#speculative evolution seed world

[monkeyseededworld]

İn Middle Terocene,long legged tera bats become two New clades,this clade is Ungulotheres much like @tribbetherium Ungulopes and Ungulate Mammals on Earth.

This two species named Three horned Tricebat (Triceratobatus antilopoides) and Gibat (Giraffoides spp.) Now into this clade become hoofed herbivores and finally really unusual is ungulotheres are Flying foxes!!

@the6planet8ofbats

[monkeyseededworld]

Thanks for this Amazing Unusual man

[craftingcreatures]

Some sketchy concept stuff that I'm posting because I liked it but couldn't be bothered to refine it into an actual artwork.

These submarine behemoths are the Mermares (Clade Euhippocampiformes), secondarily aquatic descendants of the domestic donkey. The group first appeared around 29 million years post-cataclysm, in the late Nerian stage of the Diluvian period. They evolved from an animal called the Seabra, a descendant of the Donkey which adapted to exploit a niche with, thus far, zero competition - that of a large marine herbivore.

On earth, marine ecosystems are notable for the distinct lack of vascular plant life, a condition caused by a number of factors - most notably the osmotic stress caused by the saltwater. Most photosynthesis is carried out by algae. On Spero, however, things are different. Because Spero's oceans were generated relatively recently, from extraterrestrial ice particles, there just hasn't been enough time for erosion and the water cycle to deposit dissolved minerals in the water. As a result, Spero's seas are made of freshwater - a much more tolerable condition for most plants, and thus the diversity of marine vascular plants is much, much higher than on earth. Also, due to the flatness of the flooded landscape and lack of any real tectonic features, enormous swathes of the seabed lie within the photic zone, less than 200 meters from the surface. Thus, endless expanses of marine grasslands - the "seagrass prairies" - extend from the shore, often for hundreds of miles before the water finally gets too deep for photosynthesis to occur.

All of this plant life is an extremely attractive prospect for herbivores, and it was likely what drew the ancestral Seabra to forage in shallow coastal meadows in the first place. But as the oceans got deeper and life adapted, the Seabra had to adapt in kind - their hind legs rotated backwards to act as a pair of propulsive flukes, their forelimbs developed into steering flippers, and their nostrils retreated to sit on their foreheads.

One notable feature of the Mermares is hyperphalangy, a condition where the fingers have too many bones. It's very common in large marine tetrapods in Earth's history - whales and dolphins, Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and Mosasaurs all exhibited hypoerphalangy to some degree - and seems to be associated with the specialization of the limbs into flippers. We would expect to see similar patterns in marine lineages on Spero. What's unique about the Mermares, however, is the sheer number of extra phalanges in the finger; at least fifteen in the shorter-finned species, and more than thirty in the longest-finned forms. And because Mermares - being equids - only possess one digit per limb, the result is a single long chain of flat, squarish bones which, in some cases, can reach over forty feet long - the longest arms ever to exist.

These ridiculous appendages produce a lot of drag and are merely adequate for steering and stabilization. So why do the Mermares have them?

The answer is that they're weapons. And particularly devastating ones, at that.

Mermares use their flagellating flippers as bludgeons, against both predators and conspecifics. The flippers are connected to powerful neck muscles and can be swung forward with impressive force; combined with a well-timed twisting of the giant horse's torso, the huge flippers can impact hard enough to shatter bone and pulverize flesh. The flippers themselves do not escape unscathed, and older individuals often have scarred or mangled flipper-tips from numerous battles over the years; but it's a small price to pay for survival.

When not being used against their enemies, the flippers may be folded back against the sides of the animal to reduce drag, or used as props to keep the animal's belly up off the seabed when feeding. Mermares spend up to 18 hours per day grazing, using their long neck to crop aquatic grasses and other vegetation in a wide arc without moving their bodies and occasionally dipping up to the surface to breathe. Mermares are keystone species in the seagrass prairies; as hindgut fermenters, they are not as efficient at processing plant matter as ruminants like goats, and produce large amounts of nutrient-rich dung which acts as fertilizer for the meadows and helps keep the environment productive. The dung also acts as food for a variety of fish and invertebrates.

Let's look at some of the Mermare's diversity, shall we?

Drepanarion (center right) One of the smaller Mermares, Drepanarion nonetheless grows to nearly 12 meters (39 feet) long. It is immediately recognizable by the bold black-and-yellow striping on the heads and necks of the stallions, and by the tall, narrow nuchal crest which extends from the withers and makes the stocky body look even more powerful. Unlike most other Mermares, which live in small groups of less than ten individuals, Drepanarion can be found in herds of over a hundred in the seagrass prairies of the Savanian (41 - 50 million years post-cataclysm). These nomadic throngs graze patches of seagrass nearly to the roots before moving on, giving the ecosystem time to regrow before returning in a few years' time. Drepanarion exhibits the most extreme sexual dimorphism of any Mermare, with stallions being both larger and more brightly coloured than mares; during the annual rut, males will fight each other in brutal bludgeoning matches to establish dominance and secure mates. To this end, they have some of the most extreme flipper anatomy of any Mermare; though not especially long (indeed, they have the shortest flippers of any derived genera), each phalanx bone has a protruding bony tubercle on the anterior edge which extends into a keratinous knob. These knobs both protect the flipper during combat and focus the force of the blow into a smaller area, dealing more damage.

Hipposeidon (bottom left) First appearing in the early Imberian (50 million years post-cataclysm), Hipposeidon is the largest of all Mermares and, indeed, the largest animal ever to exist on Spero, with stallions regularly reaching over 24 meters (80 feet) long (mares are slightly smaller). Extremely large specimens may even reach 30 meters (100 feet), although this is rare. This ludicrous size - nearly rivaling even the mighty Blue Whale of Earth - is possible only due to the sheer abundance of its food. Hipposeidon appears at the height of the seagrass prairie's extent, and can pack away almost 900 kilograms (1900 pounds) of seagrass per day. This superlative food requirement has important consequences for Hipposeidon's behaviour; this animal is migratory. Seagrass prairies are extremely productive ecosystems, but nonetheless Spero is a seasonal world; as the summer growth gives way to the winter die-back, the greatest of the Mermares must migrate across the equator to seek out a continuous food source to fuel its immense bulk. In this way Hipposeidon experiences a perpetual summer, interrupted only by the biannual migration from north to south and back again. Female Hipposeidon are pregnant for about one year, timing the birth of the single large foal with arrival to the feeding grounds; the six-meter-long foal enjoys a long childhood nursing and playing in shallow summer waters, gathering strength before making the long swim across the barren tropical zone to pastures new.

Bathypegasus (top left) The last and possibly the weirdest of the great Mermares, Bathypegasus is the only member of the clade which is not a grazer. Instead, it is a specialist feeder on pelagic, free-floating ferns. These ferns are a seasonal bounty, growing in huge numbers in the tropical summers of the late Imberian (60 million years post-cataclysm), where the planetary ring system shades out large portions of the planet for half the year. A close relative of Hipposeidon, Bathypegasus has left its ties to the seabed behind, becoming a fast, powerful swimmer which spends most of its life far above the sea floor. Its flippers have adapted to be even more ludicrously long - the longest forearms of any animal, ever, with each one measuring nearly 14 meters (45 feet) in length and each containing at least 35 individual bones. No longer used to prop the animal up off the seabed, these whiplike flippers are narrow and streamlined and can be whipped through the water at speeds of nearly 20 meters per second (that's over 40 mph) - the most extreme weaponry of any Mermare, and used to great effect against predators. Bathypegasus, like Hipposeidon, is migratory, following the blooms of pelagic ferns across Spero's oceans. Thanks to this midwater diet it is the only genus of Mermare to survive past the mid-Imberian extinction, when rising sea levels and steepening coastal slopes caused the seagrass prairies to disappear. Bathypegasus finally died out in the Ultimoxerian stage, around 75 million years post-cataclysm, the last and weirdest of the giant marine horses.

[ppaleoartistgallery]

Urugetar eating a Mawiri (Kaimere)

i made some Kaimere fanart because spec yes please 🫡🫡🫡

here we see the an Urugetar eating a freshly caught Mawiri

[troythecatfish]

[speculativ-evo]

Geckoflagellatus aquaticus The flag fishers are descendants of crested geckos. They have evolved to exploit the immensely diverse aquatic habitats, encompassing both freshwater and marine environments. Over time, they developed elongated scale tufts, derived from their ancestors’ crests, which they effectively employ as lures to attract unsuspecting aquatic insectivores. These lures mimic flies, ultimately serving as a means for the flag fishers to secure their next meal. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced within the species, particularly evident in males who exhibit longer necks. Notably, males also possess brightly colored dewlaps, varying in markings, which lend the species its namesake.

In many of the environments inhabited by flag fishers, numerous species of lichen flourish, characterized by vibrant colors and diverse formations. Although fungal growth patterns akin to those on their ancestral planet are observed, such occurrences had not been commonplace for nearly a billion years. Remarkably, the transplanted lichens on this world exhibit a peculiar affinity for fungal trees, influenced by the introduction of a gene drive. This genetic alteration increases the likelihood of fungal trees evolving, representing the only significant deviation from ancestral genomes. The rationale behind such alterations remains enigmatic, possibly attributed to the advanced civilization with intent to propagate life across uninhabited planets affinity for the once common form of “forest” anticipating the emergence of diverse forms of life.

[makairodonx]

Poster for the currently-ongoing project centered around the planet that would soon be known to the Corps of Discovery as “Mars ll” and is here shown with its original name, “Potwória”, that was given to it a few eons earlier by the Eastern European spacefarers who were the first humans from Earth to discover the planet and colonize it and also give it the nickname “Planeta potworów” or “the Planet of Monsters”.

Shown here is a lone Testudotitan atlas roaming the tropical plains of the continent of Jariloia as two Scissor-Tailed Firebirds fly overhead in search of any locusts or other insects to eat.

[jfs-worldbuilding-and-art]

This one is actually part of a submission for the Best in Class community seed world being run by the r/speculativeevolution subreddit, Speculative Evolution Forum and the Specposium discord server. Where the community chose what the planet was going to be seeded, now for the first phase we are doing the descendants of the seedlings.

Anyways here is a Kea descendant after 25 Millions of Years.

Spectember day 12: We have a T.rex!

In the warm forests of Muirlandia lives one of the largest Kea descendants of 25 Millions of Years after seeding. It is the Tyrant Hookbeak, or Parrex (*Parrex tyrannus* Meaning Tyrant Royal Pair). A 2 meters tall predatorial parrot from the Hamorostri (Grapplebills) order, a Kea order endemic to Muirlandia with a distinct way of killing prey.

These parrots live up to more or less 30 years of age and are monogamic, never changing partners even after the death of one. The chicks (generally 1-3) are tended by both parents for 5 years, after which they are independent and go off to live with other Parrex of the same sex for another 5 years. After reaching the sexual maturity at the age of 10 they go looking after another Parrex to mate with. After a series of vocalizations to locate each other they show off their UV coloration in their plumage, the female gets to decide if the male is worthy of mating with if the plumage is bright enough to her taste. After which they go off to settle a new territory and do daily calls to warn off other Parrexes.

They live in forests that are pretty open due to the trampling done by large animals such as Dicynodonts and herbivorous Kea descendants, and thus have adopted a brown plumage dotted with white on the dorso, mimicking the pattern of sun light hitting the forest floor or tree trunks.

Tyrant Hookbeaks gain their name from their characteristic beak with three hooks on the upper bill and gory method of hunting. All Grapplebills have a distinct hooked beak, strong neck muscles and flexible Cranial Kinesis that allows them to hunt prey in a unique way.

Parrex hunt in pairs in adulthood. After locating prey one of them goes to a set hiding spot and waits, while the other goes into starttling prey and driving it to the hiding partner. When in close proximity the Parrex that was hiding ambushes the prey, hooking itself into the prey, generally in the neck, where it is easier to hit an artery. Once hooked the parrot will start stabbing the prey with its sharp lower beak, causing severe trauma and blood loss if not hitting an artery, killing the prey not long after.

[dragonthunders01]

Spectember D3: Atavism

The colony planet "Ross" was a very cold super earth when humans arrived, served as a early settlement for the human interstellar expansion and then as a sanctuary of earth fauna when this was facing an ecological crisis, Ross was populated by different species of penguins that thrived on the conditions, so well that when humans finally disappeared, they kept evolving. Dozens of millions of years the semiaquatic birds managed to conquer the land, establishing as the dominant terrestrial tetrapods, as this world started to get warmer and warmer, and it was until 100 million years something more peculiar happened, something brough back of the ancestry of birds much far behind of dinosaurs, when their ancestors were just semi erect archosauromorphs.

The Chthornithes is sort of return of the “reptilian” condition, resemble little of the semi aquatic creatures that came from, its result of the dry warm climate that have slowly changed its metabolism to an ectotherm, this is a descendant of a branch of belly dragging terrestrial carnivores that properly modified its wings into functional arms, with didactyl and clawed digits that were slowly reforming as they needed proper ways to grasp on the ground, useful for movement now as it can stand on its forelimbs, the skin is covered predominantly of scales, with partial filament like feathers at the top of its neck and head which are remains of their far ancestral feathered forms. These minuscule pebble-like scales, even though looks similar to the earth squamates, aren’t originated similar but derived from feathers adopting something like the feet scales. The head is shaped differently, the beak has shortened, now the lacrimal extend further and leaves the nasal cavity in front making some resemblance to the head of an early theropod, with some rudimentary long blade shaped teeth that allows it to eat small invertebrates and small bird species.

This animal inhabits the large landmass of Ross that formed over the last 50 million years in the equatorial regions, especially in the savannah and scrublands, alongside other peculiar forms of penguin descendants that resemble still birds in many degrees this bizarre animal is a newcomer that could eventually change the landscape of this super earth from bird shaped dominant megafauna to something totally different, if it is capable to survive and leave descendance.  

Derived from belly dragging predatory species that adopted a terrestrial lifestyle, for matters of locomotion they were capable of redeveloping their forelimbs, as well for the climate and metabolism have lost most of its feathers that have turned into scales.

The phalanges after millions of years have slowly divided and developed again functional fingers again due to the pressure of locomotion, properly only two with the second using the ulnar carpal bone as a extension for the second digit that allows it to move it with more range. The forelimbs have recovered robustness and musculature, the elbow and shoulder are now articulated properly to stand, though for the moment limited to a semi-sprawled posture.

---------------------------------

This is sort of a old continuation of a piece I made years ago about a terraformed sanctuary world with penguins which it continues the peculiar adaptation these had without any competition apart of themselves

[novinitumd]

Welcome to the Novinitum D (itstsāga k' zutsāga) Homepage

(for optimal viewing, please use a computer and blog address ^^)

This is a seed world-type speculative evolution project that focuses on the evolution of ray-finned fish on Novinitum D, a planet that's similar to Earth, but different in a few ways.

This is the homepage of the project where you can find various links for further reading about the solar system, planet, animals, etc. and other information such as the most recent editions or updates.

Please peruse the blog at your own leisure and feel free to ask questions, frequently asked questions will have their own dedicated page in the future if needed (which I doubt).

(This blog is still very much under construction so please forgive the lack of content, in the future the following hyperlinks will actually link to pages in the future)

Project Timeline

🗒️Crelogs🗒️

Animals

Plants

Planet

Terminology

FAQ

Lore

[vo-kopen]

New Seed World* project on YouTube, this time it’s for turtles. And since there are no other vertebrates, the niche of fish is vacant. The Arthropods are back baby. (Though I am here for the turtles)

*a seed world is basically a speculative biology project which starts off by putting only a few Earth species on a planet, and chronicling how those pioneer species adapt and evolve to fit new niches. Many never get finished, Serina is main one that was successful. So it’s quite possibly this will not get a second episode, but if it only gets this first one I have to say it’s a good start.

@astoundingbeyondbelief @highly-radioactive-nerd @majingojira enjoy this video on Kappa as well as anyone else interested

[monkeyseededworld]

This is not a polar,a hot desert:The life of White Sand desert for @the6planet8ofbats

This a hot desert have white color,is not a polar is White Sand Desert this ecosystem has in Southern Gavet,this is a Burrower bat (Family:Fossoripteronyctidae) a Family of Dust bats become burrowers with wings!! This species Yellow Burrower (Fossoripteronyctus aureus) a top predator of this desert.

Why does the Desert have white Sand? İt's because of a Moss White Terror (Albobyron destructor) this are appeared in Middle batocene,some mosses has become carnivory has become named Carnivorous mosses,this species and others like it are also Plant parasites. But White Terror they were really profilitic and their lifespan was between 6 or 8 mouths!! İndivuals of this species began decimating Forests two year after of emergence. Then this forest disappearence and 30 Years later this Plant parasite carnivorous Moss become extinct,due to the emergence of Moss eating Bats (Folivoropteropodidae) a New family of herbivorous Flying Fox Descendants and the Previously infested forest was now left a hot desert where the survivors of this chaos thrive.

İn Late Batocene, New biomes has appeared. But White Terrors are not only Plant of white Sand desert,a shrub-like Cacshrub (Arbosculocactus sociala) has emergence this interesting cactae has chosen live in Large colonies,the minimum of which 3 or 15 while the maximum are 101,which makes it an eusocial flowering Plant. But plants are Burrower bats are not only organisms of this desert,platyhelminth White Sand hammerhead (Bipalium albopsammiensis) is a descendant of a Surviving hammerhead worms of this chaos. A fish Cactus-skipper (Periopthalmus terrestris cactobranchus) is a descendant of Atlantis Mudskippers (P.barbarus) adapted in deserts.

Other species like Oreworm (Lumbricus crystalia) a earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) descendant it is extremely brigthly colored and the largest specimens of Oreworms are have 4 colors,but Oreworms have White Desert Fire Ant (Solenopsis psammoterrabilis) other name is Sandscavenger a fire ant (solenopsis spp.) Species has aggressive,females have stings and really hartful and venomous,males not have stings and a group of this ants killed amphibic squib (Amphibioteuthis cosmopoliticus) a squib across the shallow waters and coasts of this planet,it lives on land for 9 days and then moves water,like a swampus (future is Wild) and final species of this post is Giant Desert Snail (Xerogiga xerogiga) a land snail species has larger than Giant african Snail (Lissachatina fusca) this largest terrestrial mollusk of Earth,its herbivore eat Cacshrubs.

[chickenpeep77]

Seed world comedy pitch

I may have mentioned before, a seed world where the only land inhabitants are moss and mushrooms, and some cool Cambrian stuff is put in the water. Then I thought of an addition.

A narrator is brought in. He is unaware of the stuff in the water. He legit believes there is only moss and mushrooms. He is invested in the moss and mushrooms and narrates with excitement about them every time a new species develops. He loves his job. And so it goes for a long while. But then, one day, Something emerges from the water. He's like what the HECK is that??? He is disturbed by this interruption. He avoids the Cambrian things coming on to land with disgust, and continues to focus solely on the moss and mushrooms. With additional occasional interruptions from the Cambrian stuff walking across or eating what he's trying to focus on. Things gain sapience. Still just moss and mushrooms for the guy.

Perhaps also, the sapient population is eventually devastated by a fungal infection plague, and the guy narrates about the fungus, positively gleeful at the Cambrian things destruction. He sounds like a super villain. They won't mess with his moss and mushrooms anymore.

[craftingcreatures]

Behold, a creetchur

Meet Stecoteuthops stictis, the "spotted standing squid-face". It's one of the most important creatures for my in-the-works Spec project. Basically the premise is that many years in the future, humanity colonized a distant desert planet (Spero) with the intent on terraforming it to become a new colony. However, something went horribly wrong, and humanity was wiped out, leaving behind only the livestock and crops they brought with them. This transitional form lives about 60 million years post-cataclysm and is a descendant of the Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius).

Stecoteuthops is part of a particularly successful radiation of camels which possess subcutaneous osteoderms for defense against predators. In this genus, the osteoderms along the midline of the back have formed tall struts which support a decorative sail of skin. This sail is used for display and also to break up its outline in its woodland home, helping the animal to hide from predators; males have much taller sails than females.

This animal is most similar in form and function to the ancient stem-camel Anoplotherium, possessing a muscular, elongated tail which is used to support the body while browsing. Their pincer-like forelimbs can be used to grasp branches and pull them down to access fresh fruits and tender new leaves. They are obligate herbivores, and fruit forms over 70% of their diet - their dextrous, almost tentacular lips are used to grasp and manipulate ripe fruit, and are lined with cornified papillae to ensure a firm grip. Their fur is greenish-blue, the result of a novel pigment derived from Biliverdin which evolved near the very base of the camel radiation, shortly after colonization.

Stecoteuthops is important to this world because it represents a transitional form between large, ground-dwelling camels and smaller, arboreal forms. Although Stecoteuthops itself does not climb, its grasping feet, small size, and muscular tail are all preadaptations for arboreality, and its descendants will clamber about the canopy in search of fresh fruit. It is this lifestyle which will enable the camels to survive the coming mass extinction, priming them to diversify into one of the dominant clades on the planet Spero.

[captainswaglord500]

Spiny Gilleylowe (second picture by u/M4theus4rts)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Eugnathostomata

Clade: Acanthodii

Class: Coelospondyli

Subclass: Polydonta

Order: Daeognathiformes

Family: Daeognathidae

Genus: Guailong

Species: G. htaahsingkaalensis (from Mandarin 怪龙, “strange dragon of the Htaahsingkaal Plateau”)

Temporal range: Jartunian to recent (5.6 million Vuleto years [roughly 14.4 million Earth years] - present)

Information:

When the intelligent alien race known as the Eos created Universe-895, fleeing the destruction of their own universe, they sought to bring life to a virgin universe, seeding each world with the necessary organic molecules and compounds needed to jumpstart abiogenesis. While these procedures succeeded on some worlds, they found that for as many worlds that successfully produced life, there were just as many which had not, and far fewer which produced sapient life. This was when they would launch *Khau Tsvoa'oodhh-ptaach* (IPA: /kʰaw t͡svoaʔoːðː ptaːt͡ʃ/), or Project Universe Seed. Project Universe Seed started with the creation of an island chain called Archaeonesia encased in a pocket dimension in the deep oceans of Precambrian Earth, using the uniquely extreme and isolated conditions of the archipelago as a way to incite an evolutionary arms race and eventually force intelligent life to evolve, continually seeding the island chain with lifeforms from all throughout Earth’s geologic history. From there, candidate species would be selected and genetically modified before being placed in similar “petri dish” environments created on other planets, inciting further genetic and evolutionary divergence within the specific confines of this new planet’s conditions. Other planets which yielded life from abiogenesis procedures were also subjected to similar experiences, being given their own equivalents to Archaeonesia as a testing ground for early lifeforms before they would be genetically modified and seeded on other planets. On some planets, Archaeonesian-derived lifeforms and lifeforms derived from abiogenesis procedures on other planets would even be mixed within the same environment, the idea being that in the face of new competition in an unfamiliar environment, this would provide further ecological strain and force the native lifeforms to become more creative with how they adapted to their new homes. Because of these procedures, most life on planets nowadays is either remarkably similar to Earth life or utterly and truly alien, with a great many planets sporting silicon-based lifeforms living alongside carbon-based ones. To manage their experiments from afar, the Eos would create an advanced AI system which fully automated the environmental and ecological processes of each planet and, in particular, each isolated island chain which served as a testing ground for life which would later be seeded across the entire planet in various waves. During the Permian epoch, they would seed life from the original Archaeonesia experiment (as well as an experiment on a planet called Throng) on a Uranus-sized exoplanet called Vu’ulen (Vuleto: /vuʔulen/).

Notable for the fact that it orbits a sun which emits infrared radiation, Vu’ulen’s sky and landscapes glow a vibrant red, its vast oceans tinted maroon. With slightly lower gravity than Earth, fliers on Vu’ulen can get substantially more bulky than they would on Earth. The entire planet is in the middle of a hothouse era, with permanent ice sheets only occurring at the farthest extremities of the poles and large tropical storms being common along the coastlines. Two major continents, a northern continent named Hlaahtto (Vuleto: /ɬaː.θːo/) and a southern continent named Tahzzugi’i (Vuleto: /taʒː.ug.iʔi/), make up the majority of dry land on the planet, with several smaller subcontinents and large island chains along the fault lines. On Tahzzugi’i, high up in the velvet steppes of the Htaahsingkaal Plateau (Northern Sungnap: /θaː.ʃiŋ.kaːð/), a peculiar lifeform descended from the Archaeonesia seeding glides across the alpine winds: Guailong htaahsingkaalensis, the spiny gilleylowe.

Despite its seemingly reptilian appearance, the spiny gilleylowe is actually a member of a far more peculiar lineage: descended from a clade of terrestrial vertebrates called coelospondyls (class Coelospondyli), it’s actually a highly-derived acanthodian, descended from a Brochoadmones-like ancestor. This makes the spiny gilleylowe a closer relative to sharks, rays, and chimeras on Earth than to any proper tetrapod. Originally a dominant clade back on Archaeonesia, the introduction of amniotes quickly spelled disaster for the clade, leading to the complete extinction of larger-bodied members of the clade while the survivors were relegated these animals to small, generalist niches. However, on Vu’ulen, where the only other vertebrates are largely relegated to small herbivore niches by the presence of silicon-based lifeforms dominating large herbivore and carnivore niches, the coelospondyls were able to proliferate into small-to-medium-sized predator niches on the southern continent, filling a niche akin to that of small canids on Earth. On Earth, the spiny gilleylowe would be far too large to fly, reaching between 4-6 feet in length and between 15-30 lbs on average, yet Vu'ulen's lower gravity allows this rather bulky animal to coast on the wind currents for several miles at a given time, climbing up and throwing itself off of high ledges to gain lift. 

Though this creature’s names in the native Vuleto language, xuu’ (Vuleto: /xuːʔ/, “biter”) or hlaa'-thi'-phooht-unu-iig-xu/hlaa'thi'phoohtunuiigxu (Vuleto: /ɬaːʔ.tʰiʔ.pʰoːθ.unu.iːŋ.xu/, “[the] creature which kills with one bite”), indicate a deadly nature, this creature is not known to be aggressive towards most sophonts, though it is known to approach them in groups out of curiosity much in the same way seals and dolphins will approach and attempt to play with humans. While it is indeed venomous, with a potent hemotoxic venom capable of killing animals up to the size of a small elephant, these creatures only rarely bite, preferring to either flee or swing their spiny tail in front of them and hiss aggressively as part of a threat display when confronted with danger. It will only bite if cornered, injured, or aggressively handled. Their otherwise docile nature and so-called “ugly-cute” appearance has made them a popular pet amongst the native Vuleto species since time immemorial, with ancient cave paintings depicting the two species hunting together. Its affectionate nature when hand-reared from birth and ease to train have earned it the moniker of the “Vuleto skydog”, and it is amongst the most popular animals in the intergalactic pet trade. In fact, the Northern Sungnap language, spoken in its native region of Vu’ulen, refers to the creature by a far less intimidating moniker because of the close association between the Northern Sungnap ethnic group and the spiny gilleylowe: ìíghhilxwááhthsòtnááuuhlxhààdrìíng (/ìíɣ.hil.ʍáːθ.ʃòt.náː.uːɬ.χàː.d̠͡ʐìíŋ/), or “(the) one who sails (the) sky at dawn”.

Though adapted for mountainous terrain, primarily inhabiting karst mountains and cliffs, these animals appear to do moderately well in montane forest environments as well, being found at lower elevations in smaller numbers. A largely nocturnal/crepuscular animal, they sleep under trees and large boulders during the day before emerging in the evening/night to forage and socialize, migrating in search of food on other mountain tops, their red skin helping them to blend in with the sky and surrounding vegetation. A highly social and intelligent predator, it shows a high degree of convergent evolution with Earth mammals in behavior, having social hierarchies and highly complex family units. These family units typically consist of a mated pair and several generations of offspring. Social in nature, these creatures tend to sleep next to one another and have been observed play-fighting. A highly vocal creature, its long, whooping calls can be heard from miles away, a way of marking its territory to other spiny gilleylowes. Shrill hissing and loud shrieking are also reported vocalizations, the former an expression of agitation and the latter a vocalization in pain in addition to a call of excitement. Primarily a sight predator, it is able to see infrared light (as per its planet’s available light rays), visible light, and ultraviolet light. By contrast, its hearing is significantly less advanced but still passable. Though it has one set of true eyes, two pairs of photoreceptive “proto-eyes” can be found on one side of the main pair. What evolutionary pressures led to this animals developing tube nostrils is unknown, though it has been suggested that its lineage may have briefly returned to an aquatic or semiaquatic way of life at some point before switching back to land, which would explain the underdeveloped digits on its frontmost pair of limbs.  The function of its long, backwards-pointing tube nostrils is not exactly known, though it is suspected to potentially aid its sense of smell. 

Spiny gilleylowes are simultaneous hermaphrodites and mate for life, courting one another by chasing each other through the mountain tops and divebombing each other. Spiny gilleylowes are simultaneous hermaphrodites and mate for life, courting one another by chasing each other through the mountain tops and divebombing each other. Once on the ground, whichever one manages to overpower the other is the one who penetrates, mating occurring either with one individual on their back or with the tail pushed to the side. Gestation takes roughly 5 weeks before the eggs, which are amniotic in nature, are laid in a den situated between boulders or inside the refuge of a cave, the young hatchings, as many as 10 to a clutch, in 4 weeks time. Young spiny gilleylowes, called pups or nuggins, are born blind and deaf and are like this for the first 2 weeks of life. Dependent on their parents for the first 2 years of life, some youngsters may leave their family behind and form their own family group at 2 years old, when they’ve reached physical maturity, while some will stay behind with their family group. By age 3, they will be old enough to rear young of their own. By age 4, they will have gained their adult coloration, being born completely pink.

Formerly common in the Southern Thsutluug (Southern Sungnap: /t͡ɕʊ.t͡ɬuːɣ/) mountain range in the south of Tahzzugi’i, it has been largely extirpated by the Southern Sungnap peoples, an ethnic subdivision of the Vuleto species, who considered it to be an evil spirit and a pest animal which attacked livestock. By contrast, the Northern Sungnap peoples historically viewed it as a guardian spirit, having a long history of husbandry with the animal, hence it managed to maintain much of its original range further north. This species features prominently in the traditional artwork of the Northern Sungnap, and historically, artistic depictions of the Draconic god Hamalutan (spelled in Northern Sungnap as Hmatlan /m̥at͡ɬan/) portrayed him as having a spiny gilleylowe perched on its shoulder. Amongst the central regions of Tahzzugi’i, the spiny gilleylowe is a delicacy, and in the late summer months, a festival known as Aakunduug (Transitional Sungnap: ɑːkuⁿduːɣ) is held, where these creatures are rounded up, killed, and eaten in large numbers. The name “gilleylowe” itself is hard to trace etymologically: folk etymology traces its origin to an interaction between the Vuleto and explorers from the planet Torthon, where the Torthonians asked what kind of creature it was, only for one of the Vuleto to answer in Vuleto, “Gi hlii hloo” (IPA: /gi ɬiː ɬoː/) (“I don’t know”). However, it’s more likely that it originates from a word in the Mluhxo’ (IPA: /mluχo̞ʔ/) language, ghiriirwoo (IPA: /ɣi.ɾiː.ɾʷoː/), meaning “to glide/coast on the air”. This creature is the mascot of The Vu’ulen Intergalactic Tourism Agency (or TVITA for short) and is responsible for a large portion of (eco)tourism industry on the planet. This animal is resistant to its own venom’s effects, and studies show it may also have a heightened immunity to other biotoxins as well. This has made it vital in the developmental of antivenins across the universe. 

[troythecatfish]