NESLife VI

What... happened... here? So much extinction!

Shat has hit the fan

I don't **** around with mass extinctions!

This one was on par with a few of the more severe mass extinctions that happened in real life. In this mass extinction, just under 70% of all extant families at the start of the event were extinct by the end. However, if you take into consideration that the normal extinction rate of new organisms is fairly high in this NES, the numbers suddenly don't seem quite so bad.

Show must go on. Now, how to rebuild...

Name: Harvester
Ancestor: Arigogue
Selective Pressure: Reduced availability of animal prey because they're all dead!
Mutation: The Harvester has dropped omnivorousness to take advantage of the rapid regrowth of photoysnthesisers in the aftermath of the volcanic extinction. The Harvester has developed a primitive jaw to grind plant matter down into a pulp. The digestive enzyme glands are now exclusively within the 'mouth' so it doubles as a primitive stomach.

Remember everyone, extinctions are times of loss, but they're also the beginnings of great new diversifications. Had it not been for the Permian Mass Extinction, which killed off upwards of 95% of all species, then dinosaurs may never have risen to prominence- and mammals and birds would likely have remained forever on the fringes had the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction not taken down the dinosaurs.

So take this opportunity to diversify! Remember, just after a mass extinction is the best time to move into a new, vacant niche and let evolution go wild!

Also, a minor correction: the Galasvi should be just in the Sejessian Ocean. I forgot to delete it from the Arisian picture.

Ahh how did I miss all the drama last night? I wasn't expecting an update. Great stuff Iggy, glad to see you take the gloves off, this will make it all the more rewarding.

HOBO AND GALASVI YOU LEGENDS


Link to video.

Organism: Zebedi
Ancestor: Stabby (Arisian)
Selective Pressure: loss of floating island homes and continued predation, the need to adapt to an open ocean lifestyle.

Mutation: the Zebedi family builds on some of the main qualities of the Hobo lineage. Most species have a 'one-way' digestive system, with a primitive intestinal tract, that over time has evolved from having liquid-waste disposal through thin dorsal membranes, to having vents that allow solid waste to escape in convenient mucus-coated packets. The site of digestion has now moved to the middle of the animal, allowing the mouth to become more specialised. The increased pace of digestion has evolved hand-in-hand with an increased metabolic rate and a primitive circulation system surrounding the digestive tract, extending out through spiny exterior gills to gather hydrogen from the surrounding solution.

The gripping spikes of the Stabby have become internalised, forming bone-like structures that support stronger mouth muscles. Zebedi can thus use their mouth as a water jet for rapid backwards movement, fuelled by their faster metabolism. Some Zebedi may put small stones into their mouths to aid in grinding up food.

These adaptations allow the Zebedi to follow a (comparatively) fast-living, fast-growing lifestyle in the open water, taking feeding opportunities as fast as possible, dodging predators, and hopefully surviving long enough to breed.

YES!!!!!

I lived! I am uncharacteristically happy right now.

Evolution after school today.

Lord_Iggy said:

Remember everyone, extinctions are times of loss, but they're also the beginnings of great new diversifications. Had it not been for the Permian Mass Extinction, which killed off upwards of 95% of all species, then dinosaurs may never have risen to prominence- and mammals and birds would likely have remained forever on the fringes had the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction not taken down the dinosaurs.

So take this opportunity to diversify! Remember, just after a mass extinction is the best time to move into a new, vacant niche and let evolution go wild!

Also, a minor correction: the Galasvi should be just in the Sejessian Ocean. I forgot to delete it from the Arisian picture.

Click to expand...

Yea...but remember: the great dying is the perfect example of a positive feedback loop devastating just about everything.

Siberia erupts and Parts of Modern China erupt. They are near the north and south respectfully right now(Pangaea is the only continent ) also, Siberia is in its massive entirety erupting...now realize that means about half of the largest nation on earth used to be basically one giant volcano. The greenhouse gases produced was mammoth. The swamps located in Siberia understandably perished...wait swamps. And where there were swamps there is eventually coal....this will be important later.

Siberia erupts once more(note: each time, it's just spewing a mammoth lava flow. Still, one big ass lava flow.), also igniting the coal. This repeats for the next several million years...so things weren't going to improve anytime soon. Coal, plus millions of years of eruptions by Siberia equals way too much GHG.

Giant desert forms because of temp rise. Start extinction proper, as water disappears accross the continent. Temp rises even quicker....well, still like molasses compared to today.

Temp rises and rises, what small ice caps that did exist to being with long gone. Sea temp rises. Methane hydrate proceeds to be released into the atmosphere as the seas are too warm for them to stay down there. It doesn't take a stellar rise for this to occur. Methane is a extremely potent GHG...anyone noticing Greenhouse gases is the word of the day here.

temp rises more, and the thermocline ciriculation current, widely considered the deadliest current, shows us why it gained this name: it for the most part shuts down, causing anoxic event in the deep seas. This is when the mass extinct goes from killing a large amount of species, to almost all marine life.

this creates the perfect niche for hydrogen sulfide procducing bacteria...which kills off even more marine life, and they even dominate most the shores. Pink water is the norm now near shore. Earth as whole smells like rotten eggs(this is what causes that smell people.) it's a potent GHG.

In the end, world temp went up 8 degrees C.

All because two supervolanic lava flows occurred.

96% of all marine species, 70% of terrestrial vertebrate, 57% of all families, and 83% of all genera died. The main reason it was so severe was the worse event after worse event occurring and it's very drawn out pace, which was still quicker than evovlution could work the majority of life. Kinda hard to work around almost all oxygen gone in the deep seas. Had the eruptions been shorter by magnitudes of degrees, it would have not been so major.

And it took another mass extinction to occur to even put Dinos on the road to dominance. Then a asteroid decided to Interupt the party, allowing us to arise...and potentially cause the biggest mass extinction since the great dying, which had in common GHG. We are no where near what happened then, but we have a guideline to know what can happen

one successful evolution and the next day WAM, a mass extinction of your ecosystem.

Excellent. Having helped make Phylum Tonudae into one of the most differentiated and biomass-rich clades in the world...it's time to cut them down to size.

Organism: Zeph - Arisian Ocean
Ancestor: Iph
Selective Pressure: Continuation of previous selective pressures for speed and jumping ability
Evolution: Articulation of gliding fins and streamlined musculature to support said.

In the wake of the Graderian Traps, the Rangipu proliferated across the oceans with no natural predator but the Protlaepish. In response to this prey availability, the Zeph selected further for the the long-extant leaping and fast-swimming traits of Order Protlaepii, developing semitranslucent gliding membranes and using their musculature to propel themselves out of the water at top speed. They can predate on the abundant Zeppu as before, but their real targets are the Rangipu. They are night-hunters, soaring out of the sea to bring down Tonudae as they enter their low-flying ammonia gathering night cycles, and have developed bioluminescent markers (which differ by species) as part of a possible mating or territorial warning display.

Their faster speed allows them to pack-hunt Friendlies and Stabbies in times when the floating plant life is not abundant, however they cannot digest the meat as effectively.

You killed off everything I once made or held dear...

Hate to say this, but maybe you guys should spread out your evolutions more I lost my precious towers, but the descendants of the Spinator live on, as do the Hobo family, and my recent Galasvi.

Well the descendants of my Tonu survived but nothing I made myself

That's all that matters IMO ^^ I'm not too fused about my self-created species surviving. Its more fun for me to see others branch off from them, and have the legacy continue.

It's nice to see though what has evolved from mine has the most still alive

Daftpanzer said:

Hate to say this, but maybe you guys should spread out your evolutions more I lost my precious towers, but the descendants of the Spinator live on, as do the Hobo family, and my recent Galasvi.

Click to expand...

To victory, Spinators. The world having a bad case of digestion won't stop you. Conquer the world!!!!!

Daftpanzer said:

That's all that matters IMO ^^ I'm not too fused about my self-created species surviving. Its more fun for me to see others branch off from them, and have the legacy continue.

Click to expand...

I agree with that.

Note: I'll stop with this line after this evolution for a while

Name: Gangers
Ancestor: Friendlies
Selective Pressure: Desperation in the wake of the collapsing environments and greater predation.
Mutation:
While friendlies would divide the tasks of Labor and Protection, Gangers have developed specialization, with Guards, Laborers, Storers, and Reproducers. This specialization is a direct result of the ever increasing complexity of the Olfactory organs, as each of the specialized varieties of Gangers produces specific Pheromones which are meant to keep the Colony in balance at the ideal number of each type: When one dips below the others, the lowered amount of that particular pheromones triggers the creation of that particular type.

Morphologically, The Reproducer is the Variety of Ganger that is most similar to the Friendlies. Guards are much larger, with dedicated muscles and bones to attack any that threaten the colony. Laborers are much more efficient in the gathering of food stuffs than the ancestral Friendly, as they developed tentacles giving them a longer reach. Storers consume the food gathered by the Laborers, and synthesize a very rich and high sugar content within their bodies, which is then secreted for other members of the colony to consume. (Think Honey)



Did I do too much here?

Organism: Farfilter
Ancestor: Sinker
Selective pressure: Need to find food in the depopulated lower oceans.
Mutation: Farfilters have developed their internal sacs to act as jets, allowing them to move in the direction of larger quantities of flotsam in the ocean. This means their shape has become more elongated, to allow them to direct their motion efficiently.