The wings, markings and all, are hand-drawn. It absolutely hurt to draw.

Marmokerd (Marmotasaura marmota)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Lumbering Pasakerd
Habitat: Drake Rocky, Drake Boreal, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Polar Woodland
Size: 80 cm long
Support: Exoskeleton (Chitin), Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Herbivore ([[Sunstalks]], [[Pioneeroots]], [[Marbleflora]], [[Orangemosses]], [[Hair Nimbuses]], [[Larlands]], [[Cryobowls|Cryobowl]] fruit, [[Greater Lahn]] leaves, [[Lurcreeper]] leaves and roots, [[Forest Venomerald]] roots, [[Arid Ferine]] roots, [[Pagoda Crystal]] roots, [[Vesuvianite Tree]] roots, [[Lurspire]] roots, [[Towering Grovecrystal]] roots, [[Glountain]] roots, [[Crystalfir]] roots, [[Pandocrystal]] roots, [[Thorny Hedgelog]], [[Poison Purple Shrub]], [[Xidhorchia]], [[Toxplage]], [[Snow Puff]], [[Windbulb]], [[Sapshrooms]], [[Supershrooms]])
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Setae)
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodites, Lays Brood of Eggs in Burrow

The marmokerd split from its ancestor and shrank in size, allowing it to exploit different food sources and live in different biomes. It is a warm-blooded burrowing herbivore which can be likened in many ways to a Terran marmot. It has thicker, shaggier pelage, a brownish coloration matching the local soil, and large digging forelimbs. It mostly consumes leaves, roots, berries, and shrooms, and it contributes to spreading flora which utilize berries for distribution. It has gained additional setae on its carapace which contribute to keeping it warm, and its back toes now point out and diagonally forwards for better stability.

The marmokerd lives in burrows dug out with its forelimbs and tusks, often among rocks, where it hibernates over winter. It is more social than its ancestor, though not nearly to the same degree as the Terran marmot which it otherwise resembles behaviorally. It is more tolerant of others of its kind feeding from the same food source and won’t smack away juveniles. It communicates mostly using visual cues, and the sight of an especially frantic marmokerd will make other marmokerds uneasy, causing them to flee to their burrows. This behavior increases the chances that any one of them will survive an attack from a predator.

The marmokerd’s reproduction is similar to that of its ancestor. It lays eggs underground during the summer, though its litters are smaller, only about 50 per clutch. This is because juveniles are more likely to survive to adulthood than they would be living in the tundra due to the conditions being less harsh and there being more cover, though many will still be eaten by predators. The mother offers no parental care, instead sealing up the burrow and abandoning the clutch. The juveniles dig to the surface upon hatching and scatter. They reach maturity in one year and will breed multiple times over the course of a single summer.

During its evolution, the marmokerd’s transitional ancestors caused the spread of several flora into Drake Polar Scrub and beyond. Its ancestor was immune to the poisonous xidhorchia, so it stands to reason that it was also immune to the poison of its close relatives. As a result, during evolution it spread the xidhorchia, the purple poison shrub, and the toxplage, along with the non-poisonous snow puff and windbulb through spores and seeds being consumed incidentally. The marmokerd has effectively taken over the role of the long-extinct notox in spreading the toxic flora and has gone on to cause these instances of species spreading to habitats similar to the ones they lived in prior to the ice age:

* Xidhorchia to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Boreal
* Mini-Flower Ketter to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Boreal (via following its partner species)
* Poison Purple Shrub to Drake Polar Scrub and Drake Rocky
* Snow Puff to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Rocky, Drake Boreal, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Taiga (via spores passing through digestive tract)
* Toxplage to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, Drake Boreal, and Drake Rocky
* Toxplage Ketter to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, Drake Boreal, and Drake Rocky (via following its partner species)
* Windbulb to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Boreal, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Taiga

--

On the growth rate: It doesn’t match the ancestor because the ancestor was approved with an implausibly fast growth rate, which is hopefully being fixed.

Not yet. I could try to add it later myself, along with an artist slot.

sorry, I ninja'd you with sausophrey lol

Sausophrey (Falcotherium ferox)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Interbiat
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Raptor Volcanic, Darwin Chaparral, Darwin Plains, Vivus Rocky, Vivus High Grassland, Vivus Volcanic
Size: 80 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Carnivore (Barkback, Teacup Saucebacks, Thin Lizatokage, Rosybeak Phlyer, Tasermane, High Grassland Ukback, Handlicker Dundi, Sitting Dundi, Grassland Lizatokage, Dundigger, Phouka, Pikashrew, Vivusian Barkback, Lizatokage, Egg Lizatokage, Scrub Barkback, Robynsnapper, Scrambled Shrew, Dusty Spelunkhoe, Neoshrew, Cragagon, juvenile Ramchin, Gryphler, juvenile Oviaudiator, juvenile Binsnoo, juvenile Ziraber, Argusraptor chicks, juvenile Stink Shrew, juvenile Brighteyes, juvenile Spinebutt Plexo, Shepherd Harnessback larvae, juvenile Hedgimal, juvenile Snoronk, juvenile Varant, juvenile Fat Lizatokage, juvenile Gulperskunik, juvenile Xatazelle, juvenile Gracilxata, juvenile Xatagolin)
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Macrolungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs)

The Sausophrey split from its ancestor and became a carnivore. In order to resolve its tail length issue and to allow it to respire better at high altitudes, it has fused its four pairs of microlungs into a single pair of unidirectional macrolungs, which are much more efficient and take up less space. The single-direction pumping of air is powered not just by the macrolungs themselves, but also by air sacs developmentally related to single microlungs. Not needing a large number of spiracles anymore, it now only has two pairs of them. The front pair inhales while the back pair exhales, but if the front pair is blocked it can reverse flow direction to cough or sneeze out of it. The inhaling and exhaling are not constant; the front spiracles inhale, then pause for the back to exhale before inhaling again. Due to its shorter tail and better respiratory system, it is a much better flyer than its ancestor and can fly both high and over long distances.

Having integumentary wings allowed the sausophrey to evolve slotted wings, something which membranes are far too heavy to accomplish. This allows it to soar with shorter wings than a membrane-winged creature could, a valuable boon given the fact that it must also walk on them, and it doesn’t need to rely on favorable winds. It takes advantage of thermals to fly high into the air with little energy. Its tail spike has been modified into a crest-like rudder, similar to the vertical tail of an airplane, and it is brightly colored for communication. The “tail-crest” also has ultraviolet markings which are not visible to the naked eye, but which glow pink under a blacklight. While on the ground the sausophrey covers its “tail-crest” with its tail feathers and walks primarily on its inner toe like its flightless Argusraptor sp. cousins, with its outer toe bent back to prevent its primary flight feathers from dragging.

The sausophrey primarily consumes small ground fauna such as shrews, nodents, lizatokages, spelunkhoes, and small saucebacks, but it is also not impartial to snatching up sluggish phlyers which have not fully warmed up for flight and young or grounded skysnappers. It essentially sees any small fauna that isn’t in flight as a potential meal. Without talons, it catches and kills its prey entirely with its mandibles, doing so by swooping down and snatching in a manner similar to the extinct notooth snapper. Its mandibles bypass wood armor and short spikes. It cannot taste garlic and is tolerant of the taste of ammonia (which is present on the skin of most plents anyway), so it is therefore largely unaffected by the strong flavor of certain nodents.

The sausophrey can be a major threat to the shepherd harnessback, as it sees its larvae as food and will snatch them right off the backs of their hosts. As the sausophrey soars high in the sky where wind interferes with echolocation, the shepherds don’t “see” it until it’s too late, and many larvae are lost to predation. This has begun to place pressure on the shepherd harnessback.

The sausophrey is less social than its ancestor. It still nests in groups, as it nests on the ground and depends on group protection to ensure its eggs are not stolen by predators. However, outside of breeding season, it is solitary and even territorial. Nesting occurs mostly in the cover of shrubs, and it will use its leg feathers to assist in incubating its hard-shelled eggs. Like many Terran ground birds, sausophrey chicks hatch covered in down feathers and can flee from predators on foot soon after birth, though they cannot yet fly.

Entries thus far:

Illegal Temperate Riparian, by Disgustedorite:

(click for better quality!)
Artist: Disgustedorite
Biome: Illegal Temperate Riparian
Flora: Darwinblades, Riparian Purpleblade, Freshwater Chandelier, Crooked Cushio, Trident Cushio, Polyblade, Kraltree, Giant Kraltree, Darwinian Shadow Fortress, Ghost Mycostrums, Windcrystals, Tallstrand Crystals, Tesseleaves, Shrub Gazebos
Fauna: Gigantaurok, Forest Centaurok, Pinsyk, Azdasnatch, Tabbypard, Rivet, Rummagebug, Slender Catbug, Pincepok
Microbes: None

----

Salty Marsh, by Salty:

Artist: Salty
Biome: Salty Marsh
Flora: Tabletufts, Ambrejalaalo, Ageo Steeples
Fauna: Pentamowers, Paneltopedes, Wright Nautstars, Roundshell Shrewvs, Flutterwyrms, Plated Hedgestar, Shingle Shrewv, Vicewyrm
Microbes: None

----

End of an Era, by Nergali:

Artist: Nergali
Biome: Ovi Subtropical Beach
Flora: Landfall Grove (deceased), Crystal Gazebo (deceased), Giant Gazebulb (deceased), Ghost Mycostrum spp., Corcraonach spp., Grassterplent spp., Fern Asterplent spp.
Fauna: Filter Chad (deceased)
Microbes: N/A

"A beached Filter Chad lays still along the coast of Ovi Subtropical Beach, its exoskeleton now becoming a home to numerous colonies of Ghost Mycostrums which slowly spread across its surface. Around it are the long dead husks of ancient crystal flora - Landfall Groves, Crystal Gazebos, and a Giant Gazebulb - now overrun in patches of various Corcraonach species. With morning, the scavengers will swarm, but for now all is silent along this coastline, as this time of dying takes its toll on the largest of Sagan IV's lifeforms."

----

Seal Moor, by Coolsteph:

Full Size: https://imgur.com/PrTo6jy

Artist: Coolsteph
Biome:Seal Moor
Fauna: Purple Snood, Purple Wude, Shearwyrm (very close to camera), Beardgill (very close to camera), Royal Crestgill (very close to camera)
Flora: Violetmellow, Violetweed, Violetspine, Violet Mat, Shootstems spp. (seen from a distance), Medamaude Gnarlpalm (seen from a distance), Fern Asterplents spp. (two juveniles in foreground; very close to camera), Grassterplents (seen from a distance), Ambrejalaalo (very close to camera)

With Week 3 finally coming to a close, we've decided to have a diorama contest to pass the time waiting for the mass extinction results and for Week 4 to be ready to open! You do not need to be a Sagan 4 team member to participate; entries from fans are welcome.

Rules:
- You may only enter one diorama for the contest.
- The diorama must be in color.
- It must depict an ecosystem in week 3 (no week 2 or speculative week 4 depictions).
- The ecosystem must be depicted accurately ie. if it's a forest and there are sufficient flora present in it, it should look like a forest.
- All species depicted must be reasonably accurate to their size and biology. Feel free to ask their creators for anatomical help.
- The diorama must have at least 2 out of 3 of the following: flora, fauna, or microbes. eg, flora and fauna, flora and microbes, fauna and microbes, or all three.
- Unless the given ecosystem has fewer species, a minimum of 5 species must be present in the diorama.

To enter, all you have to do is draw any week 3 ecosystem (listed here) and submit your entry in this thread using this form:

CODE

[image] Artist: Biome: Flora: Fauna: Microbes:

On May 24th, contest submissions will be closed and we will hold a vote.
First Prize: One free flyway use for a species under 1 meter
First, Second, and Third Place: Diorama featured on the overview page for Week 3
Everyone Else: Diorama featured on the wiki page and bot entry for the specific habitat

We look forward to seeing your entries!

With the changes in place this has my personal approval (is me approving your submissions still the thing?)

Checklist:
Art:
Art Present?: Y
Art Clear?: Y
Gen number?: Y
All limbs shown?: N/A
Reasonably Comparable to Ancestor?: Y
Realistic additions?: N/A

Name:
Binomial Taxonomic Name?: Y
Creator?: Y

Ancestor:
Listed?: Y
What changes?: N/A
Are changes realistic?: N/A
New Genus needed?: N

Habitat:
Type?: N/A
Flavor?: N/A
Connected?: Y
Wildcard?: N

Size:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Within range?: Y
Exception?: N/A
Other: Should be a range rather than a single size, as is standard for genera.

Diet:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Transition Rule?: N/A
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A

Respiration:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other: This should be formatted as "Anaerobic, Passive Diffusion", including the method.

Thermoregulation:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A

Reproduction:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other: Lack of genetic exchange puts this at high risk of extinction by Muller's ratchet. Are you certain this species should be asexual-only?

Description:
Length?: Acceptable
Capitalized correctly?: Y
Replace/Split from ancestor?: Y (absorption)

Status: Approved

--

Did I use this correctly? I had to add parts for issues not covered by the form.

I disagree with the new genus assessment. The extra paws are in line with how this branch of shrews mutates and the rest isn't big enough to split the genus.

That's a really comprehensive checklist. I like it.

I changed the genus

Update: Found a lot of people. Decided to try every single email address I hadn't contacted yet and got numerous replies immediately. Story's still developing and idk how many people are about to return. Kenotai now holds the record for fastest reply, at 10 minutes flat.

Also got confirmation from Killian Ng (credited as Vivus on Homestuck) that they are not the same Vivus from Sagan 4, despite using the same screen name around the same time.

What’s That Biome? Cold Seep

“What’s That Biome?” is a series focused on helping members to understand commonly misunderstood biomes by explaining what they are in detail and what kinds of species live in them. This is intended to be an aid to making species native to such biomes.

Today’s topic is the cold seep. Cold seeps are regions on the ocean floor (or occasionally in large lakes or water-filled caves) where seepage of hydrocarbon-rich fluids such as hydrogen sulfide and methane occurs. The “cold” in “cold seep” does not refer to them being particularly cold; in fact, they are usually warmer than the surrounding water. Rather, they are “cold” compared to hot seeps, better known as hydrothermal vents. Cold seeps most commonly occur where tectonic activity has created fissures on the seafloor, such as where subduction is occurring or near (but not in) hydrothermal vents and volcanic islands.





Similar to hydrothermal vents, the base of the food chain within a cold seep is chemosynthesis, rather than photosynthesis. However, some cold seeps occur in shallow water where sunlight can penetrate and have both chemosynthetic and photosynthetic organisms. On Earth, nothing like a “chemo algae” has ever evolved; instead, the chemosynthetic “plants” found in cold seeps are animals such as mussels and tubeworms which have traded motility for chemosynthesis through symbiosis with chemosynthetic microbes. As both methane and hydrogen sulfide are available, there will be separate “chemoplanimals” for their respective forms of chemosynthesis. On earth, the methane-using mussels form a covering on the ground like grass while hydrogen sulfide-using tube worms can be over 3 meters in height and compared to bushes or shrubs, but I’m having trouble finding whether their size difference is due to their physiology or the productivity of their respective forms of chemosynthesis. Either way, chemo-planimals, mats of chemosynthetic microbes, and microbial “chemoplankton” are the base of the food chain within a cold seep.



Motile fauna in cold seeps will consist of both swimming and scuttling fauna which feed from the chemo-planimals, filter-feeders which thrive off of the chemoplankton, and predators that eat the other fauna. In deep sea cold seeps, vision is not a factor, and native fauna may tend to be pink or white like in other deep sea biomes. In sunlit cold seeps, disruptive coloration to blend in with the sea bed, chemo-planimals, or potentially algae will be preferred.

Individual cold seeps don’t last very long as the seepage comes to an end and the cold seep becomes inactive, but new ones form all the time. Species which live in cold seeps must have some method of migrating or dispersing to new locations, whether through broadcast spawning or direct travel. Inactive cold seeps are taken over by reef-building filter-feeders at their final stage of ecological succession.

What’s That Biome? Riparian

“What’s That Biome?” is a series focused on helping members to understand commonly misunderstood biomes by explaining what they are in detail and what kinds of species live in them. This is intended to be an aid to making species native to such biomes.

Today’s topic is the riparian. This is the floodplain of a given body of water (such as a river, lake, or wetland), characterized by periodic flooding and the presence of many amphibious organisms. They support a long, narrow forest biome surrounding them, even when they cut through biomes which cannot otherwise support forest communities such as desert, tundra, and grassland. In these cases, the biome is also known as a gallery forest. On Sagan 4, the riparian biome is commonly misused, possibly due to members not knowing what it’s supposed to represent.

Behold, for this is the first biome in this series where I can actually use a Sagan 4 diorama as an example!


(above: Illegal Temperate Riparian in Sagan 4 Beta Week 3)

As it is a forest, the riparian biome will have trees within it which are typical of woodland biomes. Where it borders a more open biome, high browsers with long necks or arms may be present to feed from the tree tops. Otherwise, the riparian is generally populated similar to a forest of the same temperature type. Even polar riparians will have trees and shrubs and it is actually a bit of a science error that they are not allowed in the biome on Sagan 4.


(above: polar riparian in real life!)

In addition to species typical of forests, however, the riparian biome is home to semi-aquatic species dependent on the corresponding river or wetland. This includes animals which retain ancestral ties to water (think frogs, mudskippers, terrestrial eels, etc) and traditionally terrestrial animals which evolved to feed from the rivers (think otters and beavers). It is also home to plants which depend on periodic flooding for their reproduction. Non-arboreal, non-aquatic forest animals native to the riparian biome must have some method of surviving floods, such as fleeing to higher ground or being able to swim to safety.

As the riparian biome is forest-like, coloration typical of forest animals is common. For larger animals this may include spots or stripes and soft countershading, small ground animals will be colored like soil or leaf litter, and arboreal animals will match with leaves or bark. Semi-aquatic animals may blend in with vegetation in the corresponding river or wetland instead; for example, many frogs and turtles are green to blend in with algae.

What’s That Biome? Tundra

“What’s That Biome?” is a series focused on helping members to understand commonly misunderstood biomes by explaining what they are in detail and what kinds of species live in them. This is intended to be an aid to making species native to such biomes.

Today’s topic is the tundra. On Sagan 4 Alpha, it’s incorrectly classified as a polar desert. In real life and on Sagan 4 Beta, it is a polar steppe (or grassland). A real tundra cannot be classified as a desert, as while it has little precipitation, it is too cold for it to evaporate afterwards; as a result of the constant accumulation of water, when the winter snow thaws, it transforms into something practically bordering on wetlands as the nutrient-rich soil becomes soggy and huge lakes and marshes form throughout. (Edit: Since this post was made, the tundra has been partially fixed and distinguished from desert-like terrain)






For most of the year (~9 months), tundras are covered in snow. Most plants found in them are very short, as permafrost prevents the formation of deep roots, but larger plants can exist if they are wide rather than tall and can survive the freezing winters. Trees are not completely absent and can grow in some more sheltered regions and along rivers (the polar riparian, which is in fact supposed to be a forest despite it being against the rules to put trees there for unclear reasons). Fires are infrequent due to the soggy ground making viable kindling rare and the general lack of tall flora preventing any broad spread. Where fires do occur, however, they can regulate the permafrost layer and prevent it from rising higher and locking away nutrients. Plants in the tundra must be adapted for short growth periods in the summer and bitter cold winters.




The tundra is home to many examples of warm-blooded animals that change color and coat density between seasons. Thin or short summer and thick or long winter coats are quite common. Small animals such as arctic foxes, ermines, lemmings, and hares change color very dramatically, going from earthy colors to blend in with soil in the summer to pure white to blend in with snow in the winter. Larger animals such as reindeer may be patchy and beige in the winter, breaking up their shape against mixed snow and dead flora, and switch to earthen colors in the summer. Some animals simply have wintery colors year-round, such as arctic wolves, snowy owls, and polar bears, which causes them to resemble patches or piles of snow that has not yet thawed. Species which would ordinarily have naked legs or foot pads commonly have their respective fibrous integument covering them instead.

Cold-blooded fauna in the tundra are rare but can exist with sufficient adaptations, most commonly long hibernation periods or annual life cycles. For example, the Terran wood frog uses antifreeze proteins to avoid freezing to death and hibernates for most of the year, only coming out during the summer thaw so it may mate and lay its eggs. Mesotherms and heterotherms such as insects can also survive in the tundra, and moving into this frigid biome can encourage the evolution of complete endothermy and fibrous integument, even for those that only appear during the short summer.



Lacking much in the way of large plants, a tundra’s large herbivores will mainly be grazers or rooters, and cursorial adaptations are viable. Due to the presence of permafrost, some animals may use the ice as freezers to store food which would otherwise rot, such as meat or eggs. Burrowers can be very ecologically important; take the arctic fox, for example, which creates “fox gardens” by turning the tundra soil and encouraging plant growth.

What about those tundras that actually look like deserts?


That is a polar barren. Polar barrens are not currently represented on Sagan 4 (edit: they are now), but if they were they would be classed as polar deserts. I will cover them separately if they are ever added to the project.

It may be important to note that non-shrog tamjacks in particular are very smart; if shrogs are like great apes, the more basal jacks could be likened to lesser apes or old-world monkeys. It's not enough for full-on agriculture, but they could easily understand how plants grow well enough to have that kind of foresight, especially given they're instinctive nest builders. (think of how you, an instinctive tool-maker, might think about the creation of makeshift tools)

What’s That Biome? Chaparral

“What’s That Biome?” is a series focused on helping members to understand commonly misunderstood biomes by explaining what they are in detail and what kinds of species live in them. This is intended to be an aid to making species native to such biomes.

Today’s topic is the chaparral. This term is mainly used in real life to refer to the specific subtropical shrublands in California, but there are other chaparrals in other parts of the world going by different names. Other names for the same biome in different geographic regions on Earth include maquis (mediterranean basin), matorral (chile), fynbos (south africa), and kwongan (australia). It may also generally be referred to as a “mediterranean climate”.

On Sagan 4 Alpha, the chaparral is classified as a temperate mixed biome. In real life and on Sagan 4 Beta, it’s classified as subtropical. Certain chaparrals in Alpha, such as Drake Chaparral, are actually severely misplaced; a chaparral would never exist so close to polar biomes. (Edit: Since this post was made, the map has updated and the chaparral biomes have been fixed)

Chaparrals have sandy nutrient-poor soil, a lot of low-lying flora and various shubs with few trees, and experience a wet season and a dry season, much like a savanna. However, unlike a savanna, during the dry season…



OH GOD! EVERYTHING’S ON FIRE!

The dry season in the chaparral is very hot and dry, and the shrubs that grew over the wet season are prime kindling for fire. Full-on wildfires are pretty rare without influence from fire-using species (ie, humans or firehawks), only occurring once every few decades. However, smaller-scale fires happen regularly all over the chaparral during the dry season. While old-growth chaparral flora over a century in age can exist, this is more or less out of pure luck. Most plants in the chaparral are either fire-resistant, able to regrow after fire, or have a life cycle dependent on fire. For example, some small vegetation exists as successional flora that only grow when it rains on a patch of land that was recently burned.



In older growth, the ground may be covered in dense thickets of shrubs less than 3 meters in height, while younger growth is dominated by small flora, including grasses, other herbs, and small bushes. However, some larger flora do exist, such as the red shank, which can grow to around 8 meters tall and is able to recover and regrow after burning. Unlike a savanna, which may sport scattered groups of large trees measuring in the tens of meters, larger plants in a chaparral biome will mostly be restricted to gallery forests (the “riparian” biome, which I shall cover in another post) where regular flooding prevents them from being burned to the ground. Perennial plants in the chaparral are generally evergreen, their main growth period being in the “winter” wet season, and they have arid adaptations to survive the “summer” dry season.





On Earth, animals that live in chaparral-like climates include rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, quokkas, komodo dragons, honey possums, roadrunners, lynx, jackals, and a myriad of grazers and browsers. More large predators and megafaunal herbivores comparable to the kinds found in savannas probably also existed in these biomes in the past, but it’s hard to find a good reference for them because the holocene extinction killed them all. Preferred camouflage tends to match the colors of dirt and dry flora, with streaking, speckled, or peppered markings being pretty common in smaller species while larger ones may prefer a single color matching the dry flora with soft countershading or large patch-like markings which break up their shape against different-colored dirt and shrubs. The biome is open enough that cursorial adaptations are favorable, but there is also enough cover that ambush hunting is feasible.

Fauna native to chaparrals will usually have some way of avoiding wildfires, such as fleeing on foot or wing, digging underground, or ducking into pre-existing large burrows that can serve as a refuge for many unrelated species. Some predatory species, especially flying ones, may exploit the frequent fires to hunt, and those with tool use may even spread the flames themselves.

QUOTE (Irinya @ Apr 30 2021, 03:39 PM)

I had intended to gradually have the descendants of the Tungrab develop tool use and become sapient over the course of many generations. But... then life changed and I didn't have time to contribute anymore.

Interesting! Of the three sapients that did ultimately become canon, only one (the Tripodician) actually evolved from a species that was explicitly a smart tool-user beforehand; it's sad more detailed evolution of intelligence is so rare outside scrapped and rejected stuff.

I also think intelligence and tool use without sapience should happen more often. I've been making explicitly smart shrews (the shrogs) which evolved tool use, but I have no plans to take them to sapience--they already have the look because of their instinctive nest-building, and honestly, there needs to be more love for the kind of intelligence and behavior typical of non-human apes, corvids, large parrots, cetaceans, badgers, and beavers.

On color, iirc Mnidjm is coloring it for him.

The habitat should be a list of biomes

So, turns out anipedia is an invalid taxon.

Fixed.

I think the movement of the eyes into a different position would probably resemble how eyes on earth vertebrates move between front- and side-facing.

Irinya has been located. Probably one of the more difficult finds lol but it paid off

Also found a lead on Bonosaber, but I wouldn't hold my breath; another waiting game

fixed, and thank you!