QUOTE

A Time of Plenty Life has continued to recover from the events of the runaway Snowball event, now a distant memory fifty million years in the past. The volcanism that had pulled the planet out of the Ice Age has continued apace throughout the Bonoian Period, with new magma chambers and eruptions springing up all across the planet. This period of activity began to slow about ten million years into the period, and as the Bonoian gave way to the Huckian, a calm has washed over a surface wholly unrecognizable from that of the previous eras. Increasing geological activity has resulted in an expansion of land, in both existing landmasses as well as brand new subcontinents and archipelagos springing from the sea floor. Increased temperatures have also coincided with a marked increase in atmospheric water, fueling devastatingly powerful storms annually and acting as a potent greenhouse gas, raising temperatures further. Taking advantage of both the newly available moisture and the large tracts of land, flora life has exploded in abundance. Forests and heath are plentiful, and while some more rugged terrain still remains, most is restricted to the far extreme latitudes. Devastated by the Ice Age, tree-like flora had struggled to recover their size and distribution, but now thick canopies can be found in all major landmasses. Even the open oceans, once a barren desert in their own right, are now covered in vast floating islands of flora, providing a home to some of the most unique ecosystems this planet has yet produced. Across the Wallace supercontinent, life is rapidly expanding to all corners, out from the equator and down from the mountains, as the once separated landmasses of Dixon and Darwin continue to coalesce. Life from these once disparate regions continue to mingle as well, however as new points of conflict and competition emerge as the biota interact, for now the good land provides opportunity for all. Not every ecosystem is sharing in this abundance however. The increasing tectonic activity has begun pushing Drake further north. As permanent winter set in on Drake the local species showed remarkable resilience. Most species on Drake, like the rest of the world, are descendants of the previous Ice Age, and while much life was still lost it has merely set the continental makeup back to a level comparable to that of the Masonian. This however may not last, as the increased moisture is fueling the growth and expansion of glaciers which threaten to push out all but the most extreme of species. Those that have adapted to the warmer climates still cling on as rifts have separated off Dingus and various small islands from the southern point of the continent, granting the biota here a temporary haven. Overall, life has rebounded and continues to diversify, however such favorable times can’t last forever.

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There have been some dramatic rule changes for Week 27, so please read up on the changes that have happened:

• Submission Count: Generations submission count has been raised to 120: This is to account for the drastic increase in biome amounts

• Types: Type limit has been increased to 3, but the combo "Subpolar->Temperate->Subtropical" is not allowed

• Genus Groups: Global Genus groups have been nerfed in Week 27, however we are adding Regional Genus groups (Genus groups limited to regions or Continents) so True Global will be more difficult to obtain.
• In addition to the Genus group changes there have been new Group categories added:

Foundation System Rule
To reflect real-world phenomena, larger photosynthetic flora up to 20 meters in height may also be submitted as genera. These should be restricted to flora that act as foundations to an ecoregion (Forests need trees, grasslands need grass etc). These should be restricted to a single region on submission unless justified (eg. a cactus-like organism can be in two regions that are separated by a desert). Large flora genera may also be present on adjacent islands without restriction. Their description must include the limits of which types of habitats they appear in. Large flora genera are assumed to be absent in biomes which the treeline rule applies to unless otherwise specified.
Keystone System Rule
To reflect real-world phenomena, there are certain organisms that have a disproportionately large impact on the function of other life, as such these groups can be submitted as a larger collection of organisms than genus level. Collection of species fulfill this category are ones that fill hyper-specific niches that are necessary for life to function and would cause catastrophe if removed (ex. Nitrogen fixers, gut microbe, pioneer species). These are groups that are too broad to realistically be just a genus, but need to be globally widespread. These are limited to producers and primary consumers, and must be below 20 cm in size
Partner Species Sub-Entries
Any submission may make note of either specific species inside genus groups or subspecies of normal species entries which are partners to the species being submitted. These are not independent submissions and do not take up any additional slot; the only requirement is that they must actually fit within the definition of the genus group or species they are derived from (no non-aesthetical external changes). They do not need to be depicted.

• Superspreaders: Any species is only allowed to directly spread other species that they have a relationship with (Ex: a fauna spreads a flora that it eats thru seeds in the waste, a fauna spreads a parasite that infects its ancestor if it is not immune, a flora spreads its ancestors pollinator if the relationship remains, etc). In rare cases, a secondary spread can happen, but only if the secondary species is hyper-specialized to the direct spread. However, we will allow one "Superspreader" submission a Week per person that will be allowed to transfer more indirect species and more generalized fauna, however they must have a well thought out justification for doing so.

• Atavism Rules: An atavistic species cannot draw traits from any further back than 10 project Generations or its ancestor's ancestor, whichever is earlier, without extraordinary justification. Beyond this point, old traits are considered genetically lost and cannot be reactivated. This includes adding ancestral traits to unelaborated larvae.

Exception: Traits that are lost in one part of the body but not another related body part may be regained freely, as their presence is proof that their genes still exist intact. Examples: regaining foreclaws because it still had hindclaws, regaining teeth on the lower jaw because it still had some on the upper jaw
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And finally, the compendium, and thus submissions, are now open!