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Riggslandia
Topic Started: Oct 27 2016, 04:40 PM (1,259 Views)
Yiqi15
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If you ask someone to name their favourite dinosaur, chances are it will be Brachiosaurus of western North America (though technically it is Giraffatitan of Africa that is what most people think Brachiosaurs are). It was one of the largest dinosaurs ever at a whopping 16 meters high grazing on the lush vegetation of its time. However, what many don't know is that it only existed for a day in geological terms, only existing for a million years.

However, light-years away there is a moon that continues to harbour the Brachiosaurus. Named for the very man who discovered the species Elmer C. Riggs, a lack of literally no other tetrapods to compete, they have diversified into a wide variety of forms and sizes; some no smaller then a goat barely resembling their gigantic ancestors, others bigger then them in length, some even turning into carnivorous forms not unlike their very distant theropod relatives back on earth. All in all, this world is a prime example of adaptive radiation.

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Edited by Yiqi15, Dec 6 2016, 11:42 AM.
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GlarnBoudin
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You had me at "Planet of nothing but Brachiosaurus."

Continue, you beautiful bastard.
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Thylacine
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You say there are no other tetrapods, so does that mean there are fish and insects around? What time do they come from? I can't wait to see what flying forms or aquatic forms you come up with.
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Yiqi15
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GhoulBoudin
Oct 27 2016, 05:32 PM
You had me at "Planet of nothing but Brachiosaurus."

Continue, you beautiful bastard.
I will. But first, let's take a look at Riggslandia's current geography (154 Million Years P.E)

The biggest landmass of Riggslandia is Lincoln, a continent comparable to Eurasia and North America. At its centre is a desert roughly shaped like a hexagon. In the north are huge fjords and archipelagos gouged out by an ice age long ago. It's northernmost tip is buried under the icecaps of Riggslandia. At its southern regions swamps and delta very much like the ones of Florida and Louisiana make up its southern coast, and surrounding are huge forests.

To the east of it is the cigar-shaped island of Raiyoju, a piece of Lincoln that has drifted off from it like larger version of Madagascar. Most of it is covered in lush rainforest, filled with living fossils from the moon's time in fifteen million years.

Towards the moons's south pole there lies the Gondwana-like continent of Wadjeega, with its plains and taiga. However what we see here is only 52% of it; the rest is buried under the massive icecaps that cover the moon's south pole.

In the west there is Bensil: a landmass that is where the first Brachiosaurs were allowed to roam. Running down its centre is a mountain range comparable to the Rockies, home to Riggslandia's most intelligent species, the orangutan-like Koseik, currently at a Roman-level of technology. Part of these make up the insect-ruled Timiayt islands in its northern parts. Once one big peninsula, the above-mentioned ice age divided them up before the ice age's aftermath drowned them.

(will be updated in time)
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Edited by Yiqi15, Dec 10 2016, 11:36 AM.
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

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Yiqi15
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Thyla-scream
Oct 27 2016, 06:06 PM
You say there are no other tetrapods, so does that mean there are fish and insects around? What time do they come from? I can't wait to see what flying forms or aquatic forms you come up with.
Yes. Insects are a must for terraforming. After all, you can't have a earth-based ecosystem without them (insects that is).

Most fish are from our time, but a few are from the Jurassic as well, most notably Leedsichthys.
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

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- Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being

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GlarnBoudin
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You might want to make a list of other species that were brought in here for clarification.
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Introduced Species
Plants

250 + grass species
Dandelion
Cacti (30+ species)
Clover (120+ species)
Liverwort (1000+ species)
Algae (10,000+ species)
Elodea
Moss (1000+ species)
Ginkgo
Conifers (200 species)
Tree Ferns (125 species)

Animals
Brachiosaurus
Spiders (100+ species)
Scorpions (90+ species)
Annelids (1000+ species)
Beetles (200+ species)
Ants and Termites (100+ species)
Snails (200+ species)
Slugs (500+ species, include marine species)
Octopus (Giant Pacific and 10+ species)
Crabs (30+ species)
Lobsters (5+ species)
Aphids (110+ species)
Millipedes (200+ species)
Ladybird Beetles (10 species)
Ammonites (75+ species)
Leedsichthys
Trout
Salmon
Sardine
Bivalve molluscs [clams, mussels, oysters] (1000+ species/freshwater + marine)
Mites (10,000+ species)
Horseshoe crab

(Incomplete, Will be updated with time)


Happy now, Ghoul?
Edited by Yiqi15, Oct 29 2016, 01:47 PM.
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

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GlarnBoudin
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Yep!
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Yiqi15
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5 Million Years P.E (148 Million Years BCE)

Five million years have past since the first Brachiosaurs were set free onto the planet of Riggslandia, then a Pangaea-like supercontinent called. Since then, it has already become a lush (if odorous) paradise. With no predators to eat them, their populations exploded into the millions, with huge herds browsing on the ever-growing forests and plains budding on and around the coast. It helps that the huge herds are spreading their seeds inwards through their defecate.

A particularly interesting thing is happening within the brachiosaurus is that the first stages of evolution are happening. Similar to how species cichlids of African Great Lakes can can evolve from simply having different feeding mechanisms for same food, new species of brachiosaurus evolved to eat other food sources, albeit on a physically larger scale. For instance, the Grazing Brachiosaur (Brachiosaurus propecephale) evolved to feed on vegetation close to the ground like grass and ferns. This also resulted in their teeth and digestive system being altered to feed on plants that they'd never eat back on Jurassic earth.

Meanwhile at their feet, a similar thing is happening with insects and other arthropods. Without any mammals, amphibians, and reptiles to eat and compete among them, they have diversified into a wide variety of niches. It's only because most of the oxygen is being breathed in by the brachiosaurs that they can't grow larger. For instance, a family of beetles known as Arthromusidae have filled the role of rodents, growing to 25 cm and scuttling through the grass. Ants, with only themselves and other insects to compete, form colonies up to 4 quadrillion individuals in nests 25 km2. Predators have also flourished: a species of tarantula for instance, has secured the role as one of the plain's top predator.

In the seas meanwhile, another ecosystem is forming, one that much more different then earth's. Without coral, a type of seaweed has evolved into a kelp-like family that harbours home to a budding marine ecosystem, one that harbours home to a massive marine titan even bigger then the Brachiosaurs: Leedsichthys, which has also begun to spread. Unlike it, however it has predators to keep their numbers down. The Giant and Colossal Squids of the Holocene, in the lack of whales, have sealed their role as top predator of the ocean and preying on the numerous specimens.

(Like all entries, these will be updated with time)

OK, I don't really want to write what's going down in the oceans because a) I'm to lazy, and b) Ocean biology isn't really my stronghold. If anyone could do it for me, that would be great Well, I dabbed in at least one species.

Edited by Yiqi15, Nov 28 2016, 07:35 AM.
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

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- Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being

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CaledonianWarrior96
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Yiqi15
Oct 27 2016, 06:32 PM
Most fish are from our time, but a few are from the Jurassic as well, most notably Leedsichthys.
I don't think I've seen Leedsichthys used in the forums yet. Quite surprised since it was the largest fish ever as far as we know. Guess them brachis will be having tough competition in the water though
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CaledonianWarrior96
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CaledonianWarrior96
Oct 29 2016, 11:33 AM
Yiqi15
Oct 27 2016, 06:32 PM
Most fish are from our time, but a few are from the Jurassic as well, most notably Leedsichthys.
I don't think I've seen Leedsichthys used in the forums yet. Quite surprised since it was the largest fish ever as far as we know. Guess them brachis will be having tough competition in the water though

Quote:
 
OK, I don't really want to write what's going down in the oceans because a) I'm to lazy, and b) Ocean biology isn't really my stronghold. If anyone could do it for me, that would be great.


Usually we expect people to do their own work here. But I do admire your honesty in saying you're too lazy.

I'd be happy to help you with some of the ocean biology. I won't do it for you but we can share ideas about what you want your oceans to be like and how brachiosaurs will be able to conquer the oceans. We can PM each other so as not to 'spoil' your project.

One thing I want to add though is that I think you should consider adding sharks to your world, since they seem to be absent from your list. Sharks can fill literally hundreds of different niches and they are a wonderfully diverse, adaptable and enduring group. If you don't want to add them fair enough but it would be nice to give it some thought anyway
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)

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Yiqi15
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Thank you for the offer, Caledonian.
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

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- Zoochat
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Yiqi15
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As of today, people are are free to add suggestions for Riggslandia. So go on, suggest any creature you want.
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

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- Zoochat
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CaledonianWarrior96
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Any Jurassic shark. I know there's Hybodus but I'm not what other sharks are from this period. Anyone want to add some sharks here?
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)


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GlarnBoudin
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Yeah, I think a few sharks would be good. I'd say to have just a few basic species, though:
-Hybodus
-Leopard shark
-Spiny dogfish
-Angel shark

Also, an ammonite or belemnite or two would be nice, perhaps a few eels as well. Knightia and Diplomystus would also make good basal stock for fish.
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