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Notosuchia World
Topic Started: Aug 19 2010, 02:42 AM (1,050 Views)
Pando
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**NOTE** I am not going to update this very often, only when I have a creature. It's been bugging me for a while and I want to get this out. Also, I am borrowing a lot from my old Alternative KT Extinctions project.

In this project KT was not an asteroid but instead volcanic eruptions that weren't as devastating as the real KT. After the KT extinction the world was dry and hot and had lower oxygen levels, a mammals hell. Mammals were one of the hardest hit organisms, with only a few metatherians surviving in North America and Gonwanatheres surviving in South America, which were the least hit continents. Amphibians got totally wiped out. Neornith birds got a devastating hit as well.

The extinction also killed off all aquatic and semi-aquatic tetrapods, leaving the seas empty for millions of years. Fish took hold, only allowing a few spots for new incoming tetrapods.

Sauropods were eliminated in the extinction, being the largest animals on Earth. Pterosaurs also went extinct.

Enantiornith birds are the dominant flyers, looking like feathered pterosaurs. They take dominance like the birds of today and the Neornith birds take a dominance level of bats.

Hadrosaurs were the only surviving group of ornthipods.

Theropods were hard hit by the extinction too and were reduced to only dromaeosaurids, troodonts, and therizinosaurs surviving. They never regained their dominance except in Africa, and during the Oligocene Cooling the feather insulation of the therizinosaurs allowed them to dominate over their naked cousins.

In Laurasia hadrosaurs became the dominant herbivores except in North America, in which Pachycephalosaurs became dominant. Eventually the hadrosaurs and pachycephalosaurs became more fit for being the fast and fast reproducing prey animal, while ankylosaurs and ceratopsians became the bulky prey.

The Laurasian predators started out to be the theropods again, but some pachycephalosaurs became predators (they were already omnivores). They first became dominant in North America, but 30 million years ago when the landbridge first appeared between North America and Eurasia they crossed over to the Old World and pushed out the carnivorous theropods.

Gondwanaland became dominated by notosuchians and secondarily by birds. The notosuchians grew a variety of forms, from giant sauropod-like forms to aquatic forms to giant carnivore forms and a whole lot of other forms. They were originally just in the southern continents until some Indian notosuchians crossed into the Old World. Close to present day more advanced ones came from South America and Australia, and really began their world dominance.

Ceratopsians were really the only Laurasian life to gain a hold in South America. Pachycephalosaurs and theropods tried to gain dominance but didn't make it and are on the brink of extinction in the southern continent.

On a smaller side, Gondwanatheres remain restricted to South America and Australia. Metatherians start moving into Asia, and have competition from squamates.

Okay, I'm done now. Took an hour or so to write that up. 4 species coming tomorrow!
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KayKay
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This looks really interesting, looking forward to the four species you will be posting.

The descriptions of some types of animals, are those in a modern-day perspective, for example you say ceratopsians are dominant in South America, and other animals are on the brink of extinction - is that modern day times?
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Pando
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Yeah, most of the descriptions are from modern day. Sorry if I didn't make it clear, it seemed clear when I was writing it up, but now that I look at it I can see how the description will be confusing.

The species are going to come in a few hours. Unfortunately they will just be lineart since I don't know what to paint them in GIMP.
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Pando
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Got the 4 species ready. I'm using Google Translate for the Greek.

Quote:
 
Mymavroei
Common Name: Anteater Croc
Ancestor: Notosuchus
Diet: Insects and arachnids
Habitat: The Amazon Rain Forest
Origin of the Greek Name: "μυρμήγκι σαύρα τρώει" (ant eating lizard) (myrmínki sávra tróei).
Mymavroei take the place of the anteaters of today. They can grow up to 3 feet tall (like the one pictured below) and are rarely smaller than 2 feet tall. They have a long tongue which they use to scoop up ants.

Anteaters today eat ants until the soldier ants show up. The Anteater Croc doesn't care about the soldier ants. It sends a poison down its tongue aimed at the soldier ants. Once all nearby soldiers are killed it starts eating again.

If attacked it still has 2 sharp teeth and a strong jaw which it can use for biting. It can also spit its poison.

The image:
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Kreathoreifali
Common Name: Tyrant Dome Head
Ancestor: Pachycephalosaurus
Diet: Meat.
Habitat: Forests of North America
Origin of the Greek Name: "κρέας θόλο τρώει το κεφάλι" (meat eating dome head) (kréas thólo tróei to kefáli).
The largest predator of North America, Kreathoreifali towers above almost all. The smallest species is only 18 feet long and 9 feet tall (pictured), but they can reach sizes of 35 feet long and 15 feet tall.

The Tyrant Dome Head will eat any animal it can, except for its own genus, although the larger species will sometimes turn cannibalistic and eat smaller species.

Competition turns deadly often, with their front horns able to penetrate the skull of the competitor in some cases. It happens in both mating season and territory competitions.

It lives in the forests of North America, going from the southest extent before the grasslands and deserts appear all the way to the taiga forests in the north, sometimes up to mid Canada.

Image:
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Megalaimosuchus
Common Name: Megalaimosuchus
Ancestor: Araripesuchus
Diet: Leaves
Habitat: The Amazon and surrounding forests
Origin of the Greek Name: Name means "long neck crocodile".
Megalaimosuchus is the biggest animal on Earth currently, measuring 50-60 feet long. They mate for life, which helps the Amazon not to get eaten up too quickly. The females lay 2 clutches of 25 eggs, and only 2-4 of each clutch survive to become 20 feet long.

After they reach 20 feet long at 6 years old they join up with a pair, and separate at around 40 years long and 10 years old. They will go with ones that aren't from their clutch if the pair had young from more than 1 clutch, if not they will pair with their siblings. They can live to become over 70 years old.

Image:
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Efialtisuchus
Common Name: Efialtisuchus
Ancestor: Araripesuchus
Diet: Meat
Habitat: Amazon Rain Forest
Origin of the Greek Name: "εφιάλτης" (nightmare) (efiáltis) "suchus" (crocodile).
The largest predator of the Amazon, their body can reach 12 feet long. They also have the strongest jaw strength, approximately the strength of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Efialtisuchus are both runner and ambush predator and can live in both the ground and the trees. They live everywhere in the Amazon as the apex predator. The only organisms that can stop it are another Efialtisuchus or a large sauropod notosuchian.

They are solitary, and the sight of another Efialtisuchus usually means one will die. They can only stand another one of the opposite gender during mating season.

They lay very large eggs, and a newly hatched one is already a very dangerous predator to animals of its size.

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Wow, long post. Took me a lot to write this up. Hope you enjoy it :)
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Cephylus
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I enjoyed it :D
fantastic project. looking forward for more
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Pando
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As I said I won't be updating this often, but more will come soon. Probably a ceratopsian.
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