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| Cetacean concepts | |
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| Topic Started: May 11 2010, 11:58 AM (852 Views) | |
| Carlos | May 11 2010, 11:58 AM Post #1 |
Adveho in me Lucifero
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I felt a little bad by directing my anger at dolphins rather than their fans lately, so here's a few futuristic cetaceans: Francisco (old concept) Cetaceans, as a group, managed to survive to the age of man; however, many species had disappeared since then and, 15 million years in the future, they were mostly replaced by seals and other marine mammals. A few dolphin species, however, managed to survive, most being quite specialised animals. One of them is the Francisco (Neolipotes lusitanicus). This animal evolved from the modern day bottlenose dolphin, an animal that already occurs naturally in Rio Sado, in Portugal (and probably once also in the close river Rio Tejo, if it wasn't for the intense human activity there). Over millions of years, the disappearence of man allowed dolphins to become very well established in the Iberian Peninsula's main rivers and lakes, and as a result this animal evolved. As a whole, the Francisco resembles the river dolphins from the age of man; such similarities are the result of parallel evolution. In particular, it resembles the Franciscana (from the modern La Plata river) and the Baiji (which once lived in China). Like them, it usually feeds on fish and small invertebrates that live on the bottom of the river. It is not particularly very big, with a body length of about 2-3 meters. Unlike modern river dolphins, this one has a dorsal fin, as it evolved from marine dolphins (the modern tucuxi, a fresh water marine dolphin, has one, as opposed to the "true" river dolphins, who usually have a small hump in back). This cetacean lives in smaller groups than their marine ancestors, as there's fewer predators than in the sea and sometimes not as much food. In the wetter seasons, when floods occur, this dolphins spread themselves around the flooded lands; at this times, they form larger groups, as some marine predators climb up the rivers. While mainly living in rivers and lakes, the Francisco occasionally ventures into the sea, specially when there's droughts. They usually remain in shallow waters, although sometimes they occur as far away as the Azores or Britain. |
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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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| MitchBeard | May 12 2010, 07:13 AM Post #2 |
proud gondwanan
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Cool. Reminds me of an idea that I had for a future dolphin that takes the niche of a reef shark. |
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| Ook | May 12 2010, 07:26 AM Post #3 |
not a Transhuman
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how about dolphins,that grow to size of sperm whale?...could doplhins eventualy evolve into something like baleen whales? |
   
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| Pando | May 12 2010, 08:50 AM Post #4 |
Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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Sperm whales ARE dolphins. But baleen whales evolved from mosasaur-like ceteceans. |
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| MitchBeard | May 12 2010, 10:04 AM Post #5 |
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proud gondwanan
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All you really need to be a cetacean is the filter feeding mechanism. Its happened before quite a few times, I don't see why it could happen again. Though personally I like the idea of penguinesque filter-feeding prion descendants. ...the seabird, not the benign protein. *EDIT* calling shotgun on that idea by the way! Edited by MitchBeard, May 12 2010, 10:05 AM.
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| Deleted User | May 14 2010, 09:02 AM Post #6 |
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Deleted User
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Myscetes actually begun as predatory whales (albeit with big eyes instead of melon) before becoming baleen whales, so a dolphin could logically become like that |
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| Carlos | May 14 2010, 01:59 PM Post #7 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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False Dugong Euthalassosus sireniamimus The artic seas 15 million years into the future are inhabited by a large, strange cetacean. About as big as the narwhal of the age of man, it doesn't resemble it very much however; its tail is a perfect crescent in shape, and its pectoral fins are proportionally large and round, their front part being straight however. It is rather heavy built, and its face is quite different from that of any cetacean, resembling more that of a walrus or a dugong than that of a regular cetacean, having a big, muscular upper lip. It has no melon This animal evolved from porpoises, which had a radiation of species that lasted until more or less ten million years after man, declining in the following 5 million years. Most cetacean diversity in the present is porpoise derived, and they managed to become quite specialised. This particular linage appeared in the middle of the reign of the porpoises, 7 million years from man's age, and has specialised in the niche of a benthic mollusc eater. Progressively the melon became smaller in order to house the muscular upper lip until it disappered, while the teeth became more recognisable molars to crack shelfish and crustacean shells. Members of this genus ocured in the oceans all over the world, but in the last 5 million years they declined as seals produced new walrus analogues, and now only this beast of the Artic remains. It is a coastoal animal, feeding on relatively shallow waters on shellfish, crustaceans, worms and, occasionally, fish and carcasses. While usually slow, when threatned it can swim quite fast for an animal its size. Having an otherwise lethargic lifestyle, it can spend a long time underwater, and live for quite long if possible, up to 80 years. Females are brown coloured, while males are grey. Occasionally venture into rivers, specially when giving birth |
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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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| Ook | May 14 2010, 02:14 PM Post #8 |
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not a Transhuman
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how about tiny european freshwater porpoise? |
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| Carlos | May 14 2010, 02:40 PM Post #9 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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Maybe I'll make those |
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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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| Ook | May 14 2010, 02:52 PM Post #10 |
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not a Transhuman
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or one species of fresh water doplhin from SA that survive holocene and go back to ocean...with very good echolocation 
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| MitchBeard | May 14 2010, 10:04 PM Post #11 |
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proud gondwanan
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Well what about a herbivorous one that takes then niche of the stellar's sea cow, eat kelp and such |
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| Toad of Spades | May 14 2010, 10:34 PM Post #12 |
Clorothod
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Here are some ideas. - dolphins with wide snouts and flat molars. They could use them to eat bivalves, large crustaceans, and sea snails. - dolphins with teeth like some plesiosaurs and pliosaurs. The teeth are long, sharp, narrow, and stick outside of the mouth. They interlock to form a sort of fish trap. They specialize on swarms of herring and similar groupings of fish. - dolphins that have heterodont teeth and heavy strong jaws. They have "canines" and pseudo carnassial teeth with a single cusp. They specialize on eating prey as large or larger than themselves but can also eat smaller prey. They are 15 feet long and hunt in packs, using complicated strategies. - dolphins that have lost their eyes and depend totally on their echolocation. Their echolocation is much more advanced than any of today's cetaceans. - serpentine shaped dolphins with strong muscular flippers that dwell in swamps and marshes. Edited by Toad of Spades, May 14 2010, 10:36 PM.
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Sorry Link, I don't give credit. Come back when you're a little...MMMMMM...Richer. Bread is an animal and humans are %90 aluminum. | |
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| Pando | May 14 2010, 11:23 PM Post #13 |
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Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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Mind if I use some of these ideas for the Postozoic? |
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| Toad of Spades | May 14 2010, 11:27 PM Post #14 |
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Clorothod
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Of course not. Go right ahead.
Edited by Toad of Spades, May 14 2010, 11:28 PM.
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Sorry Link, I don't give credit. Come back when you're a little...MMMMMM...Richer. Bread is an animal and humans are %90 aluminum. | |
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| xaritscin | Jun 7 2010, 10:01 AM Post #15 |
Adult
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how about a little dolphin who starts the first steps for returning to land, maybe being seal-like??
Edited by xaritscin, Jun 7 2010, 10:01 AM.
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