FAQ

https://www.instagram.com/p/DeVco_KnLU5/

IMPORTANT: I am [u/Ok-Valuable-5950](u/Ok-Valuable-5950), I just wanted to make a new account in which I didn’t foolishly leave my name to be automatically generated. I also wanted consistency in the names of my social media so it is easier to find me.

Anyways enjoy these updated, non-rushed designs PLUS lore!

The Holocene will be known as the shortest epoch at barely 1 million years. It’s end was marked by a layer of manmade materials present in sediment layers (such as concrete from ancient buildings) as well as the human-driven mass extinction event known as the Holocene-Neocene Thermal Maximum - in which humans created unfavorable conditions for themselves by destabilizing the climate and food chains that supported them.

By the end Holocene, the melting of glaciers and release of greenhouse gas disrupted the heat-exchanging ocean and wind currents. This caused extreme weather volatility that made most of Earth, save for a thin strip of temperate zones between the equator and poles, unsuitable for permanent human settlement. In the end, mankind became much like animals in national parks, fed and comforted when they shouldn’t have been, forgot how to survive, and would all die out along with thousands of other species.

As the disruption of the North polar vortex allowed frigid waters to expand southward, commercial fishing became increasingly unviable. One such species that benefited heavily from this is the porbeagle, whose territory in the North Atlantic would expand while temperate-to-subtropical predators were unable to compete in cold waters.

Meanwhile in the equatorial regions, as water temperature at the surface reached an all-time high, dissolved oxygen levels were exceedingly low, forcing all large predators into a narrow region where they could still respire. This forced excessive competition between large predators, while their large prey were dying out or migrating to polar regions. By the end of the Thermal Maximum, large pelagic predators such as the great whites, orcas, tunas, and billfish would go extinct, leaving several vacant niches but enormous opportunity, especially for a certain shark with regional endothermy.

12 million years into the Neocene, after the equatorial regions have cooled significantly, the oceans are more productive than ever. While there are several massive predators, they are all completely dwarfed by two apex predators, akin to the megalodon and livyatan of the Miocene.

On top is the Monstrous blackfish (Monstrorca maximus), a descendant of the false killer whale that lives in small matriarchical pods. On the bottom is the Collosal white pointer (Colossolamna cuneodus), a descendant of the porbeagle specializing in hunting giant marine mammals, they are solitary but congregate during mating season.

Both animals hunt baleen whales, dolphins, seals, large fish, and sea turtles, with the blackfish preferring whales while the white pointers prefer seals. They inhabit the worldwide pelagic zone anywhere from tropical to sub-polar regions, with the white pointer venturing into colder waters far more often than the blackfish, as that is where the largest seals reside.

Saltwater Platypuses

These guys really gave me trouble. I made the anacetus first, and they were meant to become the dominant lineage, but in my sketches they ended up being a lot like whales, which was really the most realistic outcome.

Then I made the Flipperets to replace them, but the sketches for the future forms were too weird(in my opinion) and looked like some creatures from Age of Monotremes, and I don't want that.

Instead of scrapping them, I decided to use those drawings I made and added another(Saltwater Bunyip) to make a "Saltwater Platypuses" entry. So I hope you like it, and please let me know what you think of it. I tried my best.

An extremely ancient low gravity world aprox. 11.3 billion years old.

It has a deep mysterious fossil record and classifying it's lifeforms is near impossible. However some trends have been noted such as the many dinosaur like forms seen with the segmetoeyids (1st image:An armless dinosaur like segmetoeyid) that have eye like organs called tibirium (see 2nd image) which are analogous to ears and the actual eyes are the front flabs located at the end of their face which when viewed up close have small light sensing organs similar to ommatidia of insects. Some related groups like the diskoeyids have the "eye" in a half donut shape. Many organisms have evolved various forms of eusociality some groups like the hermaphrodite eusocialia are ancestrally eusocial and have a specialised organ called the resultor that lay eggs of their own clone drones separately from their true descendants. These organisms have two faces the main one has the eyes and mouth the secondary face has the resultor, eyes and the two sex organs. They usually have a bush like organ at the top of their main face that aids in photosynthesis.

3rd image: Miterallagis is a species of intelligent eusocialia, it's intellect is comparable to early Homo sapiens of Earth. Instead of using traditional tools this species uses a form of genetic manipulation to create what it wants. It uses the spike DNA extractor at the end of it's face to impale its victim and extract it's genetic info. It then moves to the resultor which is now located beneath the mouth and changes the genetic code creating whatever tool it needs. After a few hours of gestating it then lays an egg via the resultor which quickly hatches the young tool, it takes five days to fully mature into a usable organism.

Shown in the illustration an experienced individual creating a tool after impaling a diskid which it will eat when it comes back home.

Alright, here's one of Trevor Henderson's most well-known monsters, now reimagined as a living creature!

A relative of storks found in the United States that can reach up to 3 or 4 meters in height, they are featherless to look really lanky.

Their wings have instead become something similar to the clubbed wing Iblis, becoming large hands to grab prey, not dexterous but good at holding food.

These things communicate with loud honking which can rupture human eardrums in close range; thanks to their much more developed syrinx, they can reproduce the pacing and volume.

They can mimic sounds like prey animals, cars, human voices, alarms, music, and recreating old, distorted noises.

When hunting prey, it'll stomp down on them, pick them up with its wings, their beaks are strong enough to rip flesh and crush bone.

It's no wonder that these birds have caused impressions on humans who live in areas sharing with them, as well the earliest sightings which were first found in ancient cave paintings.

“Snappers are soft bodied invertebrates that are common around the oceans of Planet Nightmare, no matter the depth. They’re usually built with two shells to protect their body, opening it when feeding and closing it when something gets too close.”

“Snappers are filter feeders, feeding on microscopic organisms in the waters. Their tendrils act as a way to guide food into their mouths that are located in the middle of their body. These tendrils also act as their way of seeing the world. If they’re protecting themselves from a predator, their tendrils can sense whether or not it’s gone.”

“They come in a variety of colors, although the ones on the deep sea here tend to be very light, lacking a lot of pigment.”

“The next page is a rough sketch of how Snappers open and close. The open crevices of their closed shell allows their tendrils to stick out and keep a watch for danger.”

-The Boundary Walker

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(Hiii I meant to post these like yesterday but forgot💀but anyways, time for another silly little guy! Tbh I just looked at an apple core and went “what if they were aliens” and then this happened. Also I might make diagrams for how their inner body works n stuff but idkkk we will see)

I'm creating a seed world and it's all about rats, specifically the Norwegian rat. Also known as rattus norvegicus. Rats are incredibly smart, adaptable, and cool rodents. Which is why I calling this world, rattus terra.

Rattus terras animals are not just rats, but also sunflower bees, honey bees, prawns, and grasshoppers. The goal of rattus terra was to learn about evolution, and what better then rats! Like I said, they are smart and adaptable. With no predators, rats can fill every niche they can alongside the other animals.

The plants im seeding are apple trees, orange trees, tulips, grass, wheat, and sunflowers.

But wait! You can help too! You can share your animals for this seed world, and I will share (with credits) the rules are..

No ai

You must give a description

And what year it evolved.

And.. yeah! Be sure to check in! For now, I'll be working..

Saprolygon 
A twenty-foot carnivorous plant characterized by four, rigid towering vertical limbs. It releases a pungent odor mimicking decaying meat to lure aerial prey. Specifically either adult aeropedes searching for carcasses to deposit their eggs, or bulletflies seeking carrion to consume. When prey lands on its elevated central stamen, it gets stuck in its dense, adhesive sap, causing the four arms to vertically snap shut. The sealed column traps the prey inside to be broken down and digested in total darkness. 

so, this is the map of my seed world.

you can seed the multiple continents (aswell as the island belt)

so, this is Rattus Terra. My ”earth” for my rat seed world.

so north viridis on the south is mainly tropical and in the north, especially far north, is very cold and is a tundra. It’s divided by a single large river, larger and longer then the largest and longest rivers on earth.

the next continents is south viridis and it is mainly tropical, however in the center it can be very hot and desert like. it has many islands near it, and is perfect for life.

there is also the island belt, the island belt is very important. inside the island belt, is the island belt sea. this sea, is almost, entirely fresh water. mind blowing compared to the rest of the seas being salt water. this is for radical changes in the rats, prawns, grasshoppers, and bees.

the final continents are indo and muhastana. muhastana is mainly hot, and desert like. tho, sometimes near the coasts it can end up as a beach and tropical. muhastana is the largest continent, larger then all the continents combined. it also has the largest lakes, which near are actually tropical!

indo is a tundra, cold, and close to arktos. the reason why it’s so similar to indo is that it’s basically into but a line and cold. even in the middle sometimes life even be sustainable there! as so we thought..

and finally, arktos, aktos and the northern sea are very cold and will be the causing of disasters.

A clay statuette of u/Equestrimary's Equus Digitalis as seen on the artist’s instagram and the speculative evolution subreddit.

Back View

Bottom View

Front View

Left Angled Back View

Left Angled Front View

Left Side View

Right Angled Back View

Right Angled Front View

Right Side View

Top View

Thanks a lot u/Keyotas Be sure to check them out.

A planet that has a significantly lower gravity than that of Earth, it has numerous flying organisms. Some floating plant like "balloon" organisms form large floating islands and even small continents that have sable ground which creates complex ecosystems. Amongst the numerous flying and long limbed organisms like the ribbonleg (see 3rd image) shown left that got killed by a ravenous predatory birdhead shown right. The ribbonleg usually live among the tall trees or the smaller lower level floating forest-islands. However for this ribbonleg a wildfire forced it to leve the safety of the forest to be killed by the birdhead that patrols the edge of the forest in hopes of getting an easy meal.

~Hi All! i realized i've shown only small snippets of the world map of Demeter and figured i'd give a full tour from the perspective of prospective researchers interested in seeking a posting there after its discovery. For now this is just an early draft, but i would enjoy expanding on this for each location if it turns out theres some interest regarding it. Let me know and enjoy the view!

((also, please ignore the name-drops of specific researchers, i'm a big fan of The Expanse by James S A Corey and i wrote these briefs from the perspective of it being framed as a world in the gate-network under early exploration. Regardless this is all origonal work and not fanfiction, it was just something to help me picture my world through the lense of human researchers.))

We will move Northeast to Southwest by locational posting. Read closely for the available opportunities at each posting to find which best matches your respective discipline, specialization, and psychological profile. Not all postings are well suited to those fitting certain predispositions, and whatever posting you are assigned is likely to last for several months to years, so be certain to read your employment contract carefully and link the psych evaluation along with your resume.

With all that out of the way, welcome prospective and applying researchers! read on to see the career opportunities that are available to explore during your time on:

Planet Demeter

Cichol’s Throne (A shallow sea of reefs and “false-kelp” forests in the polar northwest of demeter) (rich in silicates and phosphates, lead and nickel is abundant)

This nutrient rich shallow sea hosts a number of reefs dominated by manganese, zinc, and arsenic phosphates. They are brought here by upwellings from balor’s castle carried further by oceanic currents. This (excluding the arsenic) houses one of the safest locales for marine biologists looking to study the marine ecology of demeter without the near year-round storms of the Dionesyan Goblet. The high latitude of this location makes it exceptionally protected from UV for half the year compared to the more equatorial postings. It also offers close access to the head-offices of HR in the north pole depots, and regular visitation and collaboration with both the teams of the Balorian Hydrothermal Fields and Connand’s Inverted Tower. This gives researchers a look at a range of different aquatic habitats for those stationed here.

Balor’s Castle (Hydrothermal Fields; White, Rainbow, and Black) (Rich in copper, barium, iron, strontium, and arsenic) (Stretches from the northern temperate to south of the equator, west of the westernmost landmass)

These undersea hellscapes are composed of three hydrothermal fields:

Cethlenn’s Ill Portents

This field is the oldest of the three, initially formed 250 million years ago and rapidly dying out. It is a black smoker field formed from tectonic rifting as the landmass that eventually collide with another to create “emerald Olympus” and the Atlas Isles, move eastward, exposing fresh mantle beneath it. However, like any black smoker field, it is short-lived, and gradually dies out as the plate migrates further and further. Hence the name, a warning that hints and the fragility and short lifespan of the energetic activity that makes this habitat so favorable to extremophilic life on demeter.

Rich in: iron, lead, arsenic, manganese oxides, zinc sulfides, silver,

pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, todorokite, Birnessite, Manganite, sphalerite, and others.

Lasts: 1,000-10,000 years per field

Balor’s castle

This is what is called a “Rainbow Hydrothermal field,” the rarest type on earth, but rather common on demeter due to its strange chemical make-up and resulting geology. On earth, rainbow fields are produced by a process called “serpentinization,” where newly exposed magmatic rock on the ocean floor undergoes immediate chemical change to magnesium-rich minerals, generating significant heat and the release of hydrogen from the chemical reaction. Naturally the lack of magnesium on demeter makes the inclusion of this type of field on demeter questionable, but the abundance of reactive copper and manganese will replace it. In addition, these types of fields, when found on earth, are the most abundant in the rare elements that we have highlighted as relatively common on demeter, so they are significantly more commonplace here.

Rich in: copper, manganese, sulfates, uranium, phosphates, silicates, thorium, titanium, nickel, vandium

bornite, Manganosite,

Lasts: 10,000-100,000 years per field

Ethnui’s Inheritance

This is a long-lasting white smoker hydrothermal field, due to the slower tectonic activity that formed it, supplying ample opportunity for native habitats to form. These types of fields can last millions of years, sustaining stable environments for slower forms of life, and a greater understanding of the most stable of demeter’s native habitats.

Rich in: Copper, silicates, barium, strontium, carbonates, gallium, chlorine

Lasts: 100,000-1,000,000 years

This posting is divided between time spent at the terrestrial facilities at the Silver Spine, and the aquatic bases situated near Cichol’s Throne. These workers have trouble adjusting to their posting, as it requires constant back-and-forth between the two, and foster hostility as outsiders who never truly incorporate into either stationing. It is also one of the most fascinating locations to investigate, so there is an underlying resentment that fosters that animosity that Balorian researchers experience. They are also only third to the Womb of Mefetis and Ogma’s Canal in terms of funding and resource allocation, deepening that resentment that those whose facilities they take up the space of often demonstrate.

Silver Spine (Equatorial-North Temperate Desert Basins and Mountain Ranges) (narrow continent rich in silver and lead)

This narrow Landbridge is rich primarily in five elements: silver, arsenic, barium, lead, and copper; bound together in a resinous matrix rich in the hallucinogen psilocybin. These are among the most abundant elements on all of demeter, but this sub-continent in particular sports a surplus beyond normal convention elsewhere on this world; makes this location uniquely stable in comparison to more turbulent locales. This abundance of silver is due to the resin produced by a local species that creates a liquid epoxy (Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether or as it’s more commonly called BADGE) that naturally chelates silver ions along with production of psylocybin. While such a potent hallucinogen is tempting, it requires heavy filtration to make potable to researchers (both because of the local proteins AND the arsenic). A laborious task that took all of seven months for a team of bored industrial chemists from Auberon, Bara Gaon, and a couple dozen belters; to find a workaround to make it ingestible.

 While the land touching the ocean to the north and west of this region is primarily silver-antimonies most rich in arsenic, the south and eastern undercarriage are formed from the more brittle metal carbonates supported by the Carbonated “Soda Sea” directly beneath it. The abundant carbonation is due to decarboxylation of ketones produced by the many species reliant on ketogenesis in this sea. The southern portion of this landmass is almost tolerable to human lungs after heavy filtration. The high wind and crashing of waves makes this a rich location for aeroplankton looking to take flight, so breathing open air is a quick way to be infected by alien bacteria. Demeter’s significantly higher atmospheric density compared to earth makes this planet rich in potential for organisms that can survive in open air, possibly living most, if not all of their life cycle in clouds and the wind of storms. This, along with the Janus Pass, are among the best places to study the very species that take advantage of this ecological strategy of taking flight.

Fomorii Wastes (North-Polar Ocean) (Rich shallow seas and high nutrients, with the deepest reaching hydrothermal fields of this young strange world)

Named by the first exploration team’s lead geologist Fayez Sarkis and bio-chemist Ahmed O’Connell, after the Monstrous creatures of old Celtic pre-Christian myths, the microbiomes of this Ocean occupies the northern temperate and polar regions, along the top of the world continent. This ocean stretches into the temperate and equatorial regions at the Balorian Hydrothermal fields to the west of the supercontinent. Otherwise, this ocean remains primarily in the region of this world covered by its northern glacier caps. Shallow seas offer ample opportunities for phototrophic life, making for colorful “False-kelp Forests” of microbial life in shades of pink, orange, and purple.

This also houses the polar home-base that can act as the communications hub that human resources uses to coordinate the various deployments and financing. It is the most stable meteorologically, but the most turbulent politically, as most leadership is concentrated here, where most meetings and higherups of collected.

The Titan’s Teats (Equatorial-North Temperate Mountains) (phosphate volcano north, and sturdy solid landmass south rich in lead and zinc phosphates)

This dual set of mountains houses the highest altitude mountains of Demeter, specifically “Emerald Olympus” (Which is actually primarily composed of pyromorphite and not true emerald) and the lake at its tip called “Apollo’s Pride” in the hollow of the mostly dormant phosphate volcano. The seeping phosphate in the rivers that run from this lake react with the high lead minerology of Emerald Olympus to form the pyromorphite that contributed to its confusing name.

The southern lesser mountain of “Atlas Isle” to Olympus’ south is a hunk of lead and titanium that has gradually been chemically altered by the phosphate leakage from its northern neighbor to instead compose its exterior from mostly zinc and tin minerals. Sitting between the carbonated “Soda Seas” to the west and the Naiad Sea of the Dionysian Goblet to it’s south and west, the lead and titanium ions are pulled from much of the exposed rock and replaced by elements more vulnerable to acidic decay.

Helm of Athena (Western Equatorial Narrow Continent) (high Tin and Zinc rich with silicates and carbonates)

This small outlet sub-continent at the southwestern tip of the narrow silver spine composes the western-most tip of the supercontinent, putting itself at the midway point between the acidic and alkaline oceans of demeter’s equatorial waters. This is considered more moderate and safe in terms of both climate and conditions. Even the arsenic rich hydrothermal fields of “Cethlenn’s Ill Portents” are miniscule in comparison to the fields located north and are quickly sequestered in the acrylic resin many intertidal hive-building species produce obsessively. Other resin producing species to the south are blue with psilocybin, creating another economic niche for bored scientists looking for chemical distractions during their off-hours.

Dionysian Goblet (Prime Meridian Tipsy Ocean) (series of ethanol-rich seas due to high count of fermentation bacteria, with regular storms and ozone clouds)

The series of seas that makes up this ocean is enclosed in on all sides but the southwest corner at the prime meridian of demeter. Its name is owed to the unusually high concentration of ethanol in these seas, hypothesized by lead exobiologist Elvie Okoye to be the product of the many microbes in these seas favoring alcohol fermentation as their primary metabolic strategy. This chemical makeup is believed to be the source of the constant storms and hurricanes that plague these strange seas.

After this discovery, it took all of seventeen days for some Illusian biochemist to concoct a filter to make it safe for consumption. Since then, it has become common practice for the majority of the research teams to partake after a long work-day. Many different “flavors” are available based on location and season, and a bustling economy that many higher-ups in management have been very careful to pretend not to notice. On rainy days, what else is there to do but stay in, watch the storm, and drink with colleagues.

In contrast, to such unfortunate weather, these seas still however provide the most protection from UV light on this world that still lacks a fully formed ozone layer, thanks entirely to the ozone clouds produced by these “Tipsy Seas” as some have taken to calling them.

Predictably, this makes it one of the safest and most desired postings on Demeter for researchers to request as assignment. Should you be long-lived enough to survive the astronomical waiting list, or well-connected enough to skip the line, this habitat makes for one of the few locals where researchers are welcome to traverse the outside terrane when typhoon season subsides (though still a vac-suit for proper air and isolation from native life is heavily advised).

The Phantom’s Limb (Equatorial-North Temperate plateau and mountain range) (Copper/Iron Desert Flats)

This massive plateau and mountain range are composed of soft metal silicates and phosphate minerals, with especially rich lithium and copper veins intersecting the many rivers that flow through this stretch of the supercontinent. The plateau stretching into the goblet itself is especially recent, as evidence indicates that it only recently breached the ocean surface after a rise in oxygen levels led to global cooling and dropping sea levels as glaciers form at the poles. This has made it the primary base of operations, and the region from which all incoming researchers and workers land when they make landfall, as there was minimal life occupying this region as a newly surfaced landmass.

Womb of Mefetis (North Temperate-Polar Eastern-Most Continent) (desert plateaus, salt basin desert, acid lakes)

This portion of the supercontinent and its subsequent microbiomes are simultaneously the most dangerous and most fascinating place on all of demeter, and the primary reason for the urgency of researching this strange world. To both biologists and geologists, this region holds the record for the most ongoing research projects, and to a casual viewer the most visually dazzling place on this planet that leaves no doubt how alien it is in comparison to earth. The only place on earth that remotely resembles this local is the Danakil depression of Ethiopia or old faithful of Yellowstone. It is primarily composed of a low altitude desert composed almost entirely of salts rather than sand, dotted with cavernous cenote of technicolor sulfuric acid lakes. These lakes (as best can be told from our most recent efforts to map the cave system beneath) stretch for miles down in mineral formations invoking visions of chetaluga cave or the paintings of Heironimus Bossche. On earth such locations are almost always the product of purely abiotic factors, but here on demeter, this seems to be the product of a number of related species of bacterial analogues that act photorophic-decomposers. This Phyla of Demetarian life have been dubbed “Ydra,” after the Greek root word for the mythical Hydra, a multiheaded beast slayed by Hercules, said to spit acid. This name is due to not just the concentrated sulfuric acid they produce, but their ability to reproduce by way of “Ternary Fission,” a method of producing three identical offspring at once in contrast to the two identical daughter cells produced by the method of binary fission found across all kingdoms of life descended from earth. This, along with the astronomical radiation levels thanks to Mount Forge to this region’s southwest, makes Ydra a metaphorical holy grail for the future of cancer research, prolonging lifespan, and preventative treatment for telomere degradation.

Ogma’s Canal – (East-Equatorial Brine River, stretching from the Boiling Passage to the De Danann Ocean, and ending at the Dungeons of Brigid)

This brine river carves into the sea floor and stretches thousands of miles to drain into the Dungeons of Brigid and fill connand’s inverted tower. This leak is the early warning sign of the gradual leak of sulfate salts and acids from the womb of mefetis, facilitating the urgency for the research teams to catalogue this strange world’s life before the cataclysm that will be unleashed when the world oceans flood lake lernea. The lakebed itself forms deep-stretching cave systems connecting the various acid-cenote pools, thickly saturated with salts, solidifying into massive salt deposits. This brine river formed when one of those salt veins broke to the surface in boiling passage to its south.

1. The Caesium Halocline Interface

• Chemistry: Caesium Chloride and Sulfate.
• Conditions & Aesthetics: A completely colorless, highly refracting zone. Because caesium has an immense atomic mass but its salts form exceptionally low-viscosity solutions in water, this layer acts as a shimmering, watery optical illusion. To an uncalibrated probe, it looks like normal seawater but possesses a much higher density 1.25g/cm. It shields the open ocean from the toxic hellion below.

2. The Zinc-Iron Sulfate Band

• Chemistry: Concentrated Zinc Sulfate and Iron(II) Sulfate.
• Conditions & Aesthetics: A glassy, pale green fluid layer. Here, density creeps up toward 1.4 g/cm. The temperature rises sharply from ambient ocean temperatures to roughly 70 degrees Celsius due to the geothermal heat trapped by the density gradient above.

3. The Manganese-Copper Halide Layer

• Chemistry: Saturated Copper(II) Chloride and Manganese(II) Chloride.
• Conditions & Aesthetics: A thick, oily, green to teal fluid. The complete lack of calcium allows these transition metals to reach concentrations unheard of in Earth geology. Hydrolysis of the copper halides begins to strip hydroxyl ions from the water, causing the pH to plunge directly to 2.0 (hyper-acidic).

This assignment is a dream come true for both disturbance and restoration ecologists, as it puts the early signs of the coming cataclysm under a microscope and lets them monitor the early signs of what is to come for this strange world. This is for those dedicated and serious about this mission, and it positions them as those monitoring the life-signs for this terminal ecosystem. When, not if but when, this world enters its death throes, it will be those positioned here that determine when this world must be evacuated for the safety of the crew.

Connand’s Inverted Tower – (Northeastern Polar Brine Pool) (Acidic, and highly stratified with a variety of salt layers making a multilayered brine pool where each layer is separated by the conditions of the water directly above)

This is a massive pit that, true to its name, plunges downward like an inverted sky scraper. Like a solution spun through a centrifuge, each layer of this stratified brine pool increases in density dramatically with depth, and houses unique chemical properties for each layer. The absence of alkaline earth metals like magnesium and calcium allows heavy transition metals and rare alkali elements to form an incredibly crisp, hyper-dense fluid column.

The top layers are the ones we discussed in Ogma’s Canal, but the depth of this pit creates new layers beneath:

4. The Barite-Anglesite Pandemonium

• Chemistry: Saturated Barium Chloride and Lead(II) Chloride solution, suspended over a dense porridge of precipitating barite and anglesite.
• Conditions & Aesthetics: A turbid, milky, opaque layer. As trace sulfate ions circulate downward from the upper ocean, they instantly react with the ascending barium and lead currents from the mantle. This triggers a nonstop chemical precipitation, making this layer look like a blinding, heavy snowstorm locked inside a liquid medium.

5. The Radiolytic Uranyl Sump

• Chemistry: Super-saturated Uranyl Chloride Radium Halides, and heavy radioactive decay complexes.
• Conditions & Aesthetics: A sluggish, ultra-dense fluid slurry boiling at temperatures exceeding 180 degrees Celsius. It glows with a self-sustaining, brilliant neon-lime luminescence. The sheer volume of Uranium-238 in the basement rock bathes this sump in intense ionizing fields, continuously splitting the surrounding brine via radiolysis into hydrogen and oxygen gasses that bubble up through the "snow" layer like an effervescent cauldron.

For prospective exobiologists studying the fringes of Connand's Tower, understanding cellular transport on Demeter requires discarding Earth textbooks entirely. On Earth, arsenic compounds are highly cytotoxic because they act as chemical mimics. Arsenate uncouples ATP synthesis by impersonating phosphate, while inorganic arsenite disrupts voltage-gated potassium channels, leading to instant systemic failure

However, on Demeter, where arsenic is vastly more abundant than potassium, native life has flipped this evolutionary paradigm:

1. Arsenic as the Primary Electrolyte: Demeter’s extremophiles utilize trivalent and pentavalent arsenic complexes as their principal intracellular cations and osmotic regulators. Their cellular machinery is natively tailored to the ionic radius and kinetic properties of arsenic.
2. Potassium as the Lethal Neurotoxin: Because their voltage-gated ion channels are structurally mapped around arsenic pathways, potassium acts as the blocking agent. If an alien microbe or complex organism from Demeter is exposed to trace potassium, the foreign ion jams their membrane channels, instantly arresting their bio-electric nervous or metabolic cycles.
3. Field Protocol: When gathering biological samples from the caesium halocline, exobiologists must ensure all sampling equipment is entirely stripped of terrestrial potassium residues. Introducing even a fingerprint's worth of Earth-standard sweat can cause immediate cellular lysis and death in native specimens.

The Janus Pass (Equatorial Mid-East Land-Bridge) (Epitomized by dividing basic and acidic, low and high salinity, and cold and hot oceans of this world)

This narrow land-bridge sits between the alkaline and stable ocean of the Goblet and the Turbulent and violently acidic seas to the eastern ocean, with its sulfate brine rivers, such as Ogma’s Canal and Orna’s Edge. The sudden drastic temperature fluctuations creates tornados and typhoons, making this habitat even more opportune for aeroplankton taking flight than the silver spine. The vulcanism of mount forge, responsible for the formation of this land bridge and dividing the world oceans, pumps out a surplus of ionizing radiation since 2% of demeter is uranium-238. This fragile divide however wears thinner every year, and a collapse of it is sure to occur within our lifetime, triggering a mass extinction. This is one reason for the rush to catalogue and classify the life of demeter before it’s tree of life has who knows how many branches sheared off permanently.

De Danann Ocean (Southeastern Temperate Ocean) (Acidic and salty, rich with brine rivers and hydrothermal fields)

This ocean exists directly east and south of the Womb and is directly influenced by the acidic inland. It plays host to Ogma’s Canal and a series of rainbow hydrothermal fields that give an average pH several orders of magnitude lower than the alkaline seas of the Dionysian Goblet. The life found in these waters is largely underpopulated compared to other oceans, but house unique extremophiles that become so well-adjusted to these hostile conditions that they are often unable to survive elsewhere. Many haloarchaea of earth’s tree of life are unable to survive freshwater or even oceanic conditions because of the low salinity compared to what they have become accustomed to. This is much the same on demeter, where the runoff of Ogma’s Canal makes seas and habitats within this ocean drastically different from those found in the fomorii wastes, Dionysian goblet, or the last we will explore, the howling abyss.

Clubfoot of Hephaestus (South-Temperate Mid-Eastern Sub-Continent) (Carbonate Volcano and Carbonated Lakes)

This unfortunately shaped sub-continent has also been nicknamed “Demi’s Dong” by many researchers and visitors alike. Its most fascinating feature is it’s carbonated lakes formed by underground vents and runoff from the semi-dormant carbonate volcano, positioned at the ankle (or upper scrotum for the vulgar). The lakes and close proximity to the Dionysian Goblet makes this a popular runner-up for the many unfortunate enough to miss out on that assignment.

Where it exceeds the Goblet, however, is in the rich opportunity for both geological and biological research. The carbonated and alkaline chemistry inland contrasted with the ethanol silicates to the northwest and acid-rich seas to its northeast make it the meeting point for opposite environmental forces, and the life found to maintain the balance here have already played host to hundreds of post-doctoral theses and dozens of patents in environmental engineering.

Elatha’s Golden Locks

Abyssal Plains like these are the oceanic equivalent of deserts: vast swaths of surface bereft of nutrient or energy sources. The key difference between these sea deserts and land ones is the concept of “marine snow.” This creates the sole source of energy that is fed to these habitats and make up the fields of ooze that serve as the transitional zones between the opulent reefs and shallow seas, and the deep brine or hydrothermal habitats found at the deepest depths of this strange world.

Naturally this is one of the least sought-after assignments on demeter, as well as a place that those who have pissed off the wrong person get sent. It creates a dichotomy of troublemakers and undesirables who are some of the biggest customers for the grey economy of demeter. Since the Janus Pass is much more heavily monitored by the security services, smugglers who operate in sending Dionysian distillations to other sites on the planet operate through here, operating under the logic of “the last place anyone would look.” Many of the deep-ocean probes meant to be taking sediment samples are re-tasked to carry orders intended for the helm, spine, or womb to hand-off points. Since local security is also likely here as a disciplinary punishment, they are often happy to ignore such inconsistencies in the equipment logs, so long as they receive their cut.

Howling Abyss (South-Polar and Mid-Western Equatorial Ocean) (abundant abyssal plains and lifeless depths)

This is in many ways the final frontier of Demeter and overlooked by many for its seemingly barren micro-biomes. While it is true that much of this region is unoccupied abyssal plains, there are likely many lifeforms yet to be discovered beneath the glacial ice. This region is also often seen as a first stage for many new recruits and researchers before they can get their bearings and achieve placement elsewhere.

However, there are some who never leave, and insist that there is much yet to be discovered in this underestimated posting.

initial diversification post

Last Post

Ancestral Organism

If you'd rather watch than read, I have a YouTube short about them here.

The canopies of the temperate rainforests of the eastern continent of HCS-67 became free of vertebrate life after the humans left the planet (as horses and fish can't climb trees, at least, not yet), so it was up to the invertebrates to colonize them. Specifically, this was the Carniolan honey bees, and their descendants who became specialized to this environment are Apis aldarien, the forest honey bees.
While some of the trees in their forest homes are conifers (which are wind-pollinated), there are plenty of deciduous trees such as the ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia) and epiphytic flowering plants such as mayflower orchids (Laelia speciosa) that these bees pollinate. Even the conifers are useful to them to provide the materials and structure for their nests.
Nests are built on sturdy trunks high in the forest canopy, close to the sun and therefore the flowers. Forest honey bees are eusocial, this species having usually one queen per hive. Forest honey bee workers are deep brown in color and have contrasting cream stripes (queens lack stripes). Like their ancestors, forest honey bee drones have large eyes. All morphs of this species have relatively short and wide wings.

Here’s the kobold from my spec evo setting! I decided to make them related to synapsid ,giving them mammal as well as reptilian features to reference the fact that kobolds in our pop culture are seen as pseudo lizardman ,but in Japan they’re dog people!
and from this idea stems the concept of high adaptability

the rest of the infos are in the image itself ,but if you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer :D

Quick note: I know AI-generated text isn't allowed here unless it's used for translation, so I want to clarify that English isn't my first language and I'm using AI to translate my own writing. Unfortunately, it tends to rephrase and edit my original text quite a bit to make it sound clearer and more natural in English, so some of the wording might not be entirely mine. The ideas and content, however, are my own!

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So, I'm a writer (or at least I try to be one) who has always loved pretty much everything related to nature. One of the projects I'm currently working on is set in a fantasy world, and things have taken a rather unexpected turn.

In my attempt to make the world as coherent as possible, I ended up developing a setting that, conceptually, feels less like an actual fantasy world and more like an alien planet disguised as a fantasy world.

And I've absolutely LOVED the concept.

This eventually led me to start a separate project inspired by things like Serina, documenting the natural history of this world alongside my novels. The idea is to have two different ways of exploring the same setting: the novels present it through the lens of magic and fantasy, while this other project explores its biology, ecology, and evolutionary history.

I haven't figured out what to call this second project yet. A natural history encyclopedia, perhaps? A speculative evolution project? I'm still figuring that out.

The thing is, I don't feel that I need to explain all the biological and evolutionary details in the novels themselves. I'm more interested in letting the creatures and ecosystems exist naturally within the story, much like in Avatar: the creatures are there, they have their own logic, and the world feels alive, but their entire evolutionary history doesn't need to be explained for the narrative to work.

I'm not a biologist by any means, but if I'm going to do this, I want to give it my best shot. I find the whole process incredibly fun, and I also see it as an opportunity to learn more about biology, ecology, evolution, and all the wonderful things that make life so diverse.

So, I've been collecting books, documentaries, scientific papers, fictional works, and pretty much anything else that might help me dive deeper into speculative evolution. I've already gathered around 50 different resources, ranging from novels and mockumentaries to scientific literature and other speculative projects.

Then I found this subreddit, and I figured this would be a good place to ask:

What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to explore speculative evolution more seriously?

I'm interested in pretty much anything, regardless of how niche or obscure it might be. Scientific papers, books, documentaries, amateur projects, blogs, worldbuilding projects, or even obscure little corners of the internet dedicated to some very specific evolutionary concept. I'm happy to explore it all!

I'd especially love recommendations from people who have been involved in this hobby for a while, whether they're professional scientists or simply enthusiasts who've spent years developing their own worlds.

Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to discovering things I probably wouldn't have found on my own.

This image depicts the first confirmed contact between two sophonts, those being the Grallae sapiens (left) and the Nasuslongus sapiens (right). The Grallae sapiens (which will be shortened to Grallae from now on) are quite advanced, having advanced societies on 7 planets, and outposts on another 16, many of these holding life. On one of these outposts, a curious Nasuslongus sapiens (shortened to Nasus from now on) noticed a Grallae between buildings and attempted communication. This is the scene of the image.

A formidable, low-slung quadrupedal predator engineered for supreme physical leverage and ambush efficiency. Resting at a height that brings its low-profile skull roughly level with a human's chest or shoulder, the creature possesses an immensely elongated, reptilian or synapsid-like torso that tapers into a colossal, heavily muscled tail. Its entire body is covered in a specialized, mottled dermal patterning that breaks up its physical silhouette in fractured light, allowing its massive frame to remain virtually invisible while stalking through dense undergrowth, muddy swamplands, or fractured rocky barrens.

The locomotive and offensive capabilities of the Ikorastodon are driven entirely by a hyper-developed forelimb assembly. Its front legs are significantly longer and thicker than its rear limbs, anchored to a towering, heavily muscled shoulder hump that provides maximum mechanical torque. These powerhouse arms terminate in a cluster of colossal, deeply curved claws reminiscent of prehistoric ground sloths or therizinosaurs. Because these razor-sharp implements are vital to its survival, the creature walks with a deliberate, high-arched digitigrade locomotion when traveling over hard ground, curling its digits outwards to preserve their sharp tips from dulling.

In its native ecosystem, the Ikorastodon functions as a devastating close-quarters combatant and environmental manipulator. It uses its massive front claws to easily rip apart rotting timber, burrow deep into the earth to unearth hidden prey, or firmly anchor itself to steep rock faces during an ambush. When striking a target, it delivers high-velocity downward slashes from its shoulder joints, using its thick, crocodilian-style tail as an aggressive counterweight to balance its weight. Underneath its down-turned, predatory jaw sits a specialized cluster of sensitive bristle-filaments, which detect minute air currents and ground vibrations to track moving prey long before making sensory contact.

The creature’s unique hide serves as its primary defense and thermal regulator. Rather than a brittle, rigid carapace, its skin is a tough, flexible leather interwoven with dense muscle bands, allowing it to coil, twist, and lunge with shocking fluidity for its size. The prominent ridges along its spine act as heat sinks to cool the blood supply driven by its massive internal respiratory core, meaning the Ikorastodon can engage in sustained, high-intensity territorial battles or intense
physical digging projects without overtaxing its internal organs.

The Ikorastodon genus has been officially documented killing tigers and bears with unmatched efficiency. Its hyper-developed hindquarters allow it to easily match the frantic sprint of a Bengal tiger, while its low-slung stance completely neutralizes a grizzly bear’s defensive posturing. Rather than engaging in a prolonged, dangerous wrestling match with these modern apex predators, the Ikorastodon utilizes its colossal, scythe-like front claws to deliver high-velocity downward slashes that instantly sever major arterials and shatter skeletal structures upon impact. Once the target is incapacitated, the creature uses its elongated snout and specialized rows of interlocking teeth to harvest massive plugs of flesh, comfortably securing its position in the environmental hierarchy known as the food chain.

This is a speculative paleo-fiction project blending family drama with a fantastical yet grounded prehistoric atmosphere, showing a family of raptors and a cast of lost creatures fighting to stay alive in a brutal prehistoric ecosystem.

The raptors find water at last! But not everything is as it seems at this promised oasis!

Long Tail’s three-month journey with her sons has now reached its conclusion, the great lake now within their sight. However, as they draw closer to the shore, they are met with suspicious and bitter eyes. Small Toe cannot fathom their senseless hatred, still unaware how close he himself had come to falling prey before his own mother’s jaws. The question lingers in their minds now more than ever.

Is this lake truly a pure and serene reprieve, or a signal that they are truly alone in this world?

From my continuing work Terrors in the Brush — a speculative survival series blending paleo realism with raw emotion.

There is no fantasy, no magic — there is only nature red in tooth and claw.

Read Chapter V now.

490 million years into the future, planet Earth has already begun to decay completely. The heat is unbearable, with an average temperature of 38 degrees. Carbon dioxide levels themselves are lower than current ones, but the growing size of the sun together with a massive supercontinent has fostered extreme global temperatures. At the same time, this has caused most terrestrial biota to be found mainly in the poles, coastal zones, or even underground.

1-Alaskian Peninsula: It is actually one of the most diverse ecoregions, where large forests and prairies relatively similar to those of the present day are still maintained, mainly due to its high humidity, but being at the equator, temperatures are very high.

2-Neolaurentia: What remains of present day North America has ended up becoming an immense desert that has expanded and consumed part of present day Africa. Biodiversity is low, but the coastal zones maintain a certain level of diversity, especially those in the north, featuring prairie ecosystems that receive large amounts of rainfall.

3-Alkebulan: What was formerly Africa eventually split apart and lost a great deal of land over time, mainly due to erosion and tectonic plate movements. Today it actually has a high biodiversity, supported mainly by the presence of large internal lakes that partially stabilize internal temperatures, forming oasis zones within the continent.

4-Boreal Lands: In the north of the planet remain the vestiges of what was once Europe. Due to its geographical position, the temperatures are the lowest on the planet, with pleasant temperatures during the summer (between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius), but which can drop to -15 degrees Celsius on the worst winter days. Even so, this has not prevented the emergence of unique native ecosystems.

5-Amalgamea: Accounting for almost half of the current landmass, Amalgamia is an immense continent that consequently presents a very wide variety of ecosystems within itself. Originally formed by Asia, it now also occupies part of Africa and the entirety of Oceania. Even so, it is one of the most extreme ecosystems, featuring an immense internal desert and dry steppes in coastal areas.

6-Abyayalia: The combination of South America and Antarctica ended up forming Abyayalia, a continent that separated from the rest of Pangaea Ultima and reunited recently, forming new mountain ranges. The strategic position of this continent has allowed it some of the most fertile and biodiversity-rich lands on the entire planet.

7-Isle of Tartaria: Originally born as a small archipelago that rose due to continental drift, but following the drop in sea level due to high evaporation, it became an island with an area three times that of Madagascar, containing its own unique biota just like the latter.

8-Zelartida: A small group of islands formed after the collision of Amalgamea and Abyayalia around 23 million years ago. It is generally a stepping stone island for many migratory organisms, but it also preserves its own ecosystems.

9-Neopaeanian Islands: The collision of the Pacific plate and the North American plate formed a chain of tropical islands that, after nearly 40 million years, has developed a native fauna very rich in biodiversity and has also given way to coral ecosystems and atolls.

10-Panmeridional Ocean: A large ocean occupying almost the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere. It has an average depth of 2,500 meters, but at some points almost reaches 7,000 meters.

11-Greenland Sea: A wide coastal zone with hundreds of islands and very stable temperatures. This area is considered a paradise, being one of the few regions that has maintained stable ecosystems for millions of years.

12-Pangeic Seas: The set of coastal zones of Amalgamea is known as the Pangeic Seas. Highly varied in ecosystems, these have recently resurfaced following the drop in sea level and are therefore quite recent.

13-Cardius Sea: It separated from the rest of the sea not long ago, causing currents to shift and fauna to evolve completely separately for millions of years. Surrounding it, it sustains some of the most vibrant and lush ecosystems on the planet.

14-Atlantis Lakes: Unlike the Cardius Sea, these have been separated from the rest of the sea for a very long time, around 90 million years. This has led local ecosystems to a unique specialization, in addition to possessing relict species that in many other ecosystems around the world have become completely extinct

The garden gnomes (Gnomus Paracelci)

Small, fast and annoying for most people these are all the traits that define the garden gnome the most wide spread and common of all the gnomes of Magiterra, these little creatins are herbivorous and feed on a variety of seeds, nuts and other plant materials specially.

For farmers specially grain Farmers these small tapejarids are bad news for business as theres never more then one gnome around, these little creatures are found of making burrows in which they live socially, a gnomes burrow may only have one dominant male at a time its quite easy to tell males apart as their crests (or hats as some call them) are big and pointy.

What the title says. What would be anatomically expected for a species that is intelligent enough or technologically capable enough to have human-like technology or even interplanetary travel?

EDIT: I mainly ask this because I'm stuck in a rut as to coming up with plausible and unique alien species and I'm not exactly an expert in evolution, speculative or otherwise.