(EDITED)
These ones aren't quite on the verge of outcompetition or being eaten to extinction on the level of the desert tilecorn, but they are moderately vulnerable. I inspected the deserts first because it was the easiest.
Striped Phlocks might be at risk of extinction in Dixon-Darwin High Desert and Dixon-Darwin Desert due to Skewer Shrogs eating their young. Striped Phlocks are very visible without sufficient cause: zebras' stripes confuse tsetse flies, which carry strong diseases, but equivalents to those don't exist in this setting. They don't have much in the way of defense, so Skewer Shrogs' spears would likely pierce them easily. They can run fast, but Skewer Shrogs are noted to be able to run faster than their ancestors, so they might still be a threat. Skewer Shogs hunt by hiding behind rocks or in trees (likely Coniflors in this habitat, though they would stand out). Striped Phlocks might not have, say, keen vision or a sense of smell to alert them to hidden Skewer Shrogs.
Sabulyns don't match anything in Dixon-Darwin Desert. They have two predators: Mothheads and Skewer Shrogs.
Other than Ornate Gumjorns and Arid Plyents (the latter of which move), there aren't any large green flora in Dixon-Darwin Desert. Scaleskuniks and Plehexapods would still stand out against Ornate Gumjorns in shape and coloration, though. It might depend on the color vision or visual acuity of local predators, such as Skewer Shrogs.
Stride Sauceback:
The camouflage matches nothing but Bangsticks, and even that's likely a loose match, because Bangsticks are aquamarine and likely glassy-looking. It's possible they migrate to moist areas to lay their eggs, but not outright stated. Skewer Shrogs eat them.
---
Dixon-Darwin High Desert
Plehexapods and Sabulyns have the same issue of a lack of camouflage and predators as Dixon-Darwin Desert.
---
Bipedal Uktank: tied to water to reproduce, but lives in Drake High Desert. Has no notable adaptations to deal with this, such as young maturing extra-quickly.
Alpine Checks:
Soaring Phlyer:
Lives in the Sagan 4 Atmosphere (Troposphere), Darwin Alpine, North Dixon Alpine, and South Dixon Alpine. All are cold environments, and it doesn't seem to have any insulation. The fact it has four membranous wings may mean it loses heat very fast. They can soar for a long time without eating or moving, but it might be worth checking out. Ectotherms (spiders, baby spiders) can move through the troposphere, but the mortality rate is high.
These ones aren't quite on the verge of outcompetition or being eaten to extinction on the level of the desert tilecorn, but they are moderately vulnerable. I inspected the deserts first because it was the easiest.
Striped Phlocks might be at risk of extinction in Dixon-Darwin High Desert and Dixon-Darwin Desert due to Skewer Shrogs eating their young. Striped Phlocks are very visible without sufficient cause: zebras' stripes confuse tsetse flies, which carry strong diseases, but equivalents to those don't exist in this setting. They don't have much in the way of defense, so Skewer Shrogs' spears would likely pierce them easily. They can run fast, but Skewer Shrogs are noted to be able to run faster than their ancestors, so they might still be a threat. Skewer Shogs hunt by hiding behind rocks or in trees (likely Coniflors in this habitat, though they would stand out). Striped Phlocks might not have, say, keen vision or a sense of smell to alert them to hidden Skewer Shrogs.
Sabulyns don't match anything in Dixon-Darwin Desert. They have two predators: Mothheads and Skewer Shrogs.
Other than Ornate Gumjorns and Arid Plyents (the latter of which move), there aren't any large green flora in Dixon-Darwin Desert. Scaleskuniks and Plehexapods would still stand out against Ornate Gumjorns in shape and coloration, though. It might depend on the color vision or visual acuity of local predators, such as Skewer Shrogs.
Stride Sauceback:
The camouflage matches nothing but Bangsticks, and even that's likely a loose match, because Bangsticks are aquamarine and likely glassy-looking. It's possible they migrate to moist areas to lay their eggs, but not outright stated. Skewer Shrogs eat them.
---
Dixon-Darwin High Desert
Plehexapods and Sabulyns have the same issue of a lack of camouflage and predators as Dixon-Darwin Desert.
---
Bipedal Uktank: tied to water to reproduce, but lives in Drake High Desert. Has no notable adaptations to deal with this, such as young maturing extra-quickly.
Alpine Checks:
Soaring Phlyer:
Lives in the Sagan 4 Atmosphere (Troposphere), Darwin Alpine, North Dixon Alpine, and South Dixon Alpine. All are cold environments, and it doesn't seem to have any insulation. The fact it has four membranous wings may mean it loses heat very fast. They can soar for a long time without eating or moving, but it might be worth checking out. Ectotherms (spiders, baby spiders) can move through the troposphere, but the mortality rate is high.
That's a Beach Cheekhorn descendant, isn't it?
It's remarkable how many times triangle-formation eyes have turned into single-line eye configurations. I wonder if the position of its eyes is related to a strengthened lower jaw to support the cheek-horns.
They don't seem to have hooves. Is this a juvenile, or is it somewhat neotenous and holds onto that trait of milk-claws?
The artwork looks nice. I like the musculature.
It's remarkable how many times triangle-formation eyes have turned into single-line eye configurations. I wonder if the position of its eyes is related to a strengthened lower jaw to support the cheek-horns.
They don't seem to have hooves. Is this a juvenile, or is it somewhat neotenous and holds onto that trait of milk-claws?
The artwork looks nice. I like the musculature.
Drakablo: it's very big for something that eats purely insects as an adult, in a habitat, the desert, which surely wouldn't be extremely abundant in insects.
Wikipedia suggests sloth bears, which are 1.5 to 2 meters long, may be the biggest insectivores. Alvarezsaurus, which is thought to be an insectivore, is 1.4 meters long. Drakabloes are 1.8 cm long. Their ectothermy would reduce their food requirements, but they're still very big. Admittedly, Sagan 4's insect-like Sapworms, Vermees, and Dartirs can get very big by Earth standards, but the size range of local Fermi Desert species probably wouldn't be in the upper end. It doesn't have any adaptations to find the best prey or efficiently use its calories, either.
I suspect Fermi Desert's Snapjaws are on the big side for desert-dwelling animals, but "desert elephants" (desert-dwelling African bush elephants) exist at a similar or greater size. Elephants, though, have much broader diets than Snapjaws. With the exception of an post-creation mention of Mangot fruit-leaves being eaten by Snapjaws, Snapjaws' diets haven't adjusted to take advantage of tree-like flora that would give them a lot of biomass, and judging by the diet they have now, they might not be able to logically take advantage of it.
Cryobowls, Sunleaves, and Sunstalks are very common parts of the diet among Fermisaurs, so it would be worth checking out for competition.
Spinebacked Probeface eggs are laid into cryobowls. They should be extinct, judging by the Acrucravat's description.
Wikipedia suggests sloth bears, which are 1.5 to 2 meters long, may be the biggest insectivores. Alvarezsaurus, which is thought to be an insectivore, is 1.4 meters long. Drakabloes are 1.8 cm long. Their ectothermy would reduce their food requirements, but they're still very big. Admittedly, Sagan 4's insect-like Sapworms, Vermees, and Dartirs can get very big by Earth standards, but the size range of local Fermi Desert species probably wouldn't be in the upper end. It doesn't have any adaptations to find the best prey or efficiently use its calories, either.
I suspect Fermi Desert's Snapjaws are on the big side for desert-dwelling animals, but "desert elephants" (desert-dwelling African bush elephants) exist at a similar or greater size. Elephants, though, have much broader diets than Snapjaws. With the exception of an post-creation mention of Mangot fruit-leaves being eaten by Snapjaws, Snapjaws' diets haven't adjusted to take advantage of tree-like flora that would give them a lot of biomass, and judging by the diet they have now, they might not be able to logically take advantage of it.
Cryobowls, Sunleaves, and Sunstalks are very common parts of the diet among Fermisaurs, so it would be worth checking out for competition.
Spinebacked Probeface eggs are laid into cryobowls. They should be extinct, judging by the Acrucravat's description.
I agree. There is no rule against using outdated art, as long as it is accurate and comprehensible. I myself plan to release some very old art of some Kruggs sometime.
| QUOTE (SpeedTowel @ Sep 5 2021, 10:22 PM) |
| I have a Litustar descendant that gained manganese-based spiky defense but I forgot how to post images over the years lol |
I upload images to Imgur and then copy one of the links provided and post it here. However, other people may use Discord.
These pen sketches were uploaded to my computer at about January 4, 2021, though likely made months before. They're from the same sketch page as the Purple Wude, which is why the lineart is similar.
These were originally designed as Snoodcish descendants, although I might change their ancestors later. I had to re-write part of the "Barracuda" (Barrasnooda) description framework as the ecosystem changed with the addition of the Lurkroufos genus group.
Here's a snippet:
"Avoids competition with various Lurkroufos by swimming in the water column, while Lurkroufos tend to live at or near the bottom. In contrast to the Squish, it still migrates, if not very far. Its shoals are smaller than the Squish’s. It specializes in pelagic species."
For the "Octopus-catfish" (name pending), it has small-scale migrations and lives in swamps, hiding in wait in shadowy places. It has taste receptors all over its body. It stabs particularly large prey and savors its blood.
The lineart for the "Nobomination" doesn't look as good as your other linearts made on ChickenPaint.
Those are some interesting pipes...I wonder if they're flexible and worm-like, or hard like ram horns. I'm not sure why it would be an abomination, though. Is the bold coloration? It's certainly not as eye-searingly ugly as a Kugard.
Those are some interesting pipes...I wonder if they're flexible and worm-like, or hard like ram horns. I'm not sure why it would be an abomination, though. Is the bold coloration? It's certainly not as eye-searingly ugly as a Kugard.
I decided to make a Shrubrattus descendant for the next generation on a whim. It's heavily armored, like a pangolin, which makes it somewhat more adapted to argusraptor predation. (Armor is not completely drawn in this image.) It even has spindly bark-armor pieces over its butt-nostril. Argusraptors probably could bite through the armor eventually, unless I go the "petrolignin" route. However, because they were already good at hiding in Crystal Brambley thickets and surely have life histories better adapted to high predation pressure, they don't really need perfect armoring. (Or any, really: they weren't at risk of extinction, hence why I made them on a whim anyway)
I want to make sure the leg musculature makes sense before I proceed. All its scales would make re-drawing the legs difficult, especially since I plan to give it texturing.
Disgustedorite might know about whether the legs look good, but if anybody else has something to say, I'd like to hear it.
| QUOTE |
| If they are much larger than their ancestor, then I think the marshes and swamps their ancestor called home may be a bit too crowded for them to really move around in, I imagine they would likely prefer to breed in the open beach habitats. Honestly I think my biggest problem with the species right now is that the artwork depicting this species does not exactly fit the proposed lifestyle(which makes sense, since I imagine this was made for a different descendant of the chumsnapper). I would recommend updating the picture to better reflect its proposed lifestyle. |
Male saltwater crocodiles can reach 7 meters long, and they inhabit mangrove swamps. Females of the species grow to about 3 meters long, though.
For other references:
Biggest Mekong giant catfish: 2.7 meters.
Largest freshwater shark: about 2.8 meters.
I just looked at the topic sub-title...12 years, you say? I think that's worth putting in the submission trivia. It's certainly longer than my own long-delayed pre-hiatus designs. I've never actually seen the Chumsnapper page before, and I'm shocked to see it's from Generation 137, long before I showed up around Generation 153.
The artwork certainly doesn't look like it has three toes on the front feet...
Would it make sense to alter the Duramboar art to have two toes on the front feet, and the Duramceri to have one toe on the front feet?
Duramboars and Duramceris both migrate, and have significant populations in the tundra and desert, which would be open environments where such large herd-dwelling herbivores would find it difficult to hide very well. They'd have to be at least fairly good at running away, since they aren't particularly well-equipped to defend themselves with, say, horns and fangs or armor. Their evolution could somewhat parallel that of horses, justifying toe loss over time.
Would it make sense to alter the Duramboar art to have two toes on the front feet, and the Duramceri to have one toe on the front feet?
Duramboars and Duramceris both migrate, and have significant populations in the tundra and desert, which would be open environments where such large herd-dwelling herbivores would find it difficult to hide very well. They'd have to be at least fairly good at running away, since they aren't particularly well-equipped to defend themselves with, say, horns and fangs or armor. Their evolution could somewhat parallel that of horses, justifying toe loss over time.
After extensive discussion with OviraptorFan over private messages on the art, I have found OviraptorFan can't post in this thread. I discussed it with OviraptorFan, who gave me permission to post it myself.
I had made the art for this before the inexplicable possible toe loss of various thornbacks was pointed out. Kopout still hasn't responded, though.
I think I still have the original file, so if any adjustments are necessary to the leg shape or musculature, it should be pointed out now.
I think I still have the original file, so if any adjustments are necessary to the leg shape or musculature, it should be pointed out now.
There's a typo: "thru" should be "through".
"Front facing" would be easier to read as "front-facing".
"became of overt" Do you mean "more overt"?
There sure are a lot more travel hazards for Seashrogs than there used to be. I wonder how the species will respond to it.
"Front facing" would be easier to read as "front-facing".
"became of overt" Do you mean "more overt"?
There sure are a lot more travel hazards for Seashrogs than there used to be. I wonder how the species will respond to it.
I have completed the description. Unfortunately, I made it more disgusting than originally intended, but I wrote myself into a corner with their strict herbivory, tiny young, and super-fast growth rates, but underdeveloped parental care and no milk.
A lot of the early thornbacks made by Solpimr seem to have only one toe on their front and hind legs, which is why I depicted my descendants of them as having only one toe each. However, I should be able to slightly revise the art for most of them without much trouble to give them the correct number of toes, or at least intermediate toe numbers. The mixed-media colored pencil or pencil ones would be trickier to fix, though. If I couldn't simply copy-and-paste and appropriately blur copies of the toes that already exist, I would need to modify the descriptions and try to justify them.
If how much the issue can be fixed is limited by the impracticality of modifying lots of artwork, perhaps one can say there are no infectious diseases, or a limited number of pathogen types or lifestyles, on Mason. That would reduce the sheer impracticality of having such easily-injured respiratory tubes. A "soft reboot" of introducing pathogens that exploit respiration-tube injuries would strongly encourage future organisms to be made more plausible in the external parts of their respiration tubes.
Both Alpha and Beta have underdeveloped widespread/genus-group disease microbes selections, so, apparently, it's plausible there could be underdeveloped pathogens for this long.
Both Alpha and Beta have underdeveloped widespread/genus-group disease microbes selections, so, apparently, it's plausible there could be underdeveloped pathogens for this long.
Veinnach. Preview of its first two paragraphs:
"Its above-ground tissue resembles very thin, sickly, translucent reddish skin. A pattern of veins, with vein-like roots visible underneath it.
It forms notable aboveground growths on large hunks of decaying floral matter, chiefly crystalflora trunks, and occasionally the hard tissues of dead Binucleozoan fauna. Where there aren't large chunks of decaying floral matter, it may make only a small reddish "skin" thin as film, with no venation patterns, or no aboveground growths at all."
Less developed images:
Gelatinous Caonach (encountered technical difficulties in Blender)
These are two of an absurd number of direct descendants of the Wright Caonach. There's about 7 that are decently planned out, and several more that exist as fragmentary ideas.
Indeed, I'm considering trying to make some of the 7 decently-planned descendants grand-descendants of the Wright Caonach instead, because 7 is so enormous, and unlike, say, splitting from the Red Smoolk so much in the Mason Barren Wasteland, there are a lot more options within many of their habitats, including genus group options. Counting grand-descendants and great-grand descendants, there's at least 15 Caonach species.
Much later, once the planned area in Beta has a well-developed forest ecology and lots of tree and large fauna options, I plan to make the following landmark: Lethe Forest, a seemingly cursed forest of madness. Here's a preview from the first paragraph:
"The unique geology of Lethe Forest makes its soil, groundwater, and many organisms especially high in selenium and arsenic. Brainier organisms from un-adapted populations who live there for years gradually experience impaired intelligence, and become easier to catch and kill. Some organisms, often those without predators, eventually behave so erratically as to appear to go mad." It's really spooky but intended to be very plausible. Un-adapted organisms going mad is not its only "dark secret" (or oddity).
I mean "color" as in what the local flora look like. It doesn't make sense for bright green grasshoppers to exist in a desert, for example: the grasses of the desert wouldn't be bright green, at least most of the time.
Some flora are green, orange, various shades of purple, black or grey, teal...compare that to Earth, where large terrestrial plants are, in nature, typically shades of green. Grass and trees can change color depending on environmental conditions, but slow color changes can be connected to the seasons passing. On Sagan 4, something like a katydid can, in the spring, immediately jump from a green tree to an orange tree to a purple tree. On Earth, the katydid would just be jumping between trees with different shades of green.
if an area that used to be dominated by purpleflora suddenly has very big blackflora trees, large fauna being bright purple doesn't make as much sense as it used to. Predators with decent color vision, or even light contrast detection, could pick them off easily in the daytime. The formation of a Dixon-Darwin-Vivus supercontinent has made Great American Interchange-esque extinctions inevitable, as heralded by the Argusraptor complex. That species complex in particular wiped out several organisms poorly matched to their environments. Flora spread by shrogs has, and can, rapidly change the floral composition of an area, or at least beach areas.
If it's made more explicit multiple flora colors are dominant in an particular habitat, it might encourage the spread of fauna which can change their colors, fauna which have different colors at different parts of their lifespans, color polymophism in a population, organisms which have one pattern that's good enough for mixed color environments, or organisms which only match one environment but are very good at staying in there.
A beaver-like fauna, for example, might require different adaptations, or levels of adaptations, for eating chitin-based crystalflora compared to woody blackflora like Chameleon Obsidishanks. Since digestibility type can change rapidly, though (multiple herbaceous plants can become woody "trees"), it might be more trouble than it's worth to mention floral types.
Some flora are green, orange, various shades of purple, black or grey, teal...compare that to Earth, where large terrestrial plants are, in nature, typically shades of green. Grass and trees can change color depending on environmental conditions, but slow color changes can be connected to the seasons passing. On Sagan 4, something like a katydid can, in the spring, immediately jump from a green tree to an orange tree to a purple tree. On Earth, the katydid would just be jumping between trees with different shades of green.
if an area that used to be dominated by purpleflora suddenly has very big blackflora trees, large fauna being bright purple doesn't make as much sense as it used to. Predators with decent color vision, or even light contrast detection, could pick them off easily in the daytime. The formation of a Dixon-Darwin-Vivus supercontinent has made Great American Interchange-esque extinctions inevitable, as heralded by the Argusraptor complex. That species complex in particular wiped out several organisms poorly matched to their environments. Flora spread by shrogs has, and can, rapidly change the floral composition of an area, or at least beach areas.
If it's made more explicit multiple flora colors are dominant in an particular habitat, it might encourage the spread of fauna which can change their colors, fauna which have different colors at different parts of their lifespans, color polymophism in a population, organisms which have one pattern that's good enough for mixed color environments, or organisms which only match one environment but are very good at staying in there.
A beaver-like fauna, for example, might require different adaptations, or levels of adaptations, for eating chitin-based crystalflora compared to woody blackflora like Chameleon Obsidishanks. Since digestibility type can change rapidly, though (multiple herbaceous plants can become woody "trees"), it might be more trouble than it's worth to mention floral types.
I don't recall any intricate Alpha symbioses....perhaps next Generation can expand on that.
The fairly recent shrog influence (Great Shroggian Interchange, you could say) does lead to some level of keystone species habitat influence and notable symbioses. Indeed, I was planning on making two pseudo-ectoparasitic shrog symbiotes next Generation.
The fairly recent shrog influence (Great Shroggian Interchange, you could say) does lead to some level of keystone species habitat influence and notable symbioses. Indeed, I was planning on making two pseudo-ectoparasitic shrog symbiotes next Generation.
I agree with "generic vascularized tissue".
The easiest solution might be hermaphroditism wiith self-fertilization or cloning most of the time, like nematodes. (I think) One could say they reproduce with each other only rarely, causing slow spread of novel traits. One might be able to make exceptions for a few organisms where this makes sense, like Symbiotic Provucis, which are social, and have behavior easily adapted into some kind of internal mating process.
How about making the hearts relatively close to the surface of the body?
Perhaps they have translucent skin over the internal, near-surface tubes, making them appear to be external at first?
The "arteries" and hearts could be actually rete mirables and nerve clusters?
The "exterior" breathing vents could be retractable structures?
I, personally, am willing to adjust my Terrantor art so the breathing tubes make more sense and bulge out from the body only slightly.
For Quefts, I agree with just using "nerves", perhaps with using flagella-like cilia as cleaning or protective structures initially mistaken for nerves.
Maybe the gel is myelin? Maybe the gel is myelin, surrounded by fatty deposits of some sort? Maybe the infrared sensors are basically like normal infrared sensors, but enclosed by gel pockets as a protective measure?
Quefts' biology is so alien it's hard to read. Recommended diagrams would help.
Can Clarke be contacted about this? It would be best to ask Clarke for input.
The easiest solution might be hermaphroditism wiith self-fertilization or cloning most of the time, like nematodes. (I think) One could say they reproduce with each other only rarely, causing slow spread of novel traits. One might be able to make exceptions for a few organisms where this makes sense, like Symbiotic Provucis, which are social, and have behavior easily adapted into some kind of internal mating process.
How about making the hearts relatively close to the surface of the body?
Perhaps they have translucent skin over the internal, near-surface tubes, making them appear to be external at first?
The "arteries" and hearts could be actually rete mirables and nerve clusters?
The "exterior" breathing vents could be retractable structures?
I, personally, am willing to adjust my Terrantor art so the breathing tubes make more sense and bulge out from the body only slightly.
For Quefts, I agree with just using "nerves", perhaps with using flagella-like cilia as cleaning or protective structures initially mistaken for nerves.
Maybe the gel is myelin? Maybe the gel is myelin, surrounded by fatty deposits of some sort? Maybe the infrared sensors are basically like normal infrared sensors, but enclosed by gel pockets as a protective measure?
Quefts' biology is so alien it's hard to read. Recommended diagrams would help.
Can Clarke be contacted about this? It would be best to ask Clarke for input.
Mason seems to be very flat, with no peaks. Are you talking about the hills in the Black Triangle, or do you intend to release this with a new landmark of a few peaks?
Out of curiosity...what kind of metals? Iron, zinc, and nickel seem a few of the more plausible candidates.
It does seem odd a photosynthesizer would live in caves...can you clarify? Does it rely exclusively or almost exclusively on detritivory there?
Out of curiosity...what kind of metals? Iron, zinc, and nickel seem a few of the more plausible candidates.
It does seem odd a photosynthesizer would live in caves...can you clarify? Does it rely exclusively or almost exclusively on detritivory there?
Filling Out Mason Data
Most of Mason's data is unfilled. I've provided some research below for guidelines on how to fill in the information. With more precise information, it will be easier to do research on exactly how tolerant organims will need to be of extreme conditions. These are rough calculations, though: this level of planetary science is beyond my expertise.
---
Mason's radius: 2,866.95 km (Earth's moon is 1,737.4)
Atmospheric of Mars: 6.518 millibars.
Atmospheric pressure of Earth: 1,013 millibars.
Mount Everest summit: 265 millibars. (https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/pressure_vs_altitude.html)
According to EarthSky.org (https://earthsky.org/space/small-rocky-exoplanets-can-still-be-habitable/) the smallest habitable exoplanet is 2.7% of Earth's mass. In comparison, Earth's moon is 1.2% of Earth's mass, so for Mason to be habitable, it would have to be least proportionately more massive than Earth's moon: about ~2.166 times more massive.
Of course, this calculation presumes Europa can't be habitable, when it's theoretically habitable due to getting heat from tidal locking.
Incidentally, Sagan 4 is less massive than Earth: about 81%, by some rough calculations according to the most recent data, apparently from Week 15. (It looks like there was a missed opportunity for much stronger tides than Earth, and possibly slightly more tidal heating.)
---
The average temperature of Mason is 278 K, so: 40.73 Fahrenheit, or 4.85 Celsius. In other words, it's more than slightly above freezing.
Antarctica comparisons (from https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarct...imate/weather/)
Average annual temperature of the coast: -10 C (14 F)
Average annual temperature on interior highlands: -60 C (-76 F)
Averaged both: -31 F.
More precision:
Coastal:
Greater than: +10 C (50 F)
Below -40 C (-40 F)
Elevated Inland Temperatures:
-30 C in summer
-80 C in winter
In other words...Mason's really cold, but not to the point nothing but the hardiest of micro extremophiles can live there.
Since the Mason Barren Wasteland is actually really flat, though, it probably doesn't get so cold as Antarctica's elevated inland temperature.
---
Other Considerations for Lifeforms in “Apocalypse Circumstances”
Reef Considerations:
The Mason reef is what's left of Mason's ocean, located inside a super-deep trench. The trench protects the organisms inside from UV rays, but the photosynthesizers' positioning within is probably limited unless they can get really good at photosynthesizing from low-light conditions, really good at reflecting excess UV. Unless, of course, light unfiltered by an atmosphere ends up equivalent to "normal" full sun when the photosynthesizers are in the shade.
---
Meteor Craters:
Mason's "little to no atmosphere" (I presume very thin) atmosphere doesn't protect it from meteors. A plausible landmark, therefore, is a big meteor crater or a bunch of craters if it got bombarded by several small meteors. The crater's walls might provide sufficient shade to somewhat protect organisms from UV light or other sun damage. Later, the craters might provide enough shade to support brief, or highly salty, bodies of water.
---
Bounds of Plausibility:
Very high-living Himalayan jumping spider on Mt. Everest: found 22,000 ft (6.7056 km) up.
6.7 kilometers up, so about: 400 millibars. The size of female Himalayan jumping spiders is 5 mm.
Belgica antarctica, a wingless midge, the biggest purely terrestrial animal in Antarctica. It's about 2-6 mm long. (http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/antarctica-2/introductory-antarctic-resources/ten-antarctic-facts/) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgica_antarctica)
It's tiny, but big enough people probably won't need to consider micro-level physics (e.g., how fairy flies "swim" through air rather than flying) when making macro organisms for the Mason Barren Wasteland, especially if rocks, burrows, Smoolks, or Smoolk husks can be used for shelter.
Assuming Mason is supposed to be habitable enough that macro-level fauna could theoretically survive out in the Mason Barren Wasteland, 5 mm could be a good maximum guideline for height, perhaps with 6-10 mm as an absolute maximum if there’s very good reason.
Most of Mason's data is unfilled. I've provided some research below for guidelines on how to fill in the information. With more precise information, it will be easier to do research on exactly how tolerant organims will need to be of extreme conditions. These are rough calculations, though: this level of planetary science is beyond my expertise.
---
Mason's radius: 2,866.95 km (Earth's moon is 1,737.4)
Atmospheric of Mars: 6.518 millibars.
Atmospheric pressure of Earth: 1,013 millibars.
Mount Everest summit: 265 millibars. (https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/pressure_vs_altitude.html)
According to EarthSky.org (https://earthsky.org/space/small-rocky-exoplanets-can-still-be-habitable/) the smallest habitable exoplanet is 2.7% of Earth's mass. In comparison, Earth's moon is 1.2% of Earth's mass, so for Mason to be habitable, it would have to be least proportionately more massive than Earth's moon: about ~2.166 times more massive.
Of course, this calculation presumes Europa can't be habitable, when it's theoretically habitable due to getting heat from tidal locking.
Incidentally, Sagan 4 is less massive than Earth: about 81%, by some rough calculations according to the most recent data, apparently from Week 15. (It looks like there was a missed opportunity for much stronger tides than Earth, and possibly slightly more tidal heating.)
---
The average temperature of Mason is 278 K, so: 40.73 Fahrenheit, or 4.85 Celsius. In other words, it's more than slightly above freezing.
Antarctica comparisons (from https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarct...imate/weather/)
Average annual temperature of the coast: -10 C (14 F)
Average annual temperature on interior highlands: -60 C (-76 F)
Averaged both: -31 F.
More precision:
Coastal:
Greater than: +10 C (50 F)
Below -40 C (-40 F)
Elevated Inland Temperatures:
-30 C in summer
-80 C in winter
In other words...Mason's really cold, but not to the point nothing but the hardiest of micro extremophiles can live there.
Since the Mason Barren Wasteland is actually really flat, though, it probably doesn't get so cold as Antarctica's elevated inland temperature.
---
Other Considerations for Lifeforms in “Apocalypse Circumstances”
Reef Considerations:
The Mason reef is what's left of Mason's ocean, located inside a super-deep trench. The trench protects the organisms inside from UV rays, but the photosynthesizers' positioning within is probably limited unless they can get really good at photosynthesizing from low-light conditions, really good at reflecting excess UV. Unless, of course, light unfiltered by an atmosphere ends up equivalent to "normal" full sun when the photosynthesizers are in the shade.
---
Meteor Craters:
Mason's "little to no atmosphere" (I presume very thin) atmosphere doesn't protect it from meteors. A plausible landmark, therefore, is a big meteor crater or a bunch of craters if it got bombarded by several small meteors. The crater's walls might provide sufficient shade to somewhat protect organisms from UV light or other sun damage. Later, the craters might provide enough shade to support brief, or highly salty, bodies of water.
---
Bounds of Plausibility:
Very high-living Himalayan jumping spider on Mt. Everest: found 22,000 ft (6.7056 km) up.
6.7 kilometers up, so about: 400 millibars. The size of female Himalayan jumping spiders is 5 mm.
Belgica antarctica, a wingless midge, the biggest purely terrestrial animal in Antarctica. It's about 2-6 mm long. (http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/antarctica-2/introductory-antarctic-resources/ten-antarctic-facts/) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgica_antarctica)
It's tiny, but big enough people probably won't need to consider micro-level physics (e.g., how fairy flies "swim" through air rather than flying) when making macro organisms for the Mason Barren Wasteland, especially if rocks, burrows, Smoolks, or Smoolk husks can be used for shelter.
Assuming Mason is supposed to be habitable enough that macro-level fauna could theoretically survive out in the Mason Barren Wasteland, 5 mm could be a good maximum guideline for height, perhaps with 6-10 mm as an absolute maximum if there’s very good reason.
Possible basis for "space colony plants" (colony domes):
Biogenic glass:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogenic_silica
Old reference for diatoms forming silica structures
Glass sponges
Related material:
Leaf WindowsLeaf windows.
Algae photosynthesizing under quartz.
Moss photosynthesizing under quartz.
More detail on moss under quartz. (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235928)
Another sample of intense detail. Also mentions options other than quartz:
https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/552956
Photosynthetic extremeophiles which live under rocks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypolith
Related phenomenon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endolith
If it's still geologically plausible for the Black Triangle landmark to get relatively warm, despite Mason's thin, cold atmosphere, then it might be worthwhile to make it a secondary "outpost" of super-durable lifeforms using the six Smoolk species already there, since it would be very difficult to bring in new organisms from the Mason Reef there until it's substantially developed. (On a related note, I hope to propose a revision of the Agbees Formation so it's not so boring and minimal.)
(Related reading for the Black Triangle: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/que...a-black-desert)
Biogenic glass:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogenic_silica
Old reference for diatoms forming silica structures
Glass sponges
Related material:
Leaf WindowsLeaf windows.
Algae photosynthesizing under quartz.
Moss photosynthesizing under quartz.
More detail on moss under quartz. (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235928)
Another sample of intense detail. Also mentions options other than quartz:
https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/552956
Photosynthetic extremeophiles which live under rocks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypolith
Related phenomenon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endolith
If it's still geologically plausible for the Black Triangle landmark to get relatively warm, despite Mason's thin, cold atmosphere, then it might be worthwhile to make it a secondary "outpost" of super-durable lifeforms using the six Smoolk species already there, since it would be very difficult to bring in new organisms from the Mason Reef there until it's substantially developed. (On a related note, I hope to propose a revision of the Agbees Formation so it's not so boring and minimal.)
(Related reading for the Black Triangle: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/que...a-black-desert)
Problem:
Mason's magnetic field is insufficient to protect its atmosphere from solar winds. It has also been losing its volcanic activity over the eons, so the volcanoes can't replenish lost greenhouse gases. It therefore can't sustain a thick atmosphere.
Fixing the Planet:
The planet needs:
• Protection from cosmic rays (e.g., excess ultraviolet light)
• Water
• Warmth
Ideal: Oxygen (because otherwise macro-level fauna would probably be impossible, and micro-level fauna would likely be limited; see Loriciferans)
Possible:
• Fix The Atmosphere So Gases Don't Float into Space
• Lock the Useful Gases into Rocks or Non-Water Ices
• Lock the Useful Gases Under Ice or Underground
• Lock The Useful Gases into "Bunkers"
Making "Bunkers":
• Keep Protected from UV light and cosmic rays
• Keep Moist
• Keep Warm at least some of the time (above freezing point)
Harder to Do:
• Fix the Magnetic Field/Make a Substitute
Fixing the atmosphere will probably make achieving the other goals easier.
Making an artificial magnetic field for the whole planet would likely take many Generations, if not a whole Week, and there might not be sufficient time for that. For this route, it seems most practical to start at the localized level that makes their long-term survival more likely. (e.g., in “bunkers”, underground, or under ice)
Realistically, not all organisms would work along the same survival methods, because, realistically, they would be autonomously-existing and not created by a specific purpose. For a reasonable level of realism, it makes sense to create multiple organisms for multiple paths, including some which don’t help make the planet habitable, at least not directly.
---
Specific Methods
Possible:
• Turn the reef, or pockets of it, into enclosed biospheres. (biological glass panels?)
• Add moisture-catchers.
• Add sunlight-protection structures.
• Stop the water from getting up space: maybe making it quickly condense lower in the atmosphere and fall back down? Create ice nuclei? Create water vapor-catchers?
• Lock the useful gases into the "bunkers"?
Make thicker atmosphere, so less gas gets into space/so it’s easier to breathe/greenhouse gases.
Some Greenhouse Gases:
• Carbon Dioxide
• Methane
• Nitrous oxide
Prevent evaporation of water:
• Store water in underground pools, away from the reef in the canyons.
• Freeze the top of the water so the water in the reef can't escape?
Has Mason existed long enough, in the right conditions, to create fossil fuel resources? If so, the hydrocarbons in those could be useful for warming the planet.
Would it help to create tropospheric ozone, or would that just kill off everything left on the surface?
Live in "bunkers" for millions of years until an asteroid shows up, smacks Mason, and restarts Mason's seismic activity.
Titan has low gravity and theoretically could have life. Mason probably can't get so cold as Titan, because Mason's much closer to the sun, Sagan.
Deal with low gravity being bad at keeping the atmosphere together (??) by making an atmosphere of extra-heavy gases which can't float off into the upper atmosphere and into space.
Enduring Harsh Conditions:
Super-durable organisms in a few places on the surface (e.g., Black Triangle, which is probably warmer than most places)
Photosynthetic microbes living under quartz rocks (which protects them somewhat from the harsh conditions, but allows them to photosynthesize)
Super-deep microbes
Super-deep, microscopic "worms"?
Biofilms
Terrestrial close symbiosis (e.g., lichen, soil crusts)
Marine close symbiosis (e.g., tube worms)
---
Possible Research Comparisons:
The moon Titan
Mars
Antarctica
Barren deserts
Mason's magnetic field is insufficient to protect its atmosphere from solar winds. It has also been losing its volcanic activity over the eons, so the volcanoes can't replenish lost greenhouse gases. It therefore can't sustain a thick atmosphere.
Fixing the Planet:
The planet needs:
• Protection from cosmic rays (e.g., excess ultraviolet light)
• Water
• Warmth
Ideal: Oxygen (because otherwise macro-level fauna would probably be impossible, and micro-level fauna would likely be limited; see Loriciferans)
Possible:
• Fix The Atmosphere So Gases Don't Float into Space
• Lock the Useful Gases into Rocks or Non-Water Ices
• Lock the Useful Gases Under Ice or Underground
• Lock The Useful Gases into "Bunkers"
Making "Bunkers":
• Keep Protected from UV light and cosmic rays
• Keep Moist
• Keep Warm at least some of the time (above freezing point)
Harder to Do:
• Fix the Magnetic Field/Make a Substitute
Fixing the atmosphere will probably make achieving the other goals easier.
Making an artificial magnetic field for the whole planet would likely take many Generations, if not a whole Week, and there might not be sufficient time for that. For this route, it seems most practical to start at the localized level that makes their long-term survival more likely. (e.g., in “bunkers”, underground, or under ice)
Realistically, not all organisms would work along the same survival methods, because, realistically, they would be autonomously-existing and not created by a specific purpose. For a reasonable level of realism, it makes sense to create multiple organisms for multiple paths, including some which don’t help make the planet habitable, at least not directly.
---
Specific Methods
Possible:
• Turn the reef, or pockets of it, into enclosed biospheres. (biological glass panels?)
• Add moisture-catchers.
• Add sunlight-protection structures.
• Stop the water from getting up space: maybe making it quickly condense lower in the atmosphere and fall back down? Create ice nuclei? Create water vapor-catchers?
• Lock the useful gases into the "bunkers"?
Make thicker atmosphere, so less gas gets into space/so it’s easier to breathe/greenhouse gases.
Some Greenhouse Gases:
• Carbon Dioxide
• Methane
• Nitrous oxide
Prevent evaporation of water:
• Store water in underground pools, away from the reef in the canyons.
• Freeze the top of the water so the water in the reef can't escape?
Has Mason existed long enough, in the right conditions, to create fossil fuel resources? If so, the hydrocarbons in those could be useful for warming the planet.
Would it help to create tropospheric ozone, or would that just kill off everything left on the surface?
Live in "bunkers" for millions of years until an asteroid shows up, smacks Mason, and restarts Mason's seismic activity.
Titan has low gravity and theoretically could have life. Mason probably can't get so cold as Titan, because Mason's much closer to the sun, Sagan.
Deal with low gravity being bad at keeping the atmosphere together (??) by making an atmosphere of extra-heavy gases which can't float off into the upper atmosphere and into space.
Enduring Harsh Conditions:
Super-durable organisms in a few places on the surface (e.g., Black Triangle, which is probably warmer than most places)
Photosynthetic microbes living under quartz rocks (which protects them somewhat from the harsh conditions, but allows them to photosynthesize)
Super-deep microbes
Super-deep, microscopic "worms"?
Biofilms
Terrestrial close symbiosis (e.g., lichen, soil crusts)
Marine close symbiosis (e.g., tube worms)
---
Possible Research Comparisons:
The moon Titan
Mars
Antarctica
Barren deserts
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