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Xenogene; How life bounced back after a mass extinction
Topic Started: Mar 5 2016, 11:54 PM (1,896 Views)
Diabolical Bear
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Xenogene

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There were a variety of creatures that walked this earth. Giant creatures, swimming creatures, even bipedal creatures thrived in many different habitats. Unfortunately all of those animals are gone now. Extinct. Animals such as Wolves, Tigers, Lions, Buffalo, Bears, and even Humans fell victim to forces beyond their control. A seven mile wide meteor struck the coast California, forming the Ventura crater. The impact shot millions of tons of debris into the atmosphere which blocked out the sun, caused tsunamis, and radiated lethal heat worldwide. No land animal larger than 60-70 pounds survived. Aquatic animals held the advantage in that aspect. This is the H-X asteroid, marking the end of the Holocene and writing the beginning of the Xenogene (meaning "strange era"). The Xenogene is a period of rehabilitation and diversity.
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Dapper Man
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Go on... (Reminds me of my The Reset, BUT, I like to see something new here :) )
Edited by Dapper Man, Mar 6 2016, 02:48 AM.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
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CaledonianWarrior96
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For a minute I thought Xenogene was like a mutation or something in a strand of DNA.

Like to see where you take this though
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And now, for something completely different
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Beetleboy
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Evil Crow
Mar 6 2016, 02:46 AM
Go on... (Reminds me of my The Reset, BUT, I like to see something new here :) )
Well, 90% of all future evo projects ever done remind me of the Reset. Big extinction, creatures replace the extinct species, etc, etc.

As for the Xenogene, a few things:

Good start, but try to put a little more detail in the introduction. It isn't a must, but it certainly draws folk's attention more, and gives us an idea of what the project will be like.

Also, since the start was rather generic (though that isn't neccasarily a bad thing), I would make the rest of the project as unique as possible without stretching plausibility too far.
~ The Age of Forests ~
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Diabolical Bear
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The Survivors

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Black Rat (Rattus rattus)
Jackson's Chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
African Civet (Civettictis civetta)
Terriers (The Jack Russell and Rat terriers)
Cat (Felis Catus)
Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua)
Most gulls
Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica)
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Crows
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)
Beech Marten (Martes foina)
European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis)
Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
Grey-headed Flying Fox Bat ( Pteropus poliocephalus)
European Badger (Meles meles)
Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis)
Black Racer Snake (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Caecilian (Gymnophiona)
Most insects
Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea)
Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Crab-eating Mongoose (Herpestes urva)
Four Toed Jerboa (Allactaga tetradactyla)
Common Shrew (Sorex araneus)
Most fish

Edited by Diabolical Bear, Mar 7 2016, 07:03 PM.
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Beetleboy
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Diabolical Bear
Mar 6 2016, 01:39 PM
The Survivors

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Black Rat (Rattus rattus)
Jackson's Chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
African Civet (Civettictis civetta)
Terriers (The Jack Russell and Rat terriers)
Cat (Felis Catus)
Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus)
Most gulls
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica)
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Crows
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)
Beech Marten (Martes foina)
European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis)
Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
Grey-headed Flying Fox Bat ( Pteropus poliocephalus)
European Badger (Meles meles)
Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis)
Black Racer Snake (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Caecilian (Gymnophiona)
Most insects
Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea)
Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Crab-eating Mongoose (Herpestes urva)
Four Toed Jerboa (Allactaga tetradactyla)
Common Shrew (Sorex araneus)
Most fish

Why did the individual species survive? For example the frilled lizard. What makes it more likely to survive than other lizards?
~ The Age of Forests ~
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Diabolical Bear
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Beetleboy
Mar 6 2016, 02:00 PM
Diabolical Bear
Mar 6 2016, 01:39 PM
The Survivors

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Black Rat (Rattus rattus)
Jackson's Chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
African Civet (Civettictis civetta)
Terriers (The Jack Russell and Rat terriers)
Cat (Felis Catus)
Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus)
Most gulls
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica)
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Crows
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)
Beech Marten (Martes foina)
European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis)
Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
Grey-headed Flying Fox Bat ( Pteropus poliocephalus)
European Badger (Meles meles)
Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis)
Black Racer Snake (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Caecilian (Gymnophiona)
Most insects
Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea)
Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Crab-eating Mongoose (Herpestes urva)
Four Toed Jerboa (Allactaga tetradactyla)
Common Shrew (Sorex araneus)
Most fish

Why did the individual species survive? For example the frilled lizard. What makes it more likely to survive than other lizards?
Other species of lizard do survive. I just didn't want to make the list too long. The idea was that this mass extinction was so bad that individuals survived.
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Diabolical Bear
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Evolution of the Future

Evolution of Neosimian

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Ancestor: Grey Squirrel

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Descendant: Bush-tailed Squonkey

Despite the adaptability of many species of rodent, only five species remained and the grey squirrel was one of them. Grey squirrels survived because they were the right size, have a broad habitat range, and are generalist feeders. The grey squirrel branches out into many species of primate-mimicking rodents which all fall under Neosimian (Squonkeys).

Evolution of Amphisuchus

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Ancestor: Smooth Newt

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Descendant: Nerodon Tinodis

One of the three remaining amphibians, which was the Smooth newt, managed to get by the mass extinction due to it's broad range and being unspecialized. One of their many descendants was a group of crocodilian-mimicking aquatic predators called Amphisuchus. Being semi-aquatic, the smooth newt took to the water during the mass extinction and evolved into predatory amphibians taking the role of crocodiles in some areas ( I say some areas because the descendants of one remaining crocodilian still occupy that niche).

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Dapper Man
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* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
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You've got quite good drawing skills, my friend...

(Also, Crows (Love it) )
Edited by Dapper Man, Mar 6 2016, 11:24 PM.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
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Diabolical Bear
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Evil Crow
Mar 6 2016, 11:23 PM
You've got quite good drawing skills, my friend...

(Also, Crows (Love it) )
Thank you.
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Thylacine
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Good drawings, but art isn't the key to good spec. Expand on these creatures a bit, what is their habitat, behaviour, anything special about them? How do they function in an ecosystem? Are they top predators or mindless herbivores? Also, I think your naming needs a bit of work. Smashing the name of the ancestor and the thing it looks like usually leads to a stupid word.
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Beetleboy
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Here's a thread I made a while back about name-making: here.
~ The Age of Forests ~
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Scrublord
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I will say, though, your art skills are a cut above most other beginners I've seen. That alone suggests you've got potential.
Edited by Scrublord, Mar 7 2016, 05:21 PM.
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--Heteromorph
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Diabolical Bear
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Evolution of Dontramphos

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Ancestor: Gentoo Penguin

Posted Image

Descendant: Xenopygoscelis Dontis

Out of the three penguins of the genus Pygoscelis, the Gentoo was the more flexible of the three bush tailed penguins and managed to get by just fine. Other penguins survived but didn't manage to outnumber the Gentoo, which was now the most numerous penguin species. It would branch out into three different whale-like penguin groups. One of those groups being Dontramphos ( Tooth Beak), predator whale-like penguins who prey on fish, squid, etc. Xenopygoscelis Dontis is a whale-like penguin who lives around Antarctica in the Southern ocean all the way to the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Like their aquatic mammalian predecessors, these future penguins travel in pods and will form orchestrated attacks when hunting.

Evolution of Veloces

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Ancestor: African Civet

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Descendant: Velox

With their flexible diet and broad range, the African civet was able to survive their mass extinction. These adaptable animals live all across Africa and them, along with the Slender mongoose and other small carnivores, become the top predators on the continent. One of their descendants, the Velox (Veloces Rapidus), fills the ecological niche of the extinct cheetah, making it the fastest land animal, but even that has a price. They have traded endurance for short burst ambush hunting and are easily bullied from their kills due to their size. They hunt the delicate but swift descendants of rabbits, rats, and hyraxes.

Evolution of Diatryodont

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Ancestor: Black Rat

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Descendant: Rodentasmilus Atrox

The genus Diatryodont derived from the rat species known as the Black Rat. The black rat, along with the brown rat, has proven to be an animal extremely hard to eradicate in many parts of the world and have lived up to that title. Being diet generalists and widely distributed means that the black rat was poised for success. The Diatryodont (Piercing tooth) descendants, such as Rodentasmilus Atrox, have become top predators in the ecology but they do have to compete with the descendants of cats, terriers, beech martens, etc. They have evolved saber-like incisors that remain in a rodent-like fashion. Those teeth sharpen when the predatory rodent gnaws on bones and rocks. In this mass extinction, black rats have proven that life always bounces back.



Edited by Diabolical Bear, Mar 7 2016, 10:18 PM.
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Dapper Man
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* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
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The Diatryodont seems interesting... much more plausible than the Predator Rats of After Man. I approve
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
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