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Name: Blastree (Artillabratus rumpitur)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Bangsticks (Artillaflora badabang)
Habitat: Maineiac Chaparral, Maineiac Boreal, Maineiac Alpine, Maineiac Rocky, Maineiac Polar Scrub, Barlowe Chaparral, Atmosphere (Troposphere)
Size: 8 meters tall
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Passive (stomata)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Hermaphrodite, Airborne Spores, Projectile Seeds)

With large flora being relatively uncommon within many parts of Maineiac aside from true giants such as the Four-Prongion or Repeating Treebion, the niche was relatively wide open. This gave certain populations of Bangsticks the opportunity to move inland. While developing adaptations to survive in wetter habitats, they also had to deal with the little competition present that may cause shadows over the endosymbiotic cryoutines and prevent reproduction. To counter this, certain populations elevated their endosymbiotic cryoutines with a trunk and eventually gave rise to the Blastree.

Similarly to Bangsticks, Blastrees also have sexual reproduction with distinct male and female stems growing on the same individual due to them being hermaphrodites. The male stems fire spores into the air, and they eventually land in and fertilize a female stem which soon fires its seeds. Its seeds are contained in a larger casing which explodes in midair, sending seed “shrapnel” flying in all directions. The firing of the seed makes a “boom” sound while the seed casing exploding creates more of a “bang”, so when a Blastree fires its seeds one might hear “boom boom boom boom, bang bang bang bang”. The combustion organ has reduced in size, thus causing the seeds to not travel as far as their ancestors. This results in the majority of Blastree seeds to land somewhere in Maineiac after a brief time in the Troposphere though they do occasionally land in Barlowe and Hydro. While the occasional Blastree seeds that land on Hydro do not last long, the species has established a permanent population on Barlowe.

Compared to dealing with floral competition, adapting to live in wetter environments was not as challenging for the ancestors of the Blastree. This was accomplished by the Blastrees developing larger stomata which allows more water to be removed from its system through evaporation. This adaptation provides Blastrees the ability to settle relatively wetter areas compared to Bangsticks.

Like other seed-shooting cryoflora such as their ancestor, the Blastrees make use of combustion of hydrogen and oxygen produced by its endosymbiotic cryoutines to fire seeds and spores into the air. When it comes time to fire its seeds or spores, flesh covering a chitin lens dies to expose it, causing light to be focused hard enough to create a spark. The explosion of the seed-filled “bullet” is unrelated. The fleshy bottom of the bullet is tightly bound, and when launched into the air it pops into a different shape shortly afterwards, creating a powerful but more biological explosive force which shatters the rest of the bullet and distributes the seeds.

Just like their ancestors, the Blastrees have an exterior structured similar to crystal flora with more facets. This was due to their ancestors losing their lens-like structures in the majority of their cells to thrive in warm sunny environments, a feature merely retained in Blastrees. The only lens that remains intact in this species is the one that focuses light for combustion within each of their stems, with the rest of the rest of its surface being covered in a flat hexagonal face.

Here is a boi for Maniac! Will say i've not really worked with cryoflora before and used the Bangsticks for reference so any feedback is appreciated!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 27 2021, 12:46 AM

Name: Smirking Soriparasite (Myzolabisorex carnificus)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Lazarus Soriparasite (Myzolabisorex lazarus)
Habitat: Darwin Tropical Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Woodland, Vivus Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Chaparral
Size: 10 centimeters long
Diet: Hemophagus, Carnivore (Parasitic(Rainforest Phlock, Goliath Flunejaw, Shellcrusher Flunejaw, Stiltshell, Rainforest Flunejaw, Nagraj, Treehook Tamow, Argeiphlock, Hornboss, Cryptic Hornface, Scrubland Hornface, Twigfisher Shrog, Varant, Striped Phlock, Snoofloo, Shroom Herder, Mothhead, Skewer Shrog), Predatory(Shrubrattus, Handlicker Dundi, Gamergate Gundis))
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm (Basking)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth, Milk)

As the lazarus soriparasite thrived, they would occasionally land on arguably the most abundant kingdom of fauna around, the plents. The “blood” from plents was different from those of the carpozoans in a few minor aspects but it was relatively similar enough for the lazarus soriparasite to digest it. The one major problem with plent blood is the relative lack of iron, which meant lazarus soriparasites that only fed on plent blood would suffer from iron deficiency anemia. The tissues of plants, however, was filled with iron and could stand as a decent substitute but the mouth anatomy of lazarus soriparasites were built to hold onto a host and suck blood and not slice off bits of flesh. Still, the relatively abundant food source and relatively little competition of major size was a big temptation, and so the ancestors of the smirking soriparasite would evolve to take advantage of such a common type of prey.

To feed on the skin of plants, the smirking soriparasite had to make some important changes in its mouth anatomy. The biggest change is the smirking soriparasite regaining 8 total teeth on the lower jaw. 8 teeth in the back of the upper jaw and the teeth on the lower jaw are also very different from its ancestors. Unlike the teeth at the front of the upper jaw which still act as hooks for their normal suction feeding strategy, those 16 teeth at the back of the mouth have become sharp blades adapted to shear through meat. Such teeth have no assistance with getting blood and would even act as a minor handicap if they were at the front of the mouth for their suction feeding. This is why the smirking soriparasite has the back teeth poke outside of the mouth at an angle where they intersect with one another. This goes hand-in-hand with their ability to fully close the mouth, which has not been seen in this lineage after the bloodshrew, because of their second method of feeding.

To get the iron they need from plants, the smirking soriparasite will press the sides of their face against the skin and use their back teeth to slice off strips of skin that are then swallowed whole. To help with this feeding strategy, the shoulder joint has gained increased flexibility to make it more comfortable for the smirking soriparasite to twist its neck at a relatively awkward angle. After feeding on the skin, smirking soriparasites often press their lips against the already made wound and deploy their suction feeding method to get blood. The whole time, the anesthetic compounds found in its saliva prevent the host from feeling a thing.

While the smirking soriparasite also feeds on carpozoan blood, they generally have to contend with the lazarus soriparasite whose dentition is much better suited to only feed on blood which thus tends to result in smirking soriparasites being more uncommon on carpozoans. On the flip-side, the smirking soriparasites adaptations to slice off bits of skin on plents gives it a distinct advantage over its ancestor on this specific group of hosts. This results in relative niche partitioning between the two species, although smirking soriparasites are common on both carpozoans and plents in areas where their ancestor is absent.

Their adaptations to feeding on plents has come with a few side benefits, however, as their more flexible shoulder joints makes traveling on the ground between hosts significantly easier. On their treks between hosts, smirking soriparasites may also come across plents that are relatively similar in size to them, which presents them with an opportunity they could not exploit without their adaptations. When they come across something like a gamergate gundi or a shrubrattus, they will try to ambush them and then use their flexible forelimbs to restrain the prey item. Once it is subdued, the smirking soriparasite will use their back teeth, but to kill rather than to parasitize. Killing the small plent provides the smirking soriparasite a relatively large meal which can allow them significantly more time to find a host thanks to the huge amount of energy.

The smirking soriparasite only has one pair of fully-functioning eyes, though the other two ancestral pairs are still present, just reduced. It can still sense light through these tiny vestigial eyes, but only the largest pair can form images. Its hooked foreclaws and gecko-like feet bearing fuzzy setae allow it to hold onto its host without falling off. Just like its ancestors but unlike most other modern shrews, the smirking soriparasite lacks a pouch; when not nursing, its young may climb on its back to let their siblings have room to nurse instead. It usually mates during the treks it makes between hosts. It is still able to tolerate low temperatures while sucking blood, but it needs to warm up to travel at a decent speed, so it may also be found basking on rocks between hosts.

Close up of face when mouth is closed.

Smirking soriparasite using the side of its mouth to feed on the skin of a hornboss.

There we go! My first Soriparasite Descendant! Do give your thoughts on it, as it is far from my last one!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 24 2021, 01:40 PM

Tropofly
(Retrocapillum quietapenna)

Creator: Bufforpington
Ancestor: Cloudbubble Tropoworm
Habitat: Sagan 4 Atmosphere (Troposphere)
Size: 13 cm Long
Diet: Herbivore (Cloudgrass, Cloudbubble, Parasitic Floats, Hair Nimbuses)
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm (Basking)
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodite (Eggs)

With the troposphere growing more biodiverse and new flora taking to the skies. One of the most revolutionary species at the time was the Cloudgrass. Its large size and clustering nature attracted large numbers of cloudbubble tropoworms. Over time, this cloudgrass-eating population split off from the main population and evolved into the tropofly.

The tropofly's adaptations are generally split into two groups: those centered around living among the cloudgrass, and those that generally improve its ability to survive in the troposphere. The tropofly's wings have become even more broad than its ancestor, increasing the their surface area and ability to produce lift. This further decreases the amount of times they need to beat their wings to stay aloft. This however, comes at the cost of their heterothermy, as they can no longer beat their wings vigorously enough to generate large quantities of body heat. The tropofly has also developed an eyespot in the center of its head that allows it to detect light and dark. This helps them determine what is above them. They often stay in darker areas like cloudgrass patches, where they are safer from potential predators. They however, are not nocturnal, as they still require the sun's heat to keep them warm while out in the open. They often rest in cloudgrass patches during the night, using the cloudgrass' clustering to insulate them from the cold.

With the advent of the cloudgrass, there is now a form of sky flora that is large enough for small animals to rest on. As a result, the tropofly has become smaller than its ancestor, allowing it to rest atop the cloudgrass. Its chemoreceptive antennae and caudal bristles have become prenhensile and equipped with stiff, backwards-facing bristles. These bristles allow them to grip the surface of the cloudgrass they rest on. The tropofly has also developed an extra joint in their mandibles, increasing their ability to manipulate their food. Tropoflies primarily feed on the cloudgrass' leaves along with whatever commensalist or parasite is growing on the main body. Tropoflies will rarely consume any other part of the cloudgrass. Tropoflies will also feed on cloudbubbles if available, but will generally prefer to rest on cloudgrass and feed on their leaves.

The tropofly is a gregarious organism, with it often living in loose communities around cloudgrass patches. If a patch dies off or is eaten into oblivion, the community will form a loose 'flock' and fly off to search for another patch of cloudgrass. If two 'flocks' encounter each other while migrating, individuals from one flock may accidentally end up in the other. If a 'flock' encounters a community settled around a patch of cloudgrass and conditions are favorable, they will mate. Like the cloudbubble tropoworm, the tropofly will lay its eggs on some form of flora. In this case, it is the cloudgrass. Tropoflies will carve a shallow gash into the cloudgrass and lay their eggs in it. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will begin to chew their way through the cloudgrass. The tropofly's larva are smaller and simpler than those of its ancestor, with it hatching at 0.5 mm in length and lacking wings. The larvae chew extensive galleries throughout the cloudgrass. The tropofly will develop its wings once it reaches 5 mm in length. It is also at this time when the tropofly larvae have caused so much damage to the cloudgrass that it loses buoyancy and falls out of the sky. It is at this time when the tropofly larvae emerge and enter the second stage of their life. It is at this time when they switch their diet to hair nimbuses. Once they grow to 3 cm long, they switch their diet for the final time to cloudgrass leaves, commensalists, and parasites.

Name: Eggslurping Sorite (Myzolabisorex oviprandium)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Lazarus Soriparasite (Myzolabisorex lazarus)
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal, Darwin Chaparral, Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Darwin Temperate Woodland
Size: 16 centimeters long
Diet: Hemophagus, Ovivorous (Ramchin, Swiftsnapper, Goliath Flunejaw, Montemsnapper, Nectarsnapper, Long-Tailed Flunejaw, Nightsnapper, Robynsnapper, Kehaida, Fluneinzee)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm (Basking)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth, Milk)

As the lazarus soriparasite thrived, certain individuals would end up in the nests of skysnappers, typically feeding on the blood of the adults and those of any chicks. Occasionally, they would be present in the nests as chicks hatch and while they did feed on the blood of the chicks they would sometimes also feed on any juices and fluids oozing out of the eggs. These can be just as nutritious as the blood of the snapper chicks, resulting in certain lazurus soriparasites to specialize in eating the insides of carpozoan eggs. This distinct method of feeding resulted in several adaptations that eventually led to them abandoning a parasitic lifestyle entirely and these populations gave rise to the eggslurping sorite.

Making the transition from a parasite to an ovivore was surprisingly not too difficult for the ancestors of the eggslurping sorite, as their methods of obtaining blood were already capable of breaking into eggs with moderate success. To specialize for such a diet, however, the eggslurping sorite had to make several modifications to its anatomy and especially behavior. One noticeable change is the much larger lips on its face, which help wrap around the narrowest part of the eggs where they can then slurp up the insides. To get past the eggshell blocking the egg’s insides from entering their gullet, the spines on the eggslurper’s tongue have become shorter and developed round, calcified tops to act as a ramming device where they smack into the shell until it eventually cracks.

Beyond the head itself, other bits of the eggslurping sorite’s anatomy have undergone changes. This includes a much more flexible shoulder joint, similar to that of the smirking soriparasite’s own flexible shoulder joint but having developed for different reasons. For the eggslurping sorite, the flexible shoulder joint allows them to better manipulate an egg and move it into the right position to then use their mouths. Eggslurping sorites have also become more robust with stocky hindlimbs, allowing them to rear up for brief periods of time which then frees up the eggslurping sorite’s arms to move around a carpozoan’s egg.

Similarly to their ancestor and relatives, the eggslurping sorite only has the frontmost pair of eyes to see in a clear image. The two other pairs of eyes have, however, grown in size since they can still detect movement by differences in light and shadow. Because of the two other pairs of eyes, they can be used to help detect danger from behind or above them while they feed on eggs or search for a nest.

Evolving from hemophagus ancestors, the eggslurping sorite still supplements their diet of eggs with blood on occasion. While their adaptations serve them well for feeding on eggs, they come at the cost of their ability to obtain blood. The tongue spines are too blunt to efficiently rub the skin of a creature raw since they're adapted to smash eggshells. The best the eggslurping sorite can do is to use their upper teeth, which are smaller and fewer in number to not get in the way when feeding on eggs. This method of drawing blood is very inefficient compared to their ancestors tongue-rasping strategy, but it's the best the eggslurping sorite can do. Eggslurping sorites will use this method on hatchling carpozoans, going after them if nothing is around to protect them since most species of modern egg-laying carpozoans will protect their young after they hatch.

Since the eggslurping sorite has abandoned a parasitic lifestyle and blood only makes up a very small part of their diet, they are much less active. Eggslurping sorites often spend much of their time basking in the sun, before using their keen sense of smell to search for eggs. As they are at risk of larger predators or protective parents while they look for nests to snack on, eggslurping sorites rely on their coloration and patterns to avoid being spotted. The flexible shoulder joint allows them to move much more effectively on the ground, similarly to that of the smirking soriparasite. When eggs become scarce and/or the environment becomes too cold for them, the eggslurping sorite will look for a secluded spot like a fallen log or an abandoned burrow and lower their metabolic activities, going into a state of torpor.

Much like their ancestors, the eggslurping sorite lacks a pouch, with a female’s young hanging onto her back when not actively suckling. Females also have larger litters, to counter higher predation rates on the species, having twice as many nipples as their ancestor to provide them with enough milk. The young will also feed on any fluids from eggs that their mother does not eat for an extra boost in energy.

An Eggslurping Sorite rearing up onto its hind legs.

Alright guys! My second species descended from the lazarus soriparasite, and likely my last submission for this generation. May do another furred shrew but its highly unlikely.

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 23 2021, 08:45 AM

Name: Twinpaw Twintail (Dicaudasorex geminabrachius)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Chasing Twintail (Dicaudasorex celer)
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal, Darwin Temperate Woodland, Vivus Boreal, Vivus Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Rainforest, Dixon Temperate Rainforest, Javen Temperate Rainforest
Size: 30 centimeters long
Diet: Carnivorous (Honey Toadtuga, Umbral Sphinx, Chasing Twintail, Grovecrystal Krugg, Bloodback, Barkback, Dracisketter, Jongfoll, Burrsnapper, Plumottle, Shrubrattus, Fluneinzee , Montemsnapper, Nectarsnapper, Scrambled Shrew, Kehaida, Brighteyes, Spotted Sauceback, Carnofern Flugwurm, Buttpiper, Hikahoe, Fat Lizatokage, Vivusian Barkback, Opportunity Shrew, Interbiat, Shadow Spinebutt Plexo, Phouka, Gryphler, Neoshrew, Swiftsnapper, Oviaudiator, Thorny Toadtuga, Spineless Toadtuga, River Hikahoe, Spinemander, River Scrambler, Regal Sphinx, Pikashrew, Weird-Boned Twintail, Teacup Saucebacks, Smirking Soriparasite, Eggslurping Sorite), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth, Pouch and Milk)

Since the scrambled shrew itself, the chasing twintail lineage had been plagued with genetic mutations such as their iconic duplicated tails. One population would once again undergo a major change when a chance mutation caused the partial duplication of their forelimbs. Since their ancestors had already adapted to survive mutations that would prove fatal in other organisms, these mutated individuals were able to not suffer health problems. The duplicated hands restricted rotation of the wrist, meaning the feet don't twist out from under it when running after prey. This adaptation proved beneficial, allowing the mutation to spread among several populations until they diverged into a completely new species. This new species are simply known as the twinpaw twintails.

Much like their ancestors, the two tails present on the twinpaw twintail result from the spine splitting at their shoulders, resulting in a double spine running down their back and ending as the iconic twintail arrangement for its lineage. These tails help with balance as it chases fleeing prey within the forests the twinpaw twintail inhabits. When chasing prey, the accessory pair of limbs help with running, acting sort of like the dew claws found in terran dogs.

While hunting, the twinpaw twintails rely heavily upon their camouflage to stalk prey, using the shadows provided by obsiditrees to remain unseen. Once they get close enough or the prey spots them and tries to flee, the twinpaw twintail will give chase. If the prey is caught, the twinpaw twintail will viciously attack the victim with their teeth and claws to quickly kill it. Their intense ferocity allows them to tackle prey over double their size, though they occasionally attack fauna larger than that but those usually don’t end well and so depends upon the specific kind of prey they attack. Much like its ancestors, the twinpaw twintail have a fairly high metabolism and so must eat frequently. At their size, however, they can go without food for several days although it begins to weaken during this period. To satisfy its hunger, they will often tackle prey as big as themselves or even larger, as a large kill could possibly provide enough food for half of the day. When larger prey is absent, they will settle for smaller game as well though they must eat much more frequently to satisfy their metabolic needs when this happens.
Much like their ancestor and relatives, the twinpaw twintail will hibernate overnight to conserve energy and are strictly solitary. They also live in burrows, but their duplicated hands make digging much harder and so making their own burrows is only done as a last resort. More often than not, they will instead either force other fauna out of their burrows or kill and eat them within the burrow before claiming the hole in the ground as their own home.

The twinpaw twintail still retains the excessive number of nipples, being well over a 100 (though exactly how many nipples varies from individual to individual). Unlike their ancestors, however, the nipples are age segregated, with some nipples being too large for joeys to grab onto until they grow larger. This coincides with the more complicated breeding practices of the species, where the mother gives birth to a large number of relatively helpless babies. These babies can only crawl, and so rush as fast as they can to a nipple they can grab on. Once all of the nipples of the right size are taken by joeys, the mother will proceed to eat all the other newborns on her belly to both regain some energy lost from the pregnancy and to reduce the risk of predators finding the burrow.

The twinpaw twintail also has a slower breeding rate compared to its ancestor and relatives due to its larger size. The species only breeds about 4-6 times a year, and will only rear 20 joeys on average at a time despite giving birth to over 100. Due to their slowed down reproductive rates and less demanding metabolisms, the twinpaw twintail has a slightly larger brain than their ancestors.

Alright, this will likely be my last submission for this generation. Though I may do a bubbleskin or nodent depending on what happens. Do give your thoughts on this species!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: May 7 2021, 09:16 PM

Polar Baron (Baronisaurus densicutus)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Baron Signaltail
Habitat: Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub
Size: 5 meters long
Diet: Carnivore (Lumbering Pasakerd; As Juvenile: Steppe Lizalope, Grazing Gossalizard, Shortface Sauceback, Woollycoat, Loafpick, Lipped Sauceback, Shaggy Glasseater, Gutsy Phlyer, Feral Tuskent), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Mesotherm/Gigantotherm (Blubber)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Leathery-Shelled Eggs)

The polar baron split from its ancestor. This large solitary predatory snapper resides in polar biomes, as its name suggests. Lacking fibrous integument to protect it from icy winds, it instead employs much thicker skin and a layer of blubber to keep it warm. Its crests have been replaced with a rough keratinous crown, which is better-protected from the cold. It is completely solitary, no longer employing mob-hunting. It uses its bioluminescent tail to signal its presence during dark polar winters, warning off competitors. It has lost its armor, though the end of its tail is keratinized to protect against the cold. Its eyes are arranged in triangle formation to make more room for powerful jaw muscles. Unlike its ancestor, its lips cover its teeth.

Adult polar barons consume lumbering pasakerds almost exclusively, grappling with their forearms, pinning with their feet, and using their powerful jaws to break through the carapace. They are able to keep the pasakerd in check by hunting and killing large numbers of them. Juvenile polar barons, which are more cursorial than the adults, will chase down juvenile lumbering pasakerds as well as steppe lizalopes, grazing gossalizards, and many other smaller fauna to consume. Both juveniles and adults will consume the carcasses of any fauna which succumbed to the cold.

Like its ancestor, the polar baron lays leathery-shelled eggs. Its breeding period takes place during the annual thaw. Both parents participate in protecting the eggs, but the father will leave after they hatch. Juveniles can stand up and run soon after birth. Parental care continues until the juveniles learn to hunt, at which point they leave their mother and go off on their own.