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Topic Started: Dec 9 2009, 05:22 PM (1,203 Views)
Carlos
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While Terra Alternativa is still nonfunctional for now, me and Venatosaurus planned a new alternative evolution project, which basically focuses on a world where the Permian extinction wasn't present. Don't, as long as Venatosaurus's still motivated I will not withdraw.

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Triassic

In the late Permian, the vast landmasses of the Earth formed a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. In this process, tthe global warming that went on during the Permian increased significantly, as energy was released into the atmosphere during the creation of the giant landmass. Pangaea extends from pole to pole, and the climate went progressively dry. Aside from the coastoal margins as well as wetter regions in the poles the typical landscape is various shades of aridity, from dry tropical plains of seed ferns to deserts with little to no vegetation. In HE, the changes from the more temperate, wetter Permian into the arid period that lasted from the late Permian to the early Jurassic had the company of a tremendous mass extinction, resulting in the extinction of over 90% of all living organisms, thanks to various bursts of volcanism. However, in this world, this chain volcanism never happened; instead, live went on, adapting as the continents united and as the planet turned into a hot hell. The Triassic in this world is not a new period that formed at the dusk of the Permian, but rather a continuation of the Permian. The Mesozoic is, so far, nonexistent as the Palaeozoic goes on.

While large scale extinctions don't happen, smaller scale extinctions still occur. On the course of the period that would be the late Permian to that which would be the middle Triassic in our world various clades perish, mostly on the sea; numerous clades of sea dweeling invertebrates die out, predictably many of the groups that died out in HE. Trilobites and ceratitid ammonoids, clades that were gone in HE, notably survived for quite some time into the "Triassic", the last members of these clades lasting as recently as the early Jurassic; sea lillies hardly suffered at all. Things were much better for fish, though even they had several losses; interestingly, the middle "Triassic" had a radiation of petromyzontids, smething unusual as lamprey like fish had long since lost the past diversity; conodonts had their diversity untouched, and were very common as well.

On land, changes weren't so fast, and occured over a long period of time. Whatever remaining early amniotes were gone as synapsids and sauropsids - specially they newly fledged diapsids - continued to diversify. Pelycosaurs, solely represented by Varanopsidae, produced a small array of forms that echoed the days they were the dominant animals, but they soon vanished by the middle of this era. Therapsids were at their best though; while early forms like biarmosuchians were gone, eutherapsids continue to flourish like they did before. Within Dinocephala, Anteosauridae and Estemmenosuchidae are gone, but Tapinocephalia diversified over the globe, present as both the generally omivorous titanosuchids and the entirely herbivorous tapinocephalidae. Anomodonts are present as various clades of dicynodonts (one even taking the sea) as well as the smaller otsherids, not very common as of yet, being specialised tree climbers. Gorgonopsids are the dominant predators, and while the "traditional" forms persist, evolution provided new opportunities, the most notorious examples being marine gorgonopsids and cursorial ones (which would be the first cursorial synapsids). Therocephalians become also widespread as small predators, from shrew to wolverine size, from otter like to gliding forms. Cynodonts don't stay behind either; the seas and waterways are the stage for the diversity of procynosuchids, while on land omnivorous, herbivorous and carnivorous forms are present everywhere.

Sauropsids, whose diversity began back in the Permian, never had the imense radiation of the Triassic since therapsids are stiull around, but evolution was benign to them. Captorhinids and bolosaurids occupied many small herbivore niches, the first diversifying as iguana like forms and the later as species akin to HE's small ornithopods; in both cases, the success lasted until the early late "Triassic", the last bolosaurid living to see the onset of the Jurassic. Pareiasaurs on the other hand had a stable radiation of species all through the period, and while not as common as tapinocephalians nor as large dicynodonts during most of the period they became a very common presence by the late "Triassic". Chelonians never evolved, but several armoured pareiasaurs and captorhinids evolved. Diapsida saw the evolution of many lizard like forms, which then produced various unusual forms. Thallatosaurs dominated the seas alongside the procynosuchids, while the weird hupehsuchians, while now fairly uncommon, were having way more luck then their HE counterparts, on both fresh and salt water. Lepidosaurs produced sphenodontians and champsosaurs (if they are lepidosaurs), but squamates seemingly never evolved or died out very early; instead, several clades of lizard like reptiles were having success. Archosauromorpha radiated, and while Archosauria itself didn't took off many groups like procelartiformes (including pterosaurs, since here I decided to take the suggestion that they are drepanosaur relatives), euparkerids, proterochampsids, proterosuchids, erythrosuchids, rhynchosaurs and trilophosaurids did take important roles as fairly large animals, specially towards the end of the period. As mentioned before, pterosaurs evolve as the first true flying vertebrates.

Temnospondyls, while not doing as well as before, still hold on and are everywhere. Notably are terrestrial and marine forms, as well as conservative freshwater ones.

Taxa will come soon.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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Venatosaurus
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Wonderful job JohnFaa ! We'll talk privately about the taxa ;)



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ATEK Azul
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I really like this it is nicely done. Unfortunately I can't say much more for my knowledge of the Permian is lacking.
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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The Dodo
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Looks like a good project.
Do Eurypterids do much or do they just gradually fade out like the Trilobites?
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ATEK Azul
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I am not sure Eurypterids lasted into the permian?

I also would like to see more info on the species/groups and maybe the Jurrasic?
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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Venatosaurus
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Don't worry you'll see more stuff in the coming days and weeks. I'm also going to have to draw these illustrious species ;)



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ATEK Azul
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Sounds like an interesting few days are to follow and a new project to watch.
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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The Dodo
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Dec 9 2009, 07:03 PM
I am not sure Eurypterids lasted into the permian?
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1298584
It turns out they did live in the Permian.
And yes, it will be interesting to watch this project grow.
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Carlos
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Eurypterids most likely will perish though, since they wouldn't last through the marine extinctions
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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The Dodo
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So there aren't going to be any mammals like we know either.
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Carlos
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Indeed, mammals as we know them won't evolve. In a certain way, this resembles the original version of Terra Alternativa by having diverse cynodont clades as converging on HE mammals. The main difference is that therocephalians and dicynodonts will be successfull too
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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Carlos
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Sorry for the double post, but..hell, I shouldn't be justifying this damn it!

Triassic taxa part 1

Unlike in my previous works, this takes the point of view that the animals are alive rather than presenting them as fossils. Takes place in the middle of the Triassic

Maleficolacerta spp.

The last pelycosaur genus, these synapsids are present all over the supercontinent. However, they aren't particularly common, and all of the 5 species are endangered, their numbers declining slowly. The largest and more common species, M. magnus, occurs over the southern coast of the supercontinent, while the other species occur in highlands scattered across Pangaea. The already mentioned biggest species is the most well known and studied. With a length of over 6 meters this animal is coloured brown with a white or yellowish underside. having the back coloured with a dark orange tone. Part of the varanopsid line, it looks like a huge version of an animal like Varanops, and its indeed the last remaint of the brief diversity that took place at the beggining of the Triassic. It is a scavenger, using the strong jaws to break bones; it occupies a similar ecological niche to that of HE's Megalania. Nonetheless, it has to share its territory with huge predators like gorgonopsids and some archosauromorphs, which it can only face due to its size and sharp scutes on the skin. It prefers wetter, more vegetation dense habitats, specially wetlands. In the breeding season females produce pheromones that attract malees from miles around; they are smaller than females, and much like HE's snakes and some sharks of both timelines an orgy ensues. The first male to mate produces a sticky substances after releasing the sperm, which prevents the semen of other males to fertilize the female, though this is just for a couple of days. After a week or so the female chases the males away, and a month later it lays its eggs in the sand. It sticks around to protect them until the eggs eclode, which takes several months. The juveniles begin their life as tree dweelers, descending once they are big enough.

Other species take a similar lifestyle, albeit being smaller and occuring in highland habitats.

Ammonitophagosaurus pelagica

Thalattosaurs are diverse across Panthalassa, the single ocean. Diverse in terms of lifestyle, there's no sauropterygians or ichthyosaurs to compete with them, with only procynosuchids and a few other marine therapsids around. One of the most interesting forms produced by their diversification is this animal. Living in the open sea, far away from the shores, it is still quite familiar looking by reptile standards, with a lizard like body plan with the large paddle like tail. It is dark blue with a grey underside, and its snout is the most unique part of the body, being long, curved jaws (similar to those of an anteater) lined with long, spike like teeth to pierce through the shells of its prey, ammonites. Its preys exclusively on cephalopods, which were then shelled. Little is known about it, except that it spends most of its life far from the continental waters. It is most likely ovoviparous, like other thalattosaurs.

Testudomeiolania caesius

Pareiasaurs are doing fine in this arid climate. With only the disadvantage of producing urine instead of uric acid as diapsids do, loosing thus more water, "anapsids" are still fairly well adapted to desert conditions, having a hard dry skin that don't transpire as synapsids do. Among the most hardy pareiasaurs is T. caesius, which occurs in the heart of Pangaea. As the name indicates, it is coloured mostly in grey, capable of changing the skin tone from a near white colouration during high heat hours to near black during the cold nights and mornings. As big as a sheep, it has an armour off osteoderms covering its back and the skull, with spikes between the armour and the belly/lower jaw. The tail is entirely armoured and has no flexibility whatsoever; it is used for defense. During the day it lays on the soil, preferably in shade, with the belly buried in the sand for protection. When its cooler it goes around to feed on desert vegetation like seed ferns, cycads and small conifer bushes; it is from them tthat obtains most moist. Mating is rare and and after it occurs the female sticks around to protect the eggs, leaving the insectivorous young to fend for themselves
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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Empyreon
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Are you plausible?

As long as they're productive, I doubt double posts are a problem.

I think my favorite of what you've just put up is the Ammonitophagosaurus pelagica. I've always had a fascination with swimming lizards. Awesome!
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus!

COM Contributions


food for thought
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SIngemeister
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Hive Tyrant of the Essee Swarm

Would I be allowed to join to make up the original trio?
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RRRAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!
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Carlos
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As you wish
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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