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I'm unclear of the skeleton explanation.

The rest of the skeleton is solid bone?
Is it without joints?

Oh no, I meant that its solid bone compared to the cartilaginous rods of the fins. It has joints and everything you would expect. Sorry if it wasn't that clear.

The art is very pleasant. I like the texturing and gradation, and the tiny detail of the hairs.

The warm water of the tropics generally make them less productive than cold waters. That's why the water is so clear: it has relatively little life in it. Of course, if there are upwellings or favorable currents, that changes things. The geography of Fly Tropical Coast and a narrow cut of Hydro Tropical Coast north of Mancer Sea Caves would lend itself well to estuaries (bays, lagoons, mudflats, etc.) which are highly productive. Realistically, there would be more, but these are the biggest spots. I suppose the estuaries can be ecologically equated with Mangal habitats, for simplicity's sake. While the oxygen capacity of water by temperature would be the same, it is possible that the variety of photosynthesizers of different photosynthetic pigments on Sagan 4 could make its habitats more productive. Earth's seas do have multiple kinds of plants absorbing different wavelengths of light (green, brown, and red algae), but Sagan 4 has even more. In any case, the subtropics would probably be more productive than the tropics, since the subtropics still have winters, even if they're shorter and milder than in temperate areas.

The hairs originate in the Arboreal Limbless, which is certainly farther along than its ancestor's ancestor. Descriptions suggest no trace of retaining a little bit of hair elsewhere. Those hairs would have to be "re-evolved", like how the panda's distant ancestors had more than five fingers, and pandas had to come up with a thumb by adapting a wrist bone. Admittedly, hair is probably easier to evolve than a pseudo-thumb.

"Barlowe island": I'm not sure if the official name is "Barlowe Island", so the easiest solution is "island of Barlowe" or "island continent of Barlowe".
"Oils"? Are there multiple kinds of oils?
"Once a mating has occurred[...]This sentence is too long, and needs a comma.
"close kin, has" This doesn't flow right. I recommend removing the comma.
Technically, the hyphens around "a specialized fang" should be emdashes. An easier solution is using parentheses.

Actually, it's been determined that the hairs are still there. No mention doesn't mean lost.

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 6 2022, 09:02 PM)

Actually, it's been determined that the hairs are still there. No mention doesn't mean lost.

I can reasonably assume as much: there's been neither mention nor depiction of hair in the art. I checked. If a retcon is being made, it should be on the wiki. I even checked the overview page once you made this response, and there's no mention there, either. One line in the overview even strongly suggests the lineage is hairless: "Their skin is extremely streamlined, being very smooth in texture, and covers a layer of blubber that provides warmth."

The hairs were seemingly meant to be small. You wouldn't depict a gecko's hairs in a drawing.

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 6 2022, 10:00 PM)

The hairs were seemingly meant to be small. You wouldn't depict a gecko's hairs in a drawing.

It's true, but it would warrant a mention. This is especially so when the default is hairlessness: aquatic animals are generally hairless, and real-life animal lineages which had much more hair than the Arboreal Limbless lose virtually all their hair in purely-aquatic descendants (e.g., dolphins).

Ok, made some edits, though I will point out that for the hair, there is no evidence that it was ever lost in any of the descendants of the arboreal limbless, and given that limblesses as a whole don't appear to have any well-developed belly scales or the like (such as what you find in snakes), I believe that it would be safe to assume that they were retained for aid in climbing over various surfaces.

Also, there are fully-aquatic mammals that retain hair. While most cetaceans lose their whiskers shortly after birth, those like the humpback whales retain them:



Each bump is a hair follicle containing a single hair, and it is believed that their purpose is to pick up subtle vibrations in the water.

i remember at some point understanding the skeleton for this, so that's a non issue.




Is the deal with the hairs resolved here now?

I see no problem with assuming the hairs continued to exist.

Yeah I don't really see a problem with the hairs

Does anyone have further comments? Before I do the checklist

“Right to mate” is oddly anthropomorphic phrasing.
“Through the region” is missing a period at the end.
I’m still not sure how the warm waters of Barlowe would necessarily have plentiful food. It’s not specified. (See September 6, 2022 comment for more.)
The warm water detail is the only important one left, and my comment provides easy workarounds. After that is clarified, we can proceed to approval.

Made the changes, as well as limited their population in tropical waters to either the very young or older individuals that had been pushed out of their territories by rivals.

Approval Checklist:
Art:
Art Present?: Y
Art clear?: Y
Gen number?: Y
All limbs shown?: Y
Reasonably Comparable to Ancestor?: Y
Realistic additions?: Y

Name:Fuzzbelly Seaswimmer
Binomial Taxonomic Name?: Y
Creator?: Y

Ancestor: Rusty Seaswimmer
Listed?: Y
What changes?:

• External?: Coloration, Streamlined Body, Bigger Size, Smaller Fang, Males have vibrant orange nostrils
• Internal?: Blubber, Hair now used for detecting vibrations
• Behavioral/Mental?: Relying more on bite force than skewering prey, Birthing in the mangals

Are Changes Realistic?: Y
New Genus Needed?: N

Habitat:
Type?: 2
Flavor?: 2
Connected?: Y
Wildcard?: N/A

Size: 1 m long
Same as Ancestor?: N
Within range?: Y
Exception?: N/A

Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Diet: Carnivore, Scavenger
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Transition Rule?: N/A
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A

Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Thermoregulation: Mesotherm
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Live Birth
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Description:
Length?: Reasonable
Capitalized correctly?: Y
Replace/Split from ancestor?: Split
Other?: N/A

Opinion: Approved