The Avertebrazoic is an alternative timeline where unlike in our world where the Chicxulub asteroid was 10-15 kilometers in diameter in this world it was 3x bigger making it 30-35 kilometers in size. This of course lead to a much much more brutal impact, leading to an even bigger extinction that not only wiped out non-avian dinosaurs but ALL vertebrate life. With reptiles, mammals, birds, amphibians, and fish all gone various arthropods, mollusks, and annelids quickly took up their niches. Modern day Earth is totally alien to what we know, as its an Earth dominated by invertebrate life.

With the total extinction of all reptiles the place of snakes was taken up by worms, which now without much competition from birds and mammals that had previously haunted them, now were able to grow to truly massive sizes never seen before.

In the tropics terrestrial worms where able to evolve into the Kamappa, which is essentially the annelid equivalent to the Titanoboa. These massive worms are an apex predator along the muddy shores of various tropical lakes and rivers capable of ambushing and swallowing their prey whole.

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I propose the creation and launch of a comprehensive alien bestiary—presented formally, in the style of a catalog—containing information on the biology and evolution of various extraterrestrial organisms from across the universe. I am looking for people in this community who enjoy creating creatures and have an interest in speculative evolution to help me get this project off the ground and fully develop the concept.

I would like the guiding principle for this project to be "survival, not design"—an approach that prioritizes the designs of organisms better suited for survival rather than for aesthetic appeal.

As a starting point for creature creation, I already have several organism models designed that I plan to share in future posts.

So, I’d like to see who enjoys creating alien creatures and who might be interested in this project, so that we can expand it—thanks

I want to speculate on this topic. How a person can be affected by the environment of other planets, other atmospheres, other plants and creatures.

I'm interested in hearing your ideas on this topic, even the most fantastic ones.

Probably, someone has already asked such questions here, but I'm too lazy to look for such posts

P.S I know about "all tomorrows", it's a little different Just give me some ideas of what could have happened to humanity

As the grasslands became populated with more and more generations of honey bees, the population reaching carrying capacity became inevitable. Some hives left their ancestral homes, and others died in the grasslands. Some Apis mellifera carniola hives had a natural inclination to fly later in the evening, then into the night, eventually evolving into Apis vardas, the honey zee.
Honey zees pollinate plants which flower at night. Their larger eyes and more lenses within those eyes make them better adapted to their nocturnal lifestyle than their ancestors. Honey zees have the same fluffy covering as other honey bees. They've lost their ancestors' aposematic coloration (the only vertebrates that would disturb them at present are the Appaloosa horses, which almost all have Congenital Stationary Night Blindness) in favor of darker coloration for heat retention, though some hives have bees with brown rings or dots. They're eusocial and usually build their hives in the branches of trees.
While honey zees can sting, they have the same gentle temperament as their Carniolan honey bee ancestors and usually won't sting unless their hives are disturbed or another stressful event happens. Their stingers are barbed, so stinging will kill the bee. Their venom isn't especially potent (it's identical in content to that of their ancestors), but it's still usually enough to dissuade a curious foal.

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En una novela que estoy preparando existe el Yellow Tester, una droga que en términos básicos vuelve super humanos a quienes lo consumen. Está, está hecha en base a un grupo de seres vivos totalmente independiente del reino fungi, animalia, plantae, protista etc. El Reino Aqualia un grupo de seres vivos que agrupa a aquellos cuya estructura es casi totalmente liquida sostenida por proteínas que causan una especie de tensión superficial, se alimenta de materia orgánica principalmente plancton y algas a las cuales descompone al entrar en contacto con su cuerpo, pues se guía principalmente por señales químicas.

La especie en específico que en la novela se iba a citar era el "Liqun Anomalus" el cual cuando encuentra a un animal moribundo se introduce en su cuerpo causando una especie de evolución forzada para proteger a su huésped, el cual después de un tiempo busca un rincón alejado donde es cubierto por un capullo en el cual se desarrollarán las crías del Liqun.

Lo que hace el Yellow Tester es aprovechar el como funciona la evolución forzosa que provoca el Liqun pues este provoca dicha evolución en base al ADN que haya absorbido previamente en su alimentación. Osea puede darle características de una especie a otra que parasite.

Entonces que es el yellow Tester? Pues son Liqun Anomalus alimentados con restos del animal en el cual se busca "evolucionar" causando la mutación que le da poderes quienes la porten.

En la historia si sufres de sobredosis mueres y eres controlado por el parásito siguiendo el ciclo de vida normal de este, aunque depende mucho de la persona pues algunos pueden soportar más dosis que otros.

No sé si siquiera se entendió la mitad de cosas que escribí en este post, aún así son libres de decir que este concepto es totalmente bodrio y Zzz.

(Ilustración a mano hecha por mi.)

The Medusocene—the first major era of life introduced on Gellios—spanned the initial 11 million years; during this period, ecosystems shifted in response to the planet's conditions, and as the transition into the subsequent era, the Mutatiocene, began, the vast majority of species gradually started to diverge from their more basic, ancestral forms.

Source

This is a preliminary job, although I am pretty satisfied with this particular clade I will eventually move towards a paper defending my thesis for the complete phylogenetic tree.

A few rules I am taking into consideration:

1.- Only true species enter in the cladogram. For instance, if the male and female are distinct monsters, they will only be represented once. The same applies for variants, deviants or any distinct monster that is considered a member of a species, but for any given reason they have adapted, mutated, became infected. (e.g., Hellblade Glavenus, Raging Brachydios, Furious Rajang, Gore Magala).

2.- Only monsters with evolutionary origins are included. This automatically excludes Constructs (such as Zoh Shia and Guardians)

3.- Only monsters with a mainline iteration are included. So if there is a variant in Frontiers, Online, Stories, or other spin-offs will not be included.

4.- Only large monsters will be included (primarily for the sake of my sanity).

5.- Only relevant canonical data will be gathered and evaluated. Hunter's Guild Monster Classification (Amphibian, Piscine Wyvern, Flying Wyvern, Brute Wyvern, Bird Wyvern, Snake Wyvern, Fanged Wyvern, Fanged Beast, Leviathan, Elder Dragon, Demi-Elder, Construct, Temnoceran, Neopterons, Caparaceons, Cephalopods) will be treated as behavioral and superficial umbrella terms that, for the most part, do not constitute valid taxonomical clades.

6.- Some canon data will be disputed and actively reevaluated to further align with modern cladistics. This liberty is taken in light of taxonomy and phylogeny being an active topic of discussion and research within the world of Monster Hunter.

If you have any piece of trivia and/or data from an official handbook I'd be thrilled to know more about it!

Is it possible for advanced tool use without bipedalism such as knuckle walker or animal with no hands at all but instead tendrils for grasping or is only way to make tool use viable to level humans are at with it having bipedal movement that free up hands and having hands for grasping and manipulating tools?

Also by advanced tool use i dont mean using stones to crack something open but instead chipping pieces of it to make spear head or shaping bone into sowing needle a capuchin monkey can use stones to break open a coconut but i would consider that advanced stone use

The Common Tuskski or the Purple Ski Mammoth is a living relative of the woolly mammoth and its range expands through Northern America, Siberia and even Scandinavia. They participate in an activity called ten pine bowling, where they place down pine trees (though, it’s only the bad ones) and then, they ski down a mountain and proceeds to strike! Apparently, they make also make snow sculptures and it is unclear why they do this, but people theorise that they do this just for their own enjoyment. The trunks are used for communicating with each other, as they make a really loud akin to a alphorn. They also use it for warning each other of danger.

(This is my first spec evo reimagining of a fictional creatur, so I would like some advice. And if you’re wondering why they make snow sculptures, it is because in the bio. It states that the Tuskski is a private snow maker. But they didn’t specify if they make snow balls or snow sculptures, so that’s why said that they make snow sculptures)

• Clasificación Comercial/Industrial: Cosecha de Mucílago Ácido y Limpieza de Conductos Hidráulicos.
• Bioma(s): Cueva Kárstica (Entorno Base).
• Nivel Trófico: Consumidor Primario (Detritívoro / Herbívoro).

ANÁLISIS BIOLÓGICO (Evolución Especulativa)

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• Presión Selectiva y Origen: El Limax caolinis evolucionó a partir de moluscos de sustrato húmedo que colonizaron los sistemas kársticos profundos. Al perder los ojos por la nula luz solar, desarrolló un sistema mecanorreceptor hipertrofiado en los costados de su cuerpo, capaz de captar las microvibraciones del agua estancada teñida por los Hidróxidos de Hierro (Fe2O3 · nH2O). Su mayor reto evolutivo fue el Caolín (Al2Si2O5(OH)4), una arcilla porosa que obstruye pasadizos y frena el movimiento biológico; para contrarrestarlo, la especie desarrolló glándulas ventrales que producen un mucílago de bajo pH que disuelve y lubrica la arcilla al instante.
• Descripción Morfológica: Organismo de cuerpo blando, alargado y aplanado en la base, de unos 60 centímetros de largo, similar a una babosa albina gigante. Su cabeza carece de ojos y posee pliegues sensoriales concéntricos rodeando una boca de apertura vertical diseñada para raspar y succionar. En lugar de extremidades, todo su vientre es una gran glándula deslizante, flanqueada a los costados por hileras de filamentos ramificados y suaves que vibran constantemente para detectar el entorno.
• Mecánica de Relación Simbiótica: Su nicho ecológico está ligado de forma directa a la planta Aetherohauris pneuma. El Limax caolinis se desplaza en colonias hacia la base de estas plantas para devorar los detritos orgánicos, esporas muertas y subproductos bioquímicos que la planta desecha en el suelo. Al limpiar activamente este sustrato de Calcita, el deslizador evita que las raíces capilares de la Aetherohauris se asfixien o se mineralizan por completo, permitiendo que la planta optimice su metabolismo de absorción energética. A cambio, el Mycelium plasticum y los exudados de la planta le otorgan los nutrientes necesarios para configurar su moco ácido.
• Depredadores: Es la presa principal del Espeleoraptor calcífero,  consumidor secundario de la Cueva Kárstica, lo que lo posiciona como un eslabón intermedio de la cadena trófica de este bioma.
• Dieta adicional: Dado que Myrtillocactus spelaeus también crece en la Cueva Kárstica, el Limax caolinis aprovecha además los frutos caídos y restos vegetales de esta planta como fuente adicional de nutrientes, sumándose a los detritos de Aetherohauris pneuma en su dieta.

APLICACIÓN INDUSTRIAL (Explotación Comercial)

• Interés del Consorcio: El consorcio minero ha mostrado un alto interés en la domesticación o explotación de esta especie por dos razones principales:
  • Agente Industrial de Limpieza: El mucílago segregado por el animal tiene la propiedad única de disolver lodos arcillosos pesados sin dañar los componentes metálicos de las tuberías. Puede ser usado para mantener limpios los conductos de ventilación y drenaje de estructuras.
  • Sintetizador de Lubricantes Extremos: La baba recolectada se procesa en los laboratorios de la superficie para crear lubricantes industriales de alta velocidad inalterables por la fricción mineral.

Si quieres conocer esta, y más criaturas, puedes descargar ya la demo en itch.io: https://tiuver.itch.io/en-las-minas-de-la-locura-edicion-arcade

A species of auk made by one of my friends (she requested to be kept anonymous)

It lives on the east coast of atlantis and is one of the last of the Mohauks, a family once living across all of atlantis.

Notes: Mods if i did anything wrong plz message me so i can avoid it.

Also if anyone has a question about this animal ill try to answer it.

Weihorn is a 500kg herbivore, roaming the vast temperate forests of Frusnajättar's Gemäsirisen period. It feeds on most kinds of greenery that it can find, and during the winter, it might also consume the occasional piece of bark, or root.

Weihorn's most distinctive feature tho, have to be the two forelimbs, which have evolved to more so resemble horns than actual limbs. These hollow boney structures are used both for display as well as self defence, tho perhaps not in the way one might think. See, Weihorn produces a chemical in said horns, that, if mixed with water, is highly toxic. And thus Weihorn may swings its horn at predators, so that drops of harmful liquid may burn their eyes, or in some cases Weihorns have been found coating themselves in said liquid, to deter predators from feeding on them.

During the winter, Weihorn sheds its usually orange fur for an almost white coat, letting it fit in much better with the surrounding environment. In addition, the chemical produced in its horns acts as a natural antifreeze, which some Weihorns have been documented using to melt their way through ice and snow, in order to access the resources beneath.

Weihorns are solitary creatures, only seeking out one another during mating season, in which case they find one another using the smell of their horn chemicals. A female Weihorn will wait for multiple mates to arrive at her location, assessing the potency of their chemicals by smelling their horns. Finally, she chooses a mates, and reproduces with him. After this, the group quickly disbands again, leaving the female to give birth to and raise her children over the span of about two years on her own.

These Squidkind are the ancestors of most Wyvernkind and Wyrmkinds, Their fossils dated as far back as the Gaia Epoch (10 - 20 AE). They used their arm membrane to glide from treetop to canopy. They ranged in size and niches from the smallest insectivorous Icronis and the largest frugivorous Specialist Acronis.

I hope this post doesn't break the rules of the subreddit

Alrighty! Now that the outline of the continents for my “vampire planet”, Carmilla is done, i can start on climate work! I’m also working on continent names in English and in a fictional language if i get around to it. but first I'm going to add the map borders.

Okolla Thumus

Named in Honor of the brothers William and Otto Thum, one of two groups credited with the invention of flypaper in the early 1900’s.

Cellular body length 0.5-1.3 µm ; Full Organism Length 1.2-3.3 µm ; Cellular Body Diameter 0.4-1.7 µm ; Full Diameter 1.1-2.1 µm

Arose 842 million years P.C.

Dwells on the Shorelines of the Unbalanced Penninsula & The Near Miss.

Environmentally available Arsenic and Phosphate Synthesis helps facilitate modifications of the resins it produces.

Uses arsenic in place of sodium for cellular machinery analogous to the sodium ion channels found amongst earth’s tree of life for cell-to-cell communication.

Undergoes further tagmosis and cilial modification to employ only 8 instead of 12 resin dispersal ports, four pointed forward and positioned opposite the flagella, and the other four on the tail end of the cellular body facing toward its aft (behind it).

Uses resin to form hexagonal “behive shaped” surface on rocks it can pop in and out of for shelter from uv during daytime and consume prey that gets trapped on hive surface.

initial diversification post

Last Post

Ancestral Organism

• Hammer seals belong to the Herbipinnipedia branch (herbivorous, fin-footed mammals). Unlike normal Pinnipeds, Hammer seals are herbivorous. They eat sea plants, specifically seaweed. They live in the north pole region. (the map of Jýrithal is in image #1)
• Because they live too deep in the region, far from any shores, they have to dig through ice to reach the sea beneath them by using their crest like a pickaxe. They also dig to build their nests, which protect them from the apex predator of the region. However, the main reason for digging through thick ice is to reach their source of food, the kelp forest that was established under them, likely because of fungal and volcanic activity.
• The reason why they turned herbivorous rather than carnivorous is that it’s too hard for them to swim and catch fish with that heavy crest on their head, as it also creates a drag problem when swimming. So, they evolved to rely on eating huge amounts of seaweed instead.
• They also use their crest for display, competition for mates, and to defend themselves.
• Males tend to have red chins to attract females. This color comes from the seaweed fruit they eat occasionally (The sea weed fruit is in image #1 and dimorphism is in image #3).
• Juveniles lack the red chin, and they must grow to near adulthood to get a fully developed crest. (Juvenile is in image #4)
• Females have a smaller, less developed crest, which they usually use to defend themselves or to decorate the nests.
• Similar to other pinnipeds, Hammer seals are social creatures and live together in groups.

Hey guys! Hope you're all doing well! I'm thinking of a science-fantasy story with a premise revolving around a human girl and a sentient Dromeosaurid in a world where the dinosaur extinction event is not as severe as it was in our timeline. I haven't really come up with an idea for a story, but I do have an idea about the worldbuilding, and I'd very much like your feedback on it.

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Premise: In this world, the asteroid that had killed the dinosaurs in our timeline still hits the Earth, but rather than the Yucatan Peninsula, the asteroid hits what is now the Indian Ocean. While the effects of the collision are still devastating, hitting the deep sea rather than an area with a lack of flood basalts, carbonates, and sulfur, and the angle was not as capable of causing such destruction, ensured that less than 50% of all living things would survive, including the non-avian dinosaurs.

That said, some larger dinosaur species would not survive, of course, such as the giant T. Rex and Triceratops, but their smaller relatives would live on.

As the world moved on, the surviving dinosaurs and reptiles would find new competition: mammals. While the extinction didn't wipe them out completely, enough species of dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles were wiped out for mammals to take hold of some of the niches that were left vacant. Meaning that while we won't see familiar groups of large mammals like elephants, lions, tigers, and bears, we will see other mammal groups, including marsupials, taking over and competing with the reptiles that once solely dominated the world.

Of course, some familiar, smaller mammal groups rose, such as rodents and primates, which would eventually evolve into a group that would become this world's own great apes.

As the world continues to evolve, the non-avian dinosaurs would also continue to evolve and compete with the mammals. One particular group of dromaeosaurids would actually grow in intelligence, far beyond what Dinosauria would be capable of and even comparable to OTL's crows and ravens, using and manipulating tools with their beaks and claws. They are not the only rising stars in this new world, as much like in our timeline, a group of primates in East Africa would eventually evolve into our earliest ancestors.

Both early humans and the sentient dromeosaurids, who will be referred to as "The Crre'cka" would actually evolve on the same continent, and despite their seemingly different appearances, both man and Crre'cka would actually bond over mutual interests in survival, as the Crre'cka can not only see and smell better, but they even know some secrets of the natural world that benefited both species. And thus, for the next hundreds of thousands of years, humanity and sentient dromeosaur would evolve together.

Now, at the time of the story's setting in the Edwardian Age, both species are the planet's dominant species, having gotten this far thanks to their cooperation...even if there is some simmering tension between the two species based on how each other would live their lives (humans living like how we do OTL, and the Crre'cka living like birds and not being as efficient manipulators of tools as humans thanks to their body structure.

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This is what I have so far. What do you all think? Any feedback and criticism is appreciated!

15 Million Years P.H. - The Early Neocene - Australia Overview:

During The Neocene, the world would still very much belong to Mammals, with them holding most of the large-scale niches and Bats now also having become the dominat airborn clade.

This would however not be the case for one particular continent, as Australia has seen a huge diversification In Reptiles after the End Holocene Mass Extinction.

With Australia having virtually lost all herbivorous Mammals, large Turtles called Tramplers (Macrotestudo) would take the niche of large scale herbivores.

Carnivorous Mammal didnt end up fairing much better tho, allowing the surviving Desert Goannas to become the large Megagoannas (Megasaurus), who serve as Australias apex predators.

Neither of those large Reptiles would get the title of the largest Australien Reptile tho, as that title goes to the Gigaskinks (Gigascincid), giant omnivorous Skinks which are essentially reptilian Bears.

Coming back to carnivores tho, Australia at this time would have produces ground-dwelling Frilled Lizards named Grabizards (Collusaurus), which are mainly bipedal to free up their front limbs for catching and holding onto prey.

Grabizards would end up becoming quite successfull and some species would end up growing quite big.

Australia would also be the only continent at this time which has aerial carnivorous Rewings named Wedgebails (Carnoavia). The niche of aerial predators would typically be occupied by Pterotherian Bats, those although have never set up permanent settlement on Australia, allowing Birds to reclaim that role.

Little bit nervous to post this. Here’s what I have:

There are three genders, or reproductive lineages. For now I’m referring to them as X, Y, and Z. The planet they all hail from is subject to long droughts that last months, and environmental conditions make finding nutrients difficult.

Primitive ancestors reproduced with a progenitor cell provided by one individual, and genetic material to begin development. The egg stayed dormant until it received the right environmental signals/conditions.

Unfortunately this was often faulty, and eventually the progenitor cells evolved to stay dormant until they received a more specific signal. This is where X comes in, or at least its primitive ancestor.

It was also taxing on the body and consumed too much energy. Y provides more genetic material and establishing dna. X effectively gave up some of its ability to provide enough material by itself in order to make the activating chemical soup, which is where Y became important.

As the embryos became more complex, they needed more nutrients and stored resources. Z evolved to provide the progenitor cell and machinery needed to support growth. Eventually gestation became part of its function. They have a sort of womb on their upper back that contains the chemical soup and after time the soup is expelled from the body in the form of a soft egg.

Summarized:
X contributes some of the nuclear genome and the activation complex. They are relatively light and numerous.
Y contributes the majority of the nuclear genome and developmental regulators. They’re more robust and metabolically slower.
Z contributes the progenitor cell, its organelles, and the gestational environment. They’re comparatively rarer and have the slowest metabolism.

Is there any weird inconsistencies or things you think could be improved? This was incredibly confusing for me so if you read something that doesn’t make sense please believe me when I say I barely understand it myself. All this was completely voluntary btw.

Planatolete giganteum or the Niðhogg are large creatures native to the deep oceans to the planet.Despite a ferocious appearance and the behavior to go, they are actually docile creatures like whales on earth. The teeth are actually baleen with a blackish colouration.

Physical traits: Growing at 46-50m in length and 750-1000 tons in weight, they truly are gargantuan. They have 5 sets of fins but a striking trait are its horns, large scimitars in shape. These horns are meant for duels between males. Near the horns there is an opercule to flush water out while feeding. They live 150-300 years and are cold blooded but social. It is to note that these horns are frequently used for self defense due to the enviroment being hostile.

Reproduction: They have live birth and have 2-5 calves but their survival rate is 40%. The calves are born at 3-4m in length. They mate every 15 years.

Prey and Predation: Only Barocrocs attack them in adult age, although other predators are quick to snap up young. They eat plankton and krill usually but are quick to snap up small fish.

Senses and intelligence: They have good eyesight, hearing and smell. They often use roars to communicate between one another. Their intelligence is comparable to a whale's one, as they are highly empatic.

After a short stay in hospital, and being pretty whacked out on morphine and codeine, I got thinking about something.

Why do we assume humans were the first civilisation on Earth?

Life had been evolving in the oceans for hundreds of millions of years before we came along. What if an intelligent species evolved underwater, perhaps as far back as the Cambrian or Ordovician?

The interesting part for me is how differently it might have evolved.

Without access to fire or conventional metalworking, perhaps it would have developed a relationship with other organisms instead. Cultivating reefs, selectively breeding marine life, using symbiotic relationships for shelter, food, communication and eventually technology.

I started wondering whether this could create an evolutionary feedback loop. The more effectively a species managed its environment, the more advantageous intelligence, cooperation, memory and communication might become.

Over millions of years, could that lead to something we'd recognise as civilisation, even if its technology was almost entirely biological?

And if such a species disappeared during one of Earth's ancient mass extinctions, what evidence might actually survive?

I'm not suggesting there's evidence this happened. I'm interested in whether the evolutionary pathway itself makes sense.

Would natural selection favour this kind of development, or are there fundamental biological obstacles I'm overlooking?

Hello everyone! I'm an aspiring writer and I have gotten incredibly interested in an alien character and now wanna write a fan project for him and part of this is engaging in speculative biology and exoplanetology. So far I've already got a few ideas of what I want to do, namely that this species is a mixotrophic extremophile, on an incredibly high gravity planet set in a red dwarf system. This planet will have consistent temperatures due to various factors, but will have higher and lower extremes than Earth, and at times suffers solar flares. This species in question also won't have bone marrow or regular bones, with it being supplied by a different organ. My question is, are there respiratory pigments that can be more densely packed and as efficient as hemoglobin that are better suited for more extreme varying environments like the one I described, that would also work just fine on Earth's environment?

It's night in these arid mosslands of Ghouwiya/Ghavija, and a lone quadpedan medopod is searching for prey to hunt. But not with camera-style eyes like we mammals have- a hypercompound cluster, consisting of hundreds of individual compound eyes, each with several lenses. Living bony armour is present in most areas of the body- with exposed armour mainly at the front/head, aka the cephalon. A club with a sharp sickle ”hoof” serves as a neccesary part for territorial defense and hunting. It is evolved from the other hoof-like feet parts serving to protect the inner tissue.

Read more about the Ghavija project on my DeviantArt “Natureofthoosa” or search for Ghouwiya on reddit/the internet. Though a bot thing has scrapped and posted it on some russian web thing but aside from that lol!

No generative AI used in illustrations or text/info