Xenogene

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!

Pages:
1
2
3

Xenogene; How life bounced back after a mass extinction
Topic Started: Mar 5 2016, 11:54 PM (1,897 Views)
Diabolical Bear	Mar 5 2016, 11:54 PM Post #1
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	Xenogene 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.

Replies:
Diabolical Bear	Mar 7 2016, 10:19 PM Post #16
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	Evil Crow Mar 7 2016, 10:14 PM The Diatryodont seems interesting... much more plausible than the Predator Rats of After Man. I approve Yeah, the predator rats in After Man didn't seem all plausible to me.



Dapper Man	Mar 7 2016, 11:07 PM Post #17
* I am fed up with dis wuurld * Posts: 1,642 Group: Members Member #1,809 Joined: Nov 13, 2015 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Alternate Evolution Nationality: New Zealand Favorite Quote: "WHAT? NOOO!"- The Happening Also known as: Spaghetti Monster, Chameleon-Sloth, Dapper	Me neither.
	Speculative Evolution: Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.


El Dorito	Mar 8 2016, 04:23 AM Post #18
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes Posts: 400 Group: Members Member #1,763 Joined: Sep 15, 2015 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian/Tasmanian Favorite Quote: Colour is not real, it is something your brain makes up to make sense of the world. What you can't see has no colour at all. Also known as: Da Sloth M8, KaptainWombat Gender: clearly I am a chlorinated opthalmic trigonomic shape of conspitacy and dank memes	I'm just going to completely ignore the whale-penguin... But apart from that everything looks good. I noticed though that there were no primates on the survivors list, or monitor lizards, or sharks (they are technically not fish). Did they go extinct or was the list getting too long so you cut it short? Your drawings are pretty good for someone who is just starting out too.
	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


Diabolical Bear	Mar 8 2016, 09:33 AM Post #19
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	El Dorito Mar 8 2016, 04:23 AM I'm just going to completely ignore the whale-penguin... But apart from that everything looks good. I noticed though that there were no primates on the survivors list, or monitor lizards, or sharks (they are technically not fish). Did they go extinct or was the list getting too long so you cut it short? Your drawings are pretty good for someone who is just starting out too. Yeah, I will admit that the whale penguin is a bit cliche but they are one of the most plausible SE creatures IMO. Primates don't survive. One one monitor lizard survived ( I couldn't include it on the list) and sharks are still common ( most descending from the goblin shark).



Diabolical Bear	Mar 8 2016, 10:01 PM Post #20
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	Evolution of Cabidae Ancestor: Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) Descendant: Kalpas The Central American agouti was one of five rodent species to survive the mass extinction. It was the perfect size and was a diet generalist, feeding on different types of plants, fruits, and insects. As most fauna died off, the agouti was available to fill the ecological niche needed for the ecology. It gave rise to a taxonomy of horse-mimicking ungulates called Cabidae. Over the course of 50 million years, the Central American agouti's feet began to evolve into hoof-like toes. This was the start of the the new "odd-toed ungulates". Evolution of Rugithera Ancestor: Jaguarundi (Puma Yagouaroundi) Descendant: Leovatus (Rugithera liostri) Many predators began dying out. Cats were hit extremely hard. The iconic big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars and other cats like the Serval, Caracal, Cougar, Cheetah,etc. all went extinct. The only remaining cats were the Jaguarundi, Domestic cat, and Margay (not listed). These cats survived by chance and overtime branched out to rebuild the felidae family. The Jaguarundi was a lean mean adaptable machine. Its size, wide range, and opportunistic feeding style were the key to its success. Over millions of years, this wild cat would form the Rugithera (Roaring beast) genus. These are the new big cats. They live in the Americas and even spread throughout Asia by crossing the land bridge, proving that life always makes a come back. Evolution of Canini Ancestor: Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) Descendant: Dougi (Canini dougi) A combination of a wide range, generalist diet, and small size proves to be a jackpot when it comes to surviving a mass extinction and the Red fox has won. The red fox is the most abundant carnivore and will eat anything from insects, small reptiles, small mammals, fruit, etc. The red fox, along with the Jack russell and Rat terriers, is the only canine remaining after the mass extinction. It would eventually from a new genus of neo-wolves called Canini, the biggest being the Dougi (Canini dougi). EDIT: Decreased size of first image (screen stretching) - Holben Edited by Holben, Mar 8 2016, 10:15 PM.



El Dorito	Mar 9 2016, 05:59 AM Post #21
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes Posts: 400 Group: Members Member #1,763 Joined: Sep 15, 2015 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian/Tasmanian Favorite Quote: Colour is not real, it is something your brain makes up to make sense of the world. What you can't see has no colour at all. Also known as: Da Sloth M8, KaptainWombat Gender: clearly I am a chlorinated opthalmic trigonomic shape of conspitacy and dank memes	There's actually a whole post about 20 pages long about why birds are the least likely thing to replace whales, and by least likely I mean virtually impossible - penguins are in no way equivalent to the things whales evolved from, if you want things like that look at seals and otters. I'm not going to go into it here as it isn't relevant. I find it random and maybe somewhat biased that all primates, of all the other things on that list, went extinct. And terriers, out of all breeds of dogs, survived. Pictures look good though. Edited by El Dorito, Mar 9 2016, 06:00 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


Diabolical Bear	Mar 9 2016, 09:53 AM Post #22
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	El Dorito Mar 9 2016, 05:59 AM I find it random and maybe somewhat biased that all primates, of all the other things on that list, went extinct. And terriers, out of all breeds of dogs, survived. Well most primates were generalized, the squirrels and a few other small arboreal animals were more favored in the H-X extinction. This eventually pushed primates to extinction. Jack Russell and Rat terriers were the right size dogs and were energetic enough to catch rodents and such, so they were poised for success while other dogs died out.



Scrublord	Mar 9 2016, 10:22 AM Post #23
Father Pellegrini Posts: 4,422 Group: Members Member #169 Joined: May 5, 2009 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Future Evolution Nationality: American (unfortunately) Favorite Quote: Life can seem a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It's never easy when there's so much on the line.	Domestic dogs in general aren't good survivors in the wild. They've been domesticated for thousands of years, and most of them no longer have the hunting instinct that they had when they were wild wolves. While it's true that some breeds of dogs, like terriers, have been bred to hunt, they must be trained to do so, and they generally do not eat what they kill. That's why feral dogs tend to hang around garbage dumps. It's also why lost dogs tend to get found while lost cats tend to stay lost. Speaking of cats, cats were never "domesticated" in the same sense that dogs were. They are excellent survivors in the wild, and have never lost the instinct for hunting. Wild canids like foxes and coyotes are much more adaptable in the wild than domestic dogs, and will surely outlast them if humans go extinct.
	My Projects: The Neozoic Redux Valhalla--Take Three! The Big One Deviantart Account: http://elsqiubbonator.deviantart.com In the end, the best advice I could give you would be to do your project in a way that feels natural to you, rather than trying to imitate some geek with a laptop in Colorado. --Heteromorph


Jasonguppy	Mar 9 2016, 02:07 PM Post #24
Cardinal Posts: 2,644 Group: Members Member #405 Joined: Oct 5, 2010 Gender: Male Nationality: USA Also known as: Jay, 189birds Gender: Gender? I hardly know her! (They/Them pronouns)	On the deal with aquatic birds, it mainly has to do with archosaur eggs being hard shelled and therefore impossible to transition to live birth. Pengwhale aside, I really like the art you have in this project for a lot of your creatures! And your species list is quite nice, as well!
	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~❤️❤️


HangingThief	Mar 9 2016, 02:56 PM Post #25
ghoulish Posts: 1,238 Group: Members Member #1,870 Joined: Feb 10, 2016 Gender: Male Nationality: Yank Also known as: A noxious pest of livestock and stored grain products. Gender: Chitinous	Why would all the sharks be descended from goblin sharks?
	Hey.


El Dorito	Mar 9 2016, 04:00 PM Post #26
chlorinated opthalmic trigonometric shape of conspiracy and dank memes Posts: 400 Group: Members Member #1,763 Joined: Sep 15, 2015 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian/Tasmanian Favorite Quote: Colour is not real, it is something your brain makes up to make sense of the world. What you can't see has no colour at all. Also known as: Da Sloth M8, KaptainWombat Gender: clearly I am a chlorinated opthalmic trigonomic shape of conspitacy and dank memes	Usually it's the more specialised things that go extinct, even if beforehand it looks like they would do well. The fact that primates are generalists would inherently make them more likely to survive than specialised things. But it's your project so you can do what you want with it.
	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


Diabolical Bear	Mar 9 2016, 05:35 PM Post #27
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	Scrublord Mar 9 2016, 10:22 AM Domestic dogs in general aren't good survivors in the wild. They've been domesticated for thousands of years, and most of them no longer have the hunting instinct that they had when they were wild wolves. While it's true that some breeds of dogs, like terriers, have been bred to hunt, they must be trained to do so, and they generally do not eat what they kill. That's why feral dogs tend to hang around garbage dumps. It's also why lost dogs tend to get found while lost cats tend to stay lost. Speaking of cats, cats were never "domesticated" in the same sense that dogs were. They are excellent survivors in the wild, and have never lost the instinct for hunting. Wild canids like foxes and coyotes are much more adaptable in the wild than domestic dogs, and will surely outlast them if humans go extinct. The foxes eventually out compete the dogs.



Dragonthunders	Mar 10 2016, 11:48 AM Post #28
The ethereal archosaur in blue Posts: 3,039 Group: Global Mods Member #690 Joined: Jan 22, 2012 Gender: Male Nationality: Salvadoran Favorite Quote: "There is only one war that can afford the human being: the war against their extinction" Isaac Asimov Also known as: DT, thunders Gender: still male	I must say that this project has good art and an interesting idea to develop, but it seems that there are some problems in terms of storyline. First, lacks a timeline and how far in the future this happen, when all this species evolve? Also, You have not described how the planet looks. Quote: 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. Well, it is more appropriate make a list of the names of families and groups of every kind of animal instead of each species, and when it comes to individual species, just tell from which species descended. Quote: Yeah, I will admit that the whale penguin is a bit cliche but they are one of the most plausible SE creatures IMO Actually they aren't, as said Dorito and Jasonguppy. And just to add, the problem with the idea was the inference that because a group of animals died, for rule, another animal must occupy that niche acquiring the appearance of its predecessor, and this is very wrong. Every living being is not predestined to fill the void niche of another because it should do it or because it is necessary. Quote: Well most primates were generalized, the squirrels and a few other small arboreal animals were more favored in the H-X extinction. This eventually pushed primates to extinction. I must say that with increased distribution compared to squirrels, a variety of diets and different behaviors would make quite it likely to survive, especially seeing that you have preserved medium-sized animals, such as foxes and cats
	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


Diabolical Bear	Mar 10 2016, 06:21 PM Post #29
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	HangingThief Mar 9 2016, 02:56 PM Why would all the sharks be descended from goblin sharks? Not all. Most.



Diabolical Bear	Mar 10 2016, 07:00 PM Post #30
Infant Posts: 85 Group: Members Member #1,828 Joined: Dec 9, 2015 Favorite Quote: You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.	Evolution of Esavridae Ancestor: Spectacled Caiman Descendant: Bovisavra rectodenti or the Bull Esavra Most crocodilians went extinct, even the adaptable American alligator, leaving the Spectacled caiman to rebuild what was lost. The adaptable Spectacled caiman had a wide range and was a generalist feeder and was the right size. In 50 million years, its descendants, like the Bull Esavra, are apex predators in rivers and lakes worldwide and range from small to medium to large sizes, proving that what was lost can be gained again. Evolution of Megagalerella Ancestor: Slender Mongoose Descendant: Megagalerella pardus With the extinction of large, apex predators, small carnivores stepped into the light to take their place. The slender mongoose was very successful in this mass extinction due to it's small size and being a prey and habitat generalist. It, along with African civets, take the place of the extinct big cats take roamed before the mass extinction, giving rise to Megaherpestes. These mongoose descendants are vary throughout the African continent and to the Indian subcontinent. Evolution of Trocopotamidae Ancestor: Brown rat Descendant: Trocopotamus The brown rat, along with the black rat, has proven its adaptability and has little to worry from this mass extinction. It has a wide habitat range, can eat anything that is edible, and is small. So brown rats are more likely than many to survive. Some brown rats took to the water and formed a semi aquatic rodent the size of a cow called Trocopotamus (River rodent). Trocopotamus lives a lot like its predecessor the Hippopotamus. The only difference is their teeth is rodent-like because they still gnaw on things.



1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)


Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Evolutionary Continuum · Next Topic »

Pages:
1
2
3