#sky horse

[kokosovc]

skykid riding a hourse

[raingerr]

my last specevo worldbuilding post was a while ago but i promise i didnt forget

today's topic: what if a horse could fly yaaayyy

what is important to consider is that i like an absurd challenge, which includes the fact that horses are tetrapods. equines have four limbs (their legs) and, unfortunately, a true pegasus has six (legs + two wings). it is really really implausible that a horse would evolve two new limbs that eventually develop into huge, feathered wings that can lift itself up so i had to get more creative. and luckily there is an awesome location in my world that could lend itself to creating freaky horses.

The Clifflands are a unique area of the world characterized by hundreds of miles-deep canyons and ravines. the remaining land areas are called islands. if you are wondering how this land got like this: thats a secret. but just imagine if an unbearably large object made of ethereal energy suddenly slammed into the planet and screwed everything up. it was a very sudden event and the plains and meadows that once covered this landscape became cracked and broken. clearly, this environment is not suitable for large grazing animals like horses.

the first offshoot of horses from this area was the genus Onychohippus, a relative of Eohippus. It was similar to Eohippus for the most part, but its limbs showed more adaptations for climbing and agility. this is where the family Pteroungulinae begins.

the fossil record is sparse in this area for obvious reasons, but the next known step in evolution was the Protopteroungulis. this animal had distinct adaptations for flight. the forelimbs were altered for gliding flight, likely to make traveling from island to island much easier. though this lineage shares traits with pterosaurs and bats, they differ in the construction of the forelimbs from both of them. the second toe became elongated and retained its hoof. it is thought that the remaining hoof was used in intraspecies combat. it may also be useful for landing against and climbing the stony cliff walls. since Protopteroungulis was likely not the most graceful flier, it may have used the hoof on its wing tips to land. it would have glided over to another cliff, turned its body upright, then hit the cliff with its wings. the sharp hoof claws would dig into the wall and it would settle onto its back legs as well. then, it would have been able to climb up the wall using its wings and legs.

the second notable feature of its wings is the bony rod through the middle. this bone is analogous to the sesamoid carpal on the back of horses' front legs. the wing itself is just skin.

pteroungulinae continued to gain more adaptations to flight. the third toe soon became vestigial and eventually was absorbed/combined into the long wing finger. that toe's hoof remained present, however, and became a hard surface on the outer edge of the wing. Pteroungulis was one of the first members of Pteroungulinae to have this hoof surface. the remaining toe on its wing also became more hooked, presumably to assisting in movement along the cliffs. its back toes became claw-like and its wing was much larger than the previous Protopteroungulis. it is thought that Pteroungulis may have been able to use powered flight, but this is not for certain. one piece of evidence to this is that its coloration was more similar to its modern relative, which is though to look like that in order to camouflage itself from the top down to blend in with the entire landscape. this would only be necessary if it were flying above the ravines, so it is not unlikely it was at least capable of pumping its wings to gain altitude to a degree.

the only surviving member of Pteroungulis is Caelohippus. it is most similar to Pteroungulis, but is more built for powered flight. "Sky horses" can be found soaring above the Clifflands, evading their draconic predators. they have a sharp spine on the end of their wings and have been seen using it to grab onto cliff walls as well as sparring with other sky horses. the hoof plate on the edge of the wing is used to deflect the attacks of other sky horses. they are omnivorous, mainly eating foliage but also going after small lizards, mammals, and birds. unlike horses, they retain their upper canines.

[pir8]

an airplane is kind of like a large creature

[brawlertech]

Aurelus Geogan Sky Horse | Geogan Rising

[illustratus]

Storm by Zdzisław Jasiński

[389]

by Ry Shorosky

[fortunatelyperfectcreator]

[skycowboys]

Shrimp fishing with a belted kingfisher themed shortwing!

A recent commission :)

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Sky Cowboys Discord Community | Patreon | Art Prints

[expressions-of-nature]

Midnight in Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland by Jónína Guðrún Óskarsdóttir

[artist-rat]

nothing new, just average skyrim experience

[jesusmyking2024]

[rupeenotruby]

Handy Guide:

Of Courses I Have Horses! [First] <<Previous || Next>>

Let me know if any part of that chart is inaccurate! Pretty sure it is though. And I hope you can tell who everyone is. Didn't want to color it all in. I firmly believe the Wind would have a more extreme reaction to seeing a horse than Sky would. Sure, they've both never seen a horse in person, but Sky regularly discovers new species(or new to him and skyloft). This would be just another Tuesday to him. A horse to Wind is like a dinosaur to us. If a dinosaur was walking around my town I would have a bit of a reaction. (What if Wind was the equivalent of those dinosaur-obsessed kids lol).

This one is a bit wordy! Sorry but Wind talks a lot. I had a lot of trouble with thinking up something for Wind. But drawing his expressions was really fun!

I tried to make the panels a little smaller so this can be more compact. I don't think it did anything though. The next one might be slower because my finals are coming up but after that they should be faster because my class will be over!

[quariumarts]

A gentle sky

A gentle galaxy

[illustratus]

Landscape in an Approaching Storm by Willem Roelofs

[389]

samjsn

[fortunatelyperfectcreator]