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Americanize It
The Gondwanian - Starlings 3 (20%)
CryperVilla - Patriot Fire Ant 12 (80%)
Total Votes: 15
Ameri-com #1776: Americanize It; BECAUSE PARASKY WON'T LET ME POST IN OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS
Topic Started: Jul 4 2017, 12:07 AM (1,502 Views)
Kamidio
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The Game Master of the SSU:NC
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Posted ImageAMERI-COM #1776: AMERICANIZE IT

Takes a species that is invasive to the United States of America and create a species or clade that is descended from that invader.

  • Entries must be submitted to this topic
  • Entries due by 12:00 AM, July 5th American Samoa Time.
  • Entries must be original and made specifically for this contest (no entering creatures you've already made)
  • Illustration preferred but not required





- Your entry must be future evolution. A minimum of 10 million years must have passed.

- Only invasive species are allowed. Animals in zoos and game reserves do not count.

- The descendants of the invader must still live in what we'd refer to as the United States. That means the United States and its territories. No new states or acquired territory may be created for the sake of including an animal you really want to use. Forexample, you can't create a U.S. territory on a terraformed Mars. It has to be on Earth.

- Genetic engineering is not allowed.
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Talenkauen
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Oh, Jesus........ Here we go......
PLEASE NOTE: If I come off as harsh or demanding whilst talking to you, please tell me. I apologize in advance.....


UPCOMING PROJECTS:

Projects here
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Ànraich
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi

Can't place it in COMs since it isn't official, but I love the idea so this is the best I can do.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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Beetleboy
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Ooh I've just had an idea for this. Think I'll be entering.
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CaledonianWarrior96
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What's Samoa time?
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)
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- Official Project
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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)


And now, for something completely different
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Chuditch
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I have some experience with introduced species. Well, when you do spec projects on the future of Australia (and I have done many), you have to include introduced species! Anyway, here goes...

Common/European Starling descendants
Time: 10 million years
Posted Image

American Starling
Sturnus extremus
The most basal of all starlings, remaining in the genus Sturnus, although this may need to be reviewed. It lives like most other starlings, living in large flocks that roost at a communal site, and feeds on invertebrates and fruit. It is fairly similar in appearance to a modern starling, although it has grey primaries and it's feathers are never iridescent. It lives in rich grasslands and forests, and wherever else it's main prey, worms, are most abundant. It's long bill, longer than those of other starling that had come before it, is perfect for dislodging it's subterranean prey from underneath the soil. It is distributed throughout North and South America wherever worms are present, and so the northern population migrates south every winter to avoid the cold conditions, where the ground freezes solid. The call resembles that of a modern starling.

Woodpecker Starling
Domumavus laetus
This starling takes roosting together to another level. They roost in areas with large, softwood trees, where they drill into them to create a hollow system, where they sleep. This earns them the name of Woodpecker Starling, although the Fruit-gatherer also drills holes. Each pair builds their own hollow and defends it fiercely. They also lay eggs in their hollow. The grove of trees soon dies from all the starlings constantly battering it. The starlings then move on to another grove of trees. The call of the Woodpecker Starling is described as joyous and happy, giving the colonies the local name of 'happy villages'. They feed mainly on fruit, a niche open due to fruit-bearing trees like apples and pears being introduced, and there were no animals specialized in feeding on them. They are largely speckled brown, with a red bill. They are found in southern North American and South America

Fruit-gatherer
Domumavus provideus
Related to the Woodpecker Starling, this starling is not colonial. They drill their hollow away from other pairs. In these hollows, they not only sleep and raise their young, but store fruit. They coat the fruit in their saliva, which contains a special type of bacteria that keeps it fresh for longer. They are less nomadic than Woodpecker Starlings, as they do not need to look far and wide for fruit-bearing trees, they just need one or two to sustain them, as they store fruit when it is on offer, and eat this stored fruit when it is not. If they finally run out of fruit, they resort to eating insects. They must fiercely defend their hollow as many other animals try and steal their fruit, from other starlings, to squirrels, raccoons and even bears. They look very similar to Woodpecker Starlings, but have an orange bill, and a black mask. The Fruit-gatherer's call is described as mournful, in contrast to it's relative. They inhabit the same range.

Humming Starling
Volitoscrutator longumrostrus
A foliage-gleaner, the Humming Starling can be mistaken for a big hummingbird from a distance, due to their similar flight. It hovers, examining each leaf, and flying to-and-fro through the canopy. It is a specialist, and only feeds on the small insects, spiders and other tiny creatures that rest on leaves. They have a special fondness of the introduced Eucalyptus tree. They only perch when they are roosting or mating. They roost alone, in dense foliage, and don't awaken until it is warm enough that the insects have become active. They resemble a hummingbird in some respects, and a starling in others. The head and legs are starling-like, but the body-to-head ratio and wings resemble those of hummingbirds. They have rich green plumage, covered with iridescence. The bill is yellow. They live rather solitary lives, but communicate with any other Humming Starlings they pass with a series of rapid trills.

I might update this later if I have any more ideas.
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Zorcuspine
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Enjoying our azure blue world

Ooh, definitely have some ideas for this one!
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Inceptis
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Can we put two different species together in one post if they're symbiotic?
This was getting fairly big.
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Kamidio
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Yes. Also, updated the intro post. I figured out why the text was bugging out.
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opeFool
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Genus Claracolorformica

The genus Claracolorformica arose some 2 million years after the present day, coming forth from a species of ant invasive to the United States of America: the Red Imported Fire Ant. These descendants were brightly colored in order to camouflage amongst flowers which they often came to forage the seeds of. Eventually, with the Flowery Explosion 5 million years into the future, these ants became prevalent in most ecosystems all over the Americas. They rapidly diversified and became hundreds of species, from bright yellow and black ants which infiltrated bee's colonies and white furry species which live and thrive in the Arctic. One species in particular, which first appeared about 10.3 million years after today, is the focus of this COM entry.




Patriot Fire Ant

Species Name: Claracolorformica libertas
Rough translation: Bright-colored ant of freedom
Length: 2-8 mm
Life Span:
Males-23 months
Females-45 months
Queen- 15 years
Range: Southern Texas, Southern Lousiana, Northeastern Mexico.
Posted Image

A young crab spider lays in wait underneath the white petals of a flower one sunny Texas morning; hopefully, a butterfly will come along and the spider will feast upon the large insect. Bees buzz around the flower patch, feeding upon the sweet nectar and avoiding the flower which has an unnatural bulge underneath it. Pheromones alert the rest of the bees which will eventually come to feed on the plants. The spider doesn't really care for the bees: this species of bee, evolved from Africanized Bees, is extremely violent and will group up on any potential predator to kill it swiftly and continue their day. And so the spider continues to wait. Eventually a butterfly, bright white in color, swoops in to feed. It lands on the petals of the flower, and just when it begins to suck out some of the sweet nectar from the flower the spider makes its move. Striking quickly it grasps the butterfly and bites it, quickly paralyzing the helpless insect. The butterfly never stood a chance. The spider wastes no time and begins to pump digestive enzymes into the butterfly, liquefying the animal.

The spider senses movement below it. It quickly looks down, just in time to see the mass of flowers it's been sitting above do absolutely nothing. The spider returns to its food after checking a few times that it hasn't seen anything unusual. When it turns back to feed on the animal, it enjoys a few drops of the butterfly when, gain, it senses something moving. Now it looks down once more to see something that strikes something resembling fear into the creature's brain: a few hundred ants suddenly abandon their hiding places and scuttle up the stems of the flowers. The spider, cornered, does the only sensible thing to do: it opens its parachute and jumps into the wind. The parachute is actually a thread of web which is prepared many hours in advance in case a predator wishes to feed upon the spider. Riding on the wind the spider leaves its lunch, sacrificing a meal for its life. It will land on another area of the valley it lives in hopefully, one with white flowers. The ants, on the other hand, have gained a meal. The white insects scuttle to the dead butterfly and begin to feed on it, opening the abdomen of the dead critter and feasting on the liquid remains.

Predatory Habits:

The population in this valley have learned that they do not need to hunt their own prey; instead, they let another invertebrate do the job for them. They look for flowers that have crab spiders lying in wait of prey or even feeding. They then climb to the petals of nearby flowers and wait for the spider to catch an insect. Once the spider catches an insect the ants rush to the spider, hoping to scare it off. Most spiders will launch their "parachute" and abandon their prey. The ant colony will then send a few ants to chase after the spider if it flees, hoping to find its next hunting place. This behavior has only been observed in this valley and will probably become extinct.

These ants are the Patriot Fire Ants, descended from the invasive Red Imported Fire Ants, and are ambush predators. They do not form underground colonies like their ancestors did, but are instead now nomadic, looking for flowers which have the coloring of their caparace: red white or blue. An average colony will have an equal mix of these colors, and the group which matches the colors of the petals will climb onto the petals of the flower, lying in wait of prey to come and feed on the nectar of the flowers. They themselves will coat their bodies with the sweet to mask their odor from other insects and especially other ants. Eventually, they will jump onto any hapless insect which happens upon the flowers and the ants feed upon it as a colony. The ants which laid in wait get to feed first, and those who waited on the ground feed second. Then the ants return to their hiding spot on the petals, awaiting another prey item. Eventually, bees will spot them, and chase them from the flowers: the ants consume most of the nectar from their host plants and this competition is not tolerated by the bees. And so they look for a new flower, one which is red white or blue.

Life Cycle:

They form small colonies of a few hundred at most; the colonies sustain their own members and are extremely aggressive towards predators. In the colonies, there is normally a queen which lays eggs at every flower that the colony stops at. The queen is about the same size as other ants, unlike their ancestors, and will often time partake in the hunt. If the queen dies one of the workers becomes the new queen, oftentimes the largest or most powerful. Males actually live with the colony and act as scouts. They will scout the area in from of the colony to make sure no predators are in the area or if a suitable flower patch has been found. Once the eggs hatch the larva which comes out will most often feed upon the flower and kill it. If the eggs are laid in a carcass then the larva will feed on that. Once ready the larva will become a pupa, and once ready, fully formed ants come out. These ants have wings and fly over to new colonies and become integrated instantly. Females lose their wings shortly after joining but males keep their wings their whole lives.



Author's Notes
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Xipetotec | Mbio Bila Mshindi | Diarios California
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"There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars..."
"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
"My opinions are formed from a perfect blend of science and morality and as such I am an unassailable bastion of absolute truth. All opinions are subjective but mine are objectively the least subjective."
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Nyarlathotep
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Kamineigh
Jul 4 2017, 12:07 AM
A minimum of 10 million years must have passed.
^Um, might want to change that one a bit...
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opeFool
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Nyarlathotep
Jul 4 2017, 05:01 PM
Kamineigh
Jul 4 2017, 12:07 AM
A minimum of 10 million years must have passed.
^Um, might want to change that one a bit...
fixed
Xipetotec | Mbio Bila Mshindi | Diarios California
Quotes
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
"There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars..."
"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
"My opinions are formed from a perfect blend of science and morality and as such I am an unassailable bastion of absolute truth. All opinions are subjective but mine are objectively the least subjective."
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Yiqi15
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You know what, I think i'm gonna pass on this. Just not that interested in it. I tried to make one on the fly earlier today, but I couldn't focus on it.
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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HangingThief
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Since when is Eupackardia calleta an invasive species
Hey.


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Kamidio
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The butterfly clearly isn't the focus of the submission, Hangin.
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