Update 7 - The Touregian Epoch
This epoch is named after the
Toureg, or rather the fossil traces of its tidal burrows, which are very common in the geological record and appear rather abruptly at the start of this era. A general increase in jumbled ‘hard’ fossils is also notable at this time - in the form of shell fragments, and pieces of barbs, spikes, harpoons, jaws and teeth, telling the tale of an increasing arms race, at least amongst the shallow seas.
By all indications, the climate remained very stable, with cold-to-temperate conditions at the poles, varying by season, and warm wet conditions closer to the equator. Although huge carbon sinks were forming on land, where plants were growing undisturbed, this seems to have been balanced by volcanic activity all across the tropics, diffused through many small volcanic islands. At the same time, ever-increasing plant life - now over land, sea and air - also raised oxygen levels throughout this era, ending at a new high level in the planet’s history. Though the oceans initially lagged behind the atmosphere, eventually they too began to absorb the increased oxygen, all of which allowed certain species of animals to grow significantly larger than before (specimens from this era of
Flentatail,
Flestuary,
Frescatail,
Seepazo and
Phytophage have all been found measuring over one metre long).
In contrast, the aforementioned Toureg was from an ancient line of humble scavenging worm-like creatures, only distantly related to other animals and forming a distinct branch on the tree of life. They had long established themselves as burrowing scavengers amongst the shallow seafloor sediment. With adaptations to survive being out of water for short periods, and with an ability to actively swim against the tide, the Toureg was suddenly able to colonise the vast tidal flats that surrounded the land masses of this planet - or at least the warmer areas. As a burrowing scavenger in this niche it had little competition, with predators rarely able to detect them or dig them out of their sandy burrows. All of their digging also helped to free up more nutrients, which aided the growth of plant life in the tidal biomes.
The Toureg perhaps had a role to play in the appearance of the
Terrotron, notable for its polygonal and geometric arrangement of its pseudo-leaves, which on rare occasions were fossilised in exquisite detail. The fossils were initially a difficult puzzle to interpret. It is now understood that Terrotron emerged as a branch of the Xerotron, an already-ancient form of spiralform marine algae, that seems to have gone through a rapid series of changes at this time to emerge as a functional semi-aquatic plant - with roots to bind it to the surface, and an ability to tolerate being doused in rainfall or brackish water.
However, compared to the Tronic plants that had already colonised the land, Terrorton was primitive in many ways - it was relatively inefficient at photosynthesis, and could only spread itself by directly budding or branching out, lacking any form of airborne spores. It did however have certain key advantages inherited from the Xerotron - first the ability to form a mucus layer that both insulated the plant against environmental extremes in the short term, and discouraged harassment from animals such as the Zoupa, or from parasites like the Kafkasus; and secondly, the ability to partially desiccate and hibernate through spells of extreme weather. Thus, although not dominant on land, the Terrotron slowly spread across several land masses during this era, and was able to colonise certain biomes near the equator - such as the rain-shadows of mountain ranges - that had thus far proved too dry for the Tronic plants.
At the same time however, the Tronic plants were quite literally taking to the skies. The
Jagatron genus was a descendent of the Igatrone that had developed its airborne spore-structures to the point that they could grow into small masses with an internal hydrogen bubble, capable of surviving for extended periods in the atmosphere - by directly absorbing moisture from clouds, and slowly capturing particles of dust to obtain minerals and nutrients. Eventually, the airborne phases evolved to reproduce directly when conditions allowed, completely bypassing the need for settling on the surface and growing into a land plant. However, though the fossil evidence is very sparse, it is believed that the real picture was more complex, and that most Jagatron species retained the ability to grow as surface plants on occasion - albeit now lacking the ability to grow roots, they were sometimes able to grow as
bryophytes upon jagged rock surfaces and cliff ledges - and perhaps upon rafts of floating plant matter out on the oceans - which would in turn release more spores back into the atmosphere.
Meanwhile,
Surfster was the first animal capable of taking to the skies, at least for brief moments. It was an evolution of the Driftster, serene filter-feeders that had been cruising along the surface of the sea for millions of years, using primitive ‘sails’ to harness the power of the wind. Being helpless against predation, combined with the danger of being swept up by storms, had meant their numbers had fallen perilously low, but the relative simplicity of the creature and its low metabolic needs meant it was able to cling on amidst the vast expanses of open ocean, where predators were far less common.
Surfster now emerged from a branch of Drifster that developed its internal buoyancy to the point it was able to cruise with its body mass largely out of the water, and could even haul up its filter-feeding organs in response to being nibbled on by predators. At the same time, it had evolved feathery branches able to feed from aeroplankton - now including Jagatron spores - that might be floating above the sea on calm days. This led to Surfsters sometimes being seen in swarms, numbers that their ancestors had not reached for millions of years. It was still a precarious existence however, as they were now even more vulnerable to being swept up in powerful winds, and either blown onto land or high up into the sky, where they would rapidly dry out and suffocate if they did not soon fall back to the moisture of the waves. For now at least, these creatures were still tied to seawater for survival, with occasional windfalls of dead Surfsters arriving on land for scavengers to eat.
Indeed, life on land remained relatively calm and peaceful, with no animals yet able to exploit the plant life and growing deep inland. In some places, layer upon layer of Halgatrone and Igatrone essentially grew ontop of each other continually for millions of years, with the dead growths only partly broken down by bacteria of the time, eventually forming thick coal-like deposits. Zoupa and Fjordzord were able to graze on plant life where it occured close to the sea shore, and may have competed with each other for control of small islands, but both of these groups remained tied to saltwater.
It was a different story in the shallow sea biomes. Traditional pseudo-reef-builders like the Tubster and Treester were in sharp decline, but there emerged a new kind of mutualism between the
Tallubester and the
Longaetron. The latter was a new branch of marine algae that evolved acidic roots, capable of leaching useful minerals from either seafloor rocks, or preferably from the shells of Tallubsters. This, combined with the development of vascular tissue within the main stem of the Longatetron, and the minor defence provided by their acidic nature, allowed them to grow to significantly larger sizes than other marine algae, forming what could either be called reefs or underwater forests. The leaching of minerals was rarely fatal for the Tallubester however, rather it simply slowed their growth, while debris and detritus from the Langaetron also encouraged the growth of plankton on which the Tallubster fed, not to mention the animals taking shelter among the tangled roots of the Longaetron.
This increasing complexity, combined with rising oxygen levels, seems to have spurred the evolution of several new shallow-water species, including some ferocious new predators. However, most noticeable in the fossil record however is the
Phytophage, emerging from the now-ancient Xerophage lineage of free-swimming, largely herbivorous animals. Unlike their Falgophage cousins that still swarmed the oceans in huge numbers, the Phytophage was in some ways primitive - it could not tolerate cooler water temperatures, and could not reproduce efficiently by laying eggs under cover of sediment and debris, as had been the key to the Falgophage’s long success. However, the Phytophage did have certain key advantages - with the appearance of three pairs of paddle-like fins along its body, it was a more powerful and agile swimmer, better able to evade attacks by predators, as much as it’s primitive senses would allow. It also developed a true circulation system based around internal gill structures, and its digestive organs are also believed to be more sophisticated, all of which allowed these creatures to be larger and more active. This seems to have been key to their overtaking the Falgophage in the tropical shallows of this era.
The constant nibbling of animals like the Phytophage made sure the Longeatrons did not completely overgrow their Tallubester roots, nor could other types of algae completely smother the seabed. Of course, these grazers were in turn kept in check by a new generation of predators; the
Mouther was one such creature - evolved from the Scraper, it was now little more than a set of ferocious flesh-eating teeth mounted on a muscular tail. Some of the teeth had mutated into articulated pseudo-jawbones, allowing a functional biting action, which combined with its fearsome fangs and increased speed to create a very dangerous weapon, expanding its range of prey well beyond the poisonous Bigsters - it was now capable of chomping through Tubesters and the light exoskeletons of some of the Clinger family. It’s likely that even Cavaliers and Tallubsters were not immune to a determined Mouther. It’s main prey however is likely to have been other soft-bodied animals; though it lacked any true gills or circulation system, meaning it was smaller than some competitors and only capable of short bursts of activity. It’s other limiting factor would’ve been its primitive eyesight, making it hard to chase fast-moving prey like the Phyotophage, and difficult to avoid encounters with other, larger predators; still, it would have been able to bite off tentacles and perhaps perform hit-and-run attacks against such opponents.
The
Seeapazo meanwhile was an evolution of the harpoon-armed Harpazo, and a relative of the Mouther. With increasing agility of its prey, it evolved superior eyesight in order to coordinate the use of its harpoon weapon, and perhaps avoid entanglement with other predators - its vision still based around multiple simple eyes and eye-spots, but it is thought that it was now able to track movement and form basic images of its surroundings. It is also believed that the Seeapazo harpoon was tipped with venomous substance for immobilising its prey - this would make sense as the creature otherwise had no teeth or jaws; its favourite prey was likely to be the young of various different species, which could now be paralised and swallowed whole without injury. It’s likely the venom could also have been used defensively, to temporarily paralyse or perhaps even kill a larger opponent, allowing escape.
Also entering the fray was the
Frescatail, which in one sense was essentially a more powerful and faster relative of the Flentatail (which it almost, but not compltely replaced). Like the Mouther, the Frescatail had the speed to match the Phytophage, which was likely it’s favourite prey - as unlike the Mouther, the Frescatail would’ve had much more stamina for a chase, thanks to its tentacle-gills and circulation system. Although, like the Mouther, it’s basic eyesight was likely now the limiting factor in such hunts. Still, it’s barbed tentacles offered flexibility in rooting out, and grappling with various prey amidst the Tallubsters and various algae growths of the seabed.
Engimata is a strange new creature that appears at this time in the tropical shallows. so-named because it was initially quite a puzzle to place on the evolutionary tree, seemingly appearing from nowhere. It is now understood to be part of the Grabber-Clinger lineage, having evolved a more mobile lifestyle and a segmented body plan based on what was originally a conjoined sequence of cloned individuals; at this point it is believed the segments were still only loosely connected, and were each able of feeding and sustaining themselves independently. With primitive ‘legs’ it was able to move around the seafloor, perhaps migrating between high points where it could filter-feed under cover of night, before returning to the shelter of algae or debris during the day. Although armoured with an exoskeleton, it also developed sharp spikes along its body, seemingly a testament to the dangerous waters in which it now lived.
Meanwhile,
Alamantuzorg was the latest iteration of the Crawlzorg lineage, now-distant cousins of the Flentatail and Frescatail. Alamantuzorg evolved powerful jaws - believed to have a more powerful crushing force than the Mouther - and sophisticated stomach for the time, making it an effective omnivore. However, like its cousins, Alamantuzorg had only the most very basic senses - and was basically blind, apart from being able to tell night from day. This alone made it vulnerable to harassment from its cousins, which were now larger and more energetic. It’s poison defence was also not effective against the Mouthers, which could easily deliver devastating bites to the Admantuzrog before retreating. Indeed, predation by Mouthers is believed to have driven Admantuzrog and its cousins into functional extinction amongst the warm-water biomes by the end of this era, or at least reduced them to being active only at night. Cooler waters near the poles is where the Alamantuzorg lineage found its main refuge, where they were able to compete far more effectively for the seafloor omnivore role - moving around in small groups relatively undisturbed, feeding on whatever they stumbled into.
Various species of
Frescatail and
Seeapazo also began to appear in polar waters towards the end of this era, perhaps driven by the competition in warmer waters. At the poles they found abundant prey in the form of the Chillster and the Falgophage, which were relatively easy for them to catch, but retained their numbers despite the new predators, and formed a healthy ecosystem built around abundant plankton and vast growths of Falgatron that still had no real competition as a cold-water coastal algae.
Indeed, during this epoch, one branch of Falgophage evolved first to tolerate freshwater and then to thrive in it almost exclusively - the
Galgophage. Effectively isolated by their runaway adaption to fresh water, they were now unable to cross the oceans to colonise other continents, and remained confined to several land-masses near the north pole of the planet. Here at least they had unlimited access to riversides and lakes full of Galgatron growths, being the first animals to colonise these reaches, with no predation other than from their own kind. In the most extreme north however, though the waters rarely froze in winter, the long winter nights either severely stunted plant growth or killed it off completely, forming a zone where there were only seasonal migrations of Galgophage in the summer months.
The
Seeapazo meanwhile is also notable for its presence throughout the oceans. The other new predators had sacrificed buoyancy for streamlining and speed, meaning they had to actively swim to maintain their depth. Seeapazo was slower, but still able to float in a more energy-efficient manner, making it able to lurk in the oceans indefinitely, and follow the migrations of Xerophage back and forth throughout the year.
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*Species List + Stats*
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Notes:
After all the talk of more NPC evos… I only added the one planned NPC species, as I basically ran out of time and wanted to get the update posted today. Also, I think it’s only fair I give advanced warning of upcoming NPC evolutions, so people can adapt / plan around it if needed. SO, very soon I am planning to post two or three NPC species for the next update (hopefully later today).
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Angst, for the Longaetron, I changed one level of photosynthesis to ‘vascular tissue’ as this seemed to better fit the idea of it being a ‘long’ plant - otherwise, nutrients/minerals wouldn’t be able to flow far from the roots. I hope that’s OK.
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Jehoshua, under what I had in mind, 2x freshwater tolerance basically makes it difficult to live in salt water anymore, thus meaning the Galgophage can’t cross oceans to colonise other waterways. Sorry if that seems harsh... A future evolution could lose 1x level and re-evolve a more tidal zone lifestyle, where it’s not unfeasible for it to cross oceans. Or there could be another gene like ‘salt tolerance’ to enable it to cross oceans. I need to speak to Iggy more about Salmon and how they do it
but I think he said it’s not a trivial adaptation to be able to survive in both...
You could consider capping the era's evolutions at a certain number to prevent all the players from spamming out two evolutions per turn and making it un-updateable.
