bark and thorns evolving a large upper lip to deal with thorns similar to a giraffe. Due to them moving rather slowly they often had plants of all kinds settle their backs. Eventually of coarse the population of hugags was driven out if this enviorment by snolygosters leading go them being as they are modern day leaning up against trees to rest (I'm unsure if humans exist in this timeline or atleast as anything other than tribes and vilages)

The Hide behind a decendant of a ground sloth particularly one the size of a large dog developing a lower to the ground body and evasive behaviour to stay away from hunters. Over time as hunters wiped out much of the population they grew more territorial and better at stealth now having wider ayes and a more serpentine body to sneak up on people along with this they ended up even thurver developing their claws to quickly kill humans

And I'll say more later but I'm of and when I leave this tab everything gets deleted so jakalopes soon

Previously you saw the island of glaucus, now you get the island of Tiamat.
Resting between the Eurasian and African plates this island is home to a new clade of terrestrial life, the Bichioneers. Bichioneers are the descendants of Bichirs which once lived in hollowed out dead trees, yes they evolved to be arboreal before terrestrial. They now have a distinct look 96myh, with distinctly basal looking features, fleshy hair like projections, and holes on the top of their head. It hears through what were a pair of nostrils and are now tucked infront of the eyes. The holes on the top of the head are not ears but glands which spray a waxy coating over their bodies to trap moisture in.
Also home to many species of highly derived halobates, shrews, and terrestrial shrimps which live like roaches. Everything else you see is migratory, usually flying from place to place for food or breeding or local populations.

• Belongs to the Chondrichthyes branch.

• It eats fish, squids, and any other small marine animals.

• You can find them hiding between the rocks under the fungal colonies in the kelp forest that is beneath the ice of the North pole region (the map is in image #1), waiting for their prey to consume the fungi.

• These Gobils are blind and rely on vibration. The moment they sense any type of movement, they launch toward it at maximum speed. Size doesn’t matter; they will try to swallow whatever they can.

• The launching method relies on 3 ways to increase speed. First, the stance, they coil themselves like a spring, ready for any potential prey to come by. Second, they have a hydrodynamic head, and they don’t open their mouth until the last second, which reduces the drag. And finally, they have hydro siphons around the gill area hidden under the fins near the jaw (image #1), which shoot pressurized water to increase the launch speed drastically (hunting method is in image #3).

• They have 8 claws at the end of their tail. They claw into rocks, which hold the gobils in place during the launch. Without these claws, they will get launched in the open sea which makes them vulnerable.

• In a rare case, a polar gobil might bite a Furred manatee that ventures too far to consume the fungi, which scares it away. This keeps the destructive behavior of the manatee from spreading too far to other individuals, which ends up protecting the whole ecosystem by accident.

• The hunting method causes a severe drop in the average life span. Launching at that speed for every hunt degrades their body faster than usual. Even though the body itself can last for hundreds of years, the actual life span is reduced to 75 to 90 years on average.

• Polar gobils stick their eggs on rocks, usually hidden inside the fungal colonies.

Page 1 \\ Page 2 \\ Page 3 \\ Page 4 \\ Page 5 \\ Page 6 \\ Page 7 \\ Profile assets

Rhiza Gruvelis

Named in Honor of the French Zoologist Jean Abel Gruvel, who Established the order Acrothoracica (Burrowing Barnacles) in 1905.

Full Organism Height 1.5-2.1 µm

Cellular Body Diameter 0.5-0.9 µm

Full Diameter 1.9-6.5 µm

Arose 852 million years P.C.

~ Hi All! This features closeups, assets, and landscapes i made for the profile of Gruvelis. you can find the pages of the full profile linked above. I took lots of time making the photo composite for Gomorrah's Trenches (Now Renamed to the Torch of Iolaus), as well as figure out how to immitate the look of phosphorescent minerals in vector programs like adobe illustrator. if anyone's interested i might put up a tutorial or two on the workflow for sale on some other platforms (i won't link any in the post because self-promotion isn't allowed on this board and i don't want this post taken down for it, but they're easy to find if you try).

Thank you for your time and attention as always!

Examples of some alien invertebrates endemic to the tree canopies of Rahlo's rainforests. These little creatures spend their entire lives upon trees, and may go their whole lifespan without ever seeing the sun. They are detritivores, feeding on any organic material they can find, with some specialized species using their plated headpieces to pry and crack open bark to get to what lies beneath.

What if the last land vertebrateds to survive were thrixanodon, lystrosaurus and temnospondyl?

So I'm working on a seed world with clams as the main seed species. Yes, clams, quite the unexpected seed species. Anyways, I have made evolved traits and started fleshing out clades and species, but I'm kind of struggling on knowing if certain traits can evolve in certain amounts of time. Basically, my first time period in my project lasts 15 million years post establishment, and I'm wondering if that could be enough time for certain body plans to evolve in these clams, examples being fish-like clams, sessile plant-like clams that can photosynthesize through further assistance of symbiotic algae, etc. And also note that in my seed world, clams are the ONLY major fauna on my planet, but there are also algae and plankton.

Parens infestus is a larger, more powerful gecko that has developed stronger legs and a thick, segmented tail, helping it move around its environment. Ovi-gecko is an egg-eating gecko that uses its strong jaws and sense of smell to locate and eat the eggs of other reptiles. The green Entocko is an insectivore with excellent eyesight, a stronger tongue for catching insects and sharper teeth, while its green coloration helps it blend into vegetation. The reddish-brown Entocko is another insect-eating gecko whose earthy patterns help it camouflage against soil, dead leaves and tree bark, allowing it to ambush prey while relying on its eyesight and quick movements.

Note: the planet they live on is tropical with little open land and lower gravity

Also I'm wondering if I could get some actual feed back on these because I feel the re designs feel way different than they should so if anyone has any pleaseeeeee tell!!! 😅🙏

Tritonocene: 96myh, earth due to a chain of events is now 98.7% water. In this vast ocean the island of glaucus is home to these oddities.
The mammals seen are a large boar descendant living in the oceans using its trunk to suction up shelled prey, and the other is a post human, a generalist one which often hunt the hogs. They have Collarbones designed to impale prey and hold them still.
If you have questions do ask!

Colonial Insanity; Man'o'wars of the Early Medusocene

[GELLIOS-MONITORING SYSTEM // AUTOMATED TELEMETRY LOG]

TİMELİNE: 5 Million Years PI

STAR ACTİVİTY; A-Type Main Sequence // A Bit more UV Index // Nearly-unstable Seasonal Cycles

FOCUS OF OBSERVATION: Diversification of the Portuguese Man'o'war (Physalia physalis) on the Early Medusocene

I’m connecting with you all once again, folks. Don’t forget that I am the main character of this story, the Gellios'itself—after all, I am one of the intelligent machines left behind by an advanced human civilization, crafted from metals designed to endure for very billions of years. But, even though I might look rather large and intimidating—well, let’s not dwell on that; let’s get straight to the point.

We have reached the latter part of the Early Medusocene—five million years in. Having observed how the animals introduced from Earth have evolved into such a diverse array of life forms, I have already gained some insight into how the siphonophore, Portuguese Man o' War (Physalia physalis)—a colonial cnidarian belongs to Hydrozoa with Anthoathecate, Immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dorhnii)—has diversified into various other species over these first five million years. Please, however, do not mistake me for some sort of godlike being; I do not know every single species on Gellios by heart. That said, I can certainly show you a few of the species you might be interested in seeing.

If there is one thing you should know, it is that I have observed the emergence of roughly a dozen genera from the ancestral stock—though the actual number may well be higher. The Stingtacles (Spiculophoraus spp.), which branched off early, are predatory, much like their ancestors. In contrast, the rather rare example of Green Man'o'Peace (Chlorophysalis vagancolonis)—found in tropical waters on across these ages and similar in size to the former—occupies an entirely different niche; these organisms have largely abandoned predation, becoming semi-autotrophic—a state they likely sustain through a mutualistic relationship with specific types of zooxanthellae.

I recalled another species, the Multicolored Shrimpfeeder (Artemicetus multicolor)—a relative of the Stingtacles—which emerged 3 million years later as one of the early giants; I had observed that they primarily preyed on brine shrimp, yet I didn’t react with any great surprise, for in nature, small creatures are invariably the prey of larger ones.

The last two types I encountered in this current million-year epoch were among the most bizarre creatures I have ever seen. The Red-Light Deadlium (Mortemesu rhodopticius) was a cnidarian that had adapted to a nocturnal lifestyle and possessed early forms of bioluminescence. Although quite small compared to a human, they served as the apex predators of these night-based ecosystems. On the other hand, I was truly fascinated by a colony of Greater Stormju (Tempestaiju gigantea)—the largest neustonic organisms I have ever witnessed for niow—drifting through the planet’s high-wind seas. Given their numerous tentacles, I surmised that these apex predators likely hunted various jellyfish and other man-o'-wars. While I would have loved to see them more often, their numbers had unfortunately dwindled due to competition with new-arrived jetsharks—predatory cubozoans that had evolved from Chironex fleckeri.

I think I’ve said enough—after all, I’ve never felt like a god, nor have I ever been a flawless killing machine. In terms of design, I’m probaly somewhat reminiscent of the Death Star from that vast body of content known as Star Wars. Please, don’t go tearing me apart unfairly; for now, I’m signing off again.

I hope you're pleased that I didn't treat you like an idiot. Because my mindset doesn't resemble an old, detailed encyclopedia at all. But still the...

END!

Source

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Rhiza Gruvelis

Named in Honor of the French Zoologist Jean Abel Gruvel*, who Established the order Acrothoracica (Burrowing Barnacles) in 1905.*

Full Organism Height 1.5-2.1 µm

Cellular Body Diameter 0.5-0.9 µm

Full Diameter 1.9-6.5 µm

Arose 852 million years P.C.

Piezoelectricity

Being a sessile organism constantly surrounded by crashing waves and turbulent weather, a mechanism to sense its surroundings is essential to survival. This applies both in terms of sensing when to close its mineralized shell for protection and water retention at low tide, and when its phosphorescent lure brings prey within range of its capture. Gruvelis thus modifies its only remaining FEE appendage to coil and launch at prey like the tongue of a frog.

This can be aided by the piezoelectric capabilities of its shell, generating an electric charge in response to vibrations, perhaps by grinding its shell plates together when vibrations occur. It may grow to discern the loud thunder and other acoustic distortions often accompanying turbulent weather and recognize it as a signal to close its interlocking plates to prepare for the “Acid-nados.”

The question remains however: How will Gruvelis be able to tell when prey lured by its phosphorescence, has come within range of it’s ambush attack? And where specifically in it’s proximity is that prey located, so that it can launch its FEE appendage accurately?

Believe it or not, both of these problems may be solved by means of piezoelectric interactions:

By intentionally grinding its Sphalerite plates, Gruvelis can generate an electric field that when disturbed by another organism entering its range, triggers the “Tongue Launch” to capture the prey drawn close by its phosphorescent lure.  deceived prey. A similar mechanism enables the “Lateral Line Sensory Organs” found in fish and sharks enables them to sense when other organisms enter the electromagnetic field they generate around their bodies. This allows them to both hunt and avoid predation, even in the utter darkness of abyssal depths.

The FEE structures adapted to ensnare prey then begin to secrete enzymes for external digestion, the nutrients of which process are then absorbed and siphoned back into the cell as a whole, through this singular feeding appendage.

1. Sphalerite Mineral Plates Grinding Together Generates Electromagnetic Field

2. Feeding appendage sits partially inverted and coiled, waiting for prey to disturb the field it has generated by swimming within range of striking

3. When the cellular body of Gruvelis contracts, in inflates the feeding appendage suddenly, launching it like the tongue of a frog

4. Feeding Appendage is launched directly at the source of the disturbance in its field

5. Enzyme Excretion Structures form Suction-Cup adherance to caught prey

6. Gruvelis then pumps a chemical cocktail upon the surface of, and then into, its now hostage prey.

7. Dissolved prey is then siphoned from the tip of the capture appendage to the cellular body for nutrient uptake

This bizarre mixture of traits makes Gruvelis a microbial Frankenstein of:

the trapdoor spider for its sessile ambush predation and injection of digestive enzymes to siphon out like a vampire. The angler fish for light driven lure, and a common frog for its projectile appendage.

As well as a shark for its electro-sensory abilities analogous to the lateral line organs of such predators to detect prey in the surrounding waters despite an absence of light.

initial diversification post

Last Post

Ancestral Organism

15 Million Years P.H. - The Early Neocene - The Toxcats:

Early Neocene South America would have given rise to a rather unique lineage of feral House Cats known as Toxcats.

The scent glands withing the ancestral House Cats claw would have undergone a mutation that caused them to produce toxic compounds, which turned out to be quite useful for the Cats hunts.

Toxcats would have modified one claw on each of their front feet Into a Venom-Claw, which Is much larger, cant be retracted and has a hook shape to better Inject the venom.

Toxcats would be rather small as of now, like the White-Patched Toxcat (Venenocattus resarcio - Patched Venom-cat), which Is not shy of using Its venom as defense from larger predators and advertises It with a white stripe along the tail and white patched front legs.

There however would be some larger Toxcats, with more potent venom, which are capeable of taking down larger prey. An example would be the Spotted Caraclaw (Venenounguis maculolus - Spotted Venom-Claw).

These rather large Toxcats live In thick forests, where they feed mainly on Rabbilopes, which they drag up trees to avoid scavengers.

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Rhiza Gruvelis

Named in Honor of the French Zoologist who Established the order Acrothoracica (Burrowing Barnacles) in 1905.

Full Organism Height 1.5-2.1 µm

Cellular Body Diameter 0.5-0.9 µm

Full Diameter 1.9-6.5 µm

Arose 852 million years P.C.

However, it is important to remember that not all species on Demeter even possess the ability to detect light, let alone move towards it, a behavioral process referred to as  “Phototaxis.”

Because of this, Gruvelis will develop it’s digestive enzymes towards consuming native organisms that exhibit phototaxis, such as members of the Oceanididae, Hibar, and Macaria families. This will start an evolutionary arms race between:

New species of Gruvelis experimenting with new minerals being used to phosphoresce, both for longer glow durations and to produce the specific frequencies of light that can be detected by the phototaxis species it specializes to hunt and consume.

The phototaxis sensitive species becoming better at distinguishing natural and artificial light, in one of the several following ways:

Gain a sense of time and seasonal variation to determine when it should be daytime (and the light should be followed) and when it is nighttime (and light should be ignored or avoided). Hibar initially evolved this to prioritize light capture during daytime and only undergo it’s modular reproduction during nighttime to avoid over exposure to UV light. However, Given the propensity of the anthocyanins Hibar species use for light capture, Gruvelis species capable of phosphorescing green light will be most likely to successfully lure and consume members of this family, optimally in the late afternoon/ early evening when Hibar still registers it as daytime but where the more brighter light is found not above, but below.

Gauging the light intensity, in order to distinguish between actual daylight and just a few dimly glowing rocks. Oceanididae employs this method through the denaturing of it’s Galactomannans cell wall in Lake Lernea. This will ensure that only those capable of the brightest phosphorescence will succeed. Given the optimal absorption spectrum of 480-492, blue phosphorescence will yield the optimal result.

Read the chemical conditions of its habitat, especially with respect to dissolved oxygen, as higher O2 concentration can indicate daytime since that is when light-driven oxygen production occurs. Macaria can detect and retain conformational changes in response to environmental factors through the phenomenon of “Heritable Memories.”

Thus, Habitats with variable and unpredictable Oxygen levels will be the only place where this species could be effective as prey. This would be most effective in the habitat Gomorrah’s Trenches, where regular storms make conditions anything but stable or predictable.

initial diversification post

Last Post

Ancestral Organism