how well would ratites fare?

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how well would ratites fare?
Topic Started: Jan 13 2017, 10:10 AM (2,001 Views)
deathmetalfan6	Jan 13 2017, 10:10 AM Post #1
Zygote Posts: 5 Group: New Members Member #2,048 Joined: Jan 12, 2017	if you don't know what ratites are they are the large flightless birds. ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, kiwis, and the extinct moas and elephant birds. when i first saw the future is wild i was very fascinated by the carakillers, the evolved form of the caracara. i think its really cool that a bird that once flew lost its wings and became a ground hunter. ratites have kinda gone the same path in real life, they had ancestors that flew but over time they became built for running and lost their ability to fly. the more endangered ratites like cassowaries probably won't do so hot but i can easily imagine the more common ratites like emus and rheas giving up their omnivorous diets and taking on the role of top predators if large mammal predators die out over time because they are very strong and fast birds. thats just my idea, what do you guys think?

Replies:
Rodlox	Jul 21 2017, 09:48 PM Post #31
Superhuman Posts: 3,112 Group: Members Member #21 Joined: Jun 28, 2008	kusanagi Jul 21 2017, 04:01 PM OK it is my fault if I fail to communicate well in English. your English is very good for anyone. we've encountered native L1 English speakers who stumbled more than you.
	.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP)


Archeoraptor	Jul 22 2017, 07:27 AM Post #32
"A living paradox" Posts: 1,110 Group: Members Member #1,356 Joined: Mar 1, 2014 Gender: Private Nationality: Español especulativo Favorite Quote: "god knows you will finally see,scars will heal but were meant to bleed Also known as: Archeo or that guy who misspells	you are assuming that if lithornids are well fliers and ratites not,its common ancestor was a good flier,and if it was not it shows ratites could develop it again as lithornids qnd lots it again
	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 coming soon......a world seeded by outcast clades and some important easily forgotten ones.the world of the caecilians and company and who knows what is coming next...........[comming soon/spoiler] Spoiler: click to toggle Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Lyvatan The Wise? I thought not. It’s not a story the newbies would tell you. It’s a forum legend. Lyvatan was an admin of the forum, so powerful and so wise he could use science to influence the human imagination to create life… He had such a knowledge of the forum that he could even keep the ones he cared about from leaving.Speculative Evolution is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his admin power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice banned him while he was offline. Ironic. He could save others from leaving the community, but not himself. Speccer´s Quotes "The moral of the story: never trust a catfish"-Bettleboy


LittleLazyLass	Jul 24 2017, 02:33 PM Post #33
Proud quilt in a bag Posts: 8,639 Group: Global Mods Member #1,463 Joined: Jun 18, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Universes Nationality: Sorry, but why do you want to know aboot my nationality, eh? Uh... sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry. Favorite Quote: "you know you're a nerd when you search Wookieepedia for porn" Also known as: You can call me Little; full list of old names found through profile. Gender: Trans Questioning (see link in sig; feminine pronouns)	All the classification and biogeography aside, because it's all quite irrelevant for future evolution (in an alternate evolution scenario, that actually is very important), the question of what ratites will do going forward is an interesting one. Ratites with their wings flew all over the world, spawning more than half a dozen distinct lineages; but now they're all flightless or at least incapable of crossing large bodies of water, so they're only going to disperse by walking. If, say, ostriches went extinct, Afro-Eurasia isn't getting ratites back until Australia collides in the far future. That said, I don't see any of the major lineages going extinct, with the exception of kiwis. Beyond where they are, I'm interested in seeing what future morphological innovations could actually happen. We know from the extinct forms that they can get a lot bigger; could this happen with the descendants of the extant forms? Australia has a wide open niche with the extinction of dromornithids (and every other large herbivore), and South American also lost a lot of megafauna, not to mention will likely have more open plains with the retreating Amazon rainforest. Could rheas and emus supersize? What about ostriches, how large can a cursorial bird get while not sacrificing speed? Further in the future, what happens to the Australian species when Australia eventually collides with Asia and Beringia? How will emus and/or cassowaries (or their potentially very different descendants) do then? Will they spread out into the world, encountering their distant relatives, the ostriches? Will that be a source of competition? How well would all these large flightless birds do in the light of future major extinction events? There's also tinamous to consider; they're not going extinct any time soon, and although they can't colonize islands, surely they hold other potential? Could some of them also supersize at some point? Or could they potentially adapt in a certain way that'd let them raft to islands instead of flying?
	totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and gender Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words Words To Spec By It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist Words To Live By Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna Words I Live By Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3 Member Quotes jman123 Ass-breathing fish-lizards? Sounds like a punk rock band Sheather "Holy fucking shit a toilet paper roll! Our favorite thing!" Urufumarukai Tyrannosaurus aquastronka Kamineigh Myo, if you don't stop reading the YouTube comments... Lamna Are you saying what I think you're saying? Sheather bathes in cum? Cephylus And last night I dreamed I was blowing up a Kindergarten with a grenade launcher for no particular reason... revin Oh, and of course more people get killed by selfies than by sharks. Of course. Parasky SHEEEEAAAAATTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! whachamacalit2 The smell of rotting flesh really kills my appetite, surprising, but the visual appearance of corpses makes me hungry. Is that weird? Ebervalius I mean, let us say I'm a genderfluid blurflux demi-romantic woman who is sexually attracted to men, but only if they are Melanesian and have a voice like that of Nicholas Cage. Okay, so what? trex841 When I first saw that picture, I thought you were dissecting a condom. Mr Mysterio All hail Robo-Stalin. Peashyjah Seems like everything in this project is now dead. Stealth Rock Seagulls are pretty much trees, right? Watcher We all must finish chapters of our lives to go on to the next. Sometime this means leaving behind versions of ourselves that don't want to die. Yiqi15 For April fool's, we had to make an orgasm that resembled a human foot. Flisch im the black market CaledonianWarrior96 He was a skater birb, she said tweet you later birb Most People at Some Point Quotes Some dude called plucas1 from Youtube comments Funny, isn't it, that our world needs Clark Kent a lot more than Superman. Xenoblade Chronicles Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed. Hades - Kid Icarus Uprising When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade. Kid Icarus Uprising But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them. Some Dude on BBC Two You are being shagged... by a flightless parrot. Stuff http://imgur.com/gallery/Tshu9


kusanagi	Jul 24 2017, 04:18 PM Post #34
Adolescent Posts: 476 Group: Members Member #2,205 Joined: Jul 20, 2017 Gender: Female	Little Jul 24 2017, 02:33 PM All the classification and biogeography aside, because it's all quite irrelevant for future evolution (in an alternate evolution scenario, that actually is very important), the question of what ratites will do going forward is an interesting one. Ratites with their wings flew all over the world, spawning more than half a dozen distinct lineages; but now they're all flightless or at least incapable of crossing large bodies of water, so they're only going to disperse by walking. If, say, ostriches went extinct, Afro-Eurasia isn't getting ratites back until Australia collides in the far future. That said, I don't see any of the major lineages going extinct, with the exception of kiwis. Beyond where they are, I'm interested in seeing what future morphological innovations could actually happen. We know from the extinct forms that they can get a lot bigger; could this happen with the descendants of the extant forms? Australia has a wide open niche with the extinction of dromornithids (and every other large herbivore), and South American also lost a lot of megafauna, not to mention will likely have more open plains with the retreating Amazon rainforest. Could rheas and emus supersize? What about ostriches, how large can a cursorial bird get while not sacrificing speed? Further in the future, what happens to the Australian species when Australia eventually collides with Asia and Beringia? How will emus and/or cassowaries (or their potentially very different descendants) do then? Will they spread out into the world, encountering their distant relatives, the ostriches? Will that be a source of competition? How well would all these large flightless birds do in the light of future major extinction events? There's also tinamous to consider; they're not going extinct any time soon, and although they can't colonize islands, surely they hold other potential? Could some of them also supersize at some point? Or could they potentially adapt in a certain way that'd let them raft to islands instead of flying? It is important: oorganisms cannot evolve as they want they have constraints from their evolutionary history. A moa and a gastornithid adapt to browsing in very different ways with the moa going the long neck and small head route like a sauropodomorph, and gastornithids and dromornithids getting enormous crania with what have ben described as overpowered jaw muscles.



LittleLazyLass	Jul 24 2017, 04:26 PM Post #35
Proud quilt in a bag Posts: 8,639 Group: Global Mods Member #1,463 Joined: Jun 18, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Universes Nationality: Sorry, but why do you want to know aboot my nationality, eh? Uh... sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry. Favorite Quote: "you know you're a nerd when you search Wookieepedia for porn" Also known as: You can call me Little; full list of old names found through profile. Gender: Trans Questioning (see link in sig; feminine pronouns)	Of course, that's obvious; did I ever imply otherwise?
	totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and gender Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words Words To Spec By It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist Words To Live By Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna Words I Live By Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3 Member Quotes jman123 Ass-breathing fish-lizards? Sounds like a punk rock band Sheather "Holy fucking shit a toilet paper roll! Our favorite thing!" Urufumarukai Tyrannosaurus aquastronka Kamineigh Myo, if you don't stop reading the YouTube comments... Lamna Are you saying what I think you're saying? Sheather bathes in cum? Cephylus And last night I dreamed I was blowing up a Kindergarten with a grenade launcher for no particular reason... revin Oh, and of course more people get killed by selfies than by sharks. Of course. Parasky SHEEEEAAAAATTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! whachamacalit2 The smell of rotting flesh really kills my appetite, surprising, but the visual appearance of corpses makes me hungry. Is that weird? Ebervalius I mean, let us say I'm a genderfluid blurflux demi-romantic woman who is sexually attracted to men, but only if they are Melanesian and have a voice like that of Nicholas Cage. Okay, so what? trex841 When I first saw that picture, I thought you were dissecting a condom. Mr Mysterio All hail Robo-Stalin. Peashyjah Seems like everything in this project is now dead. Stealth Rock Seagulls are pretty much trees, right? Watcher We all must finish chapters of our lives to go on to the next. Sometime this means leaving behind versions of ourselves that don't want to die. Yiqi15 For April fool's, we had to make an orgasm that resembled a human foot. Flisch im the black market CaledonianWarrior96 He was a skater birb, she said tweet you later birb Most People at Some Point Quotes Some dude called plucas1 from Youtube comments Funny, isn't it, that our world needs Clark Kent a lot more than Superman. Xenoblade Chronicles Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed. Hades - Kid Icarus Uprising When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade. Kid Icarus Uprising But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them. Some Dude on BBC Two You are being shagged... by a flightless parrot. Stuff http://imgur.com/gallery/Tshu9


9Weegee	Jul 26 2017, 03:24 PM Post #36
Newborn Posts: 59 Group: Members Member #2,176 Joined: Jun 23, 2017 Gender: Male	Little Jul 24 2017, 02:33 PM What about ostriches, how large can a cursorial bird get while not sacrificing speed? I'm pretty sure larger animals have been able to go at high speeds, but yet retain a large size, for example, gallimimus, which runs about as fast as an ostritch. and without giant arms and a tail to waste energy, the size can probably be larger Keep in mind that this image is probably the maximum size a Gallimimus would ever get. Edited by 9Weegee, Jul 26 2017, 03:27 PM.



Nyarlathotep	Jul 26 2017, 06:05 PM Post #37
The Creeping Chaos Posts: 1,301 Group: Members Member #1,358 Joined: Mar 2, 2014 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Future Evolution Nationality: English Gender: Redundant much redundant?	Uh, yeah PW is not a very reliable resource when it comes to paleontological research, including size. Try actual scientific papers regarding estimates on animal proportions and such. Otherwise you end up with bogus like 14m "Saurophanax" (or Allosaurus maximus more accurately) and shrink wrapped entelodonts.



9Weegee	Jul 27 2017, 11:40 AM Post #38
Newborn Posts: 59 Group: Members Member #2,176 Joined: Jun 23, 2017 Gender: Male	Nyarlathotep Jul 26 2017, 06:05 PM Uh, yeah PW is not a very reliable resource when it comes to paleontological research, including size. Try actual scientific papers regarding estimates on animal proportions and such. Otherwise you end up with bogus like 14m "Saurophanax" (or Allosaurus maximus more accurately) and shrink wrapped entelodonts. thank you for reminding me



LittleLazyLass	Jul 27 2017, 02:11 PM Post #39
Proud quilt in a bag Posts: 8,639 Group: Global Mods Member #1,463 Joined: Jun 18, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Universes Nationality: Sorry, but why do you want to know aboot my nationality, eh? Uh... sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry. Favorite Quote: "you know you're a nerd when you search Wookieepedia for porn" Also known as: You can call me Little; full list of old names found through profile. Gender: Trans Questioning (see link in sig; feminine pronouns)	The tail is not a "waste of energy" and either way it's absolutely important when it comes to comparing the size potential of a cursorial ornithomimosaur to that of a bird. The tail is required for balance with that long, horizontal anatomy. An ostrich is built far more upright and this has an effect on the center of gravity, which is really important for a lot of things related to maximum size, balance, and running.
	totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and gender Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words Words To Spec By It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist Words To Live By Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna Words I Live By Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3 Member Quotes jman123 Ass-breathing fish-lizards? Sounds like a punk rock band Sheather "Holy fucking shit a toilet paper roll! Our favorite thing!" Urufumarukai Tyrannosaurus aquastronka Kamineigh Myo, if you don't stop reading the YouTube comments... Lamna Are you saying what I think you're saying? Sheather bathes in cum? Cephylus And last night I dreamed I was blowing up a Kindergarten with a grenade launcher for no particular reason... revin Oh, and of course more people get killed by selfies than by sharks. Of course. Parasky SHEEEEAAAAATTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! whachamacalit2 The smell of rotting flesh really kills my appetite, surprising, but the visual appearance of corpses makes me hungry. Is that weird? Ebervalius I mean, let us say I'm a genderfluid blurflux demi-romantic woman who is sexually attracted to men, but only if they are Melanesian and have a voice like that of Nicholas Cage. Okay, so what? trex841 When I first saw that picture, I thought you were dissecting a condom. Mr Mysterio All hail Robo-Stalin. Peashyjah Seems like everything in this project is now dead. Stealth Rock Seagulls are pretty much trees, right? Watcher We all must finish chapters of our lives to go on to the next. Sometime this means leaving behind versions of ourselves that don't want to die. Yiqi15 For April fool's, we had to make an orgasm that resembled a human foot. Flisch im the black market CaledonianWarrior96 He was a skater birb, she said tweet you later birb Most People at Some Point Quotes Some dude called plucas1 from Youtube comments Funny, isn't it, that our world needs Clark Kent a lot more than Superman. Xenoblade Chronicles Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed. Hades - Kid Icarus Uprising When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade. Kid Icarus Uprising But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them. Some Dude on BBC Two You are being shagged... by a flightless parrot. Stuff http://imgur.com/gallery/Tshu9


Chuditch	Jul 28 2017, 06:05 PM Post #40
Dasyurid Posts: 632 Group: Members Member #2,006 Joined: Oct 27, 2016 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian Favorite Quote: "Six-foot feather duster with suicidal tendencies!" - Ross Noble's perfect description of emus Also known as: The Gondwanian	Just a quick sweep on Australian ratities... Emu: Not going extinct anytime soon. Their populations have increased greatly now we have provided permanent water and gotten rid of their semi-natural predator, the Dingo. Not becoming a major carnivore any time soon either. Just a normal day in Australia! Southern Cassowary, subspecies johnsonii: Much more likely to become extinct. However, they can be adaptable, even entering into suburbs after cyclones destroy all the food in the rainforest. Speaking of the wet tropics rainforest, without the cassowary, many trees can't distribute their seeds. This means no cassowary, no rainforest. We need to save this bird to save one of the most biodiverse areas in Australia and in the world. Also, not going to become a carnivore in the near future (the Tour of the Neocene project made them evolve into what is basically a velociraptor. Are they serious?). Save the cassowary!
	Van Diemen's Land \| Wollunqua \| Coming soon... My wildlife YouTube channel


Tartarus	Jul 28 2017, 06:42 PM Post #41
Prime Specimen Posts: 1,774 Group: Members Member #705 Joined: Feb 1, 2012 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian	The Gondwanian Jul 28 2017, 06:05 PM Also, not going to become a carnivore in the near future (the Tour of the Neocene project made them evolve into what is basically a velociraptor. Are they serious?). Seeing as cassowaries are already omnivorous (they supplement their mostly fruit-based diet with things like fish, small mammals and even carrion) I don't see why it should be so outrageous to speculate on future carnivorous cassowaries.



Chuditch	Jul 28 2017, 07:18 PM Post #42
Dasyurid Posts: 632 Group: Members Member #2,006 Joined: Oct 27, 2016 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian Favorite Quote: "Six-foot feather duster with suicidal tendencies!" - Ross Noble's perfect description of emus Also known as: The Gondwanian	Tartarus Jul 28 2017, 06:42 PM The Gondwanian Jul 28 2017, 06:05 PM Also, not going to become a carnivore in the near future (the Tour of the Neocene project made them evolve into what is basically a velociraptor. Are they serious?). Seeing as cassowaries are already omnivorous (they supplement their mostly fruit-based diet with things like fish, small mammals and even carrion) I don't see why it should be so outrageous to speculate on future carnivorous cassowaries. I don't see it as outrageous. My point is that they are mainly fruit eaters, and I doubt their claw would become sickle shaped. That's just what I think. Just because they have a stabbing claw, doesn't mean you should assume they are on the path to being a neo-dromaeosaur. Cassowaries have always been pretty much the same, and although I know they could change in the future, I think they would still have a similar niche to their modern relatives. If all large ground predators become extinct in Australia, a antechinus or some other 'marsupial mouse' (they are really tiny killers in disguise) would take over pretty quickly. Those things are pretty damn adaptable. Australia's next top predator.
	Van Diemen's Land \| Wollunqua \| Coming soon... My wildlife YouTube channel


Rodlox	Jul 28 2017, 07:45 PM Post #43
Superhuman Posts: 3,112 Group: Members Member #21 Joined: Jun 28, 2008	The Gondwanian Jul 28 2017, 07:18 PM I don't see it as outrageous. My point is that they are mainly fruit eaters, and I doubt their claw would become sickle shaped. That's just what I think. Just because they have a stabbing claw, doesn't mean you should assume they are on the path to being a neo-dromaeosaur. Cassowaries have always been pretty much the same, and although I know they could change in the future, I think they would still have a similar niche to their modern relatives. If all large ground predators become extinct in Australia, a antechinus or some other 'marsupial mouse' (they are really tiny killers in disguise) would take over pretty quickly. Those things are pretty damn adaptable. no reason why predatory cassowaries can't coexist alongside mega-giant-antechinuses the size of a fat cat.
	.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP)


LittleLazyLass	Jul 28 2017, 08:02 PM Post #44
Proud quilt in a bag Posts: 8,639 Group: Global Mods Member #1,463 Joined: Jun 18, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Universes Nationality: Sorry, but why do you want to know aboot my nationality, eh? Uh... sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry. Favorite Quote: "you know you're a nerd when you search Wookieepedia for porn" Also known as: You can call me Little; full list of old names found through profile. Gender: Trans Questioning (see link in sig; feminine pronouns)	Indeed; look at, for example, the several lineages of herbivorous theropods. What were they doing when the sauropods and ornithischians had those niches locked down? What about great apes, what incentive was there to go out onto the dangerous open savannah and start walking completely differently? Evolution can work in weird ways, and eating meat being selected for doesn't sound necessarily crazy.
	totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and gender Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words Words To Spec By It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist Words To Live By Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna Words I Live By Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3 Member Quotes jman123 Ass-breathing fish-lizards? Sounds like a punk rock band Sheather "Holy fucking shit a toilet paper roll! Our favorite thing!" Urufumarukai Tyrannosaurus aquastronka Kamineigh Myo, if you don't stop reading the YouTube comments... Lamna Are you saying what I think you're saying? Sheather bathes in cum? Cephylus And last night I dreamed I was blowing up a Kindergarten with a grenade launcher for no particular reason... revin Oh, and of course more people get killed by selfies than by sharks. Of course. Parasky SHEEEEAAAAATTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! whachamacalit2 The smell of rotting flesh really kills my appetite, surprising, but the visual appearance of corpses makes me hungry. Is that weird? Ebervalius I mean, let us say I'm a genderfluid blurflux demi-romantic woman who is sexually attracted to men, but only if they are Melanesian and have a voice like that of Nicholas Cage. Okay, so what? trex841 When I first saw that picture, I thought you were dissecting a condom. Mr Mysterio All hail Robo-Stalin. Peashyjah Seems like everything in this project is now dead. Stealth Rock Seagulls are pretty much trees, right? Watcher We all must finish chapters of our lives to go on to the next. Sometime this means leaving behind versions of ourselves that don't want to die. Yiqi15 For April fool's, we had to make an orgasm that resembled a human foot. Flisch im the black market CaledonianWarrior96 He was a skater birb, she said tweet you later birb Most People at Some Point Quotes Some dude called plucas1 from Youtube comments Funny, isn't it, that our world needs Clark Kent a lot more than Superman. Xenoblade Chronicles Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed. Hades - Kid Icarus Uprising When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade. Kid Icarus Uprising But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them. Some Dude on BBC Two You are being shagged... by a flightless parrot. Stuff http://imgur.com/gallery/Tshu9


Chuditch	Jul 28 2017, 08:04 PM Post #45
Dasyurid Posts: 632 Group: Members Member #2,006 Joined: Oct 27, 2016 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian Favorite Quote: "Six-foot feather duster with suicidal tendencies!" - Ross Noble's perfect description of emus Also known as: The Gondwanian	Rodlox Jul 28 2017, 07:45 PM The Gondwanian Jul 28 2017, 07:18 PM I don't see it as outrageous. My point is that they are mainly fruit eaters, and I doubt their claw would become sickle shaped. That's just what I think. Just because they have a stabbing claw, doesn't mean you should assume they are on the path to being a neo-dromaeosaur. Cassowaries have always been pretty much the same, and although I know they could change in the future, I think they would still have a similar niche to their modern relatives. If all large ground predators become extinct in Australia, a antechinus or some other 'marsupial mouse' (they are really tiny killers in disguise) would take over pretty quickly. Those things are pretty damn adaptable. no reason why predatory cassowaries can't coexist alongside mega-giant-antechinuses the size of a fat cat. Yes, but there would probably be other competitors like land-living crocodiles, carnivores like foxes, cats and dingoes, giant goannas, even maybe a diprotodont might develop carnivorous habits (they have in the past). It just doesn't seem likely to me. Plus, why are you all just talking about the cassowary? The emu is just as, if not more likely to become carnivorous. It's more adaptable. The reason why I don't like the velociraptor cassowary is because it's just too predicable and kind of forced. Yes, carnivorous casuariiformes are a possibility, but aren't likely. That's all I'm saying.
	Van Diemen's Land \| Wollunqua \| Coming soon... My wildlife YouTube channel


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