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
For the Cenomanian section, which formation should I choose?
Candeleros Formation (Giganotosaurus and kin) 0 (0%)
Bissekty Formation (Timurlengia, a early Tyrannosaur) 3 (60%)
Bayan Shireh Formation (Achillobator, a giant Raptor) 2 (40%)
Total Votes: 5
Prehistorica: The Guide; Now a thing! (Yay!)
Topic Started: Mar 19 2016, 04:30 PM (606 Views)
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Prehistorica: The Guide


Posted Image

A famous Tyrannosaurus stands proud over his territory. Little does he know, the orange colored sky is about to be fulfilled by meteors and volcanic dust, eventually forcing him to submit defeat over his long lasting reign of terror.

We all know famous creatures such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Velociraptor, who continuously plundered the T.V screens for some 50 years or so. But, little to the common eye, there was tons of other, unknown, and more mysterious creatures related to these famous beasts, who fought along the same battlegrounds as their cousins. But, how exactly did these creatures live? Whilst this topic is discussed in the companion novel (To be revamped at a later date), this issue looks at the most precise and accurate facts on each individual species, from the fearsome Postosuchus of the Triassic, to the cunning Dakotaraptor of the Cretaceous, and from the little Orodromeus of the plains, to the Cetiosaurus of the jungles of Europe. Who knew that the Archaeopteryx lived in both Germany and England? (Actually, I only just found this out, and made a pre-prediction that Rhamphorhynchus would also live in England)

But, we won’t just cover Dinosaurs and there Mesozoic kin; we will go further back, to a time dominant by, essentially, our own distant relatives, like the iconic Dimetrodon, and the jawless fish Tullimonstrum. This first period is one of aliens, called the Palaeozoic, which lasted from 541-252 million years ago, when the worst disaster ever wiped these “aliens” of the face of the earth, and wiped out 95% of all life forms. Aside from the fauna, the flora was odd as well, as it was dominated by basal Monkey Puzzles, Ferns and Cycads, of which all continued to dominate the Mesozoic, before being “replaced” by modern flora, like Oaks and Flowers. Many of the fauna was rather odd, and therefore, apparently, unrecognizable to the human eye.

There is one last story to be told, however, that of the Mammals. Yes, those creatures you see most of today, from the iconic Smilodon to the almost ape like Australopithecus, or the show off Mammuthus, or the Woolly Mammoth. There are also other weird mammals, like the giraffe sized camel, Aepycamelus, and the humongous Indricotherium. Although, we humans are also a part of this story, as we changed the world to what it is today. We wiped out many of these iconic animals, and are still doing so today.

Table of Contents

Spoiler: click to toggle
Edited by Dapper Man, Apr 2 2016, 12:28 AM.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Holben
Member Avatar
Rumbo a la Victoria

(Should I remove the other version of this topic here?)
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Holben
Mar 19 2016, 04:45 PM
(Should I remove the other version of this topic here?)
yeah. That would be helpful :) I also want this version to be the most accurate, so if there's any advice for colouring schemes, that would also be helpful.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Palaeozoic: The time of “Aliens”

Posted Image
One place, many changes. From what was barren (Panel 1), to the first plants (Panel 2), to vast forests stretching for miles (Panel 3), this local stream experienced it all.

This was an almost alien place, as the Palaeozoic is the first time in which complex life forms happened to evolve. These were the Ediacarans, soft bodied animals that were most likely bottom feeders. Ediacarans were out of place, however, as the Cambrian explosion happened. In this biological radiation, many bizarre forms such as Charnia and Dickinsonia were outcompeted by more bizarre and more adaptable creatures, like the fearsome Anomalocaris and Ottoia began to pop up out of the blue (Get it? Bad ocean pun) However, one important animal, resembling a Hagfish, changed everything. Its name: Pikaia. It had its armour on the inside, not the outside, unlike many of its competitors. This was an early Vertebrate; who would, eventually, over power the bizarre inhabitants of the ocean, and leave for the land.

There was one problem with this “grand plan”: the environment. It was hostile and barren, not too dissimilar to the deserts of today, except without any sources of water (Okay, maybe a couple of streams and stuff like that, but you get the general idea), it was essentially barren. The Silurian would bring a change: the arrival of land plants. The species, called Cooksonia, was among the first of the land colonizers, who would help build the environments we all know, and the phylum: The land plants. Prey, such as early fish, would be able to make more and more journeys to reach this new haven. Prey was common, insects, who once held top predatory niches, now fell felt the tide turn.

In the Carboniferous; things changed. Vast coal forests reached up towards the sunlight, blanketing the earth in its process. Various early fish descendants evolved into the earliest Tetrapods: four legged animals that are found even today. They lay claim to most niches available: from insectivorous to crocodilian, they found a way. However: insects had grown larger as well, due to the higher amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere. This was a win/ lose situation: Insects were allowed to get bigger, but the forests were susceptible to massive forest fires. Even those in Australia would’ve been tiny to these monsters: They almost wiped an ecosystem free of trees in a little 24 hours.

The Permian saw a change: The Invertebrates never again would rule. Instead, their competitors; the Vertebrates, have started to dominate. All the continents have fused to become the infamous Pangea. Waterways of this new world were dominated by amphibians of the Temnospondyl type, often reaching 5 meters long, and were much more common than the Crocodilians who would replace them in the distant future. These smooth skinned amphibians would’ve terrorized the local Therapsids; who often worried about their predators. Therapsids came in many bizarre forms; from the downright iconic Dimetrodon to the outlandish Estemmnosuchus, whose head was nobly and spiky. However, despite the short, 50 million year reign of the advanced Therapsids, their doom would soon come: In a vast, basalt eruption that originated in the infamous Siberian Traps; which eliminated 95% of all life on earth within some 10,000 years.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
K. Pikaia profile coming up sometime today. Just got to think of some description.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Profile for some creatures coming after I get back home. Just got some work to do. Then I'll be able to write about fascinating prehistoric creatures :)
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Pikaia: The one that inspired the Hag Fish

Posted Image

The Pikaia Gracilens, at a length of 38 millimeters long, is one of the most important animals of the Burgess Shale. The Pikaia was a common prey item, and probably a slow mover. Pikaia probably moved about like a eel, and resembled a hag fish, to which it probably had a similar lifestyle. Many remains of this animal have been found, and hundreds of individuals would've likely waited for carcasses of Anomalocaris or Hallucigenia to fall to the bottom before feasting in their swarms. They were most probably blind, and are uncertain to classify. It lived in Canada at around the middle Cambrian, and was found in 1979 by Simon Conway Morris. It has had a common belief that it was the common ancestor to all modern Vertebrates, although Chinese early vertebrates like Haikouichthys and kin rival with Pikaia for this "Throne". It was unimportant in its ecosystem, and lived with many bizarre creatures like Hallucigenia, Anomalocaris, Ottoia and Opabinia. It has been suggested that Pikaia could've been both a Invertebrate and a Vertebrate, due to features found in both groups. Pikaia is likely believed to be a free swimmer, unlike its modern day relatives, the Hag Fish of the order Myxini. It had a Proto-Notochord, that was later develop to become the Vertebrate, featured in all living Vertebrates. In 1911, Charles Walcott believed Pikaia was some sort of Worm, although it is still uncertain as to what sort of animal this thing really is. It is currently believed to be some type of Cephalochordate, which include modern Lancelets.
Edited by Dapper Man, Mar 21 2016, 11:38 PM.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Scrublord
Member Avatar
Father Pellegrini
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
So, what is this? Just a regular list of prehistoric organisms?
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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Scrublord
Mar 22 2016, 10:28 AM
So, what is this? Just a regular list of prehistoric organisms?
It's meant to be a companion guide to a Walking with Dinosaurs type thing that I'm doing (Going to be posted some time, as I'm sick at the moment :( ...)
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dapper Man
Member Avatar
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Anomalocaris- The once thought Crustacean

Posted Image
Anomalocaris is the earths first Super-Predator. Whilst not the biggest hunter, it was certainly unique its own way. It wasn’t as big as Tyrannosaurus or Dimetrodon later to come, but it had a unique feature: one of the first complex eyes. This provided an extreme advantage for the hunter, as it allowed it to properly scan its surroundings, instead of blindly guessing where its prey would be. It was flexible, and, unlike other, seabed based predators, propelled itself through the water like a Dolphin would do. It was named in 1892, but was not properly identified until the mid-20th century. At first it was thought to be a Crustacean, but is now known to be a part of its own, unique clade of stem-arthropods called the Anomalocarida. A close relation to the group, the Cetiacarids, were elected earlier in 2013. Anomalocaris had a problem with its size, however. Most creatures of the Burgess Shales were remarkably small, so it was likely that Anomalocaris had to continuously feed itself. Although, it might have been an ambush predator like a Crocodile. Its appendages could behave like Baleen in Whales in the 21st century, filtering out prey in the sands of the Cambrian Seas. It is the type genus of the order, and is often termed a Proto-Arthropod. When its mouth was found, scientists thought it was a Jellyfish preserved on a Sponge, not some sort of mouth. Some scientists are split between thinking that it was either a Filter Feeder or a Apex Predator, and this is still debated today.
Edited by Dapper Man, Apr 2 2016, 12:28 AM.
Speculative Evolution:

Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Café Cosmique · Next Topic »
Add Reply