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Asprea; Introduction to my world
Topic Started: Feb 16 2009, 01:54 AM (5,584 Views)
BaliTiger23
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So Asprea is some 200 million years into the future, with the continents once again rejoining to create a single massive supercontinent (Called Pangea Ultima by scientists). There has been at least two mass extinctions from now until then, though I haven't truly thought out the reasons behind these yet.

Either way, almost all life now is unrecognizable from the earth as we know it. The animals have no obvious ancestors as the extinctions (whatever they were) left nothing but the smallest of the small alive.

One of the extinctions nearly cleaned out the oceans for a couple million years and while sanitary drinking water is once again available there are still a few locations that are horribly irradiated.

Also, the oxygen is very, very high and nearly all animals have so called blue blood. Rather than their blood containing hemoglobin (which is what makes blood red) it instead contains hemocyanin, which is most commonly found in molluscs and anthropods in the present time. This is because hemocyanin doesn't bind properly with oxygen and so offers only 1/4 of the oxygen hemoglobin does. However, due to the extremely high oxygen levels, animals have evolved with the hemocyanin protein instead because that high of an oxygen concentration would otherwise make life other than molluscs and anthropods impossible.

Because of the two great extinctions and the long period of time from now until then, the evolutionary ancestors of the animals alive in Asprea some 200 million years into the future are unknown. That and the sentient race alive in Asprea has no idea homo sapien sapiens ever existed, as all existence of them has been wiped out or obliterated into something unrecognizable. After all, it has been over 200 million years and they aren't exactly interested in paleontology as they are still a fairly new and primitive race.

New animals have evolved to fill the niches, and the variety and new evolutionary paths are astounding.

That's the very basics, and more will be revealed once I get home to my scanner, but enjoy this small peek so far :)
Edited by BaliTiger23, Feb 16 2009, 01:55 AM.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Okay. Just offering suggestions.

I do love your project. Keep it up.

It is 200myf after all. You got any stranger ideas?
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BaliTiger23
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Oh no worries, keep the suggestions coming, just be warned that not all may be accepted :) But I still loving hearing ideas because it gives me some ideas for some other creatures I haven't hammered out the details for.

And of course I'll keep it up! I'm just getting started!

Yes, weirder and more wonderful creatures are soon to come! :D
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ATEK Azul
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these are awsome and very interesting keep it up i love this project!
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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BaliTiger23
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ATEK Azul
Feb 20 2009, 12:39 AM
these are awsome and very interesting keep it up i love this project!
I'm pleased that my hard work is enjoyed! No worries, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon ;)
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BaliTiger23
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Posted Image

Darou

Physiology
Physical Characteristics
Darou are massive in nearly every aspect. At the crest of the hump males are 14' 6" and weigh in at 13.5 tonnes while females are 13' and hit the scales at 12.5 tonnes. The front feet sport three hoofed toes and a dewclaw, the males dewclaw being longer than the females. The hind feet have four hoofed toes and a dewclaw.

Their face is short and boxy with large ears to compensate for their poor eyesight. Males and females both have two horns made of keratin, the females front horn reaching 3'6" and the hind hitting only 10", while the males front horn grows to an astonishing 7' with the hind horn being anywhere from 2'4" to 5'6". The males are larger and shaggier than the females, and have two short tusks jutting from their bottom lip that is generally 6" long. Their necks are actually fairly long and maneuverable, though they look shorter due to the long fur and large hump.

Both males and females have hollow quills along the top of their neck, hump and in their bushy tail. Males quills cover their entire back while females have a bare patch on their rump, presumably to help with the act of mating. Quills are generally between 7" to 1' long depending on the specimen, sex and location on the body.

Reproduction and Lifestyle
Darou breed in the fall and give birth to one young which is born with soft quills that harden a few hours after birth. Mating season is a dangerous time to be around Darou, for both sexes become increasingly aggressive towards others, including their potential mates. Normally solitary animals, when a female goes into estrus she will instinctively seek out the nearest males territory, marking the ground with urine and feces as well as bleating loudly along the way to announce her arrival as well as to alert any other nearby males. Once a male has found her, the female will seem to change her tune and refuse to allow him to mount.

Should two males find her around the same time, the resulting battle will look fierce and spectacular, but neither male will usually receive anything more than minor injuries. They 'joust' with their horns, seeming to exchange heavy blows but usually simply pushing each other around. The show seems to be all for the females sake for males do not show this behavior outside of mating season in front of a female.

The female will still not allow him to mount, and the resulting cat and mouse game is when they are at their most dangerous. The male will follow the female and block her path should she try to leave his territory while bellowing loudly and biting her aggressively on her face, neck, shoulders and hindquarters. This goes on until the female nears the peak of her estrus, at which point she will curl her tail, get into a stiff stance and allow the male to finally mount her for the forty five minute to hour long copulation. During this the male uses his elongated dewclaws to grip the females flanks and keep her from escaping, usually resulting in females getting puncture wounds as well as thin, deep gashes.

The female will remain with the male for up to two weeks after mating before retreating back into her own territory. After a two year pregnancy the female will give birth to a single young roughly 3' tall and close to 200 lbs. When danger approaches a baby Darou will hide behind its massive mother who will protect it ferociously. The baby begins to be weaned at 3 months although the mother may continue allowing the baby to suckle for over a year and a half. The birth interval for the Darou is 3 to 4 years, and upon becoming pregnant the female will drive off her current child to fend for its own.

Females reach sexual maturity at 7 to 8 years, while males mature a bit later, usually at 11 to 12 years old. Darou can live up to 40 to 50 years.

Behavior
Social Structure
Male and female Darou live solitary lives, unless the female is with child. On the rare occasions they run into each other, they may stick together for a few days before continuing on their way. There are no territorial disputes and their sheer size and defensive quills protects them from almost any predator.

Diet
Darou are herbivores and spend most of their days eating massive amounts of food. Their favorite is the tender leaves of trees, and they have been known to hang beneath trees that have Kiri in them, eating the leaves the Kiri knock loose. However the main staple in their diet is grass, bark and roots, with small amounts of fruit, seeds and flowers.

They store huge amounts of fatty tissue in their humps which minimizes heat-trapping insulation throughout the rest of their body despite their fur, which may be an adaptation to living in hot climates.

Defense
As Darou are very slow moving animals, their only means of defense is their quills and horns. Even so, few predators dare attempt to tackle these massive beasts. The Darou bristles its normally flat lying quills and either lowers its head or swings its quilled tail towards a perceived threat, its large ears and nostrils alerting it to any strange noises and scents that its small eyes can't put a shape to. This near blindness makes the Darou nervous and agitated around strange sounds and scents.

The Keshdjat have developed a cunning strategy to take down the Darou. Two Keshdjat will grab onto either of the Darou's back legs, while another attacks its upper lip and the remainder of the pack will disembowel the Darou while it is immobilized.

Natural Immunity
The Darou has a natural antibiotic in its skin which prevent infection from the injuries it receives during the mating season as well as when it is stuck by the quills of itself or another of its kind. This antibiotic also renders the venom of Cyant's ineffective due to the bacterial nature of the Cyant's venom.
Edited by BaliTiger23, Mar 25 2009, 09:54 AM.
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BaliTiger23
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I think the ancestor of this one is pretty obvious ;)
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lamna
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Would that be rabbits?
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34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
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Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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BaliTiger23
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lamna
Feb 20 2009, 04:16 AM
Would that be rabbits?
>_o Do rabbits have quills?

Though I guess their ears are rather rabbit looking -_- Well shit.

YOU HAVE ONE MORE GUESS OR A THOUSAND DEATHS WILL RAIN DOWN ON YOUR SOUL!
assumingyouhaveone >.>
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lamna
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Oh porcupines.
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Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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BaliTiger23
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lamna
Feb 20 2009, 05:11 AM
Oh porcupines.
YOU ARE THE WIENER! YAAAAAAY!

Yes, the Darou are a member of the family hystricidae, or the Old World Porcupines that in the modern day includes the crested, cape and Malayan porcupines.

Just, Super-Sized! 8D
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lamna
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Oh I can see it now! The ears just confused me.
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Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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BaliTiger23
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lamna
Feb 20 2009, 05:47 AM
Oh I can see it now! The ears just confused me.
Yeah, I was thinking of making a smaller subspecies with not so huge ears and no horns to better connect the porcupines with their massive descendants, but I know people are itching to see my weirder shit :P
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lamna
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I can expect they will want werider stuff.
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Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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BaliTiger23
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Sad thing is, my weirdest shit is probably still not going to please those expecting alien-like lifeforms. It's still Earth, and the creatures from so long ago weren't exactly all that different from the animals nowadays. More primitive, yes, but definitely not out of this world, obviously.
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zypher
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haha, a porcupine with horns like a rinocerous... that's great!

the hump on it's back reminds me of one of my alien designs, but on my alien, the hump is used to emmit sonar pings, like a dolphin's mellon.
because there are an infinite number of alternate realities, withen them an infinite ammount of infinite things are possible... infinitly.

two samples of my artwork
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj74/zaraquexon/img016-1.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj74/zaraquexon/img018.jpg

<embed width="384" height="206" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" src="http://www.spore.com/flash/csa_widget.swf?userid=2263016807&username=zaraquex&host=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spore.com%2Fview%2Fuser-thumbnail" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" scale="showall" name="latest-creatures" /></embed>
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