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Pandora; Filling in the ecosystems
Topic Started: Jan 4 2010, 02:52 PM (4,181 Views)
Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

This topic is for filling in the unfortunately sparse ecosystems of Pandora, the planet from the movie Avatar. To assist, here is a list of current fauna;

FULL LIST OF KNOWN PANDORAN FAUNA


Flyers (Supposedly related)

Banshee- dragon-like carnivore, subspecies in mountains and rainforest
Leonopteryx (Leonopteryx rex) - like an oversized Banshee, but with bright blue vertical head crest
Stingbat (Scorpiobattus volansii) - miniature Banshee, with long, poisonous tail-barb
Tetrapteron - beaked animal with two tails, subspecies found in swamp and rainforest

Herbivores (Supposedly related)

Hammerhead Titanothere (Titanotheris hammercephalis) - huge browser, similar in behavior to Terran Rhinoceras. Herd animal
Sturmbeest (Bovindicum monocerii) - plains dwelling herd beast
Hexapede (Sexcruscervus caeruleus) - gazelle-like creature, with twin membranes on head, used for display

Carnivores (Supposedly related)

Thanator (Thanatora Rex) - mighty, lion-like apex predator. Subspecies in rainforest and sub-arctic biomes
Viperwolf (Caniferratus costatus) - pack hunting, highly intelligent carnivores. Subspecies in rainforest, savannah and sub-arctic habitats

Other


Direhorse (Equidirus hoplites) - nectar drinking, horse-like animal. Possibly forms herds
Fan Lizard (Fanisaurus pennatus) - lizard-like creature, with large, circular flap of brightly coloured skin, used to escape predation
Slinger (Acediacetus xenoterribili) - bizarre predator, whose body is the adult and whose head is the infant
Dinicthoid (Gargoylia macropisceae) - highly aggressive, bottom-dwelling fish. Hunts like Terran crocodiles, dragging prey underwater

Invertebrates


Hellfire Wasp (Magnivespa velox) - swarming, wasp-like insect. Two stingers, agonizing venom
Teylu - larval stage of centipede-like invertebrate. Highly nutritious
Arachnoid (Scorpiosista virosae) - scorpion-like animal, six-legs, two stingers
Glow Worms (Arachnolumera nitidae) - large, bioluminescent worms. Feed off decaying plant material
Medusa-Aerocoelenterates (Aerocnideria aerae) - massive floating jellyfish, uses tentacles to capture prey
Anemenoid (Cataracta anemonica) - lifeforms that float on the surface of the water, uses tentacles to grab prey

Simians

Prolemuris (Prolemuris noctis) - monkey/ lemur-like animal, highly sociable. Odd arm configuration
Na'vi (Homo pandorus) - sentient race



Go speculate! :)
Edited by Ddraig Goch, Jan 31 2010, 06:51 AM.
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Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

Yes, there are pollinators. And there is also the Warbonnet Fern which uses bioluminescene to attract birds, which feed on insects and protect the plant.
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

Oh, good. I haven't seen the film.

With the banshees, perhaps there should be 'bird' parasites? And also mouth-cleaners?
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

Well, I don't know about parasites. They could be pests of Banshee roosts, but I don't think the Banshees are large enough to support vertebrate parasites. However, there is the arachnoid, a scorpion-like invertebrate. Perhaps there could be a louse-like subspecies?
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

We're not large enough to support those kind of parasites, but we do. Of course, we don't have any vertebrate parasites, but still.

Anyway, I don't think Holben is meaning vertebrate parasites. I think he's just talking about parasites or mutualistic mouth-cleaners (like the wrasse).
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Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

No, he is talking about vertebrates, more specifically, the "birds" of Pandora. I'm guessing that the Banshee would be too alert to allow any parasites large enough to see to get away with sucking its blood.
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

I dunno! I was merely suggesting ideas. They could be 'flying mites'.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Empyreon
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Are you plausible?

Pandoran mosquitoes! Jungles are full of mosquitoes!
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus!

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food for thought
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Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

Well, there are the Hellfire Wasps... so small flying insects which create annoying buzzing sounds can be found on Pandora.
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Empyreon
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Are you plausible?

Does it say anywhere what they eat? Could they fill the niche of airborne parasites we're discussing?
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food for thought
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Ddraig Goch
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The book says, "Most adults feed on sap, fruit and carrion, and provide paralysed insects to their young".
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Are you plausible?

Hmm... I doubt they'd waste time trying to suck blood from anything then.
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food for thought
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

But something related to them could.
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Ànraich
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi

Remember though that mosquitoes don't actually ingest blood (though other parasites do). Only females suck blood, and they use it in reproduction. However the idea of blood-sucking organisms is good, as it's a good way to get a meal; letting something else do all the work of catching, eating, and digesting prey and then simply stealing the nutrients from its bloodstream is pretty efficient.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Yeah, I'm actually surprised mosquitoes haven't yet evolved blood sucking for means of getting a meal. it would be extremely useful and efficient for a creature of that size. Why have they not yet done so?


Anyway, a complete blood sucker would be extremely likely to evolve on another world, especially in a setting like Pandora. Liek Parasky said, blood sucking parasitism would be of major evolutionary advantage. Especially on Pandora where the large air sacs (the things that Pandoran verts breath out of) seem to provide a lot oxygen for a highly efficient cardiovascular system, which one would expect in animals of that size.

It's not too far fetched to imagine a mosquito-like creature on Pandora.

BTW, what are Pandoran "arthropods" (like the hellfire wasp) like? Characteristics wise I mean.
Edited by Canis Lupis, Jan 9 2010, 01:13 AM.
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

Think of the amount of blood a mosquito takes in relative to body size! It'd be like eating a 10 kilo meal.

Maybe we need a cladogram.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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