#tundra diversity or marine diversity

[dead-set-goat]

I need to write a ZOOLOGY report. It’s so over because I dunno’ where to start regardless of topic this shit is endless what nobody ever had me be insanely-me as an assignment before

[bestanimal]

Round 1 - Phylum Nematoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Nematoda is a diverse phylum of animals commonly called roundworms or eelworms. Most are free-living and feed on microorganisms, but some are parasitic.

Nematodes are very diverse, but usually appear as small, slender worms. The smallest are microscopic, while the largest free-living species can be up to 5 cm (2 in) long. Some parasitic species can be even longer, reaching up to 8.4 m (27.5 ft) in length! Nematode heads are radially symmetrical and, in many cases, have head-shields radiating outwards around the mouth. The mouth has either three or six lips, which often bear a series of teeth on their inner edges. They have a dense, circular nerve ring which serves as their brain. They are covered in sensory bristles that provide a sense of touch. There are two small pits on the head that likely serve as chemoreceptors. Some aquatic nematodes have eye-spots, but it is unknown if they are actually sensory. They have seperate male and female individuals, with females usually being larger than males, though some species are hermaphroditic. They reproduce sexually, and females have a glandular uterus. They lay eggs, though some species are ovoviviparous. Larvae of free-living nematodes look like smaller adults, though parasitic nematodes usually have more complex life cycles.

Nematodes are perhaps the most successful phylum on Earth. They have adapted to nearly every ecosystem: from marine to freshwater, from soils to trees, from tundra to rainforest, at the tops of mountains, in deserts, in oceanic trenches, and up to 3.6 km (12,000 ft) below the surface of the Earth. They represent 90% of all animals on the ocean floor, and 80% of all individual animals on Earth. They often exceed a million individuals per square meter. This ubiquitous nature means they play a role in every ecosystem, most crucially in polar ecosystems where life is otherwise scarce. Of the parasitic forms, about a third of genera occur as parasites of vertebrates, and about 35 nematode species occur in humans.

Propaganda under the cut:

Nematodes play an important role in the decomposition process, aiding in recycling nutrients.

There are approximately 60 billion nematodes per human inhabiting the Earth’s topsoil. Those are your government assigned topsoil nematodes. Do with them as you wish.

One soil-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (see first image), has had its entire genome sequenced, the developmental fate of every cell determined, and every neuron mapped. They are considered a model organism: a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena.

While some species of nematode are detrimental to agriculture, other species are considered beneficial as they prey on agricultural pests. These species are bred commercially as biological pest control agents which can be used as a much safer, environmentally-friendly alternative to pesticides.

The largest known nematode, Placentonema gigantissima, can reach sizes of up to 8.4 m (27.5 ft) long and 2.5 cm wide. It has been found living as a parasite in the reproductive tract of a sperm whale.

As stated by nematologist Nathan Cobb:

“In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable since, for every massing of human beings, there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.”

[tribbetherium]

Insects, just as on Earth, have become tremendously successful on HP-02017: overshadowed by the hamsters and their spectacular descendants, but nonetheless unimaginably numerous, diverse, and vital to the balance of the countless ecosystems and biomes that have flourished across the planet for millions of years, from cold polar tundras to temperate forests to scorching deserts and, in the Middle Temperocene, a time of flooded coasts and expanding oceans thriving with life in its sunlit shallows, even the seas itself.

Many dipteran flies and a few hymenopterans too have taken up partial residence in coastal areas, convergent with Earthly brine flies, whose larvae live in shallow, salty tide pools and whose adults gather in massive swarms by the beach, where they in turn feed a wide array of wildlife such as ratbats, pterodents, rattiles, shrabs, squoads and more. But few live out in the open ocean, a realm whose arthropod inhabitants are instead governed by the shrish, their numerous basal krill ancestors and loads upon loads of nondescript zooplanktonic crustaceans. Yet the presence of coast kudzu, an unconventional, fast-spreading sea grass that floats entirely on the surface and can blanket whole square kilometers of ocean surface in favorable regions, provides a suitable habitat for the most unlikely of marine insects: the kudzu seatle (Thalassoscarabus spp.)

Descended from freshwater diving beetles that likely in turn descended from the darkling beetle Tenebrio molitor, one of the planet's earliest colonists, the kudzu seatle's ancestor was among the many victims of coastal storms that were swept out to sea and became unwitting pioneers. While many unfortunately perished and a lucky few made it to oceanic islands where they flourished, others, of more salt-tolerant strains, remained out at sea, some making it to the patches of coast kudzu where their descendants have flourished ever since.

Kudzu seatles spend much of their time clinging among the tangled floating forests of leaves and stems, to rest, hide themselves from predators, and to lay their eggs. Their eggs, laid in clusters of up to a hundred at a time, are attached to the stems of coast kudzu, where they hatch within a few days' time into small, bristly larvae that cling to the coast kudzu with their six thoracic legs to feed on microbial aggregations, algae, plankton and organic detritus, but are capable of swimming actively through jerky wiggling motions of their abdomens. When at rest, the larvae cling near the surface and extend an abdominal breathing tube to the surface, in order to breathe air, quickly diving and holding their breaths when disturbed by waves and ascending once more as the surface calms. As the larvae grow, they become ever more voracious, soon after graduating to feeding on the coast kudzu itself in its later instars. Once it reaches a full size of roughly two inches, it stops feeding and prepares itself for its transformation.

Yet in the open sea, there are few, if any, places for a larva to safely hole up in and become immobile for a prolonged period of time. As such, the kudzu seatle has an unconventional adaptation: a motile pupa, capable of swimming actively through contractions of its abdomen and possesses a specialized reserve of fat to fuel its motility, separate from its energy sources that guide its transformation as it does not eat for the two-week duration of its pupation. It now breathes at the surface through two thoracic tubes, and spends much of its time at the surface, diving back down when disturbed by vibrations and shadows.

At last, after an average of 14-16 days, the adult finally ecloses as a mature beetle, clinging to the surface of the coast kudzu to allow its elytra to harden. The pupae, guided by hormonal and light triggers, all emerge simultaneously just after sunset where they are much safer from predators. By dawn their exoskeletons will have hardened, their elytra now serving as oxygen tanks where they store bubbles of air, and now, swimming along with the aid of bristly legs and possessing excretory organs derived from their gut lining that clear their bodies of excess salt, the adults begin the final phase of their life cycle, being active hunters of zooplankton and larval shrish and pescopods, as well as feeding on the sap of coast kudzu as a supplement of energy-rich carbohydrates, throughout their adult life that can last as long as six months to a year depending on the species and local climate, throughout which they constantly mate and reproduce incessantly, with each female able to produce as many as 600-1000 eggs in a lifetime.

Various species of kudzu seatle are found across the oceans of HP-02017, such as the most common coastal kudzu seatle (Thalassoscarabus larsoni), which is predominantly a omnivorous plankton-feeding denizen of shallow tropical seas, to the larger pelagic kudzu seatle (T. shocirus) that is a more active hunter of smaller invertebrates in coast kudzu patches in open waters far from shore, to the forest kudzu seatle (T. puget) that thrives in the "emergent layer" of seagrass forests and experience massive population booms each summer that become a feast for predators of all kinds. The latter species, ranging around the shores of South Ecatoria, are very familiar to shore-dwelling calliducyons such as the baywulves and riveners as their breeding explosions seasonally blanket the surface with millions of larvae, many of which wash ashore and are considered a seasonal treat by the ocean-side foragers: though "sea bug season" does not last, as, while the larvae and particularly the fat-rich pupae are a favorite of theirs, the hard-shelled adults they eventually metamorphose into are considered bitter, chewy and highly unpalatable. Due to the somewhat shrimplike appearance of the larva and pupa, the calliducyons do not distinguish them from shrish and merely consider them as just another species of shrish, or "seaswimmer bug": though the resemblance of the adult to terrestrial beetles has not gone unnoticed by the riveners who call it in their dialect as "sea land bug", the paradoxical statement of which is the subject of local rhymes, songs and amusing folk stories.

----------

[mnkeethewriter]

Mapmaking through Words

With the prevalence of bestselling fantasy worlds like Middle-earth, Westeros, and Hogwarts flooding the mainstream media, building a world from scratch can seem like a daunting task. Where does one even begin creating such a masterpiece, and how do you make it stand out from the hundreds already out there? Lucky for you, I live and breathe worldbuilding. I’m here to help you streamline the process and get your creativity flowing through prompt questions and guided brainstorming. Worldbuilding doesn’t have to be this impossible task. With the right building blocks, you’ll be making the dream in your head a reality on paper in no time.

With today's topic, let’s start from the ground up, literally. The most fundamental aspect of worldbuilding is, well, building the world. You can’t create a map without topography, just like you can’t write a story without a physical setting to drop your characters into. Nature is the very foundation that you will build everything off of, and it will ultimately affect the trajectory of your story. Imagine how different a story written in a bountiful farmland would be compared to one written in a desolate wasteland. With that in mind, I want to highlight and discuss our first prompt question.

What biomes are your world composed of? According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a biome can be defined as “a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions.” 

There’s much debate on how broad or narrow to categorize these communities, so remember the list I’ve provided below is just a fraction of the diversity this world, and hopefully yours too, offers.

Tropical Rainforest

Hot and humid

High rainfall with no dry season (50 to 260 inches yearly)

Greatest biodiversity in the world

Mostly composed of evergreen plants

Temperate Forest

Mild climate with four distinct seasons

Coniferous and/or deciduous trees

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

Largest terrestrial biome

Coniferous trees

Long, cold winters with little daylight (9 months below freezing)

Short summers (1-3 months) with up to mild temperatures (19 to 70°F) 

Desert

Hottest biome

Extreme temperature swings from day to night (-40 to 120°F)

Little to no precipitation (Less than 20 inches yearly)

Tundra

Year-round permafrost allowing only low plants to grow

Dry climate (6 to 10 inches of rainfall yearly)

Below freezing except during short summers (37 to 54°F)

Little to no daylight in winter

Grassland

Transitional biome between forests and deserts

Various names/kinds dependent on location (plains, prairies, steppes, etc.)

Short and/or tall grasses with little to no trees

Savanna

Transitional biome between forests and deserts

Tree-studded grasslands

Warm climate with wet and dry seasons

Freshwater

Low salt concentration

Further categorized as streams/rivers, lakes/ponds, wetlands 

Ever-changing biome

Marine

High salt concentration

Largest biome in the world

5 major oceans covering 70% of the Earth

References

1. Augustyn, A. (2023, January 13). biome. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/biome

2. Moeller, K. (2013, July 19). Boundless Biomes. ASU - Ask A Biologist. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/biomes

[war-of-heirs]

Geography in the Empire of Vorla.

Lush and fertile lands:

The lush and fertile lands of Vorla are located in the upper part of the west and the lower eastern part of the empire. These lands are characterized by their rolling hills, rich soils, and abundant water sources, including rivers and lakes. The area is home to many farms and vineyards and produces a variety of crops, including wheat, grapes, and olives.

Forested lands:

The forested lands of Vorla are located in the northern, central, and lower-west parts of the empire. These areas are covered in dense forests, which provide habitat for many types of wildlife, including deer and wolves, and many more animals. The forests also provide a source of timber and other natural resources, and many people in this area are involved in logging and woodworking.

Coastal lands:

The coastal lands of Vorla are located along the western coast of the empire. These lands are characterized by their sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, and abundant marine life. Fishing is an important industry in this area, and many people also engage in trade and shipping.

Tundra lands:

The tundra lands of Vorla are located in the far northern part of the kingdom. These lands are characterized by their cold, harsh climate and limited vegetation. Despite the challenging conditions, people have managed to make a living in this area through activities like hunting and fishing.

Rugged and mountainous lands:

The rugged and mountainous lands of Vorla are located in the central and upper-eastern parts of the empire. These areas are characterized by their steep slopes, rocky terrain, and snow-capped peaks. The mountains provide a source of minerals and other natural resources, and many people in this area are involved in mining and quarrying. The rugged terrain also makes this area an important strategic location for defense.

South of the Empire:

The Venger mountains are located in the southern part of the empire, and as you move further to the south the climate becomes more extreme and continental. In the coastal regions, the climate is milder and more pleasant, with moderate temperatures and occasional rainfall. As you move further inland, however, the climate becomes hotter

The Venger Mountains rise up as a natural barrier between the desert and the more fertile lands of Vorla. These mountains are protected by a powerful and ancient house known as House shieldwall, the shield of the south. The members of House shieldwall are fierce warriors and skilled tacticians and have long served as the defenders of the southern border of the empire. Their stronghold, Castle Venger, is perched high on a peak in the heart of the mountains and is virtually impregnable to all but the most determined attackers.

Overall, the geography of Vorla is diverse and varied, with each region presenting its own unique challenges and opportunities. The people of the empire have learned to adapt to the conditions of their environment and have developed distinct cultures and traditions based on their location within the empire.

[rickybondd]

What Product Solutions Can You Use to Improve Your Health?

Introduction

Bioma are large geographic biotic units, characterized by specific climate conditions, plant and animal life, and ecological interactions. These diverse ecological regions, ranging from lush tropical rainforests to arid deserts, play crucial roles in maintaining the Earth's environmental balance. Understanding  bioma and their functions is essential for conserving biodiversity, managing natural resources sustainably, and addressing environmental challenges such as climate change.

What Are  bioma?

Bioma are defined by their distinctive climates, vegetation types, and animal communities. They are broader than ecosystems, which can be numerous within a single biome.  bioma can be terrestrial, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts, or aquatic, including freshwater and marine systems. Each biome represents a unique set of environmental conditions and ecological processes.

Major Terrestrial  bioma

Tropical Rainforests: Located near the equator, these  bioma are known for their high biodiversity and dense, multi-layered canopies. They experience warm temperatures and heavy rainfall throughout the year.

Savannas: These grasslands with scattered trees are found in tropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons. They support large herbivores and predators.

Deserts: Characterized by extremely low rainfall, deserts have sparse vegetation and are adapted to arid conditions. They can be hot, like the Sahara, or cold, like the Gobi Desert.

Temperate Forests: Found in temperate regions, these forests experience seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. They are home to deciduous trees that shed their leaves annually.

Grasslands: These  bioma, including prairies and steppes, are dominated by grasses and experience moderate rainfall. They are often used for agriculture.

Taiga (Boreal Forests): Located in the northern hemisphere, these forests have long, cold winters and short summers. They are dominated by coniferous trees.

Tundra: Found in polar regions, tundras have low temperatures, short growing seasons, and minimal vegetation. They are often covered with permafrost.

Major Aquatic  bioma

Freshwater  bioma: These include rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands. Freshwater  bioma are critical for drinking water, agriculture, and supporting diverse ecosystems.

Marine  bioma: Covering over 70% of the Earth's surface, marine  bioma include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. They are crucial for global climate regulation and marine biodiversity.

The Importance of  bioma

Biodiversity Hotspots

 Bioma Reviews are biodiversity hotspots, each hosting a variety of plant and animal species adapted to their specific conditions. For instance, tropical rainforests are home to more species than any other biome. The diversity within  bioma is essential for ecosystem resilience, genetic resources, and ecological functions such as pollination and nutrient cycling.

Climate Regulation

 Bioma Reviews play a significant role in regulating the Earth's climate. Forests, especially tropical rainforests and boreal forests, act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Wetlands store vast amounts of carbon in their peat soils. Oceans regulate global temperatures through heat absorption and circulation patterns.

Ecosystem Services

 bioma provide numerous ecosystem services that are vital for human survival and well-being. These services include:

Provisioning Services: Supply of food, water, timber, and medicinal resources.

Regulating Services: Climate regulation, flood control, water purification, and disease regulation.

Supporting Services: Nutrient cycling, soil formation, and habitat provision.

Cultural Services: Recreational, spiritual, and educational benefits.

Threats to  bioma

Deforestation

Deforestation, particularly in tropical rainforests, poses a severe threat to biodiversity and climate regulation. Clearing forests for agriculture, logging, and urban development results in habitat loss, species extinction, and increased carbon emissions.

Climate Change

Climate change affects  Bioma Reviews by altering temperature and precipitation patterns. Polar and mountain  bioma are experiencing rapid warming, leading to melting ice and permafrost. Ocean acidification and warming threaten marine  bioma, including coral reefs.

Pollution

Pollution from industrial activities, agriculture, and urbanization degrades  bioma. Chemical pollutants, plastic waste, and nutrient runoff cause eutrophication in aquatic  bioma, harming aquatic life and water quality.

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation divides  bioma into smaller, isolated patches, disrupting ecological processes and leading to loss of biodiversity. Infrastructure development and agricultural expansion are primary causes of fragmentation.

Overexploitation

Overexploitation of resources, such as overfishing, hunting, and logging, depletes populations and disrupts ecosystems. Sustainable management practices are necessary to prevent resource depletion and maintain ecosystem health.

Conservation and Sustainable Management of  bioma

Protected Areas

Establishing protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife reserves, is a key strategy for conserving  bioma. Protected areas safeguard critical habitats, provide refuge for endangered species, and maintain ecosystem services.

Restoration Projects

Ecological restoration involves rehabilitating degraded  bioma to restore their functionality and biodiversity. Restoration projects include reforestation, wetland rehabilitation, and coral reef restoration.

Sustainable Practices

Implementing sustainable practices in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries helps preserve biome health. Agroforestry, sustainable logging, and responsible fishing practices reduce environmental impacts and support local livelihoods.

Climate Action

Mitigating climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and promoting carbon sequestration practices is essential for protecting  Bioma Health Probiotics Weight Loss. Climate adaptation strategies, such as building ecological resilience and protecting climate refugia, also play a critical role.

Community Involvement

Engaging local communities in conservation efforts fosters stewardship and ensures the success of management strategies. Indigenous knowledge and community-led initiatives contribute to sustainable resource management and biodiversity conservation.

Conclusion

 bioma are fundamental to Earth's ecological and climatic balance, providing critical habitats, regulating climate, and offering essential ecosystem services. However, they face significant threats from human activities and climate change. Understanding, conserving, and sustainably managing  Bioma Health Probiotics Weight Loss is vital for maintaining biodiversity, supporting human well-being, and addressing global environmental challenges. Through protected areas, restoration projects, sustainable practices, climate action, and community involvement, we can safeguard these invaluable ecological systems for future generations.

[blocksofmabel]

🌍✨ Dive into the Magical World of Minecraft: Exploring Biomes! 🌱🏔️

Hey fellow adventurers! 🌟 Ready to embark on a virtual journey through the breathtaking biomes of Minecraft? 🛶 Let's strap on our virtual gear and venture into this pixelated paradise! 🌄🎮

🌳 First stop: The Lush Forest Biome! 🌲���� Step into a realm adorned with towering trees and vibrant foliage. 🌳🍂 From oak to birch, the forest biome is a haven for wood and enchanting creatures. 🦉🍄 Uncover hidden treasures amidst the greenery and breathe in the fresh virtual air!

🏔️ Next on the agenda: The Snowy Tundra Biome! ❄️🌨️ Wrap up warm and brace yourself for a winter wonderland. ⛄ Venture through snow-covered landscapes and encounter majestic ice spikes. 🏔️🐺 Embrace the chill and gather resources as you traverse the frozen beauty of this biome!

🌵 Heading to the Arid Desert Biome next! 🌞🐪 Prepare for a scorching adventure in this sandy domain. 🏜️🌵 Be on the lookout for cacti and ancient desert temples. 🏜️🏺 The sun beats down, but the thrills of discovery keep you going! Dig deep and uncover the secrets hidden beneath the dunes.

🏝️ Time for the Tropical Ocean Biome! 🐠🏝️ Dive into the crystal clear waters, where a vibrant world of marine life awaits. 🐬🐠 Discover colorful coral reefs and mysterious shipwrecks. 🚢⚓ Explore the depths, but beware of lurking dangers beneath the waves!

🌌 Our final destination: The Enchanting Mushroom Island Biome! 🍄✨ Transport yourself to a land of magic and mystery, where giant mushrooms cast their enchanting glow. 🌈🍄 Uncover the whimsical and fantastical elements of this unique and magical biome.

Minecraft's diverse biomes offer a never-ending adventure, each one with its own charm and surprises! 🌟 Which biome is your favorite? Share your Minecraft biome escapades below! Let's keep exploring and building our virtual dreams! 🌈🏰

[hwats-the-big-idea]

My autistic ass has been up to some crazy shit these past few days. I started playing planet zoo and not even a week into the game the computer goes caput. Frame rate on every single game is absolutely horrendous, games don't even load past a single frame for 20 mins, and there's no internet to the computer yet (we just bought a dongle and are waiting on the delivery) so we can't fix it at all rn. Well, my hyperfixation just couldn't handle this absolute nonsense, if I couldn't play the game (I literally stay up for 2 days at a time playing nonstop lmao) I'd invest my time elsewhere. With a new dlc right around the corner and the games end on the horizon, I wrote a huge post on what dlcs I think pz needs before it finishes. I've been researching animals and pz for days, I'm happy to have some new animal facts under the belt now as well. Well, I went to post it to reddit and I just... can't. I get an unknown error. It's in reddit character limits but maybe the specific sub limits characters. Well I would've posted it and split it in half with the second half in the comments but I can only post dlc wishlist on Wednesday uk time 😭 by the time I finished everything it was already 4 am across the pond.

I really, really just want to document my crazy autistic ramblings and surmise my opinion as the most correct one as always lol, so I'm gonna post my post here and hopefully I'll be able to figure it out next Wednesday. I don't see a strong pz community here in tumblr so I'll probably be talking to myself but what else is new? Here goes. Is a long one, bois. Sorry the format is unpleasant here:

Here I list every dlc I think I’d want/would do good for the game before it ends. I go into 2025 with my wishlist just because I don’t think the game can really fully finish by 2024 even though I’ve seen some speculation we might just be getting one more year of dlcs. I’ve gone on to wrap up this year, speculate for 2024, as well as 2025.

This will be a long post, an opinion piece over predictions of what I genuinely think will come, and I’ll discuss my reasons why I chose everything after I list the dlcs. I’ve taken inspiration from wishlists, what bigger names in the community have been predicting, and just what I hope to see come to the game. In my speculations I focus mostly on diversity, uniqueness in looks and mechanics, as well as what we need from rigs for mods. I’ve tried to be as inclusive as I could in my selections so I hope there’s people who will enjoy what I’ve come up with! I’ve also only recently started playing the game so I don’t understand it in as intimate a way as long time players may and I’m probably overlooking some scenery items, so take my scenery speculation with a grain of salt. I’d love to hear opinions on it all.

…

2023 dlc wrap ups

Temperate scenery pack

-Sea otter (headliner)

-European red squirrel

-Tanuki

-Collared peccary or European wild boar

Exhibit

-Chipmunk walkthrough exhibit.

Tundra animal pack

-Pacific walrus (headliner)

-Wolverine

-Musk ox

-Arctic hare

-Southern rockhopper penguin

-Tundra swan, snow goose, Canada goose, or duck (harlequin, mandarin, wood, or mallard)

-American white pelican

Exhibit

-Pika, chinchilla, or white winter dwarf hamster

…

2024 dlcs

Taiga scenery pack

-Pallas cat (headliner)

-Golden takin

-Fisher cat, stoat, or European pine marten

-Yellow bellied marmot/alpine marmot

(Alternate species:

-North American porcupine

-American black bear)

Exhibit

-Japanese rhinoceros beetle

Islands animal pack

-Tasmanian devil (headliner)

-Japanese giant salamander

-Cuban crocodile

-Malayan civet/Asian palm civet

-Fairy penguin

-Goodfellow’s/matschie’s tree kangaroo

-American flamingo

(Alternate species:

-Coconut crab

-Coquerel’s sifaka

-Sumatran rhinoceros

-Marine iguana)

Exhibit

-Tenrec

Scrublands scenery pack

-Saiga antelope (headliner)

-Gerenuk

-Alligator snapping turtle

-Roadrunner or burrowing owl

(Alternate species:

-Banded mongoose)

Exhibit

-desert tortoise or thorny devil

Rainforests animal pack

-Olive/hamadryas baboon (headliner)

-Coati mundi

-Bush dog

-Sloth bear

-Common squirrel monkey or black handed spider monkey,

-Golden lion/emperor tamarin

-Muntjac

Exhibit

-Leaf cutter ants, thorny stick insect, or giant prickly stick insect

…

2025 dlcs to wrap up the game with

To preface 2025 would see dlcs that have huge game changing mechanics, it’s definitely just personal desires since it’d be a tall order for the year, but these are all things that so many people have really been asking for and I think are are things that we would all rather enjoy for the game before it ends. We wouldn’t be seeing very many animals in any of the packs (not like we have for the terrestrial animals), but with the right selections it would allow modders to really expand the library after the games end.

Barnyard scenery pack

-American Pygmy goat or boer goat (headliner)

-Jacob sheep

-Miniature donkey or Shetland pony

-Vietnamese pot bellied pig

Exhibit: touch pools

-Southern stingray or cownose stingray

-White spotted bamboo shark or brown banded bamboo shark

-Ochre sea star (or other sea star)

-Aggregating anemone or slate pencil urchin

-Atlantic horseshoe crab

Ground bird animal pack

-Secretary bird (headliner)

-Darwin’s rhea

-Shoebill

-Marabou stork

-Roseate spoonbill

-Southern ground hornbill

-Kiwi or kakapo

Exhibit: cage exhibits

-Golden pheasant

-Raggiana bird of paradise

-Ocellated turkey

-Scarlet ibis

-Victorian crowned pigeon

Aquariums animal and scenery pack

-Bottlenose dolphin (headliner)

-West Indian manatees

-Beluga

-Manta ray

-Loggerhead sea turtle

-Hammerhead shark

-Black sea bass or black grouper

Exhibit: aquarium exhibits

-Yellow seahorse

-Compass jellyfish

-Giant pacific octopus

-Moray eel

-Tropical fish (clownfish, blue hippo tang, moorish idol, etc)

Aviary animal and scenery pack

-Scarlet macaw, blue and yellow macaw, hyacinth macaw morphs (headliner)

-Bald eagle or California condor

-Toco toucan

-Barn owl or great horned owl

-Laughing kookaburra

-Puffin

-Blue jay

Exhibit: walkthrough bird exhibit

-Sun conure

-Rainbow lorikeet

-Parakeet

-Sulfur crested cockatoo

-Ecuadorian amazon parrot

…

These are all the packs that I have come up with that I think would be good enough to end planet zoo by the end of 2025. They don’t include anywhere near all the animals that we ultimately desire as a community but I think that the species are diverse enough to be able to mod most anything we want in. I’ll go on and talk about each pack individually now and why I chose what I did/what I think each pack would include.

…

Temperate

A lot of people think that temperate and tundra will be the next inclusions, so they’re where I went with my speculation. For the temperate pack I’ve made it a scenery pack since that will be next if the scenery-animal pack trend continues. For this pack I’ve included a few animals I think are necessary for the game. First I’ve included the sea otter, an animal we could never see through mods, and one people want to see. I’ve also included the tanuki, I think it’s an animal that a lot of people would just enjoy having in the game. I also have the collared peccary or European wild boar, honestly either of them, or some other pig, would work in this spot, we just need more pigs in the game. And I have the European red squirrel, it’s found in some zoos, and would just be an interesting animal and rig in the game. I also have a chipmunk walkthrough exhibit, an idea from J-Double U, which I think would just flesh out walkthrough exhibits. We’d see bats, butterflies, birds (hopefully), and with this one a mammal so I thought it was a good inclusion. For scenery I think it’d be very nice to see some rustic wood cabin/camping sort of aesthetics. I’m an Oregonian myself so the Oregon zoo is dear to me, and I’d love some scenery that just says “temperate rainforest”. I’ve also just recently started playing the game so maybe I just haven’t had the chance to see every single piece we have yet, but I would love for some more diversity in our wood options, especially in sizes and shapes it all comes in. I’d also like some foliage like blackberries and furze/gorse bushes, California poppies, as well as flexi color wildflowers. As well, I know we lack trees that have a real canopy, I think some canopy trees would be really nice here. I think we could see some other scenery options, but I’d just love lots of stuff themed around a cooler climate. I think we also need some new stone pieces, bricks, and just simple flexi color building materials. I loved what we got in the tropical pack, I’d like to see some of that sort of stuff themed around a temperate climate as well and even more basic in its building capacity. … Tundra For the tundra pack I’ve included the walrus, a very much needed animal in the game, as well as some requests such as the wolverine and the musk ox. I’ve also included the arctic hare because we really could use a lagomorph of some sort. I’ve also included the rockhopper penguin because I think it’s one of the penguin types we’re lacking in diversity, and with frontier’s new animal modeling the yellow feathers would come out great on them. I’ve included the American white pelican, but really any pelican could find their way in this spot. I know the Australian pelican is the community’s desire but the American white fits the tundra theme better. Honestly though whichever pelican finds their place here we’d see the others through mods. It also was just a hard decision in general on the other water fowl. We need swans, geese, and ducks in the game and we don’t have any good rigs for them. I don’t think even the pelican rig would suffice. Honestly if it could be done by frontier I’d love to see at least both one duck and one goose in this pack, but ultimately for moddings sake I think either or would work out just fine. Really I think it’d just be a matter of which frontier personally would want to include, but I’ve dropped my choices down here. For the exhibit animal I’ve included a few options for mammals, I’d love to see more mammalian diversity in the exhibits. I think any of the choices here would be a good option really. I think chinchillas would really stand out but they’re also a somewhat common pet animal so it might be nice to see one of the other too as well.

…

Taiga

The taiga pack was a hard choice, but for the sake of the game and rigs it has to offer I’ve opted for the mustelids and the marmot over the black bear and the porcupine. Since we already have both a porcupine rig and lots of options for a bear rig these animals will easily find their way into the game through mods at its end so I chose the animals I think would offer something more unique to the game. I chose the fisher, pine marten, or stoat here because we really could use a more traditional weasel in the game imo. The Pallas cat is a popular request, so it was a necessary inclusion. I’ve chosen the Japanese rhinoceros beetle as the exhibit animal but because I absolutely love these insects and would want to see them in the game. I think that scenery pieces could represent some part of Eurasia, like Russia or Italy, I imagine we could use some bold, round shapes, with a large selection of rounded building pieces. I think it’d be nice to include some more cold climate pieces especially ones that represent a modern culture and without any Christmas theming to it.

…

Islands

For the islands pack it was a bit of a tossup on certain species. I’m most partial to this pack myself since it includes some of my own highly requested animals: the Tasmanian devil, the Japanese giant salamander, and the Cuban crocodile. The t devil is definitely a very, very requested animal. I also think the giant salamander and Cuban crocodile just also provide something unique we haven’t really seen in the game. For the salamander its a massive amphibian that I’d just love to build for in game, and the crocodile is a smaller croc that would have higher land requirements and a bit of a running-esc animation which I both unique for the game. I’ve included the fairy penguin since they’re such a beautiful bird, probably my favorite penguin, and we just don’t have any very tiny penguins like it in the game. There’s been many requests for various penguins, but I think for the majority of them we could easily find them through mods, the fairy penguin is something more unique in its regard. I’ve also included the tree kangaroo, a request from some, and a civet, which I think both bring a unique arboreal lifestyle to the game. I think having unique animals like them, plus their rigs, in the game is important for it at this point. I think my most controversial inclusion would probably be the American flamingo esp since we can see it through mods and all of the alternative animals I have seen as requests by the community, but personally I think it’s just a crime to the game we don’t have a pink flamingo. They’re what I’m familiar with in zoos and absolutely my preference for flamingos over the greater flamingo. Though I think the coquerel’s sifaka and coconut crab are very interesting animals that would give unique mods to the game. Honestly the flamingo or any of the alternative animals would fill this spot well. I’ve included the tenrec as the exhibit animal because it’s very unique and would provide some mammalian diversity to the exhibits. I think there are so many other good choices here, but personally I’d love to see a mammal.

…

Scrublands

I’d love to see a scrublands theme come to the game personally. Here I’ve included the saiga antelope and the gerenuk, both ungulates, but I think both are very unique ungulate forms and I’d still like to see the diversity with them. I think they’d both provide something interesting to the game and animals fun to build for, especially the gerenuk with its browsing. I think we could even see a browsing enrichment item inspired by the gerenuk come to the game as well to really get a sight at their rearing. I’ve included as well either the roadrunner or the burrowing owl, both unique ground birds I think that would be very fun for the game. Personally I’d prefer to build something for the roadrunner, but I think that burrowing owls might be more iconic and more requested, so I’ve included them both as an option here. Lastly I’ve included the alligator snapping turtle in this lineup. It’s a huge reptile, one I think the game could definitely use for our zoo building, and just so peculiar looking. I think it’d really be a statement animal that I’d love to build for. For the exhibit I’ve picked the desert tortoise or the thorny devil, I’d like to see others. For the scenery I definitely want to see scrublands scenery. We have desert and grass themes items already, but I’ve been living in Texas for just over a year now and I’m enamored by just how beautiful it is here and I don’t think the game really captures just enough scrub/grass/swamp aesthetic. I’d be looking for scenery pieces that really feel like a swampy boat ride through the scrublands, I find foliage like the Texas madrone and the saw palmetto beautiful and definitely could be included in a scrublands pack. Outside of those two I think just any plants you generally find in scrublands, swamps, plains/prairies, pampas, etc would be good. I think with the grasslands pack being an animal pack the scrublands being a scenery pack would bring in lots of new foliage. People also often are sinking trees down into the ground to represent small bush plants, I think with a scrublands pack we could see lots of foliage that can represent what people are doing with trees as actual bushes. I think we could also get more rocks in this pack, rocks that represent the beauty of a place like Utah, and/or some rocks in flexicolor.

…

Rainforest

For the rainforest animal pack I included the muntjac. I know the dik dik is a more highly requested animal but it’s a scrublands animal while the muntjac is a rainforest animal. I also have the alternative of the southern pudu, I’m just most partial to the muntjac personally (I find their scent glands to be so fascinating looking). I also wanted to include either the Chinese water deer or the Siberian musk deer, but I think with the muntjac we would easily see mods for all of these animals honestly. I think any of them could find their place in the slot I allocated for the muntjac. I included lots of primates in this pack, a baboon of some kind is a very requested animal, and personally I just don’t feel like we have enough small primates in the game. The capuchin just isn’t enough for me, so I’ve included another monkey of some kind (squirrel or spider I think would be good choices, though we could see potentially another option), as well as a tamarin. I think both of these animals would just look great in a pz zoo and provide what I think is needed diversity to the primates. I’ve also included the sloth bear here. Honestly it was hard to include just one bear in all of my pack ideas here because sloth bears, black bears, and spectacled bears are all highly requested animals. Really I think any of them could find their way here, especially since rainforests aren’t just limited to tropical jungles and can be temperate forests, but I did limit myself to just one bear choice since we ultimately will have the rigs for more bears to find their way into the game through mods I saw them as a less important inclusion for that reason. Lastly I’ve included in this pack the coati since we really ought to have a coati in the game, as well as the bush dog. They aren’t common in zoos but South America has some of the most unique canids and people just don’t know about them, I think including one (outside of the popular maned wolf) would provide a unique learning opportunity on these amazing animals, plus it’d just be so cool to have a semi aquatic packing canid in the game I’d love to see it. For the exhibit animal I chose leaf cutter ants, though I can see they may be difficult to do because of their size, though I do think leaf bits would help that. If they just aren’t feasible I’ve included a couple stick insect options since I’d also love to see these animals in the game. I chose to make the rainforest pack an animal pack since we already have lots of jungle-like scenery in the game, I wanted to give the scenery spotlight to some other biomes, especially since the tropical pack recently was a scenery pack.

…

The next four packs are definitely tall order packs. They’d bring big changes to the game, but I think changes that we as a community would like to see. They’re all highly requested pack themes, and I think that the new mechanics would breathe new life into the game. They’d really let it live for a long time after its completed.

Barnyard

This barnyard pack brings to the game a petting zoo mechanic, as well as barn themed set pieces and some small aquarium set pieces to set up for the aquarium pack itself and to include in the touch pools. I chose a goat, a sheep, a donkey/pony, and a pig over animals like rabbits, chickens, or guinea pigs because I think it’d be much easier to do just a “crouch and pet” animation. Smaller animals would need a much larger change to mechanics so my animal choices are all medium sized. I’ve also included touch pools. I think they would be a great inclusion to the game, and I think fit in the “petting zoo” theme as well. I’ve included some stingrays and sharks which the touch tanks at Stingray Cove in the Denver zoo really inspired me. Really I think that touch pools could be incorporated in a few ways. They could include some construction pieces to make a few touch tanks of different sizes, maybe some dedicated concrete and glass pieces to build them that can contain water like the barriers. The other animal species I’ve included in the touch pools are sea stars, a horseshoe grab, and an anemone or sea urchin, which are all pretty common animals in touch pools. I think similarly to the barnyard animal petting animation, the touch tanks could use the same or similar animation. I think the scenery for this pack would definitely be a lot of barn/farm and touch pool aesthetics.

…

Ground birds

Here I’ve included lots of ground bird species that people want to see. Not much to say, I think they’re all pretty common requests, and fulfill the community’s desire for more ground birds. The unique mechanics for this pack come from the new form of exhibits, and exhibit rehaul. I think everyone wants a little bit more out of exhibits, be it changing their sizes, shapes, or more in depth editing for them. The exhibits for the birds in this pack come as cages which would house the exhibit bird species. It was a long time ago and I don’t remember where it was, but I walked down a long alley with all kinds of birds in it and I’d really want to capture that kind of feeling with this. I’ve included a few exhibit bird species here, I don’t think these species would fly, but honestly that’s frontier’s ultimate decision.

…

Aquariums

This pack brings the long desired aquariums to the game, and I chose a selection of animals that I think would all provide unique mods to the game. I’d talk about the mechanics for this, but I think that Rudi Rennkamel summarizes it much better, I’ll link that video at the end of this post. In short, I think they would work similarly to the touch pools, just on a much larger scale. This pack would bring a lot of new pieces all themed around aquariums and provide us with everything we’d need for building a small aquarium zoo. Again, Rudi talks about this much more in depth.

…

Aviary

The last pack we’ll see come to planet zoo is the aviary pack, which will bring flying birds to wrap up the game. I’ve chosen a selection of birds that would bring a variety of rigs to the game, which is why I’ve included a bird like the blue jay. I think that most of the birds listed here are pretty common requests from the community, and any others we’d want to see I think can come from mods. This pack also brings a walkthrough exhibit for birds with many species of parrot, something that everybody wants to see. I think this pack also would bring new building pieces to make aviaries, and similar to the aquariums, we would need to make a suitable habitat first before we could fill it with the animals. I think we’d see lots of bird enrichment items, glass, netting, wiring, in many shapes such as round, triangular, pentagon, and hexagon, anything that we’d need to make a suitable aviary for the flying birds.

…

The end I think after the aviary pack we will see a few free updates to the game. Updates to fix bugs in the last year of dlcs, updates to animal models and behavior, mechanics, the works. I think 2026 would be a year of tlc for the game and just getting it prepped to be finished for good. Sorry this post was so long, I just had some fun with my speculations here.

The videos:

https://youtu.be/bOqNfDyenjo?si=nRFbOk5B36_BONQ5

https://youtu.be/iKIZSIvbJ6E?si=r00teDq4EDIvnavP

[creative-anchorage]

[ID: Nematodes have successfully adapted to nearly every ecosystem: from marine (salt) to fresh water, soils, from the polar regions to the tropics, as well as the highest to the lowest of elevations. They are ubiquitous in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments, where they often outnumber other animals in both individual and species counts, and are found in locations as diverse as mountains, deserts, and oceanic trenches. They are found in every part of the earth's lithosphere, even at great depths, 0.9–3.6 km (3,000–12,000 ft) below the surface of the Earth in gold mines in South Africa. They represent 90% of all animals on the ocean floor. In total, 4.4 × 10 (20) nematodes inhabit the Earth's topsoil, or approximately 60 billion for each human, with the highest densities observed in tundra and boreal forests. Their numerical dominance, often exceeding a million individuals per square meter and accounting for about 80% of all individual animals on earth, their diversity of lifecycles, and their presence at various trophic levels point to an important role in many ecosystems. They have been shown to play crucial roles in polar ecosystems. The roughly 2,271 genera are placed in 256 families. The many parasitic forms include pathogens in most plants and animals. A third of the genera occur as parasites of vertebrates; about 35 nematode species occur in humans.

Nathan Cobb, a nematologist, described the ubiquity of nematodes on Earth thus:

In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable since, for every massing of human beings, there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.

End ID.]

In proportion to how normal they are considered to be, squirrels are really weird animals

[kumaradhikaryofficial]

Conserve Wetlands to Preserve Biodiversity

Wetlands refer to complex ecosystems encompassing a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats such as floods, plants, swamps marshes, tidal marshes etc.They have the characteristics of both dry and wet environments and show wide diversity based on their genesis, geographical location, hydrological regimes and substrate factors.

Whenever land and water meet, a transitional zone is created which produces unique ecosystems. Wetlands are the areas with open standing water (that is the water table is at the surface and ground is saturated with water) with vegetation. 

A special soil environment is created due to standing water with little or no oxygen. Therefore, in wetlands water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. 

Wetlands can be: 

Either natural or artificial (examples of man-made wetlands include fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans, reservoirs, canals etc).

Either temporarily or permanently covered by water.

Either static or flowing water

Fresh, brackish or salt water (including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 meters) 

Wetlands occur across latitudes from the tundra to the tropics. However, how much of the earth’s surface is presently composed of wetlands is not known exactly. As per United Nations Environment Program estimates, their area could be about 570 million hectares. Whereas, some other estimates suggest that their area could be more than 700 million hectares. 

There are five major wetland types: 

Marine (Coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs)

Estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps)

Lacustrine (Wetlands associated with lakes) 

Riverine (wetlands along rivers and streams)

Palustrine (meaning marshy’ - marshes, swamps and bogs) 

Significance of Wetlands: 

Biologically Productive - Wetlands are among the world’s most productive environments. They are cradles of biological diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival. They support high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species. 

Storehouses of Genetic Material - Wetlands are also important storehouses of plant genetic material. Rice, for example, which is a common wetland plant, is the staple diet of more than half of humanity. 

Carbon Sinks - Wetlands store carbon by primary production. Carbon is stored in living plants, animals and rich organic soils of wetlands. However, they are also natural emitters of GHGs like methane due to anaerobic conditions. 

Water Storage and Filtration - They also provide services ground water recharge, water storage and water filtration. There are wetland micro-organisms and plant species like cattail and reed help in water purification by filtering out toxins from polluted water. Thus, they are natural water filters. 

Nutrient Cycling - Many nutrients and chemicals het naturally recycled in wetlands. They have an important role in bio-geochemical cycling. 

Bioshields - Coastal wetlands help in shoreline protection, at as a buffer during disasters like cyclones, tsunamis and storm surges. Inland wetlands help in mitigating urban flooding by acting as water-sponges.

Economic Benefits - Wetlands provide tremendous economic benefits, for example: water supply; fisheries (over two-thirds of the world’s fish harvest is linked to the health of coastal and inland wetland areas); agriculture, through the maintenance of water tables and nutrient retention in floodplains; timber production; energy resources, such as peat and plant matter; wildlife resources; and recreation and tourism opportunities. 

Threats to Wetlands: 

Wetlands are valuable but also sites of ecological degradation due to multiple human activities. Some of the main threats to wetlands include: 

Encroachment and construction over wetlands due to agriculture and urban expansion.

Water diversion for dams, irrigation canals etc. This causes fragmentation of hydrological regimes and catchment degradation of wetlands.

Pollution due to domestic sewage, solid waste disposal, agriculture run-off and industrial effluents. Pollutants like agriculture-runoff and sewage disposal cause eutrophication in wetlands. 

Overharvest of wetland resources like fisheries etc. 

Aquaculture development. 

[tribbetherium]

The Early Temperocene: 140 million years post-establishment

Ocean In Motion: Marine Life of the Early Temperocene

A global increase in temperatures following the end-Glaciocene mass extinction has opened up new ecosystems in the oceans of HP-02017. Indeed, as the ice caps melted in the Temperocene temperatures the sea levels once again have risen, to an extent that coastal regions have flooded into shallow seas, and now as much as 80 percent of the planet's surface is covered by water.

It is tempting to think of the ocean as merely one big biome, but the truth is far more complex. Here unusual dynamics in the ecosystem allow a far wider range of ecological niches to overlap and coexist, and a tangled food web with numerous trophic levels exist due to the existence of numerous types of producers at its very base, with algae, marine plants and phytoplankton to name a few, which in turn allows a staggering diversity of life to thrive. Floating mats of seagrass, forests of kelp, shallow reefs, open seas and coastal shelves all harbor different, specialized organisms, just as how jungles, tundras, savannahs and deserts would on dry land.

And there was no better age than the Temperocene to showcase marine biodiversity, as a wide range of separate unrelated clades now make a living in the sea: both creatures native to the seas since the beginning, to secondarily-aquatic species descended from numerous hamster lineages: all converging on the abundance of resources and vacant niches that the sea had to offer.

In the shallows, enormous reefs rise above the sea floor like castles, providing homes for a wide diversity of sea life. But, as with nearly everything on this planet, appearances can be decieving, and not everything is what it may seem.

Some of the reefs are comprised of millions of small, hard-shelled barnacle-like creatures rooted in place and extending long feathery appendages to scoop up drifting particles and plankton, while six-limbed starfish-like creatures crawl slowly across the seafloor, foraging for food and feeding upon the shelled reef-creatures. But despite appearances, both of these invertebrates are actually snails: the sessile filter-feeders are quillnobs, hard-shelled snails that have free-swimming larvae, juveniles that settle to the bottom and slither about like typical snails, and as adults finally fuse themselves to one spot and never move again, using modified extensions of their gills to feed. The "starfish", on the other hand, are asterisks: shell-less gastropods with six extensions of their foot that, equipped with suckers, can anchor themselves onto surfaces with incredible strength.

Meanwhile, drifting through the currents are transluscent, tentacled cnidarians: mockjellies. They are, true to their name, not jellyfish, but neotenic coral larvae that never matured into sessile reef-building adults, becoming what are technically speaking enormous plankton. Some, such as the smaller, stinging stheno, are predators: possessing stinging cells in their tentacles used in capturing small prey such as swimming crustaceans, while their bigger relative, the euryale, have developed a unique symbiosis with photosynthetic algae: allowing them, once adult, to live almost entirely on sunlight alone: but still possessing stingers that ward off most predators from eating them.

In the absence of fish, Earth's most abundant marine swimmers, the ecological niche was instead filled by the shrish: descended from krill, these shrimplike swimmers dominate oceanic and freshwater habitats alike, in a staggering thousands of species: not quite as diverse as they used to be in the Rodentocene when they were the sole rulers of the sea, but still ever present wherever aquatic ecosystems were: as the long-bodied centipede-like shreels, the bottom-feeding trilobugs, or the predatory shrarks, which once were the top of the food chain, but with the coming of aquatic hamsters have now been relegated to smaller mesopredator roles, with none growing larger than two feet.

The success of the shrish has even brought about an evolutionary trend that occured so frequently on Earth that it would have been more surprising to not happen here: a crustacean with a reduced, folded abdomen, an armored thorax, a rounded body shape and two pincers for feeding--basically, a crab. Known as the shrabs, these amusingly-familiar shrish are bottom-feeding opportunistic omnivores, eating carrion, small animals, algae, corals and even one another. And most remarkable of all are some shrabs that have left the sea entirely to make a living on an entirely new frontier: dry land. These terrestrial shrish are the first of their kind to leave the sea, and are able to survive near-indefinitely on land, as long as their gills remained moist.

But the shrish are not alone in the seas. In the Glaciocene, another marine clade had rose to prominence: the pescopods, a group of swimming sea slugs that propelled themselves with rhythmic undulations of their fin-like foot. In many niches the pescopods have supplanted the shrish thanks to their rasping radula that allowed them to feed on a wide variety of food. However, shrish and pescopods alike have thrived side-by-side thanks to niche partitioning, and due to their widely-disparate anatomy-- shrish being armored and exoskeletal and pescopods being soft and rubbery-- the predators that feed on them have also evolved dentition suited for one or the other, allowing again for partitioned niches that permit a great diversity of clades in the sea.

Another successful gastropod is the skwoid: a marine gastropod descended from the shelled, tentacled notilus, which is also still very abundant today. Skwoids, however, have ditched their protective shells for an internal support pen, as they are speedy predators suited to chase down their prey with the help of excellent vision from eyes mounted on retractable stalks. To defend themselves in turn from their own enemies, they spray thick mucous secretions to ensnare an attacker: though some skwoids have innovated on this defense and instead became ambush hunters in reefs: spinning mucous webs like some undersea spider for some unlucky shrish or pescopod to blunder into and find itself trapped.

With such a wide range of available resources, the aquatic hamsters of the sea have equally reached enormous diversity. Niche partitioning came to govern their evolution in unusual ways, producing numerous, disparate and completely unrelated species living side-by-side with minimal competition.

The mass extinction at the end of the Glaciocene, partly the work of changing climes and partly the work of the long-gone harmsters, had freed up many marine megafauna niches, and the Temperocene began with a race to fill it from all sides. With so much food available there was enough for everybody so long as they were adapted to consume it: and so marine megafauna hits its peak in the diverse and productive Temperocene seas.

The old rulers of the sea are still here: the seavers. Now, however, they are a fraction of their former glory, though still quite plentiful. Descended from the last Glaciocene survivor, the derelict seaver, they are now much smaller, as warmer seas and fewer cold-water upwellings were no longer conducive for giant filter feeders. Today, the derelicts have rebounded, feeding on swarms of small shrish and zooplankton, but now they never exceed more than eight meters in length.

Cricetaceans and bayvers as a whole still dominate the seas, but they have plenty of new neighbors. Among them are aquatic blubbats from the continent of Peninsulaustra, who, while heading out to sea to feed, came to colonize small island archipelagos in the open ocean and are now a common sight across the Centralic Ocean. They coexist by specializing on different prey: blubbats, with pointed conical teeth, are well-suited for tackling soft-bodied pescopods, while the seal-like bayvers with sharp slicing incisors and crushing molars are well-adapted for shrish, and the long-snouted roddolphs prefer skwoids, learning through social teaching on how to remove the mucous gland and sharp internal pen to make them safe to eat.

Herbivorous hamatees also cruise the warm shallows, with the largest, the whalerus, specialized to eat a floating seagrass known as coast kudzu, which, fittingly, grows at an absurdly fast rate and can form immense masses that blanket the surface. They are also an extremely abundant source of food for whaleruses that they can sustain sizes exceeding ten meters, and gradually shift away from filter feeding to specialize on this resource: an adaptation that may have been a saving grace of the derelict seaver that earlier had declined from their competition.

The rattiles too have taken to the seas, with the monisaurs: some now fully aquatic and bearing their independent young in the sea. The vast majority of them, with a few herbivorous exceptions, are durophages: equipped with broad, blunt teeth and strong jaws, eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, with shrabs, quillnobs and bivalves comprising most of their diet.

The monisaurs now are not the only rattiles in the sea: aquatic shingles, known as sterapins, have made their way in too. Their armor-plated terrestrial ancestors being resistant to irritating chemicals from eating land plants and invertebrates with such defenses, the sterapins were well suited to take on something in the ocean that no other animal eats-- the mockjellies. Mostly water and armed with stingers, hardly anything else bothers with them, as they are scarcely worth the effort. But where there is a niche something will evolve to fill it: and the sterapins did, uncontested in their unappetizing diet by any other competition, even if they did have to eat plenty of mockjellies just to gain sufficient nutrition.

Another common species in the seas are rodders: small remnant searets of distant relation to the now-gone leviahams that once roamed the seas. They avoid competition in the hectic ocean environment not by specializing as others have done, but by becoming generalists. Thus they are not limited to one food source as competitors come and go, and these small, semi-aquatic omnivores forage both underwater and on the shore, their flexibility being their key to success to survive where their giant cousins could not.

With so many new competition some of the bayvers and cricetaceans have adopted odd new specializations to ease the pressure of sharing their food sources and territories with crowds of newcomers. The whiskered walmus, a species of hamatee, has returned to a mostly-carnivorous bottom-feeding diet, probing out the bottom substrate for buried invertebrates such as clams, worms and shrabs. Meanwhile, the porpoid, a cricetacean relative of the roddolph, relieves competition with its long-snouted kin by specializing on shelled notiluses, aided by rounded, globe-shaped teeth that can easily crack the shells to get the soft meat inside.

One of the more unusual hunters in the sea, however, comes not from the water, but from the sky. The pterodents, a young but very promising clade, too have made a foray into the blue depths, in the form of the wanderganders: sea-adapted soaring flyers that, in just five million years, have radiated into over a dozen species, comprised of surface-skimmers, plunge-divers, shore-probers and even sky-pirates that harass smaller pterodents and ratbats in order to steal their food.

With such a vast diversity of large prey species it was no surprise that marine predators too would experience a boom of diversity themselves with so many different prey to hunt. These were the phorcas, cricetaceans adapted to tackle large prey, and with the disappearance of their old rivals, the leviahams, at the Glaciocene-Temperocene boundary, they would quickly fill the role of top marine predator left in the leviahams' wake, now spanning over twenty distinct species: all adapted for taking on different game.

Some, such as the sheartooths, specialized on small, fast prey, like blubbats and small porpoids and blippers, which they pursued in short, quick bursts and dispatched with conical stabbing teeth, primarily hunting quarry that could be consumed in a bite or two. Others, such as the whillers, went after larger prey, coordinating in social groups with the help of distinct dark-and-light contrasting markings for communication, allowing them to fell large whaleruses and seavers. Still others adapted to armored, slow-moving prey like sterapins and monisaurs, like the striped shellbanes, with broad pointed teeth with fewer cusps designed to concentrate their bite force onto small areas and penetrate even thick rattile scales.

With many predators abound and even more prey, death was always around the corner and carcasses were not hard to find: either by natural causes or the leftovers of predatory phorcas. As such, a specialized scavenger, the seayena, would diverge from the shellbanes, adapting to feed upon bones to access the marrow. Broad crushing molars and the strongest bite force of any living animal on the planet allow the seayena to exploit a resource others could not: consuming not only the marrow but the bones themselves, which powerful digestive juices can handle perfectly well to extract the maximum nourishment from their unsavory diet.

Predatory phorcas have become so abundant and numerous in the Temperocene that they now occupy virtually all the ranges in the oceans worldwide, sustained by the vast abundance and diversity of megafaunal prey that flourish in the seas. This has reached such an extent that an entirely new ecological niche would open up in the marine ecosystem: a predator that specializes to prey on phorcas themselves.

Enter the sarchon (Phorciphagus tyrannicus): ten meters in length, it is unquestionably the top rung of the Temperocene marine food web, and in fact is on an entirely new level of its own-- a top predator specialized to eat other top predators. Its diet, based on local availability, too includes other, more placid prey such as seavers and whaleruses, and likely began its predation of its fellow phorcas from initially just killing them to dispose of competition, before finding them an equally nutritious and abundant food source in their own right. As such the sarchon has attained truly impressive weaponry: rather than the sharp-cusped molars of more-typical phorcas, it relies on its incisors, ever growing like those of a more typical rodent, as flesh-slicing shears, with its first molars modified into broad cutting edges and its second and third molars gone entirely. Its head is heavily armored with thick, keratinized plates to protect its vulnerable snout from the bites of smaller phorcas, leaving them defenseless while the sarchon deals its lethal blow.

Unchallenged by virtually anything else in the sea, with no natural enemies of its own to fear, the sarchon spends most of its time lethargically floating near the surface to rest and digest, and, contrary to its fearsome feeding strategies, is otherwise a very lazy creature: like all cricetaceans, it only rests part of its brain at a time to breathe at the surface, and can spend as much as twenty hours a day just drifting around in a half-asleep stupor, occasionally floating belly-up at the surface to let sea ratbats pick parasitic louse-like shrish off its skin. Subsisting off such a nourishing diet, and without any danger to concern it, the sarchon hunts only once every few days, sometimes as little as once a week after a large meal, and spends much of its free time in a surprisingly relaxed state: its epic hunts towards other predators, which have come to define it, actually taking up very little time in the long, fascinating and complex life of the Temperocene's ultimate ocean carnivore.

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[iamthekaijuking]

The Stomatotheridae are a clade of large animals native to the Trebhum homeworld, belonging to the phylum Bivalvocorpa: organisms defined by their unique hinged body structure with a simple digestive system. While today this clade is survived only by the two subspecies of Omnogrom (Stomatotherium omnogromis), prior to the mass extinction event caused by the Cylinder’s arrival, this clade of creatures occupied far greater diversity as recently as a few thousand years ago, and well within Trebhum recorded history. 
The first stomatotheres likely appeared hundreds of millions of years ago, as nigh-microscopic aquatic predators that fed on smaller zooplankton. They were among the first phyla to conquer land, taking on forms that measured a few inches on length, and fed on the early invertebrate ancestors of modern Grolluscs and Hophopops. They would eventually grow into far bigger forms as time went on, bringing about megafauna recognizably akin to the modern Omnogrom. 
Among the most recently-extinct of them were predators such as the Grappsnaps (genus Stomatovenator), an agile cursorial hunter that used its unique hinged jaw-body as a spring to propel it forward as it pursued its prey, primarily far-smaller, running ungulate-like relatives of the gigantic Great Gaaahr. Other clades would become slower and heavier, and in the lineage that would directly give rise to the Omnogrom, some would become large, thick-skinned herbivores: the Grumbletump (genus Phytostomatotherium), that uncharacteristically for its phylum would develop a pseudo-tongue from an extension of its stomach sphincter that helped it pull up vegetation. 
However, not all stomatotheres would leave the water as they grew into megafaunal sizes. Their accessory mandibles, modified into locomotory legs by terrestrial species, would remain as grasping pincers for catching prey, while a muscular tentacle-like tail, lacking bones entirely and supported by cartilage, served as their primary propulsion in water, an appendage that served no purpose in the land-dwellers and was lost over time. Some of these aquatic species were freshwater predators, such as the Gurglegrombs (genus Stomatosuchus), which fed on Leaptails and Pouchfish as well as ambushing land animals such as Tonglegroplets that came to the water to drink, while others lived out at sea, like the Grimjaws (genus Stomatichthys), where their blunt teeth helped them feed on hard-shelled prey, including marine clams of distant relation to the desert-dwelling Klaborok. 
Sadly, these highly-specialized species would all perish following a catastrophe of cosmic proportions: the coming of the Eternal Cylinder. As new species from lands destroyed by the Cylinder fled their biomes and moved into territories occupied by the stomatotheres, sudden and unexpected competition from these migrant species would put tremendous pressure to the stomatotheres, slowly driving them into extinction. Only the modern Omnogroms– resilient, omnivorous, prolific and able to feed on the hardest and most inedible of meals– were able to persist, and now are moderately successful throughout the Savannah and Tundra, even as the Cylinder wreaks its destruction: a last survivor of a once-diverse family that continues to thrive in spite of the ever-present threat of impending oblivion.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from The Guardian:

A drastic drop in caribou and shorebird populations is a reflection of the dire changes unfolding on the Arctic tundra, according to a new report from the Arctic Council.

The terrestrial Arctic spans approximately 2.7m sq miles (7m sq km), marked by extreme cold, drought, strong winds and seasonal darkness. Species living in this environment have adapted to thrive in the harsh conditions. But the climate crisis has upended such survival strategies, according to the State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity report, published by the council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (Caff) working group.

“Climate change is the overwhelming driver of change in terrestrial Arctic ecosystems, causing diverse, unpredictable and significant impacts that are expected to intensify,” the report says.

The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, leading to extreme weather events, southerly species moving northward, and the emergence and spread of pathogens among native species. The report, released on Thursday at the council’s ministerial meeting in Reykjavik, is the first to assess the status and trends for Arctic species living on land, following Caff’s 2017 assessment of marine biodiversity.

The report drew on decades of circumpolar biodiversity monitoring to give an overview of the changes occurring in the region. It appears the Arctic is becoming greener and shrubs are gaining ground, slowly replacing mosses and lichens on the tundra.

Of the 88 species of shorebirds, or waders, examined, 20% experienced declines in all populations, while well over half had at least one population in decline. In the east Asian-Australasian Flyway, a migratory pathway linking the high latitudes with the Pacific Ocean, 88% of shorebirds are declining. It is estimated that under different climate scenarios, 80% of high-Arctic shorebirds could also lose large parts of their northern breeding grounds in the next 50 years.

When it comes to caribou, with herds roaming from Russia to Alaska, the climate signal has been harder to separate from the noise. “Caribou populations naturally fluctuate and have cycles of abundance,” explained Christine Cuyler, a consultant for the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and caribou and musk ox expert on the report. “But for some the amplitude has grown. Today, we’re seeing fluctuations beyond known historical levels.”

[sciencenewsforstudents]

For millions of years, giants graced the murky depths of China’s Yangtze River. The Chinese Paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), which could reach 7 meters in length, used its swordlike snout to sense the electrical perturbations made by smaller prey, snatching them in the dark. But no more.

The fish was declared extinct in 2019, a victim of overfishing and habitat loss.

Its story is being played out across the world. From winding rivers to the windswept tundra to the dense tropical forests of Borneo, nature is in trouble.

Plants and animals are increasingly threatened by human activities and habitat encroachment. One study estimates a million species face extinction within decades (SN: 5/8/19). That’s 1 million distinct, idiosyncratic answers to the basic question of how to make a living on planet Earth, gone.

The scale of this potential loss has many countries worried. Aside from its inherent value, the natural world makes the planet livable through processes like cleaning the air, filtering water, cycling carbon dioxide and pollinating crops. So to stem this biodiversity loss, governments are now working to draft ambitious plans to set aside more space for natural habitats. Nature, after all, needs room to flourish.

A global plan under negotiation envisions designating 30 percent of land and sea as protected by 2030 — and 50 percent by 2050 — in order to revive ecosystems and safeguard the diversity of species on Earth, according to a draft text of the agreement under the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity.

But is 30 percent, or even 50 percent, enough? And enough for what exactly — to slow extinction rates, or to protect everything that’s possible to protect, or something else entirely?

One basic goal is to preserve what’s left. Humans have altered more than three-fourths of Earth’s surface, and of the 14 terrestrial biomes — such as tropical rainforest, tundra or desert — eight have less than 10 percent of undeveloped wilderness remaining, researchers report in a 2016 study in Current Biology. Many species have already vanished, such as the Chinese Paddlefish and the brilliantly blue Spix’s Macaw, not seen in Brazil’s forests since 2000.

At least for marine ecosystems, there’s research to support the 30 percent target as a starting point. There’s less firm evidence for land. But “the scientific consensus is telling us that we need [even] more ambitious targets,” says Oscar Venter, a conservation scientist at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. Targeting 30 percent of Earth’s terrestrial regions for protection by 2030, he says, is “more a reflection of what’s politically feasible, rather than what the best science says.”

[enterinit]

New Xbox One Games for October 29 to November 1 2019

New Xbox One Games for October 29 to November 1 2019.

Afterparty (October 29, 2019)

In Afterparty, you are Milo and Lola, recently deceased best buds who suddenly find themselves staring down an eternity in Hell. But there’s a loophole: outdrink Satan and he’ll grant you re-entry to Earth. Control Milo and Lola with an intelligent conversation system that changes the story and your relationships based on every decision. Uncover their personality quirks and foggy history during the wild events of the night. Every step is up to you as you stumble through the underworld. Go on a hellish bender, uncover the mystery of your damnation, and drink Satan under the table. Starring: Janina Gavankar as LolaKhoi Dao as MiloAshly Burch as SamErin Yvette as WormhornDave Fennoy as Satan

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (October 29, 2019)

Hold onto your bananas, because Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is rolling your way! Experience the magic of one of the most beloved titles in the series, now remastered in HD! Head back into the fantastical world of Super Monkey Ball and take back your bananas from the space alien pirate king, Captain Crabuchin. Race through over 100 colorful stages and challenge your friends and family to 10 fan-favorite Party Games! Feeling like the fastest, most maneuverable monkey around? Try out Time Attack mode or the grueling Decathlon endurance run! Will you make it onto the scoreboard? Features: 100 stages to race through10 fan favorite mini-gamesTime attack mode & online scoreboardDecathlon endurance run

Xeno Crisis (October 30, 2019)

Xeno Crisis is an arena shooter in which one or two players take control of battle-hardened marines embarking on a deadly mission to confront an alien menace and get home alive! Run and gun your way through thousands of adversaries as you explore the devastated research outpost, searching for survivors, and ultimately facing the origin of the outpost's demise. Outpost 88 is divided into seven distinct areas, each being randomly generated with each play, meaning that your strategy must evolve on the fly if you're to succeed in your mission. Collect dog-tags from vanquished enemies to upgrade your equipment between areas and look out for special weapons which will give you a momentary advantage. Features: A faithful port of the hit 16 bit game with added extras.Incredible pixel art from the legendary pixel artist, Henk Nieborg.Intense FM chiptune soundtrack by Savaged Regime, originally created for the YM2612!Two difficulty levels and three modes of play.An arsenal of 10 weapons to master.Play solo or local co-op with a friend!

Police Chase (October 29, 2019)

In Police Chase thrilling missions, powerful cars and fighting crime will be your routine! Whether it’s issuing offenders with parking and speeding tickets or thwarting terrorist plots and other crimes — only one thing counts in your job: Guarantee safety in your beat! Meet with informers, shadow suspects, chase perps and handle time-critical missions. Superfast action, a captivating story and a big, open game world call for courage, skill and fast reflexes! In Police Chase it all depends on you! Features: Begin your police career in an absorbing campaign with 15 tense missions.Be ready for the speed and heart-pumping action that awaits on 15 dangerous routes!A wide range of detailed vehicles with varying HP await.Your beat is a large, open 3D world with highways, country roads, and industrial estates.In free-play mode, protect the streets from criminal masterminds and solve 80 different side quests to move up from beat cop to the chief of police.

Close to the Sun (October 29, 2019)

It’s 1897. Deep in international waters, the Helios stands still. Dark clouds loom overhead as unforgiving waves crash against the hull. Colossal effigies of gold, decorated with magnificent finery, stretch as far as the eye can see. Born of Nikola Tesla’s vision, the Helios serves as a haven for the greatest scientific minds. An unbound utopia for research, independent from state and isolated from the gaze of society. Free to push the boundaries of matter and time. Journalist Rose Archer steps aboard the Helios in search of her sister Ada. She quickly discovers not all is as it seems. Grand halls stand empty. The stench of rotting flesh lingers in the air. Silence. A single word is painted across the entrance… QUARANTINE!

Inferno 2+ (October 29, 2019)

The sequel to Inferno+, Radiangames' critically-acclaimed twin-stick action-RPG, Inferno 2 boasts even more devious levels, more weapons, more upgrades and powers, more enemies, and more customization, along with more insane explosions and particle effects. Blast through 80+ levels full of enemies and secrets while upgrading your ship the way you want. Features: Play through 80+ levels of atmospheric awesomenessCustomize your arsenal of upgradable weapons and ship powersSingle player and 2 player local co-op for the first time!New Game+ mode adds even more replayability3 difficulty levels (change it up at any time)All-new special level types and goals. Survival and boss fights!Dozens of enemy typesTons of secrets to discover

Delta Squad (October 30, 2019)

Just when you think the world is safe and it’s okay to take a break, a new threat emerges. Having already survived an alien invasion in FullBlast, the Delta Squad must now do battle against General Rumanovsky, a maniacal overlord who will stop at nothing to achieve global domination. To overcome every threat players will need to take full advantage of upgrading their skills in a bid to deal maximum damage. Features: Gorgeous 3D graphics50 missions across 5 levelsAmbient soundtrack Local co-op support for up to four playersThe option to play any of the 5 levels you want for a quick gaming session

Citadel: Forged with Fire (November 01, 2019)

Citadel: Forged with Fire is a massive online sandbox RPG with elements of magic, spellcasting and inter-kingdom conflict. As a newly minted apprentice of the magic arts, you will set off to investigate the dangerous world of Ignus. Your goal: create a name for yourself and achieve notoriety and power among the land's ruling Houses. You have complete freedom to pursue your own destiny; hatch plots of trickery and deceit to ascend the ranks among allies and enemies, become an infamous hunter of other players, build massive and unique castles, tame mighty beasts to do your bidding, and visit uncharted territories to unravel their rich and intriguing history. The path to ultimate power and influence is yours to choose. EXPLORE A MASSIVE FANTASY WORLD Welcome to the magical world of Ignus: a 36 square kilometer landmass of sweeping plains, dense forests, craggy mountains, festering swamps and frozen tundra. Leave no stone unturned as you explore dangerous caves and ancient ruins to recover powerful artifacts and uncover a rich history spanning thousands of years. Embark on a journey across the land to find the perfect place for you and your allies to call home. STUDY THE ARCANE ARTS Master a diverse range of powerful spells. Discover your conduit of choice among a huge selection of mystic wands and staves, magically imbued axes, swords, maces and hammers, and enchanted gauntlets. CREATE ALLIANCES AND FORGE AN EMPIRE Align your efforts with fellow Warlocks to create a mighty House. Create an internal hierarchy of power, design and plant your own House flag, share your resources to build huge castles and team up to hunt legendary creatures. Wage war with opposing Houses or hatch plans of deceit and trickery to cause internal chaos and ascend the ranks within your own. FIGHT, TAME AND RIDE LEGENDARY BEASTS Use the Pacify spell to tame ferocious creatures and amass an army of minions. Tamed companions will gain experience and grow with you as you travel the world and triumph in battle. Siege an enemy fortress with a horde of savage Orcs, ride Horses and Direwolves to quickly traverse the vast landscape, or rain fiery death upon your enemies from the back of a Dragon BUILD AND FORTIFY EPIC CASTLES Construct your Dream Castle using hundreds of structural pieces found within a flexible and easy-to-use building editor, or take advantage of the dynamic destruction engine and crush someone else's. Enhance your fortress with magical structures like defensive shields, attack towers, mana pools and respawn stones. Unlock new fortification materials and building features as you level up: with so many materials and pieces to work with the only limit is your imagination. FIND A NEAR LIMITLESS VARIETY OF LOOT Are you an old, bearded and wise Warlock or are you a young, ambitious and strong-willed Mage? Create your own style with a huge variety of clothing and weapon options. Discover a near limitless variety among these items' stats with Citadel's rich and deep loot generation system; every loot pull is different and ensures that fighting monsters and exploring dungeons is a constantly rewarding and memorable experience. ACHIEVE THE POWER OF FLIGHT Why walk when you can fly? Use your Wizardly prowess to take to the skies. Enjoy the convenience of a custom-crafted broomstick, tame and mount airborne companions like dragons and giant eagles, or use alchemy to concoct potent elixirs allowing flight without the aid of beast or broom.

Race with Ryan (November 01, 2019)

Ready, Set, Race With Ryan! Take the wheel as Ryan and all your favorite Ryan’s World friends! Ryan’s World has come to life, and it’s every bit as colorful, fun and fast as you imagined. So pick a racer, head to one of six magical locations, and step on the gas to show your friends and family who the fastest racer really is. This is no ordinary championship! Ryan’s famous Mystery Eggs are scattered across each track, and they’re full of surprises that help you power through the pack – like Burger Shields, Sticky Slime, Trick Surprise Eggs and many more. A huge cast of Ryan’s World characters are here to race, including Policeman Ryan in his Patrol Car, Red Titan, Gus the Gummy Gator, Pirate Combo Panda, plus many more you’ll unlock as you race your way to the top. From the miniature toy world of Fantasy Park, to the pirate kingdom of Treasure Island and beyond, each world is full of secret pathways, slippery slides and kids’ imagination! With simple controls, optional auto-acceleration and a tutorial to guide younger players through their first video game, drivers of all ages will love to Race with Ryan. Race your way to the top in Career Mode or speed past your friends in 2 - 4 players split-screen races, the fun keeps coming. Will you be first across the finish line? Features: Race for victory across the colorful world of YouTube sensation, RyanChallenge yourself in Career mode or race with friends in split-screen playSimple racing controls, auto-acceleration, auto-steering and tutorial mean everyone can playUnlock Ryan’s World toy characters and vehicles including Moe, Gus, Alpha Lexa, Peck and Ryan himself!Speed around 6 magical locations including The Toy Shop, Wild West and Spooky Land

Jalopy (November 01, 2019)

Navigate miles and miles of tyre changing, fuel burning, carburettor busting, mud clattering terrain, through night and day, rain and shine. Adapt to whatever the procedurally generated world of Jalopy can throw at you. Upgrade, maintain and care for your Laika 601 Deluxe motor vehicle. Keep close attention to everything from the state of your tyres, the condition of your engine and even the space in your trunk. Repair each aspect of your scrappy little car and install unique upgrades to deal with the changing world. Everything from cargo weight to the condition of your carburettor will determine how your car performs on the open road. The rise of capitalism brings an economical conundrum. Scavenge for scraps to make a small return of investment, or become a baron of the open road and smuggle contraband under the eyes of border patrols to make a sizable profit. Developer Greg Pryjmachuk worked on the Formula 1 franchise from 2009 through to 2014. In late 2014, Greg began work on this new driving simulation featuring the fictional Laika 601 Deluxe car; reminiscent of the East German “Trabbie”, it will need much love and care to keep it going on this memorable road trip! Features: Embark on a grand road trip through the former Eastern BlocDrive and take care of your Jalopy, the Laika 601 Deluxe by keeping an eye on fuel, tyre wear and moreGo under the hood to replace various car parts, from the ignition coil to the air filterExplore Germany, CSFR, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and TurkeyDiscover life in the former Eastern Bloc as you undertake a grand trip with your Uncle Read the full article