| 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! |
| 1 Million years AD; The strange unfamiliar world of the not so distant future | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Dec 23 2015, 04:28 AM (6,504 Views) | |
| El Dorito | Dec 23 2015, 04:28 AM Post #1 |
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
All pictures will be able to be found here: el-d0rito.deviantart.com Most future evolution projects take place in the more distant future, over 5 million years away. But life can evolve and change over much shorter timescales. This especially applies after extinction events. Only a few hundred thousand years after the K-Pg extinction, Palaeocene mammals had already become larger than any known Mesozoic mammal. Today, a similar, though as yet less severe extinction event is taking place. Already most of the megafauna that existed for the past several million years have gone extinct, leaving niches open. The only things keeping them open are human activities and time. But history and common sense tell us that at some point in the next thousand years our planetary civilisation will probably collapse, largely eliminating the main factor stopping life carrying on. Fast forward 1 million years, and the 'wild' is again the normal state of the earth. The oceans have risen some 80 metres due to human induced climate change, for the same reason most of the worlds ice is gone too. Several super volcanoes have erupted, and the last remnants of the modern 'concrete jungle' have crumbled. Humans are rare, and are considerably different to 21st century people. They are no longer a significant force effecting the earth. Some groups of animals are identical to those we are familiar with, some are similar but obviously different, and a few are unlike anything found in the modern era. This is the world in 1 million years AD. Edited by El Dorito, Jan 5 2016, 08:55 PM.
|
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
 |
 
|
| Replies: | |
|---|---|
| CaledonianWarrior96 | Dec 28 2015, 10:27 AM Post #31 |
An Awesome Reptile
|
I don't know if sea snakes could evolve this but Flying Snakes in South-East Asia do have the ability to flatten their bodies and increase the surface area of their underside, essentially allowing them to glide through the canopy as far as 100 metres. This could be adapted so snakes that become more marine and larger have a means of stabilising their bodies with a single elongated flipper of sorts on each side. Though that being said, since sea snakes swim in a side-to-side motion like fish that could be a bit more difficult unless it's just the tail that moves, or only a part of the ribs (the first several at the front) form into a flipper-like design. Looks like having no limbs just complicates this scenario for snakes |
|
Come check out and subscribe to my projects on the following subforums; Future Planet (V.2): the Future Evolution of Life on Earth (Evolutionary Continuum) The Meuse Legacy: An Alternative Outcome of the Mosasaur (Alternative Evolution) Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution) - Official Project - Foundation The Beryoni Galaxy: The Biologically Rich and Politically Complex State of our Galaxy (Habitational Zone) - Beryoni Critique Thread (formerly: Aliens of Beryoni) The Ecology of Skull Island: An Open Project for the Home of King Kong (Alternative Universe) The Ecology of Wakanda: An Open Project for the Home of Marvel's Black Panther (Alternative Universe) (Click bold titles to go to page. To subscribe click on a project, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "track topic" on the bottom right corner) And now, for something completely different
| |
|
|
|
| CaledonianWarrior96 | Dec 28 2015, 10:35 AM Post #32 |
|
An Awesome Reptile
|
Giant lizards have evolved before, I don't see why they couldn't again. They would just need to find a habitat or biome where they would be the top predator and grow to a size where other predators aren't a threat to it. Hell, if they are better hunters than some mammals and spread in a warmer climate they could start to replace some of them in some places. Plus I think this is an idea lots of future evolution projects have so I wouldn't expect too much opposition, if any |
|
Come check out and subscribe to my projects on the following subforums; Future Planet (V.2): the Future Evolution of Life on Earth (Evolutionary Continuum) The Meuse Legacy: An Alternative Outcome of the Mosasaur (Alternative Evolution) Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution) - Official Project - Foundation The Beryoni Galaxy: The Biologically Rich and Politically Complex State of our Galaxy (Habitational Zone) - Beryoni Critique Thread (formerly: Aliens of Beryoni) The Ecology of Skull Island: An Open Project for the Home of King Kong (Alternative Universe) The Ecology of Wakanda: An Open Project for the Home of Marvel's Black Panther (Alternative Universe) (Click bold titles to go to page. To subscribe click on a project, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "track topic" on the bottom right corner) And now, for something completely different
| |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 05:31 AM Post #33 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
It's not so much what it is, but how derived it is. The picture looks more like a pre-mammal synapsid or a terrestrial crocodile than an oversized monitor. Then again I guess that monitors are pretty similar to both. Also to finish the really extended argument about the Paddlesnake, I updated the picture and outlined it in sharpie pen so it's really visible. Il post it tomorrow. I've also got a picture of the dongo to upload, and the 4th animal of the project, a Tasmanian devil descendant, which isn't as unlikely as it might sound ( if it isn't obvious already I'm starting with Australia simply because I live there, so yeah). Edited by El Dorito, Dec 29 2015, 05:37 AM.
|
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| Beetleboy | Dec 29 2015, 06:54 AM Post #34 |
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
|
If you say so . . . though aren't they rapidly declining due to that facial tumor thing? |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 07:21 AM Post #35 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
Not every devil in existence has devil facial tumour disease, and apparently there is a serious idea of adding them onto the mainland as a backup. The wild devils with the disease would die off, and captive or mainland devils would be reintroduced leaving the species to recover. Apparently the only threat to their survival is DFTD, climate change won't effect them heaps because they can adapt to eat whatever prey is available and can basically live wherever there are trees dense enough to provide shade. Dingoes were also only a secondary cause of their extinction on the mainland, the main reason was apparently because it got too dry for them. But there are places that would suit them just fine today that are being considered for introduction. Not to mention that in this project the sea level rises almost 100 metres over the nest 1000 or something years and stay that way for the next couple of million years. With that kind of rise parts of central Australia would be flooded. 100 meter sea level rise: Australia Edited by El Dorito, Dec 29 2015, 07:43 AM.
|
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| Dragonthunders | Dec 29 2015, 08:11 AM Post #36 |
The ethereal archosaur in blue
|
How? here there is some lack of information about past events that in many ways it would help us get a clearer picture of this future world, I would recommend you start writing about important facts in some kind of timeline, it's because the introduction of your project is too vague to give us some light on what happened between today and that future.
Well, the sea level rise came to 60 meters, and I doubt also use a blog info as a reference, they are usually written by anyone, with any information. |
|
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 | |
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 09:10 AM Post #37 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
This isn't my idea I made up to be hopeful of the devil's survival so I can add a descendant to the project. It's actually a completely real and pretty serious plan by the government to save the Devils. They already have a quite a few captive Devils in zoos and stuff on the mainland and around the world. I'm pretty sure that I said the sea would rise by 100 metres in the description of the project. Also the blog wasn't a source for the numbers, I just needed a picture to show what 100 metres of sea level would look like in reference to this project. |
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 09:28 AM Post #38 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
Ages ago when I was still a wiki contributor on the speculative evolution wiki (don't go there it's a wreck now), I created something exactly like that, a giant pelagic sea snake with a cobra-like frill thing to stabilise it while swimming. I can't remember what it was called though. |
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| Bruno01 | Dec 29 2015, 09:32 AM Post #39 |
Infant
|
This is going more like a discussion than a project (I know that usually there are discussions in the projects, but this is almost everything discussion). |
| Hi! I'm friendly! | |
|
|
|
| Dragonthunders | Dec 29 2015, 10:39 AM Post #40 |
|
The ethereal archosaur in blue
|
If a species is endangered, that does not mean it will evolve into a new species to survive, is not how evolution works.
I see it a bit contradictory with the point of the project.
How is it possible that a civilization preserved a species if they have led to catastrophe for the environment? In a scenario of "human destroy the environment" any species conservation plan would look boycotted and useless to the complete loss of habitats and environmental neglect. Well, someone probably try to make a last ray of hope, but it would be in vain. And also, Tasmanian devils probably would not face well competition in other parts of the world, and few populations would not be sufficient for conservation of the species.
Where did you get the other 40 meters of water? |
|
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 | |
|
|
|
| revin | Dec 29 2015, 11:32 AM Post #41 |
Leonardo da Vinci at his finest
|
I'm still doubting that it can realistically rise more than 20 or 30 meters before we either do something about it or kill ourselves. After a million years, it should be close to normal again. Even if you do continue with the 100 meter sea level rise, though, the inland is unlikely to be flooded without flooding the adjacent land. It's more likely that there would be a long narrow strait connecting the inland sea and the ocean. If that strait cannot form, then the inland is going to be an extremely hot desert below sea level, kind of like Death Valley or the shores of the Dead Sea. |
|
I tend to get dis– Hey, look, an elephant! Potentially an elephant Fire into Ice, a project about life on a rogue planet ejected from our own Solar System. Check it out! My spec evo YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/speculativeevolution With personal experience as a raven, I am a major proponent of conserving all corvid species at all costs. Save the endangered Mariana crow here. Please don't click.
| |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 07:40 PM Post #42 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
Thing is, unlike most endangered things, Devils aren't endangered because of habitat loss. So if at least some Devils are kept where DFTD isn't, they are pretty much safe and would probably do fine. If we keep using carbon based fuel for even the next 50 years Greenland is doomed in the long run, so is western Antarctica. And when it gets too hot from this warming, permafrost and methane hydrate deposits would melt and release methane, which makes the whole thing about 100 times worse at least. With this there is pretty much no chance for any of the ice sheets to survive. The 'extra' 40 metres is actually from the fact that the interactive flood maps don't go high enough to account for all ice melting. There is also thermal expansion of the water which accounts for about a 3rd of the initial sea level rise. |
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 09:50 PM Post #43 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
Levid, Sarcophilus novus (This one doesn't need a picture because it hasn't changed much) The Levid is a descendant of the modern Tasmanian devil. While the devil today is both restricted in range and endangered by disease, because of its popularity with the general public it was saved by re-introducing healthy Devils to the mainland and through captivity. With this, the Devils survived and became a new species, the Levid, Sarcophilus novus. While few changes have happened, the Levid is somewhat larger than modern Devils, at about 10 kg and 20% larger in visible size than its ancestor. The Levid is still mostly found in Tasmania, but because it is descended from captive Devils on the mainland, some of the species also exist there. (Levid is devil backwards, btw) Edited by El Dorito, Dec 29 2015, 09:52 PM.
|
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| Dragonthunders | Dec 29 2015, 10:04 PM Post #44 |
|
The ethereal archosaur in blue
|
That does not mean it will not be. Today there is no destruction of the environment, but if you are going to implement a scenario of "global meltdown" climate will do its part and will affect everything including Tasmania, and a species that is affected by a serious illness is no match for a change of that magnitude.
I would hesitate, it is already anticipating that the populations of Tasmanian devils would be extinct within two decades if it is not find a cure. There is a chance of prolonging the survival of the species preserving the healthy individuals, however, it would be a huge loss in genetic diversity, which would make them more vulnerable.
It's not what I meant, I read everywhere, and most agree that if the polar caps to melt to how much the sea level would rise in the worst ends 70 meters, where you get that calculation? It is an invention that you created or did it based on something? But ar the end, it is your project, and I think better leave continue to do what do you want. |
|
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 | |
|
|
|
| El Dorito | Dec 29 2015, 10:11 PM Post #45 |
|
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes
|
Nearly everything I've seen puts it at at least 80 metres. And more recent research on this subject doesn't generally downsize it at all. One paper from August of this year puts the rise at as much as 7 metres this century... I'm not putting that particular estimate in this project, but from what I've seen 70 metres is the low estimate. Also I've seen people make projects where tigers form populations in random areas because a few managed to escape from zoos and somehow find each other. And incredibly there was actually no objection to it................. I don't even know... Edited by El Dorito, Dec 29 2015, 10:11 PM.
|
|
I REGRET NOTHING What if denizens of the United States call themselves 'Americans' so as to avoid being called USAliens? DeviantArt: EL-D0rito My Projects: Atlantis: The Next Union On hold until I regain interest. Argus: The Cyber-Planet Will be rewritten and redone almost completely | |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Evolutionary Continuum · Next Topic » |
12:05 PM Jul 13