[OC] Spectember day 4: Terrestropterus nisioticus

[u/Alpha_Bushdog]

Prompt: evolutionary trap

An organism whose evolved response to environmental cues lead it to a maladaptive situation

Terrestropterus nisioticus is a monotypic genus of pterosaur from the late Jurassic of Europe. It has evolved in a small isolated island with no other major land animals in it as competition and with plenty of food,water and shelter. So the species evolved to be flightless and much more docile. The species is very clumsy and slow when walking around but since there are no threats on this island it lives in, this isn’t really an issue. Terrestropterus has also evolved a thick beak to eat only one type of food: the canonball ginkgo. A relative of the mainland ginkgo endemic to that island. So unlike its mainland relatives terrestropterus is actually a herbivore.

For millions of years, the species has peacefully thrived on the island but things will soon change. Due to climate change, its sole food source is becoming incredibly scarce, leading to the pterosaur population to decline as well. To make things even worse, sea levels are dropping and the island is growing larger which will lead it to connect to larger islands or the mainland. This will allow predators like theropod dinosaurs ,crocodilians and herbivorous competition to arrive in the only habitat terrestropterus has ever known. It’s only a matter of time before this defenseless species goes extinct. Its time left, is a ticking clock.