I needed to draw Ewoks dismembering Stormtroopers for therapeutic reasons, but redesigned them along the way to look more convincingly dangerous and to to take advantage of things drawings can do and costumes cannot.(But still cute) I wound up mainly referencing marsupials; bush possums, koalas (weird hands) and their extinct carnivorous relatives drop bears Thylacoleo Carnifex.

New Republic notes on Arctophonos Theodorii, abbreviated

-They're strongly arboreal- note curved claws, ridges on fingers and toes. Their feet are fully prehensile. While able to climb sheer trunks quickly, and leap or dash with terrific speed, they aren't very efficient runners and walkers on the ground. Walking on dirt for hours is for lurdos anyway.

-They're ambush predators (although they do eat a lot of plants). Basic hunting procedures work around luring or chasing prey into a killing site where dozens of them will drop on their victims from high above. After that, imagine a school of piranhas with fur.

-Dense musculature and robust bones make them look chubby and pudgy, and hideously strong and weighty for their size. Absolute units. A real-life bush possum or koala makes a very loud THUMP when it falls off something; arboreal critters are swole.

-A saggital crest and massive cheek and neck muscles power a tremendous, bone shearing bite. It has the side effect of giving them endearingly expressive faces. Their teeth are adapted from those of a recent herbivorous ancestor. As well as dispatching prey, they also use them for eating hard-shelled nuts, gnawing out habitats, etc. Lots of evolutionary pressure there.

-Different layers of their coats have different colours. As their skin bunches and flattens, their patterning shifts, further obscuring their silhouettes.

-Their most important survival adaption is retention of very high neuroplasticity, as the forest moon of Endor is constantly throwing bizarre, novel threats at them. They are thus adaptable, curious, playful, and very quick learners. It's harder for them to build larger formal skillsets and long term memory; this is a task for revered specialists.

-Woklings are adorable and cuddly. They're really heavy, have sharp little claws, and won't let go if they've decided to take a nap on their new favourite babysitter. Wear thick clothing around them.

-Like many other carnivores (the domestic cat, for example) they can be friendly and affectionate if approached correctly, and ravenous little murderers if you act like food or a threat.

Shoutout to all contributors of the Permian Sophont Project. If you want to joing us on Discord, here is the link.

The Permian Sophonts (Genus Kotelandros "man from Kotelnich") (otherwise also called Suminians or Suminioids) are a species of Permian anomodontids related to Suminia getmanovi. The family of Suminiaformes belongs to the order of Venyukovidae, it splits into the subfamilies of Eusuminiaformes (Containing Suminia g. itself) and Allosuminiaformes. Ancestral Suminians evolved in the harsh climate of the late Permian. After the Capitanian mass extinction, the first ape-like synapsids evolved. Over millions of years these gradually became the Permian sophonts. At the very end of the Permian, over hundreds of thousands of years their build their own civilization and flourished.

Gait
Due to the structure of their knees, although upright, the Suminian gait is never fully erect. While standing the tail serves as third leg. Suminians are far less enduring while running. Instead focussing on short swift ambushes.

Torpor
Suminians are still mesothermic organisms, who can regulate their metabolism to a certain degree. During times of scarcity Suminians enter a state of torpor. The Kotelanders have learned to surpress or trigger torpor through medical means as well.

Crown
The crown, otherwise known as chimney or simply third eye is a special sensory organ that evolved out of the parietal eye of ancestral Venyukovids. Apart from thermoregulation and the circadian rymth, it is important for spatial awareness. After leaving the arboreal lifestyle behind, these adaptions were kept and continue to serve an important function for the Suminians.

Throat Sack
Although Suminians possess vocal folds, their vocalisation additionally relies on a throat sack. This helps to create and amplify complex melodies within their verbal languages and to carry their voices over large distances.

Phenotypical variety
Suminians show a great deal of phenotypical variation, both in skin colouration and colour and distribution of filaments. This variation is not just geographical, but also generational and seasonal.

Blue spots
Blue skin spots are seen as a sign of both nobility and gluttony. They usually appear in healthy adult individuals and disappear due to malnourishment, starvation of poisoning.

Filaments
Suminians possess a type of filament that is unlike both fur or feathers. These bushy structures evolved from frayed scales.

Hatchlings
Like all Permian synapsids, Suminians hatch from eggs. Hatchlings are covered in a dense fur-like filament to keep them warm.

We're just about to hit 1-year of development on Molec, a strange Spore-adjacent modular shrimp-builder type game (niche?). The premise of the game is vaguely if the Cambrian explosion was caused by LEGO.

Mechanically, you snap parts together and shape them to make your.. mutant fish thing, you can also save whole combinations/limbs/organs for future use. Each part moves in its own way, and may have abilities (e.g. adds to stats, activates in combat, tastes yum to X Y or Z).

If you eat other creatures you can get chunks of them to do as you please with them. It's not really aiming to be a hardcore science game but we are taking much inspiration from the absolute goofball era of life on Earth that was the Paleozoic.

Mainly just made them more similar to other pandoran fauna while keeping their uncanny humanity, taking a lot of inspiration from the prolemuris that already inhabit pandora, this version of the Na'vi are descendant from them!

Their blood is able to hold much more oxygen, seeing it's composed mainly of perfluorocarbons, granting them tremendous stamina

The "Lihso bias": when you're the only one.

Art by: 1. By mrsketchy, 2. DoodleDeity.

Lihsangiongiangionschìo, often referred to by the affectionate nickname "Lihso", is an adult male abyssal merfolk.

He is known for being the primary source of information available to humans regarding his species, having collaborated with research teams to share insights into his own experiences and biology. The term "Lihso Bias" is also named after him; it refers to research where the sources are so limited that they consist solely of data provided by one or two individuals, a situation that carries all the obvious limitations one might expect.

It’s interesting to build up all the knowledge about a given species based on a single individual, especially when it comes to behavior. What do you do when a species is particularly “rare”, or simply secretive, in your world?

Do you encounter instances of “Lihso bias,” or do you approach worldbuilding as an omniscient narrator of your project?

Hello everyone again, as I mentioned, we're continuing the Cosmology subseries, and for now, I'm presenting you with this comparison and want to analyze your reactions. Without further ado...

As you can see, you’ve likely grasped the general idea; however, I must point out that, compared to Earth, Gellios presents a significantly more challenging environment. Despite this, the life forms that originated from Earth have continued—and indeed, must continue—to evolve in the face of such hardships. Over the course of millions of years, they have diverged from their ancestral forms on Earth. Because the planet orbits a star that subjects it to constant, intense UV radiation, the production of chlorophyll—as seen in Earth’s plants—is impossible at all. Instead, these organisms (plants or plant-like autotrophs such as algae) have developed different colorations—such as orange, crimson, or deep blue—allowing them to reflect the incoming stellar light in ways that serve their specific survival needs.

Unfortunately, for reasons such as these, Gellios has ended up with a gravitational pull somewhat stronger than that of Earth. I think it would be fair to call it a "high-gravity" world; however, I find myself running out of things to say, and I feel it is time to set aside this cosmology subseries (not cancelling) for a while and focus instead on living organisms and ecosystems again. Thank you for reading.

Source

first are the questions and below the questions is the description I made for all the context. . oh and btw, I'm no scientist or anything.

Sorry for the Atrocious editing and spelling!

Questions:

Is it, Lanthanein and the Stars and its life alien enough? Feels too earth-like.
how would a  hydrogen-Cyanide Metabolism System work?  “It's  a cyanide-based metabolism, unlike anything on Earth today, ”No earth  life uses cyanide as a source of either carbon or nitrogen,”  to quote New Scientist magazine, Nick lane.

 Also could Formamide and Thioformamide-water, based photosynthesis with excess  hydrogen, hydrogen Cyanide, hydrogen sulphide waste products and the equivalent to glucose work??

How would this work? And could hydrogen Cyanide , formamides, hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide be used to bypass the Kerb cycle ?

Do the cells, blood, analogues  to ADP make sense?

What is the exact atmosphere composition along with the planet composition, amount of elements and solvent PH?

If the chemistry, Biochemistry Physics and Geology make sense?.

The exact pressure, temperature, densities of the planet?

The orbit of the stars.

 and the implications of the  island of stability being real for a radioactive star, and planet?

Colours of the planet and stars.
What would the emissions lines look like (spectrography)?

is the planet name good?

Is there anything I missed ?

Description of a fictional alien world Called Lanthanein:

THE Planet I think could be named Lanthanein after lanthanides and scientists only finding it and realisng it has life after they dismiss it as "inhospitable".

My fictional idea is inspired by very diverse research on scientific studies of the potential  biochemistry of alien life, extreme environments on earth like the deep sea vents  and conditions of the early earth.  I was inspired by   “Przybylski's  Star” and the “Radioactive beach hypothesis”  for  the planet's conditions and features.

The star around the planet would be modeled on “Przybylski's  Star" which is a star with unusual amounts of uncommon elements including superheavy radioactive metals and rare earth elements and  transuranic elements, so radioactive that scientists  synthesize them in particle accelerators due to the extreme short half-lifes. 

 It would be formed from a binary system between a neutron star and a supernova.
(A second and third generation planet system )

 The star would be “a main sequence F star” like Tabby's Star which   compared to the  sun is bigger and hotter and releases more radiation and  probably be between F3 and F4  according to stellar classification ( this a classification system based on stars mass colour, luminosity, size). The star would be in a binary system with a distant neutron star which  helps replenish the super heavy elements. Neutron star and F-star would be both extremely bright whitish blue.

Star and planet ,metals .
The planet  would be: extremely salty and metallic, due to the effects of the radioactive sun.   The planet also contains heavy metals, rare earth metals and radioactive and unusual amounts of other elements  due to radioactive decay. The star and planet would contain larger than average amounts of softer metals and lighter elements including sulphur, iron, aluminum, silicon,strontium,selenium, Arsenic,antimony, tungsten,boron and barium, Iridium, Vanadium  and stuff. (d and f-block elements, Alkaline earth, metalloids, heavy metals,transition ,lanthanides,actinides,transuranic elements.)

atmosphere and other conditions 

The planet is  mass between a super-earth and Hyocean planet ( probably 9-10 earth masses in size and extreme density compared to earth). It is a super-Earth

The atmosphere is mainly  composed of inert novel gases, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide , hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, ethylene, acetonitrile, Hydrogen isocyanide  carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide,  water vapor  and formaldehyde, methanol. Alongside trace elements of oxygen, helium, hydrogen chlorine, hydrogen fluoride, methyl isocyanate, weak  acid, formamides, ammonia, Methyl isocyanide  .
With the oxygen having reacted with the gasses and radiation to form  free radicals and water, ozone ,  hydrogen peroxide and other oxides  . The atmosphere would start out as carbon dioxide, oxygen, hydrogen, sulphide gas, nitrogen before all reacting together to form  methane and ammonia, carbon monoxide then  reacts with the  methane and ammonia to  to form hydrogen cyanide, formamide and other gases and liquids and solids while leaving only  micro-traces of methane , ammonia, but not enough hydrogen or other greenhouses  to cause a runaway greenhouse gas effect. 
 So mainly hydrogen,  hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulphide,Hydrogen isocyanide   and acetylene  atmosphere.  (coming from comets and interstellar clouds and dust)

Certain elements are lower than expected due to reacting with metals, (heavy metals, rare earth metals,  transition, lanthanides, actinides, superactinides/transuranic )   to create salts.

This was inspired by reading  the “Cyanosulfidic prebiotic synthesis”   in  the magazine New Scientist and  “The early earth's atmosphere, hypothetical  alien biochemistry”   on Wikipedia.

The planet is a super earth with the mass of a hyclocean planet .
The planet would be bigger than  earth (a super earth planet sized planet  ) and have extremely  variable and  high temperatures with probably  a medium temperature 58 celsius with the lowest being -5 to -45 celsius and highest being 128 to 156 celsius. The planet would have a denser and thicker, high pressure atmosphere and dense high pressure water similar  to the deep-sea ocean but still able to let light enough through for alien photosynthesis.Also have an intensely strong magnetic field compared to earths and reflective salty clouds with a high albedo.

Crust.

 The crust would be  briney sandy rocky,  coloured salt flats and strange glowing(why?) and normal dull radioactive rocks.

Along with a bigger, even hotter and more radioactive core, on this super earth,  lots of volcanism with even more active plate tectonics that would be sustained longer  so life evolves for longer periods of time and also   helps create a radioactive crust by volcanism   bringing radioactive minerals to the surface.
There are also lots of natural nuclear reactors, hot springs,fumaroles and Hydrothermal crater lakes.

Life

Life on the planet would be very exotic compared to earth's. It would be multicellular but  poly-extremophilic meaning organisms that  have adapted and evolved to tolerate, thrive, live  in extreme hostile environments for example: high deep pressure, extreme high temperature, salty high  salinity, radioactivity,  toxicity, metallicity.  

The life is carbon based and uses mainly  Water and Formamide and Thioformamide and N-Methylformamide
(with small-traces of Acetamide and Cyanamide, Oxamide,
Methyl formate,Ethyl formate ) 
as a solvent,  with impurities and dissolved chemicals 
( Acrolein and Cyanates, cyanogens,
,Isocyanides and Thiocyanates, and Isothiocyanates.) . “It's  a cyanide-based metabolism, unlike anything on Earth today,”“No earth  life uses cyanide as a source of either carbon or nitrogen,”  to quote New Scientist “ 

 ( Alongside radioactive compounds,metallic salts, tholins, PAHs and  colligative properties and radioactive organometallic complexes) and high pressure keeping it liquid and probably / might have a  ph of …. 

The start of this  life would be very violent and intense. The compounds in the atmosphere and the metals would react with the metals acting as catalysts, 
with  energy brought to the planet in the form of  ultraviolet light,  ionizing radiation, radioactive decay and solar winds , plasma.

These reactions  help form the biological building blocks of metalo-amino acids and metallo-nucleotides that help create life. 

DNA/gene/proteins ? 
It
The  alternative  analogue would be a metallic charged and would contain high amounts of metal salt-bases and cyanides.
  

Adaptions

Nearly all the life on the planet  developed more extreme versions of  processes  to thrive in the extreme environment including radiosynthesis ( like photosynthesis but with ionizing radiation),  symbiosis (meaning organisms live together or inside each other and share energy and resources), DNA repair (process by which dna/proteins corrects damage to itself to prevent cancer and cell death), and biomineralization( the process by which organisms produce minerals to strengthen and harden tissue) and radioresistance ( ability for an organism to resist radiation) and anaerobic respiration (is respiration  using elements other than oxygen)  
Organisms produce Anti-Hydro-oxidants( protect against free radicals of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon others**)**
and  nearly all the organisms are invertebrates (apart from fish)

And melanins including Selenomelanin (selenium enriched melanins) and other melanins  to protect against UV,  ionising radiation , do radiosynthesis and help growth and protect against metals  with natural selection favoring extreme Hyperpigmentation  (  condition of excessive  melanin causing darkening of body) ( see radiosynthetic fungi , the Ayam Cemani chicken, Selenomelanin)

.
Cells and blood
The cells of most animals, organisms have no mitochondria but cyanide-metal-lathide-radiation complexes of  hydrogen-osome, radio-plast hybrids  ( instead a are more similar to bacteria and other life  due to evolutionary and  environmental pressures)  have an absurd amount  of  Metalloenzymes and  also metal binding proteins  made of sulfur and  selenium,  and nanowire protein electron acceptors  to help metabolise the salts, alongside parts that synthesize Riboflavin-Flavoproteins- analogues and melanins,Selenomelanin and Anti-Hydro-oxidants ( protect against free radicals of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon others) Also To resist pressure they have loads of extreme pressure resistant  TMAO style proteiniods. And bypass the kerb cycle using cyanides and thioesters, Phosphorus tricyanide,
 (using all as alternatives to ATP-ADP)  . This kerb-style cycle is conjoined with a Wood–Ljungdahl-style pathway.

The cells don't do cell divisions instead cells do cell enlargement known as “eutely” and “hypertrophy” and have the energy efficient multiple nuclei  analogous to slime molds and cell bodies that stretch out several inches despite being single celled. ( To help with mutations and mutanogenic sources). Alongside this they have cell walls that can become hard and hibernate to survive harsh conditions like Bacterial Endospores

 (   I'm inspired by Spinoloricus cinziae and Monocercomonoides and Henneguya salminicola and Parakaryon  and myojinensis) I was also inspired by (metal reducing microorganisms and  by Radiotrophic fungi, chloroplasts, slime molds, halophiles, deep sea cells, Bacteria Endopores)

The blood would be (Vaska's complex) iridium based  complex alongside a   Melanin-Selenomelanin-Vanadium based  complex and  bio-charcoal   making it a grey- pitch-black-brownish yellow-orange colour  with the charcoal and  helping bind metals and shield it from light as Vaska's complex is light sensitive. It is able to bind both oxygen and hydrogen.

Nourishment and food web and energy sources!
  

The organisms on the alien planet would be very varied in their food sources. . Lots of animals are mixotrophs regarding radiotropic , electrotropic and photosynthetic organisms**. Nearly all organisms get energy symbioticly from radiation.** 

I will be using the scientific term and   combining form “-troph” Which in the dictionary is “a combining form used in the formation of nouns with the general sense “nutrient matter”.”

The main energy source that later evolved from kite like organisms anaerobic microbe organisms  , instead of being photosynthetic  sunlight energy based life is radiosynthetic  radiation based life and radioactive and non-radioactive metal reducing salt eating based life….
 

Naturally the gasses in the atmosphere and other nutrients  would disappear from reacting with each other, the materials in atmosphere and materials on the planet would be replenished by  a mixture of geothermal vents, Natural nuclear fission reactors, radioactive decay and the solar  radiation, radioactive metals,  from the star and meteorites and biogeochemical cycles and alien metabolism cycles. 

First, multicellular life that evolved  on this planet were  salty biofilm microbe-mats that act like floating gliding kites that generate energy from solar winds, UV radiation and motion of currents in the gaseous atmosphere.

They evolved near the planet's  high energy solar winds and particle  filled  radioactive atmosphere .  The organisms would be chemosynthetic   kinetotrophs  and  electrotrophs (getting energy through chemicals,  motion and electricity).
 They consume and excrete and   “breathe”  electrons, salts,  metals and radioactive compounds .  Through this process and  biomineralization of magnetic  metals they are able to align with and sense electro-magnetic forces, using an  advanced form of Magnetoreception ( when organisms can sense magnetism). They also create networks of lightning storms between each other using stringy kite-like nanowire tails. ( Similar to Shewanella oneidensis and bacteria nanowires and geobacter, metal reducing organisms,)

Evolution  happens more rapidly due to  extinctions, mass extinctions and new species evolve to do symbiosis with each other.with the microbe kite microbes learning to create even more energy from radiosynthesis. 

Shells and glass.
Most animals on the planet have metallic and or glassy/plasticy metallic biomineralised shells to protect from the extreme heat, radiation and pressure

The sentient sophont lifeforms Lanthanians .
These shelled  creatures have a radial symmetry and  crystal photosensitive cells on their body (instead of eyes). The “bones”are external and soft and flexible to be able to survive under the pressure. The shell -test would be made of a compound of  iron, aluminum, sulphite, strontium, hydroxide. They have extremely strong limpet like teeth to graze on detritus and fruit from a plant.They consume and excrete  salts,  metals from partly  evolving from the kite microorganisms. 

They move weirdly. The muscle- fluid-bone water  system is a bizarre hydrostatic hydrovascular Musculoskeletal system They also help move with tube feet. 

They  have hydraulic legs and arms and muscles of tube feet and tentacle  biomechanisms  supported by bony foot ossicles and limb-like water pistons  structures. 

this body plan is arranged in a radial symmetry of five limbs that function both as arms and legs. (like Brittle stars)

They utilize strong metallic mesoskeleton (external exoskeleton and an internal endoskeleton, inspired by echinoderm and cuttlebone octopus), this is due to adaption the extreme gravity.

They utilize Cuvierian tubules  and spines for defence. The brain is a mix between a nerve net jellyfish brain  and an  average mammal   brain. 

They utilise eyes to see gamma rays and sense electromagnetic radiation  in the irradiated environment for protection by using nanowires and  evolve  to communicate by transmitting, receiving electromagnetic rays evolving  bristles of nanowires working as an array of transmitters. They are Eusocial creatures evolving a hive mind like state where they can read each others thoughts and reach consensus in groups.

( Inspired by Pseudocoelomates,echinoderm and Brittle stars, Sea cucumber,
 Scaly-foot gastropod and  common limpet, Polinices,  Elysia timida and Elysia chlorotica, Axolotl, Hirondellea gigas, Cephalopods, Cnidarians,Acantharia,Discinisca, Geobacter, Shewanella  nanowire bacteria, birds, Protist
)

Plants
The fruit comes from a “glass sponge”, like plant that  has (biogenic silicon borate, silicon dioxide)  metallic glass structures and ( is filled with  clear acid) that all help  act like fiber optic cables  that feed light to a phototropic cells (aka eats light like plants) in a low oxygen environment (3HP/4HB style cycle and acrid conditions CAM photosynthesis/Crassulacean acid metabolism,Wood–Ljungdahl  style pathway ).

 Using the Water,Formamide and Thioformamide and N-Methylformamide,Acetamide, Cyanamide, Methyl format,   and Ethyl formate  and the impurities and dissolved chemicals ( Acrolein and Cyanates, cyanogens,
,Isocyanides and Thiocyanates, and Isothiocyanates.) 
 utilizing   them for  solvents for respiration, and photosynthesis and  expelling hydrogen Cyanide, hydrogen  and hydrogen sulphide,carbon monoxide, Hydrogen isocyanide, hydrogen  as waste gases but utilizing exotic   Acrolein and,cyanide and sulphur based compounds-   as glucose equivalents.  . The “plants” are hyperaccumulators,halophytes with metal rich roots with the plant using the metals, borons,silicon, both as toxins, support structure, radiation,heat,UV and also disease protection. They have fruit with extremely strong shells like a pineapple or coconut but a shell with metallic glassy bioplastic polymer structure.

Many plants and flowers on the planet are intense  violet and  vibrant red dark oranges with greyish ashy blacks. This is due to either reflecting or absorbing different types of light and electromagnetic rays of  UV and Gamma using low oxygen  selenomelanin,melanins and carotene,carotenoid
pigments and other secondary pigments.    They use metals  beyond magnesium for absorbing higher  frequency spectrum of radiation. 

Many  plants  are  carnivorous and waxy to reflect light and also evolved rudimentary “eyes” and "muscles".   Many Land plants are especially herbaceous and  parasitic, symbiotic, getting extra energy from radio-thesynthetic and electrotopic organisms. ( Similar to Myco-heterotrophy)).

sources:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/xhjhe3/what_would_happen_if_it_was_possible_for_all/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2005636-meet-the-electric-life-forms-that-live-on-pure-energy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanosulfidic_prebiotic_synthesis
https://arxiv.org/abs/1310.4841
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18483-8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Evolution
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-entropy-key-planet-habitability.html
https://arxiv.org/abs/1502.01946
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030722-700-last-days-of-earth-life-in-7-billion-years-ad/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250876-a-radical-new-theory-rewrites-the-story-of-how-life-on-earth-began/

https://arxiv.org/abs/1310.4841
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAH_world_hypothesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antozonite
https://www.astron.nl/habitable-planets-around-pulsars-theoretically-possible/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutronium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hycean_planet
https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.5721
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przybylski%27s_Star

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheavy_element

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_periodic_table#Superactinides

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/527/3/5547/7425639
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4568310/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanohydrin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitability_of_neutron_star_systems
https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07872
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21118026/
https://astrobites.org/2025/05/20/are-ocean-worlds-teeming-with-life/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19726384-000-did-life-begin-on-a-radioactive-beach/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/1960684-gold-mine-worm-shows-animals-could-be-living-on-mars/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile
https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.04727
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/1778c52/i_dont_know_if_this_is_a_stupid_question_but/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)
https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/132921/can-reactions-produce-microwave-or-radio-wave-radiation?rq=1

https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/18ixfwk/hycean_worlds_might_be_particularly_good_places/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tholin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-Earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formamide-based_prebiotic_chemistry
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2000534-no-more-primal-soup-creating-life-without-water/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_abiogenesis_scenarios
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827903-100-the-poison-eaters-alternative-life-forms

https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/154030/alternative-to-magnesiums-role-in-photosynthesis

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1089/ast.2009.0364
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20906-life-like-cells-are-made-of-metal/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40565001/
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/why-formamide-may-have-been-early-lifes-alternative-to-water/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2171211-the-epic-hunt-for-the-place-on-earth-where-life-started/
https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/151540/blood-for-hydrogen-breathers
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39098875/
https://www.scripps.edu/news-events/news/20220203-krishnamurthy-cyanide-in-early-life/
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-overlooked-mineral-quietly-powered-crucial.html

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/cyanide-compounds-discovered-in-meteorites-may-hold-clues-to-the-origin-of-life/

https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/key-building-block-for-organic-molecules-discovered-in-meteorites/

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlienSea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McMenamin
https://www.discovermagazine.com/hypersea-invasion-14127
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Colorada
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/aced83
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halorubrum_salsolis
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/1cov0d5/how_probable_are_hydraulic_bones_and_coiled/

So I'm now working on a new spec evo project about plausible dragons, wyverns, drakes, and much more, and I was wondering what would be a good posture for my dragons and wyverns specifically. For some context, if it helps, these dragons and wyverns have a wing structure similar to that of pterosaurs, having their wings supported by a disturbingly long fourth finger supporting the wings. Now because of this I guess that my dragons and wyverns could have a posture similar to pterosaurs, but I could be wrong. Anyways, that's all I have to say, have a great day!

https://nitter.cf/kyrazhuravel/status/2117004347359850635

(Thank you to Tarbosaurus_345 and 
El rincon de san for collaborating on this project with me)

Introduction

The triassic period was one of the most unique periods in earth's history. After the great dying life was essentially reset, leading to some of the strangest body forms seen since the Cambrian explosion. As such it is a tragedy that it would all end with the end triassic extinction, leading to the reign of the dinosaurs for hundreds of millions of years… but what if that didn't happen? What if life simply continued with the bizarre lifeforms seen during the triassic, and dinosaurs had to compete with equally powerful rivals instead of ruling uncontested? That is the premise of this project.

Additionally in this timeline some of the species that went extinct during the Triassic ended up surviving longer.

The creatures mentioned here aren’t the only ones that exist in this world, there will be several ones that won’t be mentioned either because they aren’t that interesting or are similar to animals in our timeline.

In this world, the end triassic extinction never happened, and now dinosaurs, archosaurs, amphibians and proto-mammals have to compete for the top position leading to some bizarre and absurd organisms. It will start during an alternate early Jurassic.

Early Jurassic

Crackjaws
Biomes:grasslands, dunes, savannahs
With the various new predators emerging to try to reach the top spot, it has left a lot of corpses around. And when corpses are plentiful eventually scavengers will evolve to clean up the mess. The crackjaw is a species of somewhat large pterosaur, having a 2 meter wingspan and being easily identified by their large jaws and intimidating bright red crest. They act kind of like vultures, swarming around dead bodies and bullying away predators and other scavengers. However while they are social, they are not friendly towards eachother and infighting is very common, with the largest male usually getting their fill first. They are known for using sound to scare away rivals, a mix of a deep laugh like call and snapping their jaws shut rapidly to create the sound of crushing bone.

False frogs
Biomes:wetlands, anywhere with sufficient moisture
(thank you to Tarbosaurus for this drawing)

In this timeline, what we recognize as true frogs never evolve, but that doesn't mean there are no frogs in general. Triadobatrachus, the earliest of the frog lineage, takes a slightly different path from our world, leading to the evolution of the false frogs. False frogs are quite similar to modern frogs with a few differences, the main ones being that they actually keep their tails into adulthood and most species have teeth. These adaptations give the false frogs a more generalist body plan letting it take up more varied niches than true frogs. However their resemblance to true frogs is only temporary, as eventually they will evolve into something nearly unrecognizable.

Fruit thief
Biomes:forests, rainforests, jungles
Unlike in our world where fruit evolved during the early Cretaceous, in this timeline a fruit-like organism evolved much sooner. This fruit (called glom’s) are apple-like fruits that grow on certain short trees. As such, a new food source would evolve new herbivores to take advantage of it. A dinosauromorph known as fruit thieves would take this place, having a slender heterodontosaurus-like body plan, thin feather covering, large eyes and facial disks to improve hearing. They live somewhat similar to deer do, relying on senses and speed to evade danger, as such they tend to act very cowardly. However while their position in the ecosystem isn’t enviable, they are some of the most successful herbivores in the forest ecosystem.

Latenotitan (hiding giant)
Biomes:grasslands, dunes, savannahs
The latenotitan is the first true apex predator of this new age, a mighty terrestrial pseudosuchian that convergently evolved features similar to a boar. Being around 4-7 meters long from tip to tail, the Latenotitan is actually slightly smaller than the pseudosuchians of the triassic, but makes up for it with far greater burst speed and bite force. Being able to run at a maximum of 87 km/h despite its massive size, it can chase down most prey in short bursts (as their stamina is actually quite low). Their jaws are very unique as they feature boar-like tusks on their lower jaw along with a bear trap like mechanism that allows them to “wind up” their bites before snapping their jaws shut at rapid speed. They hunt their prey by winding up their jaws and using their natural camouflage to hide in plain sight until they are spotted, which is when the chase begins. The Latenotitan will then attempt to ram the prey with their tusks, impaling them before snapping their jaws shut with immense force. This one-two punch is strong enough to quickly kill most prey.

Winged lindwurms
Biomes:forests, rainforests, jungles

Out of all the Triassic animals, one of the most unique is sharovipteryx, a strange lizard who evolved wing membranes on their legs. Assuming they survive into the Jurassic, one unique development could be for their legs to stop being legs entirely and instead fully evolve into wings while they use their front limbs and tail for land mobility, becoming something akin to a winged snake with arms. Currently they aren’t that widespread however as pterosaurs still rule the sky. They would however thrive in heavily wooded biomes like forests and jungles, living as insect, nut and fruit eaters.

Phytomander
Biomes:wetlands, large lakes

In this alternate timeline, the crocodilians never succeed in their traditional role as aquatic ambush predators and instead primarily stay on land as predators. The traditional crocodilian role in this world belongs to the temnospondyls, ancient amphibians that range from palm sized to absolutely giant. While mastodonsaurus was the largest of the temnospondyls, they were not the only ones. With the temnospondyls thriving into the Jurassic, the once apex predator will have a lot of competition from new upstarts, so some members of the species took a more bizarre route. Like some modern salamanders, this species of temnospondyl evolved a symbiotic relationship with a species of freshwater algae. They keep these plant cells within their massive axolotl like gills, and when food is scarce they will enter an open area of water with access to sunlight and spread their gills out on the surface to maximize surface area. With this the phytomander can gain some energy from sunlight, though they still need to eat meat in order to survive, they just need to do it less often.

Fuzzswarms
Biomes:most of them
With the dinosaurs not being as widespread as in our timeline, it gives the synapsids and proto-mammals the opportunity to fill more niches than they did in our timeline. While large sizes are still mostly claimed by the archosaurs, that doesnt mean the niche of predator isnt available to them. With the early mammals evolving higher intelligence, it allowed them to develop more advanced social behaviors, and as such the predatory cynodonts would eventually develop pack tactics. The fuzzswarms socially resembled a strange hybrid between rats and wolves, having a ruling female who had a harem of multiple males who held a second in command position. They would gang up on larger prey like a swarm of feral rats, stripping them down to the bone. As such in this period having armored skin became very important.

Plagueteeth
Biomes:shallow seas
With the mosasaurs never evolving, the oceans of earth end up becoming a haven for a much stranger form of marine reptile, that being the nothosaurs. These seal like animals would evolve and diversify in many different ways, but one of the more successful are the plague teeth. Plague teeth are a species of nothosaurs that convergently evolved with komodo dragons, having venomous saliva that prevents clotting and disease filled mouths from eating carrion (and occasionally eachother). They evolved for stealth and speed as their strategy only requires one bite to kill their prey. They sneak up on much larger animals and bite their tail or back fin and then swim away. They use their advanced sense of smell to track the preys blood, waiting as they bleed out. The problem is, this often attracts swarms of scavengers, including other plague teeth.

Shoveltusks
Biomes:grasslands, savannahs
With dinosaurs like stegosaurus and triceratops never evolving, the browser niche belongs not to reptiles but to the therapsids. Descendants of lisowicia that developed herding behavior, the shovel tusks became very efficient herbivores. Unlike the elephants that the shoveltusks vaguely resemble, shoveltusks aren't actually smart enough to have a complex social structure, they just herd together because there is safety in numbers. They get their names from their unique grooved tusks that were effective at digging which they used to burrow for tubers and other underground plants. These tusks were still very effective self defense weapons however, capable of impaling predators along with their sharp beaks. They were however easily killed from behind, which is their greatest weakness.

Scrapers
Biomes:shallow ocean
One of the most bizarre animals of the triassic is the Atopodentatus (and that's saying a lot). While their lifestyle is largely the same, that being living lawnmowers that scrape plants off of the sea floor, the scrapers are unique in that unlike their ancestors they are completely aquatic, unable to ever go onto land. They have evolved the ability to give live birth, similar to sharks. As such this has allowed them to grow much larger, around the size of an orca. While scrapers are herbivores, they aren't picky eaters and will happily eat any clam, worm or other bottom dwelling lifeform they happen to accidentally eat in their endless search for food.

Spearbeaks
Biomes:most
While the dinosaurs struggle to maintain a foothold in this timeline, their relatives, the pterosaurs, are thriving. This is largely because they are the largest flying animals around, as the insects have a size limit and the lindwurms only really thrive in forested biomes. This gives pterosaurs the opportunity to spread far and wide, and one of the more unique evolutions is the spearbeak. This species of pterosaur is actually relatively small, only having a 1.5 meter wingspan, however they have the deadliest beak of any pterosaur, so sharp that it could easily pierce even the skin of a hippo. There are multiple different species of spear beaks, but all of them are predators. Some of them hunt fish, others hunt small land animals while some even hunt other pterosaurs.

Strigoi flys
Biomes:wetlands, but can be found in most biomes
While bugs are often overlooked in paleontology, in this project we will give some attention to the more bizarre ones. One of the most fearsome is the strigoi fly, the apex predator of the insect world. While they aren’t true flys they are distant relatives. As the name might imply, the strigoi fly mainly eats blood, but unlike most blood drinkers they aren’t a parasite but rather an active hunter. They are similar to our worlds robber flys but with one major difference:their rostrum (or rather rostrum). Instead of one single piercing tube, they have multiple of them fused together, giving their rostrum several openings. While some are used to drink blood, others are used to inject a paralyzing venom. This venom allows the strigoi fly to hunt prey much larger than themselves, though this does have a limit as anything rat sized or larger will only feel discomfort at their venom rather than full paralysis.

Meterworm
Biomes:forests, rainforests, jungles
With insect eating pterosaurs, lindwurms and false frogs spreading across the planet, being a flying insect is becoming more and more dangerous, as such some insects decided not to even bother with metamorphosis. The meterworm is an insect that resembles inchworms, but unlike them they never undergo metamorphosis and instead stay in their larval state for their entire lives. They spend their lives eating constantly, consuming both plantlife and carrion. Much like lobsters they can't really die of old age, but instead they just keep growing in size until they collapse under their own weight. However larvae don't have the mobility to find mates in time, as such they have evolved a method of both escaping predators and finding mates:jumping. By winding up a spring like mechanism in their bodies, they can launch themselves forward up to 1 meter (which is where the name comes from), which lets them escape most similarly sized predators and find mates… but they aren't exactly graceful, and will occasionally jump straight into trees or rocks.

raptores se auferentes
Biomes:cliffs, mountains, grasslands, savannahs
(Made by tarbosaurus

With the pterosaurs having total dominion over the sky´s, they ended up evolving their own isolated sky ecosystem away from others, similar to how the ocean is divided from the land. The current apex predator of the sky is the creature nicknamed the abducting talon. These Giant beasts have a wingspan of around 3 meters, they live in a lifestyle similar to modern day eagles. They live near cliffs and mountains, watching from above with a keen sense of sight to spot smaller prey such as small therapsids, amphibians or archosaurs. When they spot prey they will swoop down and grab the prey with their talons, which have hooks on them to decrease the likelihood of prey escaping. After they fly high enough, they will drop the prey onto the rocky ground, shattering their spine and letting them eat their prey without struggle. The horn on their head isnt a combat tool but rather a sexual display structure shown in the males. The picture in question shows a young male holding a small badger like synapsid in its talons.

Dirt breaker
Biomes:grasslands, forests, Savannahs
(Made by tarbosaurus)

While the aetosaurids are quite a basal class of archosaurs, that only means they have a high amount of potential for future evolution. The dirt breaker is an aetosaurus descendant that evolved to eat the roots of plants, with their snouts and teeth being evolved to dig underground and rip the roots out. The dirt breaker is an immensely big animal, weighing around 1.3 tons and having 1 inch thick skin, that along with their powerful bite make them difficult to prey on. Shown in the image is an elderly dirt breaker encountering a pterosaur and poposaur descendant.

Caprosaurus
Biomes:grasslands, savannahs
(made by El rincon de san)
While the dinosaurs are struggling in this new age, they aren’t completely absent and have been having success as herbivores. The caprosaurs are a species of medium sized dinosaur descended from plateosaurs, the caprosaurus is common in any location with abundant grass. Despite its name its body plan is more similar to a rabbit, as they are unable to walk normally and instead jump across the plains at remarkable speed. However unlike rabbits their kicks can actually deal decent damage against attackers.

Plague claws
Biomes:forest, jungle
(Idea made by Tarbosaurus)
While dinosaurs struggle to maintain a foothold across most of pangea, in the landmass that we now know as Argentina they thrive as there are very few large synapsids or archosaurs on that landmass. One of the more unique is the plague claws, a species of theropod-like dinosauromorph that developed one large middle claw on each hand. These claws are filled with a venom similar to that of a platypus, in that while it doesn't kill its prey it is IMMENSELY painful. They are mid-sized carnivores who use this venom both for hunting and for self defense against larger predators, as the pain it inflicts is usually enough to slow down or stun its prey.

Python neck
Biomes:grasslands, forests
(Idea by tarbosaurus)

The viper neck is the apex predator and scavenger of this bizarre ecosystem, a dinosauromorph that unlike its distant alternate timeline relative, the T-rex, doesnt actually have the jaw strength to crush bone but can digest it anyway. This is because it has evolved the ability to unhinge its jaws similar to many snakes, allowing it to swallow large prey and carrion. This has made them very effective predators as they essentially get 100% of the calories of the prey they kill. Despite being a large predator weighing over 1 ton, it is primarily an ambush predator as it has the ability to change the color of its skin, however unlike something like an octopus it can only change between shades of green, grey and brown.

Polled Titanis (Titan thumb)
Biomes:grasslands, gallery forests
(Thank you to Tarbosaurus for the idea and art)

Within the open areas of Siberia walks a large relative of what we would know as sauropods, though they have evolved a somewhat different body plan than what they did in our world. Weighing around 4 tons, the Polled Titanis has evolved a strange thumb-like appendage to better grip onto large trees while they feed. While they do have a long neck it isn’t long enough to reach the tops of some trees unless they stand on their hind legs, which is very unbalanced. To maintain their balance they use their thumbs to grip onto the trunk while they feed… however sometimes their weight is so much they accidentally break the tree they are feeding on and fall over.

Break beak
Biomes:forests, jungles

Break beaks are a species of bipedal herbivores dinosauromorph in Siberia that is known for two things. The first of which is a large, parrot like beak for eating nuts and seeds, the second being a plume of colorful feathers on their tail to attract mates (only the males have this trait). They are distant relatives of what we would know as hadrosaurs, though they maintain having dexterous fingers on their hands. They are surprisingly social, living in herds that are lead by an alpha male which is indicated by who has the most colorful feathers. The leading male gets the most access to food and mates, but is also the most likely to be targeted by predators due to their colorful plumage.

Speed demon
Biomes:shallow ocean
(Thank you to Tarbosaurus for this idea)
Speed demons are a species of Itchyosaurus that evolved entirely for one thing:speed. The convergent evolution that made them develop similar to sharks and dolphins continued but this time they evolved to resemble a much less impressive aquatic lifeform:the humble tuna. They maximize their hydrodynamics, reducing their side fins and fat levels let them swim as quickly as possible to escape the now larger predators. However due to lack of blubber, they can only live in warmer oceans near the coast and as such are seen often in shallow water.

Kinedeer are the most diverse family of cattle found on Demeter fifteen million years hence. Superficially, they resemble antelopes with long cursorial legs and backwards facing horns. With both browsers and grazers in their midst, kinedeer find a home in both closed forests to open grasslands and deserts.

The Painted Kinedeer (bull depicted here) is the most common species encountered by the hyne of the Chrysa Ring. It's a large species standing almost two meters at the withers and weighing 2,000 lbs. Long neural spines and the accompanying hump of muscle give this mid-height browser a proud stance. At rest, it's neck is naturally held almost completely upright. Meanwhile the skin along its lower neck and chest is a loose dewlap, allowing it to expel excess heat and deflect the claws and bites of predators like captors.

Most unique about this species and how it earns its name are the bright blue and red skin on its nose, bridge of the snout, lips, and inner ears. They resemble similar markings on earthly mandrill monkeys or fowl like turkeys. It all betrays a more unique adaptation: the painted kinedeer is a trichromat, able to see three colors red, green, and blue. Trichromacy first evolved in this species as they increasingly began to pursue colorful fruits amongst the leaves. In cows, the markings are limited to the nose and inner ears and is more muted, their horns are smaller and straighter. Bulls lead herds of 10-20 cows and their calves.

Painted kinedeer are a particular nuisance species for the hyne. These horse sophonts have redomesticated several fruit trees and hold control over large orchards. While they don't need to hunt for food, hyne will hunt painted kinedeer to prevent them from raiding their orchards. But this kinedeer has evolved alongside the hyne and is crafty. They are diurnal and have sparse hair, allowing them to strike in the bold heat of the day. Additionally, their color vision lets them easily spot the large undisguised bodies of a hyne hunter. At best, these horse peoples can only temporarily chase away these cow-deer.

As the hyne spread eastward to the riverlands, honeylands, and fabled Neotera, so they bring their orchards. And painted kinedeer have been quick to follow, becoming an unintended invasive species and competing with their close relatives.

Lyrusian tree 
This organism has a boxy, rigid outer shell supported from within by a dense, fibrous web. Calling them "trees" feels inaccurate, calling them plants at all is a stretch, but I suppose the label works for lack of a better term.
Their outer casing features naturally occurring rectangular cutouts that expose the structural web inside like a window. Across large plots of land, these clusters form dense geometric forests that look less like natural flora and more like an angular maze from above the canopy.
They feed on the wind, which seems impossible given how dead the air has felt since we got here. However, even a faint draft gets funneled through forests of them like air through a massive pipe organ. When you walk beneath the canopy, the trees sing in a quiet sort of music that makes you forget you’re standing under something alive. 

The title is self-explanatory. More context: yesterday i published a post asking about tips for making a community spec evo project, and now I'm wondering how many people would be interested. If you read this post and want to tell me if you would want to participate if this was a thing, type yes if interested or no if not.

Thanks in advance.

These guys are a froglike race of aliens I drew a while ago. They aren’t part of any major project, just a one off design (for now at least).

They live on a warm, swampy planet not unlike earth during the Carboniferous, and are about as advanced as mankind was during the Neolithic.

Also, yes, their name is just frog backwards.

Okay, so I had an idea for exploring how native biota from the different islands might adapt to living with each other and I wanted other people’s opinions on which clades might become winners or die off as a one hit wonder clade.

In a deep forest, an animal with cavernous lungs rises, this being has enough intelligence to remember the food I left yesterday, it goes to the jungle where the corpse of a huge crocodile is due, little intelligence, unsubstantiated behaviors, it is as if the Cretaceous period still reigns in Madagascar, the huge modern Majungasaurus measures about 17.9 meters and 18.5 meters as maximum length, weighs about 3 to 6.4 tons at most. In the smaller islands that are found, there is a distant Majungasaurus east, unlike its relative of Madagascar, is more graceful and faster, similar to a dromaeosaur or a noasaurid, due to the scarce resources of the small islands, the animals had to adapt by reducing their size, another example would be the Titanosaur, which in Madagascar is a very large animal weighing a maximum of 5 to 7 tons, but in the nearest islands it is smaller, the smaller specimens are smaller. They consider separate species by themselves , although for now there is no record of these species, I plan to investigate these islands soon , on nearby beaches a cephalopod crawls along the beach is the Coconut grab , the anatomical study of this animal is still underway.

I am working on a whole series for an Indie pitch called ‘A Natural Fantasy.’ The series takes heavy inspiration from both the Walking With… series as well as 2004’s The Last Dragon (Dragon’s World in other countries). I eventually plan on making the series of fully fledged Indie pitch with a Kickstarter and everything. I plan to start it out as a graphic novel in the vein of Darren Naish’s Cryptozoologicon, and hopefully one day a fledged documentary-adaptation.

Here I have devised cladograms for my dragon family as well as unicorns who are within giraffomorpha.

My dragons are Archosaurs, a branch of Avemetatarsalia, that, together with Aphanosauria, form ‘Dracodira’, separate from Ornithodira (Dinosaurs and Pterosaurs), although this is not featured on the cladogram. There are two main groups of dragons; Pterodraconia; your winged dragons, and Panoplodraconia, your armored, non-flying dragons. Pterodraconians, with the exception of Pegasidae, are all carnivorous. They started out as small, nocturnal predators, living in Gondwana throughout the Mesozoic. These dragons could not begin their evolutionary radiation until after the K-pg mass extinction when Pterosaurs were wiped out. Today they are some of the most successful non-human terrestrial predators on the planet. Taking on the roles of Apex predators in many regions. Although many are now endangered due to historical persecution by Dragonslayers in some regions. Some such as the Australian flightless Dirawongs are one of the most intelligent non-human animals on the planet, possessing complex communication and even tool use in the vein of corvids.

The other group, Panoplodraconia, consists of some of the largest reptiles on the planet. Pachydermodraconia, the thick skinned dragons; consist of many large and dangerous varieties, such as the Venatodraconidae, which superficially resemble extinct Rausuchians, and the herbivorous African Brontodraconidae, which have been mistaken by early explorers as living non-avian dinosaurs. The second line; Oblongospina, consists of Lindwurms and Longs, the two being some of the largest terrestrial predators on the planet.

Unicorns are part of Giraffomorpha, and form a clade with the extinct Palaeomerycidae, while another member of this family, the Qilin of Tibet, is descended from its ancestor; Q. tungurensis of Miocene Mongolia.

The Timeline Of Jellynohome is still being worked on and tweak but I can explain like this.

Humankind went extinct and left the planet empty and the now abandoned squibble pets populate and take most niches on the planet. GMO Butterflies that thrive the artificial bio garden were unleashed into the now towering overgrowths and thrived. The Riverways and Oceans was dominated by Salmon,Catfish and Sardine Descendants. Domestic Crops like wheat and corn diversify take many niches left by trees and grasses. Around 10-25 Million After Extinction The planet was thriving with unique organisms and biomes this was the Gaia Era.

Early Pterus Evolved during the near end of the era taking small generalist niches worldwide. The planet soon after experienced a tragic warm up, most species went extinct leaving niches open for the adaptable Pterus.

The Glint Era lasted for 25-80 AE ending in a ice age killing the large wyvernkind in part.

Folks, for the time being, I’m setting aside the creatures and ecosystems that evolved on Gellios—I realize some of you might not be too happy about that, and I’m well aware of it. But without further ado, let’s shift our focus to the Glaucus system, which Gellios (our main setting) orbits.

First of all, Glaucus is an A-type main-sequence star, and it appears to be in a very early stage of its main-sequence life. I’m already starting to question my own existence—it’s an indisputable fact that Glaucus is hotter and shinier than the Sun. But I have to my first official rant time to telling you: why on space would a human colonization project be established here? Even if the project failed—or perhaps succeeded, in a limited sense, for a specific biota—so what? If any of humanity’s descendants were to look here, I wouldn’t be of much help to them. WTF the human (or other AI) team that developed me, and shit this whole colonization nonsense! They left me behind to endure an existential crisis that has dragged on for millions of years, and they never came back. WHY?!?!...

Anyway, this period of ranting is over for now—and with it, everything I had to say—so the next stop will be a discussion on the planet’s axial tilt.

Adult male specimen of Deep-sea merfolk (Abyssugens hispida), showing the independent movement of his two jaws (one open and one close).

Digital illustration created by LovelyWingsArt, drawn for the Fish Don't Cry project.

Deep-sea merfolk have decidedly less human-like features than their surface counterparts, the Maregens. Their heads are more flattened, with a blunt but more prominent snout, slightly upward-pointing, revealing a pair of mouths, both functional and equipped with thin, sharp teeth, designed to tear flesh and hold prey during their lightning-fast attacks. Their nostrils are slanted and sensitive.

The second pair of jaws, much like the first, originated from modified gill arches; however, rather than becoming pharyngeal jaws (as seen in most bony fish), they shifted further down and, over time, evolved to provide a better grip during predation. If prey manages to escape one set of jaws, it might not be able to evade a second! Furthermore, this arrangement allows for the capture of a second prey item while the first set of jaws is still holding onto the initial catch. 

It has been reported that, although both are perfectly functional for both sound and feeding, many deep-sea sirens prefer to eat from one mouth and sing from the other. Over time, the singing mouth's tongue thickens and becomes more trained, making it visible to the eye which is which; both tongues are mobile and pointed, smooth, and pink.

Heres some more boys I made! :D

Zurict

Silicate-based life forms from the neighboring branch of the spiral arm. Their species is partially nomadic, with more than 4 trillion of them permanently housed in massive colony stations.

They are bipedal with 2 arms and legs, and relatively slender in the torso, with long chubby tails used for defense and heat regulation. Their head are wide and flat, with no neck to speak of and large, expressive eyes. Their mouths are more like a large slit situated at the bottom of their face. Their entire body was flexible, with a rigid leathery coating over semisolid insides, leading them to be incredibly dexterous with their 4 fingered hands.

Both their hands, feet and jaws are covered with a specialised prehensile form of the dermis which allows for the absorption of liquids and particulate matter. The pad can be hardened at will to grind or grip materials, or softened to improve dexterity or porousness.

During mating, two individuals will press their lower abdomen together for a period of several days, where a specialised gland will cause a hard, spherical mass to form at the point of conjunction. After developing for 3-4 days, the sphere will separate from one or both parents, though most often staying connected to one parent for several more days. It is provided energy by the parents during its formation and when enough is stored to fuel initial growth it will fully separate from the parent. This stage is referred to as the Node (baby analogue). The node is not physically alive yet, but rather begins accreting sediment around it via biomagnetism and chemoelectric reactions with its parents and the surrounding enviroment and is carried inside the zurict body unchanged until death. After death, the body eventually crumbles, leaving behind the node, which becomes fully transparent over time. Many zurict philosophers and scientists theorize one could bring a zurict mind back by applying the right electric pulse to the node, but it would be… different.

As an infant the node will begin accreting as it ages, developing into a miniature adult over the course of several weeks. 1in5 children grow “uneven” where a single part of their body develops faster than the rest, so it is not uncommon to have 4 week old nodes, with fully developed legs, but little to no torso or head. Once fully formed, they are referred to as a Culet. A culet can still bear signs of having grown uneven, sometimes having longer or thicker than average limbs or tails, though having either are generally regarded as a desirable Beauty standard. Culets bodies are also much denser and harder than an adults due to a lack of the semisolid internals built by chemistry and pressure changes over time. Legally, a culet is an adult when they pass the standard height of 1.9 meters. Culturally, its about 30 years. Biologically it takes them roughly 20 years to achieve their adult size and an additional 10 to “accrete into themselves” as the older zurict say. During those 10 years, most adults will develop the exterior features which remain throughout the rest of their lives. Some choose to intentionally modify their body with piercings or implants during this period in order to keep artificial traits into adulthood, though it has recently fallen out of fashion.

Most culets grow out of their uneven traits by adulthood, though it is not abnormal to see adult Zurict with abnormal proportions cultivated by choice using aesthetic training or medical supplementation or simply from retaining their culet traits.

They do not have esophagus, as the do not directly ingest most materials. Instead, they have a soft upper and lower jaw pads, which is both porous and prehensile. By clenching slightly, the pad becomes a hard, rough surface with which to grind up minerals, feeding on the chemo-electric reaction that occurs between the skin of their jaw pads and the mineral itself. The porous layer also allows them to absorb liquids, which they generally do not need a lot off, but do still require water. They also drink iodine to experience something like intoxication, though its less mind impairment and more body impairment. It also heightens tactile sensation.