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The Nimbus Project; Life on planet Nimbus...
Topic Started: May 26 2009, 07:18 AM (878 Views)
Viridian
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I've decided to go ahead with Nimbus as an individual project in speculative xenobiology.

However, if anyone is interested in providing artwork or concepts just let me know and I'll be happy to include your contributions.



Planetary Statistics for the Planet Nimbus:

Equatorial Diametre: 17,340km

Mass:1.23 Earths

Atmospheric Pressure (Sea-level): 136kpa

Surface Oceans: 88%



Kingdoms of Life:

EchinophytaeSpined Plants (Terrestrial and Oceanic Coraloids)

Echinophytes are plant or coral analogues that resemble a cross between Earth’s anemones and cycads. The main bodies of these organisms are covered in hard dark-coloured scales or thorns which are a vestige of the spines found on their juvenile form. Large feathery fronds grow from between the scales at the crown of the plant and are a pink to purple colour depending on the age and species of the individual. While all terrestrial Echinophytes are photosynthetic, there are some oceanic species that are not.

Juvenile Echinophytes bud from the undersides of the parent’s fronds before traveling short distances across the seafloor or ground to find an optimal place to grow. They are covered in sharp thorns to deter predators and therefore resemble urchins of earth.

CytozoaCellular Animals (Complex Single-celled Animals)

Cytozoans primarily fill the niches that are occupied my mollusks on Earth, with some species growing to substantial sizes. Most of these organisms are herbivorous or detritivorous, however, there are a handful that have adapted to a more predatory lifestyle.

These creatures reproduce semi-sexually, with females producing clutches of unfertilized eggs, which are then ingested by attending males and fertilized within the digestive system. In most species the male will excrete the fertilized eggs, but there are some cases where the young will hatch internally and then proceed to eat the male from within.

All juvenile Cytozoans are female at birth with a varying percentage of individuals changing their gender at the completion of their growth phase, usually after producing eggs several times.

VermizoaWorm-like Animals (Pseudo-Multicellular Segmented Worms)

These organisms share a common relative with Cytozoans, but have developed a somewhat more multicellular lifestyle. All Vermizoans consist of a series of cylindrical segments, with each segment in turn consisting of a single large cell. During growth, the segments of the worm divide individually.

Some species of Vermizoan can grow to enormous sizes, with the largest being over one hundred metres in length.



Coming Soon:

Aeroplankton – Airborne Photosynthesizers
Protomycae – Bacterial Fungi (Co-operative Bacterial Colonies)
Mycophytae – Fungus Plants (Photosynthetic Lichen/Moss Analogues)

Edited by Viridian, Jun 10 2009, 06:27 PM.
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ATEK Azul
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this is very cool sounding and i am looking forward to the updates you said were coming please keep it up.
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Viridian
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AeroplanktonAirborne Photosynthesizers

Aeroplankton form a major part of the foundation of the Nimbusian ecological web. There are many thousands of individual species and hundreds of separate families present. Aeroplankton live by absorbing energy from sunlight and nutrients from dust particles suspended in the thick humid air of the lower atmosphere, their appearance is that of a heavy pink-purple mist which is often referred to as the “Aeroplankton Haze”.

Many life-forms on Nimbus have evolved to feed on Aeroplankton, from large drifting filter-feeders to the tall bacterial “Slimestacks”.

ProtomycaeBacterial Fungi (Co-operative Bacterial Colonies)

Protomycae were one of the first macroscopic organisms to evolve on Nimbus. Individual cells lack nuclei and reproduce by mitosis yet colonies will work together to produces spores. What separates these life-forms from other groups of bacteria is their almost multicellular behavior. Colonies of Protomycae remain physically joined and form thick slime-like oozes or even large mucus covered towers called “Slimestacks”.

In order to reproduce they form fruiting bodies in much the same way as Earth’s fungi. These fruiting bodies are usually transparent orbs filled with a sticky fluid that contains their spores. The orbs grow until they burst, squirting the spores into the air to be carried away from the parent colony.

MycophytaeFungus Plants (Photosynthetic Lichen/Moss Analogues)

This kingdom is quite possibly the most varied and widespread group on Nimbus, yet more than 90% of its species live only in damp, humid regions such as swamps and rainforests.

Mycophytes are found as ground covering plants, parasitic lichens, mosses and even seaweeds. Some of the most successful groups are the Veinweeds which choke the majority of Nimbusian swamps, the cabbage-like Rosette Plants and the huge coastal Sea-lilies.



Coming Soon:

Nimbusian Maps - Including a animated globe! (If anyone could suggest a good image hosting site for these I'd be very appreciative! :D)

Edited by Viridian, May 26 2009, 07:05 PM.
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Very cool i love these new groups and the old.

These animals seem mostly simple is that on purpose or are they complex and i got the wrong message?

Also i look forward any more info on the life forms.
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Viridian
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The organisms living on Nimbus are simple is some ways, but not in others. The planet is at a stage in its development effectively equivalent to Earth's Carboniferous, as life has expanded onto dry land and is beginning to flourish.

There are several environmental issues on Nimbus which have caused life to take a slightly different path to what we know on Earth, the first being the higher gravity and correspondingly thicker atmosphere. Nimbus has a mass of 1.23 times that of Earth and air pressure of 136kpa, so plant life cannot grow as tall, yet flying is much easier.

The second major pressure for life here is over-abundant oxygen. Due to the huge expanses of ocean and lack of polar ice caps on this planet, Aeroplankton Haze covers enormous swathes of surface area and produces huge amounts of oxygen. Because of this, single celled animals grew to enormous sizes and never really developed multicellularity in the way Earth life did.

I guess Cytozoans and Vermizoans could be thought of as very large and animal-like slime-molds. They are effectively single celled (or pseudo-multicellular in the case of the worms), yet their internal organelles have adapted to take on the roles that individual cells do in multicellular organisms. So the organisms are infact very complex in some ways, but they are also very different from life on Earth.

EDIT: Just a question to any readers, what do you think about the Aeroplankton? Feasable? Or too improbable?
Edited by Viridian, May 26 2009, 11:24 PM.
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oh okay i understand now.

i think that aeroplankton is quite feasible even on earth if microscopic organisms had helium ballons or other means.
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Viridian
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Here is my first map for Nimbus. I will post two more in my next post...

I also have a spinning globe animation, but I cant attach it due to file size restrictions.
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Attachments: World_Map___Barren.gif (50.41 KB)
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Viridian
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North and south poles:
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Very cool they look good.
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Viridian
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Evolution of Echinophytes -

The earliest examples of Echinophytes were small macroscopic animals that closely resembled Earth’s anemones. They were initially not photosynthetic, instead gaining all their nutrients from filtering organic detritus and amoebic phytoplankton from the surrounding sea-water. At some point in their development a group of photosynthetic Echinophytes emerged when a symbiotic relationship between the phytoplankton cells and the filter-feeders was established. These new coral-esque organisms were highly successful as they could continue to thrive even when the detritus and algae that they fed on became scarce.

Over time the photosynthetic group became more and more prevalent until non-photosynthetic varieties became extinct except in darker waters.

Echinophytes have more recently become a dominant photosynthetic group on land as well because the chitinous casing of their bodies allows them to grow to large sizes despite the strong gravity of Nimbus, with the largest specimens growing to nearly three metres in height.

Photosynthetic Pigments –

Echinophytes utilize the pink photosynthetic molecule that is common to all Nimbusian photosynthetic life. However, variations in cellular chemistry can alter the coloration of some species, sometimes making their fronds appear dark red or even purple.

Echinophyte Anatomy and Development –

An adult Echinophyte consists of two major parts, the fronds and the body. The body of the plant is encased in a series of hard chitinous scales which are shed and replaced as the organism grows. These scales provide the plant with both support for its soft interior and protection against herbivores. The fronds are used primarily for photosynthesis but sometimes also for acquiring nutrients. Because most smaller families of Echinophytes lack root systems, these plants rely on their sticky fronds to capture airborne particles such as Aeroplankton to provide them with adequate nutrients. The surfaces of the fronds secrete sticky digestive enzymes which break down any organic materials that come into contact with them.

Echinophytes begin their development as small, motile organisms which spend up to a year travelling across the ground feeding on other organisms. Once the juvenile Echinophyte has reached a certain point in its growth it will attach itself to a suitable surface and begin to produce fronds from the crown of its body.

Taxonomy -

KINGDOM: Echinophytae

DIVISIONS: Rhizopolyp, Megapolyp and Nyxapolyp

Edited by Viridian, Jun 10 2009, 06:35 PM.
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The echinophytes sound like a great group i love the description and I await more updates lol.
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Spinosaurus Rex
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The Aeroplankton are plausible, as the denser air makes flight and floating easier.


Keep the good work.
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Viridian
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@Spinosaurs Rex: Cheers!

Having thought long and hard about it. I've come to the conclusion that pink photosynthetic pigments don't make sense on Nimbus. Because of the fact that the orange dwarf star that Nimbus orbits emits a large portion of its energy on the redder end of the spectrum it would be logical for plant life on Nimbus to absorb those red wavelengths. With the pink pigment the plants would actually be reflecting most of the solar energy that reaches them.

Would it be terrible of me to retcon the plant-life of Nimbus to make more sense? As much as I liked the idea of pink plants It'l just be more sensible to have green or blue pigments.

Also, if I change the pigments to green I could make the Nimbusian Solar system a binary (By adding a red Dwarf orbiting at a fair distance), which would allow for a very interesting seasonal system.

Thoughts?
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I think that that makes sense and you should do what you think is best it is your project after all.
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You could always vary it, with most of the plants using green pigments, and maybe a blue here and there.

How far off would the dwarf be orbiting at?
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