| Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web. While unregistered users are able to browse the forum on a basic level, registering an account provides additional forum access not visible to guests as well as the ability to join in discussions and contribute yourself! Registration is free and instantaneous. Join our community today! |
| Gyrosprinter / Thar; my new musings on aliens | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Feb 24 2010, 03:55 PM (2,649 Views) | |
| Canis Lupis | Feb 24 2010, 03:55 PM Post #1 |
![]()
Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
![]()
|
We all know that Earth and Snaiadi animals are quadropeds. Nereid animals are tripeds whereas Pandoran and Furahan animals are hexopods. Creatures from "Alien Planet" are, for the most part, bipeds. With one variation. It's still a biped, yes. But not the familiar bipeds. ![]() This is a gyrosprinter, presumably descended from a quadroped. Each pair of limbs has merged into one limb so that it has only two limbs: on the front and one on the back. First, I'd like to know how plausible the gyrosprinter actually is. But now for the meat of the topic. After watching "Alien Planet" again, I started thinking about a world with a gyrosprinter-like sapient. From there, I started thinking about a world ruled by various gyrosprinter-like creatures. Antelope, lion, whale, mole, and monkey-like animals seem the most plausible creatures for this limb structure. Obviously, flying niches would be out of the question unless they evolve what the flying lizards of Borneo have evolved. So, how plausible does a world dominated by vertical bipeds (bipeds with a limb structure like a gyrosprinter) sound? BTW, I'll be adding random creature descriptions here and there on this topic. I'll see if I can add a picture of each. |
![]() |
|
| Margaret Pye | Feb 24 2010, 11:04 PM Post #2 |
|
Adult
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Hmmm... Well, if I can avoid falling over forward or backward, I dare say that thing can avoid falling over sideways. It'd have to be good at leaning into corners! Would it work better with long sideways balancing-pole extensions? So how does its evolutionary history work? Descended from a quadruped and the limbs fused? Sounds plausible, but I can't think what selective pressures would cause that, not off the top of my head. Any suggestions, anyone? Maybe it started out with a diamond-shaped body with legs on each side, like mulefa, and then lost the side legs? (Maybe they became extremely specialised - wings or something - and the creature then lost its specialised lifestyle?) Maybe it's descended from an inchworm? |
| My speculative dinosaur project. With lots of fluff, parental care and mammalian-level intelligence, and the odd sophont. | |
![]() |
|
| Empyreon | Feb 24 2010, 11:11 PM Post #3 |
|
Are you plausible?
![]()
|
If I remember correctly, the gyrosprinter does have some sort of complex balancing organ located in the "shoulder blade" region.
From other pictures of it, that seems to be the method. (And people mock the prolemuris...) As far as selective pressures, I've always had a hard time skulling that one out. It seems to me that the inherent balance involved with having feet spread out on the ground was too much of an advantage to evolve away from. |
|
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus! COM Contributions food for thought
| |
![]() |
|
| colddigger | Feb 25 2010, 12:40 AM Post #4 |
|
Joke's over! Love, Parasky
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
wait, are you trying to figure out the evolution of the gyrosprinter? if so it's almost certainly from a four legged beast, he has several fine sketches of them in his book that definitely show this. |
|
Oh Fine. Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP?? v Don't click v Spoiler: click to toggle | |
![]() |
|
| Canis Lupis | Feb 25 2010, 08:37 AM Post #5 |
![]()
Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
![]()
|
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a quadroped-descendent. And yes, it does have a large balancing organ. |
![]() |
|
| Ddraig Goch | Feb 25 2010, 11:25 AM Post #6 |
|
Ar hyd y nos
![]()
|
The balancers are called halters, and can also be found on several species of Terran fly. |
| Save the Blibbering Humdinger from extinction! | |
![]() |
|
| Canis Lupis | Feb 25 2010, 04:34 PM Post #7 |
![]()
Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
![]()
|
Is that what they are called in the gyrosprinter? Halters? I was thinking that, for my world dominated by similar creatures, that the organisms would have two brains. One in their head to direct the senses and another between the two vertebral columns to mainly focus on the balance. |
![]() |
|
| Empyreon | Feb 25 2010, 06:42 PM Post #8 |
|
Are you plausible?
![]()
|
Most nereids tetrabrachs have a similar neural setup. The sensory stalk houses a ganglion that in some species is really quite developed, while the central brain is located in the "shoulder" region. |
|
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus! COM Contributions food for thought
| |
![]() |
|
| Margaret Pye | Feb 25 2010, 11:30 PM Post #9 |
|
Adult
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Halteres. E on the end. |
| My speculative dinosaur project. With lots of fluff, parental care and mammalian-level intelligence, and the odd sophont. | |
![]() |
|
| T.Neo | Feb 26 2010, 01:23 PM Post #10 |
![]()
Translunar injection: TLI
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Well, considering limb arrangements on Darwin IV are very confusing to say the least, I doubt it. Side-to-side limb fusion? Maybe, but I think keeping all limbs seperate would be ideal for a fast running organism. As for the prolemuris and their cousins the Na'vi, the issue isn't the limb fusion but rather the fact that in the latter there appears to be no trace of the second set of fingers or evidence of the limb fusion... |
| A hard mathematical figure provides a sort of enlightenment to one's understanding of an idea that is never matched by mere guesswork. | |
![]() |
|
| Pando | Feb 26 2010, 03:31 PM Post #11 |
|
Obey or I'll send you to the moon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I think that a planet dominated by gyrosprinters could live, that is, unless there are also quadrupeds on the planet... I think that they could live if they had a big balancer, but that means that big creatures and creatures that live in tight forests probably couldn't live. And how would diggers, flyers, and arboreal creatures live? |
![]() |
|
| Canis Lupis | Feb 26 2010, 03:56 PM Post #12 |
![]()
Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
![]()
|
Well, if the limbs fused early enough, there might not be any external evidence of the limb fusion. Keep in mind that in "Avatar" we were never shown a skeleton of a Na'vi. Just of a great leonopterix. So perhaps there is internal evidence, just like there is internal (but no external) evidence that humans possessed a tail at some point. Yeah, the limb fusion idea (for the gyrosprinter) seems rather counter-intuitive to me. It would be easier to just remain a quadroped. The idea I have for my creatures is a bit different. Their ancestors were quite similar to Earth fish, except they possessed no caudal or pectoral fins. Just dorsal fins and ventral fins, which were all extensions of the ribs that they would undulate to move (the ribs in this phyla run to the back and to the front rather than just to the front). When one species, with a dorsal fin more used for display than movement, began to make its way onto land, a portion of the ventral fin evolved to push it along. Sort of like the foot of that genetically deformed snake (there was once a snake born with one foot). From their, a front portion of the ventral fin evolved to aid the creature in pursuing its fast arthropoid prey and to help it not be so cumbersome on land. I'll see if I can get some taxonomy posted soon. I've kind of been obsessing over "Alien Planet" for the past week. |
![]() |
|
| Ddraig Goch | Feb 27 2010, 02:03 PM Post #13 |
|
Ar hyd y nos
![]()
|
Ah, thanks. Knew it was something like that. |
| Save the Blibbering Humdinger from extinction! | |
![]() |
|
| Canis Lupis | Feb 27 2010, 06:10 PM Post #14 |
![]()
Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
![]()
|
Well guys, I'm working on basic taxonomy up to the class level. In the kingdom Tharthazoa (meaning "animals from Thar"), I have decided that there will be five phyla. These five phyla are as follows:
Thoughts and opinions on the Tharthazoan phyla? I'll be getting to the classes later tonight. |
![]() |
|
| colddigger | Feb 27 2010, 08:17 PM Post #15 |
|
Joke's over! Love, Parasky
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
i prefer the book myself *smugface poshface* how do you think up these groups anyway? Edited by colddigger, Feb 27 2010, 08:43 PM.
|
|
Oh Fine. Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP?? v Don't click v Spoiler: click to toggle | |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · The Habitable Zone · Next Topic » |














9:24 AM Jul 11