The gamma ray burst was pretty unrealistic. It was announced ahead of time, causing a mad scramble to save as many lineages as possible in the generations leading up to it. Further, r-selected species were preserved across the board regardless of how the gamma ray burst would actually realistically affect them. Had the gamma ray burst been more realistic and had it not been announced ahead of time, the results would have been very different. So, I thought it might make an interesting worldbuilding experiment.
In my alternate timeline, the following changes are in place:
This will be in an "overview" type format, think like Serina; I won't accept traditional submissions, but I may take organism suggestions once I have things going.
Table of Contents
Martykian Part 1: Survival
The Gamma-Ray Burst
Huggs-Yokto Savanna: A Hotspot of Survival
Impact of Intelligence: The Tale of The Least Likely Survivor
A Full List of Survivors
Martykian Part 2: Diversification
Inkflora
Seafoam and Rust: Purple Flora of Unusual Color
Glicker's Glintdagger Takeover
Nimbuses: Algae of the Sky
Hairy Flyworms
In my alternate timeline, the following changes are in place:
- None of the new cave species made in Week 15 exist (unless they would have survived without being in the cave, as was the case with Frabooball).
- The gamma ray burst itself is treated as a destruction of the ozone layer, exposing the surface to intense UV radiation from the sun over the remainder of the Martykian.
- Armor is not treated as a guaranteed save.
- Species are not automatically preserved for having r-selection.
- Ridiculously long-existing species such as Rainbow Marephasmatis and Uksip Marfinnus are counted as canon.
- All abilities a species has are taken into account; there is no such thing as a species that must die.
This will be in an "overview" type format, think like Serina; I won't accept traditional submissions, but I may take organism suggestions once I have things going.
Table of Contents
Martykian Part 1: Survival
The Gamma-Ray Burst
Huggs-Yokto Savanna: A Hotspot of Survival
Impact of Intelligence: The Tale of The Least Likely Survivor
A Full List of Survivors
Martykian Part 2: Diversification
Inkflora
Seafoam and Rust: Purple Flora of Unusual Color
Glicker's Glintdagger Takeover
Nimbuses: Algae of the Sky
Hairy Flyworms
The Gamma-Ray Burst
(artwork by Yannick)
A few thousand light years away, a star went supernova and collapsed into a black hole. A gamma-ray burst lasting no more than 20 seconds was pointed directly towards Sagan IV. As the gamma-rays pelted the planet’s atmosphere, 85% of the ozone layer was depleted almost instantly. Without ozone to protect the planet’s surface from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from its star, within the first hour, flora and fauna exposed on the day side of the planet suffered severe radiation burns. The inhabitants of the sky ecosystem, which were the most exposed, fell to the ground en masse, wings and hydrogen sacs far too damaged for flight. As Sagan IV continued to rotate, the devastation continued across the entire planet. Without the ozone layer to protect them, not a single plant or animal exposed to sunlight could avoid damage and burns from the UV radiation reaching the surface.
This was far from instantaneous death for most organisms, instead being an extended period of suffering. Most organisms died of burns, cancer, or radiation poisoning, and those that did not were rendered infertile. Some more intelligent species, such as roamers, gulpers, azelaks, and plandaphants, immediately recognized that the sun had effectively transformed into a deadly laser and avoided exposure, but in a matter of months all trees were dead and they had no remaining cover. Aquatic fauna in rivers and the sunlight zone, despite often having high reproductive rates, were decimated. Small flora that could reproduce before they died of radiation poisoning were the only organisms on the planet that weathered through direct exposure to the deadly sunlight, and even they struggled; any without the ability to exchange genes and select out harmful mutations perished.
Needless to say, most stuff died.
However, the planet was not left lifeless. In addition to some surviving r-selected plants, any organism which did not expose itself to sunlight was immune. In addition to leaving the deep sea almost completely intact, this also included nocturnal burrowers and cave specialists; as long as they had food, they survived. Through this subterranean exception to devastation, among terrestrial organisms and those otherwise only present in the sunlight zone, saucebacks, nodents, capoos, wingworms, centiworms, shrews, thief plents, gulpers, iron fauna, hoppers, bubblehorns, serpentsaurs, dwellers, and murkworms all had at least one surviving representative. This may seem like a lot of organisms, but far more things died than survived. The de-facto hand of God that saved so many organisms in another timeline by placing them in caves never existed here. Azelaks, capiris, bearhogs, blood shrews, flying plents, ketters, nobits, tree plents, worm flora, and countless more were wiped off the face of the planet. Among what did survive, some were reduced to only a few species--the only surviving wingworm being the Eyed Flyworm, for example. Sun-loving swarmers have been completely wiped out. Among flora, not a single non-shroom stickyball remains, and the majority of survivors are small herbs and shrubs capable of sexual reproduction. The face of the planet has been changed forever, and it will be millions of years before the ecosystem can return to anything remotely resembling "normal".
(artwork by Yannick)
A few thousand light years away, a star went supernova and collapsed into a black hole. A gamma-ray burst lasting no more than 20 seconds was pointed directly towards Sagan IV. As the gamma-rays pelted the planet’s atmosphere, 85% of the ozone layer was depleted almost instantly. Without ozone to protect the planet’s surface from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from its star, within the first hour, flora and fauna exposed on the day side of the planet suffered severe radiation burns. The inhabitants of the sky ecosystem, which were the most exposed, fell to the ground en masse, wings and hydrogen sacs far too damaged for flight. As Sagan IV continued to rotate, the devastation continued across the entire planet. Without the ozone layer to protect them, not a single plant or animal exposed to sunlight could avoid damage and burns from the UV radiation reaching the surface.
This was far from instantaneous death for most organisms, instead being an extended period of suffering. Most organisms died of burns, cancer, or radiation poisoning, and those that did not were rendered infertile. Some more intelligent species, such as roamers, gulpers, azelaks, and plandaphants, immediately recognized that the sun had effectively transformed into a deadly laser and avoided exposure, but in a matter of months all trees were dead and they had no remaining cover. Aquatic fauna in rivers and the sunlight zone, despite often having high reproductive rates, were decimated. Small flora that could reproduce before they died of radiation poisoning were the only organisms on the planet that weathered through direct exposure to the deadly sunlight, and even they struggled; any without the ability to exchange genes and select out harmful mutations perished.
Needless to say, most stuff died.
However, the planet was not left lifeless. In addition to some surviving r-selected plants, any organism which did not expose itself to sunlight was immune. In addition to leaving the deep sea almost completely intact, this also included nocturnal burrowers and cave specialists; as long as they had food, they survived. Through this subterranean exception to devastation, among terrestrial organisms and those otherwise only present in the sunlight zone, saucebacks, nodents, capoos, wingworms, centiworms, shrews, thief plents, gulpers, iron fauna, hoppers, bubblehorns, serpentsaurs, dwellers, and murkworms all had at least one surviving representative. This may seem like a lot of organisms, but far more things died than survived. The de-facto hand of God that saved so many organisms in another timeline by placing them in caves never existed here. Azelaks, capiris, bearhogs, blood shrews, flying plents, ketters, nobits, tree plents, worm flora, and countless more were wiped off the face of the planet. Among what did survive, some were reduced to only a few species--the only surviving wingworm being the Eyed Flyworm, for example. Sun-loving swarmers have been completely wiped out. Among flora, not a single non-shroom stickyball remains, and the majority of survivors are small herbs and shrubs capable of sexual reproduction. The face of the planet has been changed forever, and it will be millions of years before the ecosystem can return to anything remotely resembling "normal".
Huggs-Yokto Savanna: A Hotspot of Survival
Most biomes were completely devastated by the gamma-ray burst. Some were left devoid of any survivors except for microbes, others left with some small grass-like flora and the occasional small burrowing fauna. However, one terrestrial biome had more survivors than any other: the Huggs-Yokto Savanna.
Just over one dozen macroscopic species survived in this one savanna. The majority of surviving fauna are small fossorial plents, more than half of which are nodents alongside two gulpers and a thief plent. Most of these are preyed on by the Falsequill Sauceback. None emerge in the burning daylight, even the saucebacks digging far deeper than they did before the gamma-ray burst to protect exposed bits of carapace from UV rays. Above them, a vast plain of sickly grass-like flora grows under the harsh sun. Some have already begun to evolve reflective pigments to deflect excess UV radiation, extending their short lifespans enough to reproduce more than once, but they still almost invariably die from radiation poisoning rather than predation.
However, sickly grass-like flora are not the only surviving flora on the surface. As one explores further, especially towards the northwest part of the biome, the terrain becomes rocky and less regular. And in nearly every sheltered dip, especially in ones surrounded by rock, there lies a grove of Baobab Crystal Trees. This is certainly a peculiar sight. On one hand, as mixotrophs, many other crystal flora have done fairly well, being able to thrive in dim lighting and feed off of the remains of everything else. But on the other, the Baobab Crystal Tree is huge--it does not have the advantage smaller flora have of being able to grow in small sheltered areas by chance--and it depends on now seemingly extinct fauna to distribute its spores. For it to exist here, its fruits had to be eaten and its spores spread by something...or, perhaps, someone.
Most biomes were completely devastated by the gamma-ray burst. Some were left devoid of any survivors except for microbes, others left with some small grass-like flora and the occasional small burrowing fauna. However, one terrestrial biome had more survivors than any other: the Huggs-Yokto Savanna.
Just over one dozen macroscopic species survived in this one savanna. The majority of surviving fauna are small fossorial plents, more than half of which are nodents alongside two gulpers and a thief plent. Most of these are preyed on by the Falsequill Sauceback. None emerge in the burning daylight, even the saucebacks digging far deeper than they did before the gamma-ray burst to protect exposed bits of carapace from UV rays. Above them, a vast plain of sickly grass-like flora grows under the harsh sun. Some have already begun to evolve reflective pigments to deflect excess UV radiation, extending their short lifespans enough to reproduce more than once, but they still almost invariably die from radiation poisoning rather than predation.
However, sickly grass-like flora are not the only surviving flora on the surface. As one explores further, especially towards the northwest part of the biome, the terrain becomes rocky and less regular. And in nearly every sheltered dip, especially in ones surrounded by rock, there lies a grove of Baobab Crystal Trees. This is certainly a peculiar sight. On one hand, as mixotrophs, many other crystal flora have done fairly well, being able to thrive in dim lighting and feed off of the remains of everything else. But on the other, the Baobab Crystal Tree is huge--it does not have the advantage smaller flora have of being able to grow in small sheltered areas by chance--and it depends on now seemingly extinct fauna to distribute its spores. For it to exist here, its fruits had to be eaten and its spores spread by something...or, perhaps, someone.
Impact of Intelligence: The Tale of The Least Likely Survivor
The Nomad was supposed to die. On the meta side of things, it was literally designed as a response to the demands for a sapient species and was set to go extinct instantly so that it would have no effect on its environment. By all accounts, indeed, it should not be capable of surviving the gamma-ray burst--it’s a large non-burrowing diurnal creature, and an obligate herbivore at that. However, this is an alternate timeline where there is no such thing as a species that “must” die--and as it turns out, the Nomad has a lot of reasons not to perish.
When the gamma-ray burst occurred, like other intelligent fauna, Nomads very quickly identified exposure to sunlight as the source of the horrific burns which plagued their kind due to its similarity to sunburns. However, as trees died and they were left with less and less available cover, they were forced to do something even the smartest fauna could not--actively change their behavior as a species.
As a sapient creature with variable culture which changed faster than the scale of geologic time could account for, there were also an uncountable number of ideas which they invented themselves for how to survive the harsh conditions they were put under. Their natural nomadic lifestyle was rapidly abandoned in favor of staying in one place where they were guaranteed food and shelter. Nocturnal lifestyles were adopted by several cultures independently, individuals sleeping under natural or constructed rock shelters during the day and eating and socializing at night. Many noticed that some plants such as crystal flora could grow in dim lighting; this led to the practice of planting crystal flora such as baobab crystal trees, a great source of food and shelter, in locations where they would be exposed to relatively little sunlight and fertilizing them with any dead flora and fauna they came across. This granted the species both a way to avoid the radiation that rained down on the planet and a source of food reliable enough to sustain their large brains. When they were accidentally exposed during the day, individuals learned to use their color-changing ability to turn jet black, the melanin in their skin offering some protection from burns.
Despite sapience, the Nomad was also rapidly placed under natural selective pressures. Its recently-evolved warlike nature was selected right out of existence within the first one thousand years following the gamma-ray burst, as fighting between tribes invariably lead to both being completely wiped out, making it a highly unfavorable trait. With their learned ability to survive off of their groves of crystal flora, peaceful individuals thrived, and the species continued to survive without issue apart from a brief population bottleneck before the trait fully vanished. Though the species stabilized after this rapid change, as the Nomad remains alive after the mass extinction that was meant to kill it, this will certainly not be its last evolutionary change in this timeline.
The Nomad was supposed to die. On the meta side of things, it was literally designed as a response to the demands for a sapient species and was set to go extinct instantly so that it would have no effect on its environment. By all accounts, indeed, it should not be capable of surviving the gamma-ray burst--it’s a large non-burrowing diurnal creature, and an obligate herbivore at that. However, this is an alternate timeline where there is no such thing as a species that “must” die--and as it turns out, the Nomad has a lot of reasons not to perish.
When the gamma-ray burst occurred, like other intelligent fauna, Nomads very quickly identified exposure to sunlight as the source of the horrific burns which plagued their kind due to its similarity to sunburns. However, as trees died and they were left with less and less available cover, they were forced to do something even the smartest fauna could not--actively change their behavior as a species.
As a sapient creature with variable culture which changed faster than the scale of geologic time could account for, there were also an uncountable number of ideas which they invented themselves for how to survive the harsh conditions they were put under. Their natural nomadic lifestyle was rapidly abandoned in favor of staying in one place where they were guaranteed food and shelter. Nocturnal lifestyles were adopted by several cultures independently, individuals sleeping under natural or constructed rock shelters during the day and eating and socializing at night. Many noticed that some plants such as crystal flora could grow in dim lighting; this led to the practice of planting crystal flora such as baobab crystal trees, a great source of food and shelter, in locations where they would be exposed to relatively little sunlight and fertilizing them with any dead flora and fauna they came across. This granted the species both a way to avoid the radiation that rained down on the planet and a source of food reliable enough to sustain their large brains. When they were accidentally exposed during the day, individuals learned to use their color-changing ability to turn jet black, the melanin in their skin offering some protection from burns.
Despite sapience, the Nomad was also rapidly placed under natural selective pressures. Its recently-evolved warlike nature was selected right out of existence within the first one thousand years following the gamma-ray burst, as fighting between tribes invariably lead to both being completely wiped out, making it a highly unfavorable trait. With their learned ability to survive off of their groves of crystal flora, peaceful individuals thrived, and the species continued to survive without issue apart from a brief population bottleneck before the trait fully vanished. Though the species stabilized after this rapid change, as the Nomad remains alive after the mass extinction that was meant to kill it, this will certainly not be its last evolutionary change in this timeline.
A Full List of Survivors
(please tell me if I made any obvious mistakes! note the week 15 hand-of-god "stick this megafauna in a cave" survivors do not exist)
Glicker
(includes gen 101 species)
(please tell me if I made any obvious mistakes! note the week 15 hand-of-god "stick this megafauna in a cave" survivors do not exist)
Glicker
- Crystal Prismgrass
- Glintdagger
- Buryworm
- Black Swampshroom
- Violettail
- Runanchor
- Velishroot
- Hugograss
- Starflora
- Binucleus Hollow Crystal
- River Crystal
- Crystal Weed
- Mawring
- Frabooball
- Pickclaw
- Nogger
- Xidhorchia
- Clustershroom
- Norat
- Shroom-Thief Plent
- Puffkin
- Islandshroom
- Violetgrass
- Speckled Berry Plant
- Noant
- Nouse
- Spikeblades
- Trowelhorn Gulper
- Quillblades
- Diggerundi
- Cropshroom
- Tunnel Tasertongue
- Violetgrass
- Spolimnia
- Geistrat
- Alpine Violetgrass
- Purpplage
- Snow Puff
- Smaraslim Bubblehorn
- Cave Serpentsaur
- Baobab Crystal Tree
- Nomad
- Rust Bush
- Beach Orbiflor
- Burrowing Purple Bubblehorn
- Centiworm
- Ekamawan
- Krupede
- Rivergrass
- Filter Uksip
- Rainforest Centiworm
- Speckled Berry Plant
- Violetgrass
- Yellow Firegrass
- Thistleberry
- Orbiflor
- Thistle Burster
- Caveberry
- Light Gatherer Plurge
- Cavehopper
- Cave Capoo
- Long Eared Sauceback
- Eyed Flyworm
- Aquatic Plateworm
- Tundra Grass
- Marollon
- Vent Pyamus
- Dark Swarmer
- Ventrapper
- Probojet
- Marfos
- Blarg Pyamus
- Hooknose Urphish
- Parrotworm Lurker
- Seep Urchip
- Binucleus Pyamus
- Centifin
- Trapinout
- Shellpede
- Spoisoreth
- Trigon
- Deep-Sea Scissorworm
- Scavenging Parrotworm
- Ghastly Snark
- Deep Shrubite
- Deep Urchip
- Deep Trapinfilter
- Abyssal Ghark
- Jumping Shellpede
- Glowing Urpoi
- Twilight Ureel
- Blobsquid
- Rainbow Marephasmatis
- Uksip Marfinnus
- Silverling
- Triple Seadragolden
- Flashing Filtersquid
- Krillpede
- Buff Snark
- Tentacled Urphish
- Dark Giant Shovelhead
- Grasperfish
- Exusfiltra
- Snark
- Crystal Koral
- Poison Crystal Shrub
- Ironroot
- Crystal Seaweed
- Interlocking Crystal Koral
- Ferrumworm
- Gateway Shrub
- Cave Krillpede
(includes gen 101 species)
- Protohydroia Octherma
- Protomancerxia Thermaparasitica
- Placoball
- Radia Primus
- Malakommalis
- Sudisflutans
- Sting Cell
- Beadline
- Irisiri
- Flash Cell
- Gomphioculum Microscopica
- Trisphourus
- Morsus Turpis
- Megaorthoceros Segnoneustes
- Cnidolium Simplistica
- Black Sea Algae
- Black Southern Algae
- Petalgae
- Tankargus
- Krakow Black Algae
- Flash Tide
- Microdendron
- South Polar Black Algae
- Testudohexapodia Acta
- Luminuseven
- Ciliognathus
- Chlorocytus
- Saganchaos
- Swamp Beans
- Crocusism
- Flavumvar
- Yanimalius Probisucker
- Algaaquila
- Trisphorous Boules
- Cryopod
- Torus Balgae
- Circle Balgae
- Tubular Balgae
- Bank Balgae
- Teproutine
- Cryosagania
- Hexspourus
- Megaorthoceros Salisvimmia
- Salt Moss
- Octocrocus
- Hydrothermus
- Cavern Cryosagania
- Swamp Fibres
- Flovar
- Plent Fever
- Sauceback Fever
- Ukpuke
- Lithoamoeba
- Salmundus
- Padler
- Solumcrusta
- Funivenator Organuculus
- Nimbus
- Budding Microdendron
- Micro Fort
- Crescofons Orgapertraho
- Sceletus Praetereo
- Sunfeeder
- Colony Cell
- Widefire Ciliognathus
- Glirodlium Istaruthus
- Silex Praevius
- Fluctuator
- Cruris
- Floralgae
- Membranae Infinitus
- Methanophagus
- Penitoflora Coli
- Microplaque
- Brown Basilliphyta
Y'all are allowed to talk here, I feel weird just posting update after update with nothing in between even though I know people are commenting on it in the discord
"deadly laser" That's a joke based on a YouTube history on the abbreviated history of Earth, isn't it?
Those are a lot of microbes. I wonder if this timeline will represent a few individual species, instead of lumping many microbe lineages into basic genus groups.
I'm particularly interested in what will happen for the Nomad, Diggerundi and Krillpede.
Those are a lot of microbes. I wonder if this timeline will represent a few individual species, instead of lumping many microbe lineages into basic genus groups.
I'm particularly interested in what will happen for the Nomad, Diggerundi and Krillpede.
Yes, I love the quote "the sun is a deadly laser" very much.
"Individual species" and "genus group" don't have much meaning in the format I'm going for. There will certainly be entries that are what one would traditionally call a genus group, however there will be no lumping, and some megafauna will be presented in group entries as well.
For the most part, microbes aren't gonna get much focus except where it's relevant or if there's significant change. That said, they will not die of neglect either; the way I intend to handle them will become more clear in a future entry.
"Individual species" and "genus group" don't have much meaning in the format I'm going for. There will certainly be entries that are what one would traditionally call a genus group, however there will be no lumping, and some megafauna will be presented in group entries as well.
For the most part, microbes aren't gonna get much focus except where it's relevant or if there's significant change. That said, they will not die of neglect either; the way I intend to handle them will become more clear in a future entry.
Inkflora
With the extinction of most flora and the oceans left devoid of macroscopic phytoplankton, a significant portion of solar energy went to waste. With photosynthesis reduced globally, even with the few fast-growing flora that managed to live and reproduce on land, Sagan IV was at imminent risk of an oxygen crash of massive proportions, threatening all multicellular life.
However, there was still hope. Among the surviving flora was a sort of colonial black algae, the bank baalgae, which had already begun to expand its range with the extinction of nearly all of its competition. A particular offshoot gained the ability to produce gamete cells, allowing it to combat radiation damage through genetic recombination as well as disperse and spread without breaking apart. In order to resist the intense UV radiation beating down on it, it evolved special pigments which reflected harmful UV light. This aberrant black algae became a new kind of multicellular “plant”: the inkflora. With their superior radiation defenses, the inkflora rapidly outcompeted their ancestor and spread globally.
In defiance of the sun’s threat to life, huge mats of inkflora cover the ocean’s surface like an iridescent black blanket. Like their unicellular black algae cousins, they absorb light from the entire visible spectrum, though not nearly as efficiently as other types of flora. Their iridescent appearance comes from specialized UV-reflective pigments, which serve as a defense against the deadly sun. With their ability to cover much of the planet's surface and resist radiation damage, the inkflora were able to almost single-handedly prevent oxygen from dropping below critical levels, effectively saving all multicellular life. Though they have little in the way of defense against predators, the fact of them being the only thing standing in the way of deadly radiation killing whatever is underneath them deters significant predation, allowing them to grow freely.
Smaller forms also exist in brackish and freshwater environments, particularly lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams, where they serve as shelter for small aquatic fauna which would otherwise die from exposure to sunlight. Inkflora as a whole have facilitated the return of many kinds of fauna, including krillpedes, urchips, luliformids, marephasmatoids, and beakworms, to the shallows, sunlight zone, and freshwater biomes, though larger oceanic fauna remain restricted to the deep sea.
With the extinction of most flora and the oceans left devoid of macroscopic phytoplankton, a significant portion of solar energy went to waste. With photosynthesis reduced globally, even with the few fast-growing flora that managed to live and reproduce on land, Sagan IV was at imminent risk of an oxygen crash of massive proportions, threatening all multicellular life.
However, there was still hope. Among the surviving flora was a sort of colonial black algae, the bank baalgae, which had already begun to expand its range with the extinction of nearly all of its competition. A particular offshoot gained the ability to produce gamete cells, allowing it to combat radiation damage through genetic recombination as well as disperse and spread without breaking apart. In order to resist the intense UV radiation beating down on it, it evolved special pigments which reflected harmful UV light. This aberrant black algae became a new kind of multicellular “plant”: the inkflora. With their superior radiation defenses, the inkflora rapidly outcompeted their ancestor and spread globally.
In defiance of the sun’s threat to life, huge mats of inkflora cover the ocean’s surface like an iridescent black blanket. Like their unicellular black algae cousins, they absorb light from the entire visible spectrum, though not nearly as efficiently as other types of flora. Their iridescent appearance comes from specialized UV-reflective pigments, which serve as a defense against the deadly sun. With their ability to cover much of the planet's surface and resist radiation damage, the inkflora were able to almost single-handedly prevent oxygen from dropping below critical levels, effectively saving all multicellular life. Though they have little in the way of defense against predators, the fact of them being the only thing standing in the way of deadly radiation killing whatever is underneath them deters significant predation, allowing them to grow freely.
Smaller forms also exist in brackish and freshwater environments, particularly lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams, where they serve as shelter for small aquatic fauna which would otherwise die from exposure to sunlight. Inkflora as a whole have facilitated the return of many kinds of fauna, including krillpedes, urchips, luliformids, marephasmatoids, and beakworms, to the shallows, sunlight zone, and freshwater biomes, though larger oceanic fauna remain restricted to the deep sea.
I've started adding links to relevant canon species and also added the official gamma ray burst art - I figured I don't need to redraw what's still canon
Seafoam and Rust: Purple Flora of Unusual Color
The gamma ray burst hit Wright far worse than it hit Glicker, and much of the terrain was left barren of all but microbes. What little visible life that remained on the surface consisted of grass-like flora, which only lived long enough to reproduce once before succumbing to the harsh ultraviolet radiation. However, not all flora suffered equally. Though fewer species survived in Wright overall compared to Glicker, what did survive included two distinct types of purple flora which already utilized pigments which incidentally protected them from the harsh sunlight, allowing them to rapidly take over the continent.
Emerging from the river system, descendants of the rivergrass re-adapted for life on land and rapidly took over the continent, becoming the seafoam grasses. Though a type of purple flora, the seafoam grasses are green in color due to the presence of a greenish non-photosynthesizing pigment, which can be seen as analogous to the anthocyanin of Earth’s plants due to it being complementary to their natural purple photosynthesis. Unlike anthocyanin, however, this green pigment reflects harmful ultraviolet radiation, preventing its transmission into the plant’s tissues and allowing the seafoam grasses to grow and thrive in spite of the burning sun. Their ancestor remained extant as well, unchanged, and thrived throughout Wright's freshwater and wetland environments.
The seafoam grasses were so successful that they even began to outcompete other purple flora. However, they were not the only flora on Wright lucky enough to be able to withstand the harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Descendants of the rust bush known as rust grasses now dominate much of western Wright, utilizing an iron-based accessory pigment which reflects most harmful UVB radiation. Though not all is successfully deflected, the remainder is less energetic and rendered harmless, as the pigment will capture it and pass its energy to their purple chloroplasts for use in photosynthesis. This gives them an edge over the seafoam grasses, which only deflect and cannot actually utilize the radiation for food production, and as a result they are far more diverse. Because of their dependence on iron, however, they are restricted to regions rich in that metal. Due to a general lack of fauna, their fruit has gradually shrunken down into a simple extra flesh casing over the seed within.
It is thanks to these two varieties of flora that Wright is on its way to becoming habitable once more. They have even allowed the spread of centiworms throughout the continent, including descendants of both the original centiworm and the rainforest centiworm. One particular descendant of the rainforest centiworm, the colossal centiworm, reached a whopping 2 meters in length due to a complete lack of competition.
The gamma ray burst hit Wright far worse than it hit Glicker, and much of the terrain was left barren of all but microbes. What little visible life that remained on the surface consisted of grass-like flora, which only lived long enough to reproduce once before succumbing to the harsh ultraviolet radiation. However, not all flora suffered equally. Though fewer species survived in Wright overall compared to Glicker, what did survive included two distinct types of purple flora which already utilized pigments which incidentally protected them from the harsh sunlight, allowing them to rapidly take over the continent.
Emerging from the river system, descendants of the rivergrass re-adapted for life on land and rapidly took over the continent, becoming the seafoam grasses. Though a type of purple flora, the seafoam grasses are green in color due to the presence of a greenish non-photosynthesizing pigment, which can be seen as analogous to the anthocyanin of Earth’s plants due to it being complementary to their natural purple photosynthesis. Unlike anthocyanin, however, this green pigment reflects harmful ultraviolet radiation, preventing its transmission into the plant’s tissues and allowing the seafoam grasses to grow and thrive in spite of the burning sun. Their ancestor remained extant as well, unchanged, and thrived throughout Wright's freshwater and wetland environments.
The seafoam grasses were so successful that they even began to outcompete other purple flora. However, they were not the only flora on Wright lucky enough to be able to withstand the harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Descendants of the rust bush known as rust grasses now dominate much of western Wright, utilizing an iron-based accessory pigment which reflects most harmful UVB radiation. Though not all is successfully deflected, the remainder is less energetic and rendered harmless, as the pigment will capture it and pass its energy to their purple chloroplasts for use in photosynthesis. This gives them an edge over the seafoam grasses, which only deflect and cannot actually utilize the radiation for food production, and as a result they are far more diverse. Because of their dependence on iron, however, they are restricted to regions rich in that metal. Due to a general lack of fauna, their fruit has gradually shrunken down into a simple extra flesh casing over the seed within.
It is thanks to these two varieties of flora that Wright is on its way to becoming habitable once more. They have even allowed the spread of centiworms throughout the continent, including descendants of both the original centiworm and the rainforest centiworm. One particular descendant of the rainforest centiworm, the colossal centiworm, reached a whopping 2 meters in length due to a complete lack of competition.
Sagan 4 when viewed from space probably looks like copper now with all of this flora taking over
Only in Wright, it's still unfeasible for stuff to raft between the two continents because of the whole "ozone layer's gone" thing. I'm gonna make a flora update for Glicker next.
It seems that while many species perished from the Gamma Ray burst and almost all the remaining species are marginal at best, it seems that the Rivergrass and Rust Bush not only survived but thrived. I wonder what the future holds for these two groups.
This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 15 2021, 07:09 PM
This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 15 2021, 07:09 PM
Glicker's Glintdagger Takeover
While Glicker had lucked out in the technical number of species that survived the gamma ray burst, far fewer of its native flora species had innate features that gave them an edge over other flora. The best that its native flora could do is be able to grow quickly enough to reproduce once before exposure to intense UVB radiation kills them, and what could survive began to evolve ways to reduce exposure through either shade tolerance or reflective structures. However, one particular plant, the glintdagger, was already somewhat suited to the harsh conditions due to its reflective leaves, though nowhere near to the same degree as the seafoam and rust grasses of Wright.
(artwork by Somarinoa; note however that the stickyballs attached to the plant are extinct)
Its range soon encroached that of other grasses, but it could not outcompete them, as they already had a foothold. However, everything changed when primarily granivorous descendants of the nouse known as nomsters took notice of their bioluminescent seeds.
Nearly all living fauna in Glicker are nocturnal, so existing strategies of attracting fauna such as bright colors did not work as well. However, by pure chance, the glintdagger had evolved bioluminescent seeds prior to the extinction event. This meant that nocturnal granivores such as nomsters which regularly foraged for seeds would see them before anything else and bring them back to their underground food stores, often completely ignoring other seeds. If they are not simply abandoned and sprout from where they were stored, the stored seeds may then be eaten by larger creatures such as shrews and thief plents, which will then therefore spread them even further away through their feces. As a result, simply by having a preference for their easy-to-find seeds, the humble nomsters, seemingly insignificant creatures rarely more than 15 centimeters in length (the smallest species being as little as 5 centimeters!), have facilitated the rapid spread of glintdaggers, which have taken over as the dominant ground cover over most of Glicker.
While Glicker had lucked out in the technical number of species that survived the gamma ray burst, far fewer of its native flora species had innate features that gave them an edge over other flora. The best that its native flora could do is be able to grow quickly enough to reproduce once before exposure to intense UVB radiation kills them, and what could survive began to evolve ways to reduce exposure through either shade tolerance or reflective structures. However, one particular plant, the glintdagger, was already somewhat suited to the harsh conditions due to its reflective leaves, though nowhere near to the same degree as the seafoam and rust grasses of Wright.
(artwork by Somarinoa; note however that the stickyballs attached to the plant are extinct)
Its range soon encroached that of other grasses, but it could not outcompete them, as they already had a foothold. However, everything changed when primarily granivorous descendants of the nouse known as nomsters took notice of their bioluminescent seeds.
Nearly all living fauna in Glicker are nocturnal, so existing strategies of attracting fauna such as bright colors did not work as well. However, by pure chance, the glintdagger had evolved bioluminescent seeds prior to the extinction event. This meant that nocturnal granivores such as nomsters which regularly foraged for seeds would see them before anything else and bring them back to their underground food stores, often completely ignoring other seeds. If they are not simply abandoned and sprout from where they were stored, the stored seeds may then be eaten by larger creatures such as shrews and thief plents, which will then therefore spread them even further away through their feces. As a result, simply by having a preference for their easy-to-find seeds, the humble nomsters, seemingly insignificant creatures rarely more than 15 centimeters in length (the smallest species being as little as 5 centimeters!), have facilitated the rapid spread of glintdaggers, which have taken over as the dominant ground cover over most of Glicker.
View Desktop Version | Disable Images in Posts
Powered by Invision Power Board (Jcink) © 2023 IPS, Inc.
Powered by Invision Power Board (Jcink) © 2023 IPS, Inc.