| 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! |
| Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share. | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,955 Views) | |
| Uncanny Gemstar | Jan 4 2017, 12:21 AM Post #121 |
![]()
Godfather of SE
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Trachylepis Ivensii, a skink native to southern Africa. These little guys, as far as we know, are the only time a vertebrate other than mammals have evolved a fully functioning placenta. I'm a little late to this discovery, but I've never heard of it before and there is sadly a distinct lack of skink spec on here. I'm now imaging all the crazy stuff one could come up with knowing about these revolutionary reptiles. |
|
Recent Projects Old Projects | |
![]() |
|
| Vorsa | Jan 4 2017, 11:15 AM Post #122 |
|
Mysterious tundra-dwelling humanoid
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
*Cough* Also: Post Earth Cornucopia I know there's lots more but most are only mentioned as part of a larger essay. |
|
My Deviantart: http://desorages.deviantart.com/ 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 | |
![]() |
|
| Uncanny Gemstar | Jan 4 2017, 02:47 PM Post #123 |
![]()
Godfather of SE
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I wasn't actually aware of those, those are actually really cool. Up until this point I haven't seen skink spec, but then again I haven't seen every project on here. That is my bad, thanks for pointing those out. |
|
Recent Projects Old Projects | |
![]() |
|
| the boy | Jan 6 2017, 01:34 PM Post #124 |
![]()
mean and gay
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Spoiler: click to toggle Internal diagram of concavicaridan thylacocephalan Ainiktozoon loganense Scourfield, 1937, from Silurian sediments of Lesmahagow, Scotland. Spoiler: click to toggle Proposed predation 'technique' for conchyliocaridan thylacocephalan Dollocaris ingens Van Straelen, 1923, courtesy of Vannier et al., 2015. looks like an uncircumcised phallus hahahahahahhhahahahhaaah The phylogenetic affinity for Thylacocephala within Arthropoda is contested. |
|
nice.
| |
![]() |
|
| Rodlox | Jan 6 2017, 01:52 PM Post #125 |
|
Superhuman
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
1. your first pic isn't showing. 2. please mind your language. |
|
.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
![]() |
|
| the boy | Jan 6 2017, 01:58 PM Post #126 |
![]()
mean and gay
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
http://muzeum.geology.cz/na.php?s=371.jpg&p=650 |
|
nice.
| |
![]() |
|
| Scrublord | Jan 9 2017, 12:38 PM Post #127 |
|
Father Pellegrini
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Actaully, there is at least one other non-mammal vertebrate with a functional placenta: the spade-nose shark. This is a relatively small shark (less than 3 feet long) found in the Indian and western Pacific ocean. It forms a significant component of the Chinese shark fishery, but it is otherwise poorly known. What's especially interesting about it is that it might be the closest living relative of the hammerhead sharks, which would make them members of the Carcharhinidae rather than their own family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spadenose_shark Edited by Scrublord, Jan 9 2017, 12:59 PM.
|
|
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 | |
![]() |
|
| peashyjah | Jan 9 2017, 07:19 PM Post #128 |
|
Bydo
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I thought sharks would never have fully developed and functional placentas. |
|
Discontinued projects: The New Ostracoderms (i might continue with this project again someday) The Americas (where in 58 million years from now in the future North and South America has both become isolated island continents) All Expansions (my attempt at expanding the universe of All Tomorrows by Nemo Ramjet aka C.M. Kosemen, started June 6, 2018) Anthropozoic (my attempt at expanding the universe of Man After Man and also a re-imagining of it, coming 2019 or 2020) New Cenozoica (my attempt at expanding the universe of The New Dinosaurs and also a re-imagining of it, also coming 2019 or 2020) All Alternatives or All Changes (a re-telling of All Tomorrows but with some minor and major "changes", coming June 10, 2018) | |
![]() |
|
| HangingThief | Jan 15 2017, 06:05 PM Post #129 |
![]()
ghoulish
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
The Toad Bugs (Gelastocoridae) are a small family of predatory hemipterans, composed of just 2 genera and around 100 species.![]() it's easy to see where they get their name from- in addition to their shape, texture and bulging eyes, they often move by hopping and are typically found in riparian habitats. I think it might even be a case of mimicry, considering the similarity in size to newly metamorphosed toadlets (a little less than one centimeter). Perhaps it's mullerian mimicry, since toads contain toxins and toad bugs can deliver a venomous bite and produce foul smelling secretions. There isn't much information available on gelastocorids and their relation to other families of heteropterans, but they seem to represent a transitional form between terrestrial bugs and aquatic forms such as naucorids and belostomids. Or perhaps they represent an aquatic group that is returning to land, which would make sense considering that their lifestyle has nothing in particular to do with water yet they are capable swimmers and almost always lay their eggs in very moist locations. They hunt by visually stalking their prey (mostly small flies) and then leaping on it, grasping it with their stout mantis- like forelimbs. Based on personal observation, they seem to be gregarious and enjoy basking in sunlight. The more speciose of the two genera is Nerthra, found in warmer regions throughout the world. They're flatter in shape, more secretive, and less active than Gelastocoris, and some aren't closely associated with water. They've been found in forest leaf litter, rotten tree trunks, and even Australian deserts. But they're more often seen in aquatic and riparian habitats. ![]() Some of them have very well camouflaged nymphs: Gelastocoris, found exclusively in the americas, has around a dozen species. They're found exclusively on muddy or sandy lakeshores and riverbanks. They seem to be absent or uncommon in most seemingly suitable locations, but occasionally occur in huge numbers. They're the ones that really resemble small toads and probably earned the family its name. ![]() One of the most common and widespread toad bugs, and certainly the best known, is G. oculatus- commonly called the "big-eyed toad bug." Even within a single population, it displays a remarkable amount of polymorphism in terms of color and pattern, from solid black or gray to mottled with various shades of brown, green and red. ![]() One family that is rather similar in appearance and presumably related to gelastocorids is the aquatic Naucoridae, called "creeping water bugs" or "saucer bugs." Unlike many toad bugs, saucer bugs have fully functioning wings, which makes them flying saucer bugs. Consider this and the fact that some species are green with demonic red eyes and draw your own conclusions. ![]() |
|
Hey. | |
![]() |
|
| DINOCARID | Jan 15 2017, 07:39 PM Post #130 |
![]()
Adolescent
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It's amazing how much fascinating stuff you can learn about seemingly mundane organisms. |
|
Check out my deviantart here Projects The Fieldguide to Somnial Organisms The Tetrarch (coming soon) | |
![]() |
|
| peashyjah | Jan 15 2017, 08:39 PM Post #131 |
|
Bydo
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
it's so much fun about how interesting you can learn from all of this biological taxa because they're so obscure.
Edited by peashyjah, Jan 15 2017, 08:39 PM.
|
|
Discontinued projects: The New Ostracoderms (i might continue with this project again someday) The Americas (where in 58 million years from now in the future North and South America has both become isolated island continents) All Expansions (my attempt at expanding the universe of All Tomorrows by Nemo Ramjet aka C.M. Kosemen, started June 6, 2018) Anthropozoic (my attempt at expanding the universe of Man After Man and also a re-imagining of it, coming 2019 or 2020) New Cenozoica (my attempt at expanding the universe of The New Dinosaurs and also a re-imagining of it, also coming 2019 or 2020) All Alternatives or All Changes (a re-telling of All Tomorrows but with some minor and major "changes", coming June 10, 2018) | |
![]() |
|
| Rodlox | Jan 16 2017, 01:17 AM Post #132 |
|
Superhuman
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
very very very cool; toadbugs are neat...and on their way to being examples of centaurism. tiny question - what are that orange stuff under its body? if it weren't an insect, I'd assume it was a webbing of skin between the limb and body. Edited by Rodlox, Jan 16 2017, 01:18 AM.
|
|
.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
![]() |
|
| HangingThief | Jan 16 2017, 10:19 AM Post #133 |
![]()
ghoulish
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It just has large, orange colored femurs. Compare it to the naucorid at the end. |
|
Hey. | |
![]() |
|
| IIGSY | Jan 26 2017, 08:50 PM Post #134 |
|
A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Tell me more about this mite |
|
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
| |
![]() |
|
| IIGSY | Jan 26 2017, 09:54 PM Post #135 |
|
A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I actually heard about toad bugs in an insect book I had called "Bugs" |
|
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
| |
![]() |
|
| 3 users reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Science Central · Next Topic » |



































7:22 PM Jul 10