#taxonomy is such a wild thing

[mytardisisparked]

Researching the taxonomy of mongooses like

[eeleye-mcshitposts]

ONE of these fucks does NOT belong.

[britcision]

You don’t have to touch anything gross to study physics

Pretty much all serious biology is going to involve getting messy or getting EXTREMELY EXTREMELY EXTREMELY clean

Okay something that bothers me is the fact physics is seen as the more prestigious of the three main sciences, with biology at the bottom and chemistry in the middle. Like. I doubt most people could name a famous biologist, but they could name 5 famous physicists. Why are Albert Einstein and Stephen hawking household names but Norman Borlaug and Jonas Salk aren't?

Not to dismiss the accomplishments of Einstein or Hawking, or their genius, but their actual tangible contributions to society have been miniscule compared to that of Borlaug or Salk who have each saved LITERALLY hundreds of millions, if not billions, of lives each. Half the food on your plate was probably grown thanks to Borlaug and Salk is the reason half your siblings didn't die of polio as a kid.

Sure Einsteins theory of relatively is important for modern satellite communications but really though how can it compare?

This is coming from someone who studied physics. I love physics, and years ago when i was at uni I looked down at biology and so did everyone else studying physics. And I know others did too. Retroactively of course I know this was so very wrong.

If society as a whole started treating biology with more respect then maybe more students would go into that field. If we had rockstars of medicine and agricultural science that were household names rather than just physicists? think of how many more lives could be saved, how many more lives could be improved.

I'm not saying physics isn't important, and more scientists of any kind is always good, but proportionally I think societies priorities are a little skewd.

[sapphicslaylist]

Realizing This Crossover Never Made It To The Borrower Tag [+ Lore Drop]

So I'm a goof and forgot to post my Slay The Princess AU into the Borrower tags as well so haha. Lemme fix that -

Main Post & Fic Here

Story & designs by me,

art commissioned from @feraljayce

(I prefer reblogs on this one!)

Further Worldbuilding stuff - Translation of STP into Borrower format

For those curious about the GT front of things so it's not just a repost, getting into those details here:

There are four types of Borrower species within this world: Traditional Domestic, Traditional Wild, Domestic Fae, & Wild Fae

Domestic Borrowers:

House-Dwelling Borrowers who live in the walls/under floorboards

"Borrow" household goods & lost objects to survive

Often use artificial tools to climb and navigate.

May live in groups, but many are singular family units or alone

Are traditionally considered "pests" and forced out of homes

These are closest to Mary Norton's / cannon Borrower taxonomy

Domestic Fae follow many of the same tenants as Traditional Domestic. Differences being:

Possession of artificial magic (conjuring manmade objects, cooking, metal etc)

Elven/spaded ear tips, but no tail

Are the only Borrower species considered "good luck"

Often captured to be sold as pets or other companionship to humans

Wild Borrowers:

Prefer living out in the woods to gather natural resources away from humans.

Use artificial tools to hunt & gather. Often live in groups if able.

May opportunistically packbond with local fauna

Live in abandoned burrows primarily, but will also take hollows, nests, and most other shelters if available.

Do possess unusual humanoid traits except for slightly sharper teeth & nails designed for climbing.

Wild Fae:

The most feral of Borrower species, and the most mistreated by humanity

Direct association with The Wild (goddess of the natural cycle) & The Network (the Wild's domain & the Fae/Borrowers' Underworld)

Possess Elven/spaded ears and a variety of different tails based on genetics (Ex: Thorn & Witch are of Feline roots)

Often have more "feral" facial features like different noses, slit pupils, etc which are either permanent or alternate with more human apperance (ex: Thorn)

Also use tools like weapons & gear, but sparingly/as a backup. Their teeth & clawed hands usually do most of the work of fighting & climbing

Live in small colonies in underground burrows, where each member has a specific chamber. Similar to a Warren. You'll rarely see them alone

Some have digitigrade legs to walk upright & all fours with ease (dominant trait)

Magic is naturally derived, and takes the form of Medic or Mercenary. Medics have to "charge" their magic by doing a two finger pulse check to summon necessary materials for the patient.

Wild Fae do not Borrow - they hunt & aggressively scavenge objects. They work in packs, which may include Chimeras (their designated packbond species) if going for larger or riskier prey.

All Fae worldbuilding stuff is my own; Wild Borrowers are semi-cannon, and domestic variations are cannonical to Mary Norton. The Wild Fae are semi-inspired by The Littles, which are typically what fanmade Borrowers most resemble.

(Yes, I happily accept questions about this AU! As a warning it does get a bit dark in places, but happy to discuss both the nitty gritty and the soft cuddly stuff.)

[gluzzo]

Brennan Lee Mulligan during the fireside chat for The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One - Episode 9

[Image ID:

Screenshots of excerpts from the transcript of the Worlds Beyond Number podcast’s fireside chat on The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One - Episode 9.

Brennan Lee Mulligan: And, to me, that describes so many heartbreaking situations, where something deep and true does come, like- the number one belief I have, in terms of like, whatever my secular morality is— is that there's a weird attitude in some parts of our culture, that like, impulses are sinful, and morality is like a structure?

Aabria Iyengar: YES!

Brennan Lee Mulligan: And that bullshit. Moral impulses are incredibly real. Nobody needs to explain what's wrong with-think of the first age you are, where someone's mean to another kid, or an animal, and something in you goes, "Wrong!!" And that's primal.

[…]

Brennan Lee Mulligan: And like it's-it's brutal! It's very Imperial. It's like this oppressive weight, from a very smart opponent, who is convincing themselves. Like, the reason the arguments have that urgency, is that Suvi is also self-indoctrinating, and it's part of that thing that comes back up. And I think the big, sinister part of, of….. The idea of principle. Like, what, in principle, is different from a demon being bound in a circle of salt, and what you saw happening to Naram out under the derrick. This is-I don't have time to explain this in this talk back. I have issues with the philosophic concept of principle, point blank.

[…]

Brennan Lee Mulligan: Yes. And I think that the idea of principle, from-especially to a wizard, who is all about organization, taxonomy, patterns, and systems-principle is this idea that, maybe is built on sand, right?

Aabria lyengar: Yeah.

Brennan Lee Mulligan: When we think about "what are your principles," we use it as a synonym for being a good person. "Are you principled?" But the idea of principle being like, maxims, axioms, "What are some rules that I can ALWAYS follow?" And speaking of them, like, if you go back to Aristotle's Golden Mean, maybe living by principles produces bizarre, immoral edge cases.

[…]

Brennan Lee Mulligan: So it's this idea of, like-but it's unexamined by Suvi in that moment, and the reason it's unexamined, is because I think it's one of the main tools of the indoctrination of the Empire. What have you already accepted? Right? I see this in ethical discourse all the time, which is why whataboutism is so powerful, in modern philosophical discourse, is people go like, "Okay. You've made a moral point. You've made a call to action. You've said, 'we need to do something to make the world better.' So what I'm going to do is find some other moral failing of yours, hold it up in front of you and say, 'but you did this bad thing like this,' or this other situation occurred that was similar to this, where you did not act. So wouldn't you in fact, be a hypocrite by acting or not acting in a similar way this time?'''

Brennan Lee Mulligan: Which sounds, when you see it in the world, like sound moral reasoning, and it's garbage.

Taylor Moore: [Laughs]

Brennan Lee Mulligan: Because it's basically saying, like, "Instead of helping, why don't you be consistent?" And it's like-

[…]

Brennan Lee Mulligan: It's like stupid. What the fuck is the point of consistency? Like principle as a measurement of consistency, and the Fox's whole deal would be like, "Yeah, yesterday I did something bad and today I'm going to do something good because I want to." That's all.

Erika Ishii: Yeah.

Brennan Lee Mulligan: And someone would be like, "You're a hypocrite." And he'd be like, "Okay! I'm gonna get some fish slurry."

End ID.]

[velvetwyrms]

How to find the good ones. (Click for more detail!)

Hello folks! I've had this AU bouncing around my head for a little while now, then I blinked and ended up with a whole page of illustrated taxonomy notes, a bunch of lore, a first chapter and several fic illustrations, featured in this first chapter! Amazing! I'm very excited to share this AU, enjoy and please let me know what you think & spread the word/reblog so that others can enjoy my hours of hard work too <3

Title: Falling Fast Through Fragmented Universes. Chapter 1: How to find the good ones. Rating: Mature (For later chapters) Warnings: Body Horror, Uncanny Valley, Prey Fear (for like a hot second. Gaara makes wild first impressions), Alien Anatomy/Biology for later chapters. Pairings: GaaLee Summary:

XVI • The Tower • Venus Flytrap

Sometimes plans go awry (like a bus being late on a rainy day), then sometimes aliens crash land a few feet in front of you and turn your entire life upside-down: It was the little things, the small, everyday wonders that…wait, what the— A large, round object raged a few meters above the road, silhouetted by the ambient light. For a second Lee thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him but then he stopped squinting and felt his jaw drop. It was ominously shifting with glowing energy and emanated a menacing hiss, joined by a low ‘whoomphawhoompth’ sound that was mostly drowned out by the pat-pat-pat on the roof and the howling wind. And then it opened; this brilliant flash of rich, swirling gold, hinting at pocketed depths far beyond its surface. It promptly spat something out, landing with a cut-off shout and a grunt of pain, before collapsing in on itself, and disintegrating immediately into a pool of sludge. What? “What?!”

[More on AO3 via the link!]

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: The Maritime Finale

This is definitely the last one of these, as it's rounding up a bunch of sea creatures I've missed. I assume by this point everyone who sees this knows what it's about, but just in case: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. (I'll get the rest of the entries on there soon.)

The entry people are working from is here:

The one for next week does not exist. (Also I apologize if I seem rushed, this is a busy week for me.)

Art below the cut!

@pomrania (link to post here) has us off on a weird start with their interpretation of the Fatrihrukh. I don't have any particular nostalgia for rage-face comics (I was online during that era, just not in circles where they were common), but honestly this made me smile. Also I like imagining some fisherman on a dock, still sitting in a normal pose and holding his fishing rod, just full-throat screaming at the sky, apparently apropos of nothing in particular. This is a fun one, is what I'm saying.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has an uncanny ability to make me think, "sure, that looks like an animal that could be real" even when they're drawing something like Fish With Tentacles, which I am 99% sure is not a thing. Though if fish did have tentacles, they would look like that. This is of course also the Fatrihrukh; apparently people like that one.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done the whole set. A lot of these turned out really well -- I think the Ormlalaehr is stealing the show here, but the Bursgaenga is pretty darn cute. The linked post has details on each of them, which I recommend checking out. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) continues to impress with their delightful art style. Love the little space-invader Magtlegyegs, and the Lungyoggeas are just... wild. Extremely cool looking. (Also, thank you for providing alt text.)

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) joins the broad consensus that if you're only drawing one of these, it's the Fatrihrukh. I love the (medieval-art-appropriate) choice to give it human-like parts since the entry doesn't say otherwise. The colors are also really pretty; I like the effect on the background.

Okay. Aberdeen Bestiary. No illustrations for this one -- this whole section is just blocks of text.

Ahrmegyaeb

The wording is ambiguous as to whether whales and dolphins also do this -- but the creature in question is the seal. I have no idea how this works; either baby seals are way smaller than I think or I have completely the wrong idea about how seal mouths look.

Bursgaenga

This one is of course the scarus or escarius, which does not exist. Bestiary.ca notes that Scarus is a genus of parrotfish in modern taxonomy, and that the Rackham translation of Pliny the Elder has decided they are wrasse. No idea how well that reflects medieval understanding.

Chraekhret

Another one that doesn't exist, the echenais. Apparently Pliny has heard of some magical applications in love-charms, litigation, and obstetrics. The fish that anchors ships is a good addition to a fantasy setting, I think.

Dhrakyetor

Naturally the fish that looks like a serpent is the eel. More spontaneous generation, too, which is always nice. I swear I've heard that "giant eels in the Ganges" line somewhere before, but can't place it.

Eavbechtgi

Here we have the lamprey. I kind of wonder if this "head vs. tail" thing has something to do with its unusual head shape?

Fatrihrukh

Honestly I probably should have redacted the "many-footed" thing, because the name given is polippus, which... yeah, that actually tracks. I thought maybe this was the result of someone not bothering to actually count the limbs on an octopus, but it's apparently an obsolete umbrella term for octopus, squid, cuttlefish... all manner of tentacled cephalopod.

Griggkhraz

This is the torpedo, which is some fun etymology. The modern usage of torpedo is inherited from non-self-propelled naval mines, which were named after this torpedo, an electric ray. (Presumably they named mines after it because it hides itself & zaps you if you accidentally step on it.) The rays were named for their effect on people whom they zap: torpidus, 'numb'. This is of course cognate with English torpid. Which is a strange word to be cognate with the thing you shoot at boats.

Also:

...if a torpedo from the Indian sea is touched by a spear or rod, even from a considerable distance, the muscles of the fisherman's arms, even if they are very strong, grow numb...

Would that work if it were a metal rod?

Hretchngin

This is the crab. I did not know all of that about crabs, especially the basil thing.

Khaboghrad

Meet the sea urchin. That's why it specifies "the maritime kind" -- the other kind of urchin is a hedgehog. I don't know why the author calls it "worthless and contemptible", especially since they go on to say it can do this really cool thing. Just seems unnecessarily mean.

Lungyoggea

This one is just shellfish. All of them, apparently. The words given are conca and concle -- Latin concha covers shellfish in general.

Magtlegyeg

Naturally the pearl-bearing shellfish is the oyster, but I love the imagery of oysters going ashore to be fertilized by dew from heaven. The idea of going out at night to watch the oysters migrate onto land and catch the dew is another thing I'm taking note of for a fantasy setting.

Nolthrigyo

Someone probably clocked this one: it's the murex snail, source of the famous "tyrian purple" dye.

Ormlalaehr

Really pushing the definition of "fish" here is... the tortoise. Technically also the turtle, I guess, since the author specifies that this includes land and sea varieties. This is, I think, one that makes total sense once you know what it is, so we're moving on to our last one, which is also really pushing the "what is a fish" envelope...

Riggmungku

This is the frog, also obvious once you see it. The fact that it's being called a fish really throws you off, though, I think.

And that's the whole lot. This has been fun, but I'm also glad to have it completed. (Well, completed with the exception of any responses to this one I've missed or that came in late.) Thanks to everyone who's been looking in on this project -- thanks doubly to everyone who contributed -- and thanks triply to the handful of people who drew something practically every week.

[crevicedwelling]

What is the harm in mixing locales?

it’s a smaller-scale, intraspecific part of an effort to not hybridize things, which results in a loss of biodiversity.

if we have ivory millipedes (Chicobolus spinigerus) from locality A and locality B, and breed them together accidentally or intentionally, the result is something that isn’t identical to either parent. maybe the hybrid can’t survive as well in the wet swamp of locality A but also doesn’t thrive in the dry sandhills of locality B.

now, if these animals are kept in captivity, their availability to live in the wild shouldn’t be a problem, since the keeper will provide them with what they need. but say a poor keeper releases them, or the species goes extinct in the wild and captive populations are used to reintroduce it to its native range, then we might see issues. for the first example, maybe the hybrids are more vigorous than the parents and the animal becomes invasive.

additionally, the taxonomy that we humans come up with isn’t biological reality. sometimes we think two animals are the same species when they aren’t, and after we realize this then we understand all our captive animals are hybrids that don’t match wild populations. the tarantula hobby is a good example of this, since curiously Brachypelma and Poecilotheria tarantulas hybridize readily within their genus. now you’ve got sellers who unwittingly offer hybrid stock, which can get mixed into the unadmixed species, some of which are endangered because of habitat loss and poaching. the result is a bunch of weird spiders that make great pets but nothing else.

in the case of people mixing pet millipedes it’s probably not going to amount to anything other than a loss of a unique form in captivity, which is partly a loss of aesthetic value and perhaps also taxonomic value (since the hybrid animals aren’t “real” species), but the animals themselves won’t necessarily suffer from it. it’s just bad form.

[a-book-of-creatures]

Yo. So I started a project that was way too ambitious than I ever imagined. I wanted to make a taxonomy tree of mythical creatures. Now I’m making a bestiary but I’m having trouble getting a complete list of species of stuff. I want things like yetis and sasquatches not individual monsters like the Loch Ness sea monster which is one of its kind.

Well this is definitely a laudable endeavor and I support you on this 100%. But as to species versus individuals it's kind of a murky area, modern fantasy has taken individuals like Pegasus and the Minotaur and turned them into entire species so I guess you could always go that way. Besides, depending who you ask Nessie is supposed to be an entire breeding colony of dragons water horses plesiosaurs sturgeons giant newts Tullimonstrums giant one-eyed squids long-necked seals Corythosauruses My Little Nessies pikes anything you want, so you could always go wild with that too.

Either way I say go for it!

[hadesisqueer]

Coffee and tea are technically broths since we’re boiling ingredients to make flavored water. I dunno if I could consider cereal to be a soup though. I mean, I assume milk is involved and chowders are a thing, but I think some level of cooking as to be involved. Maybe if you microwave your…are you a Frosted Flakes girl? Anyway, the taxonomy of food is wild and amusing.

And I’m not sure if cold brew coffee counts as a broth.

Great analysis anon

[canis-latransbian]

What's your stance on Red Wolves? Seperate species or Wolf/Coyote hybrid?

Short answer? The remaining Red Wolf population are probably best classified as hybrids, and genetically speaking would be more accurately described as Red Coyotes.

Long answer? This is a great example of a struggle in our taxonomical classification system. Prior to the late 20th century, taxonomy was primarily categorized based on morphology and behavioral observations. DNA testing has flipped a ton of this on its head, leading to things like the "fish don't exist" debate.

The modern Red Wolf genome is about 80% Coyote DNA and 20% Grey Wolf, with much of the hybridization occurring in the last 300-450 years. Of course, these ratios can be directly linked to human interference. Beyond the majority of cross-breeding coinciding with European colonization, the actions of Curtis Carley of the US Fish and Wildlife Service single-handedly decimated the Red Wolf's genetic diversity in the name of conservation. His breeding program collected 450 Red Wolves from both the wild and captivity, of which Carley ordered 95%(!!!!!) of them euthanized for being 'too coyote' based on howl morphology. When re-introduction began after being declared extinct in the wild, programs were slowed or stopped because researchers struggled to prevent the Red Wolves from immediately interbreeding with local Coyote populations (although whether this is due to population stress or a recognized kinship between the two is anyone's guess). We can only speculate how the Red Wolf population would look without human intervention (or if it would exist at all).

Jumping back to taxonomy let's consider a genetic cousin, the Eastern Wolf. It is in a similar hybrid situation, being 60/40 Coyote and Grey Wolf first appearing a few millennia ago, yet the Eastern Wolf is generally considered a distinct species (although it too has a similar if less heated debate on whether it should be). So were is the dividing line to be considered a seperate species? Well, most answers to that are arbitrary, inconsistent, and varies depending on what category of organisms you're even looking at.

So by my understanding, modern Red Wolves are an introgressive variation that fit best in the category of a hybrid swarm much like the Eastern Coyote. Both are in the process of hybrid speciation, but are not yet distinct or consistent enough to qualify as their own species/sub-species. Take all of this with a big chunk of salt, as my "expertise" consists of two semesters of genetics and an autistic love of deep-dive research. Most of my figures came from Dan Flores' Coyote America and Wikipedia.

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplaying Races 16: Vine Leshy

(art by kaerru on DeviantArt)

Today we’ve got another late addition to First Edition, but unlike others, this one got quite the expansive lore to go with it, and even was carried further into one of the early inclusions of Second Edition! I give you, the vine leshy!

In the real world, “Leshy” is a Slavic deity or spirit associated with the wild places of the world and being a temperamental guardian of nature. This figure is often conflated with the Green Man or woodwose, and is at least sometimes a humanoid plant creature.

It’s no surprise then that the closest thing to this guardian deity in Pathfinder are Green Men: quasi-divine plant entities associated with druidism and nature, and are sometimes called Leshy Kings since they are in fact powerful nature spirits given planty bodies to interact with the world.

Which brings us to actual leshies. In Pathfinder, the leshies are much like the Green Men in that they are nature spirits bound into specially grown plant bodies, often made by other sapient plant creatures such arboreals or of course the Green Men themselves, or even by druids who have been taught the art. Regardless of who creates them, however, they all gain abilities based on the nature of the plant matter used to embody them.

Most leshies, while fully sapient, are not quite strong or willful enough to be truly independent and go off on their own, many acting as servants or even familiars. However, vine leshies in particular grow into fully-realized beings that often strike off on their own, finding a natural place to serve as guardian of (and watching over their lesser kin), or else travelling to learn more of the world.

…or at least that was the paradigm when this ancestry was first introduced. In 2E, it was revealed that any type of leshy might have full sapience, having more to do with the strength of the nature spirit than the nature of the vessel. As a matter of fact, I did a conversion of these different types of playable leshy on this very blog if you do some searching. But for now, we’ll be focusing on the base ancestry, though you can assume that this applies to all playable leshies with their monster entries supplementing their behavior.

In any case, most leshy-kind are fiercely devoted to nature, while also delighting and finding fascination on the perspective that a mortal body offers. However, they view death differently than mortals, since their spirits literally directly return to the world upon death, leaving no questions or quandaries past that threshold.

Leshies are… in a word: Adorable. Like seriously, if you’ve never google image searched “pathfinder leshy”, do so. You will not be disappointed. They all essentially resemble small, cute humanoids made out of plant matter, though 2E art also includes many of them having animal features, all of which falls in line with the fact that, since their bodies are magically cultivated and then animated by a nature spirit, there is no set taxonomy or even true genetic connection between leshies unless two were grown from cuttings from the same plant or species. Everything from cutie pies with carved pumpkin heads to surly talking cacti and so on.

Now, if you’re specifically playing a vine leshy (either because you’re not using my homebrew or simply chose to play a vine leshy), they all have some vine elements to them, such as having limbs made from intertwined woody or green vines, leaves based on various vining plants, and so on. Additionally, while many make use of the goods made by societies, those with a more crafty mindset often craft their own clothing and tools from natural materials. (There are multiple pieces of art with leshies wearing “helmets” that are in fact citrus peels.)

Given that they are creations of other beings, most leshies do not have a society of their own, typically living with their creators until striking out on their own, oftentimes living as hermits, though others retain friendly relationships with travelling companions or with like-minded dwellers in the wild that also have a vested interest in protecting nature. Indeed, in regions where there are many leshies, the fully independent leshies may share an almost parental or mentor role for their lesser kin, possibly under a powerful druid, arboreal, or Green Man. In any case, their relationships with other ancestries varies based on the experiences of the nature spirit that forms the core of their being.

Vine leshies tend to be hardy and full of life, with the wisdom of being an immortal nature spirit bound to a mortal body. However, a combination of their naivety of youth or their alien perspective makes intellectual pursuits a lower priority for them.

They are also small in size, and their short limbs limits their speed somewhat, though their supernatural and light-reliant nature gives them superb senses in the dark.

They also constantly are warded against being tracked, leaving no discernable trail for others to follow.

All leshies can disguise themselves by transforming into a mundane specimen of the plant they were grown from, helping them to blend in, at least in areas where a wild plant (a vine in a vine leshy’s case) wouldn’t stand out.

They can also speak with their origin plant variety as well, communicating with them with ease.

Even when not disguised, it can be hard to discern the planty bodies of leshies from surrounding foliage, and vine leshies in particular are excellent climbers, their limbs latching on to handholds just as easily as the anchor roots of natural vines do.

Finally, when a leshy is slain, their nature spirt soul is released into the world in an explosion of positive energy, causing nearby plants to be healed and even spring up in a verdant growth around them in a wide area, making travel difficult and the fact that they’ve been slain nearly impossible to conceal. While the thickness of the foliage reduces with time, the plants are otherwise natural, and may thrive or wither based on the conditions of the area.

Of course, not every vine leshy (or other leshy) is built the same, especially when the exact species they were grown from can vary. Some of these might be applicable for my homebrew, while others might not. In any case, there’s plenty of options. For example, vine leshies grown from grapevines and other fruiting vines can produce fruit infused with healing and sustaining magic of a goodberry spell. Other prove more dexterous than tough. Others can reconstitute a limb into a whip-like weapon as well as wield whips with great skill. More wizened ones can perform a ritual to speak with all plants, rather than just their own kind. Those living in swamps tend to be especially stealthy in them as well as good swimmers. Meanwhile, some can produce a vine with sensory organs to sneakily peer and listen through small openings. Those interested in other cultures often develop a knack for learning about them. Finally, some leshies are outright toxic, perhaps grown from poison ivy or the like.

With their toughness and wisdom leshies have “druid” written all over them, with perhaps a decent subset dedicated to ranger, hunter, and even tanky shifter, especially since both hunter and shifter have options for leshies and other plantfolk in particular, and druids have the likes of leshy callers for those seeking to be stewards of the lesser of their kind. That constitution bonus also suits them well as kineticists, particularly wood kineticists and even more particularly the leshykineticist archetype. Beyond these tailored options though, they do quite well as tough tanky types, especially with that wisdom bonus helping to protect the minds of those using a martial class. Meanwhile, those that take the dex bonus over con could serve well with agile classes, though their intelligence penalty does somewhat limit them in terms of skills and certain arcane casting classes, but nothing insurmountable. Meanwhile, they also find things like sorcerer and bloodrager, especially with nature-themed bloodlines like fey or verdant to be fun and thematic options.

[tree-of-monstrous-life]

Welcome to the Tree!

This is a project I've wanted to do for a while, originally just as a personal thought experiment, but decided to make a blog about it. Now anyone can see me being Perfectly Normal about fake video game taxonomy, and can join in on the fun too!

First things first, here are the rules:

The tree will include

Main species (obviously) from mainline and spin-off games

Subspecies (monsters inaccurately classified as subspecies by cannon, such as Black Diablos, will be reconsidered based on what we know)

Origin species

Rare species

Lone species

Burst species

Endemic Life/small monsters and animals

The tree will exclude

Variants

Deviants

Apexes

Zeniths

Special Species

Extreme Individuals

All affliction-caused variations (e.g. Risen)

Miscellaneous crossover and joke species

Essentially, I'm only looking at monsters that are different because of their genetics, not monsters that have been changed by environmental factors. This list is subject to change and open for debate, since my main source of information right now is the wiki, which can be unreliable.

I will also be excluding all Wilds monsters for the time being! I'm trying to go into that game as blind as possible, so I would greatly appreciate it if people avoid talking about Wilds spoilers ^-^ (I do know about Arkveld at the very least and do have thoughts about it, but I'm saving it for after launch).

And finally, I will be considering the known ancestor species such as Wyvern Rex; I'm still undecided on including all of them, or whether or not to place them in their cannon branches, since most of them are repurposed concept arts and personal interpretations/observations don't entirely line up with what's been stated.

My disclaimers are mainly a reminder that this is just personal headcannon, and I am very aware that there's room for a lot of different interpretations of this topic- I'm gonna be making some bold choices and a lot of assumptions, working off mostly just observations of monster physiology to base my tree off of. I'm not super familiar with most of the spin-off titles and their rosters, and my general real life life science knowledge is far from perfect, so there's bound to be mistakes around those areas.

I'm fully open to debates, questions, criticisms, etc, as long as people are civil about it. At this point there are some very hazy and loose sections of my groupings, so second opinions would be nice :)

That's all for now! enjoy ^-^

[fraterribilis]

The taxonomy of Sly Cooper: Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Sorry for being so late with this one, but I've been occupied with other things.

Anyway, time to overthink the biology of the different members of the Klaww Gang!

Starting off with a two for one, it's pretty obvious that both Neyla and Rajan are meant to be mainland or bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris). They were originally conceived by the developers as father and daughter afterall.

I think pretty much everyone knows what tigers are and what they're all about (solitary apex predators, live in Asia) so I'll spare you the details, and share some lesser known facts about them instead.

Most relevant to the topic at hand, the bengal tiger was long considered a separate subspecies from the siberian, chinese and malayan populations, but recent genetical analysis suggests that they all belong to the same subspecies, and are now collectively referred to as the mainland tiger. The only other extant subspecies being the Sunda Islands or sumatran tiger.

Contrary to what Bentley would have you believe, tigers do NOT have an aversion to water. In fact they are some of the best swimmers among big cats, with the population in the Sundarbans being known to swim between islands in the delta in search of prey.

And contrary to popular belief, there are NOT more tigers in captivity in the US than there are tigers in the wild. @why-animals-do-the-thing has a very well researched series examining the data regarding captive tigers in the US which you can find here.

Sidenote: As a kid I thought that Neyla was supposed to be just a normal (purple) tabby cat. It wasn't until I got older and heard Dimitri's office recordings that I realized she was supposed to be a tiger.

Speaking of Dimitri, he is obviously an iguana of some kind. There are no wild iguanas in France, but i guess his family could have migrated there. Some fans have identified him as a marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), but his pointed skull and impressive dewlap beard suggests to me that he belongs to the genus of true iguanas (yes, taxonomy is confusing).

There are two recognised species of the Iguana genus; the green iguana (Iguana iguana) and the lesser antilliean iguana (Iguana delicatissima). I couldn't decide which one fit Dimitri better so you're getting another two for one. Both species grow to be up to six feet long, with males being larger than females. They are herbivorous, and feed on a wide variety of leaves, flowers, seeds and fruits. Both species live in forest and swamp areas, and are very capable swimmers and climbers. In addition to having well-developed vision, iguanas also possess a so-called parietal eye placed at the top of their skull, which allows them to detect ultra-violet light.

The green iguana is by far the most widespread of the two species, being found throughout most of Central America and northern South America, along with invasive populations in Florida and the Carribean. It is also one of the most popular lizards in the pet trade, even though it can be notoriously demanding and stroppy.

By contrast, the lesser antillean iguana is critically endangered, being only found on the archipelago of Lesser Antilles. Here it faces threats from invasive species, such as feral dogs and cats, but its greatest threat is, ironically enough, its invasive cousin the green iguana. The two species compete over resources, and can even interbreed, creating hybrids which further limit the native population.

The Contessa is most likely a black widow spider of the genus Latrodectus, seeing as she's often associated with an hourglass symbol which several members of the genus famously display on their abdomen. There are way too many Latrodectus species to count, so I'm just gonna assume that she is a southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans) which is basically the type species for the genus.

The southern black widow is the most common Latrodectus species in North America, being found throughout the southeastern United States along with Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Like other spiders it largely preys on insects, but sometimes also preys on other spiders, including its fellow species.

Black widows are infamous for their venom, which causes a condition called Latrodectism. This venom is rarely fatal in humans, with fatalities usually being those already of poor health, but it is extremely painful, causing symptons like nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain. These symptoms can sometimes last for weeks.

Black widows are of course also known for practicing sexual cannibalism, where the larger female will consume the male after mating, hence the "widow" name. This is not guaranteed however, as the female may spare the male if she isn't hungry. The females are generally the deadlier of the species though, as they are not only larger, but also have more potent venom (and a longer lifespan). All very fitting for a character who likely poisoned her husband.

As for Jean Bison, I actually like to think that he is a wisent or european bison (Bison bonasus). Part of that is his design. While his head is definitely big, it isn't quite as ridicoulously large as that of an american bison (Bison bison). More importantly however, I think it makes more sense for a european colonizer trying to industrialize the wild north, as opposed to a native american animal.

The european bison is distinquished from its american relative by being generally smaller and lankier in frame, but it is still a large and powerful animal. Adult bulls stand 6 feet tall at the shoulder (taller than the american bison) and can weigh up to 900 kg, making them the largest land animal in all of Europe.

The species has historically had a range covering most of northern Europe, but overhunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century. Less than 60 animals remained in zoos worldwide, but thanks to wildlife rehabilitation efforts the species is slowly but steadily recovering. Today they are found in scattered populations across Europe, mostly in the east.

All in all, quite an ironic fit for a villain who's goal involves destroying the natural environment.

And finally we have Arpeggio. I had a hard time choosing between two particular species for him; the yellow faced parrot (Alipiopsitta xanthops), and the golden parakeet (Guaruba guarouba). Thanks to @arpeggio-the-parrot for coining me in on that last one. The yellow-faced has a more appropriate plumage, but the parakeet has a more prominent beak, much like Arpeggio. This combined with features we'll discuss later makes me conclude that he must be a golden parakeet. I do also kinda like the idea of him being a flightless kakapo, but I digress.

The golden parakeet or golden conure is only found in the Amazon Basin of northern Brazil. The species is endangered in the wild due to deforestation and the pet trade. It has a diet largely consisting of fruits and seeds, particularly corn. This is a highly social species, with up to 10 individuals roosting in the same tree hole. Different females will lay their eggs in a single nest, and when the chicks hatch they are raised communally.

The golden parakeet might seem like an odd choice, given that adults of the species are almost entirely yellow, (besides their green remige flight feathers) as opposed to Arpeggio's more balanced mix of yellow and green. However, juvenile parakeets have more prominently green coloring, including their back and tail feathers, which they lose as they grow older. This to me suggests, that Arpeggio likely suffers from paedomorphism (the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood), which would also explain his underdeveloped wings, that are so key to his character. Funny how things work out like that.

[flowerbloom-arts]

Hi! I’m obsessed with the joxter and snufkin species charts you made a while ago, and your headcanons for other creatures like muddlers, hemulens, and fillyjonks. Have you ever thought about what other species that we haven’t seen in canon (to my knowledge) might be like? Such as the children of unions between muddlers and joxters, or fillyjonks and mymbles, or anything else honestly, I’m just listing what comes to mind. Or your headcanons for some of the less well-known canon species. Apologies if you’ve already covered this— I just really like your takes :)

First of all, thank you so much!!! I was actually really nervous about posting that at first but I'm glad to see some people enjoyed it so much ^^

Secondly, "species" in Moomin are a tough thing to crack, because there are so many design iterations that change drastically, one-off designs, vague designs and unnamed consistent designs, all of this compounded by the universe's vague naming conventions, that to try and make a comprehensive taxonomy would be a scientific nightmare. Why do I say this? Because this goes hand-in-hand with the impossibility of truly classifying or generalizing characters of mixed parentage.

Like, riddle me this:

How in the world are these two siblings??? (Assuming Fuzzy is still Fuddler's mother in the comics which feels likely but, you know, tHeRe'S nO cOnFiRmAtIoN)

This is a very exemplary case because, like, these two were never referred to as "a Muddler" or "a Fuzzy" before, which is especially notable for Sniff because we get a bunch more content of him and he was never referred to as a thing other than "a Small Animal", and to further muddy (haha) the waters a bit, Sniff was originally going to be named "the Muddler" before Tove had settled on naming him Sniff and giving it to his replacement (in a play adaptation of Comet in Moominland) turned father. They come from the same parents but to make sweeping headcanons that apply to not just both of them but also every possible character of the same or similar parentage would be an injustice.

And it's not just them: Misabel and Mabel? Hodgkins and his brother? They look nothing alike either, who's to say what general statements about their biology even should apply to them?

Moomin species genetics can be so wild. Did you know bipedal creatures can have viable offspring with the Sea-horses? The sky really is the limit!

As for headcanons about lesser known species... Hmm... Well it's kind of hard to try and refer to them because most of the time they're not named at all, and even then so many of those unnamed species are so straightforward it's kind of hard to come up with something weird about them in a way that isn't on an individual level, but if you held a knife to my throat.... Uhhh....

I like to think these beaked people that you see quite a bit in the comics can move their necks quickly and they look like birds where they look around.

[communistkenobi]

Hello, about the Dredge post. I also agree that having direct classification of all "otherworldly" fishes in game distracts from the "Lovecraft horror" Feeling the game tries to evoke, but in my opinion there is a part of the game where it's still stands: Leviathans.

Those big creatures that you can't catch, but who will try to catch you. Since the game progression is tied to regions players will have to deal with nearly all of them, and the game never really give you information on what they are. Even more, all creatures you have to avoid (giant anglerfish, squid, eal, phantom shark) are not tied to the "main monster" of the game, which is never explained at all. I think that while some aspects of this writing are not directly intentional (due to the fact that Dredge iis not exactly a story-driven game), those elements still give some "Lovecraft horror" to the game.

re: this post

Oh totally! Like the game does still achieve that unknowable feeling in a lot of ways, both in the environment/storytelling and the mechanics (eg the insanity meter). Again, I really enjoyed the game, and I think it does maintain that lovecraftian atmosphere successfully in many ways.

I think those types of collect-em-all mechanics lend themselves well to what has become a universal metric imposed on all games, which is achievements/trophies. This particular type of mechanic, where you fill out a big catalogue of shit, also seem to be very in-vogue right now (at least in my experience - I don’t remember them being so ubiquitous like a decade ago, although I could be wrong), so I’m sure there are some political economy reasons for that mechanic being in the game to enhance its marketability or whatever.

If anything what I’m saying isn’t a criticism of Dredge specifically, but the form that commercial video games tend to take, which is that there is this persistent logic of data capture, that part of fulfilment in games is collect-em-all mechanics (mechanics that I really like! I 100% completed both breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom lol), and this logic, despite being understood as a purely “ludic” or mechanical part of the game, still influences the way a player approaches knowledge and information in the game. And Dredge is a good example of where I think that actively makes the game’s narrative less coherent, because these types of catalogues are premised on discrete, mutually-exclusive categories that can be sorted along a biological taxonomy of species - the catalogue already ‘knows’ what’s out there at sea because it holds an empty slot open for it, and the player is asked to simply fill it in. This is a positivistic approach to knowledge that positions the player as a citizen-scientist, gathering information about the world that fits neatly into this data structure composed of discrete parts.

One little detail from tears of the kingdom that I really liked (a game with a massive catalogue to fill) is that you can’t add those nightmare hand things that randomly spawn to your catalogue, which I think makes them scarier, particularly because they’re the only enemy in the entire game that can’t be added. They’re positioned as “uncapturable,” they don’t “exist” in the game’s memory or knowledge-system, and yet you can still see them and they can still kill you. And I think that’s exactly the kind of feeling Dredge is trying to evoke, but I think its catalogue-filling mechanic places specific limits on how it achieves that