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Gyrosprinter / Thar; my new musings on aliens
Topic Started: Feb 24 2010, 03:55 PM (2,653 Views)
Canis Lupis
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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.

Posted Image

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.
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colddigger
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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go with class descriptions, then you have guidelines for as many species as you want.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Alrighty. Class descriptions it is then.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Long time, no update. I do apologize for that. But I’ve got the evolutionary history of Tharian life planned out, with a little class descriptions thrown into the mix. You’ll have to pick them out of the history though. ;)






I’ve decided to include a phylum/class reference here, just in case you need to see what’s what:

Phyla and Classes
 

P: Monsorda (mountain filter)
C: Linguineka (tongue pore)
C: Strellenika (active pore)
C: Ignallenika (lazy pore)

P: Anokagastra (open stomach)
C: Dontitulida (tooth ring)
C: Circora (circle mouth)
C: Dermoria (skin mouth)

P: Tulimusca (muscle ring)
C: Kamiktria (harpoon tentacle)
C: Koupiktria (paddle tentacle)
C: Trastimia (branched dragger)
C: Saitacapsa (arrow shell)

P: Polykephala (many brains)
C: Beloria (needle mouth)
C: Gualiora (scrape mouth)
C: Multiloma (many holes)
C: Tetralomoa (four chambers)

P: Dikephala (two brains)
C: Malanokineta (soft nonmovers)
C: Nonakokala (no bones)
C: Undopleura (undulating ribs)
C: Puelicrura (pelvic leg)
C: Pterakokalia (spine wings)
C: Auripoda (ear foot)
C: Kranostoma (mouth helmet)





So here goes. It’s all divided into periods (like Precambrian, Cambrian, etc). Though of course, different names:



Eras
 
Protaerian: 4.4 billion - 650 million years ago: formation of Thar and first animal life. During this period, primitive monsors (of the class Linguineka (“tongue pore”)) ruled. The linguineks were about the size of a quarter, some of them slightly larger. They would cover the ocean floor in huge mats, filtering bacteria and other microscopic creatures out of the water with their fronded “tongues” that would shoot out of the three pores they had. Also, the ancestor to all anokagastrids lived at this time. These lived in a similar fashion to the Vendian animals of Earth, having a mouth all across their body. Technically, this was a large diversification of the dermorians (“skin mouth”), characterized by the presence of an open stomach system (actually, that is a characteristic of all anokagastrids) and pores to expel stomach acid and pull in the food.



Aerian: 650 million - 590 million years ago: period known for the Aerian explosion, in which ancestors to modern phyla appeared. During this period, the monsors split into three groups: a modern barnacle-like group that attaches to the side of swimming creatures (still linguineks), a group of monsors that “suck” food into their pores and consequently live deeper in the oceans (the strelleniks (“active pore”), and a group of monsors that just wait for food to pass through their pores and consequently they live in the shallower high-current waters (the ignalleniks (“lazy pore”). At this time as well, the large dermorian diversification dwindled, producing: a group of internal parasites (still the dermorians), a group of external parasites that attach to the side of swimming creatures (the circorans (“circle mouth”), and a worm-like/eel-like race in which most use the monsors for shelter (the dontitulids (“tooth ring”). During this period, three of the four classes of tulimusca evolved. These are: a class of slow moving tulimusks that shoot a tentacle out of their anterior to snatch prey (the kamiktrians (“harpoon tentacle”), a class of faster moving tulimusks that use the same tentacle as a paddle (the koupiktrians (“paddle tentacle”), and a class of semi-sessile creatures that hunt in a similar way to the kamiktrians (the saitacapsids (“arrow shell”).



Malakonian: 590 million - 480 million years ago: this period was ruled by the tulimusks. The classes that had previously evolved in the Aerian continued to diversify and even produce a new tulimusk class: the trastimians (“branched dragger”), characterized by the presence of a tentacle that is branched in a fork, allowing the creature to drag itself across the ocean floor, living in a manner similar to sea cucumbers/gastropods. Take your pick. Anyway, many other classes existed at this time as well, including (but not limited to) a class of sessile soft-bodied creatures that attached to the side of monsors (this is the direct ancestor to the dikephs), a class that evolved “leg-like” projections on the shell (the direct ancestor to the polykephs), and a class of fast cephalopod-like predators that moved via jet propulsion. Of course, those three classes are now extinct, but the ancestors of their direct ancestors live on. In case you haven’t already gleaned this from the reading (and if you haven’t, shame on you ;) ), polykephs and dikephs evolved during this time.



Phytonian: 480 million - 410 million years ago: first land plants appear, prompting some polykephs (particularly multilomans (“many holes”) onto land for brief periods. The multilomans are able to make this premature leap due to the presence of multiple spiracles along the entire length of their body. Most individuals are snake-like, but some have evolved tiny little protrusions enabling them to walk. Like almost all polykephs (the more advanced tetralomoans (“four chambers”, so named because they have four external respiratory chambers) are the only exception), multilomans are liquivores in typical spider/“Expedition” fashion. However, the multilomans are not fully terrestrial yet and have to make excursions back into the water every couple of hours, but it’s still a major achievement in the Tharian tree of life.



Avatnean: 410 million - 360 million years ago: the appearance of the first fully land life, from both polykephs and dikephs. It is during this time that the more advanced tetralomoans evolve and begin to gain dominance on land. The dikephs who have made it onto land at this time (very primitive puelicrurans (“pelvic leg”)) are inefficient at motion compared to the tetralomoans.



Sclerean: 360 million - 280 million years ago: period ruled by polykephs, who were more efficient at locomotion and respiration at the time. It is during this period that the puelicrurans began to become less ungainly on land and perfect their nostril-like breathing system (the puelicrurans have two holes present on the top of their skull, similar to brachiosaurs). This would later lead to the dominance dikephs soon showed on land.



Sulfiferous: 280 million - 220 million years ago: period in which the dikephs (particularly puelicrurans and pterakokalians (“spine wings”, so named because they evolved two wings from their upper ribs, which looked like spine extensions to the early Tharian biologists) gained terrestrial dominance. The puelicrurans came to dominate the more terrestrial niches, pushing themselves along with their tail and pulling themselves along with their leg (which is located around the anterior, just beyond the head). The pterakokalians started evolving as mole-like creatures, but eventually, to get away from puelicruran predators, they evolved into fliers and still dominate the niche today. In the oceans, dikephs also gained dominance (particularly the undopleurans (“undulating ribs”, who had existed since the Phytonian) and pterakokalians, who had evolved into niches akin to marine reptiles on Earth). The period is also characterized by the presence of large sulfur deposits due to a volcanic extinction event that wiped out 80% of life on Thar.



Katasignian: 220 million - 180 million years ago: the period in which terrestrial life recovered from the S-K extinction event (the aforementioned extinction that wipes out 80% of life on Thar). The marine pterakokalians, most terrestrial puelicrurans, and most terrestrial pterakokalians (not the mole-like and the bird-like ones) are wiped out in the S-K extinction, leaving numerous niches open for the taking. Auripods (“ear foot”, a puelicruran descendent so named because the ventrally located breathing chambers reminded Tharian biologists of ears) and pterakokalians duked it out for control of the world. In the end, it is the faster auripods that take control of the land.



Urassic: 180 million - 100 million years ago: auripods gain dominance on land and flourish. One auripod legacy still around in the time of human exploration is a macropod-like group. Basically, this group possesses an elongated back foot and a clawed front foot, moving in a manner similar to macropods. Creatures never really exceeded the size of capybaras, though as always there were exceptions. This was due in part to unadvanced mouthparts, which were ineffective at fulfilling the dietary requirements of large animals.



Nikegnian: 100 million - 70 million years ago: the kranostomans (“mouth helmets”, characterized by the presence of a hard external skull, which in some instances have evolved into jaw-like parts and mating displays), which began evolving in the Urassic, began to dominate. Their hard bony exoskull allowed them to tackle tougher plants and attain larger sizes, taking terrestrial domination away from the auripods.



Prihominicene: 70 million - 3000 years ago: this is the period before humans arrive on Thar. It is during this period that the kranostomans continue to dominate and diversify. Creatures such as a whale-like group, a simian-like group, a carnivorous group with mandible-like mouthparts, an herbivorous group with mandible-like mouthparts, etc evolved at this time.



Hominicene: 3000 years ago - 1000 years from now: it was during this time that humans first observed the star Thar orbited (though we had no way of knowing if it had life or not. Around 100 years from now, humans sent the first interstellar space probes to potentially habitable planets (such as Apoasa, Thar, Caerus, Apate, Orpheus, Bea, etc). Soon, around 300 years from now, humans arrive on Thar, as well as other planets. Human civilization on Thar exists for a further 700 years, until humans mysteriously abandon it.






Okay. I know that’s kind of long. Brownie points if you can make it all the way through. ;)

Tell me what you think. Creature descriptions for this (and “Project Nostalgia”) start soon.
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colddigger
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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I liked the history, mandibles evolved unexpectedly late though...
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Well, the thing is, jaws never really evolved on Thar, so Tharian animals had to wait before something like a jaw was formed. In the polykephs, the tetralomoan evolve a sort of mauling chamber (basically a muscular tube lined with rows of teeth to crush their food). The auripods and the pterakokalians possess something similar (through convergent evolution). But in order for true jaws (in this case mandibles) to evolve, some kind of external head gear had to evolve (sort of like "After Man"'s hornheads). That's where the kranostomans came in.



Now, I know what you may be thinking: why didn't the jaws evolve from the gills of the undopleurans, from which all terrestrial dikephs are descendents of? The thing is, undopleurans never possessed any gills that could possibly evolve into jaws (what the undopleuran possessed, rather, was a filtering organ that would seperate the water from the gasses. The water would immediately flow back out of the body (though some species utilize this for jet propulsion and hunting styles similar to the archer fish) and the gasses would flow into a lung (which also doubles as a swim bladder)). They have a long tongue (which, in some cases (malanokinets ("soft nonmovers", the dikeph answer to tunicates), nonakokalans ("no bones", because they possess only cartilegenous support), undopleurans, and puelicrurans) injects stomach juices while in others (pterakokalians, auripods, and kranostomans) it drags food into either them maw chamber (first two) or the stomach (latter)), which couldn't possibly evolve into a jaw.
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colddigger
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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Such a style of collecting oxygen would result in fairly easy colonization of the land I would imagine...

Oh no complaints about the lack of jaws, completely understandable given the body design you described. There's also always the excuse "it simply never evolved" as well...

How about a partially open mauling chamber? it could set this over or on top of its food and grind it up without the worry of it being too large to fit into the mauling chamber...
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Oh. Well, that's more info on Tharian animals than you ever wanted to know. :)

I just kidding.



Yeah, that would result in a fairly easy land colonization. If oxygen wasn't a problem. See, plants got a later start on land than they did on Earth, meaning it took a bit longer to oxygenize the atmosphere. So while Tharian "fish" could have conquered land before Earth fish, the Tharian atmosphere just wasn't ready yet.



That mauling thing could work. Sort of like a strange version of snake jaws.
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colddigger
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Is there less phytoplankton in the Tharian oceans?

That mauling thing could even be turned into a sort of radula I suppose...
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Yeah, a little less. I mean, early in Thar's history, there was less phytoplankton. But once the oxygen started really being pumped, a mass effusion of phytoplankton ensued.




Admittedly, the radula is where I got the idea for the maul chamber. Plus the spinostomes from Snaiad.
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

Some animals have grinding teeth in the back of the palate and oesophagus, prehaps that could be done? But mashing could just as well be done by symbiotic arthie-analogues.
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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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Yeah, plates could be done especially in polykeph or tulimusk eaters, but the mashing thing will probably be more common.



So I'm debating on how to do creature descriptions.

Option 1: I could do like what Empyreon is doing for Nereus. I could do individual biomes and describe creatures from there.

Option 2: I could just do individual species for whereever place I feel like.



Which option would you guys care for? I could do it either way and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
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Empyreon
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Are you plausible?

First: let it be noted I fully intend to sit down and read all of this topic... once my classes are wrapped up. Please don't let my lack of commentary suggest lack of interest.

Second: One of the things I enjoy about Option 1 is that-- as far as my own work is concerned-- it's forced me to think of how everything fits together ecologically. Unfortunately it also means that I tend to spend a lot of time on specific regions when others may be eager to move on to new places.
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus!

COM Contributions


food for thought
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colddigger
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Go for biomes, keeps it organized and gives a clearer image of how the specific places you talk about work/look like/what lives there etc.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Alright. Biome it is then. Any specific requests, because, again, they're all going to be covered anyway, so it doesn't matter what order I go in.



And lack of time to read, Empy, does not imply lack of interest. I completely understand that.
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colddigger
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A grasslandy biome perhaps? Those are always nice places to start... Open space for running around...Considering this all started with the Gyrosprinter eheh.

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