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Questions that don't need their own topics vol.2; New and fresh
Topic Started: Jan 4 2018, 11:18 AM (26,844 Views)
Chuditch
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Dasyurid
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Hola La
Jun 26 2018, 11:23 PM
sorry for #OOT question
does speculative evolution have discord server ?
I would like to join to that server.
There is a discord sever. You can join it by PMing Flish, Icthyander or Sphenodon.
My wildlife YouTube channel
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lamna
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Did Giganotosaurus evolve into Mapusaurus?
Living Fossils

Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural


34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur.
T.Neo
 
Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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LittleLazyLass
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Proud quilt in a bag

Certainly not impossible, but it's hard to really say with certainty. Little evidence to give a strong indication either way.
totally not British, b-baka!
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I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
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What, you want me to tell you what these mean?
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Words Maybe
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Nyarlathotep
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The Creeping Chaos
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The anatomy is definitely more derived, with tiny arms and anatomy good for hunting sauropods like Argentinosaurus, while Giganotosaurus was likely a solitary hunter of things like Andesaurus. Mapusaurus was one of the last carcharadontasaurs period so it does seem a relevant comparison.
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Octoaster
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Meanwhile at Customer Support
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I'm usually pretty knowledgeable with invertebrates and the like, but what's always puzzled me is the neural network of echinoderms, specifically starfish. Do they actually lack a brain or do they just have a decentralized intelligence like bobbit worms do?
"The only thing that would scar me for life would be pics and videos of hetero sex." - Flisch

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Sceynyos-yos
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dheubewes wedor
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From wikipedia:

Quote:
 
Echinoderms have a simple radial nervous system that consists of a modified nerve net consisting of interconnecting neurons with no central brain, although some do possess ganglia. Nerves radiate from central rings around the mouth into each arm or along the body wall; the branches of these nerves coordinate the movements of the organism and the synchronisation of the tube feet. Starfish have sensory cells in the epithelium and have simple eyespots and touch-sensitive tentacle-like tube feet at the tips of their arms. Sea urchins have no particular sense organs but do have statocysts that assist in gravitational orientation, and they have sensory cells in their epidermis, particularly in the tube feet, spines and pedicellariae. Brittle stars, crinoids and sea cucumbers in general do not have sensory organs but some burrowing sea cucumbers of the order Apodida have a single statocyst adjoining each radial nerve and some have an eyespot at the base of each tentacle.
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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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Is there a way to get a large, active insect in a cold, snowy environment? Here's what I was thinking

1. Make it floofy
2. Give it abdominal muscles to actively pump air in and out of the spiracles
3. Give it similar thermo-regulatory abilities to a honeybee

Granted, some insects already do this. But could this work for a very large insect, something Meganeura sized? If so, would it be able to move around and survive in such an environment to a similar degree that birds and mammals do?
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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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Rodlox
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IIGSY
Jun 30 2018, 03:13 PM
Is there a way to get a large, active insect in a cold, snowy environment? Here's what I was thinking

1. Make it floofy
2. Give it abdominal muscles to actively pump air in and out of the spiracles
3. Give it similar thermo-regulatory abilities to a honeybee

Granted, some insects already do this. But could this work for a very large insect, something Meganeura sized? If so, would it be able to move around and survive in such an environment to a similar degree that birds and mammals do?
if the support-structure problem has been solved - yes

if the problem has not been solved - no, it won't get THAT big.
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Parts of the Cluster Worlds:
"Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP)
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Cool_Hippo43
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Hippo
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about chemosynthetic and so on ...
let's suppose we have a silly basal prokaryote, and he phagocytes things
some of them phagocytosed mitochondria and cyanobacteria [...]
but would give one of these basal prokaryotes phagocytic mitochondria and then some basal lithotrophic bacteria that uses inorganic substances to generate glucose (iron, ammonia, sulfur, nitrite ...). could it evolve into a kind of "chemosynthetic plant"? where this bacterium (which is an organelle now) generates glucose, which feeds a mitcondira just as chloroplasts do with plants?
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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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Rodlox
Jul 1 2018, 03:34 AM
IIGSY
Jun 30 2018, 03:13 PM
Is there a way to get a large, active insect in a cold, snowy environment? Here's what I was thinking

1. Make it floofy
2. Give it abdominal muscles to actively pump air in and out of the spiracles
3. Give it similar thermo-regulatory abilities to a honeybee

Granted, some insects already do this. But could this work for a very large insect, something Meganeura sized? If so, would it be able to move around and survive in such an environment to a similar degree that birds and mammals do?
if the support-structure problem has been solved - yes

if the problem has not been solved - no, it won't get THAT big.
This insect is as large as Meganeura or Meganeuropsis, which didn't have exoskeletons. Internal supports are completely unnessecary
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
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Russwallac
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Animals in cold environments need to be proportionately bulkier than their warm-climate counterparts in order to slow heat loss. An animal as lean as Meganeura would lose heat very quickly, so even if this theoretical insect is the same length, it'd be much more massive.
"We've started a cult about a guy's liver, of course we're going to demand that you give us an incredibly scientific zombie apocalypse." -Nanotyranus

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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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Russwallac
Jul 1 2018, 04:47 PM
Animals in cold environments need to be proportionately bulkier than their warm-climate counterparts in order to slow heat loss. An animal as lean as Meganeura would lose heat very quickly, so even if this theoretical insect is the same length, it'd be much more massive.
That's a good point. So, would an insect that size still be able to get by without an endoskeleton?
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
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Ragnar
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Dear IIGSY,

Personally, I believe an insect the size of Meganeura would certainly require some form of structural support, given the relative mass and and rather robust build of the animal. Insect exoskeletons act as rigid attachment sites for their muscles, therefore providing greater leverage than their chordate counterparts. After all, ants are able to carry many times their own body weight, something most, if not all chordates are incapable of achieving.

If you prefer an exoskeleton, you could concentrate insulating adipose tissue under the carapace. In addition, this tissue might develop into a second fat layer usedsolely for metabolic heat production, similar to the brown fat of newborn human infants. Perhaps the organism's bulk abdominal musculature could become concentrated in the animal's centre. Provided with sufficient vascularisation, the organism may be able to achieve a countercurrent exchange of any body heat generated by the muscles. This strategy is frequently utilised by some partially-endothermic sharks. With the aid of insulating tissues and the distance of these muscles from the insect's epidermis, internal heat loss would be minimal.

On the other hand, if you opt for an endoskeleton, you could gradually internalise parts of the carapace and develop insulating, hair-like filaments on the now exposed epidermal layer, although you will sacrifice significant muscle leverage.

I hope you find this information helpful. I am by no means an expert on entomology or other related fields.

Yours Truly,
Ragnar
Edited by Ragnar, Jul 3 2018, 08:19 AM.
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HangingThief
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ghoulish
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Ragnar
Jul 3 2018, 08:16 AM
Perhaps the organism's bulk abdominal musculature could become concentrated in the animal's centre. Provided with sufficient vascularisation, the organism may be able to achieve a countercurrent exchange of any body heat generated by the muscles.
The most important muscles in an insect's body are in the thorax, which is already at the center in compact- bodied insects. Bumblebees, large moths and other insects already generate heat from their thoracic muscles, but they're small enough that they don't need vascular activity to warm their entire bodies.
Hey.


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Ragnar
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Cephalopod Fetus
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Good evening!

Is aragonite a biologically viable alternative to a cartilage or calcium phosphate endoskeleton?

If so, how might it be produced within an organism?

Would such a development lead to a significant fitness advantage, or are there any restrictions regarding the use of this material?

Kind regards,
Ragnar
Edited by Ragnar, Jul 3 2018, 03:53 PM.
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