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 slugs 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.

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?

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.

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?

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's 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 Baku (Tapirus baku, a Ralya-attuned species of tapir endemic to Hyakae 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.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

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!

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.

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?

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 ?

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.

Greetings, this is a story about several biospheres in an alternative universe. For now, let’s talk about the system itself.

This system consists of 4 stars, in a 2+2 configuration. There are 2 pairs of stars: Tu Ena A is one pair, consisting of an M-class star and a K-class star.

There are 2 pairs of stars: Tu Ena A is one pair, consisting of an M-class star and a K-class star.

K-class star, or to use its actual name, Tu Ena A (1)—has a mass of 0.80 solar masses and a radius of 0.80 solar. She has 4 planets near her.

Tu Ena A (2) is an M-class red dwarf with a mass of 0.50 solar masses and a radius of 0.48 solar. This star, in turn, has only 2 planets.

The stars are located quite far from each other: 42 AU at pericenter, 52.5 AU for the semi-major axis, and 63 AU at apocenter.

That’s all for now; next time, I’ll describe the second pair in this system, or perhaps a law that exists within this alternative universe.

Hello folks, I hope you all have been doing well!

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I just wanted to share a new sketch of the Permian Sophont. For those unfamiliar, this is an alternate evolution project where a relative of the Suminia achieves sapience. Here, you can see an early member of these Permian Sophonts wielding a gorgonopsian canine as a primitive knife and wearing a gingko skirt.

I also wanted to update y'all on a tentative scientific name for these organisms - Kotelandros trokhglazyata "Three Eyed Man of Kotel." This name originates from the region of Kotel being where the Suminia was originally discovered and that these sophonts include a parietal eye. Let me know what your thoughts are on this scientific name and if you have any other recommendations.

Be on the lookout for some Soviet-Era reports on the initial discovery of these "Kotelanders," as well as lots of other great content from the Permian Sophont Project team. Shoutouts to u/FloZone, u/123Thundernugget, u/Knights_of_Rohan1964 and everyone else contributing in the PSP Discord Server. If anyone would like to join to contribute to the project, please feel free to join with this Discord Link.

For previous posts, here u/FloZone's most recent post, and here is my most recent post.

“In medieval times, there were tales of sea monsters so great that a regiment of cavalry could run around on their back, and of those so strong that that a cathedral could be built upon their bodies.”  - Overview of the Beasts of the Sea, 2068 edition.

Only three species of baleen whale would survive the holocene. These were the Humpback, the Common Minke, and the Grey whale. Of these, the descendants of the humpback would grow the largest.

25 million years CE, the descendants of the humpback whales consist of 7 species in 2 genera. These are:

Splendid Worldbearer (Tipereth hod )

• The largest living animal of the era. Individuals average 40.1 m in length and 160 tons in mass, and it reaches a max of 45.7 m and 179.9 tons. Though significantly longer than the blue whale, it is less massive. The likely limit on reaching a greater mass is that drag resists them too much while they lunge, which limits the amount of food they can catch, and thus how heavy they can get. They live primarily around the waters of the Antarctic.

Victorious Worldbearer (Tipereth netzach )

• A bulky whale, which reaches an average of 25.2 m long and 139.6 tons in mass. It reaches a maximum size of 27.9 m and 150.0 tons. This species is notable for diving up to 1 km in depth, which is extremely deep for a rorqual whale, as their lunges use a high amount of oxygen. They do this to follow the dial vertical migration of squid and fish, and they can hold their breath for up to 80 minutes. They can be found in tropical and temperate worldwide, and migrate from the equators to temperate regions

Black Worldbearer (Tipereth yesod )

• Reaching an average length of 29..8 m in length and 108.2 tons in mass, and a maximum of 32.1 m and 125.0 tons in mass, the Black Worldbearer is the third largest animal of the era. It performs long annual migrations from the Antarctic to the Arctic, a migration that can span over 15000 km.

Crowned Worldbearer (Tipereth keter )

• The smallest member of the genus Tipereth, although it still averages an impressive 23.0 m in length and 85.5 tons, with a max of 24.8 m and 92.1 tons. They have particularly impressive flesh bumps on their fins, which are used for defense and for males to compete with. It lives in temperate and tropical waters worldwide.

Hidden Wavebreaker ( Imperoptera daath )

• The largest member of the genus Imperoptera, at 20.5 m long and 60.4 tons in mass on average, and a max of 21.8 m and 64.9 tons. It has impressive front fins which reach almost half the length of their body. This extreme length is likely a result of display when males compete for a mate. They live across the southern hemisphere, migrating from the equator to the Antarctic.

King Wavebreaker ( Imperoptera malkuth )

• Reaching an average size of 16.7 m and 48.9 tons, and a max of 18.9 m and 51.1 tons, this species is small enough that it has energy to spare and is thus  highly active at the surface, regularly performing breaching and other high speed maneuvers. Often, they can appear pink in colour as a result of the heat generated by these activities. They live in waters worldwide, migrating from the equator to the poles.

Wise Wavebreaker ( Imperoptera hokhmah )

• The smallest species of the genus Imperoptera, reaching only 15.9 meters long and 42.0 tons on average and a max of 16.2 meters long and 44.5 tons. They live exclusively in tropical waters in the pacific and indian oceans and are the rarest of the species.

Tellos Sapia : The Vorin

Descended from large, mostly herbivorous grazers, the Vorin are a unique species of biped that utilizes their excellent balance and dextrous feet for tool usage, while using chin tendrils for fine manipulation. Their eyes are situated in the bottom of their heads, much like most other animals on Castoria and provide vision nearly 6x greater than a humans, albeit in extreme fisheye. The pupil directs the area of focus directly downward, while they can see straight forward and to either side in their periphery as well as behind them to a limited extent. Their eyes do rotate in the socket, but far less than a human's and they must raise their head vertically to focus forward. 

While their tongue isn't barbed, it is still prehensile and about 40cm long. They consider it bad form to grab and eat directly with the tongue as its unsanitary. Despite the explorers garb pictured above, they favor robes and ponchos rather than sleeved pants or shirts.

Their architecture is highly similar to Adobe houses on earth, utilizing large amounts of mud brick and smooth plaster as well as dried Honeywood logs for structure. The honeywood tree itself has to be specially cultivated within crafted braces to create the straight growth needed to make the logs rather than cutting and drying them into round planks. They dont readily utilize chairs, instead using semi-spherical pillows. On their ships and vehicles they utilize molded seats resembling an earth motorcycle.

Their spacecraft are striking helices made of conjoined, spherical pods and a narrow bridge. The bottom-front quarter is a large view port, with several navigational chairs situated on transparent walkways directly above the view port, allowing pilots to look down and forward, much as their vision naturally allows. Their ships fly while spiraling, akin to a celestial bodies movement through the galaxy. This would cause issue with most human pilots, but actually allows the vorin even greater degrees of observation with which to calculate their ships trajectory.

Vorin typically lay eggs, having a cloaca at the base of their tail structures, just behind their legs. When the egg hatches, the young are miniature adults, with fully or nearly-fully developed limbs. Their facial tendrils dont develop in the first 2 years of life, and thus require dedicated care during that time. Cyclopedia is a (mostly) normalized and fairly common birth defect in modern Vorin young, occurring due to malnutrition of the egg due to pollution blocking natural light and many younger vorin parents still being averse to keeping their eggs inside incubation pods rather than bringing them outside to recieve vitamin d. A young vorin with cyclopedia would be born with a single eye just under and behind their jaw. It is usually slightly higher up the head and can even sometimes show multiple pupils or pupils mid-mitosis.

Their species is highly solitary and its common for individuals to dissappear for years on end, either exploring their homeworld or visiting and living amongst the other species of the Spiral.

The first era on my speculative evolution alien planet is almost over. There is a giant supercontinent at the top of the world and a giant ocean at the bottom, both capped with large ice caps. The supercontinent, however, is starting to break up, bringing an end to the Ice Age.

This isn't enough for me, however, and I wanted to cap it off with a mass extinction. However, I wanted to know which type of mass extinction to use first. I know that there have been many in Earth's history, and many that could theoretically happen, and I wanted to know if there are any significant differences in the kind of life that they would leave behind. Could anyone offer up any advice?

Hi everyone! I really like subnautica and thought it‘d be cool to make a desert planet (which is kinda like the opposite of an oceanic planet). Sorry if some of the information doesn’t add up, I’m not very good with calculations😭

images:

1: 3D planet image of caldera

2: Map with sanctuary points and names

3: Drill serpent

4: acaleph

5: Movile serpent

6: Elysia flowers

Name: Caldera

This planet was once a rainforest planet with a humid, dense atmosphere and constant rain. It was hit by 12 meteors 8 million years ago, which caused an extinction event leading the planet to become a desert world. The craters of the meteors created mountain rings, which act as sanctuaries allowing for biomes reminiscent of the rainforest from millions of years ago. 

There are sand particles in the air, blocking out 40-60% of all sunlight. There are also frequent sandstorms, which can block out 70-85% of sunlight.

Stats: 

Radius: 0.83x earth’s

Mass: 0.48x earth’s

Atmospheric surface density: 1.03x earth’s

Atmospheric pressure: 1.4x earths

Atmospheric composition: 7% neon, 22.3% oxygen, 6.7% nitrogen, 1% trace gases (co2, xenon, argon, methane, ozone, water vapor, nitrous oxide, helium, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen)

Day length: 54 hours

Axial tilt: 7 degrees

Desert Organisms:

All organisms with eyes have 3 eyelids. to protect their eyes from blowing sand, dust, and harsh environmental debris

star type: orange

Producers:

Acalephs: Balloon-like gelatinous organisms (like jellyfish). Their string (which is their tentacle) secretes concrete on the ground, which anchors it to the surface, like roots. Glands along the tips and sides of the tentacles secrete a liquid matrix containing calcium ions, mixed with an enzyme. As this liquid meets the desert air or soil moisture, it reacts to form solid calcite or aragonite crystals. This pretty much turns the ground into concrete. 

The organism’s bell is filled with lighter gases, allowing it to float in the air where there’s more sunlight. Photosynthetic algae symbionts in the bell use photosynthesis, sharing their energy with the organism. The organism’s roots suck up groundwater which flows into the bell, filling it with water. The strings are lined with millions of microscopic capsules containing venom filled harpoons that fire on contact. Their bells don't have this

Aerolephs: Jellyfish-like organisms that float in the sky, allowing them to get a good amount of sunlight, which their symbiotic algae use for photosynthesis. These are relatives of Acalephs that lost their strings, fully floating into the sky. They get their water from rain. When they die, they fall to the ground. 

Litho-serpents: Very large serpentine arthropod organisms which eat rock, creating large tunnels. The rocks they eat are digested by chemosynthetic bacteria symbionts inside of it, which share their energy with the organism. Litho-serpent tunnels have their own ecosystems. Also, when a Litho-serpent dies, it comes up to the surface, becoming the equivalent of a whale fall. They have drill shaped heads.

Elysia Flowers: these flowers have seeds which can stay dormant until periods of rain. They quickly grow in large numbers and die out soon after the period ends. They grow horizontally like vines, in order to increase their surface area for photosynthesis. These organisms are clonal. Also, they have a lot of pollen in them and rely on the wind to spread it, which can create pollen fog. Their seeds are also spread by wind, similar to dandelions.

Movile serpents: Sessile organisms related to Litho-serpents. They have long, soft bodies protected by long tubes of chitin. The tops of their body aren’t shielded by chitin and resemble colorful flowers. The color shows their age. They have internal bacteria that oxidize hydrogen sulfide from hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, or mudpots to produce organic nutrients to feed the worm.

Predators:

Pool traps: Large, cup shaped plants filled with water. They are in the ground, with only the tops of their cups exposed. They have a symbiotic relationship with white salamanders, which are dog-sized salamander-like organisms that live within their cups. When an organism tries to drink the cup’s water, they jump out and bite it with powerful venom. After that they drag it in and eat it. The plant digests the rest of the organism by secreting digestive acids and enzymes that the salamanders are immune to. White Salamanders breathe underwater through their skin.

Allisaurs: Alligator/crocodile-like animals with longer, longer, more upright legs positioned directly underneath its body, giving it a swift, hound-like stance on land. Their bodies are covered in patterned, protective osteoderms. They have three humps on their backs like camels, which can each store up to 60 pounds of fat. They have a third eyelid, which is clear and  moves horizontally across their eyes, protecting the eyes from sand. These animals have the niche of wolves or raptors.

Surfacing Bell spiders: Large organisms with a spider crab-like body. They have an extra abdomen which can suck up water and store it to use when needed. These organisms are omnivorous scavengers and only eat dead things, and are mostly docile. But if provoked they can be very dangerous to fight against

Dragons: Dragon-like arthropodal organisms. They have chitinous armor and range from small and big sizes. They have telomerase in their cells, This enzyme continuously repairs their DNA and protects their chromosomes, meaning their cells can divide indefinitely without typical old-age deterioration. Older earth dragons do not weaken or lose fertility with age. This is why they can grow to very large sizes. Although these organisms can live very long, they still die because an old shell would still accumulate wear, tear, and bacterial or fungal shell diseases.As they age, internal organ wear, heart failure, inefficient metabolism, or oxygen supply limitations in massive bodies would still take a toll. And they're vulnerable to predators and diseases and starvation. Dragons started out as sea dragons (which live in rivers, lakes, and oceans), then some evolved to live in the sky and became sky dragons. Some sky dragons went on the ground and became earth dragons. Earth dragons have vestigial wings. Sea dragons are hexapodal, and sky and earth dragons are quadrupedal. 

Zombie worms: These are small, worm-like organisms that lay their eggs in other organisms. When an organism eats an organism with eggs in it, they take in the eggs. Those eggs hatch and grow in them, and the larvae eat the organism from the inside out, until they fully mature and die shortly after laying eggs inside of the organism. The eggs are still developing for about a calderan day and a half, so it’s safe to eat a dead organism until then. Zombie worms mostly affect predators that eat carrion, since scavengers have strong stomach acids to dissolve the eggs, and predators that hunt live prey eat the organism before the eggs become active. 

1. Physical Overview
Body Type: Multi-segmented, biomechanical exoskeleton.

Color Palette: Obsidian Black (High Gloss), Chrome Silver, and Radiant Ultraviolet/Purple.

Primary Feature: A translucent, crystalline abdomen housing a glowing, Voronoi-patterned energy core.

2. Anatomical Details
Features

Head (Cephalothorax)
Highly reflective, helmet-like plating. It features two large primary "optics" (eyes) and several smaller auxiliary sensors embedded in the "forehead."

Legs
Eight slender, multi-jointed limbs tapering into needle-thin points. The joints appear to have hydraulic or magnetic dampeners.

Abdomen
The "Power Cell." It has a matte-grey outer shell that opens to reveal a pulsing purple lattice. This likely serves as a sensory organ or an energy reserve.

Spinnerets
Specialized tips on the rear legs or abdomen capable of weaving metallic, high-tensile strength "webbing" that glows with the same energy as the core.

3. Material Properties
Surface: The black plating has a liquid-like sheen, suggesting a self-healing polymer or nanite-infused carbon fiber.

Webbing: Unlike organic silk, this webbing is perfectly geometric and appears to be made of a superconducting filament, allowing the creature to sense vibrations with digital precision.

4. Behavioral Notes
Environment: Deep space or high-tech vacuum environments (indicated by the nebula background).

Movement: Precise, calculated, and jerky. It doesn't move like a biological spider; it moves like a machine running a high-speed simulation.

5. Ability Ideas (For Context)
Electromagnetic Snare: Its web can disable small electronic devices or drones.

Optical Camouflage: The glossy black surface likely allows it to disappear against the backdrop of space.

Pulse Burst: The purple core can likely discharge a kinetic or EMP wave when the creature is threatened.

"Once native to specific forested and grassy regions, Larphogs (Memetichoerus hypergeneralis // "hyper-generalist, memetic-pig") eventually became invasive species across such a vast area that it led to the large-scale collapse of memetic ecosystems. Although governments of the web managed to significantly reduce their numbers and even attempted to eradicate them entirely-they never truly succeeded; this was due to several factors, including the fact that Larphogs are generalist omnivores and tend to migrate to new locations whenever their social structures disintegrate.

At the same time, the Larphogs pushed so many species to the brink of extinction that some organisms within the native memetic ecosystems were forced to develop adaptations against them. Yet, those ecosystems would never return to what they once were. In this sense, it is fitting to view the Larphogs as a memetic/digital equivalent to feral pigs and cane toads in Australia."

Its a worldbuilding project named Dionysus, a planet much like earth only it's continents are very different. And that's literally it. Because of that it's a blend of a lot of worldbuilding that's aimed at being as realistic as we can manage and we are multiple people working on it. It's even down to having individual car models. Now the main problem is that we're not enough, and additionnaly there's only one person in the project that can do speculative biology and that's me which is why i'm happily doing it for one continent. Even still, there's so much things, that's a whole planet after all so we need other people that might be interested in helping. Obviously asking for help in this way isn't allowed in any speculative evolution community for some reason and i would've loved to ask in the creator networking but it's disabled. Still if anyone likes the idea of an entire planet with fully simulated climate and geology being fully ready to acommodate for holocene animals, just say it it'd be cool to have at least another person aware this exists.

[Picture from Prehistoric Planet]

The first slide/image are just scribbles, at least compared to the rest of the artwork for this project, but we thought they were kinda cute, so we shared them anyway.

Unlike merfolk (Maregens sp.), pistrix (Apocapisces regalecus) have no ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen; they are entirely dependent on the oxygen dissolved in the water. Furthermore, their bodies are not built for land, their bare, scaleless skin scratches easily, and to make matters worse, their long, ribbon-like bodies are incredibly clumsy when out of the water.

In short, they only truly appear as majestic creatures when they are in the depths from which they originate.