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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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Without Man; The Alternative Zoology of the Future
Topic Started: Aug 5 2008, 11:24 AM (5,119 Views)
Reedstilt
Infant
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This is a project I've been considering for a while, but haven't really started up yet. Figured it might be interesting to collaborates with some other speculative biologists on this one.

The premise is humans never evolved. Turning the dial back to Australopithecus, we replay the last four million years and project a bit into the future as well (not sure how far yet; we can collectively decide on that.) Australopithecus can give rise to other genera, but Intelligence of our caliber never evolves, at least not right way. Our end game might be the advent of a different intelligent lifeform on earth.

The main point of the project is to imagine an alternative world where the changes humans have caused to the environment and the extinctions exacerbated by human activity never happened, and project that world into the future.

So who wants to play?
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Livyatan


Black_Panther
Nov 8 2008, 12:26 AM
Oh, i guess nature owned me again.

But, what if this species developed further?
If Paranthropus developed further, the result would most likely end up being some sort of gorilloid sasquatch creature. I wouldn't plan on taking that further though, since the specialization of paranthropines led to their extinction before we (Homo sapiens) were even a consideration.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Welcome to the forums Nevermore! And you're already speculating. Neat idea. However, I don't know enough about anthropology to know whether that's accurate or not.
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Nevermore
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haha, thanks. i've been somewhat of a closet speculator for years, stalking spec and snaiad and such. this place is really interesting.
i was thinking about this thread and doodling last night, and came up with some serpentine seal-like creaures, think a lake-seal's analogie to dolphins. a longer more hydrodynamically built body would mean they'd probably be more at home in the water. think it's feasable? raises issues about the pups though, since they spend the first few weeks out of the water, but i suppose they could live by the shoreline or in the shallows while their parents bought them food.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

I think we're speculating about modern times if man never evolved.

But that is a good idea for this project being carried into the future of this project.
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SIngemeister
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Hive Tyrant of the Essee Swarm

Anyone interested in ressurrecting this?
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Carlos
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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If I have nothing better to do, then maybe
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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SIngemeister
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Hive Tyrant of the Essee Swarm

Got a couple of creatures from WM Oceania

Some kind of Megalania descendant (yes, I kow it's Varanus, but I use Megalania as the actual name, like Goanna) caring for its young, with a kindo f Genyornid giraffe-bird in the background.
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New Zealand animals - some kind of egg-eating Tuatara meeting the angry mother Moa
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

You gotta love the tuatara.

It's just depressing to see what abad job us people have done of conservation. We need to be taught a lesson, bigger than any previous one, one even the (whispers)creationists(breathes out) will listen to.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Carlos
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People only care about cute things like horses and dogs. Even if they had survived the many species of reptiles that disappeared as we walked the earth like many species of terrestrial and one marine crocodillians, one extra variety of tuatara, several huge tortoises and turtles and snakes would still be highly endangered nowdays, and I doubt we would care for them.

I mean, have you looked how retarded mankind is to let the giant panda, an evolutionary dead end, survive and totaly ignore the very endangered coelacanths, Spix macaws, gharials and etc.!? Frankly, if I could I would exterminate all pandas just so that millions of retarded children stopped being stupid and paid attention to other organisms
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

I am so annoyed with the (whispers)creationists(breathes out). They won't accept animals go extinct. They won't accept global warming. They're crazy, and let us humans down.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Venatosaurus
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HAUS OF SPEC
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Wow Faa, you're really something, just cause it's an evolutionary dead end, doesn't give you the right to exterminate them, I think we can say "See children just like the pandas need to be saved, so do so many of the other animals on our planet, even though they may not be cute, they're very important to us ! " ^_^ .



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SIngemeister
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Hive Tyrant of the Essee Swarm

Can I count you three in on a new production of this?
My Deviantart

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Carlos
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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Yes, if you really need to
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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ExoTarcin
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Many species would be gone too, but I guess more species would live than die.
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SIngemeister
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Hive Tyrant of the Essee Swarm

I've named and thought of some information forr the Varandi

Name: Numakulla, Dragon-lizard
Scientific name: Dracanima Formidolosus (Formidable Dragon Spirit)
Length: Average-7.2 metres, Maximum - 9.1 metres
Height: (shoulders, legs raised): 1.8 metres
Mass: Average - 1,460g, Maximum - 2,280 kg
Lifespan: 20 - 45 years
Prey: Large Marsupials, the occasional large bird or reptile, small animals

Numakulla are the largest terrestrial predator in the world, just outcompeting the giant bears of the Americas. They are the apex predators of Australia, though they do not kill as many animals as Thylacines or Marsupial Lions, due to the fact that they are cold blooded. This also means they are normally slow moving, though they can move in very bursts in order to down prey quickly. Like all varanids, they are venomous, though the toxins of this species are weaker than most due to their other formidable weapons.
They are typical of the giant varanids, large ambush predators. They sneak up to prey, normally a large diprotodont, and lunge once in distance. Normally they aim for the leg. The ferocity and the biteforce of this attack leads some scientists wondering whether they attack because it is in reach or to try and severe a tendon or burst one of the femoral arteries. Their large, hooked teeth are more than capable of piercing the thick hide, but they normally withdraw after this original attack, as being stamped on or kicked by a diprotodont is no laughing matter.
Once the prey dies or is dying, either by poisoning or bloodloss, the Numakulla will attack ferociously, shearing huge chunks of meat off it. Often Thylacines, Marsupial Lions, smaller varanids, terrestrial crocodiles, Devils, Quolls and some species of carnivorous birds often try to scavenge some meat off the carcass. Normally the Numakulla doesn't care.
Despite their ferocity on the hunt, they are surprisingly good mothers, caring for their chicks until they are large enough to hunt by themselves.
Edited by SIngemeister, Sep 25 2009, 12:32 PM.
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