What a beautiful sauceback. Kinda interesting that it's almost an alpha-take on a Siluro, which are already going down a route of becoming beta-take on saucebacks.

QUOTE (OviraptorFan @ Mar 10 2021, 07:37 PM)

QUOTE (Nergali @ Mar 10 2021, 04:12 PM) Not sure which I like more, the mainline or the subspecies. I think it might be the latter slightly, due to the more vibrant colors and more prominent ears. Huh, alright then, anyways do you think it’s good?

Oh, sorry if I didn't make it clear, but I like both a whole lot. Looks good to me.

Looks good to me, though maybe just vegetation instead of rotting vegetation, since it will rot regardless, and it would be easier for them to find in the first place.

I like the design of this species. If I might make a suggestion, but perhaps some rotting vegetation should be included in the nest mounds, in order to provide some warmth for the developing eggs.

I noticed that the jaws of the top image are larger and broader than those of the bottom one. The description doesn't mention this, but might this be a case of sexual dimorphism, or a subspecies?

Not sure which I like more, the mainline or the subspecies. I think it might be the latter slightly, due to the more vibrant colors and more prominent ears.

I think my favorite coloration is the top one. The vibrant green eyes against the black feathers is quite striking, and almost evokes something with night vision goggles. I'm guessing the loss of echolocation, while partly fueled by the presence of eyes, was also in part due to many of the regions these inhabit are no doubt very noisy places to live, what with all the Cleaner Ukneuks tapping their trees, Umbral Sphinxs squeaking their choruses in the early morning and late evening, and such.

What a lovely shrew, I especially like the coloration of the tail pattern.

Updated description for the Leatherback Pipent:

"After countless generations of having evolved to thrive in an aquatic environment, it would seem odd that one lineage of pipents has instead chosen to split from its kin and return to life on land. And yet, with the current devastation that has wracked Western Drake and depleted it of many large fauna, the Leatherback Pipent has found a unique set of conditions under which it could thrive nearly unopposed, with a rich bounty of small fauna and flora upon which they can feed. Already showing signs of shedding its aquatic vestiges, such as exchanged its flippers for legs, it now support itself with the aid of its ancestral namesake, the nails. Said nails have nearly fused together, provided it with additional support to stand upright, even if it has come at the cost of limiting the mobility of its limbs in general, and with a specialized pair on each leg functioning akin to a hoof in nature. In regards to defense, they have evolved a thick leathery skin - not unlike the heavy hide of a rhinoceros of earth - that encompasses the back of their heads, backs, and breathing holes. These are especially useful in females, who during the mating season in early spring will compete amongst one another for the best potential male mates, as the ratio to the males to females is twelve. Males are distinguishable from females due to their smaller size. They mate once every two years, and the young are born several months later and cared for by the mother until they are old enough to survive on their own.

They have evolved tail spikes in order to defend themselves, using them to strike out at any potential threat as as well as when combating one another over a mate. They still retain a slightly amphibious nature, in that they are capable of swimming to a limited degree, though nowhere near as efficiently as their ancestors did. However, it has been sufficient enough to allow them to spread far and wide, allowing for four separate breeding colonies to arise on Day, Dacmat, Jim, and Mini Jim Tundra Islands, as well as several minor ones on the mainland as well."

Here's a retcon for the description of the two arrowhead descendants of this (diets and reproduction strategy will be changed to match the ancestor):

Sunlight Arrowhead (formerly just Arrowhead)

The Sunlight Arrowhead has doubled in size compared to its ancestor, the Arrowhead, thanks in part to a diet rich in a wide variety of planktonic species. With little direct competition in its niche, it has managed spread along the coasts of Barlowe and Dixon, and they now thrive in the temperate to tropical waters. There presence alongside other species of Arrowheads has begun to put pressure on several species of distantly related Rorms. While the latter have long since been established in the waters of Sagan IV, the evolutionary adaptations of the Arrowheads, such as their improved feeding structure and tiny stinging cells for incapacitating larger prey, have given them a definitive edge over them.

The exoskeletons of the Sunlight Arrowheads have evolved a smoother carapace in order to make them more hydrodynamic. In addition, their tails are now completely encased in the aragonite-infused chitinous shell, allowing them to deliver more thrust with each flick. Finally, the mandible-like tusks have further extended, and can even be brought together with the top of the "mouth" in order to create a tight seal in order to prevent prey from escaping the tentacled maw within.

Beyond these morphological changes, the Sunlight Arrowheads are similar to the Arrowheads in regards to their diets and reproductive strategies.

- - -

Twilight Arrowhead

Evolving rather closely alongside its surface dwelling cousin, the Twilight Arrowhead features much of the same internal features and anatomy as their ancestors, from which they have split. Differences, however, do exist. For one, they are capable of producing clicks by smacking their tusks against the sides of their head. The sharp sound produced bounces off distant objects, and the sightless Twilight Arrowheads will then detect the returning vibrations in order to aid them in navigating through water, in a matter not unlike a weak form of sonar. This complements both their chemosensory senses as well as their primitive capacity to detect bioelectric signals.

Adults have small, notably thinner patches exoskeleton along their sides where they can form small bioelectric currents and - unintentionally - flashes of light so that they may more effectively communicate with one another. This light come about by sudden retractions of muscles visible through the chitin, which is intended to produce a bioelectrical signal but also forces oxygen into the regions. Luciferin-like compounds, present in the flesh, are triggered by this sudden flush of oxygen to begin undergoing luminescence. In the darker depths of the ocean, and with le need to compete against surface currents, the Twilight Arrowheads are not as powerful a swimmer as their surface-dwelling kin, but this has not proved evolutionarily disadvantageous for them as their are fewer predators in the regions they inhabit with which they would need to deal with.

What a lovely predator. Going to be interesting if the descendants of these ever encounter those of the shrogs.

Thanks for pointing those out, I've made the necessary changes.

I look forward to seeing your tuskents, Coolsteph. And ya, there are similarities due to their habitats.

And yes, they have immunity to the cellulosebane. The enzymes that arose to denature the toxic chemicals evolved in the ancestor of the Genteel Tuskent, originally as an adaptation to survive the deadly airborne spores that led to the unintended side-effect of allowing them to exploit cellulosebanes.

I've made the fix. Sorry about that. And yes, I'm keeping this to the colder regions, that way others can have them split into the warmer regions if they want. (That and the fact that its essentially black desert sand, so this would stick out more there).

Pointed this out in elaborations, but you might find this interesting. The crest of the Fluneinzee may not be a crest at all (though it could certainly have evolved into one), as the Arboreal Flunejaw describes it as such:

"Another curious feature is that their farthest-back pair of eyes have been extended backwards and act much like the eyes of chameleons, able to rotate so that they can see behind themselves."

This seems to describe it instead as a pair of thick, fleshy eyestalks capable of being rotated independently of one another. While there's nothing stopping it from evolving into a crest, I figured you might like this detail.

Edit to diet as per Dorite's suggestion.

Made the edits, and yes, I was intending for them to have a more distinct appearance for a land-bound Wingworm that didn't walk on its wings or had stubby legs underneath it.

These are as adorable as always, Dorite. It's nice to see the relationship between shrshrogg and shallnitor continue to grow, even if some juveniles might prefer not to be taken on fishing trips.

I'm loving the color patterns on this, the contrast between the purple shade of the back and the creamier colors of the underbelly are superb.

Do they have any tactics for dealing or interactions with the larger inhabitants of the river, such as the River Lyngbakr? For example, might they topple logs into the water to create zones where large predators would have difficulty maneuvering, creating safer spots for themselves to hunt?

Wub (Paulocursor minimacimex)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Blind Wingworm
Habitat: Drake Boreal, Drake Temperate Rainforest, Drake Temperate Woodland, Darkov Temperate Beach, Ramul Temperate Beach
Size: 1.25 cm long
Diet: Sapivore (Forest Quone, Qupe Tree, Lurtress, Lurspire, Lurcreeper, Fuzzweed, Sum-Humgrove, Darwin Thornshell, Sunstalks, Supershrooms, Sapshrooms, Marbleflora, Pioneeroot), Detritivore, Scavenger
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite (Eggs), Very Fast Breeder

Over millions of years, some Blind Wingworms split from the main lineage and began to lose their capacity for flight. As they already had few predators to worry about, outside of the occasional adolescent Signaltail on land or Vicious Volox in the water, this evolutionary transition did not prove to be too unfavorable, and was retained in future generations. Continued competition with their flying kin for grazing spots, however, would continue to put pressure upon this group of flightless mutants. As such, natural selection selected for those that grew to smaller sizes, as they would require fewer resources to survive, all awhile their population, though limited, slowly spread towards the entrance of the cave system. Inevitably, competition with their flying kin would lead to this group to split even further, forcing some of them to begin to migrate out of the Sublyme Limestone Caves in search of space and food. While the descendants of this group would go onto thrive, those land-bound kin who had remained within the cave system slowly died out..

Life outside the cave system proved to be an incredibly lucrative opportunity for the early ancestors of the Wubs. The warmth of the sun, compared to the cooler depths of their ancestral cave homes, helped to essentially kickstart their metabolisms into high gear. To satiate their newfound hunger, they needed to adapt their diets accordingly, and microbes would no longer do. With their numerous sharp "teeth", they no longer scrape away at patches of microbial colonies, but now instead utilize them to burrow through the outmost layers of floral flesh in order to reach the vital fluids hidden within. Gorging upon this treasure trove of vital nutrients, Wubs must consume up to twice their own body weight every day or else risk death by starvation. Thankfully, the continent of Drake is covered in vast forests of suitable food sources, as well as plenty of decaying floral matter and rotting corpses upon which the Wubs may feed.

With an overabundance of new, nutritious foods to consume, the growth rate of the Wubs is significantly faster than that of its ancestors, and their turnover rate, and thus population numbers, is quite high. This isn't without cost, though, as this rapid growth has also led to significantly reduced lifespans, with most Wubs rarely living beyond one to two months at most. Many instead only last a few weeks before being killed by one of the typical culprits, such as exposure, starvation, injury, disease, or predation.

To combat a high mortality rate, reproduction in the Wub needed to evolve accordingly. When two healthy Wubs meet, will engage in sexual intercourse with one another in order to spread their genes. As they lock their tails together, the sheathe that has evolved to protect their otherwise vulnerable reproductive opening will spread apart, revealing the slit within. After several seconds of direct contact, genetic material will be exchanged and the eggs of both Wubs will be fertilized, after which they will subsequently go their separate ways. Should both survive, they will go on to lay nearly a hundred eggs. While roughly 90% of the resulting babies will die, more than enough will survive to help carry on the species.

Morphologically, Wubs have changed in a number of ways. As they are flightless, their middle pair of wings are almost always covering their bodies except when they produce sound, and in function they are not unlike the elytra of earth beetles. The frontmost pair of wings, already adapted for echolocation, have developed a thicker coating of feathery hairs for picking up sounds. The third pair of wings have perhaps undergone the most extreme adaptation of all. Now covered in chitin, it is a stiff structure no longer utilized in directional flight but instead rapidly beat them against a similarly chitin-covered - and now eyeless - tail segment. This produces a series of sharp chirps, which helps the Wubs "see" the world around them as well as communicate with one another. But this is not the only way they see. As they are no longer cave-bound, their eyes have begun to function once more, though they are now only capable of detecting differing levels of light and shadow.

Locomotion has changed as well. While most worms have legs held underneath their bodies, the Wubs have evolved an extra set of joints in their legs which allow them to hold them by their sides. This allows them to better grip onto the surfaces of flora and such, as well as allow them to more quickly move about. This is not that dissimilar to how their distant cousins, the Janits, move about. A case of convergent evolution, though in the Janits the jointed limbs were formed by heavily modified wings rather than alternations to the legs like it is in the Wubs.

- - -

While Wub populations can be relatively stable most of the time, on rare occasions hordes of them may arise. Should conditions be just right, they can explode in terms of population numbers, leading to vast swarms of them crawling over every available flora as they seek to satiate their hunger. With so many of them, huge swaths of forest can be drained dry, leading to a lack of food for large herbivores for a period of time, though smaller hunters will often experience population booms of their own as they gorge upon the Wub hordes, which is often enough to return them to reasonable numbers.

Kinda wondering if we'll get any sauropod-equivalents (aka, really huge herbivores) to graze upon all these massive flora, as well as numerous boring species and those that dig them out of the "bark".

Oh man, walking under this for most creatures must be like walking under a bunch of coconut trees for us here on earth. There's always a risk one of its "fruit" might be knocked loose and cause a fatal injury should it strike you on the head.

It occurred to me, but would the hot sap also serve as a defense against sapshrooms and sapworms?

You shouldn't feel concerned about your art, it's still way better than mine.

What defenses does this have against herbivores, beyond its size? Presumably boring minikruggs and sapshrooms might be a mild threat to these.

What beautiful plumage these ones have. I wonder if we'll see true gliding descendants of this in the future, ones that arose from specimens that furthered their feathery parachutes for new purposes.

Gotta concur with Dorite on convergent evolution. For example, here on earth "trees" have evolved multiple times throughout history.