"Its skin is dark to help it resist increased exposure to ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere, though its feather color always depends on the color of rocks in the biome it resides in with spots or stripes to blend with low-growing flora. "

I would break this into two sentences personally

"Its skin is dark to help it resist increased exposure to ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere.

Though its feather color , however, always depends on the color of rocks in the biome it resides in with spots or stripes to blend with low-growing flora. "




Top notch buzzard

Holding a territory for a long time would be due to greater fitness, when producing 6 young a year at the most then being able to produce young for a long time is helpful to increase your genetics in the gene pool.

After that I'm curious why there are parrots that can live up to 90, and why giant tortoises on an island live for 200, suspected maybe 500 by some people.

There are some things I could tweak though given low offspring numbers.

Eat food, make babies, watch babies run off and get eaten sometimes because they're not poisonous yet.

Get in a deadly fight at age 143 maybe, after losing their territory 20 years prior.

Have a tree branch fall on them at 45.

They live on a continent, lots of room in my opinion for something that only lives 300 years and sticks to one chunk of woods.

They usually die before that.

But they would make great pets.

This is for the Wayne barlowe competition

Wood Wraith Luxexspiravit nigrumnemorim

Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Needlewing
Habitat: Ichthy Tropical Riparian, Dixon-Darwin Boreal
Size: 50 cm
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Omnivore (Vermees, Minikrugg, Silkrugg, Teacup Saucebacks, Neuks, Dartirs, Sapworms, Mikuks, Feluks, Poisonous Chickenpear, Berry Arbourshroom (berries)) Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Pouch


The Wood Wraith split from its ancestor the Needlewing and took on a nocturnal role in the environment. This allowed them to avoid diurnal predators, as well as Daytime competition. Their eyes have enlarged for greater light sensitivity. Their pupils can nearly take up the entire visible surface area of each of their eyeballs. The back of the eye holds a large reflective surface, or tapetum lucidum, which increases their light sensitivity at night.

Their standard method of hunting is poking and sifting through leaf litter and loose soil with their down-turned beaks, either nabbing food right there or feeling vibrations of prey fleeing in the leaf litter. Once captured, the food is swallowed whole. Larger prey items that are found outside of the leaf litter may be ambushed in the dark before being dispatched with a few jabs and kicks.

The skin on much of the body has become thicker and wrinkled, these excessive wrinkles are caused by the formation of a mucus environment to suspend accumulated poisons from their diet. The most notable poison is the arsenic based compound obtained from hunting Poisonous Chickenpear chicks. The youngest chicks have very little poison in them, while the difficult to eat larger chicks have more. This results in poison having to be collected over time, and its availability to be somewhat seasonal, which means their own concentration can fluctuate if without a source for long enough.

The Wood Wraith is territorial and polyandrous in habit, with multiple male territories residing within a massive female territory. Each individual is solitary within their own border, heavily competing with their respective sexes. Territorial disputes and courtship are both performed with specialized display organs derived from a melding of their pouch and front limbs. The hollow of their pouch extended under the skin into the lengths of their front limbs, which allowed an individual to appear overall larger to their opponent. The success of this spurred the elongation of the limbs and formation of inflatable sacs within them. These sacs are inflated by squeezing the pouch to force air inside up into the balloons. The tubing that allows this action remains directly under the skin as an artifact of its origin. Spotted across the surface of the display organs in the skin are clusters of blueish reflective guanine crystals. Competitive displays are highly confrontational, facing directly toward one another with ballooned limbs extended fully out from their sides, usually circling one another to size up the rival or find a weak point. Courtship displays of both sexes are more complex, involving flaring of their limbs, shaking, and bowing. The combination of the guanine crystals waving on extending limbs next to a pair of large illuminated eyes in moonlight can have a very eerie appearance to an onlooker.

That visual form of display, however, is reserved for close proximity interactions. General announcements of presence is done via their wings, which have been specialized into wooden clappers. The sound produced is similar to the musical instrument the hyoshigi. During their rounds patrolling their territory, when not hunting, they will periodically clap them together to create unique songs. These clappers are formed from lignification of the needles of the wings, which are also fused. The majority of the tissue dies and dries, with a remaining tough stand of living tissue along their outer face supporting them. The dead tissue is shed and replaced by a new batch of fused needles every three or more years.

If a confrontation is not resolved via sound or sight, by song or vivid display, then rivals will resort to violence. Their heads have a tough skin stretched across a thick and hardened skull, which they use to bash into one another. The sides of their skull have ridges that flare out to protect the more delicate tubing and front limbs from immediate assault. If head bashing continues without retreat, and one opponent gains the upper hand and flanks the other, they will attempt to claw or gouge at their enemy's sides, which can cause real damage. Most confrontations end long before this point.

As Wood Wraiths are a polyandrous species their breeding season is very long. A female will breed with as many males as she can hold in her territory, storing sperm from each of them for use. She will briefly gestate multiple small batches of young with this mix, then pass each batch off to a male upon meeting. The male will store the mixed young in his pouch, feeding them the majority of what he catches. During this period the male is unable to use his display sacs, otherwise, the air in his pouch will be drawn out and the cargo he was entrusted with will perish. During this time his territory will shrink as other males move into the area, they too becoming available for the reigning female.

The territory structure in this breeding system has certain trade-offs. For males having a greater range of territory within a female's territory means a larger percentage of her sperm storage will be his, more of the resulting offspring being direct from his line. However, taking up more of her territory means fewer available males to carry his offspring, other than himself. As his territory shrinks after taking on a batch of young, new males coming in means new bodies to carry his young. However, it also means the percentage of young directly from him decreased, and continues to decrease as the breeding season goes on.
For females, having as large a territory as possible means as many males to carry her young as possible. However too large and other females will be able to overlap into her territory and even possibly secure one of her males for themselves. Younger females without territory frequently do this, attempting to butt in and capture at least one mate. However, it can take some time before being accepted, with likely likelihood of acceptance becoming less and less as the breeding season goes on. A new female, or wandering female not from the area could mean that whatever offspring she's carrying, if any, aren't sired from the male of that territory and that could result in no chance of him carrying even one of his own that year. Inexperienced females possibly being ousted by the established one before she can pass his young off to him, in which case she will continue to wander and may not even find a male that year, or an invading female may just pass someone else's young off to him with any genetic contributions he makes being statistically null.

Males may be able to carry two batches of young in a breeding season, a given batch comprising of one to three chicks. The chicks will follow him for much of the remaining breeding season, learning basics on how to do things, shortly after their expulsion from the pouch the reigning female will refill it. Both sexes will reach sexual maturity after about five to six years, and are capable of surviving for up to 300 years.

I don't see why the picture would need to change

Maybe decoy is the wrong term?

It's meant to be something a predator in pursuit would go for, and then instead get a mouth full of pine needle stuff instead and nothing more.

Like grabbing a skink tail or chicken feathers.

They're so cute!

I am interested in some expansion on how they survive in open ocean.

I would assume those ones are capable of landing on driftwood, and their larvae stick near such items as well.

There is mention of some swimming underwater, but later the need to avoid aquatic predators is mentioned as great enough to produce better lungs. Maybe instead they just don't go in the water?

Squirrelly Dufftrout Silvatructa sciurus

Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Needlewing
Habitat: Jeluki Salt Swamp, Jeluki Riparian, Dixon-Darwin Boreal
Size: 40 cm Tall
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Omnivore(Minikruggs, Vermees, Silkruggs, Teacup Saucebacks, Neuks, Dartirs, Sapworms, Interbiat (chicks), Chasing Twintail, Orbibom (fruit and seeds), Berry Arbourshroom (berries) Feroak (berries) Gecoba Tree (fruit), Bloodsap Melontree (fruit and seeds), Hengende (fruit), Cragmyr (fruit), Eggslurping Sorite), Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Pouch


The squirrelly Dufftrout split from its ancestor the Needlewing and spread into the surrounding Boreal regions. They have strong legs that briskly carry the solitary opportunists as they roam across the forest floor. Their front limbs have hardened and lengthened into sharp spines which are used as highly mobile defense. Their wings have become more robust, with strong musculature at their base and their length hardening and ending in a spine. The needles growing off have become long and filament-like, increasing the surface of the wing. Though their primary purpose is photosynthesis they double as decoys and if damaged they're very easy to regrow. The posterior spines have multiplied and lengthened to increase their defensive ability. Their skin has become patterned to better break up their appearance against the forest floor.

They have a diverse diet, and will attempt to eat anything smaller than themselves that could be food. Typical hunting involves scratching through leaf litter or poking around in burrows and underbrush. However they won't stray from chasing down small prey, including lost Interbiat chicks. Fruit and seeds are pulled from low-growing flora, though more often simply found on the ground. Though preferring to live alone when scouring the duff or feasting on fallen fruit, they can be found basking in small groups under breaks in the canopy enjoying the sunbeams.


Though capable of digging they more often live in burrows or hollows that they find instead. They adjust these homes by carrying in and lining them with large amounts of dried leaf litter until they are very well insulated. A new behavior they've developed dealing with winters is hoarding. They are semi-scatter hoarders, usually creating a small handful of larders throughout the summer filled mainly with seeds and smaller dried fruits.
Unlike it's ancestor the Dufftrout has well developed pouches in both females and males. These pouches are not used for carrying brood. Instead they are meant for holding large amounts of material at once, whether it is stuffing them full of berries and seeds for larders, or full of leaves for their dens. Females have shifted back to the using the anatomy of their earlier ancestor, the Bipedal Baghopper, inflating their birth canal to continue holding their brood for a longer period rather than in their pouch like their direct ancestor. Mating is performed early in the year. Males may offer food to their mate during the brood holding period, though they are rather unreliable and tend to drift away before the period ends. Females are fully capable of feeding themselves and their young however. Food is either immediately eaten by her, or stored in the pouch and rationed to the offspring. Once fully birthed, mid to late spring the babies will continue to follow and learn from their mother. By the end of early summer they will have begun creating their own stashes of food and drift apart from their family group. By winter they are sexually mature, their first brood numbering 1-3, though later broods can number up to 10. They can live for up to 30 years.

During winter their wing needles are shed and only the tough spine of the wing remains. Much of this season is spent hiding out in their nest, feeding on food stored in their pouch. Routinely they will interrupt their shut-in life to raid one of their hidden stores in the woods and refill their pouch.



simplified diagram of the pouch and female reproductive system of a Dufftrout.

Should the underswooper be nocturnal though? I would think it would still rely somewhat on it's eyesight to ultimately Target prey like the other members, even if it's hearing is much more sensitive. They would be fantastic twilight hunters though.

I can't imagine a natural black flora old growth forest is that much dimmer than a tightly planted forestry plantation. Those things are dark, and wretched, but there is still a difference between the dim daytime and pitch black of night. They would probably be lighter than that.

They are all diurnal?

Oops.

Brookside Leisterpom Piscanturhastae odiosimalum


Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Needlewing
Habitat: Ichthy Salt Swamp, Ichthy Riparian, Dixon-Darwin Boreal
Size: 40 cm Tall
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Carnivore (Common Gilltails, Larvaback, River Scrambler, Miniswarmers) , Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Pouch


The Leisterpom split from its ancestor the Needlewing to take on a more specialized niche. They've spread into the Dixon-Darwin Boreal, settling along the edges of waterways, tarns, and marshes. Taking advantage of the abundant aquatic prey around them they became more piscivorous in nature. Lacking a significant neck, and preferring not to lunge face first into the water, they've taken on attacking prey with their foot. Initially it was a matter of waiting and scooping out tiny items that came too near. Gradually those with longer claws we're better able to scoop prey, since they had further reach and a larger tool. This is still the go-to method for smaller prey that can be dispatched easily, but the long straight claws became good weapons for spearing larger fauna, similar in use to a pronged fishing spear. Typically they are "right footed".

Their skin is striped with yellows and purples to break up their appearance on the water's edge. They bob as they move during hunting to prevent things in the water from noticing them. Leisterpom have kept their front limbs and developed them into simple balance organs, adjusting their position constantly while standing on one leg. The posterior spines have been lost: they rely on their long legs to sprint away from danger and hide. Their wings have simplified into counterbalances and became more flexible. Tension can be applied by muscular contraction that causes them to curl or straighten and shift their center of gravity. They can also be pivoted at their base for less fine adjustments. This is most useful when the Leisterpom needs to handle proportionally heavy prey, or when skewered items are held far from the body.

Offspring are reared similarly to their ancestor: with the females holding their young in a pouch to allow for further development, a and their mate bringing them food. Females can still hunt during the early period of this, but as the young grow they become more cumbersome, and reliance on her mate increases until their brood is expelled.

Edits are done,
If you are able to improve contrast you're welcome to, I'm not sure why it ended up so dark.

I'm not familiar with the book, it sounds fun to read.

Woodland Watergherkin Aquacucumis Silvis

Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Pioneeroots
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal (waterways)
Size: 40 cm Tall
Diet: Photosynthesis
Support: Weight Bearing Cellulose Intracellular Matrix
Respiration: Passive
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (waterborne spores), Asexual (airborne spores), Asexual (rapid budding)

The Woodland Watergherkin split from its ancestral group the Pioneeroots. They settled into seeps, snow melt marshes, bogs, ponds, and other standing or slow flowing bodies of water. They elongated upward for better light access, and their root systems became more robust and fibrous to help hold them in the mud.

They are fast growing annuals. Their success is largely due to their multiple ways of colonizing areas, through both sexual and asexual means. They've inherited their ancestors' fast budding, with which an individual can colonize a notable area within a year, with idividuals growing off from the base of the Watergherkin and pushing out via growth.
They've also developed a spore forming structure that shares origin with their method of budding. Rather than forming a wholly new individual, the growth remains connected by a tough umbilical. What is formed is a wavy dish that fills with haploid spores until rain washes them all out at once. In the water the spores knock into one another, merging and resting into the mud. Those formed during spring or early summer will grow immediately, while those formed later will go dormant until winter transitioning into next spring triggers them to activate.
Finally, they have airborne spores that are formed on their upper surface and readily released into wind or onto passing fauna. These spores always immediately activate once settled into a wet area.

As true annuals at the onset of winter all mature individuals perish. However the spores they leave in their stead will flourish next year, a testament to their success in establishing long-term residence in an area.

Ah I see, there are spike related distinctions as well.

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 30 2021, 12:57 PM)

Plents breathing carbon dioxide is actually a science error. They depend primarily on oxygen and can convert some of the co2 they produce back into oxygen.

This is something I've been wondering about, they would actually be cracking water for oxygen, while the CO2 would be processed in the light independent process of photosynthesis, or exhaled.

Given the greater production of CO2 in a plent I wonder if a CAM photosynthesis convergence would be common just for carbon storage.





Also, is the individual depicted a male? The description says makes have color on their frill, maybe a little more reference to color to really drive home it's the male in the image, and that females look the same minus the marking.

Being that suggestion this has my personal approval.
Dunno if it works like that.

Are people making little bugs and annual or biennial Flora to the degree necessary for a real ecosystem anyway?

I think having genus groups is good compared to what was
before.


I'll make some more.

I do agree that they shouldn't be a stand in for real regional things, hermit crab genus vs coconut crab.

Eh.

Ooh yea, that works too.

Use imgBB and open the image in a new tab once uploaded so you can use a jpg version

This project uses "global genus groups" for a lot of the more foundation roles in the ecosystems like insects and small fish and worms.

I agree it needs more of these foundation groups, especially in the Flora.

I've also wondered if they could be categorized based on their roles in the ecosystem.

Beachcomber Snoot Inquisinasum littori

Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Needlewing
Habitat: Ichthy Salt Swamp, Ichthy Riparian, King Tropical Beach, Clarke Temperate Beach
Size: 40 cm Tall
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Carnivore (Vermees, Minikrugg, Scuttlers, Frabukis, Burraroms), Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Pouch

The Beachcomber Snoot split from its ancestor the Needlewing and took on a niche of scouring in debris and loose soil or sand for food. Their typical method of seeking out prey is either visually finding a small burrow and chasing after its denizens with their beak, or sticking their beak into the ground and tasting for any signs of prey items. They live in loose groups, members numbering from tens to hundreds depending on the quality of the environment that they find themselves in.

Like several other relatives of it it has lost its front limbs entirely. It's hind legs have elongated thus giving it a wider stride, and it uses these legs to rapidly cover ground as it moves about. The wings on its back have narrowed notably, and are used as a single unit flicking up and down to communicate with one another. They also as a side effect act as a display of emotional states, periodic flicking up and down is a signal of being calm. Rapid flicking signifying interest or curiosity. Standing erect represents alertness and the main purpose is to make others aware that they need to be paying attention. Being lowered signifying fear, derived from hiding among things.They have lost their spines around their nostril due to increased reliance on fleeing and hiding from predators.

Although most descendents of the Needlewing have a well developed pouch for carrying young in the females only, with their males developing only a vestigial narrow cavity, the Beachcomber Snoot has the pouch fully developed in the male as well. During their breeding season two individuals will pair up and copulate, the female briefly holding the developing embryos in herself until they reach a point at which they are able to be transferred to a pouch. From there she will meet with her mate and rather than transferring them into her own pouch, she will transfer them into his instead. From this point the female will abandon her mate and find another unpaired male.

The developmental period for the embryo inside the female is a rather short one relative to the developmental time that they spend inside their sires pouch. Because of this, females are able to breed with multiple partners and produce multiple clutches of offspring. While males, on the other hand, are only really able to produce one clutch of offspring during a breeding season.

The carrying male will provide the majority of catches to the offspring being carried, relying mainly on energy stores and minor sugar production from photosynthesis. Once they are developed enough and large enough to be able to move around the offspring will be evicted from their father's pouch. They will follow him, both relying on him for safety as well as learning to refine the behaviors typical of their species. Once fully grown, which takes about a year, they will leave their little family cluster in order to be a member of the larger group. They can live for about 7 years.

I figured it wouldn't be different, but if you think there should be more emphasis on seedlings rooting straight into the ground then I can add that.

Most oceanic beaches I've been to have dunes making up their upper portion.
It seems to either be dunes or cliffs.