That image is very blurry. Can you get a clearer one?

I've added a new forum skin themed around Protohydroia Octherma, which also serves as a dark mode. To use it, go to the drop down in the bottom left of any forum page or go to My Controls -> Skin and Languages and select "Sagan 4 Octherma (Dark)".

The colors of some user groups have also been tweaked so that they are more clearly visible and readable in both dark and light color schemes.

@HethrJarrod I'm gonna assume this is taking over as your entry submission. That description is a tad bare bones. Could you elaborate on habitat preferences and how the spore casing works?

had to double check on these, I was honestly surprised the ancestor was already vascular

QUOTE (MNIDJM @ Mar 1 2023, 04:30 AM)

Are these enough species in the image for a genus group?

I count three separate organisms, therefore probably 3 species.

Shallowkitten (Lutocatulus planacaudus)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Mudkitten
Habitat: (SELECT: Tropical and Subtropical Shallows, Estuaries, Open Ocean)
Size: 50 cm long
Support:
Diet: Omnivore ()
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs in Water)

The Shallowkitten split from its ancestor and moved into the shallows. It has become increasingly aquatic. Though it would be easy to assume on initial appearances that its evolution completely ignored the nitrogen crash, this is false; rather, becoming increasingly aquatic has allowed it to reduce its nitrogen usage by making a thick exoskeleton less and less necessary. Though terrestrial arthrotheres were prevented from doing this by the need for support and protection, the Shallowkitten only needs to support its weight when it moves on the seafloor or crawls onto land, and its endoskeleton is sufficient for this purpose anyway. Also, shedding the exoskeleton regularly meant a regular loss of valuable nutrients. Thus, the shallowkitten’s exoskeleton has become thinner by losing most of the thick dead outer layer in favor of only the walled bed cells, which in turn means it takes a lot less resources to grow and maintain. This gives its body a rubbery texture. The thinner exoskeleton also allows it to be bendier, which in turn allows the Shallowkitten’s superficially eel-like tail to work effectively. Related to its aquatic lifestyle, the Shallowkitten has smaller, more sprawled legs than its ancestor.

The Shallowkitten has switched entirely to egg-laying. Its eggs are more tolerant of salt than before, though they cannot be laid in the ocean itself. It travels to brackish estuaries to lay its eggs. Its gonopodium is unfused, once again resembling the “sideways beak” reproductive organ of its distant ancestors. Unfusing it improves its ability to mate and lay eggs safely with its thinner exoskeleton, which is more easily damaged. This influences its mating method; the female’s will clasp over the male’s when they mate.

(more to be added)

QUOTE (Primalpikachu @ Feb 25 2023, 09:56 AM)

I have now made the organisms one image and have proportioned them more appropriately to reflect the smaller size of the species with fewer segments

This is actually what I meant by it being two genera--you gave it two morphologies and two different diets. What if something happens that would kill the 6 winged ones but not the 4 winged ones? I suggest making the submission be only the 6 winged ones, and have the 4 winged ones be a descendant for next gen.

While a genus in real life might have a little more variation, for Sagan 4 group submissions we are counting those kinds of differences as belonging to different genera, especially if these organisms are not likely to evolve back and forth into one another.

@Future Tyrannosaurus Welcome to the Sagan 4 team! Please repost your submission as a thread.

@Future Tyrannosaurus Each paragraph needs a double space between it.

Also, make sure to follow the order of the submission form listed in the rules, they should be in this order:

Name (Genus species)
Creator
Ancestor
Habitat
Size
Support
Diet
Respiration
Thermoregulation
Reproduction

---

@Primalpikachu Genus group entries need all 3 species in one image. Also, please try to make them all fit inside one genus - This still appears to be two separate genera in different niches.

---

@HethrJarrod How are tentacles growing from the baits at the end of the tentacle? In all other primitive asterzoa, they regrow from the center of the organism, like starfish do. Also, remember, the baits in species this basal are structures extending from a cell like a flagellum, not organs or even whole cells which an organism can regenerate from.

Made a bunch more krikree sounds, unsure about the last one tho:

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20growl.ogg

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20alarm.ogg

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...y%20chatter.ogg

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...%20chirping.ogg

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...w%20chatter.ogg

I don't think silhouette legs are a big deal.

The art communicates the organism's form.

As an addition to the above - because I'm doing this as a genus group instead of submitting ~50 individual species, a lot of time and energy I would have spent working on individual entries can instead be focused on adding more and more detail, which is part of why the description is getting so long. I ended up spending time making the call of the "twinkle twinkle krikree" mentioned in the text, for example.

https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...e%20vibrato.ogg

This is actually another reason I like making genus groups so much, since the information doesn't need to be repeated in numerous entries I can actually just go crazy adding as much detail as I want.

incomplete description and no finished art yet, but I have been reworking a previous WIP into a genus submission after positive reception from the team and getting the okay from mni, and I feel like posting for potential feedback I guess.

This may end up being one of the longest and most detailed genus group entries once it's done. Which is probably a good thing for setting precedent, since we don't want creatures like this to be submitted as vaguely as the poorly executed early genera from before the limbo.

--

Krikrees (Parusvolucrus spp.) (titmouse winged-things)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Ferry Quail
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman
Size: 10-20 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Hollow Chitin)
Diet: Omnivore (Wingworms, Minikruggs, Vermees, Teacup Sauceback larvae, other small binucleid worms, and their eggs; Gamergate Gundis, small Neuks and their descendants, and other small squishy fauna; seeds, nuts, megaspores, and small crystals)
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Microlung Network and Air Sacs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs in Nest)

Krikrees split from their ancestor and diversified. To the degree that the interbiat is like a chicken, that the quail raptor is like a quail, and that the ferry quail is like a robin, krikrees are like titmice. These tiny winged saucebacks are highly adapted for life in the trees, but will sometimes land on the ground to hunt and forage. They can be found all over Wallace and Koseman, anywhere where trees or large shrubs such as snowflake obsidioaks and ferries are present.

==Anatomy==
(Gallery: Musculoskeletal Diagrams)
Krikrees have a stouter, more compressed shape than most biats, even more so in proportion to their size than ophreys, and long legs suited to strong flight and moving through trees. They have short, strong beaks which can break through the shells of minikruggs, seeds, and small crystals.

Krikrees are strong fliers yet retain two free toes. This is enabled by the partial sclerotization of the tendon which folds the primary flight feathers, which stabilizes them and allows for much longer primaries than can normally be present on a didactyl species, granting krikrees the benefits of both strong flight and a stable foot posture. This trait is also present in the related Martyk mega quail. (Conversely, monodactyl biats such as ophreys typically lack this tendon at all, as the wing toe completely takes over its role.) This structure holds the feathers very strongly until they are ready to be molted and replaced, and as such it is rather difficult to pluck a primary without injury.

===Eyestrils===
The imperfect compound eyestrils of their ancestor have fused into a single sparkling pair bearing numerous individual eyestrils, which grant krikrees acute image formation compared to other jewel-eyed saucebacks as well as excellent movement detection. Due to their structure involving mirrors and a retina at the front of the eye, unlike the compound eyes of terran arthropods and certain unrelated ukfauna, krikree compound eyes have an external skin component (also present in the single-eyestrils of other jewel-eyed saucebacks) which can be pigmented without impacting their function. This is the reason for their differing appearance from standard compound eyes.

The component eyestrils can still be compressed to focus using tiny muscle fibers running through the compound structure, granting krikrees much better image formation than standard compound eyes. This is possible to accomplish due to the eyestrils being mirror eyes, where the shape of the eye itself is adjusted to focus instead of a separate, smaller lens.

Similar to the eyestrils of their relatives, krikree eyestrils have open pupils that let air in to smell and they must flush them with tears to remove debris. When krikrees cry, their eyestrils swiftly overflow and form relatively large tear droplets on the surface of the compound eye. This is because shaking off a large droplet removes tears from multiple eyestrils at once more effectively than trying to remove a much smaller volume contained only in each, due to surface tension and momentum. As this also results in more water loss, they only do this when debris starts to impact their vision (they can afford to wait due to redundancy) or when they need to remove a parasite.

===Respiratory System===
The respiratory system of krikrees is compressed entirely inside the hip girdle, effectively making the body cavity end at the cloaca, unlike in other saucebacks where most of the respiratory system is post-anal. Similar to the unrelated ophreys, the microlungs of krikrees are fused into a unidirectional system, but unlike ophreys which have a single pair of macrolungs, krikrees still have three distinct pairs of microlungs. In fact, the missing fourth pair (technically the third, when starting from the sauce and counting along the pulmonary vertebrae) is still present as well, but it has transformed into tubing which connects the other three pairs and no longer has corresponding external spiracles (leaving krikrees with just three pairs). Breathing is powered by the postpelvic gastralium, which is vertically oriented at the back of the hip and is roughly Y-shaped.

When a krikree inhales, air flows into the rearmost pair of microlungs. It then pushes the air through the tubing into the two frontmost pairs, one located near the hip socket and the other nearly up at the neck. Their unusual location makes a krikree’s body more lightweight, similar to the function of air sacs in terran birds. These continue to take in oxygen from that same air while the hindmost pair inhales again before pushing the next breath through, expelling the previous breath from the first two pairs of spiracles. This system is slightly more efficient than the wave flow system employed by ophreys, as only one pair of microlungs powers the entire system.

Extensions of the first and second pairs of microlungs form air sacs which run up the neck and thread into the wing bones, respectively. These extensions serve no purpose in absorbing oxygen, but do make these body parts lighter.

==Behavior==
Krikrees are social creatures which form large social groups consisting of a large flock residing in one tree or a group of trees that splits up into smaller flocks to forage over a wide area. When foraging on the ground, they will frequently join other biats, skysnappers, and phlyers to form mixed-species foraging groups, which are safer from predators than smaller single-species groups. With their superior hearing (compared to skysnappers and phlyers) and eyesight (compared to other biats), they can notify other species of danger with their warning calls and abrupt flight.

===Foraging===
Krikrees are capable of brachiating, swinging along the underside of branches to catch prey that use the undersides of leaves and branches to avoid less-agile predators. To move to a better location more quickly, they can hold on with one wing and flap the other to gain enough momentum to swing back to the top of the branch, where they are also very good at keeping their footing when running along thanks to their long, semi-opposable toes and didactyl foot posture. Krikrees are also capable of foraging on the ground, where they source the majority of their food over winter.

The frequency of the two strategies during the summer correlates with the size of the species, with the largest ones spending more time on the ground and the smallest ones mainly hunting in the trees. In wooded and shrubland biomes, a minimum of three krikree species will coexist partitioning between ground foraging, larger branch foraging, and smaller branch foraging, similar to Earth’s titmice.

Several species in regions with cold winters will engage in food caching in the fall, allowing them to stay healthy over winter.

===Vocalization===
(Image: A krikree singing. “The twinkle-twinkle krikree (P. scintillare), native to the temperate woodland regions of Koseman, produces a mating call which sounds remarkably similar to the popular lullaby ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ when slowed down.”)
The namesake call of krikrees is produced not by their lungs, but using stridulation. Like other saucebacks, they can produce chirps using their tongue. However, this ability is exceptionally advanced in krikrees. The tongue bears many chitinous bristles, which a krikree can adjust the arrangement of simply by extending or contracting it. It opens its mouth and rubs its tongue against its specialized oral spines, which themselves bear tooth-like serrations, causing them to vibrate and produce sounds which are amplified by the shape of its mouth, like a phone speaker placed in a cup. The sound is more similar to a cricket or other insect chirp than to a bird chirp in how it’s produced, despite the creature’s birdlike appearance. Each oral spine corresponds to a specific note, while the adjustment of the tongue alters the exact pitch, allowing for vibrato and other effects. The tongue can also rub against multiple oral spines at once, allowing for chords.

Krikrees stridulate almost continuously to communicate with others in their flock, as long as they are awake and not frightened by a predator. The namesake “krikree” is actually an alarm call to warn others of a predator so that they may hide. Other calls include a social trill which sounds similar to a cricket chirping and a “chittering” used by juveniles that have not yet gotten the hang of stridulation. Krikrees are still capable of making “creaking” sounds with their lungs, but this is now restricted to the equivalent to a threatening growl (primarily heard in territorial conflicts), as stridulation has completely overtaken it in effectiveness for communication.

===Defense===
Though krikrees are small, they do not live helplessly in fear of predators that might eat them. When a threat is identified, after the flock has fluttered to safety, they will continue to make their alarm call at the threat until it leaves. If it does not, a few brave individuals will start harassing the predator, nipping at vulnerable body parts such as eyes, ears, and wings and using dive-bombs to throw them off balance. Some species may also land on the predator’s head and attempt to shove sticks and leaves into its orifices, primarily the eyes, nostrils, and ear canals. They are usually successful in the end, as even if they do no lasting harm, the predator will still eventually tire of the harassment and leave. This allows them to safely resume foraging without further risk.

===Reproductive Behavior and Nesting===
(Image: A krikree at a nest full of babies)
At the start of the breeding season, which typically begins in the spring, krikrees become more territorial, as they must compete for both mates and ideal nesting grounds. Krikrees prefer to nest in natural cavities such as tree hollows, though they will also use abandoned constructed nests formerly belonging to other organisms, such as xenobee hives, if better options are unavailable. Krikrees seeking a mate will broadcast with song, producing rhythmic melodies that are species-specific and often incorporate chords due to their ability to sing multiple notes at once. The female is usually the one making a mate selection rather than it being mutual, resulting in some species being sexually dimorphic. Their tail barbs aid them in holding on to mate, a task otherwise made difficult by their leg-wings getting in the way.

A nest is constructed in the cavity using dry leaves, feathers, fur, trichomes, and plent cotton as bedding. The female then lays a clutch of eggs, as few as 2 in some alpine species and usually somewhere between 8 and 14 in most others. The hard-shelled eggs hatch into blind, pink, featherless chicks that are completely dependent on their parents for survival. The pair stays together throughout the breeding period, producing multiple broods of eggs to maximize the chances that at least one chick will survive, and part ways in the fall. Some species remain monogamous, choosing the same mate every year provided it’s still alive, while others, especially the more sexually dimorphic species with more visually striking males, may form different pairs each year.

===Tool Use===
(Image: A krikree using a ferine needle to access a food item inside a log)
Krikrees are fairly intelligent among biats and some species, particularly larger ones, can use simple tools to extract prey while foraging. The tools are natural, rather than crafted, typically being something like the needle of some sort of ferine being used to extract a worm from a log. Seeds and kruggs too large and tough for them to break open on their own or by pressing against a hard surface will sometimes be smashed with small rocks.

==Diversity==
There are around 50 species of krikree, which can be divided into three main subgenera: Dixon krikrees (left), Darwin krikrees (right), and Koseman krikrees (bottom). Dixon and Darwin krikrees are broadly similar due to semi-frequent hybridization permitting gene flow in central Wallace, while Koseman krikrees are slightly more distinct, their most externally obvious difference being the long black rachises extending past the vanes on the ear feathers in males. Koseman krikrees are also sometimes found in southern Wallace, contrary to their name, which permits hybridization with the other two subgenera. However, in general, female krikrees of the Dixon and Darwin subgenera don’t seem to have the same taste in ear feathers as female Koseman krikrees, which limits the spread of the elongated rachises further north.

Apart from this, general coloration trends can also be seen in the three subgenera: Dixon krikrees are frequently white, gray, or pink; Darwin krikrees are frequently red-brown or yellowish; and Koseman krikrees often incorporate contrasting black and white patches. Males may also be more colorful or otherwise more striking than females, regardless of subgenus, with green or blue patches on the chest or throat being common. Males also frequently have blue or green eyes, while in females they will be pigmented similarly to the surrounding feathers for camouflage.

Azderoo has three fingers on every hand. It's just an angle thing. I thought the middle one being longer made it clear, but I guess not.

The water loss thing is not a change, just a statement of fact about sagmas as a whole

Does it have only two fingers on the forearm and tail, or is one hidden? (I suggest making sure all three are visible)

Also, when using file garden, you should use the url from the url box, not the one from copying the image link with right click. Or...whatever it is you did here. Grant tells me this link will break in the future (making it useless on Sagan Bot).

I don't think a small image is a problem as long as it's readable. A blurry image, meanwhile, is not.

I assume it travels to freshwater biomes to have babies so that they are not eaten by oceanic predators?

Xenomoose has continued to prove to be a particularly difficult person to find, for frustrating reasons. If you google "Xenomoose" right now, you will find tons of results for someone who has been on the internet since the mid 2000's and likes kaijus and Alien and a bunch of other things of monster movie kind, which would look to be our guy. But it would appear that someone else with very similar interests came up with the same username around the same time independently, as even when pressed, this "Xenomoose" insists that they are not the same one as ours. There's no easy way to tell which Xenomoose is which, but the unrelated Xenomoose seems to account for all recent search results. Basically, it's like a more intense version of the Vivus situation.

I did recently discover an archived old Sagan 4 forum thread where our Xenomoose mentioned being Gorgatron9000 on Spore. But so far, this has not led me anywhere useful. Maybe I'll find something on the Sporum archives.

I classed it as vivipary because they don't have any sign of a germ analogue.

@OviraptorFan, you clearly know what you're doing, so welcome to the Beta team! Please repost your submissions to the subforum.

As for the others, I'm gonna wait until @Coolsteph has commented before proceeding.

do we know they specifically have stomata? They probably do, but it would not be the only option technically

While airplane wings are made of a heavier material than spardi wings, they are also considerably stiffer and don't need to have blood running through them, thus they can be very thin and hollow. A spardi wing has to be thicker to maintain that same stiffness, and it has to be doubled up to actually use the slots, so it adds up to being proportionally much heavier.

It is indeed called vivipary when a plant reproduces like this. We can worry about in-between stages later. That said, I'm not sure you evolve straight from vivipary to seeds/eggs in plants.

QUOTE (Salty @ Feb 16 2023, 12:50 PM)

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Feb 16 2023, 01:28 PM) Apparently Salty didn't know that purple flora technically give live birth before today. Should I phrase the reproduction accordingly? Honestly, I feel you should. The clearer the reproduction of these groups are, the better off we will all be. Plus it could go a long way to reducing the use of "seeds" in the purple flora's descriptions. Whatever efforts we can take to reduce the use of improper terminology, the better.

Reproduction: Sexual (Hermaphroditic, Spores, Viviparous)