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| Paleognath world; Neognaths, mammals, crocodilians extinct | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 14 2010, 03:17 PM (655 Views) | |
| Dean | Mar 14 2010, 03:17 PM Post #1 |
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This universe is identical to ours until the KT extinction happens. The extinction, along with dinosaurs, wipes out the following groups: -Neognath birds -Mammals -Crurotarsi -Every reptile that is larger than a guinea pig, and the ancestor of any reptile who's modern day descendants have a chance to grow larger than a guinea pig. This means that paleognath birds (the ancestors of modern tinamous, ostriches, kiwis, cassowaries, emus, etc... and their more flight-capable now-extinct cousins) inherit the Earth. Since paleognaths are less derived and specialized than neognaths, they have more chance to develop into very diverse forms. Modern day kiwis for example, converged so strongly on mammals like no other bird, and modern cassowaries look like pretty typical birds, and really Galloanserae-like, but in reality they have some really dinosaur-like qualities, concerning their behavior and anatomy. If these paleognaths get their golden opportunity to fill so many important niches, who knows what kind of forms will evolve? Edited by Dean, Mar 14 2010, 03:19 PM.
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| Carlos | Mar 14 2010, 03:21 PM Post #2 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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In general, paleognaths aren't radically different from neognaths; ducks, as in my post regarding Talpanas, did produce a form converging on kiwis. However, their jaws are unsuited for the evolution of strong beaks as in parrots and finches, leaving forms feeding on bones, hard fruits and seeds and mollusc eaters incapable of evolving, unless they converged on the neognath palate. |
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| Dean | Mar 14 2010, 03:42 PM Post #3 |
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Maybe, because of this, instead of converging on a neognath palate, smaller ground-dwelling forms would instead converge more on the kiwi-kind of beak, that is softer, and more sensitive to smell, while larger omnivores could produce more reduced beaks, which are pliable and lip-like, and instead help grinding food with echidna-like keratinous spines in the mouth. |
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| Pando | Mar 14 2010, 04:13 PM Post #4 |
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Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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I expect this to be a world of killer ostriches. But the sphenodonts, squamates, and testudines will probably survive, and they could be serious competition. And for the coasts expect the predators to be amphibians, but I'm not sure if amphibians can be herbivorous. |
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| Carlos | Mar 14 2010, 05:55 PM Post #5 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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True, albeit I suppose that, being the only guys around that are endothermic, paleognaths would still be quite dominant.
Considering that birds like condors have cheeks, chewing birds could easily occur, using the mentioned keratinous plates rather than teeth of course Edited by Carlos, Mar 14 2010, 05:56 PM.
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| Margaret Pye | Mar 14 2010, 07:07 PM Post #6 |
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I don't know if there are any herbivorous amphibians, but I'm sure it's theoretically possible. And paleognaths could, presumably, converge on a neognath gnath. |
| My speculative dinosaur project. With lots of fluff, parental care and mammalian-level intelligence, and the odd sophont. | |
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| Dean | Mar 15 2010, 03:24 AM Post #7 |
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There is even a theory (although currently it sounds somewhat false, it might turn out to be true later), that birds that did have more a reptilian jaw, similar to those of paleognaths have all died out in the Cretaceous and the Paleocene, and the paleognaths of today are actually neognaths who, by neoteny retained the reptilian jaw configuration which appears in the embryonic development of every bird, similar to the theory that Cnidarians and Bilaterians might have evolved from free-swimming larvae of sponges who became capable of reproduction in the larval stage. If this is true, it might explain why tinamous are so similar to Galliforms. They might be once-galliformes who retained the reptilian jaw. Although with the currently accepted theory, it also can be explained: The common ancestor of modern paleognaths and neognaths might have been similar to a modern galliform, and after they diverged, the tinamous became the first line to branch off from the main paleognath line, thus become the one that is the least different from the common ancestor, and among neoganths the first line to branch off were the Galloanserae, from which Galliformes are the less specialised group, and Anseriforms are so different because they adapted to aquatic life. Edited by Dean, Mar 15 2010, 03:30 AM.
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| Carlos | Mar 15 2010, 08:51 AM Post #8 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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This has mostly been disproved by genetic studies though, and while its indeed surprising that paleognaths appear suddenly in the Eocene its pretty clear they are not galloanseres |
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| Dean | Mar 15 2010, 08:58 AM Post #9 |
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Then the similarities simply arise from the fact, that Galliformes and tinamous are the two groups that are likely most similar to the common ancestor of modern birds, just like the fact, that among reptiles, modern lizards are very similar to the first amniote, even though they are part of a very derived group. |
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| Carlos | Mar 15 2010, 09:53 AM Post #10 |
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Though early paleognaths like lithornids looked less like fowl and more like weird, arboreal woodcock like forms
Edited by Carlos, Mar 15 2010, 09:53 AM.
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| Carlos | Mar 15 2010, 02:15 PM Post #11 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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Sorry for the double post, but I must say this topic really inspired me. I'm not going to design a world with only paleognaths, but I've decided all of my project's (Terra Alternativa) birds must be paleognaths |
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| Dean | Mar 15 2010, 02:40 PM Post #12 |
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Great idea! Meanwhile, I'll try to think up some species for this world! |
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| Dean | Mar 15 2010, 05:43 PM Post #13 |
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Here are some species: Name: Gallomimic tinamou Size: Like that of a modern tinamou Diet: Omnivore Appearance: Looks like a modern tinamou, but with a flashy junglefowl-like plumage Breeding: Polygamous with one male for a group of females. Breeding strategy: Frequent breeding producing a high number of precocial offspring, no real parental care, but the young stay with the group until they can fend for themselves better. Nest: Simple hole in the ground, lined with grass. Eggs: Multiple coloured, but one egg only has a single colour. Beak and mouth: A soft, pliable reduced lip-like beak. Inside of the mouth contains keratinous spines, with which the bird can pre-grind the food. Has a good sense of smell. Locomotion: Good runners, and not frequent, but not bad fliers. Prefers not to fly. Description: In the abscence of neognaths, the ecological niche of fowl remained empty, so this chicken-wannabe bird quickly rushed to fill it. Converging strongly on the lifestyle of Galliformes, it evolved into a pretty successful species. What couldn't become Galliform-like because of it's paleognath limitations, was solved with qualities that are more like those of a kiwi. Name: Terror ostrich (Terrorstrich) Size: 3 meters tall Diet: Hypercarnivore, apex predator Appearance: A big ostrich, with a shorter, stronger neck, and a bigger head. Breeding: Monogamous. Breeding strategy: One offspring per year, offspring very altricial, long parental care needed. Nest: A small enclosure constructed from wood and grass, which is constantly guarded by at least one parent. Eggs: Greenish-brown, to blend in with the surroundings. Beak and mouth: A strong beak, which when closed, turns into a deadly piercing weapon, when open, becomes a very efficient pair of forceps. The inside of the mouth is heavily patterned with many kinds of keratinous spikes. The face also has cheeks. This allows chewing. Locomotion: Very fast and efficient running, flightless, but wings are used in various cultural displays and to threaten. Description: In the abscence of apex predators, this animal inherited the job of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Intelligent, swift and deadly, all birds tremble in fear, when Terrorstrich appears. They are pack hunters, running quickly through the land, downing fellow paleognaths with a swift kick or a deadly pierce. Their intelligence is remarkable, similar to that of wolves. Communication isn't very important in the pack, but when they need to let others know something, it will be told in an efficient dance-based sign language combined with vocalizations. Name: Cassowaroraptor Size: A bit smaller than a cassowary Diet: Carnivore Appearance: A cassowary with a more streamlined, swift, and less stocky build. Breeding: The same as in cassowaries. Breeding strategy: The same as in cassowaries, but the chicks are somewhat less precocial. There is some parental care, and chicks need to learn some hunting techniques from the parents, but these are not as elaborate as those of Terrorstriches. Nest: A small hole cleverly hidden among trees or in bushes. Eggs: The same as in cassowaries. Beak and mouth: Similar to that of terrorstriches, but smaller. Locomotion: Fast running, flightless. Can jump well and can swiftly dive towards prey mid-jump. Description: Taking the role of the swift, sneaky and less fearsome, but dangerous carnivore, the Cassowaroraptor is a common animal in the forests. Specialising on both outrunning, and ambushing prey, they have adaptations that make them fast, agile and sneaky. They aren't as intelligent as a terrorstrich, but they can still outwit many paleognaths. Their hunting strategy includes ambushing prey from hard-to-see places, chasing it around, then quickly leaping up into the air, and diving towards it, piercing it in the heart or the neck, or leaping up in front of it and kicking it very hard. |
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| Carlos | Mar 16 2010, 10:22 AM Post #14 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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I don't think a carnivore would need chewing though; sauropsid predators never did so |
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| Dean | Mar 16 2010, 11:50 AM Post #15 |
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Well, in these predators, chewing evolved, because their earlier forms where tinamou-like, opportunistic omnivores, who encountered many kinds of different foods, and lacking a neognath jaw, they evolved these grinding spikes to help breaking it into smaller pieces. When their descendants switched to carnivory, they retained these in a modified form that specializes in cutting meat apart. |
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