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Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web.

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Sivirdia
Topic Started: Feb 10 2011, 05:49 AM (432 Views)
Cephylus
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Torando of Terror
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This is a little idea for a fantasy world I've been thinking with. Our new member Macgobhain's Calma got me started again.
I'm focusing on the biology side for now. This world, whatever it is, seems to have an incredible similarity to our own world in aspects of fauna and flora; or at least it seems so. This world, as I'm planning it to be, is inhabited by pretty wild fauna and flora in Earth standards, but all are derived from recognizable Terran critters (mostly the ones we consider 'bizarre'.
The entire world is covered with temperate/subtropical forests. The climate is warm, not too hot (except for the strip of jungles in regions close to the equator) and not too cold (except for the thin circle of tundra surrounding the North Pole and the glacier cap on the South Pole). I wanted to give the entire world the look of a temperate forest ecosystem, a virgin forest or a primeval forest in particular. Something old, thickly wooded. The climate is pretty humid, and the earth is also pretty fertile. The terrain is generally flat, except for volcanoes dotting the landscape and chains of mountain ranges running across mainland continents, with mountains higher than any Terran mountain, some so impenetratable that mountain ranges form an isolated 'island'.
And of course, the fauna. I got a pretty good general idea for what lives in this world. There will be all the familiar tetrapod groups, mammals, birds, non-avian reptiles, amphibians, and of course, fish and invertebrates (insects, cephalopods, crustaceans, echinoderms...). The most dominant fauna type, I presume, are the mammals. Mammals have a pretty good niche hold in this world. Most of them aren't big; considering the heavily forested landscape, I'd presume the largest would be the size of an indian elephant, in the more 'open' areas.

What do you think? I'll get exact animal groups up soon.
(Note that 'humans' exist in this world...)
Edited by Cephylus, Feb 10 2011, 05:58 AM.
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Space Gorilla
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Is this like Earth, but from a parallel dimension/reality?

Also, from what I have gathered on this forum, planet-wide biomes rarely work. Especially with so much difference in animal species. You need at least a few different biomes in this ecosystem.

Other than that, I really like what you described so far, seems very interesting to me :)

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Edited by Space Gorilla, Feb 10 2011, 12:13 PM.
Me on Deviant Art!
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Cephylus
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First of all, thanks. I'll try to get more up.
Second, yes, it is kind of an alternate reality Earth-like world, but not quite alternative evolution. This world is a setting for a world I've been thinking of for a long time, a setting for a fantasy story I've been writing, with a kind of a childish fantasy world setting, with rather weird creatures with strange *childish* names. Glizzerfwung, Bizzledeeb, Millergwun, Twingvwing, Minetimink, Iakuramufuru, Uhluhtc, Fwungwishe, Drolinebloh, Livedehtroflaid, Broingwibbee, Toingbong, Bombom, Aafnhoj, Bintin, Maruliti, Aburabitt, Dribrorret. etc.

There are many sapients, many weird trunked animals shaped like tapirs, lots of flightless bird-thingys, arboreal mammals, beaked mammals.....
Edited by Cephylus, Feb 12 2011, 08:35 AM.
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Jasonguppy
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Cardinal
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Nice.
I do art sometimes.

"if you want green eat a salad"

Projects:
Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs.

Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes.

❤️❤️~I'm not a boy~❤️❤️
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Cephylus
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Anybody notice something funny about the names? As in.... spell some of 'em backwards?


Edited by Cephylus, Feb 12 2011, 08:37 AM.
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Ook
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not a Transhuman
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Aafnhoj,sound like ahoj-hello in both czech and slovak
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Jasonguppy
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They are the names of members backwards. Will there be a yppugnosaj?
I do art sometimes.

"if you want green eat a salad"

Projects:
Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs.

Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes.

❤️❤️~I'm not a boy~❤️❤️
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