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Ghost Bell
Ancestor : Cobble Bell

It have made it self transparent to make it harder to spot their colonys.

colonys are sized between 10.000 and 2 billion of them .

Size: 1mm

they wait for prey like creatures where swim trough their colonys then they inject acid in their skin to get to flesh once there they release a enzyme where paralyse the prey and then it get eaten from the inside

Biome:t tropical

cant add the image i draw

Sagan 4 Beta isn't open quite yet. However, you should be able to submit things on the Alpha timeline soon.

oke

Hopefully this is the right place to put this and it’s in the right format


Azentry (Celersaurus uigilias)
Creator: Changeling
Ancestor: Azderoo
Habitat: Darwin Tropical Rainforest, Darwin Tropical Savannah, East Darwin Chapparal, Darwin Subtropical Woodland
Size: 38 cm
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Carnivore (Rolyknights, Shed Knightworms, Corpse Spardi, Mycostrum Knightworms)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Mesotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (male and female, live birth)
The Azentry has emerged on the Eastern side of Darwin fulfilling much the same role of its ancestor. However the young it carries on its saddle now have a further strategic purpose. While an Azentry is hunting for its prey, it’s young will search the landscape around them for traces of predators such as the Pumbug. If a threat is spotted, the pup will squeak, alerting its parent to danger. This inadvertently alerts other adult Azentries in the area, not just its parents but any within earshot. This is not an intentional communication, but perhaps this could lead to more complex socializing in a descendant. Regardless, at the sound of a squeak all Azentries will then hop away, scattering hopefully away whatever threat might be nearby.

Given its early warning system, the Azentry have been able to prosper, growing slightly bigger as well despite the more toxic atmosphere. As it and the Azderoo share a diet and strategies for hunting, it has steadily out competed it’s ancestor in the eastern side of Darwin. However it is unable to cross the Taiga and can only cross the monsoon forest outside of the rainy season. For this reason the Azderoo persists on the western side of Darwin unthreatened, and the Azentry population in the Darwin Tropical Rainforest is somewhat isolated.

The Azentry lives in groups of two to six, with typical structure of two mated adults and two to four pseudo-radical pups. When an Azentry has reached a certain point in its adolescence it is compelled to seek out a mate and leaves its parents, however adult Azentries are tolerant of each other as all their pups keep them safe. Because of the usefulness of them as sentries Azentries have evolved to find their pups cute and want to protect them, and to degree feel this with the young of other Azentries and to a lesser degree even other Stinzer young.

While its front arm has atrophied as an adult, Azentries now use it for a sexual display. The limb has developed a red blot, which is waved during mating. The more vibrant red and larger the blot is, the odds are that the prospective mate is more successful at evading predators, thus making it more encouraging as a mate. Azentries can mate for life, though some will seek a new mate if their old one dies.

As a predator it continues to ambush its prey, using its mandibles and teeth to pierce and hook onto them. Knightworms, Rolyworms, and rarely species of flying Spardi are its preferred prey, much like its ancestor.

@Changeling I completely forgot, sorry--Alpha veterans (2017 and earlier) like yourself get automatic Beta membership! You should repost this submission as a thread.

Hexagoleaves (Phylloaptus turfavus)
Creator: Jarlaxle
Ancestor: Tesseleaves
Habitat: Krakow Tropical Rainforest, Krakow Tropical Beach, Krakow Tropical Watershed
Size: 12mm wide
Support: Cell Wall (Cellulose)
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Passive Diffusion
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Spores), Asexual (Fragmentation)

Hexagoleaves have replaced their ancestor within their habitat of Krakow island, originating from a tasseleaves on the rim of the Krakow watershed, a random split from 4-sided symmetry into 6 allowed them to maximize the connection surface area to each neighbor and overcome the weaker connection of square shapes in their corners, improving nutrition, signal flow within and structural integrity within the resulting honeycombs. They now regularly expand their mats onto land, dipping a corner into the watershed and delivering water to the rest of the mat, which in turn sends back nutrition taken from the ground surface.

Like their ancestor, the mat forms a connected superorganism that releases a mild toxin when disturbed. They reproduce by waterborne spores, though with enough wind some will be carried by the air from the parts that are tied to the land.

This post has been edited by Jarlaxle: Feb 13 2023, 10:35 AM

Okay, based on Discord server discussion, Jarlaxle, you are on the team! We will still do further review of your submission, however, so please repost it in a distinct thread. Thanks, and congratulations

Name: Schalenhai (Calciplacatichthys duoventis) [chalk-plate fish of the second wind]
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Twilight Neodevorator (Neodevoratorus primucrepusculum)
Habitat: LadyM Tropical Ocean, North LadyM Subtropical Ocean, South LadyM Subtropical Ocean
Size: 2.64 meters long (adult), 27 cm long (Juvenile) 5mm long (newborn larvae)
Support: ?
Diet: Adult: Carnivore (Siluros, Swarming Roufos, Carpolinka, Chambered Siluro, Common Naelk, Common Roufo, Dappershell, Nautcracker, Oceanic Lantern, Ripplegut, Stallephas, Starcrusher, Striped Nautstar, Rhombill, young Schalenhai), Scavenger, Kleptoparasite Juveniles: Scavenger, Carnivore (<5cm), Filter-Feeder (<2mm) Larvae: Filter-Feeder(<300µm)
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: ?
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, 5cm tall Egg Sacks), Asexual (5cm tall Egg Sacks)
In the wake of the end-binucleozoic atmospheric disturbance, the devorators were one group that suffered greatly, with nearly all members of this once proud lineage dying out. But down in the depths, one species made it through to the other side, being the Twilight Neodevorator. In the aftermath, the oceans had pretty much cleared of megafauna, meaning anything had a chance to take over if they responded quickly enough. With their effective respiratory system, the Twilight Neodevorator had a particular advantage over other taxa during this time of lower oxygen levels, so they would begin to grow bigger and enter surface waters. Despite this, however, the low amounts of nitrogen meant the exoskeletons of pure chitin no longer worked for large organisms, which in turn meant the growing Twilight Neodevorators had to develop ways of dealing with this problem, which among other things led to these groups splitting off into a unique taxon of their own right.

Known as the Schalenhai, these new predators have grown to over four times the size of their ancestor, rapidly taking the role of top predators. This large size is possible due to both their respiration and their support. When it comes to respiration, the Schalenhai use their ancestral adaptation, using powerful muscles around the gills that actively pump in and out water. This means more water goes through their gills, which then means more oxygen enters their bloodstream, which is critical for sustaining their large size during a time where oxygen levels are fairly low. This adaptation can also be still used for their original function, allowing the Schalenhai to enter a state of dormancy for periods of time, usually entering a state like this after bouts of intense activity like hunting down prey to then conserve energy and use less oxygen. Another major adaptation, one that is a recent development, relates to the Schalenhai’s exoskeleton being now primarily made up of calcite rather than chitin. Since calcium carbonate is quite abundant in the seas, this adaptation allows the Schalenhai to get around the problem of nitrogen levels being particularly low at this time.

With both of their adaptations relating to respiration and support, the Schalenhai is able to reach their enormous sizes, which in turn makes them the undisputed apex predator in the region. Being by far the largest predator in their ecosystem, almost anything else of decent size is on the menu for the Schalenhai. To hunt the various prey in these seas, the Schalenhai relies upon its ancestral adaptations and some new ones which had evolved in response to living in sunlit waters. For example, the Schalenhai’s exoskeleton has lost its iridescence, such having it shine brightly might give it position away to prey before it can get close enough to attack. Additionally, the Schalenhai has much more prominent countershading, helping it hide in a place where there is no cover to speak of. While it will try to get as close as it can towards a target to reduce the overall distance, the Schalenhai can also keep up a sustained pursuit. The effective respiration means the Schalenhai won't tire quickly during these bouts of high activity, while their streamlined shape and the denticles covering the exoskeleton means they won’t be slowed down by drag. The extra heart chamber inherited from its ancestor still helps circulate blood more effectively, getting vital oxygen around their body quickly and thus improving muscle performance which in turn means greater acceleration and mobility.

Once it gets close enough, the Schalenhai will try to grab the target with their feeding tendrils, relying less on ramming prey like their ancestor did. As the prey is caught, the tendrils will be retracted halfway into their cephalic sheaths and crush the prey. Two small prongs at the tip of a tendril that are made of calcite help with puncturing the target and help hold in place to prevent its escape. When killing prey, the four chitinous plates around the eye will come together, protecting the eye from potential damage if the prey struggles. The four facial plates still mean the mouth ring can expand to a fairly large size to consume its catch. As the prey is digested, the energy extracted from it will either be used immediately for body functions or will be stored as fat underneath the outer exoskeleton layer as a reserve for lean times.

Some parts of the Schalenhai’s body have not really changed. For example, the species still possesses a true brain, helping it to process information more quickly and effectively than the cerebral ganglion seen in more basal devorators. There is also still a small layer of fat underneath the exoskeleton’s surface layer, strengthening the armor against blows by absorbing the energy of crushing and squeezing attacks. This adaptation also protects the exoskeleton against high-strain impacts, though this is primarily used for intraspecific conflict since the species does not ram into prey as much.

As the Schalenhai is highly nomadic, it's inevitable that individuals will come across each other. Outside of the breeding season, these are typically random encounters which result in both individuals periodically flashing the UV patch on the top of their head as a warning. The winner of these “fights” is determined by who has the more complex sequence of flashes and how long these sequences last, with the loser quickly swimming away in the opposite direction. If two individuals are evenly matched, they will then escalate to a physical fight, swimming towards one another at high speeds to ram eachother. In these jousts, it's who breaks away from their charge first or is knocked out cold that a winner is determined. Schalenhais rely on these displays and jousts to avoid a truly violent fight, as such a battle could easily prove fatal for both combatants.

During the early spring months, females will become reproductively active, releasing pheromones into the water. As the species still uses scent to locate prey, males easily pick up these pheromones, where after they will begin to follow the trail to the source. Once a male has tracked down a potential mate, he will begin to use all of his UV patches, as only the males retain UV patches on parts of the body besides the top of their head (having UV patches on their dorsal fin and along their flanks). In these displays, it's all about the sequences and duration, with females only picking the ones that have the longest and most complex of displays. The mating process is identical to that of their ancestor, with the two locking their back fins together while mating belly to belly. Since the species has much more elaborate mating rituals than their ancestor, female Schalenhai will retain their egg sacs within their bodies. There are only two cases where a female will release the egg sacs, either when it has been fertilized by a male that had mated with the female, or close to the end of the breeding season. As the breeding season lasts about six weeks, a female will likely be fertilized by a male, but if she hasn't late into the season then she will fall back into parthenogenesis. The young inside the egg sac will begin to develop and the whole egg sac will be expelled by the mother. Since there is no incentive to males to try fertilizing the floating egg sacs, the egg sacs no longer glow with UV light. The young that hatch from these fertilized egg sacs will be still all female.

The resulting youngsters, fertilized or unfertilized, start their lives as small soft-bodied filter feeders. Being vulnerable to a variety of predators, including adult Schalenhais, these youngsters stick together into schools that can be hundreds strong. As they grow in size, they will begin to break up into smaller and smaller groups, with these youngsters starting to grow in their exoskeleton at around 27 centimeters long. These start as 3 slim “prime rings”, which start off as pure chitin. As they grow in size, the rest of the exoskeleton will grow in while also using more and more calcite.


A young Schalenhai.

Alright guys! Here is my first ever species of beta! How does this look? Feedback is highly appreciated!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Feb 15 2023, 01:40 PM

So, uh....how does my species look?

After some discussion with Jarlaxle on discord,I have made some clarifications on the huntibg method of the Schalenhai as well as some changes ib its reproduction.

this is my first submission, not sure if I'm doing it right but

Gallopett (Terralimus pulmo)
Creator: Future Tyrannosaurus
Ancestor: Flopett
Habitat: (Adults: Ovi Tropical Rainforest, Ovi Monsoon Forest, Ovi Tropical Watershed), (Babies: Ovi Tropical Watershed)
Size: 25 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet- Omnivore (Adults: spardiflies, pentamowers, clawed grapplebuns, asterplent, fern asterplent, wright caonach, gravestone asterplent, wortopedes, plentmowers, scorpioworts) (young: wright nautstars, Smoky Mosshroom, sand locrint larva, Towelian Compassfoi, lurkroufos, snoodceels, flutterwyrms)
Respiration: self-pumping gills, lungs
Thermoregulation: ectotherm
Reproduction: sexual (male and female, live birth)

Split from its ancestors, the gallopet became adapted to life on land more, like the Stinzerstar. Unlike its cousin, it has developed different adaptations for land. To stay on land longer, it now secretes mucus that protects it while on dry land, but must go back in water to re-secrete every few hours. In humid climate, however, it can last about a day until it needs to get back into the water. The much-reduced raptorial leg of its ancestor has become longer, and altered for moving on land. It can now bend the leg for walking. The two lateral arms have become leg-like and are also able to be used for walking on land. In water, they still function as the ancestor’s lateral arms. The anal leg, which was covered by the tail membranes with their ancestor, has become altered for walking, with the cloaca moving spots to better incorporate it being a leg.

The Gallopett increased in size due to less competition from the extinction event. It walks by first moving the raptorial leg forward, then the two lateral arms, and finally the anal arm moves last, thus making it a quadruped on land. It has not changed in physical appearance at all besides the legs. It still has 4 gills, 4 lungs, 4 noses. With the moving of the cloaca, the Gallopett created a new way of reproduction: the male goes on top of a female Gallopett, and they perform a cloacal kiss by bending the anal arm. The male mounts nearby the female’s anal arm to make the reproduction process faster. They now give birth on-land, nearby water sources. The placental womb-like structure from the ancestor has been altered and covers the baby on land, giving them some humidity to produce mucus. The new-born babies must flop their way to the water or they will become dehydrated and die, or become easy food sources for other fauna. Once in water, the baby will stay in water for several weeks and become an adult. Once an adult, they are now able to go on land for long periods of time. It can stay on land for the whole time during night.

So my first suggestion would be to put the image at the top of the submission and to put "//files.jcink.net/html/emoticons/smile.gif this is my first submission, not sure if I'm doing it right but https://files.jcink.net/uploads2/sagan4/emo...odent.png" at the bottom. I'll take a closer look in a little bit.

Update: overall I think this works well enough, but i do imagine people like coolsteph, dorite, and tssl will be able to provide more feedback than I can.

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Feb 16 2023, 01:25 PM

Oligopod (Paucojunctura spp.)
Creator: Primalpikachu
Ancestor: Paneltopedes
Habitat: Drake Orpington Talon
Size: 2.5-5 cm long 5-10cm panel span
Support: Exoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Herbivore both living and dead flora matter, Photosynthesis, omnivore (small aquatic fauna and flora matter)
Respiration: Passive (Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male/Female, eggs)

The Oligopod, filling a niche similar to that of the water boatman on earth without much competition, has shrunk considerably. The multiple body segments seen in its ancestor have been reduced as well, only having four to six pairs of legs now. The panel limbs have been reduced to only two or three pairs and have become flexible and enlarged to increase surface area.

The Oligopod has adapted to an aquatic lifestyle; using its panels, the Oligopod floats freely on the water’s surface while its body is submerged, hanging from the panels. The panels and body are used to look like flora matter, and thus, escape predation. The Oligopod can also completely submerge itself to get food or escape predation by tucking the panels behind its back; however they must come up to the surface to photosynthesize better and breathe. While suspended by its panels, the Oligopod can still move its body about underwater; in some species, this helps it catch its prey by ambushing it from the surface.

The Oligopod feeds on an assortment of organic matter; most species are herbivorous and will eat living or dead flora matter on the water’ surface and below. Some species prefer one type of flora over another, but the vast majority of species are generalists.

Oligopod species can be found throughout Drake, Orpington, and Talon. They prefer temperate or warm areas with plenty of permanent water sources. In dryer areas, Oligopods will lie dormant in their eggs until the wet season.

Sex determination is now less random; fertilized eggs, although male at birth, will become female; unfertilized will always be male throughout their life. Mating is done just like its ancestor and it has a rather short life span, averaging around 2 weeks for the genus; however, it makes up for this by having many in a generation, having up to 300 eggs in its life time.

This post has been edited by Primalpikachu: Mar 5 2023, 07:53 AM

@OviraptorFan, you clearly know what you're doing, so welcome to the Beta team! Please repost your submissions to the subforum.

As for the others, I'm gonna wait until @Coolsteph has commented before proceeding.