| 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! |
| different body plans | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: May 14 2018, 11:38 AM (227 Views) | |
| Cool_Hippo43 | May 14 2018, 11:38 AM Post #1 |
|
Hippo
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
so we are all familiar with certain body shapes, even giving different forms of animals on our planet, but I have thought of different bodily plans for speculative animals. I have some ideas like animals with three legs ... the origin for these limbs can be quite varied, like some kind of fish that had only two fins and used the tail as a third limb, eventually evolved into something with three legs.Or animal biped with the shape of the body like a t-rex that has a long mouth like a trunk, that after millions of years has evolved to a third limb, in which the creature begins to support. For 6 legs it may simply be animals that have evolved from fish with 3 pairs of fins ... or some kind of already terrestrial animal that has a type of buccal appendix that can evolve into a small limb. these 6-membered animals can evolve into things like centaurs or dragons ... For a radial animal I think that something like a small marine animal like a fish, only with 3 tentacles like tail, a mouth down and eyes on top (where the food enters and exits through the same hole). and amount of legs varies. perhaps an animal like a starfish can move on using the extensions of your body, evolving into something truly terrestrial I also think of animals with asymmetrical body plans, like some kind of arthropod that has some limbs developed for different functions. There is also the hypothesis of a creature developing some tentacles on its face like a snouter; after a long time can become efficient manipulating members. or some kind of fish like a catfish that has mustaches but which can also turn into small tentacles. Speaking of fish there are also things like a fish that uses each bow of its fin as a limb, which can get stronger over time and eventually turn into legs. perhaps a species of animal with a strong tongue might use it as a manipulator (imagine a chameleon using the tongue as tentacle) or even some creature that uses the penis as a support member (although I do not find it very plausible). I have always thought of tetrapods as monkeys that use the prehensile tail as a limb, may eventually develop further and become some kind of manipulator. or it could happen as the henders rat, which uses the tail as a limb to jump further. Edited by Cool_Hippo43, May 15 2018, 04:02 PM.
|
| |
![]() |
|
| Talenkauen | May 14 2018, 12:10 PM Post #2 |
|
Perpetually paranoid iguanodont
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5890384/108/#new Either make it a full project, or post it in the link above. Don't clog up the General Spec |
|
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
| |
![]() |
|
| Sheather | Jun 3 2018, 09:32 PM Post #3 |
![]() ![]()
|
You are very out of line with this remark, members are allowed to discuss things in their own threads I encourage them to do so. Rather I would tell you not to post unless you have a relevant response, and that is not it. All of the leg options are potentially viable, though it seems like so far only a small number of animals have had any need to evolve new limbs, like elephants with their noses and monkeys and some others with prehensile tails - and none of these creatures has really adapted them to support weight to walk (though tails effectively become another arm in the trees, and kangaroos prop themselves on theirs to fight with the hind legs. It's very likely that the most pressing drivers to produce new, innovative legs would only be present in tetrapods which have otherwise lost some or all of their original limbs - perhaps birds, which have specialized their forearms too much to readily readopt them into manipulators or weight-bearing limbs again. It's well-demonstrated that arboreal mammals adopt prehensile tails easily, maybe if these returned to the ground at some point the tail could be retained as another arm. And the elephant demonstrates what I would have otherwise thought a very implausible fifth limb - with its body plan adapted to need four plodding legs with no option to evolve hands, it evolved a tentacle on its face to manipulate is environment with instead. Absolutely ridiculous, and yet there it is! There is no telling what limb configurations would develop if fishes or other aquatic animals adapted to life on land - anything is possible, but it's unlikely something exactly like a tetrapod would be the default as this was reliant on a pretty particular ancestral form which no longer really exists. Ray-finned fish could adapt a convergent fin anatomy and produce a rather plain two-armed animal, but what of the hind legs? The tail would likely be of use, but maybe they would be bipedal from the start and have no need for a third limb. Maybe as Dromaeosaurus has speculated, the fin rays could individually articulate into spider-like walking legs - this exists to an extent in the sea robin fish already. For aliens the options are limitless. It's possible to imagine any number of different ancestral forms nothing like we have on Earth, and the ways they might evolve to walk. This subject has come up often on the forum over the years and has been explored by many members. Povorot brought us the derpbirds, heavyset grazing parrots that plodded along on their beaks. Troll Man explored the idea with many creatures - frogs that used their tongues to eat, pigs which used tentacles upon their snouts to walk. And I find the idea of new manipulators very interesting - Serina has several distinct land fishes with different limb arrangements and some birds with tentacle noses too. New limbs is one of the most interesting things to spec about, because life has shown that some very weird things can evolve. The main thing you have to work out is why would those adaptations be the ones to out-compete all other, perhaps easier options. Is it really easier to grow a trunk than adapt your hands to grasp? In the case of the elephant, at least, apparently the answer is yes, but in most other instances, probably not. For most land animals four limbs is plenty enough for all they need to do. With the land now full of life already, it's less likely any other sea creatures will have the chance to make that same jump, no matter how many legs they have. But the fun of spec evo is, if you're creative enough, nothing is impossible. ![]() |
![]() The Gaiaverse | Eden | Terra Metropolis | Life of the Sylvan Islands | Other Spec Evo | Sheatheria | Serina | The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing | Sam | | |
![]() |
|
| Cool_Hippo43 | Jun 4 2018, 01:17 PM Post #4 |
|
Hippo
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
do not scold him I had written other things on this topic, but a few minutes later I decided to erase everything and write what is written now. I decided to delete what was written because I did not think it was well written and coherent. Unfortunately Talenkauen commented on the post almost immediately after I wrote it ... I know how to delete posts generates this kind of confusion but only after I updated the page is that his comment appeared. forgiveness, and I hope it does not happen again. |
| |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · General Spec · Next Topic » |










7:44 PM Jul 10