• The Rapture - for some mysterious reason, humans just disappear. No extinctions. Humans just vanish from the face of the Earth in a split second. What will life look like in 10MYF?
  
• Land of Ice - the Earth whips back into a new ice age, just slightly fiercer than the Pleistocene ice age. What will life look like in 10MYF?
  
• Land of Fire - the current climate change becomes irrevesible. Ice cap melting happens so slowly that the ocean currents don't flip, which would cause a new ice age. Instead, the Earth warms. What will life look like in 10MYF (note: this is TFIB basically)?
  
• Shooting Gallery - another asteroid, the same size as the K-T asteroid, strikes the Earth. Ironically, the same thing that brought mammals into dominance brings us out. Now, competing for dominance of the world, are surviving rodents, birds, squamates, crocs, and testudines (yes, you heard right). What would life look like in 30MYF?
  
• Repeat the Past - the same conditions that caused the P-Tr extinction happen again. All areas of life are devastated. What will survive and what will life look like in 50MYF?
  
• Life Support - Earth's oxygen levels rise to Carboniferous levels once again. This allows arthropods to grow larger and forests to expand. What will life look like in 30MYF?

Throat Singers

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Casuariidae
Genus: Camurius
Species: C. tralodis

Common names: throat singer, tralodis

Description: The throat singer is a descendent of the modern emu. In the 10 million years since the Rapture (the utter disappearance of all humans in a single instant. In no way related to Christianity's rapture), emus have evolved a primitive form of ruminance.

To digest the abundant grass, the throat singers sometimes swallow rocks like their distant dinosaur ancestors once did. These rocks crush up the tough grass in the throat singer's stomach. It's not the most efficient system, which is why they don't live completely on grass. They often browse on low bushes and sometimes munch on the occasional insect.

Over the millions of years, the emu evolved to be speedier to outrun the dingos and cats that were coming to dominate Australia's carnivore niches. As such, the emus went the way of their ostrich cousins and deevolved one of their toes. Thus, the throat singer possesses only two toes.

Also over the millions of years, emu males have perfected their modern mating ritual, leading to the sexual dimorphism present in the throat singers. Modern emus possess a primitive throat sac that they can inflate. This has been taken to its inevitable "conclusion" in the throat singer, which evolved a brightly colored pouch that it can inflate when it dances.

To further aid in winning a female's attention, the throat singer males have retained the white stripes that are present in their chicks. Chicks possess these stripes to aid in camouflage in the tall grass (a feature present in today's emus). But the male throat singers retain this as a way to impress females. And it works, especially when the wings are extended.

Throat singers, like their emu ancestors, lay large eggs, which catch the eyes of many mammals like pig descendents. To combat this, male throat singers stand guard over the eggs and, when a potential egg thief comes around, the male throat singer pounds the predator with its beak.

Leptaroo

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Genus: Macropus
Species: M. phroria

Common names: leptaroo, phroria

Description: The leptaroo is a descendent of the agile wallaby and, other than behavior and body size, hasn't changed much in 10 million years.

With the introduction of cats and dingos which, as previously stated, are coming to dominate the main carnivorous niches, some native animals became extinct. The macropods, speedy herbivores as they are, survived relatively unscathed. But, as the introduced cats began to catch up, even macropods were forced to change.

That's where the leptaroo comes in. Like the African gazelles, the leptaroo has taken to living in large family groups, taking the evolutionary creed "There's safety in numbers" to heart.

They try to keep the weaker and younger members in the center of the group when they feed so that the stronger members can watch for predators. When one is spotted, the entire group takes off, leaving the predator to pick and choose one member.

Groups are formed from bachelor groups. When males come of age, some males remain in the group. But some of the stronger males abandon the group. When they come upon a different group of leptaroos, they kidnap some females (just like zebra males do). This prevents inbreeding and encourages genetic diversity.

Groups usually number about fifty members with the largest recorded group being 100 members strong.

The leptaroos feed on grass and, in the dry season, low bushes when they're available. They're smaller than their modern red kangaroo cousins, standing at a height of four feet when on their feet.

Cerugis

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Cerugis
Species: C. rinokos

Common names: cerugis, ceratasuid, horn-snout

Description: The cerugis evolved from the introduced pigs. Similar to white rhinos, it has evolved to take advantage of the drier conditions present in the southern portion of the North Australian grassland.

They live in small family groups, consisting of about six members: the dominant male, his female mate (cerugis mate for life), and their offspring.

Both males and females possess enlarged lower canines to dig in the dirt, allowing them to uproot grass and bushes. This is especially useful in the dry season (which lasts longer in their range) because this act of uprooting exposes the roots which store an additional source of water. Males, as should be expected, possess even larger lower canines, used to deter predators (which will be detailed shortly).

The cerugis looks like an herbivorous entelodont. Well, actually, the cerugis is more of an omnivore. Especially in the dry season, the cerugis will supplement its diet of grass and bushes with lizards, snakes, toads, and insects.

Males and females usually leave their original family group when they reach sexual maturity, at which time they search for another male or female. A mated pair usually has up to four young every year or so. The reach sexual maturity in this same year as well.

Vombabara

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Vombatidae
Genus: Thoraclunis
Species: T. eurosto

Common names: vombabara, thoraclunis

Description: The vombabara is a descendent of the wombat and is one of the few instances where native species have managed to outcompete the introduced varieties. The entire genus thoraclunis took the niches introduced rabbits had been expected to take: the small herbivore niches.

With the evolution of the thoraclunis genus, rabbits were forced to go the way of their pika cousins: small creatures that burrow, sort of like meerkats and marmots. But enough about the rabbit descendents. While interesting, I find the thoraclunis genus to be much more intriguing. And, of this genus, I find the vombabara (the largest member) to be the most noteworthy.

Standing three feet tall at the shoulder, the vombabara echoes the capybara of modern South America. While the vombabara isn't as much of a swamp dweller as its counter-part, it certainly resembles it, both physically and behaviorally.

Modern wombats possess a rear hump made out of cartilage. In the vombabara, this has been taken to its inevitable "conclusion". The cartilage has evolved into a hard shell made out of keratin, which covers the animals back as well as the rear. This echoes the doedicuris of prehistoric South America.

While not nearly as fast as any lagomorph descendent, it is this adaptation that has allowed them to largely outcompete the lagomorphs.

The vombabara, like most North Australian herbivores, the vombabara eats grass and, unlike most North Australian herbivores, rarely supplements its diet with shrubs.

Vombabaras are usually solitary and only come together in mating season. Males compete with each other for females by rearing up on their back legs and coming down on their rival's shell. The loser often comes away with scratches but rarely with any major injuries.

Nageru

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Nageruris
Species: N. acino

Common name: nageru

Description: The nageru (derived from the Maori word "ngeru" mean "cat") evolved from the domestic house cat (Felis catus). The domestic cats, being relatively unspecialized, have evolved to fill a wide variety of carnivore niches on Australia. From a pantherine hunter in South Australia to an otter-like fish eater in the East Australian Delta to a lionesque hunter in the Central Australian desert, the cat has diversified greatly in a post-Rapture Australia. And their diversity is well represented in the nageru, which shows remarkable convergent evolution with another felid.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an African predator, famous for its short bursts of speed, averaging about 70mph. This is all made possible by the use of semi-retractable claws, a spring-like vertebrate, slender waist, and a deep chest.

The nageru has evolved very similar characteristics to its cheetah cousin. In response to its fast prey (such as throat singers and leptaroos), the nageru has evolved to catch up. While it can only top out at 50mph, it is able to maintain this speed longer than the now-extinct cheetah. The nageru's claws are also semi-retractable and it also has a spring-like spine. As of yet, the slender waist and deep chest aren't a characteristic of the nageru. But in another 5 or 10 million years, it is entirely possible.

Being light weight, the nageru can't kill its prey with sheer strength like its tiger and lion cousins can. Instead, it relies on sabre teeth and springboard-like back legs. This allows the nageru to sail through the air and, with good precision, land on its prey's back. The nageru's claws dig into the back and, like most carnivorans, it closes its mouth around the windpipe, crushing it and killing the creature.

Nageru often hunt in packs, ambushing their prey. Usually packs consist of three females, which bring the food back to the waiting male, which spends its day protecting the cubs. Like in lion prides, food is shared by social standing. The dominant male first, then the females, then the cubs get whatever is left.

Kuringo

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. hyenathos

Common names: hyingo, kuringo

Description: The kuringo (a combination of "kuri" (the Maori word for "dog") and "dingo") is, as the derivation suggests, a descendent of the dingo. With cats dominating the predatory scene, dingos remained relatively in the shadows. Except in a few rare cases (especially in the Central Australian Desert), dingos haven't snatched up the main predator niches.

The kuringo is one of those exceptions. Sort of. It does sometimes kill live prey, especially the vombabara. However, mostly, it will steal kills from the nageru or related predator.

The kuringo evolved its most defining characteristic because of its habit of hunting the vombabara and related species. Like the prehistoric andrewsarchus and the modern hyena, the kuringo has jaws of bone-crushing strength. This is because, like the prehistoric giant short faced bear, its jaws are shorter, meaning the ends of the jaw are closer to the fulcrum. This gives it a greater bite force, allowing it to easily crush bone and crush the vombabara's plates.

Unlike their dingo ancestors, kuringos are usually solitary. If two (or more) kuringos are seen together either a) food is scarce or b) it's a mother and her pups. Males and females only come together in the middle of the dry season so that the pups can be born in the early-mid wet season.

No breeding grounds are established. A male just actively seeks a female during the mid dry season. A litter of one to two pups is born in the early-mid dry season. The pups stay with their mother until they are able to care for themselves at one year of age. They reach sexual maturity at age two.