Does anyone have anything to say about the Variegated Ferine and Quillboll?

" known to hunt on Chum Tropical Coast and Elerd Temperate Coast" should be "Hunting Only: Chum Tropical Coast, Elerd Temperate Coast". If it only does so occasionally or rarely, use: "Hunting Only: Chum Tropical Coast, Elerd Temperate Coast (Uncommon)", and swap out "uncommon" with "rare" if necessary.

"One Males" should be "on males".
"which used for" should be "which is used for".
Can a specific feature by described as "evolved"?
Can Wading Hearts "expect" eggs? Why not use "when a mated female in the pair is gravid, the pair will locate"?
"to construct an egg cradle from" The "from" should be removed.
I like the watercolor-like art.

It should be easy to adapt them so they technically take shallow bites of skin, which includes scales should some of their hosts have scales.

Yes, it makes sense for there to be a place for non-contest dioramas. I'll make a topic.

Do Gilltails have scales? It's an important detail for whether I should add scales for my Srugeing descendant, the Minosparro. The Polar Kelpoggle (Generation 139) and Left-Right Scalucker (Generation 153) descriptions suggests that they do.

Would you suggest I tweak the design's teeth, and then tweak its two intended descendants' teeth when I post them, or that I make a note in the retcon that its teeth are unusual?

QUOTE (OviraptorFan @ Jun 20 2021, 02:20 AM)

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Jun 16 2021, 09:18 AM) I'd like to clarify something about the Handlicker Dundi: it has duplicated incisors. This detail wasn't mentioned in the description, and it would help. Since I think this is a "gain permission topic" and not a "tell you what I intend to do as a record", I still require permission on clarifying the Tigmow and Sappy Pinknose descriptions. So wait, WHY does it have duplicated incisors? It seems like they likely derived from the buck tooth and became 5 total teeth on each jaw...

It was because I made the Handlicker Dundi purely to test out a new art software I obtained at the time, and I didn't make fauna with the same attention to detail or artistic ability as I usually do now. The teeth were probably inspired by the Pokemon Glalie. The teeth were an artistic choice, not a physiological one, but I believe it such a plausible, small-scale development it can pass.

QUOTE

I am submitting updated artwork for two of my older scylarians, the Bejeweled Emperor Scylarian and the Needlenose Scylarian. I'll post both so that the comparisons can be made.

Nergali, does the Bejeweled Emperor Scylarian need a new name? It doesn't look "bejeweled" anymore in its updated art.

https://sagan4.jcink.net/index.php?showtopic=685

Minnosparrow (Tumescaeus piscespasser)
Creator: Coolsteph
Ancestor: Srugeing
Diet: Omnivore (Cloudswarmers, Gushitos, Xenobees, Gliding Glushstrider, Gushflier, Cloudgrumps, Kuyasha)
Size: 40 cm long
Habitat: Maineiac Salt Marsh, Maineiac Temperate Coast
Support: Unknown
Respiration: Juvenile: Semi-active (Gill); Adult: Semi-active (Gill-Lung)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Muscle Activity)
Reproduction: Sexual, Spawning in Water, Two Genders

Minosparrows are air-breathing, fishlike fauna which breed in water, have air-breathing aquatic young, and spend their short adult lives almost constantly airborne.

Life Cycle

The young, which cannot fly, live in large pools and shallow bodies of water inland in the marsh. They are herbivorous, but in their adolescence gain a taste for meat and start eating various small fauna. However, they are good at leaping out of the water at a young age. The juveniles can swim rapidly, leap out of the water, and glide to nearby ponds, allowing them to evade aquatic predators or escape ponds which are getting too shallow.

Adults live for a few weeks along marshes and estuaries, flying in groups. They snap at each other with their beaks during the spawning season, but are not especially competitive or complex in their mating behaviors. They land at the edges of pools and shallow bodies of water inland to spawn.

Physiology

Minosparrows have somewhat narrower heads than those of their ancestor. Soft, fatty tissue smooths out some dips in its body, such as around its intake hole, making it more aerodynamic. Its lower fins are thick and fleshy, acting as “landing gear” and allowing the adults to land on soft mud or wet sand. Like its ancestors, it has no scales: its body is smooth and slippery. Like all gilltails, they do not have bones, so they are lighter than they may seem. They do have gristly reinforcing structures at the base of the wings and around the intake valve, however.

Their circulatory systems and muscle tissue is efficient at storing and using oxygen: a holdover from its distant ancestor the Chum Gilltail, which had to adapt to low-oxygen conditions. The Minosparrow, however, is even better at quickly using oxygen in its body, to the point its muscle tissue is dark red from its oxygen-storing pigments. Like opahs, they keep themselves warm through sustained muscle activity. They breathe in the following way: humid air enters their intake valves, the air goes through tubes in their bodies and is absorbed by lunglike structures in the back, and is then "exhaled".

The upper fins have sensory strands, giving it information on its body’s stability in the air. (It lacks the inner ear mechanisms common among Earth animals that give balance information.)

Lacking teeth, they swallow prey whole. They favor Cloudswarmers, and fauna over flora.

Behavior

The adults have lifestyles somewhat more like sparrows or swallows than flying fish; their tails become proportionately shorter and less muscular, since they don't move their tails rapidly to get out of the water. Where the wind is weak, though, they may strongly leap upward like a stranded fish to take off. They can take off quickly, but don't fly especially fast or high, similarly to gamefowl like turkeys. Indeed, they usually fly about four feet up from the ground. They can't make especially sharp or quick turns, though they can still navigate well when the obstacles are sparse. Their greatest strength is stamina, allowing them to fly for three to five hours at a time with no rest, or longer if there’s coastal breezes. They feed almost constantly on small, airborne organisms in the marsh and outlying coastlines, and are active both at night and at day.

They are not particularly intelligent, and occasionally smack into Leafy Plyentworts (which lure in the Gushitos they eat) like a bird smacking into a glass office building. Their camouflage, schooling, slippery bodies and large numbers of young ensure their survival. They have several predators, including Tipsnappers, an occasional predator.

" Its jaw bones are sensitive to vibrations, allowing it to sense potential danger while grazing." Can you elaborate? I assume you mean to say it can hear sound carried through the air, since its jawbones aren't in contact with the ground. What's the anatomical changes allowing it to "sense vibrations"? What is the range of frequencies it can detect?

I recommend phrasing other than "to make room for its cheeks". Perhaps "The snowy florasnapper's beak is far less extensive, making room for its cheeks".

"fuzztern" don't you mean "fuzzkern"?

I wonder how any Fuzzkern descendants will adapt to its much more efficient new propagator.

"better" is a bad phrasing to use. "Its snout's shape is better-suited than its ancestor's for opportunist feeding" is fairer and more specific.

I like its shape, pattern, and pose.

QUOTE

Could I evolve a species from the Caliga then? Since you want it gone.

I think I'll try out the official art re-do option first.

My mistake: it's the Greencrest that has a problem, not the Greengill. The Greencrest is not part of its diet, and so this is irrelevant.

Perhaps it's not as much of a deadly superpredator as I imagine it to be, and even if it were, Caligas surely won't be the only ones to go extinct. I was simply surprised to see a mention of that particular organism again.

"one of its arm" should be "one of its arms".
"unimpededly" I do not think that is a word.
Is that pattern on its back due to being underwater, or an actual pattern?
I'm not sure exactly how its electrical production works, and therefore how plausible having a shocking grasp is.

I like the Imprisoned Wolley inclusion. It's nice to see cameos of other organisms in main images.

The Greengill had a physiology problem, though, which hasn't been corrected yet. If the Greengill's not part of any organisms' diet, it would be easier to decanonize it or wipe it out with a plague, if necessary (though those are extreme measures that I don't think will be needed). In any case, including the Greengill might slow down the Shell-riding Shocker's approval speed, since it's dependent on the Greengill problems being fixed.

Feel free to make the Caliga extinct: its artwork is the ugliest official artwork I've ever submitted. If there's ever an official-art re-do option, I'll do that one first.

You're right, it does have a tundra. I suppose I forgot it existed, despite making several Fermi Tundra organisms and working on a Fermi Tundra flora, simply because Fermi Temperate Beach gets so much more attention/biodiversity, partly due to the seafaring Shrew exchanges.

A few flora on Fermi and its coast, namely Bonespires, Branching Bonespires, Bonegroves and Mangrovecrystals have big, obvious effects on their environments, noted in their descriptions. They, along with other large or abundant flora, would likely exert such a great effect on their environment as to justify large-landmark status, or even one or two new habitats, should Fermi still exist at a substantial size next Week.

Since the Driftwood Islands are allowed to be huge landmarks with specific organism sets, one or two large (but comparatively far smaller) habitats sufficiently large and distinct for large organism endemism should be sensible.

Socotra may suggest adding new landmarks or habitats. Socotra is both a desert (well, bordering on semi-desert) and an island, although Fermi is much, much bigger than Socotra, and probably closer to the size of New Zealand. Socotra has a few xeric woodlands of dragons' blood trees. Since Socotra can have multiple distinct habitats, despite its tiny size, it makes sense Fermi could have a temperate beach, a polar beach, a desert and some kind of densely forested area.

For others' convenience, the relevant descriptions of explicitly habitat-providing or altering flora are below:

Bonespires:

"A dense, spreading root system lies just beneath the sand[...] [helping to] [...] stabilize the ground it grows out of. Because of this smaller flora that typically fair [sic] poorly in loose sand are able to thrive around the bases of these giants, thus furthering the stabilization of the ground. Also, because of this increased stabilization of the ground, oasis [sic] have also become far more common, resulting in an overall increase of fresh water on Fermi Island, which the bonespires and other flora quite eagerly exploit."

"Those [seeds] that do manage to germinate will eventually give rise to a new floral giant that will join with others in steadily increasing, if somewhat sparse, forests that have now begun to cover the majority of the island."

Branching Bonespire:

"Other than that, the branching bonespire is the same as its ancestor, and because it possesses the same root system, it also stabilizes the desert's soil and in turn, helps terraform Fermi desert."

Bonegroves also extend out from Fermi Temperate Beach to Fermi Temperate Coast, and Mangrovecrystals grow in Fermi Temperate Coast.

"A reductions" should be "a reduction".
"months time" should be "a month's time".
It's nice to see polar Fermi getting attention, too. With Fermi having only three habitats, it's easy for organisms to live on all of it.

I'd like to clarify something about the Handlicker Dundi: it has duplicated incisors. This detail wasn't mentioned in the description, and it would help.

Since I think this is a "gain permission topic" and not a "tell you what I intend to do as a record", I still require permission on clarifying the Tigmow and Sappy Pinknose descriptions.

The "broken off" and "thagomizer" errors are still there.
EDIT: Corrected my own inexplicable repetition error.

I suppose the fact it's probably a cold desert, not a particularly hot desert, means there would be some fauna overlap between the desert and polar habitats.

"not but smooth flesh" Naught but smooth flesh.
"purplery" I figure that's a joke about so many flora on Sagan 4 being purple rather than green. I suggest adding that as joke jargon to a Sagan 4 glossary.
"to the later" should b "to the latter".

I wonder if Seashrogs are a predator. They vaguely resemble some of its prey species, including Serpungoes. (Serpungos?)

I like the design, color, and shading.

"broken off" should be "broken-off".
"their thagomizer" should be "their thagomizers".

Consider the following:
"One should beware the Romans for their well-organized armies and long sword." Romans would not all possess a single sword among them; they would have multiple swords. Do they outlive their poison reserves, or does it accumulate within their bodies practically indefinitely?

"notable larger" should be "notably larger".
"both are adults are" Did you mean "both are adults who are" or "both adults are"?

You mentioned "almost no natural predators". Are you suggesting that there would probably be a few predators in the near future, or that they already have predators which eat the young before they're sufficiently poisonous? If so, could you point out a few?

Alpine Cirrus (Filamentocirrus cinereus)
Creator: Coolsteph
Ancestor: Hair Nimbuses
Habitat: Drake Alpine, Drake Boreal (4.6 km and up), Mae Volcanic (4.6 km and up)
Size: 18 cm long colonies
Diet: Photosynthesis (UV Light), Diazotrophy
Support: Unknown
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Ectothermic
Reproduction: Sexual (Cellular Mating), Asexual (Colony: Fragmentation; Cell: Binary Fission)

Alpine Cirruses form large colonies of downy strands. In Drake Alpine, Alpine Cirruses live practically everywhere: other than Larachoys, it has few flora to compete with in its ground-hugging flora niche. Alpine Cirrus colonies are delicate, and easily smashed apart by organisms so small and light as a Loafpick. Thus, in Drake Boreal, it occurs only in the higher altitudes with somewhat sparser large, heavy fauna or large trees to block its light, and it is not so common, with smaller colony sizes.

Alpine Cirruses photosynthesize from their fronds. As the fronds absorb UV light, the photosynthetic pigment seems colorless to human eyes. They lack roots, but can slowly absorb minerals from dust, dusty breezes, and dung. Alpine Cirruseses are diazotropic, allowing them to fix nitrogen from the air.

Alpine Cirruses’ ancestors typically lived in clouds, which are more consistently wet and somewhat insulated from intense UV light than their alpine habitats. However, though Alpine Cirruses live in areas where ground-level cloud cover is common, the protective clouds are not constant, making photo-protection more necessary. Its low concentrations of allomelanins, a dark brown photoprotective pigment, help it survive sunny days, setting it apart from its colorless ancestor.

The species has only one defense against fauna that would eat it or break it apart: its two poisons, lyngbyatoxin A and debromoaplysiatoxin. The poisons cause rashes similar to seaweed dermatitis upon skin contact with various fauna, such as Loafpicks and their relatives. The poison is quick to decay, however, making litter layers of Alpine Cirruses harmless. It is more of an issue in Drake Alpine, where they exist in greater numbers.

Due to nitrogen fixation, Alpine Cirruses gradually make the thin soil of alpine and boreal habitats higher in nitrogen. Dead colonies turn greyish-brown and then dark brown as they decay. They form a significant litter layer in the higher altitudes of Drake Boreal. Alpine Cirruses’ spread by wind is limited, as they tend to be larger and heavier than their Hair Nimbuses ancestors. Therefore, their distribution is limited to fairly moist, high-altitude, high-UV habitats without too many large fauna to damage them or large flora to block their light.

----

I'm having trouble finding the height listings for habitats or habitat types. I know it used to exist, but I can't find it. I know it used to mention Mt. Stratohorn, Mt. Cryostone or both. (Surprisingly, since Mt. Cryostone should have long since become an extinct landmark.)

The art seems incomplete. Even if the art style is such the outer edges are supposed to be white, it looks more like an incompletely colored-in coloring book page. If coloring the whole thing is too much, cropping it to just the Cliff Bristler itself or its immediate surroundings would be easier.

Though they might get cropped out, it's nice to see those Signpost Crystamboos in the background. They seem pretty popular as a foodstuff or mention in other description.

"newer branches" should have a comma after it.
"fall of" is a typo.
"up in the mountains. But rain is infrequent" Should be merged using a comma.

"organisms vision." Organism's vision.
"bees and wasps" They are not bees and wasps, but Xenobees and Xenowasps, which fulfill a similar niche but are not related.
"larva and eggs" Larvae.
Notably, in Winnie the Pooh playsets, trees and wooden artifacts (e.g., chairs) are purple, not normal tree colors, so there's even more of a Winnie the Pooh association between this organism and its purpleflora habitats than you might expect.

Srugeings live in Manineiac Polar Coast, Maneineiac Temperate River, Maineiac Temperate Riparian, and Maineiac Volcanic. The only one way Srugeings could get to Maineiac Volcanic would be by existing on the beach, such as Maineiac Polar Beach, but they do not. Maineiac Polar Beach was also listed as one of their original habitats. Did they go locally extinct in that area at some point? I figure it was either a species-transfer oversight or an end-of-week extinction event that caused some extirpations, because no organism descriptions mention outcompeting them in Maineiac Polar Beach. This is important to figure out the potential habitats of splits made for this contest.