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| Umbriel; A tiny world basks in the warm red glow of a dying sun. | |||||||||
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| Topic Started: Nov 26 2014, 06:12 PM (8,962 Views) | |||||||||
| Picrodus | Nov 26 2014, 06:12 PM Post #1 | ||||||||
:Ominous Wind:
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Three billion years in the future the sun has swelled up as a red giant to the orbit of Earth and nothing is left of the inner systems former glory. The once lush planet Earth now a burnt cinder orbiting only about 13 million miles from the sun. However there is still a shelter in the solar system where life has taken hold. However because of the red sun's massive and super heated form, this haven no longer exists in the inner system but the outer system. Towards the end of the age of humanity 3 billion years ago the humans set up ark ships that which were in fact glorified seed banks meant to seed the many future water worlds of the outer solar system in hopes that in the far future they would wake and colonize these worlds. These ships blasted off from Earth off towards many targets in the outer solar system where they would bury themselves in the primordial wasteland of the planet/moon that was their target and await the time when the shipboard sensors detected an atmosphere suitable for life to inhabit. Although feeble atmospheres did form on a few worlds of the outer solar system, only one ark stood the test of time and remained functioning throughout the eons. As can be expected from technology. Who expects 100% efficiency from machines especially ones that are now billions of years old. The ark that stood the test of time was one located on Umbriel, a moon of Uranus. Umbriel by this point had formed a feeble atmosphere with oxygen, and useful amounts of carbon dioxide due to large deposits in the ice and primordial outgassing, as well as a few other trace elements. Its loss of atmosphere was also almost negligible due to its orbit lying within the gargantuan magnetosphere of its parent. The Ark ships carried two components. One component, or the first stage, was to release seeds of trees, plants, and crops kept fresh by the ship when enough carbon dioxide was found to be present. After the plants were released they would work to create a sustained biosphere and with that a stable atmosphere and eventually produce enough oxygen for animals and humans to be released from the ark as stage two. Sadly, (or not depending on your view) there was never enough oxygen/atmospheric pressure for stage two to be initiated. Because of this life on Umbriel has not turned out the way the terrans expected. Here the plants took a very shocking turn in evolution. Now Umbriel is a world dominated by a new type of creature. Umbriel is a rather cold world with the climate being retained at about 50° fahrenheit at the most and -30° at the least. Because of this, of the plants released only the hardier mountain dwelling species survived. With the most successful being Conifers, it is no surprise that they gave rise to the new creatures. The Planimals. Umbriel rolls on its side through the universe due to it orbiting on the equatorial plain of a planet with a 97 degree axial tilt. Its poles alternating between 40 years of day and 40 years of night. The trees and plants, to escape either extreme, would follow the terminator by developing movement or risk death. The development of locomotion was the first step towards becoming Umbral animals. And many plants did die in the early stages of colonization. However this terminator was extremely forgiving, taking 40 years to switch from pole to pole. Plant seeding occured 500 million years ago when Umbriel was still warming. The current date is 3 billion years hence. The earliest divergent Conifers developed locomotion by dragging themselves along by their roots which remained underground. They were the first plants to do so though other groups later followed suit and broke the barrier into becoming more than plants, they were planimals. Similar locomotion can be seen in today's primitive monopedal fur trees. When the humans created these Arks they imagined that they would wake up to beautiful worlds prime for colonization ripe with crops to upstart civilization once again. Unfortunately a less than useful species took the dominant role...and on a world colder than they had expected.... Welcome to Umbriel the Conifer moon!
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 My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |||||||||
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| Picrodus | May 2 2016, 11:33 PM Post #76 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Sure Rodlox, I don't mind you doing something like that. In fact I appreciate it. I really haven't set up one (even in my own head) aside from purposeful physical similarities as well as purposeful hints at relations in updates. Though like I said to Sceynyos-yis, the reason I haven't set up such a thing is because I felt there were not yet enough entries. There will be an official one once I feel there are enough entries. But yeah, if you are up to it, I may take it into account when the time comes. Your thoughts on the subject may help me see how others are processing things. As the creator of the project I probably already harbor a bias. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Sceynyos-yos | May 3 2016, 05:11 AM Post #77 |
dheubewes wedor
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Clever thing using guard cell muscles. So there was that accidental mutation that caused guard cells to grow all over the organism? As for eyes and brains however, I have my doubts. Eyes are easy to evolve when necessary, but are they? You said roots do all of the motion planning by preemptively sensing what is in the way. This seems enough. What added advantage do eyes provide? As for brains, the nervous system on Earth has gone a loooong way. Many invertebrates, ants included, do not have a single brain, but just clusters of nerve cells called ganglia and do just fine with their infinetly more complex, in comparison, lifestyle. That being said, I don't think complex brains are needed for a slow and uniform migration. You can get surprisingly complex behaviour by cleverly stacking simple operations (again think ants). Or are brains found only in the most animal-like conifiers? Even more that they don't need to think about feeding and drinking. Or are there some non autotrophs? Actually, what are nerve cells like and how did they originate? With such slow movements, they need not be fast and some protein based signalisation is not out of the question. Plants already do that a lot and I'd image it could evolve to resemble something of a nervous system if needed. On the other hand, there is some preliminary evidence that some house plants use electric signals. I can't remember where exactly I read or saw it, but a search for 'plant electrical signals' or 'plant nervous system' may bring it up among lots of irrelevant and dubious material. Just remember, a muscle's strength depends on its cross section area, not on its length. I'm not sure I understand what you mean. If there was no soil in the first place, how was moving in that direction beneficial? Also I'd imagine innovation of movement would take a few thousands of years at least (a very tiny amount of time in evolutionary scales), so some other method of survival would have to be used before that. |
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| Rodlox | May 3 2016, 06:07 AM Post #78 |
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Superhuman
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Here are some initial speculative family trees for Umbriel, based on two yardsticks: the type of roots, and the location of the cones: http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss313/SoCalNo/Umbriel_zpsyika60zt.jpg Spoiler: click to toggle
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Rodlox | May 3 2016, 07:53 AM Post #79 |
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Superhuman
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again, thank you for permission.Most of those Unknowns were listed as such, because of a lack of information about either their roots or their cones or both; but I have a feeling - a hunch - that even with that information added, the family trees might not change too much...because of something else they all have in common: While not all of these organisms of Umbriel have the feel of an Umbriellian(?) Big Five - the best-known creatures that would drive photographers and hunters to pursue them -- they do have the feel of a Big Five & Friends...basically the most notable inhabitants of a place. The ones that get the attention in guidebooks and zoo exhibits. (to continue the African mammal parallel, like elephants and rhinos and lions and giraffes and porcupines...but without hyraxes and servals and okapis and nearly any other rodents) did that make sense? Edited by Rodlox, May 3 2016, 07:54 AM.
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Picrodus | May 3 2016, 11:50 AM Post #80 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Its more that trees didn't really develop fully into adults. The sapling not yet growing bark still had stomatae all over it. This also left a pliable, albeit unfinished rigid woody structure at the core of the trunk to serve as structural support as the tree grew.
It is very likely that in the beginning that they did not need eyes. But as species begin to diversify, I find it likely that such an organism may develop eyes in response to predation. It is much more favorable to see a predator from far away than it is to only sense it once its movement can be felt e few tens of meters away.
It is true that complex brains can only be found in those conifers that are in need of one. Some sessiles are definitely more intelligent than others though they don't have much of a brain at all compared to a Spiny Red Sentinel. While all mobile, animalistic trees migrate, they must also be wary of others dangers such as conflict with other tree species or predation by predatory trees. See Babaconia for a predatory example.
As of yet, I have not developed any non autotrophs, and if I do I don't know when they will come, but I do know a long explanation on why and how they evolved will be required.
I am not a botany expert, but I did a fair amount of research and tied it in with my idea when I developed how these Umbral trees would now reproduce. The post also contains my speculation on how a nervous system could develop and why it would in what I call the headcone here.
Alright thanks, I'll take a look and see how it compares.
Oh I agree, I didn't mean for it to sound otherwise. I was simply trying to explain how the linking of the muscles could provide great strength in general if needed. Not saying that they are strong just because they cover a large area.
Moving in that direction would be beneficial because at least if they headed that way, they would have much more chance at survival. The dark side would kill them. As for earlier movement, trees that were born with proportionately weaker roots for their mammoth size, would often fall, inadvertently tossing small chunks of fertile soil on top of nearby regolith. Which would allow hardy, albeit malnourished trees, to gain a few feet on the day side. It seems favorable then that as this process became more refined.
What I think you're saying is that you would readily recognize some species while others are relegated to the background. Like when you think Africa, you think elephants not hyraxes.
I am flattered that you went to all of this work Rodlox. At the bottom of the image you seem to be wondering about which root types are closer related? If that is the case, then the bottom one is more appropriate. Also Rodlox, if you don't mind, can I put this in the table of contents for now? I really like it. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Rodlox | May 3 2016, 01:16 PM Post #81 |
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Superhuman
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*nods* They're the ones that draw the eyes and the attention...whether because they're predatory, got unique posture or locomotion, etc.....So it makes sense that initial studies would be of them. (also, they are good case studies of major events in evolution on Umbriel - like the development of headcones, muscle groups, etc)
if you want to, sure. I'm happy to help.
thank you. |
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Picrodus | May 3 2016, 06:54 PM Post #82 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Tantalus' Throne Long estranged from most other trees, yet still quite related. The Tantalus’ Throne struck off on a different evolutionary tangent early on. The life they chose one was one of mimicry and deceit. Yet such powers came at great price; the price of mobility. The Thrones are gargantuan, sessile beings. Inhabitants of the Finnish Southwestern forest, they stand in groves of hundreds, mixed intermittently with other species of tree like any other. The Tantalus in particular stand upwards of 30 ft. (9.14 m) in height. This planimal is characterized by strikingly yellow cones on a backdrop of black needles, if one looks up from the base of the thick grey trunk that is. Should such an instance occur, one would find a rather unsettling gaze staring right back. Positioned three quarters of the way up the trunk, the headcone, nestled safely in its perch, stares down through the tangle of branches. One look of its malevolent gaze is usually all it takes to send a primary consumer packing. This work of mimicry and deceit is what characterizes the Tantalus’ Throne. As it ages, a Tantalus’ Throne will shed the protective scales of its headcone in uneven fashion. The look could either resemble one of the risen dead, or perhaps a predatory giant. Whatever it is that such a sight envoques upon the would-be consumer, reason says it should leave. Those that come for its flesh are not welcome here. A rather interesting occurrence it is then that the reproductive cones of a Tantalus’ Throne can be considered some of the most strikingly handsome in all of Umbriel. It is believed that such a thing occurs similarly to how an earthly animal would choose a particularly succulent fruit. Those that are sightly are generally chosen. As such, the reproductive cones are generally grown far out on the limbs in order to conceal the grotesque headcone from the view of a potential pollinator. The Tantalus’ Throne operates much closer to the floral end of the planimal spectrum. As Umbral life became more and more refined, there were many tangents that shot off along the way. Those that branched too early crashed and burned, while others such as the Throne lineage had the arbitrary luck to evolve at a pivotal moment. A primitive nervous system had evolved by the point of the last sharing of a common ancestor. Although not nearly so refined as that of dominant Umbral life, it does have enough processing power in its pea brain to reason when it is too hot or too cold. In fact it is due to this very nervous system that an individual could know when it is time to reproduce. The onset of winter causes it to flaunt its handsome reproductive cones in the hopes that a passing mobile tree will decide to take one, only later to find that what looked upon first glance to be a succulent morsel, was in reality rock hard and inedible. The proto-infant is dropped, hopefully far from its birthplace; a life cycle begun anew even if just a few miles further ahead. When it comes to escaping the lethargic terminator, every inch counts. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Rodlox | May 3 2016, 08:14 PM Post #83 |
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Superhuman
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Now I'm wondering what terrifies an Umbriel mobile tree...the proverbial half-eaten worm? An excellent entry. And a highly useful placement in the Umbriel-descended family lineage. {I feel guilty saying "family tree" now}  Before the roots became mobile (or shortly after, but they lost that ability to focus on the "faces/fruits", perhaps}And most definitely highly vibrant. (based upon this one and past ones, I'm going to guess that vision is based more on contrast, rather than detail} |
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Picrodus | May 3 2016, 11:03 PM Post #84 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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I figured it was time to represent some of the more florally-inclined species. Indeed contrast definitely plays a role, in the case of the Tantalus and others, it gets the attention of the would be aggressor. But only paired with strategic scale placement upon the cone (read detail) does the full effect become apparent. This evolutionary adaptation of colorful cones paired with detail is widely utilized across the entirety of Umbriel. Although as previously seen, not universally. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Picrodus | May 18 2016, 03:56 PM Post #85 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Wundan Blues Settlers of the Wunda sea. Wundan Blues have inhabited this remote and frigid sea for untold millennia. Pelagic by nature, Wundan Blues will spend the entirety of their 130-year existence traveling in fleets of up to 20 individuals. Innovative and intelligent, these animals have developed a rather interesting evolutionary adaptation. That is, the development of the shape of their trunk into a boat-like form, for lack of a better term. Such a shape is extremely helpful when it comes to staying afloat. Serving both to displace water as well as to provide shelter for the youngest of their families. Interestingly enough, their back, or the “deck” serves as a nursery for young trees to grow. This they accomplish by serving as a roost for volant trees that inhabit these areas. Refuse and soil carried aboard by these trees serves as ample payment for their stay, and a form of symbiosis. The volant animals brining mulch for young trees to take root and grow into a youngster. And in return, the Wundan Blues provide a safe haven from larger sea predators. If this were not the case, an infant cone would surely drown. Wundan Blues are social animals that, not unlike Earth whales, form complex social bonds and feed on small sea life in order to sustain their mammoth bulk. Wundan Blues range in size from a few feet at birth. (~1M) To more than 40 ft long at adulthood. (12M) Once a young Blue has developed enough to dislodge its roots, it will worm its way to the edge of its mother’s back and will dive into the ocean. A realm alien to it, far different from the relative safety and warmth upon the mother’s deck. Bulls and Cows alike retain two massive flipper-like roots in order to propel themselves through turbulent waters. The other three roots have become small and delicate forward facing structures; specialized in cleaning the deck of unwanted material and visitors. This ensures that certain materials do not rot the woody flesh and keeps the Wundan Blue healthy. Upon reaching adulthood, a bull Blue will be shooed away from the herd and must find its own fleet to join whimsically and protect often. Although this is not to say a cow cannot take care of herself. At 130 tons, there aren’t many predation issues upon reaching adulthood. Bulls are not allowed to become an integral part of the fleet, as they come and go as mating season arises. Only during these times will they aid in the rearing of young, theirs or not, in order to attract the attention of females in heat, showing that he would make a good father to her children. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Picrodus | Sep 10 2016, 06:45 PM Post #86 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Least Flone Lodged deep in the lineage between the Flones and the Trolls, comes the strangest of aggressors. This ‘missing link’ of sorts bridges only the tiniest of portions in a large gap of evolutionary divergence. Its extremities consist of a mixed array of tactile roots which function as limbs, and rigid support branches near the headcone which help to support what a Terran would see as a seemingly abnormal head to body ratio. On Umbriel, a world with but the tiniest gravitational pull, there are a few simple reasons for this structure: 1. Because the laws of gravity say it simply can & 2. Because extra surface area means more room for the display of sexual vitality when in search of a mate. Least Flones, as they have come to be called, are obviously not Flones at all but share the ability to glide, and can even beat their upper set of roots (wrapped against the aforementioned support branches) in a fluttering motion that can help it to gain a few inches or so in altitude. Although doing so for even a few seconds is physically exhaustive, it remains a useful adaptation that can mean life or death for an animal of its size and awkward shape should it find itself on the forest floor. Having a 2-foot wingspan (.61M) the ‘Least’ part of its name comes into play. Open forest dwellers, they make nests in hollows either made by them or other animals. Being omnivorous, Least Flones are not above eating bark and leaves when the going gets tough, but will happily go for small animals when the opportunity arises. They use the bizarre amalgamation of colorful patterning across their body in an attempt to scramble the vision of the prey, a strategy that paired with surprise affectively hypnotizes the prey, stunning it for the few seconds needed to make the kill. The bizarre lower end of their 2-foot trunk consist of a modified root structure that is pointed and is the main weapon, used as a stake during hunting or fights. Sharing this area is the hollow fold that also occupies the lower end of the trunk; A structure that is rigid and used to house the reproductive cones. It is offset and also has a pointed end to aid the elastic upper roots in a very slow, fluttery climb up a tree trunk. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Dragonthunders | Sep 10 2016, 07:07 PM Post #87 |
The ethereal archosaur in blue
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Was a long time that I see this project, and with this new update, is just amazing, good job 
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Projects "Active" projects The Future is Far Welcome to the next chapters of the evolution of life on earth, travel the across the earth on a journey that goes beyond the limits, a billion years of future history in the making. The SE giants project Wonder what is the big of the big on speculative evolution? no problem, here is the answer Coming one day Age of Mankind Humanity fate and its possible finals. The Long Cosmic Journey The history outside our world. The alternative paths The multiverse, the final frontier... Holocene park: Welcome to the biggest adventure of the last 215 million years, where the age of mammals comes to life again! Cambrian mars: An interesting experiment on an unprecedented scale, the life of a particular and important period in the history of our planet, the cambric life, has been transported to a terraformed and habitable mars in an alternative past. Two different paths, two different worlds, but same life and same weirdness. My deviantart | |
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| Picrodus | Sep 11 2016, 03:39 AM Post #88 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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Thanks for the kind words DT, glad to be back. I got my inspiration back. While the text is fairly easy for me to compose, coloring in MS paint is a necessary and lengthy process in drawing the images to my liking. Glad you guys like it. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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| Victorbrine | Oct 21 2016, 03:29 PM Post #89 |
Adult
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This is very fascinating |
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“There's a tree," Starflight said, jumping to his feet. "In the forest." "No way," Glory said. "A tree in the forest?” "Ce corps qui s'appelait et qui s'appelle encore le saint empire romain n'était en aucune manière ni saint, ni romain, ni empire." -Voltaire "So if you wake up in the morning and it's a particularly beautiful day you'll know we made it." -Capa "One of those capsules hit a wing." Victor said. "Had to do an emergency landing." He pointed to a crumpled plane a couple dozen meters behind him and shrugged. "Not my most elegant landing." -me in Flisch's story "Spec Evo: Void Entry" (Act 3) "but by rule 34 of the multiverse, if it exists, there’s a world full of it." -Tet "I must ask you to leave now." -Everyone (not realy though) in Flisch's story "Spec Evo: Void Entry" Projects Status My Blog (SE Blog) Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBzYPIsLp0uHoPtT6ZEyww | |
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| Picrodus | Dec 29 2016, 07:07 PM Post #90 |
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:Ominous Wind:
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The Knettle Beneath the gray waves of the Wunda sea lies a myriad of spectres. Something stirs in the dark, a shadow from the depths below, it targets a creature of mammoth proportions, those known as the Wundan Blues. At about 6 feet (1.8M) the aggressor poses no threat to the blue's significant bulk. Instead it matches speed, paddling with its two hind roots, oar like in fashion, to match speed. Here it dives into the underbelly of the blue, tangling the spiny branches behind its headcone into the long, thick needles of the blue, anchoring itself in place. Known as the Knettle, these proportionately small umbrals share a symbiosis with the Wundan Blues and other relatives of similar bulk. Commensalistic in nature, the Knettle anchors itself so as to exert little energy as it moves at a considerable pace; a feat unachievable for more than short bursts made possible for long distances by way of aid from a much larger host. Hitchhiking, however, is not the sole purpose of this symbiosis, but for purposes of nourishment as well. For as the Wundan Blue voyages across the ocean surface its underbelly (and the knettles within) capture smaller organisms that of no use to the blue, are consumed by the Knettle as they in turn get captured and sifted in the hollowed out center section of the Knettle's trunk where its tactile pair of roots consume the trapped prey. Once finished, the fifth root, located central to the tactile pair, cuts the knettle loose, allowing the well fed creature to swim away, where it may live to see another bountiful day. Lignificated for purposes of streamlining, acting as a fin of sorts, the fifth root becomes rigid after the first joint. Serving the dual purpose of speed aid and knifelike prowess, this is a tool most indispensable. Anterior and below, its precious reproductive cones lie beneath, deeper in its hollowed center, where they remain safe beneath the tactile roots, a precious cargo that will remain in place until a mother Knettle sees it fit to deposit an infant cone on the skyward side of a surface dwelling host. Where the infant will grow in the nurturing soil. |
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My Deviantart A work in progress. Other Liked Quote: "The "habitable zone" will expand along with the Sun. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter." | |
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