Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
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!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Questions that don't need their own topics vol.2; New and fresh
Topic Started: Jan 4 2018, 11:18 AM (26,869 Views)
Scrublord
Member Avatar
Father Pellegrini
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
CaledonianWarrior96
Apr 9 2018, 03:38 PM
Scrublord
Apr 9 2018, 03:24 PM
The reason I'm wondering is because, unlike New Zealand, there's the potential for land mammals to reach it using ice bridges. So far only the arctic fox has done this, but could others in the future also do that?
What about arctic hares? I'm sure they could do the same. In fact I'm kind of wandering how they haven't reached there. I mean when foxes crossed over did they walk over without food cause if they did then surely hares can do the same

That's what I was wondering. See, in the Neozoic I was planning on having Iceland be home to deer-sized hare descendants, giant predatory mustelids descended from stoats, and big turkey-like ptarmigans. I was just wondering how plausible it was for those animals to reach Iceland.
I've heard the argument made that the reason foxes were able to reach Iceland (and the Falklands as well) is because they're scavengers that can eat things like dead seals and seabird eggs, so they wouldn't have to worry about food during the crossing, whereas rodents would need to find plants to eat which would be in short supply.
So that begs the question of whether any other land mammals could conceivably colonize those places if the ice sheets were to return.
Edited by Scrublord, Apr 10 2018, 01:46 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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
A small dog
Fetus
 *  *
Is there a thread where people can ask for suggestions in naming projects?
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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZoologicalBotanist
Member Avatar
Mixotrophic Sea Slug
 *  *  *  *  *
Not that I am aware of. You could make one if you want to though.


My Projects
Active

On Hold

Coming Soon


Posted Image My DeviantArt Nature and Wildlife Discord
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.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CaledonianWarrior96
Member Avatar
An Awesome Reptile
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
How big can marine gastropods reach before their size becomes an issue? I'm aware there is the reef glider in TFIW that has been said to reach ten feet in length and weigh like a tonne, but since that's not the most scientifically accurate show I thought it would be better to ask this here. Can gastropods like sea slugs reach similar sizes as cephalopods like giant squid or would they be limited to a smaller body size due to their body structure?
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)
Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution)
- Official Project
- Foundation
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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Caesio16
Member Avatar
the sweet jingle-jangle of the coral triangle
 *  *  *  *
Is the following: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2013/04/01/welcome-to-the-squamozoic/ plausible?
Edited by Caesio16, Apr 12 2018, 04:45 PM.
Spoiler: click to toggle


Spoiler: click to toggle



Spoiler: click to toggle


GENERATION 28: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the
generation. Social experiment.

Wkhuh duh rqob wzr jhqghuv

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cool_Hippo43
Member Avatar
Hippo
 *  *  *  *
Hi everyone, so
I was thinking about how to develop a world where large reserves of liquid water (oceans) are predominantly freshwater ...
for this to work I thought of something like:
there was an ice age and the water froze, but as on earth the remaining water is still saltier because the icebergs are freshwater.
after a while the residual water evaporates and only the salt remains, which deposits in the ocean floor in thick rock layers.

after the ice age ends up in the cool water it melts and the salt is concentrated in the bottom, however, it gradually dissolves ...
based on the fact that salt is not so common on this planet, could this work? I also thought that since this planet would be inhabited by gastropods, that would be good after all they do not like salt right?
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
IIGSY
Member Avatar
A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
CaledonianWarrior96
Apr 12 2018, 03:43 PM
How big can marine gastropods reach before their size becomes an issue? I'm aware there is the reef glider in TFIW that has been said to reach ten feet in length and weigh like a tonne, but since that's not the most scientifically accurate show I thought it would be better to ask this here. Can gastropods like sea slugs reach similar sizes as cephalopods like giant squid or would they be limited to a smaller body size due to their body structure?
Gastropods, and mollusks in general, have an advantage over arthropods in that they have readily available internal support and less restrictive out coverings. I think a giant, marine gastropod can grow to be quite larger given the right conditions. There is one disadvantage gastropods have against cephalopods though, and that's their respiratory system. In cephalopods it is closed while it is open in gastropods. I don't know how large the disparity between the two would be tho
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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mynameisnotdave23
Member Avatar
Idiot Extraordinaire
 *  *  *  *
Just wondering... If an extinction around the magnitude of the ''great dying'' occurred within the next...say... 1 million years what species do you theorize would survive? Would any birds?
Projects


Avisia, an island archipelago isolated for over 88 million years, and is know home to megafaunal birds, mekosuchine crocodiles, and many relics. (currently in infancy)
Read here: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/8192410/2/#new

Deviantart: https://mynameisnotdave23.deviantart.com/
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dromaeosaurus
Member Avatar
Haemothermic orthostatic matrotrophic lexiphanic deuterostome
 *  *  *  *  *  *
Cool_Hippo43
Apr 8 2018, 09:33 AM
How small can a terrestrial vertebrate (a mammal) be? I was thinking of developing some kind of "rhinograde" (an analogue to them) but occupying a ninch like those of insects
The smaller an organism is, the faster it loses heat to the environment, and that's especially problematic if you're a homeotherm. The smallest mammal (the Etruscan shrew) weighs 1.8 grams, and it already has to eat twice its own body weight in food every day just to avoid starvation. That's about the same weight of the smallest bird (the male bee hummingbird; the female is larger, possibly because of eggs?), so I suspect that's a hard limit for warm-blooded animals, and that anything smaller than that just wouldn't be able to feed enough and would die of starvation, and possibly hypothermia.
So, I'd say the first thing you'll want to do is to make your "rhinogrades" ectotherms, like my antmice from Settlers from the Deep. Maybe you can make them descend from something that lived in a very warm and very energy-poor environment. I'm not sure of how flight would complicate the situation.
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)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GreatAuk
Member Avatar
Northern Penguin
 *  *  *  *  *
How do you make your avatar a gif?
Let us dance together.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
LittleLazyLass
Member Avatar
Proud quilt in a bag

Just uploading/pasting it like any other avatar?
totally not British, b-baka!
Posted Image You like me (Unlike)
I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
Me
What, you want me to tell you what these mean?
Read First
Words Maybe
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GreatAuk
Member Avatar
Northern Penguin
 *  *  *  *  *
LittleLazyLass
Apr 14 2018, 01:33 PM
Just uploading/pasting it like any other avatar?
I've done both and they haven't worked.
Let us dance together.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
LittleLazyLass
Member Avatar
Proud quilt in a bag

Gifs are generally to big with the former; with pasting it, you have to remove the http:// at the front of the URL before putting it in, since it puts it in automatically, causing a duplicate which breaks the URL.
totally not British, b-baka!
Posted Image You like me (Unlike)
I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
Me
What, you want me to tell you what these mean?
Read First
Words Maybe
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GreatAuk
Member Avatar
Northern Penguin
 *  *  *  *  *
That worked. Thanks.
Let us dance together.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CaledonianWarrior96
Member Avatar
An Awesome Reptile
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
LittleLazyLass
Apr 14 2018, 01:44 PM
Gifs are generally to big with the former; with pasting it, you have to remove the http:// at the front of the URL before putting it in, since it puts it in automatically, causing a duplicate which breaks the URL.
And with this newfound knowledge I also change my avatar to something less terrifying.

EDIT: So guys I came up with a new fish species for Future Planet but I'm not sure plausible it would be. Basically it's a descendant of the New Zealand longfin eel that has become more crocodilian in it's feeding method and preys on both aquatic and terrestrial prey that wanders near the edge of a water source; grabbing prey and using it's powerful body to drag it back into the water to drown or swallow whole.

Now it's hunting method isn't what I'm finding trouble with; it's whether the eel can survive long enough in the future to evolve into an animal like that. I've browsed some sites that explain the conservation and predicted decline of the eel in future, but how likely is the species to survive millions of years in the future?
Edited by CaledonianWarrior96, Apr 14 2018, 05:04 PM.
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)
Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution)
- Official Project
- Foundation
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
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
2 users reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Members: Icthyander
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
ZetaBoards gives you all the tools to create a successful discussion community.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · General Spec · Next Topic »
Add Reply