Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
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.

While unregistered users are able to browse the forum on a basic level, registering an account provides additional forum access not visible to guests as well as the ability to join in discussions and contribute yourself! Registration is free and instantaneous.

Join our community today!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural; The Past Set Free
Topic Started: Sep 29 2015, 05:21 PM (2,664 Views)
lamna
Member Avatar


The Past Set Free

Living Fossils has grown beyond the confines of strictly controlled domes in the south of England, in 2025 Jurassic is back.

Posted Image
Artwork by Sheather
http://sheather888.deviantart.com/


Introduction

After over a decade of development, opening day is finally here. Welcome, to Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural. At this state of the art facility modern Iberian wildlife lives alongside restored animals from Jurassic Portugal. Animals from the Lourinhã Formation and from Camadas de Guimarota that last walked the earth 150 million years ago now roam freely in over 200 square kilometres (120 square miles) of restored Portuguese wilderness.

This massive area allows all inhabitants, from the smallest invertebrates to titanic sauropods to live naturalistic lives, and the secure concrete base of the perimeter fence allows our restored animals to breed freely without fear of hatchlings escaping into the wild. Small openings at ground level can be sealed during the breeding season and then opened once juvenile dinosaurs are too large to squeeze through to allow invertebrates and small animals to enter the reserve.

Trying to find all those animals in an area the size of Cincinnati might be daunting, but Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural has many ways to get you close. Self driving off-road vehicles will transport you quietly through the park thanks to their electric motors, following herds and letting you enjoy the reserve in comfort and safety. If you're feeling more adventurous and prefer to experience the park in the open air, guided tours on horseback can also be booked. Most animals see the horse rather than the rider, letting you get in amongst the herds without disturbing them.

The park can also be enjoyed from above and below. If you'd like to meet some of your distant cousin and see how mammals experienced the Jurassic then Mammal Warren is for you. Underground tunnels pass under the reserve and other enclosures, giving you a worm's-eye view of dinosaurs as they pass above. Mammal Warren also display our collection of Jurassic mammals, in addition to a cross section of a wild rabbit warren.

If you'd rather see the park from the skies then you can not only look down from the observation tower and restaurant but you can take to the air aboard the airship Victoria.

Many different animals, modern and prehistoric are waiting to be discovered, none more impressive than the park's mascot, Duchess.

Contents

Lusotitan
Edited by lamna, Sep 30 2015, 04:35 PM.
Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
[flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash]
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Replies:
Vorsa
Member Avatar
Mysterious tundra-dwelling humanoid
 *  *  *  *  *  *
Fair enough. I thought it might be like the Cenozoic Park that GaianAdvance founded, a sort of Portugese extension of Eden.
My Deviantart: http://desorages.deviantart.com/

Birbs

"you are about to try that on a species that clawed its way to the top of a 4 billion year deep corpse pile of evolution. one that has committed the genocide you are contemplating several times already. they are the pinnacle of intelligence-based survival techniques and outnumber you 7 billion to 1" - humans vs machine
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sheather
Member Avatar


That's not GaianAdvance, either.
Posted Image
The Gaiaverse

| Eden | Terra Metropolis | Life of the Sylvan Islands |


Other Spec Evo

| Sheatheria | Serina | The Last Dinosaur

A Wholesome and Good Thing

| Sam |
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lamna
Member Avatar


Dinheirosaurus and other Sauropods

Duchess and the other Lusotitans are far from the only sauropods in the reserve, but they rest are all under ten years old and so have not yet reached anywhere near their full size.

Largest and oldest are a pair of Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis Diana and Domingo, at eight years old they are almost as long as Duchess, both being over 9 meters (30 feet) long, though they are far lighter and shorter, weighing in at around four tonnes (4.4 short tons) and standing 1.5 meters tall at the hip (4 foot, 11 inches).

While still far short of their full 25 metres (82 feet) and 11 tonnes (12.1 short tons), the pair have started showing some interest in breeding. Domingo's neck is starting to change colour from the uniform brown of juveniles and females, to black with a long red stripe starting at his eye and ending halfway down his neck. Diana started seeking out more calcium, swallowing bones, antlers and once even chasing a lynx off its kill to eat a rabbit.

The two did mate this year, but no eggs were laid, though Diana did dig a nest and guard it for a month.

Several other younger Dinheirosaurus live in the reserve, a pair that are six years old, a pair that are four years old and a pair that are only two that were released only months before the reserve opened.

Two other species are due for release once they are a little older, Lourinhasaurus alenquerensis a Camarasaurid related to the more well known Camarasaurus and Zby atlanticus a potentially very exciting addition to the park. Zby is a Turiasaurian, a group of sauropods that seems to be unique to Europe and may have originated in Iberia. For now the single chick, Georges would fit in your hand but projections suggest he may end up as one of the biggest animals in the park.

He is not expected to grow taller than the Lusotitans, probably reaching "only" 10 to 11 meters high (33 to 36 feet), about twice as high as Duchess' current height, but he could grow to be 28 meters long (93 feet) and may weigh 45 tonnes (49 short tons).

Given how large he may get the reserve will have to consider carefully how to include him, how large a herd could be supported and if they could be left to breed naturally.
Edited by lamna, Oct 10 2015, 06:24 PM.
Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
[flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash]
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
LittleLazyLass
Member Avatar
Proud quilt in a bag

I know diplodocids were horizontally built, but being shorter than any of us at 9 meters seems a little to short.
totally not British, b-baka!
Posted Image You like me (Unlike)
I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
Me
What, you want me to tell you what these mean?
Read First
Words Maybe
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lamna
Member Avatar


I'm fairly sure that it's fine, adult Dinheirosaurus should be about 25 meters long but only about 4 metres at the hip.

9 metres is 36% of 25 metres, 36% of 4 metres is 1.44 metres.

Maths is ok if it directly relates to biology.

Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
[flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash]
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Beetleboy
Member Avatar
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
I like this. Please do continue.
~ The Age of Forests ~
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lamna
Member Avatar


Posted Image
Native Wildlife

While the big draw to Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural are the recreated extinct animals, they are far from the only residents. The site isn't just a zoo, it is a small scale rewilding project and an experiment to see the way dinosaurs interacted with the environment.

The main reserve is home to many wild animals. Birds can fly in and there are several small holes in the concrete base of the perimeter fence, just big enough for small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, but too small for dinosaur hatchlings.

Larger mammals have managed populations in the park, Red Deer and Roe Deer roam freely, only occasionally being infused with new blood or culled to prevent numbers from exploding. Sorraia horses and Maronesa cattle are maintained in a semi-feral state. The breeds are similar to extinct Tarpan and Aurochs and need little management, but are rounded up yearly so they can be marked and some individuals can be removed and sold.

The most managed species in the reserve might seem surprising, the Iberian Lynx. Keeping a predator with herbivores might seem odd, but there is method to this madness. The Iberian Lynx is a rabbit specialist, 80% of its diet is made up of rabbits with most of the remainder being hares and other small mammals. Even to small dinosaurs, the Lynx poses little threat. Only one individual lynx ever preyed on dinosaur hatchlings, and he has since been removed and now lives in the wild in Spain.

The population of Iberian Lynx in Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural is small, only 18 resident females and 7 resident males, and heavily managed, with cubs being removed and sent to Spain once mature but it is for now the only place in Portugal where Iberian Lynx live naturalistic lives.

While the reserve is large, it is subdivided into various study areas. There is the largest area that is usually seen by visitors, where dinosaurs and wildlife mix freely, but also smaller areas sectioned off to study the effects of mammals and dinosaurs on the environment. One area will be home to large mammals for an extended period of time, one to large dinosaurs, and one with no large herbivores at all.

This is a long term study but initial results are interesting and somewhat surprising. Dinosaurs seem to be somewhat less physically stressful on the environment than mammals, even though they are often much larger. Dinosaurs have large feet which spread their weight, while ungulates have sharp hooves. The damage caused by their presence is also different, dinosaurs tend to compress the soil, drying it somewhat, while ungulate cut into the soil, causing damage but also aerating the soil and spreading and burying seeds. In areas ruled by dinosaurs, mosses and ferns do better, despite dinosaurs for the most part ignoring grass as a food source, meanwhile in mammalian areas grass thrives.

Conversely, dinosaurs seem more chemically stressful than mammals if they stay in a small area for a long period. Rather than excreting urea in diluted in water as urine as mammals do, dinosaurs leave a thick white paste mixed in with their faeces. In small doses this makes a fantastic fertilizer, but if compounded over time, or left in middens as Stegosaurs do, the concentration of nitrogen will poison almost all plants in the area.
Edited by lamna, Oct 10 2015, 06:39 PM.
Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
[flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash]
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Carlos
Member Avatar
Adveho in me Lucifero
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
I should probably mention that Haldanodon was semi-aquatic, and appearently docodonts as a whole had semi-aquatic tendencies.
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

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GlarnBoudin
Member Avatar
Disgusting Skin Fetishist
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
RISE FROM THE GRAVE!

*ahem*
Will Lourinhanosaurus and Torvosaurus be on display here?
Quotes
Spoiler: click to toggle


Co-creator/corporate minion for the Pop Culture Monster Apocalypse!

My Projects
Spoiler: click to toggle

Coming Soon
Spoiler: click to toggle


My dA page.
My Fanfiction.net page.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lamna
Member Avatar


If you pay me I'll stop working and do this instead.

But yes to Torvosaurus and maybe to Lourinhanosaurus.
Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
[flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash]
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GlarnBoudin
Member Avatar
Disgusting Skin Fetishist
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Sweet! Also, that last bit was because I was afraid that my post may be considered necroposting.
Edited by GlarnBoudin, Jan 2 2016, 06:02 PM.
Quotes
Spoiler: click to toggle


Co-creator/corporate minion for the Pop Culture Monster Apocalypse!

My Projects
Spoiler: click to toggle

Coming Soon
Spoiler: click to toggle


My dA page.
My Fanfiction.net page.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
peashyjah
Member Avatar
Bydo
 *  *  *  *  *  *
Will there be any Comsopgnathids or other Coelurosaurs in this?
Discontinued projects:
The New Ostracoderms (i might continue with this project again someday)
The Americas (where in 58 million years from now in the future North and South America has both become isolated island continents)



All Expansions (my attempt at expanding the universe of All Tomorrows by Nemo Ramjet aka C.M. Kosemen, started June 6, 2018)
Anthropozoic (my attempt at expanding the universe of Man After Man and also a re-imagining of it, coming 2019 or 2020)
New Cenozoica (my attempt at expanding the universe of The New Dinosaurs and also a re-imagining of it, also coming 2019 or 2020)
All Alternatives or All Changes (a re-telling of All Tomorrows but with some minor and major "changes", coming June 10, 2018)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Café Cosmique · Next Topic »
Add Reply