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Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share.
Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,951 Views)
LittleLazyLass
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I imagine it'd be estuarine rather than truly freshwater.
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trex841
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Now I kind of want to include that region as a colonization point for Katiwala.
F.I.N.D.R Field Incident Logs
A comprehensive list of all organisms, artifacts, and alternative worlds encountered by the foundation team.

At the present time, concepts within are inconsistent and ever shifting.

(And this is just the spec related stuff)
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Vorsa
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Insect Illuminati Get Shrekt
Mar 2 2017, 06:50 PM
Figured I would post one more picture of spinosaurs and it's sushi bar. Apparently, there was freshwater plesiosaurs.
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It should be mentioned that this was done by the amazing Hyrotrioskjan on DA. Seriously, go check out this guy's work! :D
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Birbs

"you are about to try that on a species that clawed its way to the top of a 4 billion year deep corpse pile of evolution. one that has committed the genocide you are contemplating several times already. they are the pinnacle of intelligence-based survival techniques and outnumber you 7 billion to 1" - humans vs machine
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IIGSY
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Speaking of deviant art and realistic animals, you guys should check this guy out.

http://sameerprehistorica.deviantart.com/

Also, someone send that picture of spinosaurus and its menu to him. I don't have a deviant art account.
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Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal.
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Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups


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lamna
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That chart reminded me of something. Now Hybodus isn't exactly obscure, it's one of the better know extinct sharks, probably the best known "normal" shark that wasn't huge or utterly bizarre.

What is really interesting is how phenomenally successful this genus of shark was. They evolved in the late Permian, which means they survived the worst mass extinction in earth's' history. They then went on the survive and thrive throughout the entire Mesozoic era, around the world.

Given how successful they were, I'm surprised they didn't survive the K/Pg. Apparently some did, Miosynechodus made it to the Miocene. Yet another interesting group of animals that almost made it to the present, but then died before we could get to know it better.

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IIGSY
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lamna
Mar 2 2017, 08:16 PM
That chart reminded me of something. Now Hybodus isn't exactly obscure, it's one of the better know extinct sharks, probably the best known "normal" shark that wasn't huge or utterly bizarre.

What is really interesting is how phenomenally successful this genus of shark was. They evolved in the late Permian, which means they survived the worst mass extinction in earth's' history. They then went on the survive and thrive throughout the entire Mesozoic era, around the world.

Given how successful they were, I'm surprised they didn't survive the K/Pg. Apparently some did, Miosynechodus made it to the Miocene. Yet another interesting group of animals that almost made it to the present, but then died before we could get to know it better.

Your telling me, that this one typical shark somehow lived throughout the ENTIRE mesozoic era. Damn.
Projects
Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates
Last one crawling: The last arthropod

ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess)

Potential ideas-
Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized.
Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal.
Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents.

Quotes


Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups


In honor of the greatest clade of all time


More pictures


Other cool things


All African countries can fit into Brazil
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LittleLazyLass
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Huh, the Hybodontiformes page on Wikipedia is a bloody mess. It says they were around until the Miocene... but says Lonchidion was one of the last, since it lived in Wyoming alongside Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, and that it's known for distinctive "fine spines" (fin spines?). But the page for that taxon says it was a Triassic genus from Kyrgystan, known from teeth and egg fragments. So it links to the wrong taxon altogether. Then, the first image on the page (not counting a reconstruction in the taxobox) is a diagram which shows them going extinct... at the end of the Cretaceous. Despite other things on the page talking about a Miocene extinction.

This was all just from the introduction... the rest consists of stub sections and giant walls of text, all with no images whatsoever. Whoever did the references doesn't know how wikipedia works, because the cite the same sources over and over instead of naming the reference and using the same instance.
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lamna
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I'd not be shocked if Hybodus and several other extinct sharks were wastebasket taxon, fossils are limited with sharks and I imagine their is a lot less incentive to split as their is with dinosaurs and living animals, but still, it's impressive. Xenacanthus managed a similar longevity, from the Late Devonian right the way up to the End Triassic, while Asteracanthus apparently survived from the Devonian to the Cretaceous.

There is even a nice Hyrotrioskjan picture.

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Do keep in mind this is the genus we are talking about, even if they aren't wastebasket taxon, they still changed over time.
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Carlos
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inb4 they turn out to be ratfish
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
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No, I think we're pretty confident about what hybodonts are. All of the big, weird ratfish died out at the end of the permian, and that was what allowed true sharks to take over.
Edited by Scrublord, Mar 3 2017, 03:18 PM.
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Sayornis
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Auklets are not a particularly obscure taxon, but I think the fact that some of them smell like oranges is appropriate material for this thread.

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The Crested Auklet, known for its refreshing citrus scent.
Edited by Sayornis, Mar 10 2017, 11:43 PM.
The Library is open. (Now under new management!)
Dr Nitwhite
Aug 19 2016, 07:42 PM
As I said before, the Library is like spec crack.
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Flisch
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First they crossed pigs with luminescent jellyfish and now this. Does genemodding know no bounds? Stop this madness, before it's too late!
We have a discord. If you want to join, simply message me, Icthyander or Sphenodon.
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Slow Lorises
(Nycticebus sp.)

Slow lorises are a group of 8 species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east, and from Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south.

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Colors and markings in Nycticebus species and subspecies. Illustration from Loris Conservation


Slow lorises are particularly unusual among primates as they are not only nocturnal but are able to secrete venom from glands on their arms. The toxin is obtained by licking a gland on their arm, and the secretion is activated by mixing with saliva. Their toxic bite is a deterrent to predators, and the toxin is also applied to the fur during grooming as a form of protection for their infants. Slow lorises also have huge eyes to help them see in the dark. These are forward-facing, which gives stereo vision, and also possess a tapetum lucidum. However, slow lorises have monochromatic vision, meaning they see in shades of only one color due to their lack of the opsin gene that would allow them to detect short wavelength light, which includes the colors blue and green.

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However, despite their cute appearances, every slow loris species is listed as either "Vulnerable" or "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List. All slow lorises are threatened by the wildlife trade and habitat loss. Their habitat is rapidly disappearing and becoming fragmented, making it nearly impossible for slow lorises to disperse between forest fragments; unsustainable demand from the exotic pet trade and from traditional medicine has been the greatest cause for their decline. The pet trade in particular is fuelling these animals extinction as consumers, unaware of the trauma they're causing, fuel the demand for 'cute, tickle-loving' animals.

Slow lorises are sold locally at street markets, but are also sold internationally over the Internet and in pet stores. They are especially popular or trendy in Japan, particularly among women, the reasons for their popularity simply being that "they're easy to keep, they don't cry, they're small, and just very cute." Because of their "cuteness", videos of pet slow lorises are some of the most frequently watched animal-related viral videos on YouTube. In March 2011, a newly posted video of a slow loris holding a cocktail umbrella had been viewed more than two million times, while an older video of a slow loris being tickled had been viewed more than six million times. These lorises are often overweight, missing teeth (ripped out by traders to avoid bites, although tooth removal often leads to infection and death for the lorises) and under constant stress from being handled and exposed to bright lights.

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Help defend these poor animals from the cruelty of the pet trade:
Protest against Loris trade
Tickling is Torture
Stop Slow Loris Trade
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Birbs

"you are about to try that on a species that clawed its way to the top of a 4 billion year deep corpse pile of evolution. one that has committed the genocide you are contemplating several times already. they are the pinnacle of intelligence-based survival techniques and outnumber you 7 billion to 1" - humans vs machine
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LittleLazyLass
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Quote:
 
(ripped out by traders to avoid bites - often leading to infection and death)
Wait, are you saying the bites lead to infection and death, or the removal of teeth does?
totally not British, b-baka!
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I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
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Vorsa
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Little
Mar 11 2017, 05:35 PM
Quote:
 
(ripped out by traders to avoid bites - often leading to infection and death)
Wait, are you saying the bites lead to infection and death, or the removal of teeth does?
The removal of their teeth leads to dental infection which in turn can lead ro death. Should have made that clearer.
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Birbs

"you are about to try that on a species that clawed its way to the top of a 4 billion year deep corpse pile of evolution. one that has committed the genocide you are contemplating several times already. they are the pinnacle of intelligence-based survival techniques and outnumber you 7 billion to 1" - humans vs machine
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