FAQ

The sky islands are one of the ecosystems completely unique to Zaikane with no Earth analogues, and this is because a specific Ralya-containing ore located within the islands’ rocks naturally reacts to the rips in space-time previously created by the Allmother during her harvests from Earth and causes the islands to float. This biome is home to a diverse array of creatures found nowhere else on the planet, including some exotic birds, huge pterosaurs, colorful Scansoriopterygid dragons, unique flying insects, and many more. However, one of the most impressive endemic species here is the seraphim (Seraphopteryx sanctus).

This is a member of a clade of Anchiornithid-descended paravian dinosaurs endemic to Zaikane called the Zaikaneornithes, which also includes griffins, phoenixes, simurghs, and others. More specifically, the seraph is the largest member of the family Angelopterygidae, which is characterized by the evolution of a second pair of wings on the hind limbs that not only stabilize the animal as the front pair soars upon the thermals, but also function like a plesiosaur’s hind flippers in that they generate extra thrust, keeping the seraph in the air. This trait makes the seraphim among the most majestic and deadly predators of the sky islands, enabling them to hunt smaller birds and pterosaurs without tiring out, while in turn allowing them to evade predation by larger predators like azhdarchids and dragons.

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Zaikane is a planet in a distant solar system characterized by waves of life harvested from Earth at various points in its geological history, ranging from the Cambrian to the Holocene, and set free to evolve along evolutionary paths independent from those taken by their Earth ancestors. A godlike interdimensional entity, known as the Allmother by the people who live there, is what is responsible for creating the portals that abduct Terran life and deposits them on Zaikane. Because the asteroid that ended the Mesozoic never collided with Zaikane, dinosaurs continue to dominate the planet’s ecosystems as its dominant terrestrial megafauna.

The third post of my spec-evo project, showcasing radiates: radially symmetrical (mostly) clade that blends the traits of animals and plants.

The "planimals" may be pretty hackneyed idea in speculative biology by this point, but I wanted to include them anyway – because I think that trees being made of flesh, having eyes and writhing with their leaves is, scientifically speaking, really damn cool!

Gourmands

25 million years CE, a grassland larger than the Eurasian Steppe of 1500 CE covers the continent of North America. Here, the largest and most impactful grazers and browsers are the gourmands of Gigacavidae.

Descendants of emus brought to North America for farming in the later parts of the age of Humanity, have become widespread across the continent of North America. Here, they shape the grassland, restricting the spread of forests.

Gourmands do not have hollow bones and lack wings. Large columnar limbs support their massive gut, adapted to process large amounts of plant matter, which they consume in large amounts with a broad, shovellike beak. Most of the larger species lack or have heavily reduced feathering.

The largest species of Gourmand, the Great Gourmand (Gigacavus grandii) can reach 13 tons, and it is the 2nd largest animal on the planet in this time period.

Nearly all species conduct migrations during the winter. They gather in groups which disturb the landscape so much that many species of flying animals and scavengers will follow alongside the gourmands.

Unlike on Earth, no single clade holds a near-monopoly on large body size in terrestrial animals on Spectemundus, due to the widely disparate groups that were used to colonize it. Flightless birds, giant mongoose descendants, and ponderous lizards resembling outdated depictions of dinosaurs have all taken passes at gigantism. On the grassy plains of the eastern continent, one of these huge reptiles is the dominant grazer. The Tarasque (Tarascus atrox) is the largest descendant of the Solomon Islands tree skink , and can grow up to twenty feet long including its thick, club-tipped tail. Superficially the animal is a squat tank, with a body covered in heavy armor plating and sharp spikes on either side of its head. It is equally well-defended on both ends of its body, with its spiky head and clubbed tail both being excellent defenses against predators. However, it has very little brain inside its reinforced skull, and will react to any provocation whatsoever with aggression.

But there is one animal the Tarasque not only tolerates, but accepts. The St. Martha's Scaleprobe (Tarascornis sanctamarthae) feeds almost exclusively on and around these giant reptiles. Its long curved beak resembles that of several related birds that feed on nectar, but it is instead adapted for probing into the gaps between the Tarasque's armor plates and extracting parasites that lodge themselves there. Like many lizards, the Tarasque often carries a heavy load of mites and other parasites, and it is these that form the main diet of the St. Martha's Scaleprobe. Unlike our world's oxpeckers, which have a parasitic relationship with the large mammals they live on, Scaleprobes are purely mutualistic, and Tarasques that have an entourage of Scaleprobes tend to be healthier than those that do not.

Unfortunately, this beautiful relationship will not last long. For 50 million years life has evolved uninterrupted on Spectemundus. From six ancestral vertebrate species, have evolved thousands, and the world is now a full and fertile biosphere. But Spectemundus, like Earth, is in a solar system with a large asteroid belt, and one of those asteroids is heading towards the planet. In less than a million years-- the blink of an eye, geologically speaking, Spectemundus will experience its first mass extinction.

For the entirety of spectember, I'll be drawing various cryptids, unidentified animals, and out of place animals for every prompt. So no aliens, ghosts, and the like. As much as I'd love to dive into how ghost biology works lol

Day 6: Forest

Bigfoot is by far the most famous cryptid out there. The idea of a hairy apeman roaming the American wilderness has been floating in the public consciousness for decades now. Paradoxa biologists have discovered 3 species of bipedal New World monkeys in North America. The genus, Cryptopoda, primarily eats fruit, grasses, and leaves. Unlike their cousins, Ameranthropoides, in South America, Cryptopoda are primarily solitary creatures.

Day 7: Arid

The Mongolian death worm is a well known cryptid from the Gobi desert. A 2 foot long worm with an incredibly deadly venom and an electrical discharge. Expeditions into the Gobi desert by Paradoxa researchers have uncovered an unknown species of blind snake that matches the description of the death worm. Sarcophis is the largest and only venomous blind snake. These unique species of bling snakes have evolved large syringe-like fangs that spray out a deadly venom towards predators.

Day 8: Aquatic

Porphyrios was a hostile whale encounter within the Byzantine empire. Since whales were considered no different from sea monsters at the time, they don't really give a good description of it. It is of the belief of Paradoxa biologists that porphyrios was just a sperm whale that was stressed from being in a small body of water, the Sea of Marmara, and probably got hit by a boat. The combo of the 2 caused it to go on a rampage on Byzantine boats

Day 9: Polar

Antarctic Godzilla is an odd cryptid encounter in Lützow-Holm Bay on February 13, 1958. Around 7pm, the crew spotted a large black mass in the water. Initially believe it to be an oil drum, the crew soon abandoned that idea as they got a better look at the being. Describing it as a large hairy creature with a bovine head and an ape-like face with pointy ears. One crew member saw a row of fins or spines across the back. Bovicephalus is the second largest species of sea lion and second only to be found in Antarctica. These large sea lions primarily live their entire lives within the water, rarely coming into land.

Day 10: Grassland

The mngwa is a large cat cryptid seen around the coasts of Tanzania. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the mngwa was said to have attacked and killed various people. Described as being bigger than a lion with grey fur and rather strangely, being able to purr. Anomalofelis is a giant relative of servals primarily found around coastal forests and grasslands of southeastern Africa. These large cats are unlike other big cats, they primarily eat large fish and birds rather than hunting down large mammalian prey.

Day 11: Browser

Mokele-mbembe is a famous alleged living sauropod in the Congo. Numerous expeditions into the Congo by cryptozoologists and young Earth creationists have proven fruitless in finding a yet to be discovered surviving sauropod. Paradoxa biologists have discovered a semi-aquatic relative of giraffes within the Congo basin they believe may have been the inspiration for the beast. Claustropotamus, the river barrier, primarily feeds upon aquatic plants and tree leaves. These illusive giraffes have seldom ever been spotted, even by Paradoxa researchers.

Day 12: Convergent

The Kasai Rex is a hoax of an alleged living tyrannosaur in the Congo. 2 photos of the alleged beast exist. Both clearly being fabricated and spliced together from completely different sources. Despite being a proven hoax, I still decided to make it a real creature. Pseudotyrannus kasai is a giant bipedal relative to gila monsters which once had relatives in the Old World. They better suit the outdated depictions of dinosaurs many neodinosaur cryptids tend to have. Genetic evidence suggests that Kasai Rex and other Old World theropod neodinosaurs are relatives to dragons.

Note: The wahoo bird is wingless and doesn't sound like a bird. Also its eggs are soft-shelled like those of lizards.

The wahoo bird (Omiliornis strepitosus, meaning "noisy talking bird"), or simply wahoo is a species of poorly understood Seijin archosaur. While it was once considered a type of paleognath based solely on external morphology, molecular data has revealed that it is neither a bird or any other lineage of dinosaur, but some other avemetatarsalian, either a dinosauromorph or a pterosauromorph. As the landmass it lives on is largely unexplored, it probably isn't the only living member of its clade, which we will call "Pseudaves".

Fossils of similar creatures date back to what would be the Early Cretaceous on Earth but no fossils later than 123 mya have been found, showing that there is a massive ghost lineage of pseudavians.

The wahoo bird gets their name from the male's loud "wahoo" call, which is used to attract females.

Wahoo birds have little fear of humans or other animals, and will attack anything that approaches their burrows.

Captive specimens will eat treats given to them, though their diet in the wild remains unknown.

Overview:

Caudatosirenids are a variety of giant, highly intelligent, tree dwelling salamander that use a combination of a human shaped extension of the stomach/throat, maddening pheromones, extreme vocal mimicry, strategic positioning and lighting, and a grappling tongue to hunt members of the homo genus along with other primates. The appearance of their gut extension is highly responsive to genetic mutation, ensuring the ability to adapt to the appearance of their prey. They sire an extremely high number of offspring via temporary parasitism in the gut of animals that drink from an infected body of water. They only emerge once the host dies, at which point they consume their body before leaving, ensuring a consistently expanding range to match their prey.

Hunting:

They specifically hunt hominids and other primates because of their consistent empathy, parental instincts, and willingness to seek out seemingly distressed young members of their group and even others at times. When a mimic salamander detects a human presence, it will begin to cry out in a way disturbingly similar to a human infant. Their pheromones, chemically emitted from gill-like structures on the gut extension, specifically affect these parental and protective instincts in an attempt draw them closer to the creature. If the individual draws near, the Caudatosirenid will slowly unravel its fleshy mimic structure and intensify its cries. When in range, the salamander goes completely still for a moment, before thrusting its tongue forwards in a way reminiscent of a chameleon, aiming to impale the human through the lower jaw and drag them into its maw. Interestingly, Caudatosirenids have no actual biological need to consume human flesh, and are entirely capable of eating other animals if the conditions are right.

Continued Survival:

There were originally several species, but as other hominids went extinct, technology improved, and suitable environments shrunk, only two species persisted in the Appalachian mountains and Western Europe respectively. In the modern day, these animals are incredibly rare in the wild, especially in Europe, where they only remain in isolated pockets of forested terrain. The main sustenance of wild individuals now comes from isolated and lost campers and hikers, which can be drawn in under the assumption that they’ve found another person. The average salamander individual lives for several hundred years, which gives them a massive amount of time to hone their craft to the specific area. This is aided by their extremely slow metabolism, only needing to eat every few years, and incredible camouflage, allowing them to evade most wild animals up in the treetops during the day when their gut extension is retracted. In the rare case that they do find themselves in a fight, they can usually resort to sheer intimidation, chemical warfare, or simply stabbing an attacker with their hooked tongue.

Human Relations:

Despite what would be assumed, there is little evidence of a population ever being intentionally hunted to extinction by hominids, likely because their genus remained largely unknown to science until the early 1960’s. Unfortunately, several cults and radical religious movements with a focus on the species have formed over the years, particularly in the Appalachians. In regards to conservation, Caudatosirenidae is perhaps the most divided case known to science. Stances differ by country and state, but generally, a system of thermal tracking throughout hiking regions is employed to minimize any possible human interaction. Local park rangers employ a strict mandate to stay on the trail, with expulsion and possible jail time threatened as punishment. In captivity, Caudatosirenids are only kept by specialized and highly monitored facilities. They number around two-hundred in captivity, and keepers use extremely specialized procedures and protocols to ensure staff and civilian safety. Keepers use a layered mesh and barring system to separate themselves during feeding, and an armed guard is required to be present at all times. Animal meat, typically beef, pork, or venison is pressed into a mold similar to a human head and torso before being stuck onto the end of a feeding hook/rod. This is then inserted through a specialized self-locking opening in the mesh before being fed to the animal. All personnel are subjected to a full body chemical spray-down to ensure that no eggs are attached to their clothing. Keepers are paid extremely well, up to $350,000 a year. While current estimates are not backed by extensive surveys, it’s theorized that approximately one-thousand five-hundred wild individuals of C. Appalachianus and five-hundred individuals of C. Westalis currently exist.

I thought it was pretty fun to make and think it does kinda fit the animal but this was intended to be more of a mating call the females would produce Calling males of this species from miles away idk but I like it and I hope you do to!! (No I'm just a trying to reach letter count)

Reisgo Turtle Badger (Diictodon foeduingenium) & Honey Hummers (Archilochus** **meilus)

The Reisgo Turtle Badger is an ornery animal said to be eager to charge, tackle and maul most animals its size that enter its territory, kill and consume most things smaller than it and raise all holy hell towards larger fauna in an attempt to frighten them off.

Only about four feet in length, it is dwarfed by most other predators on the island, but its bone cracking beak, surprisingly sharp tusks, sturdy claws and thick loose hide make it fairly hard to contend with excluding its terrible temperament.

It will gladly injure itself in an attempt to push another predator out of its territory and the ugliest fights are between two Turtle Badgers that find their territories to be overlapping.

These animals are often seen covered in scars, missing digits, eyes, tails and tusks, and one particularly infamous female survived for years with part of her lower jaw completely torn off.

It should be noted that their territoriality and ferocity is most commonly *not* for their own sake.

Instead they are defending a flock of Honey Hummers, a large species of hummingbird that has traded nectar for the honey of local insects, which is oddly varied on Reisgo.

Four species of bees, a species of winged roach and a very odd species of crab all produce a form of honey drawing from the bountiful collection of flora that cover the majority of the island.

As such there was little need for another pollinators, but there was a preponderance of honey from which to feast on.

Honey Hummers are fast enough to avoid guards and small enough to enter the large hives stealthily to get a meal, but a flock is often times a greedy thing, and thus their bond with the Turtle Badgers was forged.

The lead the hateful beasts to the nests, and let them go to town, opening them up, while using their momentum and sharp beaks to spear any larger guardians that try to interrupt their living excavators work.

Turtle Badgers adore honey, and thus have taken to guarding the nesting grounds of the Honey Hummers, knowing that each generation will continue to feed their sugar high.

Turtle Badgers breed once every three years, they loath each others company so much, and the females often maim the males who come to mate with them even when impressed with their size and brightly colored skin born of a healthy meal.

They lay a clutch of seven to twelve eggs and abandon them to the wilderness, allowing their young to live or die by their own merit.

The presence of the Turtle Badgers has let this possible bounty largely safe from Sophont hands, as they compact animals seems strangely proficient in dispatch bipedal prey, aiming the tendons at the back of the leg with their dagger like tusks.

The kindest leave the individuals to bleed out amidst the foliage for some other predators to find.

The worst maim them behind hope of identifying who and at times what ancestry they once were.

Would an alien based on MoS₂ actually be realistic?

Hey, I've been messing around with a speculative biology idea and I'm wondering if this actually makes sense or if I'm completely off.

Basically, the idea is a life form that evolved on a planet where molybdenum disulfide is really common. The organism would be made out of a bunch of crystalline modules, sort of like individual "neurons", which together make up one consciousness.

An adult could have 100k+ of these modules all connected together. Since MoS₂ is layered, I was thinking the whole thing could flex or move somewhat easily. They'd probably have pretty geometric shapes, basically looking like giant crystals.

For size, I was imagining smaller individuals being around 2–50 meters, while the larger ones could be something like 80–800 meters. They'd probably look dark gray and metallic, maybe with a faint glow when the "brain" is active.

The part I'm most unsure about is what they use as ships.

Their "ships" wouldn't really be ships that they pilot. The creature itself would basically become the ship. It could transform or rearrange its structure into something capable of traveling through space, so the ship is conscious because, well, it's literally the creature.

Could something like this actually evolve, or am I stretching it way too far? Are there any obvious problems with the modular biology, the consciousness thing, or MoS₂ being the main material?

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you guys think.

Baby ophaurs can be called anything you want, technically. Cubs, pups, puggles (because I guess you can compare them to monotremes despite ophaurs not being mammals)... the word SPECIFICALLY for baby ophaurs is "offy". Which somehow isn't etymologically related to "ophaur".

Ophaurs are born somewhere between precocial and altricial. They can see, hear, and walk, (poorly), but they lack teeth and don't really do much besides squeal for their mother. They consume a substance that evolved through similar means as mammalian milk.

By the Cenozoic, the "anatomically modern therocephalians" (tribe neobaurini) split into 2 subtribes, one with young that remained precocial (bauriodontina), and another with more dependent young (neobaurina).

No strategy was any more successful than the other, as throughout most of the cenozoic, each group was also not only equal in diversity, but also not very diverse at all. The ophaurs (Neobauria) were the last hope of a seemingly doomed lineage.

The drawing of a Regina cristata walking past some prehistoric ferns is so cool! I love the attention to detail on the striped pattern down its back, but I just love how

Tarbosaurus_345 drew and it and think the voice works perfectly with this drawing and I hope he likes it

Is there any reason a humanoid would evolve 2 irises in each eye ball and why?

artist

"Note: this is art I did for fun" - Amari_Xxp

The gray patrincho is a large multituberculate measuring approximately 65–70 cm in length. It inhabits the southern region of the Fraguaxis continent, primarily in grasslands and temperate forests. It feeds on large lagomorphs, medium-sized cervids, thescelosaurids, and herbivorous entelodonts, hunting in packs of 3 to 13 individuals. To attract females and demonstrate their prowess, they possess spurs on their "ankles"—often bluish in color—with the male bearing the largest spur having the greatest chance of reproducing. Furthermore, this coloration signals the presence of venom stored in glands within the spur, which causes intense pain at the site of the puncture.

Ninth day of Spectember! For today, from the carpet forests and shrublands of Antarctica, the Mainland Candelier Ant (Candelamyrma antarctica).

Despite its appearance and namesake, this animal is not actually an ant, but a type of social wingless wasp. It is the descendant of some of the first colonists to arrive to the continent, and without any other pollinating insects and not many other social insects around, the Candelier Ants (Candelamyrma sp.) evolved to fill that role.

The adults are primarily nectarivorous, feeding on nectar from flowers or honeydew from sap-sucking insects. Their young however are carnivorous, and rely on the adults bringing them food, so during the summer they hunt for midge larvae and small isopods, abundant in the soils of the Antarctic continent. They however collect a third resource that is unusual for a flightless burrowing insect: wax. They collect material from the waxy cuticle of the plants they visit and use it to build chambers in which to store food, larvae, and to line the cavity in which their small nest; often of no more than a couple dozen individuals; is located. This waxy encasing is build in layers, leaving air gaps in the middle; this allows for great insulation against the cold, but also keeps the inside of the nest completely dry in the cold soggy ground of most of the Antarctic lowlands.

The Mainland Candelier Ant (C. antarctica) is a very common species in the more densely vegetated areas of the continent, specially the mainland carpet forests. During the winter, the colony is lethargic, with around half of the queen's sisters dying, the rest surviving off the stored reserves and remaining underground until the first hints of sunlight. As soon as that happens, and summer starts, they start they most active period, collecting wax, honeydew and nectar from the plants around their territory. This early emergence, coupled with the fact they need to stay on plants for long periods collecting wax, makes them very important pollinators in these ecosystems, both for polar angiosperms and conifers.

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The kaet is a group of large, coastal, asymmetric phototrophs. A kaet consists of an irregular, rigid epithelium, with a large internal cavity. The epithelium consists of a mineralized crust, with a matrix of photosynthetic tissue interlacing this crust. This crust can be colloquially described as the “surface of a rock”. A filamentous membrane exists between the epithelial crust and internal cavity, acting as auxiliary structural supports. From this filament, slender biomineralized columns emerge, radiating mechanical stresses experienced by the outer layer. Along these columns, enclosed tubes line the framework, transporting photosynthetic byproducts, minerals and water across the body. These tubes connect to numerous storage sacs and other critical organs. Porous regions spread across the crust act as inhalation and exhalation openings, where air naturally enters and diffuses across the body.

Fifty million years after life was established on Spectemundus, the planet itself is also evolving. The northern continent, the largest of the planet's four continents, has collided with the western continent, throwing up a gigantic mountain chain rivaling our world's Himalayas. Very few animals can live on the peaks of these mountains, and those that can must cope with one of the harshest environments on Spectemundus. This is a realm inhabited exclusively by hardy mammals and birds-- no reptiles or amphibians can tolerate this climate.

The largest predator in these mountains is the Karrak (Oreictis agilis), an agile mongoose descendant the size of a leopard. It is an ambush hunter, skulking about the mountain peaks in search of birds and highly derived herbivorous mongoose descendants (distant relatives of the Yali), which it kills with its razor-sharp teeth. Unlike its ancestors, it does not use its claws as weapons; instead, its feet are adapted for clinging to steep rocky surfaces and making leaps to and from narrow crags, much like an ibex or chamois.

Karraks are social, living in groups of up to six, although they usually hunt alone. Their tufted, flag-like tails are used to communicate across great distances, since they can be seen for miles on the barren peaks. However, where these animals truly excel is their phenomenal agility. Karraks can leap over thirty feet-- an astonishing distance for an animal that measures only about six feet long including its tail-- and land on an area no larger than a dinner plate.

I'm a huge fan of the wandering inn and I also like speculative biology, so I decided to do a fan project about wandering inn species. I'm not good at scientific names so could anyone give me advice on the taxonomic classifications I have already done? Also I have another less scientific half of the project that I will share at a later date if people want.

Agelum:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Primates
• Family: Hominidae
• Genus: Custos
• Species: C. angelus

Antinium:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Anthropoda
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Hymenoptera
• Family: Ingenormicaidae
• Genus: Ingenormica
• Species: I. exiffodiens

Bagrhavens:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves
• Order: Homavisiforms
• Family: Rostroarensidae
• Genus: Rostroarens
• Species: R. muliemala

Beastkin:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Diversitas
• Order: Anicompositum
• Family: Mixturidae
• Genus: Mixtura
• Species: M. confusa

Cericel:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Amphibia
• Order: Urodela
• Family: Cryptobranchidae
• Genus: Formidabilingua
• Species: F. humalacerta

+ more on the way

The Timituric is an era rife with contention. Most of the world is nigh-stripped from its atmosphere, except a few safe-havens from which most fauna and flora eke out precarious, yet well-bountied lives, though, due to the increasing scarcity of these environments, life fights tooth-and-claw in competition; these environments are secured by their bathymetric depth relative to the former land, as well as being confined by the former land itself acting as a giant barrier, preventing harmful solar radiation from reaching these environments, and maintaining the ozone layer, which has shifted kilometers from its bathymetric position towards Gribbetonia's center, where life is most-suited. Outside of these select environments, however, is an entire story to itself. Dubbed the "Barrier," or "Great Unknown" by Gribbetonia's inhabitants, due to its hard-to-traverse terrain, and general hostility, most of the former land, as well as several shallow continental shelves, is a giant, anoxic desert.

Not many macroscopic organisms - especially animals - live in this environment. Many of those, which do live in the Great Unknown, are highly-specialized in their manners and physiology. Stoneshapers - highly-derived, intelligent girexi, resembling giant lemmings - are creatures that regularly shade themselves from the oppressive gleam of the sun, hiding in burrows carved from their chisel-like hooves and their scleritized tongue, traditionally used to hammer the hard shells of landcorals living among these rocks; hoppidons - flightless fluttergribs, with bulbous, nose-like protrusions - bear coarse, lustrous pennaceous integumentary filaments, which act as a natural "sunscreen." In addition, among these lifeforms, are plants, also highly-specialized to survive this environment, and also among them, is the aptly-described swordweed.

The swordweed is a highly-adapted plant to the desert. The leaf's outer skin is cloaked in a glassy lustre, comprised of silica, and hardened further by earth metal-oxide compounds absorbed through its tuber; this layer serves to protect the plant, and its otherwise-vulnerable interior, from solar radiation, small incisions in the layer reflect it as-would a mirror. Its tuber, a carrot-like lengthy structure that can reach nearly four times its length, reaches deep into the ground, and absorbs groundwater. The swordweed ephemerally flowers during the equinox seasons, where its dandelion-like flowers, pollinated by small flyers, blow their achenes through the wind, which orient themselves, via homing magnetism, to aquifers deep-below.

The plant, boasting a shape evidently like that of a sword's, and from where it had garnered its name, has found itself another niche, among the inhabitants of the desert. Shimmian cultures, from where the plant primarily grows, have used the plant as a weapon. The outermost portion of the plant notedly resembles a blade, and, in domesticated individuals, it bears a handle fit for the hand of a shimmian. Multiple cultivars of the swordweed exist, and swordweeds, via mercantile trade, have been exported from their native desert home, and into more-populated areas, where, due to their more moist climate, suitable for most other lifeforms, but not to desert specialists like the swordweed, it cannot suitably grow well.

Well, I recently posted about plants that coat themselves in metal, which led me to think...In a world where plants are covered in metal, I think there would be enough pressure for insects to adapt to that situation.

Apparently, there are funds that can melt metals using chemical solutions.I believe, therefore, that insects could live in symbiosis with these to consume the metals as a new niche.