J.K. Stockholme
Right Opposition
I vote for these two.
NESLife VI
- Thread starter Lord_Iggy
- Start date
I vote for these two.
Epoch IV: The Sundering Epoch
Lambda has been since its earliest days a very tectonically active world. Powerful tidal forces generated by the nearby gas giant world of Thor regularly crack the moon’s crust, and cause dramatic surges and falls in Lambda’s ammonia oceans. These factors have been critical for the development of life on Lambda- the earliest forms of life developed in superheated pools of liquid water which exist within some of the deep fissures, before radiating out into the surrounding environment. More recently, the constant churning of continental plates has closed a gap in the global ocean, dividing it into two isolated sections. This has had a dramatic impact on ocean circulation and many local climates, although perhaps more relevant to contemporary lifeforms was the fact that life during the Sundering Epoch was divided into two two groups, sealed off within the basins of the Sejessian and Arisian Oceans, respectively. With population exchange now blocked, these two isolated environments have now begun to grow distinct from one another, as each develops its own set of unique flora and fauna.
Sejessian Ocean
The Islander is a descendant of the Aikoater, which made use of its dispersive spores to establish in the Floating Islands of the Sejessian Ocean. With a primitive system of roots, the Islanders are able to harvest the rich nutrients from the decaying biomass in the centres of the Floating Islands. Coupled with access to higher intensity sunlight than is available in the oceanic shallows from which it originated, Islanders have access to a surplus of resources. However, they are still limited by the frequent threat of dessication, if they grow in portions of the Floating Islands which extend above the surface, and their energy-intensive defenses are less necessary due to the dearth of herbivores native to the Floating Islands.
The Drifter, descended from the Budder. With gas-filled nodules, it was able to float, though it often remained anchored to the sea floor. Upper areas of these interlinked structures frequently broke off, dispersing widely, and sometimes even establishing on Floating Islands.
Polypus, descendants of the Zeppus, have seen several major morphological changes over the last epoch. Their floatation sacs have grown, while their dangling bulb of photosynthetic tissue has atrophied away to a scant few tendrils. The outer surfaces of the Polypu are covered with photosynthetic tissues, leaving these organisms resembling little more than a large, distorted photosynthetic bubble.
Ma’wis are another descendant of the Dawie, who have evolved a simple skeletal system for improved mobility. While this fairly heavy skeleton has further reduced the lineage’s swimming abilities (though they are still able to swim relatively short distances to disperse between different islands), it has made them very effective at efficiently crawling through the tangled messes beneath the surfaces of the Floating Islands of the Sejessian Ocean.
The Thrasher is the first swimming predator to ever predate upon the diverse assemblage of thick feasters who have dominated the benthos ever since the wave of extinctions in the Towerian Epoch, some twenty million years ago. With hard, serrated jaws, Thrashers swoop down upon their prey, typically from the side, snatching them from the ocean floor and puncturing their cuticular exoskeletons. With this initial damage done, Thrashers proceed to violently shake their prey to death, before descending to feed upon the shredded, highly-edible interiors. With no natural predators beyond other Thrashers, advanced bodily structures, and an abundant source of food, some species of the Thrasher family have been able to grow up to a massive 20 centimeters long, turning even the largest armoured crawlers into small, crunchy snacks.
Slimmers are strikingly similar to their Sticker cousins, although the Slimmers arose independently, in the Sejessian Ocean. Slimmers are tightly furled at most points, but they unfold their bodies in order to feed. This adaptation has allowed them to infiltrate the Floating Islands with great effectiveness, although they suffer heavily from predation by Ma’wis.
The Os-Cibus is distinguished from the Os-Spina primarily by its more developed digestive system, a simple tube extending from the front to the rear of the organism. While it has adapted to attack the stalks of Greaters, taking down such a structure is time and energy-expensive, and is thus an act of desperation for a lineage that would just as soon feed on the relatively more nutritious Aikoaters and Budders.
Goliaths evolved from the Chompers in response to the threat of predation by the fearsome Thrashers of the Sejessian Ocean. With a reinforced and heavily spiked shell, Goliaths are one of the few organisms that Thrashers will decline to hunt, knowing too well that an attack can lead to cracked jaws, broken teeth and potential flesh wounds.
Spikes evolved a very similar response to predation by both Chompers and Thrashers in the Sejessian Ocean. These creatures, already possessed with an enlarged first segment due to their cranial digestive tract, have further extended this segment, festooning it with sharpened defensive growths. When under attack, a Spike will pull its relatively more vulnerable rear sections under its head, and attempt to wait out the attack.
Arisian Ocean
Tiders are another successful descendant of the Zeppu. These organisms, in their juvenile state, greatly resemble their ancestors, but significant changes overcome them upon reaching maturity. Their floatation sacs, no longer needed, wither away and the photosynthetic portion of the organism settles down in the intertidal regions of the Arisian coastline. Tiders, with their small, rounded shapes, have a small surface area to volume ratio, and as such have just enough resistance to desiccation to survive from one high tide to the next.
The Climber is a variant of the Budder that remains almost entirely indistinguishable from its ancestor. As dying Budders already form fertilizer for their offspring, the Climber was really no different than its ancestor, and the rotting biomass did not tend to accumulate vertically. As such, most modern paleontologists regard the Climber as merely a component subfamily of the Budder, rather than a distinct grouping in its own right.
Airpus were an ephemeral evolution of the Zeppus, whose enlarged hydrogen sacs allowed them to sail far out of the reach of all predators. Unfortunately, this ability also tended to desiccate them, as they rose far away from the ammonia oceans or blew over land. The lack of ability to hold in moisture was the downfall of this lineage.
Squirts are sessile descendants of the motile, swimming Luasks. While its pumping system made it into a highly effective filter feeder, it struggled to establish itself on the sea floor. Competition with Svis, who had a similar system to encourage flow around their bodies, was intense, but in the end it was the intense benthic predation that spelled this lineage’s doom. With no poisons and minimal defenses beyond trying to squirt jets of ammonia at the advancing armoured predators, the Squrits were unable to thrive, and fell into extinction early in the epoch.
The Brancher, similarly to the aforementioned Climber, was a nearly indistinguishable variant of the Tower. While Branchers, true to their name, formed branching structures, so too did Towers, with new towers often growing out of the vents. As such, the Brancher is generally regarded as a component of the Climber family.
Executives, like the photosynthetic Islanders, have adapted themselves heavily to exploit the vast nutrient stores at the cores of Floating Islands. By extending their hook-like structures to ever greater lengths, Executives can use these pseudo-roots, coupled with a relatively advanced vascular system to augmented their filter feeding with a large amount of saprotrophy (obtaining nutrients from decaying matter). Additionally, the efforts of Islanders and Executives have served to further enlarge the Floating Islands. In the past, the islands would expand outwards until at last the dead mass contained within burst out of the living exterior, as the whole island was sheared apart by various physical stresses. Now, with numerous root systems perforating the interior, the maximal size and survivability of these islands is further expanded, with the largest growing within the hearts of oceanic gyres of the Arisian Ocean, growing up to 10 kilometres in diameter and surviving for centuries.
The Stabby is a descendant of the Hobo, and comes armed with a set of spikes, which it uses to anchor itself in place while feeding. The ability to rest in place and feed serves as an effective energy conservation measure, and the spikes also provide a small amount of defense, although the Stabby’s primary defenses remains their slimy coats and their ability to smell enemies approaching and flee well beforehand. Stabbies are found often in the Floating Islands, where their primary predators are the stinging Mawies and Dawies. Outside of the floating islands, they are roaming grazers and scavengers, found scattered widely through the Arisian Ocean.
The Protlaepish is a descendant of the Dawie that makes use of its vision to hunt the Zeppus and other floating lifeforms, which had previously hovered tantalizingly out of reach of oceanic predators. By leaping out of the ocean, Protlaepish are able to puncture floatation sacs, sever tethers, or simply weigh down their prey until it is dragged into the ocean. Protlaepish can be found living on Floating islands, and to a lesser extent around the coasts of the Arisian Ocean. In both environments, they are often shadowed by other species, who are keen to take a piece of this prey away from the predators who brought them down.
The Sticker, descended from the Grabber, also evolved in the Arisian Ocean. With a broad, winglike body, the Sticker possessed a huge area for digestion and nutrient absorption. These organisms compete heavily with the Stabbies, as well as the Hobos, who have been extirpated from the Arisian Ocean as a result of this battle. Stabbies have better senses, while Stickers enjoy more efficient digestion, but overall neither organism possesses a significant enough advantage to completely monopolize the ‘free-swimming generalist’ niche.
Pedagogues are descendants of the Orators, and have adapted their simple spine-legs into complex, lengthy, jointed structures capable of moving them at great speeds around the sea floor, and even up into Tower Forests. This is useful as both an escape mechanism, and as a means of swiftly moving from one feeding site to the next. This successful evolution has entirely replaced Orators in the Arisian Ocean.
Notes: If an evolution is effectively indistinguishable from its ancestor, I won’t draw it or make stats for it- the evolution is not extinct, rather, it’s just a variant that fits under the aegis of the family from which it descended. This has been the case for the Climber and the Brancher this update, both of which had mutations to do things that their ancestors already did.
Also, it would be best if we avoid naming creatures things that are too similar. The Ma’wi, a close descendant of the Mawie, is a bit too close, so please try to avoid doing this in the future, thanks.
Finally, the winners are the Arisian Ocean, with the Sejessian Ocean with the Okianus Ocean tied for second. Okianus, Lambridian and Plassidian will go onto the list for new oceans in case I need to name them. Thanks for your participation!
Lambda has been since its earliest days a very tectonically active world. Powerful tidal forces generated by the nearby gas giant world of Thor regularly crack the moon’s crust, and cause dramatic surges and falls in Lambda’s ammonia oceans. These factors have been critical for the development of life on Lambda- the earliest forms of life developed in superheated pools of liquid water which exist within some of the deep fissures, before radiating out into the surrounding environment. More recently, the constant churning of continental plates has closed a gap in the global ocean, dividing it into two isolated sections. This has had a dramatic impact on ocean circulation and many local climates, although perhaps more relevant to contemporary lifeforms was the fact that life during the Sundering Epoch was divided into two two groups, sealed off within the basins of the Sejessian and Arisian Oceans, respectively. With population exchange now blocked, these two isolated environments have now begun to grow distinct from one another, as each develops its own set of unique flora and fauna.
Sejessian Ocean
The Islander is a descendant of the Aikoater, which made use of its dispersive spores to establish in the Floating Islands of the Sejessian Ocean. With a primitive system of roots, the Islanders are able to harvest the rich nutrients from the decaying biomass in the centres of the Floating Islands. Coupled with access to higher intensity sunlight than is available in the oceanic shallows from which it originated, Islanders have access to a surplus of resources. However, they are still limited by the frequent threat of dessication, if they grow in portions of the Floating Islands which extend above the surface, and their energy-intensive defenses are less necessary due to the dearth of herbivores native to the Floating Islands.
The Drifter, descended from the Budder. With gas-filled nodules, it was able to float, though it often remained anchored to the sea floor. Upper areas of these interlinked structures frequently broke off, dispersing widely, and sometimes even establishing on Floating Islands.
Polypus, descendants of the Zeppus, have seen several major morphological changes over the last epoch. Their floatation sacs have grown, while their dangling bulb of photosynthetic tissue has atrophied away to a scant few tendrils. The outer surfaces of the Polypu are covered with photosynthetic tissues, leaving these organisms resembling little more than a large, distorted photosynthetic bubble.
Ma’wis are another descendant of the Dawie, who have evolved a simple skeletal system for improved mobility. While this fairly heavy skeleton has further reduced the lineage’s swimming abilities (though they are still able to swim relatively short distances to disperse between different islands), it has made them very effective at efficiently crawling through the tangled messes beneath the surfaces of the Floating Islands of the Sejessian Ocean.
The Thrasher is the first swimming predator to ever predate upon the diverse assemblage of thick feasters who have dominated the benthos ever since the wave of extinctions in the Towerian Epoch, some twenty million years ago. With hard, serrated jaws, Thrashers swoop down upon their prey, typically from the side, snatching them from the ocean floor and puncturing their cuticular exoskeletons. With this initial damage done, Thrashers proceed to violently shake their prey to death, before descending to feed upon the shredded, highly-edible interiors. With no natural predators beyond other Thrashers, advanced bodily structures, and an abundant source of food, some species of the Thrasher family have been able to grow up to a massive 20 centimeters long, turning even the largest armoured crawlers into small, crunchy snacks.
Slimmers are strikingly similar to their Sticker cousins, although the Slimmers arose independently, in the Sejessian Ocean. Slimmers are tightly furled at most points, but they unfold their bodies in order to feed. This adaptation has allowed them to infiltrate the Floating Islands with great effectiveness, although they suffer heavily from predation by Ma’wis.
The Os-Cibus is distinguished from the Os-Spina primarily by its more developed digestive system, a simple tube extending from the front to the rear of the organism. While it has adapted to attack the stalks of Greaters, taking down such a structure is time and energy-expensive, and is thus an act of desperation for a lineage that would just as soon feed on the relatively more nutritious Aikoaters and Budders.
Goliaths evolved from the Chompers in response to the threat of predation by the fearsome Thrashers of the Sejessian Ocean. With a reinforced and heavily spiked shell, Goliaths are one of the few organisms that Thrashers will decline to hunt, knowing too well that an attack can lead to cracked jaws, broken teeth and potential flesh wounds.
Spikes evolved a very similar response to predation by both Chompers and Thrashers in the Sejessian Ocean. These creatures, already possessed with an enlarged first segment due to their cranial digestive tract, have further extended this segment, festooning it with sharpened defensive growths. When under attack, a Spike will pull its relatively more vulnerable rear sections under its head, and attempt to wait out the attack.
Arisian Ocean
Tiders are another successful descendant of the Zeppu. These organisms, in their juvenile state, greatly resemble their ancestors, but significant changes overcome them upon reaching maturity. Their floatation sacs, no longer needed, wither away and the photosynthetic portion of the organism settles down in the intertidal regions of the Arisian coastline. Tiders, with their small, rounded shapes, have a small surface area to volume ratio, and as such have just enough resistance to desiccation to survive from one high tide to the next.
The Climber is a variant of the Budder that remains almost entirely indistinguishable from its ancestor. As dying Budders already form fertilizer for their offspring, the Climber was really no different than its ancestor, and the rotting biomass did not tend to accumulate vertically. As such, most modern paleontologists regard the Climber as merely a component subfamily of the Budder, rather than a distinct grouping in its own right.
Airpus were an ephemeral evolution of the Zeppus, whose enlarged hydrogen sacs allowed them to sail far out of the reach of all predators. Unfortunately, this ability also tended to desiccate them, as they rose far away from the ammonia oceans or blew over land. The lack of ability to hold in moisture was the downfall of this lineage.
Squirts are sessile descendants of the motile, swimming Luasks. While its pumping system made it into a highly effective filter feeder, it struggled to establish itself on the sea floor. Competition with Svis, who had a similar system to encourage flow around their bodies, was intense, but in the end it was the intense benthic predation that spelled this lineage’s doom. With no poisons and minimal defenses beyond trying to squirt jets of ammonia at the advancing armoured predators, the Squrits were unable to thrive, and fell into extinction early in the epoch.
The Brancher, similarly to the aforementioned Climber, was a nearly indistinguishable variant of the Tower. While Branchers, true to their name, formed branching structures, so too did Towers, with new towers often growing out of the vents. As such, the Brancher is generally regarded as a component of the Climber family.
Executives, like the photosynthetic Islanders, have adapted themselves heavily to exploit the vast nutrient stores at the cores of Floating Islands. By extending their hook-like structures to ever greater lengths, Executives can use these pseudo-roots, coupled with a relatively advanced vascular system to augmented their filter feeding with a large amount of saprotrophy (obtaining nutrients from decaying matter). Additionally, the efforts of Islanders and Executives have served to further enlarge the Floating Islands. In the past, the islands would expand outwards until at last the dead mass contained within burst out of the living exterior, as the whole island was sheared apart by various physical stresses. Now, with numerous root systems perforating the interior, the maximal size and survivability of these islands is further expanded, with the largest growing within the hearts of oceanic gyres of the Arisian Ocean, growing up to 10 kilometres in diameter and surviving for centuries.
The Stabby is a descendant of the Hobo, and comes armed with a set of spikes, which it uses to anchor itself in place while feeding. The ability to rest in place and feed serves as an effective energy conservation measure, and the spikes also provide a small amount of defense, although the Stabby’s primary defenses remains their slimy coats and their ability to smell enemies approaching and flee well beforehand. Stabbies are found often in the Floating Islands, where their primary predators are the stinging Mawies and Dawies. Outside of the floating islands, they are roaming grazers and scavengers, found scattered widely through the Arisian Ocean.
The Protlaepish is a descendant of the Dawie that makes use of its vision to hunt the Zeppus and other floating lifeforms, which had previously hovered tantalizingly out of reach of oceanic predators. By leaping out of the ocean, Protlaepish are able to puncture floatation sacs, sever tethers, or simply weigh down their prey until it is dragged into the ocean. Protlaepish can be found living on Floating islands, and to a lesser extent around the coasts of the Arisian Ocean. In both environments, they are often shadowed by other species, who are keen to take a piece of this prey away from the predators who brought them down.
The Sticker, descended from the Grabber, also evolved in the Arisian Ocean. With a broad, winglike body, the Sticker possessed a huge area for digestion and nutrient absorption. These organisms compete heavily with the Stabbies, as well as the Hobos, who have been extirpated from the Arisian Ocean as a result of this battle. Stabbies have better senses, while Stickers enjoy more efficient digestion, but overall neither organism possesses a significant enough advantage to completely monopolize the ‘free-swimming generalist’ niche.
Pedagogues are descendants of the Orators, and have adapted their simple spine-legs into complex, lengthy, jointed structures capable of moving them at great speeds around the sea floor, and even up into Tower Forests. This is useful as both an escape mechanism, and as a means of swiftly moving from one feeding site to the next. This successful evolution has entirely replaced Orators in the Arisian Ocean.
Notes: If an evolution is effectively indistinguishable from its ancestor, I won’t draw it or make stats for it- the evolution is not extinct, rather, it’s just a variant that fits under the aegis of the family from which it descended. This has been the case for the Climber and the Brancher this update, both of which had mutations to do things that their ancestors already did.
Also, it would be best if we avoid naming creatures things that are too similar. The Ma’wi, a close descendant of the Mawie, is a bit too close, so please try to avoid doing this in the future, thanks.
Finally, the winners are the Arisian Ocean, with the Sejessian Ocean with the Okianus Ocean tied for second. Okianus, Lambridian and Plassidian will go onto the list for new oceans in case I need to name them. Thanks for your participation!
Spoiler Extant Organisms :
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Pretty sure the Brancher is meant to be a single organism with some sort of sharing network.
Nintz
King of the Britons
Hm. The Arisian Ocean is somewhat lacking. I suppose I'll evolve one of those creatures next.
And great update, as usual.
And great update, as usual.
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Too many straight lines starting to appear. :3
Nintz
King of the Britons
Would you prefer to have 15 evolutions of the same creature?
I do agree though. It's why I am jumping around so much.
Daftpanzer
canonically ambiguous
Great update Iggy, really loving the artwork This is shaping up well, but I feel someone needs to shake up these floating islands and get more nutrients circulating around 
Still proud of the Spire and Spinator descendents. GO TEAM
This is shaping up well, but I feel someone needs to shake up these floating islands and get more nutrients circulating around Still proud of the Spire and Spinator descendents. GO TEAM
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
I start getting antsy when 3-in-a-rows starting to appear. Time for some... branch splicing.
EDIT:
Organism: Grower
Ancestor: Sporer
Selective Pressure: Defenseless and easiest plant to eat, mass production starting to become ineffective as other plants dominate everywhere. Shading of Islands are growing extremely strong.
Mutation: Even faster reproduction.
The Grower reproduces so fast to the point that it can strangle slow eaters (like slimmers) by growing around and crushing it. In addition, "growths" form root-like and leaf-like appendages easily without necessarily spending energy specializing overmuch, each growth much the same as the other, just with one or more functions specialized. In fact, it grows so fast it can burst right through thinner shells of Towers or crush a glass leaf of the "indigestible" branch or cover the skin of dying animals with a scum of small grower spores seemingly spontaneously digesting and photosynthesizing into new Growers, who send out new tentacles, leaves and spores. They can grow clear through a Floater that happens to be over it, and those trapped above an expanding Floater Island can quickly mobilize the resources to grow root systems into the dead zone and the water beneath.
The secret to their success is the establishment of large, but fleeting sugar reserves and extension of reproductive cells across the entire body of the Grower. Although spore-colonies are still made in the central area, each tentacle/leaf/growth is continuously growing, expanding and surging outward.
EDIT: It's growth should be extremely prodigious during day time, spreading like a carpet of greeness from across the sea floor, digging into hapless stationary organisms for additional nutrients while being pushed back by hungry herbavores, who if they eat too much may find themselves squeezed by new growth until popped out of their shell and their nutrients consumed. Other Sunfeeders find the scum simply growing ontop and crushing various structures, although the Sunseeker's counter-movement may counteract the Grower. Sleeping organisms may find that the last thing they do as Growers quickly sqeeze the life out of them and use them to as nutrients to further their growth.
EDITEDIT: Of course, final growth rate is up to you. But they are emphasizing growth x2, specifically and unabashedly, strictly and straightfowardly emphasizing growth. Any behavior changes to seek additional nutrients they normally absorb from sea water and maybe the lucky partially-decayed corpse is up to you.
Daedwartin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,785
The tower has been mighty successful. It hasn't evolved yet, but it's still appearing to go strong
filli_noctus
Hmmn
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 2,221
Name: Trawler
Ancestor: Hitcher (Sejessian)
Selective pressure: Sheer number of organisms forming and inhabiting floating islands creates significant barriers to food availability
Mutation: The Trawler evolved from proto-Executive Hitchers that were in the Sejessian ocean and seperated from the main population that eventually became Executives. Instead of developing to access the interior of the floating islands the 'roots' became tendrils that grow inexorably downward through the fleshy mass to dangle under the bulk of the islands and filter nutrients from the dark waters below the islands.
Ancestor: Hitcher (Sejessian)
Selective pressure: Sheer number of organisms forming and inhabiting floating islands creates significant barriers to food availability
Mutation: The Trawler evolved from proto-Executive Hitchers that were in the Sejessian ocean and seperated from the main population that eventually became Executives. Instead of developing to access the interior of the floating islands the 'roots' became tendrils that grow inexorably downward through the fleshy mass to dangle under the bulk of the islands and filter nutrients from the dark waters below the islands.
Daftpanzer
canonically ambiguous
Iggy, will you be updating the stats again? I personally found it very useful to be able to look up all the traits and niches at a glance.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
You know something, this is worth reading even if you don't contribute to it. Really. See how the Tree of Life divides and expands, it's beautiful.
Instead of doing stats, I made this!
I made use of all the names that got more than one vote. As it stands, I think we could vote up a few more names for use as the two intermediate continents between Okianus and Plassidia, and for potential future use as continental drift gives us new continents.
Currently, here's a few names that remained at one vote. Feel free to suggest more if you have ideas.
Graderian
Eddorian
Haskone
Saharan
Zeppu
Spoiler :
I made use of all the names that got more than one vote. As it stands, I think we could vote up a few more names for use as the two intermediate continents between Okianus and Plassidia, and for potential future use as continental drift gives us new continents.
Currently, here's a few names that remained at one vote. Feel free to suggest more if you have ideas.
Graderian
Eddorian
Haskone
Saharan
Zeppu
Lord_Herobrine
Back in the Saddle
It would be interesting to get Iggys opinion on what creatures are the most successful for their category, dont you think?
Eltain
Deity
That is due in part to the protective symbionts, the Turretspores. Also because they are basically trees.
