Plent bones are not tetrapod-like and should not be treated as such. In particular, their joints almost certainly do not work like tetrapod joints.

The foot pad on a dedicated digitigrade organism can look like a heel as pictured. Theropods are like that.

@OviraptorFan?

Over winter I guess it sorta becomes a detritivore, since it eats the frozen remains of summer flora? Not sure how I'll describe that though.

The fluff completely overruns its tufts.

QUOTE (CosmoRomanticist @ Oct 25 2021, 01:03 PM)

From a practical standpoint, I think this is good, but I think we should all make little guys and things for their own sake, or when we see an opportunity knocking (an unexploited niche, an implausible lack of X or Y) as opposed to just when some More Interesting creature needs something to eat in X habitat.

The sausophrey evo - five in total, actually - will provide a way for that to happen more easily. Stay tuned.

The pink scrambler is a generalist. A specialist of anything won't have anything to worry about from it.

Snowtunnel Shrew (Geminatisorex glaciperfossor)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Pikashrew
Habitat: Vivus Tundra, Vivus Polar Scrub, Vivus Polar Woodland
Size: 13 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Herbivore (Pioneeroots, Marbleflora, Glaalgaes, Cryobowls, Tepoflora, Tepoguin, Slumbering Kingrush, Strangleroot, Aloeberabub, Fibrillius, Snow Windbulb)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (male and female, live birth, pouch and milk)

The snowtunnel shrew split from its ancestor. It is named for its habit of burrowing under the snow, which allows it to forage over the long polar winter. This allows it to live in the tundra, which its ancestor was absent from. It is pure white for most of the year, but turns black in the short polar summer. Its fur is so long that its display tufts, while still technically there, are completely hidden. When exposed above ground in the summer, it can still scramble about wildly to evade predators.

The snowtunnel shrew is more social than its ancestor, a consequence of tunneling in snow for food; encountering others of its kind is simply unavoidable, so it tolerates them. It breeds up to 4 times a year and has 5-12 joeys at a time. Its offspring are born helpless, living off of milk in their mother's pouch for the first few weeks of their lives.

I actually made this so there would be food for a sausophrey evo I'm making that lives in the dunes 😳

Pink Scrambler (Geminatisorex roseus)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Scrambled Shrew
Habitat: Dixon Savanna, Dixon Tropical Scrub, Dixon Dunes, Dixon-Darwin Desert, Darwin Plains, Darwin Chaparral
Size: 25 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Omnivore (Pioneeroots, Fuzzyplate, Marbleflora, Supershrooms, Sapshrooms, Sapworms, Vermees, Minikruggs, Neuks, Mikuks, Aphluks, Feluks, Chitjorns, Teacup Sauceback larvae, Cleaner Borvermid, False Cleaner Borvermid, Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms, Gamergate Gundis, Dardiwundi, Undergroundi, Communal Janit, Trailblazer, Quassagule, Quaxaca, Puffgrass, Arid Puffgrass, Tropical Puffgrass, Crystamble crystals, Desert Carnofern berries, Sandy Orbibom seeds, Coastal Goth Tree berries, Yuccagave seeds, Bristlepile berries, Bangsticks seeds, Cragmyr berries, Robust Arid Ferine berries, Scrubland Tubeplage fruit, Scrubland Quhft fruit, Tubeplage fruit, Cliff Bristler berries), Ovivore (Grassland Lizatokage, Argusraptor Complex, Interbiat, Disasterxata, Cardicracker, Xatazelle, Xatagolin, Sausophrey, Gulperskunik, Hearthead, Xatakpa, Stride Sauceback, Desert Ukjaw, Dinotuga, Guangu), Scavenger, steals from shrog nests
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (male and female, live birth, pouch and milk)

The pink scrambler split from its ancestor. It is a nocturnal burrowing generalist. It is named for the peculiar champagne coloration of its western population, which allows it to blend in with pale soil and dry grass. Its eastern population is golden yellow in color, more like its ancestor, but the name remains the same.

The pink scrambler is more genetically stable than its ancestor, as its duplicate genes have been gradually repurposed. For example, the extra copies of genes controlling development have been altered so that they activate when a body part is lost or severely damaged, allowing it to regrow. If a body part is partially detached but still intact, a new one may still grow, resulting in some pink scramblers growing extra tails and limbs. This differs from the duplicate paws and tails of some of their relatives in that these are traits acquired throughout their lives, rather than ones that they are born with; therefore, they are not passed down to their offspring. "Scrambling" mutations are nearly nonexistent. Accessory organs still appear with some frequency, and accessory lungs are generally more functional than they were in its ancestor.

The pink scrambler sometimes inhabits the nests of shrogs, as shrog food stores are like an all-you-can-eat buffet to the smaller shrew. As it breeds frequently--as often as 6 times a year--populations inside shrog nests can grow rapidly and make it unlivable to the shrogs inside, causing them to ultimately abandon the nest if they cannot find a way to remove the scramblers.

The pink scrambler is generally solitary. Like its ancestor, it has marsupial-like reproduction. It breeds 6 times a year and gives birth to 5-12 joeys at a time. Newborns are helpless and spend the first few weeks of their lives in a pouch.

The pink scrambler caused some flora to spread into Dixon Dunes. Flora not well-adapted for shifting sands make their homes in small patches of stability, such as near oases. The flora that have been spread are the Desert Carnofern, the Sandy Orbibom, the Coastal Goth Tree, the Yuccagave, and the Bristlepile. It also indirectly spread the Arid Plyent due to spores landing on its fur; the Arid Plyent then further also spread itself to Blood Tropical Riparian. Certain predators of these species, in turn, also spread; this includes the Xatazelle, the Pickaxe Tamow, the Desert Tilecorn, the Undergroundi, the Briarback, the Sabulyn, the Mothhead, the Skewer Shrog, and the Argeiphlock.

You can change it yourself.

I meant don't call them sruglings, it can cause confusion.

Don't name it that.

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Oct 23 2021, 03:41 PM)

Oh my. That's quite a lot of censored swears. It's not even comic-book grawlixes. It gives me the impression Fishing Graspers are the Samuel L. Jacksons of Sagan 4, which is quite strange, because they look like weird cow-pattern rats doing a Michael Jackson moonwalk. Meanwhile, the disreputable-looking, pungent Handlicker Dundi is totally clean-mouthed. I honestly expected such vulgarities from the mouths of Kugards.

It's a reference to the Sonic Adventure 2 real time fandub by Snapcube. The original quote, said by Doctor Eggman about Shadow the Hedgehog, is even worse and also kinda nsfw.

@CosmoRomanticist some context above ^ (edit: On the previous page???)

Its replacement remains, just not as a replacement. It was a bubblehorn specialist. Somehow replacing a generalist, for "all of its prey being extinct", when in fact all of its prey was extant.

oh, is it okay if I post about my fan character? I'll put it under a spoiler just in case.

Frostmelter (Vitreflora utilis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Burncumference
Habitat: Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Polar Woodland, Drake Boreal, Drake Alpine
Size: 10 cm tall
Support: Cell Wall (Chitin)
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm (Lenses)
Reproduction: Asexual (Budding); Sexual (Sporophyte and Gametophyte, Spores)

The frostmelter replaced its ancestor and spread throughout the frigid biomes of Drake. It uses special reflectors and lenses made of chitin to warm itself in the sunlight and set surrounding flora on fire. Burning its surroundings did not destroy competition, as melting permafrost creates wet muddy marshes, which prevent the uncontrollable spread of wildfires. The frostmelter's light-focusing ability does set surrounding flora on fire, which in turn generates more heat than it can on its own, which hastens the melting of frozen soil. This makes it an important component in the ecosystem, as it regulates the permafrost level, which in turn allows more flora to grow. Its ancestor actually did this as well, but the burning aspect had been heavily over-exaggerated with misleading or outright false claims about its destructive capabilities.

Melting frozen soil with fire frees up nitrogen which would otherwise be locked in permafrost, which the frostmelter takes advantage of to grow and bud quickly so that it may produce a large number of spores. It has gained an alternation of generations between haploid and diploid forms, allowing greater genetic diversity. The diploid generation produces haploid sexual spores, and if they do not merge with another haploid spore, they will germinate into a haploid frostmelter which in turn produces more haploid spores. It grows, reproduces, and dies very quickly several times throughout the short summer in the coldest parts of its range, and exists only as spores other the winter, making it a sort of annual plant. Spores will germinate when the soil thaws after freezing, regardless of the time of year.

Oh yeah, I had an idea that Ralsei might end up being a "secret boss" in a future chapter, ending with him turning into weapons or armor. If I was a little better at music I'd try to make a battle theme. I might try anyway.

So like...switchfang. Assuming it survives week transition, I have some pretty wild plans for its dentition.

QUOTE (CosmoRomanticist @ Oct 22 2021, 12:36 PM)

Wait -- did you find another holdout that should've survived but didn't?

someone replaced the fishing grasper for objectively false reasons (for the sake of alienification? hatred? who knows), so it was undone. It was too far removed from norat to get no-snarfed and survived everything else.

There's precedent for this; this also happened to the cave rustmold, which was then revived.

Fun fact: The fishing grasper was actually investigated as a revival candidate once before as well!

I drew attention to those traits because Cheatsy did in its ancestors

QUOTE (OviraptorFan @ Oct 22 2021, 02:35 AM)

I noticed your species lacks the grasping digit of their ancestor, was this intentional?

Read the description

Switchfang (Mobidenrattus miraculum)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Fishing Grasper
Habitat: Drake Plains, Drake Chaparral, Drake Temperate Woodland, Drake Boreal, Drake Rocky, Drake High Grassland, Drake Alpine, Drake Volcanic
Size: 30 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Omnivore (Vermees, Minikruggs, Silkruggs, Teacup Sauceback larvae, Marbleflora, Pioneeroots, Tepoflora, Mikuks, Aphluks, Feluks, Hair Nimbuses, Cryobowls, Glaalgaes, Larands, Larachoy, Chitjorns, Sunstalks, Supershrooms, Fuzzweed, Botryrophis, Communal Janit, Wub, juvenile Infilt Pewpa, juvenile Greater Lahn, Suncatcher Plyent saplings, Umbrella Plyent saplings, Lurcup seeds, Eastward Luroot seeds, Brickbark Ferine berries, Wafflebark Ferine berries, Bangsticks seeds, Arid Ferine berries, Fuzzpile berries, Lurtress seeds, Lurspire seeds, Lurcreeper seeds, Syrup Ferine berries, Sleeve Ferine berries), steals cooked food from taserflames
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Shivering, Fat)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth)

The switchfang split from its ancestor. A member of an ancient lineage of nodent which is only found in drake, it has returned to its generalist roots and become an omnivore. Its most notable feature, and its namesake, is its mobile upper incisor. Rather than clipping flora like ancient nice and modern neonodents, the switchfang uses its upper incisor like a toothpick or a tiny shovel to scrape and dig at food. This is more effective than what its more distant ancestors did, given that wooden teeth, especially in a creature so small, cannot cut and slice as easily as keratinous or enamel teeth do. The tooth can be rotated back down to its original position as well, allowing it to be used like a normal incisor. It has prominent cheeks which prevent food from falling out of its mouth as it mashes it up with its woody molars, and it can carry food in "cheek pouches", the entrances to which are hidden by its jowls.

The switchfang is an endotherm. Its naked skin loses heat easily; however, it compensates for this by sleeping in burrows at night and hibernating over winter. On a cool day, it warms up by shivering and holds in some heat using a layer of fat, but it prefers to just stay in its burrow and eat stored food. It may also take advantage of fires built by taserflames for warmth, but taserflames generally chase them away, as switchfangs often steal food from them.

The switchfang is a burrower. It digs deep tunnels which insulate it from harsh conditions. It gathers more food than it can eat in a day and stores it in a chamber deep underground, allowing it to consume it later when it's too cold or there isn't as much food available outside. Multiple switchfangs and their offspring may share a burrow, as it is a social creature. In addition to squeaking, it can communicate by scent, and it will wave its fang to waft air over its tongue to smell pheromones and food.

The switchfang, like other plents, mates and gives birth through its mouth. It is placental, breeds several times per year, and can have 6-8 babies at a time. Gestation lasts for 3 1/2 weeks and the babies are born small but developed; unlike real rats, they do not produce milk, so juveniles must be more developed than a baby rat would be in order to eat. Juveniles follow their mother in a line, each gripping the tail of the one in front of them; their tail tip is light as to be easier for them to see, much like the white tail tip of Terran foxes. They generally eat fresh food that is easier to digest, such as berries, shoots, and tender meat. They reach maturity in only 5 weeks.

The switchfang retains many ancestral characteristics. When frightened, it bows and inhales deeply to inflate its rump. Two or three pairs of white rings on its back mimic the eyes of predators, so this gesture can scare away potential attackers. It can produce squeaks and hisses from its butt nostril, though these have a metallic sound to them compared to those of other living nodents. Its innermost digits on its forefeet are opposable, allowing it to grasp food to eat it like it's a sandwich. It has a longer tail than its ancestor, more similar to that of more basal nice, helping it keep its balance as it runs and hops through its environment. However, the most important ancestral characteristics it retains are that it can feel happiness and that it is capable of being ticklish.

--

And this is why Cheatsy made a vulgar rat meme. The ecosystem page isn't updated yet but the ancestor survives in Drake Tundra. Drake is a basal nodent refugium let's goooooo

(Given basal nodents were originally killed off out of hate, I think it was kinda inevitable that one would be found to have been wrongly wiped lol)

time for a massive deltarune theory (or set of connected theories)

@TheBigDeepCheatsy you should post that speech here too (but censor it because Coolsteph will ask)

I made another impossible sophont, this time rendered in Spore:


It's a descendant of the amplafeo, called a "werenix". I don't know why, but amplafeo gives off the vibe of something that should have a sophont cousin or descendant. I mean, just look at it.

Oh yeah, fun fact: the snowky and all of its descendants were endotherms and had full coats of fur! Even the ones that inexplicably lived in the deep sea like fish!