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Wolf Otter; New and Improved
Topic Started: Sep 10 2014, 05:11 AM (1,488 Views)
Raubtier
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Wolf Otter

Lontra lupus

Description: This descendant of the Common River Otter has not had to change much, over the years. One of the more interesting aspects of L. lupus is the sexual dimorphism it exhibits. Females are strong, fast creatures, noted for their skills at catching fish and even climbing, and their spring-like bodies can send them in powerful leaps to attack prey.

When females come into season (which can be anytime of the year) the fur surrounding areas around the mouth turn a grey-blue tint/color to help males know which females are ready to mate. The reason for this is because L. lupus females do not show any signs of wanting to mate or scent marking. They play a kind of "hard to get". It isn't intentional, it is just how they evolved.

When they climb to hunt it is usual for them to wait long hours for prey to wander along to get something to drink before they leap down onto the back of their prey. The impact of the otter is usually enough to shove the animal off balance and into the water, but if not, the rest of the pack leap into action (no pun intended) and erupt from the water, forcing the prey into deeper water and then drowning it.

The males, on the other hand, are the leaders of the pack. They decide when to hunt, where to hunt, and what they will be hunting. After the females and juveniles take down a kill, the males rush in and scatter the other for a few seconds before having the females rush back in for the food. L. lupus lives in family 'packs' consisting of a few males, no more than tow at a time, and up to a seven females. Short-snouted as usual in mustelids, it has a pronounced sagittal crest, allowing for a very powerful bite in this species.

Females raise their young communally, but should a mother L. lupus reach an untimely demise, it's common for the other females to adopt and care for the orphaned pups.. Females rarely attack each other, but put on dominance displays via wrestling on muddy riverbanks. When ever they are not wrestling the females instead help to hunt and stockpile fish in food burrows.

The strangest thing about the Wolf Otter is that it over the many millions of years has evolved a complete immunity to water moccasin venom. Lone males are often seen antagonizing he snakes and right before they are struck they dart away unscathed.

Evolution: This descendant of the common river otter has not had to change much, over the years. But where it has changed, it has made a few size adjustments compared to their ancestor the modern-day animals. Found across the Americas they're attracted to any body of water, from the seaside to rivers to lakes, no body of water is devoid of their presence. L. lupus is slightly larger than its ancestors, adult females ranging from 90 to 130 cm long from nose to tail (their tail making up roughly a half of their body length) and adult males ranging from 105 to 170 cm long (their tail making up slightly less than third.)

What caused the pack hunting behavior to arise was the need for protection against newer predators that they encountered far north. The pack life worked very well ,and even led to them being able to evolve slightly longer limbs than their ancestors because of the need to be out of the water more often. The Wolf Otter is however aside from the slightly longer limbs, still physically well-equipped for aquatic life. The ears are short, the neck is the same diameter as the head, the legs are short and powerful, the toes are fully webbed, and the tail (very powerful and muscular) is tapered. These qualities give the river otter a streamlined profile in water. The smell and hearing abilities of the river otter are acute. The otter has a delicate sense of touch in the paws in addition to the amazing dexterity and intelligence shown by these creatures. Wolf otters, like their ancestors, also have transparent nictating membranes to protect their eyes while swimming.

Ecology: Females raise their young communally, but should a mother L. lupus reach an untimely demise, it's common for the other females to adopt and care for the orphaned pups. Females rarely attack each other, but put on dominance displays via wrestling on muddy riverbanks. When ever they are not wrestling the females instead help to hunt and stockpile fish in food burrows. They also catch the crustaceans in and around the ocean for the animals that are sea faring and they could possibly break off into a subspecies sometime in the future.

Their impact on the environment isn't as great as the wolf coyote hybrids, but it is still noticeable. Deer are more cautious when coming to drink, as in the colder climates the Wolf Otters have filled crocodillian niches. The Wolf Otter can also eat fruit, but only when fish and other meat is in short supply.

Also other names they are known by are otter wolves, river dogs, etc.


EDITED ON OCTOBER 4TH(5TH?) DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A PROBLEM?
Edited by Raubtier, Oct 6 2014, 07:21 AM.
We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign - and no memories. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.

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Caimännir
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You forgot to put the poll... again. Other than that though, this seems pretty good to me.
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Dragonthunders
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The ethereal archosaur in blue

Quote:
 
The strangest thing about the Wolf Otter is that it over he millions of years has evolved a complete immuinity to water moccasain venom. Lone males are often seen antagoniziong he snakes and right before they are struck they dart away unscathed. The females however do something verydifferent. Theyswatatthe snake and when bit the effects are highly amusing to say the least. The venom has a drowsiness to it for he Wolf Otter and they often see hallucinations and act as if they were "high".

Why immunity? Are otters chase the moccasins?

Quote:
 
Their impact on the enviornment isn't as great as the wolf coyote hybrids, but ot is still noticeable. Deer are more cautious when coming to drink, as in the colder climates the Wolf Otters have filled crocodillian niches.


I think that part might be wrong, the project takes on a warmer era. which makes the range of crocodiles is greater than it is currently, I also believe that someone out there said mammal taking niche crocodiles was a bit improbable

Quote:
 
The Wolf Otter can also eat fruit, but only when fish and other meat is in short supply

Therefore, it is also improbable, a little, starting to change diet

Edited by Dragonthunders, Sep 10 2014, 10:04 AM.
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Zorcuspine
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Dragonthunders
Sep 10 2014, 10:03 AM
Quote:
 
Their impact on the enviornment isn't as great as the wolf coyote hybrids, but ot is still noticeable. Deer are more cautious when coming to drink, as in the colder climates the Wolf Otters have filled crocodillian niches.


I think that part might be wrong, the project takes on a warmer era. which makes the range of crocodiles is greater than it is currently, I also believe that someone out there said mammal taking niche crocodiles was a bit improbable

Quote:
 
The Wolf Otter can also eat fruit, but only when fish and other meat is in short supply

Therefore, it is also improbable, a little, starting to change diet

While the world is warmer here than it is now, it isn't that much so, there are certainly still large areas too cold for crocodilians. Also while this thing has a similar niche to crocs it also appears to have a more diverse diet and is a pack hunter, which is different enough to distinguish it from it's competition. The other problem with a mammal taking a crocoodile-type lifestyle is that it doesn't't really provide enough food for a warm blooded animal, but this variation on the life style seems doable for an endotherm.

In other words, as far as ideas go I have no problems with this. However, in terms of grammar this entry leaves a lot to be desired, with a lot of phrasing mistakes and run-on sentences. Is it alright with you if I tweak it a little Raubtier?
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Raubtier
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Somebody give feedback here
We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign - and no memories. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.

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Zorcuspine
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Raub has given me permission to edit the grammar a bit. Will do that in the next 2 days.
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Lycaon
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So crotters in America?

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5384081/1/#new
Edited by Lycaon, Sep 10 2014, 04:58 PM.
Lamna
 
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Zorcuspine
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olympianmaster
Sep 10 2014, 04:57 PM
Looks like it (a coincidence I'm sure.) Given that they live on two different continents however I do think this still works.
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Raubtier
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Do I have to get ten likes to be approved?
We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign - and no memories. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.

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Zorcuspine
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Raubtier
Sep 10 2014, 05:16 PM
Do I have to get ten likes to be approved?
That and&or two mod approvals.
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Raubtier
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If I want to submit another animal do I post it on this or make a new topic?
We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign - and no memories. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.

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Adman
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Totally not lamna
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Make a new one.
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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Raubtier
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http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2j7IiFUUVvQ
We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign - and no memories. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.

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Caimännir
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Congrats, Raub! :)
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Lycaon
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All hail Odin! All hail the Allfather!
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Still needs two mod approvals
Lamna
 
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