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| Carrasiocosmos: The Forbidden Paradise.; A world ruled by goldfish. | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 3 2016, 08:19 PM (910 Views) | |
| Nyarlathotep | Mar 3 2016, 08:19 PM Post #1 |
The Creeping Chaos
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Throughout the adventures of man, a wide range of activities were conducted, and many species were domesticated over a vast period of time. These ranged from such reliable animals as the wolf, to food items like the cattle and pigs, to decatory pets like the many different fish and lizards bred for display in people’s tanks. One of the most common of all these creatures was the goldfish, a creature of the genus Carassius, closely related to and descended from the Prussian Carp. They became an extremely popular pet all around the world, to the point that animal rights activists protested against how numerously they appeared as prizes at carnivals. Some even became a feral pest in Australia, where giant forms would outcompete many local fish and crayfish for food. The design of the goldfish was an adaptable on that. They are generalistic, relatively small and low in food intake, can feed on a wide range of food, such as crustaceans, algae, weeds, detritus and other such things. They are gregarious animals that prefer living in schools. They even have vision arguably superior to that of a human, being capable of seeing in ultra-violet as well as the same spectrum that the human eye can. As an adaptable group of fish, they were therefore given a new chance as an entirely new world arose for them to conquer, one in a whole other solar system. Pic The planet that would be chosen by these distant descendants of men would be a world orbiting a star similar to our sun, though slightly younger at around 4.2 billion years old. The planet, christened Carrasiocosmos was a world of significant water existing in it already. In fact it was estimated this world had several times amount of water the Earth had, including a significant layer in the composition of the planet itself. Thus, despite a slightly larger diameter of around 13,400km, the planet’s mass is only about 96% of that of Earth, with a similar level of gravity. The atmosphere was initially hostile to Earth-based lifeforms, but given their technology and patience, it was quickly terraformed towards a more suitable state, one with conditions more or less the same as those of the pre-Industrial era Earth. Quickly, various life forms were established there in the forms of microbes, algae, fungus and eventually tiny plankton and jellyfish. With an invertebrate dominated sea, soon the land was colonised by a number of hardy and quick to adapt plants of different groups. The first ones to be introduced were lichen and mosses, though within a few years, the first layers of soil were forming and so liverworts, clubmosses and crabgrasses, the first vascular plants. Within a few millennia or so came representatives of the ferns, horsetails, junipers, water lillies, auracia, apiacaed flowers, amaranths, heaths, ivies, thistles, kudzus and even grasses, with no plant species surpassing 3m in height. Nevertheless, various groups of insects, both metamorphic and non-metamorphic were introduced, alongside arachnids, velvet worms and worms, being the only terrestrial fauna. The only vertebrate introduced to this entire biosphere would be the humble goldfish at first, as no other attempts to colonise vertebrates were made. Highly adaptable, and without any competitors, the ways in which this little fish would evolve would be nothing short of spectacular. (sorry if the introduction's short, don't worry it will get better than this once things get interesting. Edited by Nyarlathotep, Mar 3 2016, 08:20 PM.
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| GlarnBoudin | Mar 3 2016, 09:18 PM Post #2 |
Disgusting Skin Fetishist
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OK, this is going to be cool. |
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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. | |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 4 2016, 10:30 AM Post #3 |
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Interesting, interesting . . . |
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| Bruno01 | Mar 4 2016, 05:51 PM Post #4 |
Infant
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Really original, I have to say. |
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| Nyarlathotep | Mar 9 2016, 06:47 PM Post #5 |
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The Creeping Chaos
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0-2 million AP (after-population): map 0-10,000 AP: The first two million years following the introduction of fauna were quite eventful to say the least. Following the introduction of the fabled fauna, an immense proliferation occurred throughout the rivers and freshwater systems that were present throughout much of Carrasiocosmos’s landmass. Within a mere century or so, giant goldfish were already thriving alongside their smaller comrades. This is not unheard of by any means, as already in the times of man on Earth, giant goldfish had appeared, not just in captivity, but also in feral populations in Australia. Within a mere 30 years or so of their introduction, giant goldfish were appearing that reached as large as 40cm long and 2kg in weight, alongside even larger feral carp, often terrorising local fish and crayfish in that regard. On a world with no competition at all, the changes were even more remarked, as the goldfish population exploded from thousands into millions. Lots of insects, algae and detritus managed to make up their diet, and they were even resorting to cannibalism to retain a steady source of protein. Evolution would begin to take them many places they had never been before, as in an a place where no competitors would live. Within a few millennia, populations were already beginning to diverge from one another, particularly as some of the fresh water systems were completely separate from one another on different continents, as it would be a long time before the salt-water barrier would be overcome. It is within this era that the first sub-species arose In the oceans, conditions without fish initially led to a decline of diversity within certain groups of corals and crustaceans, but this was soon followed by diversification of types that would be their prey. In particular, various forms of plankton created huge colonies, which would be exploited by jellyfish and larger crustaceans and squid. Evolutionary investment was not as profound as that within the freshwater environment, but nevertheless crustaceans and cephalopods were indeed taking advantage of a lack of competition. In the first 10,000 years, the world was shaping up into a more interesting creature indeed, as these new ocean ecosystems were starting to thrive. On land, the smaller introducing plants were beginning to evolve into larger, more specialised ones. The mosses, liverworts, clubworts and crabgrasses which had been introduced a few millennia before the others held their ground quite well, with the latter evolving into forms as tall as a metre in height, while also retaining their multiple stalks by which the single plant could absorb sunlight well. Such communities did particularly well in isolated island environments, as well as around the edges of water and extreme altitudes. However, the new vascular plants began to thrive, as some of the conifers, amaranths, horsetails, ivies and even kudzu introduced were beginning to take form in the world’s first forests, with ferns, apiacaeds, junipers, lillies and such dominating the undergrowth. In the drier, more open habitats, a much sparser flora existed, consisting of grasses, kudzus, heaths, thistles, junipers, and lichen. Insects and arachnids flourished in both these habitats, developing into a rapid ecosystem without competition or predation from vertebrates. This would last a long time, and would allow the different groups to develop into profound ways. 10,000-100,000 AP: As the time developed further, what was once small divergences between populations was already starting to become something much more profound. It is within this period of time that some of the very first species emerge, though they are consistently within the genus of Carrasius nevertheless. Small differences present include creatures like C.dimunitivus, a smaller species that prefers to feed on tiny crustaceans living around the edges of ponds and rivers, particularly the larvae of mosquitoes and other small insects, having a thin frame allowing it to be very nimble and agile. Another, C.hippocheilos, is more specialised towards vegetation, not just small algae, but also nibbling off aquatic grasses and such using a hooked jaw that is useful for cutting out chunks of plant. Yet another, C.rex is a much larger form (similar in size to a trout) that feasts on its relatives, using suction to drag prey in, grinding them to death with the pharyngeal teeth at the back of their throat. A few living in isolated habitats such as C.elaboratus have even developed somewhat bright colours and enlarged tails similar to those of many domestic goldfish of old, used for sexual display in a habitat devoid of predators. With populations now in the millions, and isolation between different populations, the potential for diversity is immense, as these humble beginnings allow the evolution of completely new breeds of fish. 100,000-500,000 AP: The next phase of the evolution of Carrassiocosmos can be shown in the way the continents are beginning to move. The northern landmass of Shuria started to show increases in glacation, leading to the terrestrial flora and fauna becoming more adapted to the cold. The large plains inhabited by various forms of ant, bee, beetle and scorpion created an interesting environment where arthropod giants survived and thrived. Without tetrapods to respirate into the atmosphere, the oxygen levels started to climb, reaching around 23% by the end of this era. As a result of this, combined with lack of competition and slightly lower gravity, some of these arthropods grew relatively huge, including the kitten-sized carascorpio. The flora of the open habitats remained mostly similar for this period of time, except that some of these plants grew taller in competition with one another, forming the basis for new types of ecosystem in parallel with the bamboo that originally developed. Similarly, shruby environments of juniper and kudzu formed an intermediate habitat between these plains and deserts and the newly developing forests that were forming, while fungi thrived in their own way in forms not too different to those of the Silurian, including lichen structures up to 2m in height. The insects that lived here were often made up of agile forms such as locusts and flies, which could easily navigate the significant distances between targets. Meanwhile in the water, the fishes were starting to diverge in their body forms instead of just their size or colour. For the first time, some of the fish were becoming significantly different in the way that they behaved and hunted. For example, some started to gain a more elongated body, which would allow them to sneak between spaces in the rocks in search of smaller foods, starting the line that would soon becoming the eel-carps. Another group extended their lips to an even greater extent than normal, becoming catfish like bottom feeders which would live off sessile algae and such. Yet another instead emphasises the regenerative teeth found at the back of a normal goldfish’s throat, turning them into sharp weapons like those of a shark, enabling a line of deadly predators to develop, though these would remain rare in most of the fresh-water environments, at least for now. As the world changes, the fish are forced to adapt in whatever ways they can, and the future for these organisms looks surprisingly bright. 500,000-1 million AP: The planet as a whole has changed little in this space of time, and the world is still mostly recognisable from when it was first colonised. The land holds a thriving ecosystem of early plants and arthropods, while oxygen levels climb well past 25%, resulting in algal blooms both there and in the rivers and oceans. This in turn allowed the goldfish descendants to thrive due to how much food was available to them. The rest of this time period was relatively uneventful as the established groups of fishes evolved to suit new positions within the aquatic ecosystem. In the oceans, the golden age of jellyfish was coming to an end as the more agile cephalopods and crustaceans were taking up greater and greater proportions of food in the plankton-abundant seas around the poles, where they could cope better than the mainly tropical cnidarians. New genera were arising from the ranks of these arthropods to adapt to this ever-changing ecosystem, one absent of vertebrate competitors for this point in time. As the continents started to move in somewhat different directions, the ocean beds are lifted and subducted in different areas. For example, around the moving continents of Dvovomoria and Giek, a growing shallow sea has enabled great coral reefs to grow and flourish, with many organisms now calling that their home. It is on these larger continents that more tropically adapted flora and fauna are introduced, therefore producing a fairly lush terrestrial ecosystem, where the formerly small to medium sized angiosperms come to dominate without question, with giant version of the grass, kudzu, ivy, carrot and amaranth growing into unusual forms resembling some ancient forms of tree, with some reaching as high as 4m already by the end of this time period. To a lesser extent, ferns and horsetails also developed giant forms to adjust to the circumstances of lack of competition, with some reaching more than 3m in height. In the more northern lands of Shuria, it was the conifers, junipers and other such plants that developed into dominant forms, with the conifers using their existing robust form to become forests adapted to a cold habitat, near to the ice cap, while tundras grew populated with various flightless insects flourishing. The plants in this region can grow to considerably greater heights, a few more than 10m. And on the various islands, the more basal flora initially introduced prosper, with some crabgrasses reaching as high as 1.5m. Regardless, progress in the evolutionary timeline would take considerably longer than this for long term effects to be reached. 1 million-2 million AP: This era is the one in which the most happened, bar the initial expansion. By this point, the continents had resumed to a slower point of activity, resulting in more volcanic eruptions. This led to a state of global warming and an increase in sea levels, global temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide. This meant that oceans had more area, as would shallow seas, leading to a process of diversification within the shallow oceanic fauna, as well as more syncretism between the rivers and oceans, with a spread of brackish water. Some descendants of the goldfish were adapting to this new environment quite well, as they have an existing high tolerance towards foreign chemicals, whether natural or artificial. With increases in salt tolerance, this allowed them to spread into these new habitats. In the forms they had taken, this was done multiple times independently. Eventually, one of the more basal clades of goldfish to develop from Dvovomoria manages to develop even higher salt tolerance than the others, and moves into the fully salt-water oceans near the end of this era. A very rapid radiation of these humble fish occurs, as they begin to outcompete the larger forms of shrimp that were evolving previously, driving them out of the southern hemisphere for the most part. Soon, other forms of goldfish were starting to make their own independent explorations of the salty oceans. While at an early stage at this point, this would lead to the beginning of a new age of fishes in the future. In the rivers where the fish had existed for far longer, a range of diverse forms were evolving as a result. Some of these barely resembled their ancestor anymore, either in proportions, size or ecological position. One of the more prominent groups to develop, the eel-carps, was already becoming highly diverse in their own right, as some of these creatures would live in reeds, feeding off algae at the edges of the water lillies, while others would develop fleshy extensions around their lips, then put them above the water to resemble lillies, thus attracting insects. A few would bottom feed like lampreys and hagfish, and one or two in unusual habitats would even work as ambush predators, drawing in their prey through suction power. While no terrestrial forms would develop for a long time after this, some of the slug-faced bottom dwellers would often move into shallower water away from competition and feed off the algal mats that none of hteir relatives were able to get too. The standard cichlid forms were by far the most common, coming in a wide range of different multi-coloured forms, as lack of competition and many predators allowed them to become quite colourful when need be, developing elaborate fins for sexual display. Some were ironically similar to those of their ancestors as well in fact. Fast flowing rivers meant that a few forms would adapt by attaching their eggs towards rocks to avoid being taken back by the current, in similar ways to how salmon would live during the times of man. The cooler waters would lead to fish developing more lethargic lifestyles as a response to lack of heat to keep them going. One advantage this did lead to however was that some would increase exponentially in size, both due to lack of competition and due to the pressures of a cold climate. In the northern waters of Shuria, enormous carplike beasts feast on algae and crustaceans. The largest of these forms could reach as much as 2m in length and weigh up to 80kg, being the largest animals alive by a significant margin, using powerful suction to take in any of their food. While these gentle giants would be present, some much more ruthless forms would also be present. These goldsharks would make much nastier predators than the eel-carps, becoming more active as they went. The retracting teeth that were present in goldfish originally became much more deadly in these forms, where they would almost completely replace the old cichlid lips to form a powerful bite, whereas the body bore a greater resemblance to a salmon of some kind. These predators would thrive throughout the freshwater habitats in a way similar to pikes and their relatives at the time of man, and in the future, the ocean would be there’s to occupy as well. The land continued to slowly develop into an arthropod paradise as the plants spread into new habitats and formed new forms. Within the more arid habitats, grasses and the ever present amaranths flourished, as c4 photosynthesis proved useful for them, as well as long range pollinators like bees and flies which could spread their pollen over great distances. While nothing as specialised as a cactus would appear yet for a long time, these arid habitats would provide the plants refuge from the legions of locusts and other insects that would pursue them. In the terrestrial areas of these arid lands, beetles and desert adapted cockroaches flourish in the absence of most competition, similar to how they do in many Earth based environments. Termites also thrived in this environment with plenty of grass and dry wood to consume, allowing unusually large colonies with mounds up to 8m in height to develop. Further towards the coasts, the more diverse range of flora results in a significant population of insects and arachnids having developed, including in lines that they would not be able to do had vertebrates been around to outcompete them. For example, as well as larger and slower versions of their Earth counterparts, some more unusual forms have arisen. For example, the fishing mites living on the island of Drop are giant dust mites which use piercing mouthparts to impale small fish on their mandibles, with them using an assassin-bug like method of hunting to consume the prey. Some of these mites can grow as large as a man’s hand, due to an almost complete lack of competition from anything other than some midges. In the absence of miriapods, the velvet worms underwent diversification as omnivorous and herbivorous forms thrived, with some using their venom as an offensive weapon to take down prey from a distance, as it would paralyse them, making them easy pickings for the leathery predators. The next time period that shall be explained here shall be at least 5 million years, perhaps 10 million years as the world develops further. |
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| GlarnBoudin | Mar 9 2016, 08:04 PM Post #6 |
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Disgusting Skin Fetishist
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Man, this planet is going to look so goddamn weird in 50 million years. |
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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. | |
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| Yiqi15 | Nov 8 2016, 07:30 PM Post #7 |
Prime Specimen
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The Goldfish will evolve in to neo-tetrapods and outcompete the insects, I'm calling it. Will we get another update? |
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Current/Completed Projects - After the Holocene: Your run-of-the-mill future evolution project. - A History of the Odessa Rhinoceros: What happens when you ship 28 southern white rhinoceri to Texas and try and farm them? Quite a lot, actually. Future Projects - XenoSphere: The greatest zoo in the galaxy. - The Curious Case of the Woolly Giraffe: A case study of an eocene relic. - Untittled Asylum Studios-Based Project: The truth behind all the CGI schlock - Riggslandia V.II: A World 150 million years in the making Potential Projects - Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being My Zoochat and Fadom Accounts - Zoochat - Fandom | |
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| TerrificTyler | Nov 8 2016, 09:35 PM Post #8 |
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Snazz God
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I am very impressed with the detail going into this, and I'm interested in what is to come (Particularly with the terrestrial invertebrates in an open habitat) EDIT: Shoot.... Sorry for kinda necroposting. I guess I just didn't check the dates on here. I'll try to advert it in the future. Again, sorry. Edited by TerrificTyler, Nov 9 2016, 05:05 PM.
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 The Time Bubble- A universe-sized terrarium My Deviantart Wkhuh duh rqob wzr jhqghuv | |
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| Sphenodon | Nov 8 2016, 10:13 PM Post #9 |
Calcareous
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I'm glad that this is still going - I'd thought it had died. |
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We have a Discord server! If you would like to join, simply message myself, Flisch, or Icthyander. Some of my ideas (nothing real yet, but soon): Refugium: A last chance for collapsing ecosystems and their inhabitants. Pansauria: A terraforming project featuring the evolution of exactly one animal - the marine iguana. Mars Renewed: An insight into the life of Mars thirty million years after its terraforming by humankind. Microcosm: An exceedingly small environment. Alcyon: A planet colonized by species remodeled into new niches by genetic engineering. Oddballs: Aberrant representatives of various biological groups compete and coexist. ..and probably some other stuff at some point (perhaps a no K-T project). Stay tuned! | |
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| Dakka! | Nov 8 2016, 10:30 PM Post #10 |
Prime Specimen
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You sure? I think this has been necroed. |
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"I was a Psychiatrist in Florida! For 3 weeks! Have you ever been to Florida?" Some project ideas The Future is Right Ediacaran Explosion Great Old Ones Skinkworld Unrelated:The Final Spec:What Could Have Been, And Still Can | |
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| Jasonguppy | Nov 8 2016, 10:30 PM Post #11 |
Cardinal
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Hasn't updated since march as far as i can see, just Yiqi necroposting again |
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I do art sometimes. "if you want green eat a salad" Projects: Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs. Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes. ❤️❤️~I'm not a boy~❤️❤️ | |
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| Sphenodon | Nov 9 2016, 02:38 AM Post #12 |
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Calcareous
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Dang it all. Is there even a small chance it returns, Nyarlathotep? |
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We have a Discord server! If you would like to join, simply message myself, Flisch, or Icthyander. Some of my ideas (nothing real yet, but soon): Refugium: A last chance for collapsing ecosystems and their inhabitants. Pansauria: A terraforming project featuring the evolution of exactly one animal - the marine iguana. Mars Renewed: An insight into the life of Mars thirty million years after its terraforming by humankind. Microcosm: An exceedingly small environment. Alcyon: A planet colonized by species remodeled into new niches by genetic engineering. Oddballs: Aberrant representatives of various biological groups compete and coexist. ..and probably some other stuff at some point (perhaps a no K-T project). Stay tuned! | |
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| Nyarlathotep | Nov 9 2016, 04:52 AM Post #13 |
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The Creeping Chaos
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I wouldn't say it's impossible ;). Just need to sort out how. |
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| Sphenodon | Nov 9 2016, 04:56 PM Post #14 |
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Calcareous
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aww yiss |
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We have a Discord server! If you would like to join, simply message myself, Flisch, or Icthyander. Some of my ideas (nothing real yet, but soon): Refugium: A last chance for collapsing ecosystems and their inhabitants. Pansauria: A terraforming project featuring the evolution of exactly one animal - the marine iguana. Mars Renewed: An insight into the life of Mars thirty million years after its terraforming by humankind. Microcosm: An exceedingly small environment. Alcyon: A planet colonized by species remodeled into new niches by genetic engineering. Oddballs: Aberrant representatives of various biological groups compete and coexist. ..and probably some other stuff at some point (perhaps a no K-T project). Stay tuned! | |
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