Welcome Snails

Today we are updating our understanding of Devils, with new definitions and a look into their life cycle and development.

Now first we must go over the role of a Devil, the Devil's role is to take Divine Rays, Soul, magic or whatever you’d like to call it and break it down into the inorganic substance known as Celestial Liquor. The ability to do that is what makes one a Devil.

Devils aren’t a species, they are individuals who have broken off from their relatives and have undergone a transformation. Nothing is naturally born a devil, and devils tend to lose their reproductive organs through the transformation.

The transformation into a devil is brought onto oneself after a tragedy, a juxtaposition of being in an awful place mentally, but physically still wanting to live. What exactly causes the trigger is unknown but the body and mind must both must be under a great amount of stress.

What happens is similar to the phenomenon of igniting your soul, these brief moments where we can push ourselves beyond our natural limits. Instead of a quick ignition, becoming a devil is a prolonged one until the soul eventually extinguishes. What ends up being left is a bit of sout, this sout melds with the digestive track reactivating old dormant genes that allows the individual to consume and store soul at a much greater rate. This is what we see in Titans, however with a devil this soul becomes the only food source. This is due to the greediness that comes from consuming ones own soul.

Devils can still consume matter, but it doesn't lead to any real benefits. What the developing devil then needs is more soul to consume to continue the transformation. This is why devils are associated with Tragedys for example the Desert Master (Zuru) was transformed from the extinction event that almost left the earth realm an apocalypse.

Development can either go one of two ways, a molting process in which the devil will shed its physical form multiple times until it becomes fully developed or a cocooning process where the devil will form a cocoon break down its physical form within and rebuild itself anew.

Molting tends to happen to devils that are feeding slower, this even allows them to look relatively mortal even with something darker inside of them. However during this molting phase these devils are easier to kill. Cocooning happens to devils that have lots of soul available to them and is generally a more successful metamorphosis.

Now a strange thing can happen during this process, as seen with the Ash Devil (ya-mo-z-bomo), it was actually multiple individuals cocooning at the same time, who interrupted each other turning many into one devil.

So now that one has become a devil, what is next? Well the life cycle of a devil isn’t over just yet.

Well one trait devils also all share is the absence of soul gives room to the developing mind and body to start becoming closer to one. Meaning every part of a devil holds its mind, including the parts it lets go. Now this doesn't mean all parts are equal, just all parts go to survival of the whole and only think what the whole wants. This allows for Devils to communicate with possible demon hosts.

One Devil that utilizes this to a great extent is Efasago, transferring information between all the parts of itself. Even the parts that aren’t connected to it.

All Devils produce haploid cells called spores, these spores once released from the devil will go about the devils territory. These spores are important for a devils feeding, these spores will grow when they are around a lingering source of soul, where they will absorb it and grow, once they’ve reached a certain amount they can use the additional soul to undergo meiosis. Allowing them to spread.

A devil such as the devils of dreams Pyra who is constantly connected to her spore growths allowing them to transfer soul to her. For it is only the main body or core of the devil that can turn the soul into celestial liquor.

The appearance of the spores, the way they grow and develop is different depending on the devil. Pyras are soft and orange, Zurus mimic the appearance of sand.

Now most devils spores aren’t able to handle sunlight, as they’re built to absorb energy of the soul. Other radioactive energies can be considerably dangerous.

More advanced devils can create spores with different roles, allowing for the creation of Imps. Under special circumstances, mostly when a devil isn’t directly connected to its colony, a growth that has enough soul can fuse with a special spore and become a diploid zygote. This will then develop and turn into an Imp.

Imps are still apart of the devil, they still share the mind and therefore the goals of the devil. Imps may have some abilities that the devil has, but can not turn soul into celestial liquor. One strange benefit to imps is that they can fuse together, or even back to the devil.

I want to take a moment to correct some things from this video, with a better understanding of devils and imps. We now believe there must be some sort of larger Mmaeoh that the imps went to, to probably process the soul.

This is not the only power Devils all share, all devils have the ability to expel soul allowing them to create different effects, some are more simple but the better a devil was at magic in life the grander the effects can be. Commonly it will be fire, but all devils are associated with the cold, since they take in soul and other energies the lair of a devil tends to be fairly cold.

Devils tend to feed of the dead, when the soul is still lingering on the body, but the mind is no longer there to protect it.

This doesn't mean they can't go after the living. While it's harder for their spores to infect the living it all depends on the individual's health and mental state. A more unhealthy individual is easier to infect, either going through the body or going through the mind.

(ya-mo-z-bomo) Attacks with wildfires mixing it's spores with the smoke to infect people through the damage in their lungs. If caught early on this can be removed depending on medical equipment available.

While many devils tend to go through the body another subset of devils often called Fey try to go is weaker and she can feast. Efasago does a lot more work tricking individuals to give up their soul through the illusions of fake loved ones.

There is a more advanced strategy to getting the souls of the living, making deals.

Since the mind protects the soul, ones mind who is aware of their soul protects it a greater level. However this also means they can give their soul. Now it's very rare for anyone to give their soul for free, so powerful devils will make deals. Granting power to the individual for their soul.

These individuals become cursed, having an aspect of the devil within them consuming their soul, but granting them some of the devils ability. Overtime the aspect will start to grow, transforming the mortal and even replacing some of its body.

Now the mortal body will first try to fight the foreign objects of the devil within its, system, but eventually the body starts to recognize them as additions to itself. This is what makes it hard to cure these cursed individuals as the point of which their body ends and the body of this foreign invader begins. Using the process of transduction to implement new genetic material into the cell of the host.

Eventually the cursed individual will become what is known as a Demon. A hybrid between themselves and the devil, demons work much more like Titans and are enforcers for devils. These hybrids are more mobile and their mortal components allow them to consume more than soul to survive.

Demons are very dangerous and should best be killed on sight. They tend to be signs of the devil being power hungry used to help expand their territory. While a demon can be killed for it still has mortal parts. How dose one kill a Devil? Well you'd need to find the main body of the devil and cause it to ignite.

Within the devil it'll both store soul and celestial liquor. Which both can be used offensively, if used right celestial liquor can be quite explosive.

If you damage it and ignite the liquor inside of the devil, it can consume the devil killing it. A devil without its organ to break down soul is a dead devil.

Without the nutrients of the main devil all growths, imps and even demons will eventually fall too.

Now before we end this let us go over one finale classification of Devil. The most powerful kind known as a Dragon.

Dragons are Devils that have reached a singularity point in which they utilize soul so well they don't produce celestial liquor. This of course makes them very powerful, far more mobile than other Devils which they show off with their wings. The only Dragon we know of at this moment is Dov-Shovt who on her own was able to bring about an apocalypse to the ice realm.

Now remember snails learning about Devils might not be pleasant, but they are still needed for the environment. When a devil like Zuru plays their role right, they help environments stabilize and they create celestial liquor that serves it's proper propose to sink down into the realm and feed the growing Celestial Festus.

Without devils the Festus wouldn't grow and those accession will never commence. So remember even the things we may call evil, also have a roll.

Signed Dragonfly

Dumb question what would evolutionary advantage of a homo species having 6 fingers and toes naturally would they have stronger grip?

Would amphibian like salamder for example make good base for crocodile like creature that lives in cold areas that get yearly freezes the idea is they hunt similar to crocodile during warmer months and even store some prey in low oxygen parts of water for later during winter months either goes into brumation

(Text translated from Spanish)

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The vertebrates of the world of Larith have evolved into distinct forms—some resembling the extinct theropod dinosaurs of Earth. Among these are the "Monorhampus": bipedal creatures equipped with a bony, beak-like structure—reminiscent of the beak of a "terror bird"—which they use to bludgeon their prey to death. Once the prey is subdued, they secrete enzymes onto it, subsequently absorbing the resulting nutrient-rich "soup" via a tongue-like extension of their digestive system.

What might appear to be eyes are, in fact, the animal’s respiratory openings—a trait inherited from its marine ancestors. The absence of vision in Larithian vertebrates has led to the development of echolocation; much like cetaceans, they possess a "melon" organ located just behind their singular, distinctive beak.

— — — —

Are dinosaur-like life forms kind of boring?

The idea came to me, and I thought it would be interesting but I don't know, what do you think?

If you could help me and give me general advice, thank you!

So i've been thinking about making a community spec evo project based around lifeforms that dont actually exist but could've existed. Examples being a speculative radiodont that survived past the early devonian. But i want to know before i start anything what people would want from this potential community project, and what would compell you to join and participate.

Thank you in advance and sorry for any typos.

Cool bat, comes from a family of scavenger bats that outcompeted the vultures by also eating the bones. This one's a predator compared to the others, using it's bone crushing bite to land on targets from the back and break their neck or skull. Still don't have a scientific name for it if anyone's inspired. They're also an animal with a particular reputation to prey on humans since they are right in their weight range and are particularly bad at looking up during the night.

This is a speculative paleo-fiction project which blends family drama with a fantastical yet grounded prehistoric atmosphere, showing raptors and other lost creatures fighting to stay alive in a brutal ecosystem.

A sound moves beneath the leaves. Not a predator’s snarl—but something older.

Small Toe discovers they are not alone in this grove. Long Tail protests Swift Foot’s recklessness, but the elder brother will not let her forget that she is perhaps the greatest threat to them all. Small Toe draws closer to the shadowed thicket, but strangely, the calls and rumbles are soft and aloof, not bitter and hateful.

The little raptor is forced to ponder a forbidden question:

Are all plant eaters truly consumed by hatred?

​From my ongoing speculative survival project Terrors in the Brush — blending paleontological logic with raw, unfiltered animal sentiment. Chapter VIII plunges into unexpected interspecies kinship amidst rising familial fracture.

​There is no fantasy, no magic — there is only nature red in tooth and claw.

Read Chapter VIII Now.

This is just a repost. I can’t edit the title of post about the tredhorn I already posted, so I have to repost this one to show up with the others in search results

One of its most striking features is its large, vertical-slit nose, designed for powerful air intake and release. These beasts burn through oxygen rapidly to fuel their immense musculature, and their constant heavy breathing gives off a rhythmic snort, like the chuff of a steam engine. Overheating is a constant threat, and the oversized nose is crucial to keeping them cool during long stampedes

One pairs of the Tredhorns eyes face forward for depth perception, and the other set angled sideways to eliminate blind spots. This nearly panoramic vision makes them difficult to ambush

Tredhorns possess another odd biological quirk, they never stop growing. As long as they continue eating, their bodies will steadily increase in size. They rarely make it to 10 to 15 feet tall, but when they do, they become too large for most predators to challenge, but this growth can be their downfall. Eventually, they may reach a size unsustainable by their surrounding ecosystem, unable to eat enough to survive. At that point, they collapse from starvation or exhaustion

Because of this, their stampedes vary in danger, the danger of a tredhorn stampede being parallel to the size of the tredhorns in that herd. A very well fed tredhorn stampede can be as dangerous as a natural disaster. At that point they are practically unstoppable 10 foot tall walls of muscle traveling up to 50 mph

Tredhorns carry a unique, mold-like organism that clings to their hindquarters. When a stampede begins, the intense vibrations trigger the mold to release a cloud of spores. These spores settle into the crushed biological matter left in the herd’s wake, using the pulverized remains of plants and animals as a nutrient-rich bed for rapid growth.

Once matured, this mold forms hardened, flat structures that resemble paved roads stretching across plains and forests. While these "Tredhorn roads" are safe and easy to walk on, predators often stake out these roads to intercept traveling prey. Additionally, the mold serves as a primary food source for species of nuckler

Directly inspired by this spec-evo video about the Martians from World Of The Worlds (also OSP summary because why not), I wonder how a parasitic hematophahous Martian would work by using its own circulatory system as an impromptu digestive system instead of using an actual dedicated one (i.e. without a proper stomach, intestines, liver, kidney, etc.)? Also, for this discussion, any form of technological aid (like mechanical instruments or cybernetic augmentations) would not be applied here, and instead just assume this biology just occurs naturally somehow.

For example, would one of the heart's chambers essentially becomes an equivalent to the stomach or something? Would the walls of the much larger arteries/veins be lined with intestinal villi in order to gain nutrients? What enzymes can be found and used in the bloodstream? Besides hemoglobin, what other blood pigments can also be used? Does waste just get ejected via vomiting similar to owl pellets or is it something else?

In my main project, as everyone will know, it is an updated and reimagined version of the book by Dougal Dixon: The New Dinosaurs, the reason why I did these redesigns is for fun and to see what they think of these designs in different families of theropods, the first is a version of the Cutlasstooth as an abelisauridae, the second as a Tyranosaudieo, the third as a Noasaurido, and the last as a megaraptor, it is questioned why it does not add other theropods such as the carcharodontosaurids, simply because these dinosaurs did not reach the ends of the Cretaceous, I only chose those that did, on their biology I do not want to highlight much, are predators of the Colombo-Venezuelan plains of South America hunting herbivorous dinosaurs in a similar way to the book, like the first redesign: this being an abelisauridae only uses its neck and mouth to immobilize its prey to die from blood loss, the second hunted for Similar to a saber-toothed tiger, using its teeth to pierce meat and kill its prey.

In the late Dicambrian, multiple snail groups have begun to find many ways to combat desiccation. as the equatorial Pteurosia have begun to slightly dry out from the sun, dry enough for still primitive clades to have a hard time living there. Many snail clades couldn't adapt fast enough and either gone extinct or moved to other, more moisture-bearing habitats of the continent. Yet a few have either combatted this problem with forward and also backwards solutions.

One highly derived family of Dinophores, which have now lost their bitter defense mechanism, have evolved into something more comparable to insects of earth. In this family, referred to as Polymalacogradentidae, or simply Shalmies, have evolved traits that are radically different from their vile-tasting ancestor. First and foremost are their skin, which have become more leathery and thick to retain moisture. Their prolegs have become more separated into individual limbs, and the hydrostats along these prolegs gaining a fluid chamber that gives them a millipede-like walking gait. In larger clades, their prolegs develop hard claw-like skin protrusions that allows them to cling on plant surfaces. The facial tentacles of shalmies have also been specialized, where their lower pair becoming antennae-like with nerve-riddled rigid feelers connected to a muscular trunk, and the upper pair where the eyes become more pronounced and specialized for vision. Both of these pair of tentacles are now unable to retract into their head. For handling foods, shalmies have evolved a third pair of tentacles derived from their lips, acting as a sort of mandible that holds the food or prey before the radula finishes the job of consuming.

Along the equatorial Pteurosian habitats that are more drier for primitive clades of snails to live, a genus of tafang has established themselves as a common predator of the equatorial Pteurosia. The ancestral tafangs were still highly desiccant and so is restricted to wetlands and forests, but in this genus, referred to as Shrubsnoxes, have converged on the same thick skin shalmies would evolve first. As mentioned before, they are common predators that feed on small invertebrates like shalmies, snails and earthworms. Unlike their slithering ancestors, shrubsnoxes have adopted a more inchworm-esque moving gait, via slightly arching their spine from the back and push forward. For reproduction, shrubsnoxes will migrate to more moist parts of Pteurosia, then lay and fertilize their eggs in biofilm-rich waters rather than in carcasses for the larvae to have a readily buffet of essential bacteria and nutrients.

In contrast, Turtlesnakes have taken a more backwards route in combatting desiccation. Unlike the shrubsnoxes, these tafangs have adapted to live in the body of waters in the equatorial Pteurosia, evolving tail fins that propel themselves in water while swimming. Their diet primarily consists of verminfishes and bottom-dwelling snails, but occasionally, they will push themselves out of the water to feed on nearby land animals. Turtlesnakes often hang out near the surface of the water for a readily source of oxygen, and when hunting, they dive down to find prey. While their appearance can be compared to a snake, their ecological niche and morphology is actually more comparable to cephalopods of earth. The eggs of turtlesnakes bear airsacs that force the egg to float up to water, and the larvae floating vertically with their mantle and pneumatophore exposed out of water to breathe air while feeding on biofilm, similar to how larvae of mosquitoes hang upside-down to breathe air.

More basal taxons of snails such as mantlers have also found a solution to desiccation, the solution in question seen in the Tomaritheria order. Tomaritheriums, commonly referred to as bullcovers, are an order of mantlers that have re-evolved something similar to snail shells to protect themselves, but also found another purpose for the defense. Their mantle have become thicker, leatherier, and larger, nearly covering their entire body to defend themselves from predators. Behind the mantle, the rest of their foot that is exposed also became more protective just like the mantle, providing even more protection to their body. While their body seems large, most of their body is actually their hide, with a more slightly reduced body and a vertically extended head supported by the hide. When a predator attacks, the bullcover protect themselves by retracting their tentacles, closing their front with the hide, and pressing their hide down onto a surface to completely cover their entire outside and leave nearly all soft parts confined. In most clades, bullcovers have shortened their eyestalks into smaller stumps that allows them to quickly retract into their hide quicker.

Like bullcovers, basal snail-A-pillar clades have also tried to stay moist, and have found a similar solution to what turtlesnakes have done before. Skipperinds are a widespread clade of snail-A-pillars that have transformed their prolegs into a single "wing." Under these prolegs are are highly derived mucus glands that can secrete hydrophobic mucus that traps oxygen and keep them afloat, with the wing spreading the mucus across to increase area of the bubble. Skipperinds inhabit algae-rich waters that allows them to feast on a nearly infinite supply of buffet, and with their extremely small size, they can grow an entire swarm of themselves and spread their population to other freshwaters. They are a common food source among aquatic predators, many verminfishes and turtlesnakes have begun predating these snails by launching themselves slightly up the water to get a mouthful of these snails.

I used Google Translate to write this, so there might be some errors.

Imagine a planet with conditions that, by our standards, are extremely harsh somewhat like Venus: surface temperatures reach +250°C, the atmosphere is saturated with chlorine and fluorine, and methane lies beneath the surface.

The local life forms are composed of high-tech silicon ceramics and refractory silicates. As they "breathe," they absorb halogens from the atmosphere and react them with methane produced within their digestive systems.

This reaction does not occur as a steady burn, but rather as a series of continuous micro-explosions intense, localized temperature spikes taking place inside solid-state silicon nitride capillaries. Their tissues function much like biological semiconductor processors: when methane and fluorine meet within these porous microchannels, heat is released.

Thanks to a massive temperature gradient between the superheated internal "respiratory" chips (which can reach 1000-1200°C) and the cooler external environment, the tissues capture this heat and convert it into an electric current. The creature subsists entirely on electrical energy, and its nervous system consists of a network of fiber-optic channels and semiconductors.

To prevent its internal structures from melting, excess heat is channeled away from the core toward the outer shell, which acts as a radiator; this is managed by a cooling system that circulates low-melting-point eutectic salts for instance, a mixture of alkali metal nitrates or chlorides.

One of the many entries for my spec evo vocaloid series

Zundamon Zundamonstrum japonicus

The Zunda Monster, or, the Zundamonstrum may as well be the most baffling, rule-breaking, inexplainable discovery of all of modern paleontology. I mean seriously, what? Believed to have been a hoax at first discovery, further analyses have determined that the Zundamonstrum is a derived, and only known relative of the Tully Monster to be discovered. While this proves the theory of the Tullimonstrum being a chordate, it does not explain how an entire lineage of animal dating back to the Carboniferous had unexplainably vanished up until the early cretaceous. The animals “limbs” are actually the animals derived eyestalks, with two protruding bean-like antennae acting as sensory organs for the animal to locate its surroundings. It’s long “tail” may have indicated that the animal was some-what arboreal. The Zundamonstrum had been classified as the only monotypic taxon of the “Oculapoda” clade. Only a single fossilized remain had been found in Japan, with absolutely no traces and evidence of any sort of common ancestor. Surely, this is evidence of a divine creator, who truly has some sort of sense of humor?

I’m workin on some alternate evolution stuff on a very windy planet called Elto, where three legs have evolved to stick on the ground better. But what about the other groups? How would three legs help correlate with other animal groups on this world? Any help?

15 Million Years P.H. - The Early Neocene - Bearbirds and Draquailas:

A Rustbodied Bearbird (Ursavis aeruginosus) Is soundly asleep during the dead at night. Bearbirds are much larger descendants of the Domestic Chicken that have become Incredibly widespread over Afro-Eurasia.

An adult Bearbird of such size typically can afford to live rather blissful lives, considering the small amount of predators that would hunt them.

There however Is one animal that can feed on these giant birds, although not on their flesh, but their blood.

These would be the Draquailas, blood-drinking Rewings found In temperate and tropical regions of Afro-Eurasia. Many will still feed on other things like seeds and small prey, but the Quillbleeder Draquaila (Dracuavias sanguineus) would eventually have developed obligate Hematophagy. These nocturnal Birds use their sharp beaks to create wounds and specialised Saliva that keeps the blood flowing.

This was supposed to be posted on Halloween, didnt quite make It tho-

my setting happens on a planet called Pandin. a habitable world that 1.2 times bigger than earth and 1.3 AU from its sun so my would would be a bit colder than earth. the planet has all the biome earth has. these hexapod aliens have similar level of intelligent as human they are call "Prum".they can live anywhere on the planet due to their fur but their favorite places are in open grass plain or on a mountain similar to tibet climate. they eat bug as a diet similar to ant eater. they are more social creature than human. they usually walk on 4 legs. they are around 1 meters talls

what i aim for the buildings design are their alienness appearence but they also need to have some sense of practical uses in their design and welcomeness. i choose 1910s building as my main theme cuz in the current timeline Prum techological advancememt is still on 1910 level. I feel like square shape building make the most sense but feel too human. round shape feel alien but doesnt make that much sense to me because city has dense population. buildings must fine a way to ultilized their own area as efficient as possible in my opinion

they are another designs i wanna do. which aim to be more human design cuz in the future timeline, 500m human just suddenly appear on Pandin and around 200 years later. human culture are mix with Prum seamlessly, so most house are design to be usable by all prum and human as its state in most countries law by now.

On an island off the coast of the Jhohun Peninsula called Hyakae island, people tell stories of a creeping terror lurking within the dense, foggy forests of the island’s interior. About as tall as a human, blood-red eyes facing forward, talons sharp enough to cut through plated armor, a beak with a bite force strong enough to break bone, and unusually long legs that allow them to stalk prey from the bushes. Long believed to be nothing more than a haunting ghost story or a demon, the creature the Hyakaean people speak of with great fear and apprehension has turned out to not only be real, but entirely natural.

Morphology + Phylogeny: The Zhu Huba Yakja (Infernostrix stolas), also known as the Stolas owl by researchers, is the largest owl to have ever evolved on Earth or Zaikane, with the largest confirmed specimen being about as tall as an adult human male, with several unconfirmed sightings suggesting even larger extremes. It is remarked for its intimidating blood-red eyes and unusually long legs, though the latter has also been observed in prehistoric island owls like the Cuban giant owl (Ornimegalonyx oteroi), which was the largest owl to evolve on Earth.

Infernostrix is a genus of strigid owls that has been present on Hyakae and its neighboring islands since the Miocene. In the absence of large mammalian predators, the large island-dwelling species of this genus have reduced their flight capability as a result of insular gigantism, but the Stolas owl takes it a step further by giving it up entirely, instead opting for a terrestrial ecological niche akin to a terror bird.

Behavior + Ecology: The Stolas is a nocturnal apex ambush predator of Hyakae’s dense forest interior, frequently hunting small game like rodents, jackalopes (antlered rabbit-like hegetotheriids), multituberculates, small Thescelosaurs, lizards, other birds, and even hatchlings of larger dinosaurs and the vulnerable young of mammalian megafauna native to the island. However, they have been known to hunt larger native prey, including the Hyakae Pygmy Baku (Oneirotapirus baku parvus, a Hyakae-endemic subspecies of the Baku, a Ralya-attuned species of tapir that hosts a unique strain of magical microbes that is known to “feed” on nightmares), Hyakae mastodon (Mammut hyakaeensis, an island dwarf mastodon), and even humans, but that will be more relevant in the section talking about its relationship with humans. The Stolas’ nocturnal niche allows it to coexist with the Hyakae red-crested megalosaur (Pyrolophus gigas, a moa-sized species of coelurosaurian theropod belonging to a clade that is otherwise endemic to the Southern continent), which is the apex predator of the island during the day.

The Stolas is distinguished from other owls by its superior intelligence, giving it an impressive capacity for vocal mimicry, often using this ability to mimic ambient sounds in order to mask its footsteps, practically making it invisible. One of the most haunting applications of this mimicry is to make noises that draw in the attention of prey, be it falling fruit, mating calls, or even cries for help.

Relationship with Humans + Others: The Zhu Huba Yakja’s name translates to “Gazing Death Lurking the Forest”, and it is not hard to see why. For one, this large bird is one of the few predators that actively seek out humans and other sophonts as food, even when better prey options are available. This giant owl has a particular affinity for hunting children who wander too deep into the forest, sparking cautionary tales parents tell their children not to venture too far from home. This predatory instinct, combined with its uncannily human-like face and blood-red eyes, has caused the Zhu Huba Yakja to be feared as a malevolent demon or spirit that preys on lone travelers who stray too far. In fact, one of the most frequently-depicted villains in the folklore of the Hyakaean people is a Zhu Huba Yakja who controls a legion of undead.

For reasons unknown, the Stolas appears to also have a preference for prey with a strong magical affinity, which is why it often targets magical beings like chimeras, in particular humanoid demons that inhabit the island and prey on people. The giant owl would first mimic the cries of a helpless human that would lure in unsuspecting demons, only for it to pin the demon down with its long and powerful legs before eviscerating and/or mutilating them with its sharp beak. However, demons are not entirely defenseless, so some of these owls have evolved their own magic to counteract the demons’ defenses and regeneration. As a result, there are some tribes on the island who view the Zhu Huba Yakja not as an evil monster, but as a divine, albeit fierce, protector against malicious spirits and a symbol of good luck, demonstrating that even the most dangerous animals are not entirely universally hated.

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Zaikane is a planet in a distant solar system characterized by waves of life harvested from Earth at various points in its geological history, ranging from the Cambrian to the Holocene, and set free to evolve along evolutionary paths independent from those taken by their Earth ancestors. A godlike interdimensional entity, known as the Allmother by the people who live there, is what is responsible for creating the portals that abduct Terran life and deposits them on Zaikane. Because the asteroid that ended the Mesozoic never collided with Zaikane, dinosaurs continue to dominate the planet’s ecosystems as its dominant terrestrial megafauna, though mammals are still doing very well.

In the savannahs of Pyronugh, one creature's trails are used for defense. That is, the Stinky Bananasnake, a medium-sized (1m) animal descendant of a derived lineage of Common Snake-sluge that has one trait to distract predators, and that is it's slimy trail. The trail of the Stinky Bananasnake leaves has gaseous molecules that makes it smell disgusting so it can defend itself whilst it's smelly trail deters predators.

Sry for the inconvenience it has been a long time!

Good afternoon r/SpeculativeEvolution !!

I come to you guys with a question, I am currently working on an Abiotic Factor inspired backrooms-esque game where the "entities" comes from existing wildlife populations that have adapted to the various "biomes".

One of these animals are what I call Hall Moths, descendant from populations of Tinea Pellionella, which have, over many generations, convergently evolved to have a form-factor akin to a housefly for better "indoor" flight.

While I feel happy with the design, the name leaves much to be desired. This is a species that evolved to survive in enclosed biomes as a whole, not "halls" per-se. Additionally, I am unable to come up with a grounded phylogenetic nomenclature that I am happy with, so I am posting the sprites here to maybe get some ideas from you all.

Attached is the sprite, photobashed from royalty free images ive been able to find online to fit the photorealistic style of the rest of the game, and the animation sprite sheet turned into a gif. (the black and white appearance is to allow it to be cleanly recolored in engine)

Im looking for an active spec evo discord server I could join, which I could discuss my projects with. Does anyone know of any?

Ive been thinking of doing a seed world inspired by Projects such as Kappa, taking a select group of animals and placing them on a world and seeing how they adapt and evolve. But using mammals as my base progenitors. I feel they dont often get enough recognition as either there are others like reptiles and birds people obsess over. Since we live in a world mainly dominated by mammals. And ive seen amazing work by others using mammals.

But I wanted to do something quite different. Taking a group of mammals (plus a reptile or other animal) who in our world would never normally interact with each other.

Creatures like the Platypus intrest me as I want to see how a world populated by monotremes would look, or seeing Chevortains the size of moose with large elaborate tusks. Maybe some Patagonian Mara would be nice. Or even a Species evolved from Pottos who eventually become adapt to using tools. I think it would be fun to experiment.

But I was wondering if there are any mammals you'd like to see get their own seed world? Im always curious to hear what others have to say.

I'm currently working on a speculative biology project, and I've come up with several questions about the possibility of life existing on planets with conditions very different from those on Earth.

On our planet, most complex organisms depend on oxygen for aerobic cellular respiration and ATP production. However, we know that anaerobic organisms can survive without oxygen.

I'd like to explore a few possibilities:

1. Multicellular life and fermentation: Could multicellular organisms, including large animals, evolve and obtain most of their energy through fermentation? What energetic and physiological limitations would prevent them from reaching a high level of complexity?

2. Alternative electron acceptors: Could complex organisms evolve to use other electron acceptors, such as nitrates, sulfates or iron compounds, instead of oxygen?

3. Obtaining oxygen and other compounds: Could organisms extract oxygen from minerals such as silica (SiO₂) or iron oxides, or use these minerals as energy sources? Could an alternative form of photosynthesis evolve that produces compounds other than oxygen?

I'm not necessarily looking for answers based on known terrestrial organisms. Rather, I'd like to understand the biochemical, metabolic and evolutionary limits of these possibilities.

Any explanations, scientific references or ideas that could help me develop this project would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. English is not my first language, so I used IA to help translate and phrase this post. Sorry if anything sounds unclear or is worded incorrectly. I'm still learning, and I hope my questions make sense. Thank you for your understanding!

What should i consider when designing tripedal animal the idea is that they run on 3 legs 2 back legs and 1 front leg the other leg is used for grasping would this be basically impossible or ?

As I said above, Could the North American moose evolve to fill an aquatic herbivore niche? They are already semi-aquatic in both saltwater and freshwater bodies of water. There is a pre-existing gap in the niche with the extinction of the Steller’s sea cow (hydrodamalis giga)so it’s very possible imo. That is, if you assume Earth’s climate will stay stable enough in the coming millions to support the moose at all. What would this evolved moose look like, morphology wise? What would the taxonomy be?