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| Whales Everywhere! EVERYWHERE!; No fish, just cetaceans. | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 24 2010, 06:15 PM (2,097 Views) | |
| Spugpow | Oct 24 2010, 06:15 PM Post #1 |
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I've always thought this idea was cool: What if all the fish in the ocean were magicked away? We'd have oceans dominated by cetaceans, which would undergo explosive radiation to fill all the empty niches. Squid and krill would would fill other niches as well, and provide food for the cetaceans. I'm thinking that baleen could be modified to form gills, and the blowhole could become the outlet through which water passes after entering the mouth. Here's a quick picture: |
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| Adman | Nov 6 2010, 09:03 AM Post #31 |
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Totally not lamna
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Because some porpises have a lifespan of 12 years at the maximum, they could radiate into a lot of forms, evolving from one adaptable ancestor that was a generalist.
Edited by Adman, Nov 6 2010, 11:49 AM.
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Projects and concepts that I have stewing around Extended Pleistocene- An alternate future where man died out, and the megafauna would continue to thrive (may or may not include a bit about certain future sapients) Inverted World- An alternate timeline where an asteroid hit during the Barremian, causing an extinction event before the Maastrichtian. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and notosuchians make it to the present, along with a host of other animals. Badania- Alien planet that has life at a devonian stage of development, except it exists in the present day. Ido- Alien world where hoppers (derived flightless ballonts) and mouthpart-legged beasts are prevalent. Leto- Life on a moon orbiting a gas giant with an erratic orbit; experiences extremes of hot and cold. The Park- ??? Deeper Impact- a world where the K-Pg extinction wipes out crocodilians, mammals, and birds; squamates, choristoderes, and turtles inherit the earth. World of Equal Opportunity- alternate history where denisovans come across Beringia and interact with native fauna. Much of the Pleistocene fauna survives, and the modern humans that end up crossing into North America do not overhunt the existing animals. 10,000 years later, civilizations exist that are on par with European and Asian societies. The Ditch- Nothing is what if seems.. | |
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| Spugpow | Nov 6 2010, 11:10 AM Post #32 |
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Actually, lots of whales feed on krill, so the extinction of krill-feeding fish would be a boon for them. Toothed whales would probably feed on squid. They could make a gradual transtion from breathing air to using gills. Perhaps most would use their gills only at rest, breathing at the surface when they needed to swim fast. Swordfish and their like have extremely high metabolisms, and get all their oxygen from the water. So it isn't impossible. About porpoises: Yeah, I can particularly see them radiating into a diverse bunch of "reef fish". Which reminds me; how colorful can cetaceans get? Would reef cetaceans be as colorful as tropical fish? At least some might become pink from eating crustaceans the way flamingos do... |
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| colddigger | Nov 6 2010, 11:19 AM Post #33 |
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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Black to white and red to brown, that's all I know... |
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Oh Fine. Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP?? v Don't click v Spoiler: click to toggle | |
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| Kamidio | Nov 6 2010, 11:28 AM Post #34 |
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The Game Master of the SSU:NC
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Mammals are boing color wise, aren't we? |
SSU:NC - Finding a new home. Quotes WAA
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| Spugpow | Nov 6 2010, 12:12 PM Post #35 |
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I think I remember reading somewhere that there are blue cetaceans...don't remember where though. Hey, don't forget about this guy! Spoiler: click to toggle |
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| T.Neo | Nov 6 2010, 01:04 PM Post #36 |
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Translunar injection: TLI
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That's what I said. Not too sure about squid, but if they can hunt them, and there are enough of them, sure.
Oh no, I never said that it's downright impossible to respirate in water and have a high metabolism, but it's just that... swordfish haven't been breathing air for more than 340 million years... Edited by T.Neo, Nov 6 2010, 01:04 PM.
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| A hard mathematical figure provides a sort of enlightenment to one's understanding of an idea that is never matched by mere guesswork. | |
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| colddigger | Nov 6 2010, 01:07 PM Post #37 |
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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What I worry about, other than how much they rely on their lungs only, is their large brains... I'm thinking that squids would probably compete for the empty niches left by krill eating fish, so there'd be plenty of them around... |
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Oh Fine. Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP?? v Don't click v Spoiler: click to toggle | |
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| Spugpow | Nov 7 2010, 11:01 PM Post #38 |
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Sorry, T.Neo, I misunderstood you. Incidentally, lots of toothed whales eat squid. Silver Slave, what's wrong with their brains? That they'd waste energy? |
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| colddigger | Nov 7 2010, 11:09 PM Post #39 |
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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Nah, I wouldn't call lots of thinking wasted energy, just that their brains would require a lot of oxygen, and the atmosphere provides a lot of oxygen, so I doubt they would lose their lungs or even switch them to "secondary" oxygen provider... Although if they were to develop something that allows them to extract oxygen from the water that might become a secondary... |
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Oh Fine. Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP?? v Don't click v Spoiler: click to toggle | |
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| Spugpow | Nov 9 2010, 11:14 PM Post #40 |
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Exactly. However, I'm sure certain species, like the bottom dweller, breathe using gills alone. |
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