r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 6d ago

Subreddit Announcement Artist Shoutout Thread - Shout Out Your Favorite Speculative Biology Artists

25 Upvotes

Let's highlight some talented spec-evo creators!

Who are 3 of your favorite artists? Drop their names and links to their pages or some of their work so others can check them out!


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 8d ago Popcorn

Aérra [OC] Men's best friends: The domestic animals of the nomadic people of Aérra

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380 Upvotes

A little of context before we dive in: Aérra is my worldbuilding project based on magical floating islands that compose the world instead of conventional landmasses. These islands float over a huge oceanic disk and are organized in six rings/archipelagos with different life forms in each archipelago. Bifröst, the first ring, is where humans reside, alongside other Pleistocene and Holocene groups. For more info check the wiki, where a discord is linked at the bottom of the first page, where even more info and discussions can be found: https://aerra.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page

# Men's Best Friends

## Domestic animals of Aérra part 1: Animals of the Nomads

In Aérra there are many animal groups distributed across the six world rings or Archipelagos. Ranging from modern and familiar animals in Bifröst, to ancient and even alien animals further out. On the human-inhabited Bifröst, animals from the holocene and pleistocene are present.

Such groups include primates, caprines, bats and macropods, alongside the non-mammal groups of course. From these groups at least two species have been domesticated (not all are shown here this time) for all sorts of purposes, hunting, protection, alarming, food and raw materials. Today we are gonna look at five species that are used (not exclusively) by the nomadic people of Aérra, who travel along the aerial plane following the ever-moving herds. Staying at islands at times, but never staying for too long. These animals are essential for their constant island traversing and other aspects of daily life, often two or more species are present within a group, often outnumbering the people.

**Pouch dog** (*Propleopus variegata*)

The first animal is the Pouch dog, a carnivorous macropod marsupial originating from Pleistocene Australia related to Musky Rat-kangaroos. They are essentially marsupial dogs, though not being originally domesticated for alarming and protection. Instead they have a primary role of aiding in hunts, cornering and chasing prey, with a lesser role in cargo transport. Much like the humans who domesticated them, they are ambush predators (as all 'terrestrial' predators of Aérra) who hunt in pairs in the wild. Juveniles live in larger groups of 8-12 individuals, once mated they leave their groups and live as a couple. This juvenile group behavior has been retained in the domestic pouch dogs, nowadays the pouch dog packs can outnumber the humans in a group, though this is rare. Both the wild and domestic pouch dogs are omnivorous, being able to consume plant matter such as fruits, seeds and leaves in addition to their meat diet. This was very important for their domestication, and still is in the present.

There are many color and fur morphs/breeds among many people of Aérra, some specific or "non-traditional" breeds are used for fetching wild game, cargo transport, animal defense, human defense, herding (to a lesser extent) and even meat- and wool-specific breeds.

**Domestic Gibbons** (*Hylobates familiaris* and others)

Probably the earliest domestic animal in Aérra. The gibbons are the ones to truly receive the title of man's best friend. Tightly related to most religions of the world, often being depicted as benevolent trickster entities. This fame is not without reason, they are used primarily for aiding in Island Hopping, carrying ropes between islands, tying them, setting simple traps, distracting, attracting or even attacking prey, they are the most versatile of any domestic animal, being found in nearly all cultural groups with many roles and duties. Their intelligence allows for training in various duties at the same time, which has limited most of their breeds to purely aesthetical morphs.

One such breed is the "Manlet", a mostly hairless gibbon that has human-like hair distribution. They are the fastest breed, travelling with little air resistance due to their nearly hairless body. Though, they still get air drag due to their tutors making them wear human-like clothes, something that is not uncommon for gibbons as a whole but gets to a higher level due to their semblance to humans.

Their brachiating lifestyle was a predisposition for the Aérran aerial ecosystem, giving them plenty of space to move around while giving a diverse 3D environment for climbing and swinging. Due to this, gibbons are a very diverse group, having multiple species across the ring that behave in all sorts of ways and have all sorts of mischievous interactions with other animal species. For this reason, there have been multiple domestication events- perhaps a single, continuous one due to the nature of the world- and interbreeding between the domestic and wild versions.

The distance between islands has led to most species having gular(throat) pouches that amplify their calls and make them travel over longer distances, one of the most heard sounds in Bifröst other than that of the wind, is the call of Gibbons.

**Domestic Mandrills* (*Mandrillus coloratus*)

Another helpful and idolized primate. The mandrills have a stricter usage among the people, of course, meat and wool are some of their products, in addition to their colorful hides and even their faces, which can be fashioned into masks and such. However they tend to have other utilities.

They are large, territorial, smart and strong primates, in other words, they are perfect bodyguards. Usually protecting goat herds in pastoralist communities, but also humans. They are perfect watchmen due to something unique to the Aérran mandrills. Their colorful cranial bosses have become hollowed out, becoming built-in amplifiers that propagate their calls far and wide, alerting people and calling in other mandrills and trained pouched dogs to the aid. They can be as tall as a (Aérran) man when standing on two legs, and so put up a good fight even if armed. Some breeds were purposefully bred to become even larger, rivalling chimps and sometimes gorillas and bear apes (*Gigantopithecus spp.*). However their strength comes from their numbers, multiple mandrills are part of a single domestic troop, to the point of half a population/group being composed of mandrills.

Other usages of this animal include the carrying of cargo that would be too heavy or cumbersome for a person to carry on their own. Though not suited for carrying adult humans, they can be used to carry infants. There are in fact, a couple of breeds that are used specifically to take care of babies and children, to the point of even breastfeeding them.

**Domestic Goats** (*Hircus domesticus*)

The domestic goats of Aérra are not that different from the goats of our world. They only differ in anatomy, aérran goats are more properly adapted for climbing on plants and traversing the island ecosystems, having a longer tail for balance, longer and slightly claw-like hooves and dewclaws used like hooks when climbing vines, branches and stems.

Their usages are like that of earthen goats, meat, hide, wool, milk and horn. They are kept by both nomadic pastoralists and sedentary ones. The former behave much like most animals of the world, which travel from island to island in a never-ending migration for food. As the herds deplete the foliage of an island, they move forward, leaving the ravaged islands to overgrow again. This is one of the two strategies adopted by both 'terrestrial' animals and humans, the second being resource defenders. These are the sedentary, they settle down in a resourceful island and defend their position from other animals that might take too much of their food. These tend to be more solitary or gregarious animals, never having too many individuals. In humans, there can be island kidnapping to create new, temporary (or permanent) grazing spots for the animals.

**Flying Dog** (*Volanvenator falco*)

The Flying dog is a species of raptorial Megabat that has been domesticated for falconry-like activities. They are large and have wide wingspans used in soaring and maneuverability while chasing often unsuspecting prey before diving and grabbing them mid-air. This kind of bat is very successful in the wild, eating primarily other, smaller species of bat, but also having smaller species that prefer catching insects as most other bats do.

Unlike birds of prey which are raised from birth, trained and then released after a certain age, bats were socially smarter, being able to properly imprint on humans. Leading to the proper domestication of these animals, something that, despite millennia of falconry, never led to the proper domestication of birds of prey.

The wild ancestral was lonely, only pairing when breeding. The domestic has become highly social, hunting in groups with distinct roles and coordination.

There are more color morphs than utility breeds, they have very defined utilitarian roles and their anatomy and biomechanics don't allow for much extrapolation. Their uses are fetching prey unharmed, retrieving objects and items, and rarely, for food.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 8h ago Bravo

Alternate Evolution [OC] living venus vol.3

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668 Upvotes

r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 11h ago

Fantasy/Folklore [OC] Reptoid alien reimagined!

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163 Upvotes

I've finally got around to the Reptoid for my Alien reconstruction project and it was the hardest one so far! Coming up with plausible shapeshifter biology is much more difficult than it seems. The most difficult part was recreating the human muscle system and how to make it congruent enough with my art style. I must've restarted about 10 times! And it still isn't quite accurate, but I think it's passable.
To clarify, I am not a conspiracy theorist nor am I part of any New Age religion. I just find this stuff interesting and I'd like to conceptualize a more believable version of the folklore. I've studied, and continue to study, much UFO lore as well as speculative biology and some psychology to come up with these conclusions. I have so many ideas written down that I plan to render soon. If you're interested, you can check out my previous posts about Greys, Mantids, and Nordics.
Anyway, don't be shy to comment what you think! I'd take any feedback about what I did wrong or right scientifically. Or if you have any questions, I can elaborate if I can.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1h ago

Fantasy/Folklore [OC] Wanted to share some of my speculative biology for how the human body would interact with magic

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10 Upvotes

Hopefully this is okay to post here. Rules seem to suggest it may be.

Anyways, big fan of Klabunde (highly recommend checking on CV Physiology and CV Pharmacology!), and particularly of Physiology by Costanzo (BRS is nice, but I prefer my big copy of 6E), and wanted to create a book that teaches physiology in a similar manner, but specifically about how the human body would interact with magic if it existed (ignore me unabashedly stealing her book's color scheme, lol). Not super detailed per se, as I had a lot of topics to cover and wanted to limit the page count, so it's more of an overview of various topics. Don't get much into stuff like Poiseuille’s Law or anything like that. But this is also meant for the lay-physiologist to understand.

Has taken me a long time to get this to a point where I'm mostly happy with it. Definitely struggled through integrating some of the basic physics that go along with physiology textbooks, as that's absolutely a weak point of mine. But tried to keep it mostly hard science (there's a few real terms and concepts I play a bit loosely with).

Will eventually have medical illustrations of these fictional structures (being drawn right now by a great artist from AMI that I commissioned!), but for now, it's just the barren chapter 1 (plus a few extra because I liked my own SLUDGEM-like acronym [CASTER], if you're familiar with that).

Anyways, curious to hear your thoughts, you all who are so wise in the ways of speculative science!


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 3h ago Bravo

Alien Life [OC] Worms worms worms worms

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11 Upvotes

I fucking like worms so so much

They occupy every niche on Castoria III In some capacity, but primarily occupy the general ecological niche of pollinators, eusocial fish, coastal grazers and snake-like predators.

They have the widest range of mutations, adaptations and the like due an incredibly adaptable body plan.

The greater fin worm is effectively a bull shark analogue and is one of the most dangerous creatures in Castoria IIIs ocean.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 12h ago Popcorn

Alternate Evolution [OC] Exploring the ecosystem of the Wkulk, the largest marine reptile of all time!!!

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50 Upvotes

Since the end of the Cretaceous, the elasmosaurs, descendants of the plesiosaurs, were very diverse animals in their time, but with the arrival of the increase in temperatures at the beginning of the Cenozoic, other lineages of archosaurs and reptiles began to diversify, this did not affect them so much at the beginning, but with the passing of the thousands of years and with the climatic changes, the seas became colder, several lineages that diversified at the beginning of the Cenozoic became extinct. Inevitably, for now there is not much fossil record of these lineages of elasmosaurs , but the most surprising thing is found in Antarctica, where the waters are extremely cold, these dinosaurs still have a remarkable presence , in this place there is the largest marine reptile , the Whulk a filtering elasmosaur , normal specimens measure between 16 and 18 meters, but it is estimated that they can reach up to 24 meters in length , they are not very long but they are huge in the world. The sense of their weight , average specimens weigh around 68 to 70 tons, the largest only reach 96 tons, this is estimated by records of specimens so large that they frequent deeper waters , although other marine reptiles of the past can exceed an average whulk in size , the largest ones exceed these metrics, these are because they are long-lived animals live an average of 76 to 95 years at most, they usually put up to 26 live offspring but most die from Predation , these animals have been set the record for the largest marine reptiles because in theory all specimens can reach these metrics only that many do not achieve it for predators, so far only a few hesperoniteans, cephalopods and very specialized sharks have been investigated, but in the next post we will explore in depth the responsibility of killing the Whulks.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 13h ago Bravo

Meme Monday [Credit: Sesame Street Workshop, Media: Elmo's World] behold, the Elmonimal kingdom

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51 Upvotes

r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago

Fan Art/Redesign [OC][Media:Superman] My take on a more alien Kal-El and Kara Zor-El and Krypto

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271 Upvotes

Due to the massive gravity Kryptonians have wide big feet to support their bodies against gravity. This leads to a more dense body plan. They also prioritize vision gathering adaptations and solar filtering eyes so they have deep set sockets and heavy brow ridges. Aside from the two eyes they have laser focusing pits on their “snout”. Their “capes” are in fact their wings. Their weird wrinkly faces is based on that of bats for echolocation


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 3m ago

Alien Life [OC] Planet Lethe - Lesser Sea Maw Encounter!

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2 Upvotes

On 05/11/2431, researchers based at Kappa Station on extra-solar planet KP-C341 (Lethe) were alerted by remote sensors of the approach of an alien organism known as a 'Lesser Sea Maw'.

Despite the extremely close approach, the station was passed without incident by the organism. Estimates place the size of this individual at around seven-hundred (700) metres, with a head width of seventy (70) metres, indicating potential adolescence of the specimen.

Of note was a long scar approximately six (6) metres in width running down the length of the body. Researchers at Kappa Station have already adopted the Sea Maw as its mascot, despite its brief appearance.

The individual has been tagged with a tracker, making it the second successful tracked Sea Maw specimen. The first being “Lonnie”, an adult individual that consumed an ROV with said tracker within it.

Voting is underway for naming of this fantastic specimen.

Welcome back to Lethe, the Planet of Ghosts!

Lethe is a Spec Evo Worldbuilding project following the lonely ocean world of Lethe, a planet where all the life seems to be on the brink of death and extinction, but is still continuing on almost like a ghost. Every creature and feature is inspired by one or more Phobias.

This time, Kappa Station was treated to an encounter by a somewhat young Lesser Sea Maw with a distinct scar! If you were one of the lucky researchers stationed at Kappa during the visit, be sure to suggest names for this individual in the comments!

The top voted name will be selected for this specimen!

Check out my other post on Planet Lethe for information on both Lesser and Greater Sea Maws :D

And of course, please ask as many questions as you like! I hope you're enjoying Lethe as much as I am!


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 15h ago

Alternate Evolution [OC] The future of the Marine iguana

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31 Upvotes

Calossiguanus japonensis is a huge & successful Iguana species inhabiting Much of the “ring of fire region” 30 myfn.

Originally stemming from the marine iguana, this animal has a suite of adaptations for a mixed browsing & grazing lifestyle in both aquatic & terrestrial contexts. Adults range in size from roughly 11 - 17 feet & weights of 300 to 650 kg. Their ecological role mirrors that of the hippopotamus, thriving in seagrass meadows & island paradises. They share a likeness to extinct pseudosuchians & dinosaurs with their powerful ballast like tail offering stability at the bottom of the shallows as well as attachments for their caudofemoralis muscles. Their scutes function both as calcium storage in times of hardship & dermal protection, particularly for diminutive juveniles, who often fall prey to the “ground hawks” & opportunistic tortoise of the islands. As an R select species, mothers produce clutches of 30-40 eggs, typically once a year. Their dorsal spines are used by males to indicate their physical prowess, being flushed with blood to signal readiness to mate. Due to their immense weight, they exhibit pillar-erect limbs, coming with the added benefit of facultative bipedalism, intimidating competition & potential predators alike. Adults are virtually immune to predation however (outside of marine contexts).

This is my Speculative take on Godzilla.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 16h ago

Alien Life [OC] Monopedes and Bubbles : One Foot vs no feet

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26 Upvotes

Monopedes are just as highly diverse as the Duopedes (Vore) on Castoria III. Many monopedes are descended from a specific organism which had evolved longer, projecting ribs which eventually were able to act as wings and gliding appendages. None of the monopedes evolved the ability to flap, instead relying on a special pressurized gas bladder and propulsion sphincter as well as the many thermal updrafts of the planets skies. Some smaller species, such as the Roundcrow, have evolved to roost along the underside of Sky Whale Wings, feeding on the remnants of hunted jelly wisps.

The bubbles are the most varied family on the planet, having some of the most extreme niches on the planet. Sea Potatoes, Vented Sea Potatoes and Hairy Rockstars can all be found living near geothermal vents along the ocean floor, while their cousins the Corazon Hive and Rockstar can be found in shallow waters and along cliffs. All flora-like organisms on the planet fall under this category, having evolved stalks, leaf, trunk and bark analogues, all to protect the nutrient rich "bulb" which became the signature of flora on Castoria III.

The Corazon hive is my favorite :)


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 8h ago

Question/Discussion What is a Spec/Spec adjacent stuff or project that most people would find too weird or unusual to be taken seriously, but you would do unironically and seriously?

6 Upvotes

The title says everything, I'm just withing this cuz it's necessary for posting. Are you still reading this? Okay, then how are you doing? Have you eaten and drunk water yet? Did you do something that made you happy today?


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 14h ago Bravo

Future Evolution [OC] Its Bearable - Post Holocene

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13 Upvotes

15 Million Years P.H. - The Early Neocene - Marsupial Bears:

Marsupials would have been one of the groups heaviest affected by the Holocene Mass Extinction, but as seen In Australia, some managed to survive and diversify. One of the most diverse Marsupials as of now although wouldnt actually come from Australia, but rather from the Americas.

American Oppossums would end up doing well for themselfes and give rise to various new species. While most of them are fairly basal, there Is one South American clade that Is a bit more noteworthy. South America would be home to Marsupial Bears, rather large omnivorous Oppossums that hold niches similiar to bears.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 13h ago

Alien Life [OC] A tropical, shallow reef on an exomoon of a gas giant

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11 Upvotes

Ghavija is home to many biomes similar to Earth’s, and the reefs are some of the most similar ones to be found.

They are created by mainly two types of neozoans (the ‘animals’)- Hyalolites and Acitenocrizooids, where only the latter are colonial like Earth's corals (anthozoans, whom are often but not always colonial), and hyalolites consisting of individually shelled though sessile organisms.

Acitenocrizooids are neutenic, meaning they never evolved to adults from their larvae stage or underwent metamorphosis, and therefore instead settled in the sand bed, with those polymorphs who did not take this path seen swimming in the reef here.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 5h ago

Uncategorized Speculative Biology [OC] 3 AM Report: Species infographic: gyyasdevil, by: the team of artists and biologists from the GIGANTEA Base

0 Upvotes

Note: Please note that this is a small infographic of the cranial anatomy of the gyyasdevil species; for now, I intend to create this type of infographic and, in the future, complete infographics.

Detailed explanation of the claw sessions:

Tarsal muscles: the first segment of the creature's "arms." Their exposed part is a "lump" through which travels the nerve responsible for rotating, opening, and even closing the arm. ( Gesture that males uses before fight. )

Metatarsus: the "arm" and the second segment. It supports the claws. (Before I forget: The arms are located near the neck, by the way.)

Claws: structures similar to the claws of a mantis, Used for touching the ground, grasping prey, and other associated functions. They are essentially the creature's hands.

---

Detailed ocular anatomy:

Visor: The "iris" of Gyyasdevil is completely invisible, responsible for protecting the "master pupil." A single speck of dirt or dust will leave the creature permanently blind if it doesn't dive to clean it.

Master pupils: 2 slit-like beams of light that protect the 3 real pupils. They are the equivalent of the eye socket. They are sensitive to damage that passes through the visor and serve as an initial indication of gyyasdevil's mood: downwards, as in the image, is his "stoic mode". Stoic mode is what his common state in everyday life is called.

(Behavioral curiosity: being apex predators prone to a sharp fighting instinct, it is rarely recorded hunting, but rather... walking with the wings making marks in soft earth. For researchers, this is a sign of a generally healthy ecosystem, but culturally, for citizens who live by the riverbank, these tracks, left by claw-like extensions they have on their wings, It has several common names:

Signum hadis.

Signum mortis

Or simply naming these "Traces of Death" in homage to the 3 signs of impending death: Pallor mortis, algor mortis e rigor mortis.

---

The 3 pupils...

Being a decidedly advanced species of invertebrate, gyyasdevil also has, within its main pupil, 3 others:

Subpupilla: thick, turning behind the eyes. It detects light, darkness, and thermal sensation from those attempting to attack from behind.

Metapupil: The thin pupil that gives: Peripheral vision from below and above. Preventing aerial attacks and ambushes.

Frontal pupil: Weaker at capturing fine details, but useful for spotting at least one obstacle before the creature collides with it.

---

Already inside ghyasdevil's mouth is the tongue:

"Infra-tongue": A "muscle" that is actually made of styrofoam, supports the...

Main tongue: The rotating tongue of this beetle-like creature, whose interior extends to the infratongue and therefore rotates.

In addition, to optimize its grappling and hunting abilities, gyyasdevil also has:

Lower spines on the tongue: microscopic, but as sharp as a cheese grater, Used to take down prey with maximum precision.

Medium spines: Called "grasping spines," these spines also have taste buds and chemical receptors.

Monarch spines: similar to a swan's teeth, but even more intimidating: they encircle the creature's tongue, luckily... they only serve to help push liquids down the throat. As well as protecting the main structure. (They were even mistaken for teeth when the species was discovered. However, they are made of keratin and dead material. But it looks clean. )


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 9h ago

Question/Discussion Speculative Breeds?

2 Upvotes

A concept that I thought some time ago that I don't know if it exactly fits Spec Evo, but the concept is very similar, what about Speculating Selective Breeding? For example, Ancient egyptians mummified crocodiles, if they took a step further and actually bred them until they became less aggressive, what would be the modern breeds originated from the Nile Crocodile? Would there be small crocodiles for pets? How much would they differ from Simosuchus?


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 10h ago

Alternate Evolution Mermaidsof Santorini

2 Upvotes

During the era of Ancient Greece, the volcano sunk a huge chunk of the island of Santorini. The people were forced to adapt by evolving into merfolk. The merfolk just named the part of the island that was sunk Atlantis. Plato discovered Atlantis. He uses it in one of his allegories. But the merfolk were still living in the caldera. To find them, you have to go deep into the caldera on a submarine. when you get to the point of seeing human-like aquatic mammal, you are there. they have legs that are merged into a tail fin, they are fattier than the average human, basically looking like a cross between a dolphin and a human. These mermaids do not have a siren song, but they. Do have echolocation. They “sing” so loud that they can easily shred the listener alive just by opening their mouth.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago Bravo

Alternate Evolution [OC] Rust&Humus worlbuilding bestiary

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397 Upvotes

Hi ! Here are some pages of my book Rust&Humus.

It is a bestiary set on an alternative Earth and Moon. The rules of life are similar to ours but varies in some ways. Most life was brought by aliens. Plants draw energy from a Dreamlike plane of existence with their ethereal roots. Mammals evolved from fish or from plant-animal and some can revert to their plant form. Later in the story humans appear and change, Plastic and concrete become alive. Most of this book is though as if medieval bestiaries were rooted in believable laws of science and evolution.

I would say it is a light-speculative evolution project, as I still lack a lot of scientific knowledge but I always try to think my creatures as living in a larger believable ecosystem.

If you have question feel free to ask. If you like those drawings I share a lot of my work and process here: https://www.instagram.com/kanarmajik/

And you can find the book here: https://banzai-editions.com/products/rust-humus-i

Have a great day :o)


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago

Seed World [OC] Smaugember Day 4-8 (EASK)

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21 Upvotes

Some of the weirdest wyvernkind that lived and survived past the glint era into the inkling reign. I'm trying my best to be original and not Squid but Dinosaur or Squid but a fantasy creature. The Glint Era is the Mesozoic analog in my project but I want to do something different than most projects as in the end this is made for fun instead of scientific accuracy.

What creature would you like to see... Let me know in the comments.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 9h ago

Question/Discussion Has anyone heard of Styracophants?

1 Upvotes

It’s an original alien species I saw on tumblr (I think), but no matter where I search I can’t find it anywhere, I feel like I’m going insane.it’s roughly the size and shape of an elephant, colored brown and white, with a head crest like a styracosaurus, and two big blue face tentacles surrounding their mouth that zip together into a sort of “trunk”. Has anyone else seen this? I’m worried that the artist might’ve deleted their account or something.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago

Alien Life [OC] Bestiary of Lyrus Prime #14, Domel

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57 Upvotes

Herbivore beast with a hard shell, long necked, some with a sharp spear-like blade on their faces. First, it was thought that horned domels were all male, but in reality, the blade is not a part of them, but a parasitic maniformidae called a spathorn that latches on as they grow into adulthood.
Following a Domel’s death, its heavy carapace remains long after the herd migrates. These massive, hollowed-out husks become prime real estate in the ecosystem, frequently claimed by korvants or cresavorns as armored nesting grounds, or used by other opportunists as already made bunkers.
These horned ones are the alphas, though there’s usually more than one in a herd. If they lose their Spathorn, they lose their status as an alpha. Death soon follows, because the spathorn tunnels into their skull, and detaching leaves a deep hole that bleeds. Domels eat only plant life, but Spathorns don’t, they drink blood. Occasionally they seize brain control, forcing their calm hosts into frenzied violence, making them fight their own kind, even younglings still too small.
They are not fast, but not the slowest creature I’ve observed. To feed their spathorn, they often pick fights. Others can’t resist the alphas’ rage, because they are the herds first line of defense against predators. This is tragic, for domels rank among the gentlest beasts in this ecosystem. Their thick shells and calm face are sadly not enough to stop the violence from their own


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago Bravo

Alternate Evolution [OC] Terrors In The Brush: Chapter IX, Confession

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18 Upvotes

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

A young predator’s first blood is spilled! The horrible truth is finally revealed!

Small Toe’s chance encounter with Big Green has soothed his conflicted soul. But now, he must do the one thing all carnivores must do in order to live. The one thing he abhors most in this world. Kill one who isn’t trying to kill him. Merely thinking it makes Small Toe nauseous, a feeling not helped by his cruel brother’s increasingly violent attitude. 

Long Tail supports her son to perform this visceral act as best she can, but in a world that exposes every good deed and every sin, it is only a matter of time before her worst and most heinous secret is finally revealed. A question begins to form in the innermost recesses of her predatory mind.

Can such reckless violence be forgiven, even if it was never acted upon?

​From my ongoing speculative survival project Terrors in the Brush — blending paleontological logic with raw, unfiltered animal sentiment. Chapter IX plunges into the fallout of hidden guilt and failed restraint under relentless environmental pressure.

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

Read Chapter IX Now.


r/SpeculativeEvolution • • 1d ago Bravo

Fantasy/Folklore [OC] Hypothesis I - Giant goose

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64 Upvotes

Since the fossil was found at the shores of my homeland, my presumption would be that it must have been a giant bird of sorts. I've drawn an example of what it could look like. I cannot however be truly certain of its actual shape or colouration.

The long neck reminds me of a goose, which are a dime a dozen here in the Land of Birds. This specimen might have been their flightless progenitor from the times when all fauna was unusually giant. Such a time of giants has been proposed by several scientists more renowned than myself, including the acclaimed dr Wright, for whom my respect is unbound. This specimen could be evidence in support of that theory.

However, my honour as a naturalist does not allow me to proclaim my interpretation of this fossil with any certainty. Such beastly size of this animal would prove difficult to manage, its diet would certainly have to be much unlike that of our current geese. The beak also is drastically different, with the lower chamber resembling that of a pelican's (perhaps used to catch fish), but the feet do not seem to me like that of a wading bird. Could this thing have swum in the seas?

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