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Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share.
Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,908 Views)
Yiqi15
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Prime Specimen
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Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a species of great ape 13 million year old ape discovered in 2002 in Spain which seem to be an intermediate form between tree-dwelling primates a la the relatively basal pongines, hylobatids and monkeys and the more derived terrestrial hominins, and like both has a wider and flat ribcage. While its older then the Human-Chimp common ancestor, its not a direct ancestor, not to mention it doesn't prove apes evolved in Europe - rather, it or its ancestors probably crossed over to it during periods when Africa was attached to Eurasia similar to the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

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Edited by Yiqi15, Apr 13 2018, 04:55 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

My Zoochat and Fadom Accounts
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Sayornis
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Neotenous
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Lots of birds are fluorescent and/or UV reflective Including owls, parakeets, and the Crested Auklet; this last one I have mentioned before in this thread because of another trait: it smells like oranges.

Also, this blog may be of interest-- frequent updates and a big archive of posts on a variety of weird organisms.
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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A small dog
Fetus
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Octoaster
Mar 11 2018, 08:59 PM
Alright so I think I've discovered a new favourite reptile. I love snakes enough already, so when I found out there's a small amphibious snake that has mobile tentacles on the end of its snout I was pretty fuckin excited.

Erpeton tentaculatum, the aptly named Tentacled Snake, is native to southeast asia.

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The purpose of the tentacles has been a subject of debate, but most are pretty sure they're used in predicting the movements of the fish on which it feeds.

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Despite these unique and potentially first-time adaptations and features the species shows, there's no denying that these stringbeans are the best thing in the history of south eastern asiatic waterways.

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They have these things at our zoo. When I first saw them, my mind refused to believe what I was seeing. You forgot to mention the best part about them. They move their bodies in a way so their prey will dart away...straight into its mouth!
Projects I'm probably going to do:

Evolutionary continuum:
Currently unnamed project- takes place 250 million years after the extinction of man
Alternative Evolution:
The Sanctuary- The best zoo in the world
The Habitable Zone:
Sapients of the universe- exactly what it sounds like
Alternate universes:
A bestiary of the land of Hyrule- again, exactly what it sounds like
Ixuligaxa- A Sheatheria-esque project but the wildlife came from the orvadacian and earlier.
Café Cosmique:
Ultimate power- A gritty reboot of Power rangers, but not too gritty, some xenobiology and posthumans
The menagerie- A world where a team is formed to combat the increase of crimes by Folklorish and Mythological creatures
To Sum It Up- a bestseller in the sanctuary universe, It focuses on Rises and Falls, Trials of the century, and the worst of the worst
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Dromaeosaurus
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Haemothermic orthostatic matrotrophic lexiphanic deuterostome
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Behold the Concentricycloidea, or Peripodida, or Xyloplacidae, or sea daisies, a group of abyssal starfish discovered only in 1986, and currently including no more than three species, all in genus Xyloplax. Unlike all starfish, their tube feet are not arranged in grooves along their arms, but in a single ring around the body, along with a similar ring of spines. The gut is extremely reduced, the body flat and almost circular. They are believed to be basal to all other Asteroidea, though there is significant controversy around their classification. Very little is known of their physiology: all we have is specimens fished with rotting wood from the deep ocean.

(info)
My deviantART page - My other extra-project work - Natural History of Horus and its flora and fauna - A graphic history of life (also here) - AuxLang Project: a worldwide language - Behold THE MEGACLADOGRAM - World Without West: an alternate history

SpecEvo Tutorials: Habitable Solar Systems (galaxies, stars and moons); Planets (geology, oceans and atmosphere); Ecology (energy, biomes and relationships); Alternative Biochemistry (basic elements, solvents, pigments); Biomechanics (body structure, skeletons, locomotion); Bioenergetics (photosynthesis, digestion, respiration); Perception (sense organs and nervous system); Reproduction (from genetics to childbirth); Offense and Defense (camouflage, poisons and weapons); Intelligence (EQ, consciousness and smartest animals); Civilizations (technology, domestication and culture); Exotic Life (living crystals, nuclear life, 2D biology); Evolution (genetics, selection and speed); Phylogeny (trees of life); Guide to Naming (how to name your creations) (and more!)

My projects here:

Natural History of Horus (19th century naturalists... in space)
Galactic Anthropology (intelligence takes many forms around the Milky Way)
Settlers from the Deep (a tour in a blind and slimy future)
Coming soon: A Matter of Time (a history of the future... all of it)
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ZoologicalBotanist
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Mixotrophic Sea Slug
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The genus Acomys is a genus of mice found in Europe and Africa. The main feature that makes this genus unique is their covering of stiff hairs similar to the ones on a hedgehog. Two species in the genus, Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali, are capable of automatically releasing their skin when in contact with a predator. They can fully regenerate this tissue, regrowing hair follicles, skin, sweat glands, fur and cartilage with little or no scarring. They are the only two mammals known to do this, but scientists believe the gene responsible may function in humans as well.

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My Projects
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Random Quotes and Stuff


--Windblown--
I do not know where I will go.
I travel where the breeze will blow.
For I know, deep in my soul,
I am windblown.
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Velociraptor
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Reptile
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Pesquet’s parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus) is an unusual-looking species of parrot native to the montane rainforests of New Guinea. Its face is bare of feathers, giving it a vulture-like appearance, for which it is also known as the vulturine parrot (though this name is more commonly used to refer to Pyrilia vulturina from South America).

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Pesquet’s parrot is a specialized frugivore that feeds almost exclusively on figs, though it has also been observed to feed on flowers and nectar occasionally. Its bare face prevents the sticky juices from the fruits it feeds on from becoming matted in its feathers.

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The Pesquet’s parrot is threatened in the wild by hunting for its feathers and collection for the exotic pet trade.

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Unnamed No K-Pg project: coming whenever, maybe never. I got ideas tho.
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HangingThief
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ghoulish
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ZoologicalBotanist
Apr 23 2018, 09:29 AM
The genus Acomys is a genus of mice found in Europe and Africa. The main feature that makes this genus unique is their covering of stiff hairs similar to the ones on a hedgehog. Two species in the genus, Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali, are capable of automatically releasing their skin when in contact with a predator. They can fully regenerate this tissue, regrowing hair follicles, skin, sweat glands, fur and cartilage with little or no scarring. They are the only two mammals known to do this, but scientists believe the gene responsible may function in humans as well.

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We discussed these on discord a while back. It totally changed the way I look at mammals, I wonder why such abilities aren't more prevalent among vertebrates.

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Hey.


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Archeoraptor
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"A living paradox"
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so they just "explode" it?
that is dam weird
Astarte an alt eocene world,now on long hiatus but you never know
Fanauraa; The rebirth of Aotearoa future evo set in new zealand after a mass extinction
coming soon......a world that was seeded with earth´s weridest
and who knows what is coming next...........

" I have to know what the world will be looking throw a future beyond us
I have to know what could have been if fate acted in another way
I have to know what lies on the unknown universe
I have to know that the laws of thee universe can be broken
throw The Spec I gain strength to the inner peace
the is not good of evil only nature and change,the evolution of all livings beings"
"
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Chuditch
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Dasyurid
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One species that has interested me ever since I heard about it is the Earless Water Rat (Crossomys moncktoni), one of the many water rats endemic to New Guinea (tribe Hydromyini). It is said to be one of the most aquatically adapted rodents in the world. Here's Wikipedia's description of its appearence:

"The earless water rat is adapted best to a life in water out of all the muroids. It has extremely long hindfeet, the toes of which are webbed completely, strongly reduced forelegs, absent or invisible ears, very small eyes, and a long tail with a row of hairs at the downside. That row starts at each side of the beginning of the tail as a long white row of hairs; these two rows merge at about 50 mm from the beginning of the tail and the row goes on to the end of the tail. In all these characters, it resembles the elegant water shrew (Nectogale elegans), a good example of convergent evolution."
Despite having been described in 1907, only a few have been seen since then, and it remains a species elusive to science. I have not been able to locate an image of it either, which is a shame. Nonetheless it seems to be a very interesting creature and one that I would really like to see (and hopefully photograph) in my lifetime.
My wildlife YouTube channel
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Archeoraptor
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"A living paradox"
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spec intensifies for water rodents
Astarte an alt eocene world,now on long hiatus but you never know
Fanauraa; The rebirth of Aotearoa future evo set in new zealand after a mass extinction
coming soon......a world that was seeded with earth´s weridest
and who knows what is coming next...........

" I have to know what the world will be looking throw a future beyond us
I have to know what could have been if fate acted in another way
I have to know what lies on the unknown universe
I have to know that the laws of thee universe can be broken
throw The Spec I gain strength to the inner peace
the is not good of evil only nature and change,the evolution of all livings beings"
"
Spoiler: click to toggle
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Datura
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Adult
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Might I introduce you to Spirula molluscs? They have some serious spec potential.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirula
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citrakayah
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Because of the mineralized shell and the ability to withdraw the tentacles? It does sound kind of like a potential precursor for cephalopods that can't swim, but creep slowly along the bottom.
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IIGSY
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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Ricaniidae is a nifty little group of tropical planthoppers. They look a lot like moths. I couldn't find much information sadly

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EDIT: Some info, by courtesy of Holben.

Holben
May 6 2018, 03:11 AM
Ricaniidae includes some important agricultural pests living from Turkey to Japan, and now introduced to Europe. They feed on sap from a very wide variety of crop species, from cucumbers to tea to kiwis. Scolypopa australis is another Ricaniid pest introduced from Australia to NZ in the 1870s, and they may have been responsible for several cases of honey poisoning in the late 19th century (where bees pick up honeydew left by them and incorporate it into honey)
Edited by IIGSY, May 8 2018, 06:35 PM.
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.

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Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups


In honor of the greatest clade of all time


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All African countries can fit into Brazil
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Tartarus
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Never heard of the Ricaniidae before. Look like quite an intriguing example of convergent evolution.
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Holben
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Rumbo a la Victoria

Ricaniidae includes some important agricultural pests living from Turkey to Japan, and now introduced to Europe. They feed on sap from a very wide variety of crop species, from cucumbers to tea to kiwis. Scolypopa australis is another Ricaniid pest introduced from Australia to NZ in the 1870s, and they may have been responsible for several cases of honey poisoning in the late 19th century (where bees pick up honeydew left by them and incorporate it into honey)
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."
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