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| If the Rock Missed: Reboot; My First Project... The Final Remake Version | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 16 2010, 09:02 AM (1,238 Views) | |
| Cephylus | Dec 16 2010, 09:02 AM Post #1 |
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Torando of Terror
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Okay, hopefully you all remeber Alterniverse, a classic no K-T alternative evo project I was doing but froze. The first topic and the second topic is still there, but those are all outdated versions and has no connection to this version. I'm returning to the project, although many ideas were trashed, added or put on hold. I've changed some basic settings for the project, and the general way this project was written will be changed. This project now called <If the Rock Missed> (previously called Alterniverse) has been suffering many changes, and I'm re-booting the entire project. When I first started the project I had almost no knowledge about speculative zoology, so I altered a lot of previous concepts, although some ideas from the previous versions will still be used, and it still has the same theme: no K-T on a large scale. No asteroid. It missed. But there was still a massive extinction; even in the K-T boundary there were the massive volcanic activities from the Deccan Traps, the sudden climatical cooldown which caused a global disaster. While almost all of the great ecosystems of our world 65 millions of years ago were shaken to the core, there were more survivors, including some non-avian dinosaurs. However, even among these survivors, harsh competition insues and through the course of 65 millions of years of evolution and extinction, many lineages saw a dead end while other lineages saw chance for diversification and expansion. Some stuff about this project: - Unlike the previous versions without any sophonts, I have dinosauroids now; or rather, dinosauroids and pterosauroids. In the north, a species of sapient oviraptorosaur hails from the vast rolling steppes of Asia (given that oviraptorosaurs are generally more 'hardy' compared to other dinosaurian carnivores, having adaptability, being able to switch their source of food more easily because of their omnivory). In Africa, a species of sapient flightless azhdarchids hails from the savannahs evolved from stork-like flightless pterosaurs gained hold, colonizing the continent and a few offshore islands like Madagascar; South America saw the rise of unenlagiine sophonts descended from small, omnivorous unenlagiines. I am going to describe their culture and stuff, but mostly at neolithic or early civilization. I may do the modern society too, but just glimpses as I have to re-model everything if I stretch the description of their culture to the 21st century. - Dinosaurs have not fared too well after the wild, ass-kicking course of evolution through the Cenezoic, unlike Specworld. Non-avian dinosaurs, while still one of the dominant clades, have given up a lot of niches to the newly arisen mammals, crocodilians and avian birds, since a lot of those niches were open to exploitation. Many dinosaurs have adapted to the new environments while others, the less fortunate ones, were killed off. * Dromaeosaurs are among the more fortunate lineage, but they've also seen better days, like in the Eocene when the spread of rainforests and tropical climates across the entire globe resulted in the huge success of giant dromaeosaurian ambush predators descended from smallish dromaes like Pyroraptor. Toothed dromaeosaurs fill lynx/caracal/big cat niches. Beaked dromaeosaurs on the other hand, are successful animals and managed to replace most troodonts in Asia and Europe. * Troodonts are still cosmopolitan in Africa and North America, although outcompeted by beaked dromaeosaurs in other places. They had success as carnivores, omnivores and herbivores and now occupy various niches ranging from hyena-like intelligent predators to large savannah grazers. * Oviraptorids are also successful, having displaced many other competitors in various niches. In the carnivore niches, the hardy and adaptable oviraptorids replaced most of the other carnivore clades with the more diverse mammalian carnivores in the North. While most are similar to hyenas, there are also giant pseudo-tyrannosaur oviraptorids similar to bears. A lineage of herbivorous oviraptorids have also enjoyed success as large herbviores after the further dryouts, recede of forests and expansion of forests during the Miocene, along with a few glaciation events which occured in that periods. * Ornithomimids have enjoyed success during the Eocene period in the heavily forested 'Green Earth', successfuly replacing their close relatives the therizinosaurs gone for good. However, during the Eocene-Oligocene maximum thermal event and the Miocene dryouts ornithomimids saw a rapid decline along with forested habitats. However, few still remain today as giant megaherbivores of the Northern steppes and tundras, with a giant waddling omnivore convergent to giant ground sloths in SA. * Amazingly, tyrannosaurs are still here, descended from some basal tyrannosaurs in Late Cretaceous. They enjoyed a brief expansion during the dry climates of the Oligocene, when they took advantage of the climate with some (now extinct) cursorial hardrosaurs, although that brief flourish didn't last long. Today, only a single genus remains and the modern tyrannosaurs are all puny compared to their well-known Meosozoic relatives. They are pack robbers, stealing kills from dromaeosaurian carnivores in groups, with long legs bearing a similarity to the morphology of ostrich legs, and are all heterodont. * Ceratopsians are very successful, common everywhere, ranging from pig or porquipine like critters to massive, mean-spirited omnivores (being omnivorous, they were better able to withstand any extinction events). * The rest of the ornithopods had it rough. They are largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. Hardrosaurs are extinct (they were wiped out during the Miocene dryouts and the Pleistocene glaciations), but there are several ornithopods descended from hypsilophodonts, basal marginocephalians and other basal ornithopods looking like pachycephalosaurs or developed scutes to look like stegosaurs or fast-running plains herbivores and various other forms. However, they were also reduced during the Miocene and the Pleistocene and are now restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. * Noasaurids are pretty common, the last of the abelisauroids. They are mostly smallish, filling dangerous jungle animal (ocelots, various leopardus cats, caimans...) roles, but there are large piscivorous forms and some are macropredators and a weird lineage evolved into prosauropod-like forms... But still restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. - Mammals are very successful animals, many having displaced their dinosaurian counterparts which were either killed off or outcompeted in the harsh environments. The most successful lineage, as in our own world, are laurasiatherians, ranging from massive, bear sized scavengers to bulky rhino-sized beasts and smallish cat-like predators. There are also primates and plesiadapids. Primates are mostly located in the New World while plesiadapids have successfuly outcompeted primates in the Old World, and they are all mostly fruigivores and insectivores much like in our own world, except with a more lemurian appearance. There are also some ancient mammal lineages, such as metatherians and multiuberculates. Metatherians have surprisingly adopted a seal-like appearance and are now aquatic predators (in SA metatherians also fill all mammalian carnivore niches and some lemur-like arboreal animal niches) while multiuberculates fill porquipine/ beaver niches in the New World, some attaining huge sizes in SA. Bats are all cimolestan bats, no volaticotheres or anything. - Crocodilians; gosh, do I love those terrestrial crocs. I'm keeping notosuchids and all sebecids, baurusuchids, peirosaurids.... Notosuchids are the most common type of terrestrial crocs, most being dog-sized omnivores but some evolve into gigantic duck-snouted herbivores which replace the extinct hardrosaurs. Notosuchids are also macropredators in Asia, Africa and Europe while surviving peirosaurids and relatives are found in SA and Africa. Eusuchians are also here, with alligatorids being very common in Asia and NA. I'm wondering wether to keep mekosuchines alive or not, but probably I'll keep a few since even some terrestrial ones were alive in our own timeline before humans came to Australia. - Pterosaurs are rather cosmopolitan, with azhdarchids being the most successful clade. They fill stork/crane/heron/vulture/ibis/teratorn/terror bird/hornbill niches, with flightless forms common in SA, Africa and Indochina. Tapejarid-azhdarchid in-between form descendents also exist, with dsungapterids and ornithocheirid-like forms (restricted to Europe) also existing. Nyctosaurs fill albatross/frigate bird niches at sea. - Aquatic reptiles, sadly are mostly extinct... Choristoderes are here, mostly as gharial or metriorhynchid-like forms with a few monitor lizard-like forms here and there, and a terrestrial lineage in Europe. Mosasaurs are on the verge of extinction but still cling on in tropical waters as apex predators, while sharks replaced the mosasaurs mostly in other places. Pliosaurs are all extinct. - Fish; there are giant lungfish in Africa, massive freshwater sarcopytergian filling freshwater predator niches; (giant pikes and nile perches), paddlefish and filter-feeding sharks (along with some gigantic manta ray-type rays) are the largest animals on the oceans, which replaces the baleen whales of our world. Sharks are also very successful, fast, deadly oceanic predators ranging from enormous, great white shark-like predators to group-hunting, intelligent and fast swimming dolphin analogues. There are also fast-swimming, powerful marlin relatives hunting large prey, only fearing giant sharks. I'm working on this project, working on a habitat and the creatures which inhabit it instead of going by clades like Spec. Spoiler: click to toggle
Edited by Cephylus, Dec 16 2010, 09:10 AM.
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| Cephylus | Dec 19 2010, 10:10 AM Post #16 |
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Torando of Terror
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Timeline will be up soon (inspired by Coon and his own timeline in his own no-KT project). I think it can give you all a general outline for this project... Unlike other no-KT projects, I will be exploring the future in this no-KT world (this is gonna be helluva interesting) 15 MYF, 35 MYF and 50 MYF (maybe I would do 100 MYF); kind of a cross between Evolutionary Continuum and Alternative Evolution. |
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| dialforthedevil | Dec 19 2010, 10:55 AM Post #17 |
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Sounds interesting.... so what were you going to do with chalicotheres my favourite group of animals ?
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Please come visit A Scientfic Fantasy http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/3433014/1/ ALSO!!! JOIN THE NEW RPG SITE!!! FOR ALL MEMBERS!!! IM GOING TO RUN MA GLOBAL SIMULATORS THERE!!! http://s4.zetaboards.com/jasonguppy/index/ Join the Campaign to save minotaurs from extinction!!! (include this in your signature to show your support!) | |
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| Cephylus | Dec 20 2010, 06:01 AM Post #18 |
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Torando of Terror
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I think some can evolve in this world, since they evolved from small dog-sized early horse-like odd-toed ungulates in our world, and I have a lot of small dog-sized herbivores running around in the Eocene and the Oligocene. They should look more like moropus than chalicotherium |
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| Cephylus | Dec 22 2010, 08:11 AM Post #19 |
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Torando of Terror
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Inspired by Coon's timeline for his own no K-T project, I'm also going to do a timeline: Paleocene: The K-T struck the whole world hard, the massive volcanic activity of the Deccan Traps causing a global disaster and the sudden cooldown in temperatures killing off many species of flora and fauna which weren't able to adjust to the newer and harsher environment. Things settled down a bit during the Paleocene, but the Earth had changed forever and many of the larger non-avian dinosaurs along with a few other clades had disappeared off the face of Earth leaving the smaller survivors the new rulers of Earth with vacant niches wide open for exploitation. The global climate is, while being a bit warmer than our own Paleocene, is fairly cold compared to the average Mesozoic temperatures. The survivors: - Dromaeosaurs - Troodontids - Oviraptorosaurs - Alvarezsaurs - 'True' Birds and various Almost-Birds - Smallish ornithomimids - Basal coelurosaurs - Noasaurids - Smallish ceratopsians - Basal marginocephalians - Hypsilophodonts - Smallish hardrosaurs - Other basal ornithopods - Anurognathids - Azhdarchids - Ornithocheirid-related pterosaurs - Tapejarid-related pterosaurs - Nyctosaurids - Metatherians and Various marsupials - Multiuberculates - Laurasiatherians - Xenarthran ancestors - Afrotherian ancestors - Euarchontoglires - Notosuchids - Sebecids - Dyrosaurids - Eusuchians - Smallish mosasaurs - Smallish pliosaurs Eocene: The Eocene Thermal Maximum Event warmed the whole globe up, increasing temperatures to a rate which will never be reached again in the Cenezoic period; to a staggering 6° C. This increased temperatures and the general climate conditions during that period enugulphed the whole planet in tropical/subtropical forests or deserts, transforming the entire globe into a 'Green Planet'. These conditions were favorable for, of course, the surviving dinosaurs and crocodilians, and thrived in the heated-up forested environments. This period saw an explosion of both terrestrial and semi-aquatic crocodilians. Herbivorous and omnivorous notosuchids saw great diversification and expansion, with sebecids evolving some massive scavenging/predatory forms and dyrosaurids venturing out into sea and trying to colonize more aquatic niches, adopting appearances similar to metriorhynchids. Metatherians are also successful carnivores during this period, competing with dromaeosaurs and sebecids in the role of carnivores. They are mostly scavengers and large insectivores but some are pack-hunting predators able to take down large dinosaurs, and they successfuly surpress laurasiatherian carnviores (which were already present during the Eocene, except they were mostly cat-sized smallish predators and insectivores) from diversifying during this period. The first aquatic metatherians also appear during this period, mostly as Toothed dromaeosaurs descended from smallish Cretaceous dromaeosaurs like Pyroraptor are cosmopolitan predators during this period, some reaching some giant sizes, since large prey are in plenty and the forested habitats are favorable for dromaeosaurs, who are ambush predators. For herbivores, mammalian herbivores are present in this period, mostly as dog to antelope-sized slender herbivores, but are mostly surpressed by their dinosaurian counterparts, giant hardrosaurs, ornithomimids and ceratopsians which reach rhino size or more. There are also some relict lineages, some surviving titanosaurs and spinosaurs in the South Hemisphere, but they are in decline. Azhdarchid pterosaurs also thrive in abundance, the first flightless forms appearing. Anurognathids fill small nocturnal aerial insectivores. Mosasaurs diversify in the tropical waters, as they recover from the K-T extinction event. Pliosaurs take over some filter feeding niches, along with a few smallish squid-eaters in tropical waters, but in general they are declining. Sharks also start to diversify, evolving into fast, powerful predators of fast-swimming cephalopods and smallish fish, and some adopt shapes convergently similar to dolphins. Oligocene: The Eocene-Oligocene coolings, a global cooling trend the result of the Arctic Ocean Azolla event and the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current following the final break up of Gondwana, effected the world badly. The sudden dropdown of global temperatures caused a dramatic shift in climate and therefore had a massive impact on the Eocene fauna and flora. The Eocene rainforests began to recede greatly, giving way to the new dry grassland habitats. Many of the larger animals began to adapt to the wide open grasslands, many lineages of smaller animals which were kept from diversifying and expanding by other lineages occupying similar niches became larger and diverse, many developing cursoriality. The giant sebecids of the Eocene are completely extinct, with only a few peirosaurid species surviving in South America. The smaller notosuchids survived, but mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, as many in the North were killed off or driven South because of the sudden coldness. The first hypercarnivorous notosuchids began to appear in the Southern hemisphere, relatively small predators of smallish and middle sized prey. The smaller omnivorous and herbivorous notosuchids survived but adopted a more cursorial appearance. The beaked herbivorous notosuchids are the most successful lineage along with the carnivorous ones, and small notosuchid species begin to radiate up North, being fairly resistant to coldness. The first alligatorids appeared, and along with choristoderes outcompeted other eusuchians and dyrosaurids (now extinct in freshwater with only a few marine predatory forms surviving in tropical waters) in the more northern latitudes. Metatherians, being rather clumsy and primitive predators, began to die off in when this period arrived, unable to adapt to the colder and wide open environments with large, cursorial and often well-armed prey. Instead, laurasiatherian predators, now diverse and widespread, ranging from small feline-like to small bear-like forms, began to take the place of the metatherians as the most successful predators and even started to outcompete their dinosaurian counterparts. The surviving metatherians are restricted to the oceans as marine predators with seal-like appearances, while a few smallish notometatherians survived in SA and Australia. In Australia, Dasyuromorphians take over the carnivore niches, ranging from quoll to small bear-like animals. For mammalian herbivores, the Eocene lagomorphs and smallish cervid-like hooved herbivores diversified, evolving into forms similar to meridiungulates and rather robust animals similar to hornless rhinos. Rodents kick the asses of multiuberculate competitors, sending them to extinction on all continents except South America, where multiuberculates survive as porquipine, gopher or beaver like forms. The first mesonychid and chalicothere-like forms evolve, the hooved carnivores from suid-like omnivores and chalicothere-like hunched herbivores from smallish primitive horse-like ancestors. Adapiforme-like lemurian primates colonize Africa and tropical Asia, while plesiadapids island-hop into South America, outcompeting the local arboreal metatherians and occupying the arboreal fruigivorous/insectivorous niches. As for dinosaurs, the previous cosmopolitan radiation of toothed dromaeosaurs receded, with smallish cursorial dromaeosaurs with fully formed beaks and thick feather covering taking over the herbivore/omnivore niches (sharing the niche with large lagomorphs) and small to middle-sized raptor-like predators. The new radiation of beaked dromaeosaurs also outcompeted troodonts along with the hardy oviraptorosaurs, now diversifying and expanding in the harsh new climates. Conservatively shaped toothed dromaeosaurs still remain, most lynx-sized predators or large apex predators, but are restricted in their ranges. A lineage of dromaeosaurs with long legs convergently similar to tyrannosaurs (yes I ripped off Povorot) called the pseudo tyrannosaurids, mostly small to middle sized long distance pursuers of smallish prey, begins to thrive in the new wide open environments. In South America and Australia, unenlagiines start to take over the apex predator/scavenger niches, much like terror birds, and will evolve into some giant forms during the Miocene. Ornithopods in general were hit hard, only middle sized and smallish ones surviving the Eocene-Oligocene. Hardrosaurs are extinct, the larger herbivorous ceratopsians are extinct and other large marginocephalians go extinct. However, the smaller omnivorous ceratopsians begin to flourish in the Southern Hemisphere and also radiate into the North, although they are still mostly smallish omnivorous generalists. Hypsilophodonts also diversify, along with other small ornithopods, and the first armored ornithopods start to evolve in Africa, with some species reaching the sizes of small elephants or large rhinos. Giant ornithomimids begin to take over giant grazer niches, and adopt appearnces convergently similar to therizionsaurs, while some ornithomimids which reached SA start taking over the giant omnivore niche. Omnivorous generalist azhdarchids start to diversify in the wide open habitats, especially the conservatively shaped ones, while the Eocene smallish predatorial azhdarchids good at climbing become restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. The first flightless azhdarchids appear, some developing 'hooves' similar to that of even-toed ungulates, spreading across the Southern Hemisphere (although flightless azhdarchids did appear in SA, and although they have the same ancestors like the African and the Indochinese ones, they aren't directly related and happen to be flightless because of convergent evolution). Anurognathids decline, but a few species hold on in tropical Asia. At sea, while marine dyrosaurids start to colonize aquatic predator niches in coastal tropical waters, mosasaurs decline, hit harshly by the fast-dropping oceanic temperatures, and become restricted to tropical waters in the Indian Ocean, large apex predators in their habitats. Pliosaurs go extinct, while paddlefish, sharks and rays start taking over the filter feeding niches. Sharks successfuly replace mosasaurs and pliosaurs as apex predators, exploding into a wide diversity of fast-swimming, powerful, intelligent and dangerous killing machines; the speediest creatures in the ocean. Marlin relatives start taking over the predator niche as well, also being powerful, fast predators only fearing giant sharks. Some Cephalopods begin to take over lesser filter feeder niches and smaller predator niches. Miocene: During the Miocene, the more 'modern' fauna with recognizable forms began to appear on Earth, as the new Oligocene lineages began to settle into their various niches and as further cooldowns occured, wiping off many relic Eocene life familiar to higher temperatures. The Miocene saw several glaciation events, along with the Middle Miocene Disruptions which caused further severe cooldowns and dryouts and also resulted in the further wipeout of non-cold-resistant larger ornithopods, some notosuchid species, marine dyrosaurid, choristodere and other aquatic crocodilian species, some multiuberculates, tropical azhdarchids and some gigantic browsing ornithopods. Mammals again, diversify, taking advantage of the colder climates. Various modern lineages began to appear. For dinosaurs, canid-like troodonts start colonizing Africa and Europe, both toothed and beaked lineages. A lineage of omnivorous dromaeosaurids analogous of raccoon dogs and badgers first appear, and will greatly diversify during the next epochs. Ankylosaurs develop dinofluff and manage to adapt to arid and rather cold desert environments, and manage to recover somewhat from the Eocene-Oligocene extinction event. While the mainland ornithomimids are hit by the Middle Miocene Disruptions somewhat, giant ground sloth-like ornithomimids are successful and start reaching NA, island hoppong from SA. Giant flightless unenlagiines develop some giant predatorial terror-bird-like forms, with toothless snouts and formidable kicking claws. The conservatively-shaped dromaeosaurs recover somewhat mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, while beaked dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids greatly diversify and expand as carnivores in the more Northern latitudes. Tyrannosaur-like dromaeosaurs are affected by the Middle Miocene Disruptions, but still fare relatively well. Arboreal dromaeosaurs, both beaked and non-beaked forms, are very successful. Herbivorous beaked dromaeosaurs and large oviraptorids descended from avimimid-like ancestors become successful herbivores along with mammalian herbivores. Bats (cimolestan ones) diversify, some starting to grow giant and invading some niches of avians and pterosaurs. Multiuberculates are affected by the Middle Miocene Disruptions, but they establish themselves in the Capybara/Hutia/Coypu/Beaver/Mountain Beaver/Horned Gopher/Porcupine/Mara niches, diversifying and reaching some giant sizes in SA. Cervid-like and lagomorph-like hoofed herbivores greatly diversify, some replacing dinosaurs in the herbivore niches, while the first Sirenian-like mammals appear, evolved from xenarthrans. Several bear-like and hyena-like carnivorous mammals also appear, with hoofed carnivores first evolving. Various azhdarchids diversify, including giant terror-bird like forms and giraffe-like herbivorous forms. The first sign of sapients appear in this epoch, from some African azhdarchids, Asian oviraptorids and South American Unenlagiines. Pliocene: The Pliocene is more or less the same as the Miocene epoch, with only a few changes such as further extinctions of seperate species of animals and the formation of a land bridge between SA and NA, linking the two (previously seperate, with SA being isolated completely until now) continents and the great interchange of NA and SA fauna. Ornithopods again recover somewhat from the Middle Miocene Disruptions and the Miocene glaciations, although they still lose some larger forms and their size in general gets restricted. Tyrannosaur-like dromaeosaurs again recede somewhat, although they still continue as speedy middle sized predators or large specialized megafauna hunters. Cervid-like mammals recede somewhat with other hooved animals (including some chalicothere-like forms), while hyena-like and bear-like (hooved) carnivores expand along with some mastodont/pyrotherium/gomphothere/tapir-like large strange proboscidan-like herbivores derived from cervid-like hooved herbivores. Xenarthrans diversify, including some large armadillo/glyptodont/sloth-like forms. The Pleistocene and Holocene will be discussed further along with 15 MYF and 50 MYF future. |
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| Ook | Dec 22 2010, 09:27 AM Post #20 |
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not a Transhuman
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looks interesting an imgage of deinonychosaur with similar color as the eurasian lynx appeared in my mid |
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| Scrublord | Dec 22 2010, 10:24 AM Post #21 |
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Father Pellegrini
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You say you have two sapient species. How do they get along without killing each other? That's usually the big problem with projects with multiple sophonts. |
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My Projects: The Neozoic Redux Valhalla--Take Three! The Big One Deviantart Account: http://elsqiubbonator.deviantart.com In the end, the best advice I could give you would be to do your project in a way that feels natural to you, rather than trying to imitate some geek with a laptop in Colorado. --Heteromorph | |
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| Cephylus | Dec 23 2010, 01:57 AM Post #22 |
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Torando of Terror
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Oh, they all develop seperately, and they rarely meet since I'm doing Neolithic-Age level civilizations. But in modern times, they'll probably start killing each other off and one may go extinct. But I'm not going to go too much into sophont advanced civilization. |
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| dialforthedevil | Dec 24 2010, 11:12 AM Post #23 |
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Its not such a big problem if they either fill very different niches or are geographically separated... |
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Please come visit A Scientfic Fantasy http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/3433014/1/ ALSO!!! JOIN THE NEW RPG SITE!!! FOR ALL MEMBERS!!! IM GOING TO RUN MA GLOBAL SIMULATORS THERE!!! http://s4.zetaboards.com/jasonguppy/index/ Join the Campaign to save minotaurs from extinction!!! (include this in your signature to show your support!) | |
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| Cephylus | Dec 25 2010, 05:51 AM Post #24 |
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Torando of Terror
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Now, time to get started with my first habitat: #1 The African Savannahs 65 million years from the divergence point, the K-T extinction, the Earth has drastically changed in IRM (If the Rock Missed). The landscape and the climate is more or less same as RL (Real Life), but most of the larger fauna inhabiting this parallel world is far different from that of ours. We step out of the portal into a hot, dry grassland with trees sticking up here and there over the grass. This is the vast expanse of land in Eastern Africa covered in an endless expanse of savannah. This is also the region famous in RL for a relatively high concetration of megafauna, such as elephants, lions and rhinos, and in IRM these savannah environments are also home to some impressive species of megafauna and a diversity of other species of African wildlife. The first animals we see is a large ornithopod about the size of a rhino. These animals are quadrupeds with narrow beaks and thick, armor-like hardened skin, the Armorbucks. Among the largest ornithopods alive in this world, these animals have almost nothing to fear in the plains, with bad eyesight, a pair of large horns sticking up from their snouts and a willingness to charge at anything. A large capybara-like lagomorph, the Rattappo, weighing 200~350 killograms, also graze beside the larger Stripebucks, while a couple of large stork/ibis-like avians, the Fluff-Necked Ibik, a meter tall bird with a 1.5-meter wingspan, stalks small lizards and insects. The Rattappo is a common herbivore in the African plains, a lagomorph which took advantage of the extinction of various dinosaurian herbivores and attained larger sizes, evolving into more specialised herbivores. For the Ibiks, while the large aerial omnivore niche is occupied largely by azhdarchids, stork or ibis-like birds still exist in abundance in both the Southern and the Northern Hemisphere, a lineage of ratites which evolved a rather stork-like appearance. Suddenley a large animal bursts into view, galloping in full speed. The Plains Stripebuck sense danger and all start to gallop off in alarm, but the Rattappo is not so fortunate. The predator, a strange ceratopsian with a gracile build and a large, hooked beak for tearing flesh, is about the size of a large boar, weighing more than 100 killograms. The ceratopsian takes down the Rattappo and snaps the herbivore's neck in a single powerful bite. The ceratopsian is known as the Brottbur, and while carnivorous ceratopsians are quite common it is one of the few species that are actually predatorial. Unlike most ceratopsians, the Brottbur and other predatory ceratopsians have adopted a more slender and muscular build, but they are still rather clumsy predators and in most cases they prefer scavenging or bullying smaller predators away from their kills. The Brottbur glances nervously around for rival predators or scavengers before gorging in on the carcass. But already, the scent of blood attracts scavengers. The first scavenger to arrive is a Birkong, a smallish mammalian omnivore with a rather robust build but overall similar to a civet. The Birkong and relatives are a successful lineage of civet-like laurasiatherian carnivores and omnivores which adopted various forms and niches ranging from cat-sized arboreal predators to large burly omnivores similar to bears. A flock of Red-Beaked Storkas, large azhdarchids with a wingspan of 2~2.5 meters also approach the carcass, but are scared off by a large, 1.8-meter tall flightless azhdarchid, the Greater Warabou; an expert at bullying away smaller competitors. A few hundred meters a way, a group of antelope-like lagomorphs, known as the Pittyfoots, gallop across the grasslands while giant flat-snouted crocodilians stride into the scene, a herd of Duckcrocs. Duckcrocs are presently among the largest herbivores in IRM's Southern Hemisphere, weighing a few tons on average with the largest species weighing over 4 tonnes; comparable to RL elephants. These beaked notosuchids with flat, anatid-like snouts replaced large hardrosaurs and hypsilophodonts as the largest herbivores in tropical and subtropical climates. A couple of giant herbivorous mammals rest in the shade of a large tree. These are Teirophants, a species of mammalian herbivore descended from strange, meridiungulate-like hoofed mammals, and they are about the size of a buffalo, and with two pairs of sharp tusks sticking up from both upper and lower jaws, they have few natural enemies. A small Teirophant, with shorter trunks and tusks, wanders off from the herd chasing a large lizard, a Red-headed Crocskink, diurnal ground-foraging omnivores. A shadow swoops down from the air. The Teirophant looks up and squeals for help, but it is too late. A large Plains Kongamato, with a 4-meter wingspan and a fearsome aeiral predator, attacks the Teirophant. In a flurry of claws and leathery wings, the baby Teirophant soon lies dead. The Plains Kongamato is a species from a lineage of pterosaurs related to azhdarchids and tapejarids, and a fearsome aerial predator with grasping claws. Fending off a couple of greedy 1.5 meter long monitor lizards, the Stripetail Dragons. Descriptions coming on the animals featured. Edited by Cephylus, Dec 25 2010, 08:29 PM.
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1:49 PM Jul 11