The diet ought to be fixed,
With the uh rocket and big stuff part
This post has been edited by colddigger: Feb 3 2023, 10:34 AM
With the uh rocket and big stuff part
This post has been edited by colddigger: Feb 3 2023, 10:34 AM
im working right now on the diet and social interaction and the rocket will get out when i will submitt it ist just a reference to the Garg where eats the neptune escape rocket and where is the inspiration of that creature
To put it in the terms of TVTropes, for a likely future update to Sagan 4's Sagan 4's TVTropes page:
"Foreshadowing: As of Generation 167, the recurring phrase "fat, hairy sausage" has proven to be foreshadowing for the Saucege, whose entire concept can be summarized as such."
It barely even has a sauce, though I suppose its lifestyle doesn't really necessitate a big brain anyway.
"Foreshadowing: As of Generation 167, the recurring phrase "fat, hairy sausage" has proven to be foreshadowing for the Saucege, whose entire concept can be summarized as such."
It barely even has a sauce, though I suppose its lifestyle doesn't really necessitate a big brain anyway.
Technically the sauce only represents the location of the braincase, not necessarily the size, but yeah, the saucege probably isn't very smart.
I made so many saucebacks for the sky and now I'm making so many saucebacks for the dirt...
i overwork the description
Name: Leviathan
()
Diet: Carnivore (Galleon Lyngbakr, Reapermaw Hafgufa, Midnight Filtersquid, Lurking Lyngbakr)
Size: 5 Meters - Unknown
Biome: Abyssal Floor, Abyssal Zone, Twilight Zone,
Twilight Floor, Midnight Zone, Midnight floor
Ancestor: Twilight Echofin (2 others between Twilight Echofin and Leviathan
Reproduction: Sexual 1 Gender
Thermoregulation: Ektotherm
The Leviathan have split from his ancestor the Twilight Echofin and adapted to grow larger and that their entire life but a giant thing that life in high and low pressure could explode or get crushed from the pressure so it needed to develop something to survive these pressures that’s why their body is hollow and filled with water, Because of it new Size it needed to see further than the twilight Echofin so it Developed an Organ where it can Create munch stronger Echo.
Other stuff the Leviathan have developed are Bright Bioluminescent to attract prey and they have developed an Organ where the can produce sperm and eggs it needs only the right hormone to trigger the production.
Reproduction
Leviathans will begin to swim to the abyssal floor every year on the same day then the Leviathans will release hormones and then some will produce eggs and the others sperm after 2 days they will mate the biggest Leviathan can Choose first who it wants to mate.
When the eggs are fertilized then the “mother” Leviathan will lay the eggs after 2 months in that times the “father” Leviathan will feed the “mother” Leviathan and protect it.
When the around 3000 eggs per Leviathan got laid then the Leviathan will leave the abyssal floor.
Name: Leviathan
()
Diet: Carnivore (Galleon Lyngbakr, Reapermaw Hafgufa, Midnight Filtersquid, Lurking Lyngbakr)
Size: 5 Meters - Unknown
Biome: Abyssal Floor, Abyssal Zone, Twilight Zone,
Twilight Floor, Midnight Zone, Midnight floor
Ancestor: Twilight Echofin (2 others between Twilight Echofin and Leviathan
Reproduction: Sexual 1 Gender
Thermoregulation: Ektotherm
The Leviathan have split from his ancestor the Twilight Echofin and adapted to grow larger and that their entire life but a giant thing that life in high and low pressure could explode or get crushed from the pressure so it needed to develop something to survive these pressures that’s why their body is hollow and filled with water, Because of it new Size it needed to see further than the twilight Echofin so it Developed an Organ where it can Create munch stronger Echo.
Other stuff the Leviathan have developed are Bright Bioluminescent to attract prey and they have developed an Organ where the can produce sperm and eggs it needs only the right hormone to trigger the production.
Reproduction
Leviathans will begin to swim to the abyssal floor every year on the same day then the Leviathans will release hormones and then some will produce eggs and the others sperm after 2 days they will mate the biggest Leviathan can Choose first who it wants to mate.
When the eggs are fertilized then the “mother” Leviathan will lay the eggs after 2 months in that times the “father” Leviathan will feed the “mother” Leviathan and protect it.
When the around 3000 eggs per Leviathan got laid then the Leviathan will leave the abyssal floor.
incomplete description and no finished art yet, but I have been reworking a previous WIP into a genus submission after positive reception from the team and getting the okay from mni, and I feel like posting for potential feedback I guess.
This may end up being one of the longest and most detailed genus group entries once it's done. Which is probably a good thing for setting precedent, since we don't want creatures like this to be submitted as vaguely as the poorly executed early genera from before the limbo.
--
Krikrees (Parusvolucrus spp.) (titmouse winged-things)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Ferry Quail
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman
Size: 10-20 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Hollow Chitin)
Diet: Omnivore (Wingworms, Minikruggs, Vermees, Teacup Sauceback larvae, other small binucleid worms, and their eggs; Gamergate Gundis, small Neuks and their descendants, and other small squishy fauna; seeds, nuts, megaspores, and small crystals)
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Microlung Network and Air Sacs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs in Nest)
Krikrees split from their ancestor and diversified. To the degree that the interbiat is like a chicken, that the quail raptor is like a quail, and that the ferry quail is like a robin, krikrees are like titmice. These tiny winged saucebacks are highly adapted for life in the trees, but will sometimes land on the ground to hunt and forage. They can be found all over Wallace and Koseman, anywhere where trees or large shrubs such as snowflake obsidioaks and ferries are present.
==Anatomy==
(Gallery: Musculoskeletal Diagrams)
Krikrees have a stouter, more compressed shape than most biats, even more so in proportion to their size than ophreys, and long legs suited to strong flight and moving through trees. They have short, strong beaks which can break through the shells of minikruggs, seeds, and small crystals.
Krikrees are strong fliers yet retain two free toes. This is enabled by the partial sclerotization of the tendon which folds the primary flight feathers, which stabilizes them and allows for much longer primaries than can normally be present on a didactyl species, granting krikrees the benefits of both strong flight and a stable foot posture. This trait is also present in the related Martyk mega quail. (Conversely, monodactyl biats such as ophreys typically lack this tendon at all, as the wing toe completely takes over its role.) This structure holds the feathers very strongly until they are ready to be molted and replaced, and as such it is rather difficult to pluck a primary without injury.
===Eyestrils===
The imperfect compound eyestrils of their ancestor have fused into a single sparkling pair bearing numerous individual eyestrils, which grant krikrees acute image formation compared to other jewel-eyed saucebacks as well as excellent movement detection. Due to their structure involving mirrors and a retina at the front of the eye, unlike the compound eyes of terran arthropods and certain unrelated ukfauna, krikree compound eyes have an external skin component (also present in the single-eyestrils of other jewel-eyed saucebacks) which can be pigmented without impacting their function. This is the reason for their differing appearance from standard compound eyes.
The component eyestrils can still be compressed to focus using tiny muscle fibers running through the compound structure, granting krikrees much better image formation than standard compound eyes. This is possible to accomplish due to the eyestrils being mirror eyes, where the shape of the eye itself is adjusted to focus instead of a separate, smaller lens.
Similar to the eyestrils of their relatives, krikree eyestrils have open pupils that let air in to smell and they must flush them with tears to remove debris. When krikrees cry, their eyestrils swiftly overflow and form relatively large tear droplets on the surface of the compound eye. This is because shaking off a large droplet removes tears from multiple eyestrils at once more effectively than trying to remove a much smaller volume contained only in each, due to surface tension and momentum. As this also results in more water loss, they only do this when debris starts to impact their vision (they can afford to wait due to redundancy) or when they need to remove a parasite.
===Respiratory System===
The respiratory system of krikrees is compressed entirely inside the hip girdle, effectively making the body cavity end at the cloaca, unlike in other saucebacks where most of the respiratory system is post-anal. Similar to the unrelated ophreys, the microlungs of krikrees are fused into a unidirectional system, but unlike ophreys which have a single pair of macrolungs, krikrees still have three distinct pairs of microlungs. In fact, the missing fourth pair (technically the third, when starting from the sauce and counting along the pulmonary vertebrae) is still present as well, but it has transformed into tubing which connects the other three pairs and no longer has corresponding external spiracles (leaving krikrees with just three pairs). Breathing is powered by the postpelvic gastralium, which is vertically oriented at the back of the hip and is roughly Y-shaped.
When a krikree inhales, air flows into the rearmost pair of microlungs. It then pushes the air through the tubing into the two frontmost pairs, one located near the hip socket and the other nearly up at the neck. Their unusual location makes a krikree’s body more lightweight, similar to the function of air sacs in terran birds. These continue to take in oxygen from that same air while the hindmost pair inhales again before pushing the next breath through, expelling the previous breath from the first two pairs of spiracles. This system is slightly more efficient than the wave flow system employed by ophreys, as only one pair of microlungs powers the entire system.
Extensions of the first and second pairs of microlungs form air sacs which run up the neck and thread into the wing bones, respectively. These extensions serve no purpose in absorbing oxygen, but do make these body parts lighter.
==Behavior==
Krikrees are social creatures which form large social groups consisting of a large flock residing in one tree or a group of trees that splits up into smaller flocks to forage over a wide area. When foraging on the ground, they will frequently join other biats, skysnappers, and phlyers to form mixed-species foraging groups, which are safer from predators than smaller single-species groups. With their superior hearing (compared to skysnappers and phlyers) and eyesight (compared to other biats), they can notify other species of danger with their warning calls and abrupt flight.
===Foraging===
Krikrees are capable of brachiating, swinging along the underside of branches to catch prey that use the undersides of leaves and branches to avoid less-agile predators. To move to a better location more quickly, they can hold on with one wing and flap the other to gain enough momentum to swing back to the top of the branch, where they are also very good at keeping their footing when running along thanks to their long, semi-opposable toes and didactyl foot posture. Krikrees are also capable of foraging on the ground, where they source the majority of their food over winter.
The frequency of the two strategies during the summer correlates with the size of the species, with the largest ones spending more time on the ground and the smallest ones mainly hunting in the trees. In wooded and shrubland biomes, a minimum of three krikree species will coexist partitioning between ground foraging, larger branch foraging, and smaller branch foraging, similar to Earth’s titmice.
Several species in regions with cold winters will engage in food caching in the fall, allowing them to stay healthy over winter.
===Vocalization===
(Image: A krikree singing. “The twinkle-twinkle krikree (P. scintillare), native to the temperate woodland regions of Koseman, produces a mating call which sounds remarkably similar to the popular lullaby ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ when slowed down.”)
The namesake call of krikrees is produced not by their lungs, but using stridulation. Like other saucebacks, they can produce chirps using their tongue. However, this ability is exceptionally advanced in krikrees. The tongue bears many chitinous bristles, which a krikree can adjust the arrangement of simply by extending or contracting it. It opens its mouth and rubs its tongue against its specialized oral spines, which themselves bear tooth-like serrations, causing them to vibrate and produce sounds which are amplified by the shape of its mouth, like a phone speaker placed in a cup. The sound is more similar to a cricket or other insect chirp than to a bird chirp in how it’s produced, despite the creature’s birdlike appearance. Each oral spine corresponds to a specific note, while the adjustment of the tongue alters the exact pitch, allowing for vibrato and other effects. The tongue can also rub against multiple oral spines at once, allowing for chords.
Krikrees stridulate almost continuously to communicate with others in their flock, as long as they are awake and not frightened by a predator. The namesake “krikree” is actually an alarm call to warn others of a predator so that they may hide. Other calls include a social trill which sounds similar to a cricket chirping and a “chittering” used by juveniles that have not yet gotten the hang of stridulation. Krikrees are still capable of making “creaking” sounds with their lungs, but this is now restricted to the equivalent to a threatening growl (primarily heard in territorial conflicts), as stridulation has completely overtaken it in effectiveness for communication.
===Defense===
Though krikrees are small, they do not live helplessly in fear of predators that might eat them. When a threat is identified, after the flock has fluttered to safety, they will continue to make their alarm call at the threat until it leaves. If it does not, a few brave individuals will start harassing the predator, nipping at vulnerable body parts such as eyes, ears, and wings and using dive-bombs to throw them off balance. Some species may also land on the predator’s head and attempt to shove sticks and leaves into its orifices, primarily the eyes, nostrils, and ear canals. They are usually successful in the end, as even if they do no lasting harm, the predator will still eventually tire of the harassment and leave. This allows them to safely resume foraging without further risk.
===Reproductive Behavior and Nesting===
(Image: A krikree at a nest full of babies)
At the start of the breeding season, which typically begins in the spring, krikrees become more territorial, as they must compete for both mates and ideal nesting grounds. Krikrees prefer to nest in natural cavities such as tree hollows, though they will also use abandoned constructed nests formerly belonging to other organisms, such as xenobee hives, if better options are unavailable. Krikrees seeking a mate will broadcast with song, producing rhythmic melodies that are species-specific and often incorporate chords due to their ability to sing multiple notes at once. The female is usually the one making a mate selection rather than it being mutual, resulting in some species being sexually dimorphic. Their tail barbs aid them in holding on to mate, a task otherwise made difficult by their leg-wings getting in the way.
A nest is constructed in the cavity using dry leaves, feathers, fur, trichomes, and plent cotton as bedding. The female then lays a clutch of eggs, as few as 2 in some alpine species and usually somewhere between 8 and 14 in most others. The hard-shelled eggs hatch into blind, pink, featherless chicks that are completely dependent on their parents for survival. The pair stays together throughout the breeding period, producing multiple broods of eggs to maximize the chances that at least one chick will survive, and part ways in the fall. Some species remain monogamous, choosing the same mate every year provided it’s still alive, while others, especially the more sexually dimorphic species with more visually striking males, may form different pairs each year.
===Tool Use===
(Image: A krikree using a ferine needle to access a food item inside a log)
Krikrees are fairly intelligent among biats and some species, particularly larger ones, can use simple tools to extract prey while foraging. The tools are natural, rather than crafted, typically being something like the needle of some sort of ferine being used to extract a worm from a log. Seeds and kruggs too large and tough for them to break open on their own or by pressing against a hard surface will sometimes be smashed with small rocks.
==Diversity==
There are around 50 species of krikree, which can be divided into three main subgenera: Dixon krikrees (left), Darwin krikrees (right), and Koseman krikrees (bottom). Dixon and Darwin krikrees are broadly similar due to semi-frequent hybridization permitting gene flow in central Wallace, while Koseman krikrees are slightly more distinct, their most externally obvious difference being the long black rachises extending past the vanes on the ear feathers in males. Koseman krikrees are also sometimes found in southern Wallace, contrary to their name, which permits hybridization with the other two subgenera. However, in general, female krikrees of the Dixon and Darwin subgenera don’t seem to have the same taste in ear feathers as female Koseman krikrees, which limits the spread of the elongated rachises further north.
Apart from this, general coloration trends can also be seen in the three subgenera: Dixon krikrees are frequently white, gray, or pink; Darwin krikrees are frequently red-brown or yellowish; and Koseman krikrees often incorporate contrasting black and white patches. Males may also be more colorful or otherwise more striking than females, regardless of subgenus, with green or blue patches on the chest or throat being common. Males also frequently have blue or green eyes, while in females they will be pigmented similarly to the surrounding feathers for camouflage.
This may end up being one of the longest and most detailed genus group entries once it's done. Which is probably a good thing for setting precedent, since we don't want creatures like this to be submitted as vaguely as the poorly executed early genera from before the limbo.
--
Krikrees (Parusvolucrus spp.) (titmouse winged-things)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Ferry Quail
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman
Size: 10-20 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Hollow Chitin)
Diet: Omnivore (Wingworms, Minikruggs, Vermees, Teacup Sauceback larvae, other small binucleid worms, and their eggs; Gamergate Gundis, small Neuks and their descendants, and other small squishy fauna; seeds, nuts, megaspores, and small crystals)
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Microlung Network and Air Sacs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs in Nest)
Krikrees split from their ancestor and diversified. To the degree that the interbiat is like a chicken, that the quail raptor is like a quail, and that the ferry quail is like a robin, krikrees are like titmice. These tiny winged saucebacks are highly adapted for life in the trees, but will sometimes land on the ground to hunt and forage. They can be found all over Wallace and Koseman, anywhere where trees or large shrubs such as snowflake obsidioaks and ferries are present.
==Anatomy==
(Gallery: Musculoskeletal Diagrams)
Krikrees have a stouter, more compressed shape than most biats, even more so in proportion to their size than ophreys, and long legs suited to strong flight and moving through trees. They have short, strong beaks which can break through the shells of minikruggs, seeds, and small crystals.
Krikrees are strong fliers yet retain two free toes. This is enabled by the partial sclerotization of the tendon which folds the primary flight feathers, which stabilizes them and allows for much longer primaries than can normally be present on a didactyl species, granting krikrees the benefits of both strong flight and a stable foot posture. This trait is also present in the related Martyk mega quail. (Conversely, monodactyl biats such as ophreys typically lack this tendon at all, as the wing toe completely takes over its role.) This structure holds the feathers very strongly until they are ready to be molted and replaced, and as such it is rather difficult to pluck a primary without injury.
===Eyestrils===
The imperfect compound eyestrils of their ancestor have fused into a single sparkling pair bearing numerous individual eyestrils, which grant krikrees acute image formation compared to other jewel-eyed saucebacks as well as excellent movement detection. Due to their structure involving mirrors and a retina at the front of the eye, unlike the compound eyes of terran arthropods and certain unrelated ukfauna, krikree compound eyes have an external skin component (also present in the single-eyestrils of other jewel-eyed saucebacks) which can be pigmented without impacting their function. This is the reason for their differing appearance from standard compound eyes.
The component eyestrils can still be compressed to focus using tiny muscle fibers running through the compound structure, granting krikrees much better image formation than standard compound eyes. This is possible to accomplish due to the eyestrils being mirror eyes, where the shape of the eye itself is adjusted to focus instead of a separate, smaller lens.
Similar to the eyestrils of their relatives, krikree eyestrils have open pupils that let air in to smell and they must flush them with tears to remove debris. When krikrees cry, their eyestrils swiftly overflow and form relatively large tear droplets on the surface of the compound eye. This is because shaking off a large droplet removes tears from multiple eyestrils at once more effectively than trying to remove a much smaller volume contained only in each, due to surface tension and momentum. As this also results in more water loss, they only do this when debris starts to impact their vision (they can afford to wait due to redundancy) or when they need to remove a parasite.
===Respiratory System===
The respiratory system of krikrees is compressed entirely inside the hip girdle, effectively making the body cavity end at the cloaca, unlike in other saucebacks where most of the respiratory system is post-anal. Similar to the unrelated ophreys, the microlungs of krikrees are fused into a unidirectional system, but unlike ophreys which have a single pair of macrolungs, krikrees still have three distinct pairs of microlungs. In fact, the missing fourth pair (technically the third, when starting from the sauce and counting along the pulmonary vertebrae) is still present as well, but it has transformed into tubing which connects the other three pairs and no longer has corresponding external spiracles (leaving krikrees with just three pairs). Breathing is powered by the postpelvic gastralium, which is vertically oriented at the back of the hip and is roughly Y-shaped.
When a krikree inhales, air flows into the rearmost pair of microlungs. It then pushes the air through the tubing into the two frontmost pairs, one located near the hip socket and the other nearly up at the neck. Their unusual location makes a krikree’s body more lightweight, similar to the function of air sacs in terran birds. These continue to take in oxygen from that same air while the hindmost pair inhales again before pushing the next breath through, expelling the previous breath from the first two pairs of spiracles. This system is slightly more efficient than the wave flow system employed by ophreys, as only one pair of microlungs powers the entire system.
Extensions of the first and second pairs of microlungs form air sacs which run up the neck and thread into the wing bones, respectively. These extensions serve no purpose in absorbing oxygen, but do make these body parts lighter.
==Behavior==
Krikrees are social creatures which form large social groups consisting of a large flock residing in one tree or a group of trees that splits up into smaller flocks to forage over a wide area. When foraging on the ground, they will frequently join other biats, skysnappers, and phlyers to form mixed-species foraging groups, which are safer from predators than smaller single-species groups. With their superior hearing (compared to skysnappers and phlyers) and eyesight (compared to other biats), they can notify other species of danger with their warning calls and abrupt flight.
===Foraging===
Krikrees are capable of brachiating, swinging along the underside of branches to catch prey that use the undersides of leaves and branches to avoid less-agile predators. To move to a better location more quickly, they can hold on with one wing and flap the other to gain enough momentum to swing back to the top of the branch, where they are also very good at keeping their footing when running along thanks to their long, semi-opposable toes and didactyl foot posture. Krikrees are also capable of foraging on the ground, where they source the majority of their food over winter.
The frequency of the two strategies during the summer correlates with the size of the species, with the largest ones spending more time on the ground and the smallest ones mainly hunting in the trees. In wooded and shrubland biomes, a minimum of three krikree species will coexist partitioning between ground foraging, larger branch foraging, and smaller branch foraging, similar to Earth’s titmice.
Several species in regions with cold winters will engage in food caching in the fall, allowing them to stay healthy over winter.
===Vocalization===
(Image: A krikree singing. “The twinkle-twinkle krikree (P. scintillare), native to the temperate woodland regions of Koseman, produces a mating call which sounds remarkably similar to the popular lullaby ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ when slowed down.”)
The namesake call of krikrees is produced not by their lungs, but using stridulation. Like other saucebacks, they can produce chirps using their tongue. However, this ability is exceptionally advanced in krikrees. The tongue bears many chitinous bristles, which a krikree can adjust the arrangement of simply by extending or contracting it. It opens its mouth and rubs its tongue against its specialized oral spines, which themselves bear tooth-like serrations, causing them to vibrate and produce sounds which are amplified by the shape of its mouth, like a phone speaker placed in a cup. The sound is more similar to a cricket or other insect chirp than to a bird chirp in how it’s produced, despite the creature’s birdlike appearance. Each oral spine corresponds to a specific note, while the adjustment of the tongue alters the exact pitch, allowing for vibrato and other effects. The tongue can also rub against multiple oral spines at once, allowing for chords.
Krikrees stridulate almost continuously to communicate with others in their flock, as long as they are awake and not frightened by a predator. The namesake “krikree” is actually an alarm call to warn others of a predator so that they may hide. Other calls include a social trill which sounds similar to a cricket chirping and a “chittering” used by juveniles that have not yet gotten the hang of stridulation. Krikrees are still capable of making “creaking” sounds with their lungs, but this is now restricted to the equivalent to a threatening growl (primarily heard in territorial conflicts), as stridulation has completely overtaken it in effectiveness for communication.
===Defense===
Though krikrees are small, they do not live helplessly in fear of predators that might eat them. When a threat is identified, after the flock has fluttered to safety, they will continue to make their alarm call at the threat until it leaves. If it does not, a few brave individuals will start harassing the predator, nipping at vulnerable body parts such as eyes, ears, and wings and using dive-bombs to throw them off balance. Some species may also land on the predator’s head and attempt to shove sticks and leaves into its orifices, primarily the eyes, nostrils, and ear canals. They are usually successful in the end, as even if they do no lasting harm, the predator will still eventually tire of the harassment and leave. This allows them to safely resume foraging without further risk.
===Reproductive Behavior and Nesting===
(Image: A krikree at a nest full of babies)
At the start of the breeding season, which typically begins in the spring, krikrees become more territorial, as they must compete for both mates and ideal nesting grounds. Krikrees prefer to nest in natural cavities such as tree hollows, though they will also use abandoned constructed nests formerly belonging to other organisms, such as xenobee hives, if better options are unavailable. Krikrees seeking a mate will broadcast with song, producing rhythmic melodies that are species-specific and often incorporate chords due to their ability to sing multiple notes at once. The female is usually the one making a mate selection rather than it being mutual, resulting in some species being sexually dimorphic. Their tail barbs aid them in holding on to mate, a task otherwise made difficult by their leg-wings getting in the way.
A nest is constructed in the cavity using dry leaves, feathers, fur, trichomes, and plent cotton as bedding. The female then lays a clutch of eggs, as few as 2 in some alpine species and usually somewhere between 8 and 14 in most others. The hard-shelled eggs hatch into blind, pink, featherless chicks that are completely dependent on their parents for survival. The pair stays together throughout the breeding period, producing multiple broods of eggs to maximize the chances that at least one chick will survive, and part ways in the fall. Some species remain monogamous, choosing the same mate every year provided it’s still alive, while others, especially the more sexually dimorphic species with more visually striking males, may form different pairs each year.
===Tool Use===
(Image: A krikree using a ferine needle to access a food item inside a log)
Krikrees are fairly intelligent among biats and some species, particularly larger ones, can use simple tools to extract prey while foraging. The tools are natural, rather than crafted, typically being something like the needle of some sort of ferine being used to extract a worm from a log. Seeds and kruggs too large and tough for them to break open on their own or by pressing against a hard surface will sometimes be smashed with small rocks.
==Diversity==
There are around 50 species of krikree, which can be divided into three main subgenera: Dixon krikrees (left), Darwin krikrees (right), and Koseman krikrees (bottom). Dixon and Darwin krikrees are broadly similar due to semi-frequent hybridization permitting gene flow in central Wallace, while Koseman krikrees are slightly more distinct, their most externally obvious difference being the long black rachises extending past the vanes on the ear feathers in males. Koseman krikrees are also sometimes found in southern Wallace, contrary to their name, which permits hybridization with the other two subgenera. However, in general, female krikrees of the Dixon and Darwin subgenera don’t seem to have the same taste in ear feathers as female Koseman krikrees, which limits the spread of the elongated rachises further north.
Apart from this, general coloration trends can also be seen in the three subgenera: Dixon krikrees are frequently white, gray, or pink; Darwin krikrees are frequently red-brown or yellowish; and Koseman krikrees often incorporate contrasting black and white patches. Males may also be more colorful or otherwise more striking than females, regardless of subgenus, with green or blue patches on the chest or throat being common. Males also frequently have blue or green eyes, while in females they will be pigmented similarly to the surrounding feathers for camouflage.
As an addition to the above - because I'm doing this as a genus group instead of submitting ~50 individual species, a lot of time and energy I would have spent working on individual entries can instead be focused on adding more and more detail, which is part of why the description is getting so long. I ended up spending time making the call of the "twinkle twinkle krikree" mentioned in the text, for example.
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...e%20vibrato.ogg
This is actually another reason I like making genus groups so much, since the information doesn't need to be repeated in numerous entries I can actually just go crazy adding as much detail as I want.
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...e%20vibrato.ogg
This is actually another reason I like making genus groups so much, since the information doesn't need to be repeated in numerous entries I can actually just go crazy adding as much detail as I want.
Made a bunch more krikree sounds, unsure about the last one tho:
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20growl.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20alarm.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...y%20chatter.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...%20chirping.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...w%20chatter.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20growl.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...ree%20alarm.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...y%20chatter.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...%20chirping.ogg
https://file.garden/YofOl4CqGHPlp7p8/sagan4...w%20chatter.ogg
Feather Blice
Ancestor: Minikruggs
Creator: Colddigger
Diet: Detritivore, Parasitic (feathers and skin of Saucebacks, Biats, etc.)
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman
Size: 0.1 - 0.5 cm long
Support: Chitin (Exoskeleton)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Respiration: Passive (Diffusion)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two sexes, soft eggs cemented to leaves or feathers
Feather Blice split from its ancestor the Minikruggs to take on a more parasitic style of living. They can be found throughout Wallace and Koseman. These miniscule creatures may measure from half a centimeter in length down to 1 mm among the smaller species of the genus. They have undergone a dietary transition from a diverse form of eating among their ancestors to a more specialized food source. The new food source for this group of fauna are specifically the chitinous feathers and skin of feathered saucebacks, biats, and their kin.
The reproductive cycle of this group is a little more complex than its ancestor, but it begins with a soft egg hidden at the base of a floral leaf. This egg hatches to release a single diploid female baby, fully capable of wandering around on its own. This baby wanders to the tip of the leaf that it was born on and extends its legs outward in a reaching form. In time other larger fauna will brush past it, those without feathers made from chitin are ignored or even fleed from. Those that do have feathers made from chitin are quickly latched upon by the extended limbs.
The baby female having found its first host quickly scurries deep into the feather coat of the larger organism toward its skin where it will feed on both the filaments of the feathers toward their base as well as taking small bites out of the skin itself. Homes on the body of the host that are most sought after are near the crevices of limbs where it's warmest and safest from the elements as well as the backs of ears or along the seams of the sauce.
It takes about 10 days for the parasite to reach reproductive maturity on the host. Once having reached maturity the female parasite will begin laying parthenogenic eggs cemented to the base of feathers. These eggs will always hatch into haploid females, which again will take 10 days before becoming reproductively mature. Behaviorally they are fairly similar to their diploid mother, though less persistent in remaining near the base of limbs and ears, and have a tendency to feed further up the feathers.
Once this first generation of haploid females reach reproductive maturity they too will begin laying their own eggs. These eggs will be clonal, complete copies of their parents genome. However the behavior of their parent differing from the diploid form of their genus will result in the eggs being scattered throughout the feather coat of their host. This placement of eggs means that the temperature exposure will be different, those eggs that were cemented to a feather further up the structure and away from the body of the host will be exposed to cooler temperatures. These temperature differences will determine the sex of the organism, with cooler temperatures resulting in males and warmer temperatures resulting in females.
These haploid eggs attach to the feathers of their host hatch within 2 to 3 days. Preening and other hygienic forms of behavior from their host will clean off these eggs, especially destroying the eggs further up the feather which are destined to become males. However, egg production is fairly consistent so many of them will be able to hatch in time to scurry back down to the body where it's safer. Males become sexually viable within only a few days, and unceremoniously breed with any females in their vicinity.
Fertilized haploid females will replicate the egg laying behavior of the initial diploid females, laying diploid eggs tightly against the base of feathers. Virtually all of these eggs will hatch into diploid females due to proximity to the body. Though, because the sex determination of eggs laid by haploid females is temperature-based, If an egg that were fertilized is somehow placed higher up on a feather, or falls away from the host's body due to the event of feather loss, it will hatch into a diploid male. These individuals produce progeny that are triploid after fertilization, and die before hatching.
Fertilized diploid females, also producing eggs that are diploid, will gorge themselves on the skin of their host and then drop away into the open environment during a period when their host is resting. From there they will scurry away to the safety of any Flora where they will begin to cement individual eggs to the base of leaves. Diploid females produce a hormone inside their eggs that silence the temperature based sex determination found in haploid females, this is why all their eggs become female. The Feather Blice will feed on the dead tissue of these flora as well as detritus on the ground, until they run out of fertile eggs. After this they'll clamber up to the top of a flora to try to repeat the process of hitching a ride onto a sauceback or biat.
Diploid Feather Blice can live in this cycle of living on a host and crawling around the underbrush for about a year before dying. In more temperate climates the population survives the cold periods via the individuals found on hosts. Those that drop off of the hosts from instinct simply succumb to the heat loss and quickly die before completing their cycle. During these times of years the main method that the parasites are spread is via direct contact between individual hosts, as haploid females and males shuffle between the feathers. Haploid individuals typically never leave the host that they hatched on, they're rather short lived, haploid females only living for a quarter of a year and haploid males for only half that.
Because of their small stature, and their blood containing hemoglobin, they have no longer any need for active respiration. The blood close to the surface of their bodies is able to absorb oxygen through exposure at the seams between their exoskeletal scutes and carapace. This blood is able to capture, hold on to, and transport the oxygen to tissues deeper in the body. Their legs and body are flatter than their ancestors, this allows them to more quickly shift about among the feathers of their host and to avoid being preened away. Their feet are more hook-like and grippy to allow them to hang onto feathers more easily.
This post has been edited by colddigger: Apr 10 2023, 09:50 PM
Ancestor: Minikruggs
Creator: Colddigger
Diet: Detritivore, Parasitic (feathers and skin of Saucebacks, Biats, etc.)
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman
Size: 0.1 - 0.5 cm long
Support: Chitin (Exoskeleton)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Respiration: Passive (Diffusion)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two sexes, soft eggs cemented to leaves or feathers
Feather Blice split from its ancestor the Minikruggs to take on a more parasitic style of living. They can be found throughout Wallace and Koseman. These miniscule creatures may measure from half a centimeter in length down to 1 mm among the smaller species of the genus. They have undergone a dietary transition from a diverse form of eating among their ancestors to a more specialized food source. The new food source for this group of fauna are specifically the chitinous feathers and skin of feathered saucebacks, biats, and their kin.
The reproductive cycle of this group is a little more complex than its ancestor, but it begins with a soft egg hidden at the base of a floral leaf. This egg hatches to release a single diploid female baby, fully capable of wandering around on its own. This baby wanders to the tip of the leaf that it was born on and extends its legs outward in a reaching form. In time other larger fauna will brush past it, those without feathers made from chitin are ignored or even fleed from. Those that do have feathers made from chitin are quickly latched upon by the extended limbs.
The baby female having found its first host quickly scurries deep into the feather coat of the larger organism toward its skin where it will feed on both the filaments of the feathers toward their base as well as taking small bites out of the skin itself. Homes on the body of the host that are most sought after are near the crevices of limbs where it's warmest and safest from the elements as well as the backs of ears or along the seams of the sauce.
It takes about 10 days for the parasite to reach reproductive maturity on the host. Once having reached maturity the female parasite will begin laying parthenogenic eggs cemented to the base of feathers. These eggs will always hatch into haploid females, which again will take 10 days before becoming reproductively mature. Behaviorally they are fairly similar to their diploid mother, though less persistent in remaining near the base of limbs and ears, and have a tendency to feed further up the feathers.
Once this first generation of haploid females reach reproductive maturity they too will begin laying their own eggs. These eggs will be clonal, complete copies of their parents genome. However the behavior of their parent differing from the diploid form of their genus will result in the eggs being scattered throughout the feather coat of their host. This placement of eggs means that the temperature exposure will be different, those eggs that were cemented to a feather further up the structure and away from the body of the host will be exposed to cooler temperatures. These temperature differences will determine the sex of the organism, with cooler temperatures resulting in males and warmer temperatures resulting in females.
These haploid eggs attach to the feathers of their host hatch within 2 to 3 days. Preening and other hygienic forms of behavior from their host will clean off these eggs, especially destroying the eggs further up the feather which are destined to become males. However, egg production is fairly consistent so many of them will be able to hatch in time to scurry back down to the body where it's safer. Males become sexually viable within only a few days, and unceremoniously breed with any females in their vicinity.
Fertilized haploid females will replicate the egg laying behavior of the initial diploid females, laying diploid eggs tightly against the base of feathers. Virtually all of these eggs will hatch into diploid females due to proximity to the body. Though, because the sex determination of eggs laid by haploid females is temperature-based, If an egg that were fertilized is somehow placed higher up on a feather, or falls away from the host's body due to the event of feather loss, it will hatch into a diploid male. These individuals produce progeny that are triploid after fertilization, and die before hatching.
Fertilized diploid females, also producing eggs that are diploid, will gorge themselves on the skin of their host and then drop away into the open environment during a period when their host is resting. From there they will scurry away to the safety of any Flora where they will begin to cement individual eggs to the base of leaves. Diploid females produce a hormone inside their eggs that silence the temperature based sex determination found in haploid females, this is why all their eggs become female. The Feather Blice will feed on the dead tissue of these flora as well as detritus on the ground, until they run out of fertile eggs. After this they'll clamber up to the top of a flora to try to repeat the process of hitching a ride onto a sauceback or biat.
Diploid Feather Blice can live in this cycle of living on a host and crawling around the underbrush for about a year before dying. In more temperate climates the population survives the cold periods via the individuals found on hosts. Those that drop off of the hosts from instinct simply succumb to the heat loss and quickly die before completing their cycle. During these times of years the main method that the parasites are spread is via direct contact between individual hosts, as haploid females and males shuffle between the feathers. Haploid individuals typically never leave the host that they hatched on, they're rather short lived, haploid females only living for a quarter of a year and haploid males for only half that.
Because of their small stature, and their blood containing hemoglobin, they have no longer any need for active respiration. The blood close to the surface of their bodies is able to absorb oxygen through exposure at the seams between their exoskeletal scutes and carapace. This blood is able to capture, hold on to, and transport the oxygen to tissues deeper in the body. Their legs and body are flatter than their ancestors, this allows them to more quickly shift about among the feathers of their host and to avoid being preened away. Their feet are more hook-like and grippy to allow them to hang onto feathers more easily.
This post has been edited by colddigger: Apr 10 2023, 09:50 PM
Soggy Patricia Clamatillusorus vetitii (forbidden delusional cry)
Ancestor: Snowsculptor Janit
Creator: Colddigger
Diet: Detritivore, Scavenger
Habitat: Artir Temperate Beach, Flisch Subpolar Beach, Darkov Subpolar Beach, Soma Temperate Beach, Soma Subpolar Beach
Size: 6 cm Long
Support: Chitin (exoskeleton)
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Trachea)
Reproduction: sequential hermaphrodite, eggs
The Soggy Patricia split from its ancestor and spread across the Drake beaches. Like their ancestor they are detritivores, feeding on the diverse debris that washes up on the beach from high tide. The majority of their active time is spent in the wrack zone of the beaches during low tide, with no particular socializing between individuals. They're fairly common, and often can be found in groups feeding on large piles of debris. Though squabbling can occur, rarely does it actually result in any prolonged confrontations. More typically it simply ends with one giving up whatever piece of food they were fighting over and quickly pursuing the next piece of food down the beach.
During high tide the Soggy Patricia stows away among the flora and driftwood found along the edges of the tidelands. They remain inactive, hidden from possible predators. Flipping a large piece of driftwood will often expose whole clusters of them sharing temporary shallow burrows they had created for the moment. Again during this period of the day they are not particularly social, but are rather indifferent to the prospect of sharing their space with others of their own kind.
Breeding season occurs at the end of winter. Unlike their ancestors snow is not involved in the creation of nests at all. Rather the males will dig burrows underneath driftwood outside of the reach of tides. These tunnels can reach 50 cm in length and dead end without a chamber. The males advertise these burrows by standing on top of the driftwood and waving their front limbs at passersby and honking a distinct call "Aaaay-wazheckzhev-Aaaay". If they notice any predators they will quickly flee between and underneath the driftwood.
Females that pass by will stop for a day or two to mate and lay eggs, after laying eggs they will leave to continue on down the beach. Once the tunnel is filled with the 2 mm long eggs the males will stop advertising availability and crawl down to fill the entryway with sand or dirt and guard it. They rarely travel the mere meters down the beach toward the detritus, preferring to simply fast during their guard duties. A body part that now exists on them that aids in both self-defense and the defense of their burrow, found on them from the time of hatching but at its greatest size in the old males, are spurs that occur on the top of the end most segment of their front limbs. These are used for punching and scratching and pinching and are very tough and sharp.
After about 24 days the eggs begin to hatch, the young scramble out of the burrow pushing past one another and spill across the dunes of the beach. When this happens the guarding male abandons the burrow location to begin the usual period of wandering and feeding to build their strength back up. Once recovered from their period of fasting the male will once again go through the process of finding a length of driftwood to dig a burrow beneath. They will repeat this cycle until the end of summer.
Due to the sequential hermaphroditic nature of their lineage, all the hatched young start life as females. As 2 to 3 mm size morsels upon hatching they are skittish by nature, this aspect hardly wavering as they increase in size and age. They are fully capable of caring for themselves upon leaving the egg, and like the mature females they spend low tide scouring the beach for food and high tide hiding among the flora and driftwood of the upper beach dunes. They sexually mature as females after about 70 to 80 days. This means that, at least for those hatched from eggs early in the year, Soggy Patricia are able to lay a clutch of their own during their first summer of life.
Winter survival for these tiny organisms is rather basic. At the end of summer they wander more inland to find logs and rocks and other large objects that they may dig a burrow beneath for protection. In response to cooling temperatures their metabolism slows down and their body produces threitol to prevent damage from freezing. The species is capable of performing this task even shortly after hatching, allowing the breeding season to continue on until nearly the end of summer without major mortality of young to the cold. Though, it's fairly common for a newly hatched Young to hide away in the burrows created by larger individuals simply for convenience. While waiting out the winter individuals survive purely on fat stores, this is actually the most common cause of death for young during winter as opposed to dying from the cold. The youngs simply lack adequate storage to survive that length of time without venturing out to eat. In temperate regions winter does have daylight, and occasionally even somewhat warm days during which the starving Young may attempt to venture out to a low tide in order to replenish their energy stores. In subpolar regions this may kill quite a few of them however, as winter lacks adequate daylight to warm them if they venture away from their burrow. Exposure to the air of the winter night maybe too intense for them to survive, and if they do they risk the potential of getting lost in the darkness or if the entrance to its burrow gets buried with snow.
Unlike it's ancestors the Soggy Patricia does not willfully engage sequential hermaphroditism. This transformation from female to male is not influenced by population, or demographic density of the sexes, it's purely caused by time. The first two years, whether hatched at the beginning of the year or the end of summer, are spent as females. At the end of their second winter they will develop into a male and go through the process of digging burrows and advertising them. Into their third winter the individual is lacking in adequate storage to be able to survive, in subpolar regions this is enough to fairly quickly end the male. In temperate regions and individual may be able to survive further along into winter by scrounging some food during warm days. But by the time that spring comes around they're simply too worn down to survive.
Physically the species is fairly similar to their ancestors; rotund bodies and thick limbs with their eyed posterior flipped up and over their thoractic center. Their digestive system superficially looped due to this body arrangement, so that the mouth and cloaca essentially lead to the same point. Fat deposits throughout their bodies for winter survival. Their body form folded reminiscent to the development of Terran crabs, though simultaneously flipped on their backs.
Many aspects are slightly different however, one being the cloaca preferentially held to the side of the mouth at all times, no longer immediately above. The eyes that exist along this posterior length of their body are now set off center, initially aligned as hatchlings they move to the sides as the organism ages and grows. This allows for better depth perception in all directions.
The mouth is even larger now with thick muscles for grinding and processing the wrack from the ocean. This already large orifice can expand further to accommodate scarfing mouthfuls of organic matter to take full advantage of the short time it's available. The front limbs have developed defensive spurs on the tops of the ends, as well as lobes for greater grip and manipulation of their food and digging.
One interesting development that deviates from the body structure of their ancestors is their ability to vocalize through their tracheal system. Like most other wingworms the Soggy Patricia has a unidirectional tracheal system that is semi active. This tracheal system spans from the mouth back to the cloaca, which in Janits is looped back around toward their front. Being semi active in wingworms this tracheal system is capable of moving air through itself, though typically via the moving activities of other parts of the body not explicitly designed for that action. Most commonly this would be powered by flight, or the movement of wings, in the more taxonomically localized lineage it would be the movement of legs derived from wings. The Soggy Patricia has taken advantage of this and developed air sacs closely associated with their hindmost legs which are capable of being pressed and deflated to give a burst of air through the exit holes associated with their cloacal region. The "kissing lips" surrounding their cloacal region associated with mating are now longer and more muscular in order to manipulate the sounds created by this escaping gas. The hatchlings and females commonly blow raspberries using this process, make pooting sounds, or hissing sounds, the males create more complex songs for their burrow advertising.
This post has been edited by colddigger: Apr 12 2023, 09:02 PM
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