Alright, writeup's nearly done, but the pictures are not. I pulled an all-nighter last night working on a phytogeography paper worth 25% of my mark, and I'm really pushing to get into grad school right now, so it needed a lot of attention. In response to 24 hours of wakefulness, I went to sleep soon after class, and thus slept until 10 PM. I've recovered the missing sleep, but only managed to put about 3 hours of work into this update. With luck it'll be finished on Wednesday, and if that fails, Thursday. After that, it's back to the rhythm we were enjoying before my spring 'break'.
In this epoch, the conquest of land has begun in earnest, as life has begun to spread deeply and thoroughly throughout the continental interiors, rather than merely holding onto a few tenuous beachheads. Vast forests have spread across the southern supercontinent, bringing about the comparatively rapid creation of soils across the vast continents of Plassidia, Graderia and Lambridia. These nascent forests help to constantly enrich these soils, and facilitate the migration of more moisture-dependent species into previously inaccessible areas. The impact of this massive increase in global biomass has been profound. The removal of vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere has dramatically weakened the greenhouse effect, chilling the planet by several degrees. As polar ammonia freezes, sea levels drop, although the continents have now spread far enough apart to render direct land contact impossible. Towards the end of the epoch, these climactic shifts have stabilized, and Lambda settles into a new, stable regime.
Global Skies
Prikipus resemble very closely their Rangipu ancestors, but possess an array of spikes around their outer surfaces. These structures serve to both deter predation and pop competitors, but also increase the photosynthetic surface areas of these floating plants. With these powerful competitive advantages, Prikipus have entirely replaced their ancestors.
Okianus and Eddoria
The Spiracul possesses nostrils, which open into heavily-vascularized internal tissues- a primitive lung, allowing these organisms to become some of the most effective land-respiring organisms in existence. Now fully-adapted for life on land, Spiraculs have spread widely across the northern continents, radiating into a diverse variety of roles. However, their simple digestive system remains a limiting factor to their development- to eat, Spiraculs, like all living descendants of the ancient Spinator, must ingest one stomach-full of food, fully digest it, and vomit the waste back out before continuing to graze. However, this limitation on the Spiracul’s feeding rate has not significantly impacted its success, as it has no competitors with superior digestive systems.
Plassidia, Graderia and Lambridia
Horods, developing a system of conductive tubes within their stems, have become the largest plants yet to evolve, radiating into a diverse assemblage with some specimens soaring to an awesome 2 meters in height. The success of Horods has dramatically changed the state of life on land. Now, most plants live in the shade of their massive cousins, who have formed Lambda’s very first forests.
Iberos have developed huge, fleshy taproots for water and nutrient storage. While this gives them significant survivability in the face of low precipitation, it does leave them particularly vulnerable to Needlers, who feed upon them from the safety of their burrows. Additionally, Iberos still lose a great deal of moisture through their leaves. While their leaves are small and have limited surface area for transpiration, they lack any other adaptations to hold in water, and thus are not significantly better dry-adapted than Sky-Stealers, who are some of their primary competitors.
Leafers have developed leafy structures folded into the shape of inverted cones. While this is offers little photosynthetic advantage, the cones do provide an excellent ammonia absorption tool. Throughout the epoch, Leafers have thrived, becoming one of the most common forms of ground cover at this time.
Sky-Stealers have evolved vascular systems in parallel with their distant Horod relatives. With a colonial structure, massive root systems, and simple branching structures, Sky-Stealers are able to compete with Horods for dominance in the expanding forests of the southern hemisphere. While Horods tend to grow taller, the branching Sky-Stealers are much bushier, often forming an intermediate layer within these ecosystems. Additionally, the waxy cuticles and voluminous roots of Sky-Stealers allow them to survive in much drier environments than Horods.
Needlers have improved on the basic body plan of the Burrower, further adapting themselves towards a subterranean lifestyle by developing a conical anterior and increasing their limb musculature. Additionally, befitting their name, Needlers have developed a piercing proboscis, allowing them to feed on the nutritious fluids located in the root systems of many plants, as well as the bodies of other Needlers. Faced with this strong competitor, the Burrowers from which this family descends have been driven to extinction.
Global Ocean
Freefilters have developed sweeping winglike structures, allowing them to passively glide down through the ammonia seas after launching themselves away from prey. While they lack musculature and a nervous system that would allow for any actual swimming or directed propulsion, these wings are nonetheless an ingenious adaptation allowing them to flee predators like a motile organism, without all of the attached metabolic costs.
Hybers have developed a symbiosis with a family of single-celled photosynthesizers. Hybers provide captured nutrients to their internal symbionts, in exchange for excess sugars generated by the photosynthetic process. While this strategy is not quite as profitable as pure filter feeding or pure photosynthesizing, the synergy between the two organisms does allow them to survive in areas where algae are highly predated-upon, and where particle densities in the ammonia seas are not high enough to sustain a non-symbiotic Farfilter.
The Padiped, like its distant cousin the Mantifip, has adapted its crawling legs into swimming paddles. This highly-energetic and well-armoured creature has thrived, becoming a significant competitor in a broad variety of niches, ranging from skittish herbivores to generalist omnivores to a few middling predators which are able to give some of the predatory hobos a run for their money. In general, the Padipeds have the advantage with their sense of sight, complex jaws and capacity for brief, energetic bursts, while the members of phylum Hobonia, such as Zippers and Shredders, enjoy vastly superior digestion and gas exchange capabilities, as well as a sense of smell. Overall, this has sorted the predatory branches of these families into two general lifestyles- hobos are stalkers and endurance predators, frequently in more turbid seas, while Padipeds tend to remain within smaller ranges, making use of their potent offensive and defensive abilities to compete for the optimal hunting sites, which they need due to their less effective digestive systems and extremely limited staying power. Without a dedicate gas exchange apparatus, the vascular system of the Padiped, complex though it is, simply runs out of hydrogen to cycle around the body, causing the organism to be overwhelmed by fatigue after its short exertions.
Ambushers, descended from the herbivorous Burrowers, have adapted their tunneling abilities for a unique form of hunting. Unlike most other predators, which chase their prey, Ambushers lurk in place, hidden within their intertidal burrows, with a network of protruded hairs to detect the telltale vibrations caused by the movement of their prey (typically an orator, crossing the intertidal zone to access the increasingly rich sources of inland plant life). As soon as something comes too close, the Ambusher bursts out of its burrow, swiftly killing its prey with its heavy forelimbs before dragging the body underground for a feast.
Skyhunters adapted to an even more energetic lifestyle than their Skyborn ancestors, though this strategy proved to have little success. Already struggling with a limited ability to acquire resources, due to their external digestive system and reliance on skin diffusion for gas exchange, greater musculature and more complex wings did little to address the problem- indeed, there is exceedingly little pressure to improve flight beyond its current status, due to the fact that the primary aerial prey items hover passively, and regularly move close to the ocean’s surface. Skyhunters found themselves outcompeted by the Skyborn, who have the same digestive and respiratory systems, but possess a slightly less energy-intensive physiology which gives them a survival advantage.
Benthos adapted to ever greater pressures as they moved into progressively deeper regions, and developed a unique form of bioluminescence. However, lacking eyes, the ability to generate light was useful only insofar as it could lure prey, and at present the only organisms to be found at such depths are Sinkers, their descendants, and Abyssis. With use neither for hunting, nor for wayfinding in the pitch black depths, the evolutionary experiment of the Benthos met a quiet end, as the lineage was gradually outcompeted by its simpler Abyssi forebears.
Haskone Salt Lakes
As Eddoria and Okianus continue their monumental collision, the Haskone Sea has become increasingly shrunken and fragmented by the uplift of the Haskone Range, the tallest mountains to be found in the northern hemisphere of Lambda. Growing increasingly saline, these bodies of water are now more accurately referred to as the Haskone Salt Lakes. However, this has done little to deter the diversification of life in this area.
From the Haskone lineage of Zebedis has emerged the Zebetacka. Adapting several of its external spines into fins, the Zebetacka is one of the most maneuverable swimmers on Lambda. These stiff swimming appendages are also of some use in helping the Zebetacka to propel itself, in brief, energetic spurts, between separate pools, a skill which is becoming increasingly necessary as the Lakes continue their inexorable shrinking and drying trend.
Okianus and Eddoria
Plassidia, Graderia and Lambridia
Global Ocean
Haskone Salt Lakes
Lambda
Notes: Many, many people are misunderstanding what selective pressures are, and this is a frequent cause of failed evolutions. A selective pressure is a negative force that is hurting the reproductive rate of the ancestral species. A selective pressure is not an opportunity which you would like your species to occupy. Thus using ‘Intense predation by Shredders’ as a selective pressure is valid- it’s something that’s hurting your species. ‘Thick skin for water retention’ could be a viable mutation in response to Shredders, as it allows your organism to flee the seas and evade Shredder predation. However, to use Nailix as a specific example, ‘Need to stay above water longer’ is not a selective pressure. A better example would be to say ‘heavy competition for low-floating plants’, and then offer a mutation in response to this selective pressure: for example, something that would let your species to catch higher-flying prey.
This Wikipedia article is short, and could probably be expanded upon, but it provides a brief discussion of what exactly a selective pressure is.
Lord_Herobrine, the description of the Needler was very ambiguous. When you described a ‘flexible spine’ for wiggling through dirt, I at first thought that this was the same as the feeding spine. That didn’t make any sense to me, as such a burrowing method would be utterly inefficient. However, I then began to wonder if you meant spine as in ‘spinal cord’, like that found in earth chordates. Then I started to wonder if you were referring to the flexible spines that Spinators and their descendants use as legs. In the end, I started off writing an extinction notice for your creature, then reversed my decision 3 times, ultimately deciding on interpreting your evolution as a ‘flexible burrowing body with burrowing spines (as in the leg-type of spines) and possessing a protrusible feeding tube.
Everyone, just as a note, having lots of internal fluid storage isn’t always a great way to become desiccation resistant. Most important are the ability to collect fluids, and the ability to avoid losing them. As a metaphor, try comparing a huge, leaky storage tank with a small, tightly-sealed one. Which one is more effective?
SpoilerExtant Organisms :
Tonuda
Organism: Anku
Description: A gaseous sac with a photosynthetic skin, dessication resistance, motile tethering roots and floating young.
Niche: Migratory hovering primary producer.
Organism: Horod
Description: A photosynthetic mass with a predation-resistant vascularized stalk, specialized reproductive cells, deep tuberous roots, thickly-clustered leaves, ammonia-born spores and moderate desiccation resistance.
Niche: Small tree.
Organism: Horra
Description: A photosynthetic mass with a predation-resistant stalk, specialized reproductive cells, deep tuberous roots, thickly-clustered leaves, ammonia-born spores and moderate desiccation resistance.
Niche: Terrestrial primary producer.
Organism: Ibero
Description: A photosynthetic organism with windblown spores, huge tuberous roots, low surface area leaves, and moderate desiccation resistance.
Niche: Terrestrial plant.
Organism: Paripu
Description: A gaseous sac with a photosynthetic skin, pseudopredatory tendrils, limited desiccation resistance and budding young.
Niche: Hovering primary producer.
Organism: Prikipu
Description: A gaseous sac with a photosynthetic skin and spines, dessication resistance and floating young.
Niche: Hovering plant.
Organism: Solarotil
Description: A photosynthetic organism with a predation-resistant stalk, sticky windblown spores, tuberous roots, high surface area leaves, and limited desiccation resistance.
Niche: Coastal primary producer.
Organism: Tenku
Description: A gaseous sac with a photosynthetic skin, dessication resistance, pheromonal signalling, motile tethering roots and desiccation-resistant spores.
Niche: Migratory hovering primary producer.
Organism: Toilotil
Description: A photosynthetic mass with a predation-resistant stalk, specialized reproductive cells, tuberous roots, leaves, floating young and moderate desiccation resistance.
Niche: Terrestrial primary producer.
Organism: Ventus
Description: A photosynthetic mass with windblown spores, tuberous roots, leaves and limited desiccation resistance.
Niche: Coastal primary producer.
Organism: Siccabis
Description: A photosynthetic organism with windblown spores, tuberous roots, low surface area leaves, and moderate desiccation resistance.
Niche: Terrestrial primary producer.
Organism: Zeppu
Description: A photosynthetic mass with specialized reproductive cells, buoyed into the splash zone by a gaseous external sac.
Niche: Hovering primary producer.
Sporida
Organism: Grower
Description: A flat mass of photosynthetic cells with highly-specialized tissues for mass-reproduction and energy storage tissues.
Niche: Mass-reproducing primary producer.
Indigestibilia
Organism: Drainer
Description: An interlinked colonial organism with thick silicate plates for defense, parasitic tendrils, and budding reproduction.
Niche: Floating primary producer.
Organism: Freefloater
Description: An interlinked mass of photosynthetic cells with isolated silicate crystals for defense, gaseous sacs for buoyancy, radial extensions for greater light capture, and budding reproduction.
Niche: Floating primary producer.
Organism: Ground-Grabber
Description: An interlinked colony of photosynthesizers with isolated silicate crystals for defense, buoyant gas sacs, radial extensions for greater light capture, gripping hooks, minor desiccation resistance from internal gels and budding reproduction.
Niche: Intertidal primary producer.
Organism: Ground-Grasper
Description: A budding colony of photosynthesizers with carbon-based polymers for defense, radial leaves for greater light capture, and moderate desiccation resistance from waxy cuticle and internal gels.
Niche: Terrestrial primary producer.
Organism: Leafer
Description: A budding colony of photosynthesizers with carbon-based polymers for defense, inverted conical leaves for water and light capture, and moderate desiccation resistance from its waxy cuticle and internal gels.
Niche: Terrestrial plant.
Organism: Sky-Stealer
Description: A budding colony of photosynthesizers with carbon-based polymers for defense, structural support and vascular transport, radial leaves for light capture, and moderate desiccation resistance from waxy cuticle and internal gels.
Niche: Terrestrial primary producer.
Organism: Tangle Reef
Description: An interlinked colony of photosynthesizers with symbiotic mineralized pockets, buoyant gas sacs, radial gripping hooks and budding reproduction.
Niche: Subtidal primary producer and filter symbiont.
Filtrara
Organism: Farfilter
Description: A filter feeder with jet propulsion.
Niche: Floating filter feeder in open oceans.
Organism: Freefilter
Description: A cluster of spongy cells which modulate their buoyancy with gaseous internal sacs, with a spring-loaded spine to launch itself from danger and rigid wings to glide.
Niche: Motile benthic filter feeder.
Organism: Galasvi
Description: A noxious filter feeder with hollow internal structures composed of spongy cells which circulate ammonia with undulating microstructures.
Niche: Toxic, stationary filter feeder.
Organism: Hyber
Description: A filter feeder with jet propulsion and symbiotic algae.
Niche: Floating filter feeder and in open oceans.
Organism: Nestler
Description: A filter feeder which lives in association with Freefloaters.
Niche: Epiphytic filter feeder on Freefloaters.
Organism: Sinker
Description: A cluster of spongy cells which modulate their buoyancy with gaseous internal sacs.
Niche: Floating filter feeder in medium to deep oceans.
Organism: Svi
Description: A noxious, unspecialized cluster of spongy cells which circulates ammonia with undulating microstructures.
Niche: Toxic, stationary filter feeder.
Organism: Waltzer
Description: A cluster of spongy cells which modulate their buoyancy with gaseous internal sacs, with a spring-loaded spine to launch itself from danger.
Niche: Motile benthic filter feeder.
Hobonia
Organism: Abyssi
Description: A motile, olfactory predator with a digestive tract, nephridium, slimy skin, primitive tetrahedral skeleton, chitinous armour for defense and pressure resistance, accordion-like lateral gills, a primitive circulatory system and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Deep-ocean swimming generalist.
Organism: Friendly
Description: A motile, olfactory social predator with a sac-like gut, slimy skin, gripping spikes, and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Swimming generalist.
Organism: Ganger
Description: A motile, olfactory eusocial predator with castes, pheromonal communication, a sac-like gut, slimy skin, gripping spikes, and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Olfactory swimming generalist.
Organism: Shredder
Description: A motile, olfactory predator with a digestive tract, nephridium, slimy skin, primitive tetrahedral skeleton with powerful jaws, and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Swimming apex predator.
Organism: Zebedi
Description: A motile, olfactory predator with a digestive tract, nephridium, slimy skin, primitive tetrahedral skeleton, and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Olfactory swimming generalist.
Organism: Zebtacka
Description: A motile, olfactory predator with a digestive tract, nephridium, slimy skin, primitive tetrahedral skeleton, stiff fins for swimming and crawling, and a short tail for propulsion.
Niche: Swimming generalist.
Organism: Zipper
Description: A motile, olfactory predator with a digestive tract, nephridium, slimy skin, primitive tetrahedral skeleton, accordion-like lateral gills, a primitive circulatory system and a ribbon-like tail for swimming.
Niche: Olfactory swimming generalist.
Maves
Organism: Gliph
Description: A motile hovering social predator with a buoyant sac and fins for leaping and gliding, sharpened spines for penetrating prey, primitive eyes, mild desiccation resistance and a stinging tentacle.
Niche: Hovering oceanic herbivore.
Organism: Ith
Description: A motile social predator with dense musculature and hooked fins for crawling, swimming and leaping, primitive eyes and a stinging tentacle.
Niche: Stinging swimming coastal visual predator of Zeppus and Polypus.
Organism: Protlaepish
Description: A motile predator with dense musculature and hooked fins for crawling, swimming and leaping, primitive eyes and a stinging tentacle.
Niche: Stinging swimming coastal visual predator of Zeppus and Polypus.
Organism: Skyborn
Description: A motile social predator with dense musculature and gliding fins for leaping and gliding, sharpened spines for penetrating prey, dorsal reproductive sacs with parasitic young, primitive eyes and a stinging tentacle.
Niche: Stinging swimming flying coastal visual predator and parasite of floating plants.
Organism: Zeph
Description: A motile social predator with dense musculature and gliding fins for leaping and gliding, sharpened spines for penetrating prey, primitive eyes and a stinging tentacle.
Niche: Stinging swimming coastal visual predator of Zeppus and Polypus.
Curata
Organism: Ambusher
Description: An armoured organism with 10 spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for digging and olfaction, covered in vibration-sensitive hairs.
Niche: Intertidal ambush predator.
Organism: Burster
Description: An armoured motile omnivore with 6 crawling spines, 2 rudders, 2 olfactory antennae and gaseous jet propulsion, with a set of slicing and grinding jaws.
Niche: Olfactory armoured, benthic predator.
Organism: Curatol
Description: An armoured motile scavenging organism with 10 spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for olfaction.
Niche: Olfactory armoured, benthic scavenger.
Organism: Devourer
Description: An armoured motile omnivore with 10 spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for olfaction, and a set of slicing and grinding jaws.
Niche: Olfactory armoured, benthic scavenger.
Organism: Manitol
Description: An armoured motile scavenging organism with 10 spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for olfaction and 2 of which are adapted for manipulation.
Niche: Olfactory armoured, benthic scavenger.
Organism: Mantifip
Description: An armoured swimming and crawling scavenger with 3 pairs of swimmerets, 2 olfactory antennae and 2 manipulator arms.
Niche: Olfactory armoured scavenger.
Organism: Needler
Description: An armoured motile organism with a feeding proboscis, 10 muscular digging spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for digging and olfaction.
Niche: Intertidal burrowing generalist.
Organism: Placebol
Description: An armoured motile organism with 10 spines for locomotion and defense, 2 of which are adapted for olfaction, specialized to eat poisonous Svis.
Niche: Olfactory armoured, benthic Svi-eater.
Orata
Organism: Hunter
Description: An armoured amphibious predator with 10 articulated legs for swift locomotion, jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Amphibious predator.
Organism: Padiped
Description: An armoured swimming generalist with 10 muscular, articulated paddles, a segmented rudder-like tail, multiple peripheral hearts in an open circulatory system, jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Swimming Generalist.
Organism: Paravester
Description: An armoured social amphibious grazer with 10 articulated legs for swift locomotion, powerful digging jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Amphibious omnivore.
Organism: Skitterer
Description: An armoured amphibious grazer with 10 muscular, articulated legs for swift locomotion, multiple peripheral hearts in an open circulatory system, jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Visual armoured, amphibious omnivore.
Organism: Spiracul
Description: An armoured terrestrial grazer with 10 muscular, articulated legs for swift locomotion, multiple peripheral hearts in an open circulatory system, nostrils and primitive lungs, jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Terrestrial armoured omnivore.
Organism: Tybiller
Description: A thickly-armoured desiccation-resistant terrestrial grazer with 10 articulated legs for swift locomotion, a tracheal system for gas exchange, jaws and two primitive stalked eyes.
Niche: Visual armoured, amphibious omnivore.
Sorry about not being clear enough in my description, but a flexible spinal chord was what i was hoping for with the spines on the outside helping to burrow through the ground. You guessed correctly on how i wanted the organism to grow.
And yes, there are vast 'tropical' rainforests, particularly in Graderia and the southern tip of Eddoria. In these steamy 'jungles', the temperatures can soar up to -50 C, and ammoniac rainfall is abundant. At the poles, by comparison, the temperature drops as low as -100. Here, ammonia freezes solid (its freezing and boiling points are different than those observed on Earth, due to Lambda's atmospheric pressure at sea level being roughly 200 kilopascals, twice that of Earth)- but unlike water, it does not form a floating icecap, but rather sinks to the depths of the ocean, due to solid ammonia having greater density than liquid ammonia.
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