Sagan 4 has a few extremely maladapted species that should probably be outcompeted or eaten to extinction. If you know of any, please list them and your reasoning here.
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Here's an example of what I mean by an extremely maladapted species:
The desert tilecorn (which I intend to largely outcompete next gen) is pretty much screwed in a competitive sense, because it is a large desert-dwelling ectothermic herbivore with a high metabolism which depends on water to reproduce.
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Here's an example of what I mean by an extremely maladapted species:
The desert tilecorn (which I intend to largely outcompete next gen) is pretty much screwed in a competitive sense, because it is a large desert-dwelling ectothermic herbivore with a high metabolism which depends on water to reproduce.
- Because it depends on water to reproduce, living in a desert means that it is not guaranteed to have an opportunity to breed every year. Because it is a large animal as well, it needs larger bodies of water than, say, a desert frog would, meaning breeding opportunities will be even rarer. This puts a severe restriction on its population growth, so it's likely a very rare animal in its environment; being a rare animal also means that it isn't putting up much of a competitive fight for its niche, so another species can literally just steal it at any time.
- The high metabolism is more implied than directly stated, but it would need to have one to function as it does, travelling long distances on foot between sources of food and water like a camel. While living in a desert as an ectotherm does facilitate a higher metabolism that could allow one to be highly nomadic in its environment, that is without taking into account other factors. The desert tilecorn is a large animal and an herbivore, so it must eat a large amount of food to meet its daily nutritional needs given its high metabolism. However, as an ectotherm, it cannot take advantage of cooler parts of the day as an endothermic herbivore could, so it is restricted more or less to late morning and early evening on a normal day; it's too hot to do anything around noon, and too early or late and the temperature is too low for it to go on because it's an ectotherm. Given that deserts aren't exactly known for being hot spots of plentiful food, it must be barely scraping by, so combined with it already being rare because of its low rate of reproduction, the appearance of competition would very likely result in its immediate extinction.
Drakablo: it's very big for something that eats purely insects as an adult, in a habitat, the desert, which surely wouldn't be extremely abundant in insects.
Wikipedia suggests sloth bears, which are 1.5 to 2 meters long, may be the biggest insectivores. Alvarezsaurus, which is thought to be an insectivore, is 1.4 meters long. Drakabloes are 1.8 cm long. Their ectothermy would reduce their food requirements, but they're still very big. Admittedly, Sagan 4's insect-like Sapworms, Vermees, and Dartirs can get very big by Earth standards, but the size range of local Fermi Desert species probably wouldn't be in the upper end. It doesn't have any adaptations to find the best prey or efficiently use its calories, either.
I suspect Fermi Desert's Snapjaws are on the big side for desert-dwelling animals, but "desert elephants" (desert-dwelling African bush elephants) exist at a similar or greater size. Elephants, though, have much broader diets than Snapjaws. With the exception of an post-creation mention of Mangot fruit-leaves being eaten by Snapjaws, Snapjaws' diets haven't adjusted to take advantage of tree-like flora that would give them a lot of biomass, and judging by the diet they have now, they might not be able to logically take advantage of it.
Cryobowls, Sunleaves, and Sunstalks are very common parts of the diet among Fermisaurs, so it would be worth checking out for competition.
Spinebacked Probeface eggs are laid into cryobowls. They should be extinct, judging by the Acrucravat's description.
Wikipedia suggests sloth bears, which are 1.5 to 2 meters long, may be the biggest insectivores. Alvarezsaurus, which is thought to be an insectivore, is 1.4 meters long. Drakabloes are 1.8 cm long. Their ectothermy would reduce their food requirements, but they're still very big. Admittedly, Sagan 4's insect-like Sapworms, Vermees, and Dartirs can get very big by Earth standards, but the size range of local Fermi Desert species probably wouldn't be in the upper end. It doesn't have any adaptations to find the best prey or efficiently use its calories, either.
I suspect Fermi Desert's Snapjaws are on the big side for desert-dwelling animals, but "desert elephants" (desert-dwelling African bush elephants) exist at a similar or greater size. Elephants, though, have much broader diets than Snapjaws. With the exception of an post-creation mention of Mangot fruit-leaves being eaten by Snapjaws, Snapjaws' diets haven't adjusted to take advantage of tree-like flora that would give them a lot of biomass, and judging by the diet they have now, they might not be able to logically take advantage of it.
Cryobowls, Sunleaves, and Sunstalks are very common parts of the diet among Fermisaurs, so it would be worth checking out for competition.
Spinebacked Probeface eggs are laid into cryobowls. They should be extinct, judging by the Acrucravat's description.
I don't think those are maladapted in the same way.
Insects in deserts are actually quite plentiful, especially underground. Megafaunal insectivores are questionable, but as ectotherms, they don't need to eat tons of them as long as they don't have a high metabolism to keep up with. There's snakes that specialize in eating the juveniles of one species of lizard for a small part of the year, and just never eat the rest of the time.
For Fermi's biota working with cryobowls especially for reproduction, migration to the tundra every summer for reproduction instead would resolve many of their issues. Tundras turn into wetlands every summer.
Outside of ongoing extinction events, lots of animals can feed from the same food source just fine. The "one animal per niche" thing on Earth is super recent.
When I say extremely maladapted, I mean the organism is at a state where its position in the environment is flawed and fragile and there's not really much it can do to get out of its situation and survive should some competition or predators show up. Like the desert tilecorn.
Insects in deserts are actually quite plentiful, especially underground. Megafaunal insectivores are questionable, but as ectotherms, they don't need to eat tons of them as long as they don't have a high metabolism to keep up with. There's snakes that specialize in eating the juveniles of one species of lizard for a small part of the year, and just never eat the rest of the time.
For Fermi's biota working with cryobowls especially for reproduction, migration to the tundra every summer for reproduction instead would resolve many of their issues. Tundras turn into wetlands every summer.
Outside of ongoing extinction events, lots of animals can feed from the same food source just fine. The "one animal per niche" thing on Earth is super recent.
When I say extremely maladapted, I mean the organism is at a state where its position in the environment is flawed and fragile and there's not really much it can do to get out of its situation and survive should some competition or predators show up. Like the desert tilecorn.
(EDITED)
These ones aren't quite on the verge of outcompetition or being eaten to extinction on the level of the desert tilecorn, but they are moderately vulnerable. I inspected the deserts first because it was the easiest.
Striped Phlocks might be at risk of extinction in Dixon-Darwin High Desert and Dixon-Darwin Desert due to Skewer Shrogs eating their young. Striped Phlocks are very visible without sufficient cause: zebras' stripes confuse tsetse flies, which carry strong diseases, but equivalents to those don't exist in this setting. They don't have much in the way of defense, so Skewer Shrogs' spears would likely pierce them easily. They can run fast, but Skewer Shrogs are noted to be able to run faster than their ancestors, so they might still be a threat. Skewer Shogs hunt by hiding behind rocks or in trees (likely Coniflors in this habitat, though they would stand out). Striped Phlocks might not have, say, keen vision or a sense of smell to alert them to hidden Skewer Shrogs.
Sabulyns don't match anything in Dixon-Darwin Desert. They have two predators: Mothheads and Skewer Shrogs.
Other than Ornate Gumjorns and Arid Plyents (the latter of which move), there aren't any large green flora in Dixon-Darwin Desert. Scaleskuniks and Plehexapods would still stand out against Ornate Gumjorns in shape and coloration, though. It might depend on the color vision or visual acuity of local predators, such as Skewer Shrogs.
Stride Sauceback:
The camouflage matches nothing but Bangsticks, and even that's likely a loose match, because Bangsticks are aquamarine and likely glassy-looking. It's possible they migrate to moist areas to lay their eggs, but not outright stated. Skewer Shrogs eat them.
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Dixon-Darwin High Desert
Plehexapods and Sabulyns have the same issue of a lack of camouflage and predators as Dixon-Darwin Desert.
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Bipedal Uktank: tied to water to reproduce, but lives in Drake High Desert. Has no notable adaptations to deal with this, such as young maturing extra-quickly.
Alpine Checks:
Soaring Phlyer:
Lives in the Sagan 4 Atmosphere (Troposphere), Darwin Alpine, North Dixon Alpine, and South Dixon Alpine. All are cold environments, and it doesn't seem to have any insulation. The fact it has four membranous wings may mean it loses heat very fast. They can soar for a long time without eating or moving, but it might be worth checking out. Ectotherms (spiders, baby spiders) can move through the troposphere, but the mortality rate is high.
These ones aren't quite on the verge of outcompetition or being eaten to extinction on the level of the desert tilecorn, but they are moderately vulnerable. I inspected the deserts first because it was the easiest.
Striped Phlocks might be at risk of extinction in Dixon-Darwin High Desert and Dixon-Darwin Desert due to Skewer Shrogs eating their young. Striped Phlocks are very visible without sufficient cause: zebras' stripes confuse tsetse flies, which carry strong diseases, but equivalents to those don't exist in this setting. They don't have much in the way of defense, so Skewer Shrogs' spears would likely pierce them easily. They can run fast, but Skewer Shrogs are noted to be able to run faster than their ancestors, so they might still be a threat. Skewer Shogs hunt by hiding behind rocks or in trees (likely Coniflors in this habitat, though they would stand out). Striped Phlocks might not have, say, keen vision or a sense of smell to alert them to hidden Skewer Shrogs.
Sabulyns don't match anything in Dixon-Darwin Desert. They have two predators: Mothheads and Skewer Shrogs.
Other than Ornate Gumjorns and Arid Plyents (the latter of which move), there aren't any large green flora in Dixon-Darwin Desert. Scaleskuniks and Plehexapods would still stand out against Ornate Gumjorns in shape and coloration, though. It might depend on the color vision or visual acuity of local predators, such as Skewer Shrogs.
Stride Sauceback:
The camouflage matches nothing but Bangsticks, and even that's likely a loose match, because Bangsticks are aquamarine and likely glassy-looking. It's possible they migrate to moist areas to lay their eggs, but not outright stated. Skewer Shrogs eat them.
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Dixon-Darwin High Desert
Plehexapods and Sabulyns have the same issue of a lack of camouflage and predators as Dixon-Darwin Desert.
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Bipedal Uktank: tied to water to reproduce, but lives in Drake High Desert. Has no notable adaptations to deal with this, such as young maturing extra-quickly.
Alpine Checks:
Soaring Phlyer:
Lives in the Sagan 4 Atmosphere (Troposphere), Darwin Alpine, North Dixon Alpine, and South Dixon Alpine. All are cold environments, and it doesn't seem to have any insulation. The fact it has four membranous wings may mean it loses heat very fast. They can soar for a long time without eating or moving, but it might be worth checking out. Ectotherms (spiders, baby spiders) can move through the troposphere, but the mortality rate is high.
"Needs a descendant to account for an evolutionary pressure" and "should literally actually die because it has no way out of the extremely bad situation it is in" are completely different. The former does not belong on this thread.
Ramul Water Table Check:
Unless it's receiving significant nutritional output from nutrients passing through Sublyme Livestone Sea Caves or aquifers with large above-ground access (e.g., Jacob's Hole, an artesian spring), some of the organisms are implausibly or even impossibly large.
Aquatic Earback: 60 cm long. It also swims quickly, and they seem to scare each other off using aggression, which would surely be energy-intensive.
Ghost Crystal: 70 cm tall, though it's a flora and could perhaps be excused.
Vicious Volox: 75 cm long, and unless one of its habitats has significant pockets of air, the adults having lungs would make no sense, and growing them would surely hinder them in this environment.
Ghostsnapper: 95 cm long, and uses lung-based breathing.
Unless it's receiving significant nutritional output from nutrients passing through Sublyme Livestone Sea Caves or aquifers with large above-ground access (e.g., Jacob's Hole, an artesian spring), some of the organisms are implausibly or even impossibly large.
Aquatic Earback: 60 cm long. It also swims quickly, and they seem to scare each other off using aggression, which would surely be energy-intensive.
Ghost Crystal: 70 cm tall, though it's a flora and could perhaps be excused.
Vicious Volox: 75 cm long, and unless one of its habitats has significant pockets of air, the adults having lungs would make no sense, and growing them would surely hinder them in this environment.
Ghostsnapper: 95 cm long, and uses lung-based breathing.
| QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Nov 24 2021, 02:26 AM) |
| Ramul Water Table Check: Unless it's receiving significant nutritional output from nutrients passing through Sublyme Livestone Sea Caves or aquifers with large above-ground access (e.g., Jacob's Hole, an artesian spring), some of the organisms are implausibly or even impossibly large. Aquatic Earback: 60 cm long. It also swims quickly, and they seem to scare each other off using aggression, which would surely be energy-intensive. Ghost Crystal: 70 cm tall, though it's a flora and could perhaps be excused. Vicious Volox: 75 cm long, and unless one of its habitats has significant pockets of air, the adults having lungs would make no sense, and growing them would surely hinder them in this environment. Ghostsnapper: 95 cm long, and uses lung-based breathing. |
To be fair, Ramul is roughly the size of I wanna say France
In the words of one source on underground water ecosystems (though limited to just one state in the U.S.):
"Available food [in karst aquifers, the variety most hospitable to multicellular life] is constantly recycled among the organisms, with only occasional additions from the outside. These underground ecosystems have a very low carrying capacity. They can only support a few individuals of any one species, and these individuals do not grow very large."
For comparison, accordingly to Wikipedia, olms, one of the biggest exclusively aquatic-subterranean animals, are 20-30 cm long, with some specimens growing up to 40 cm.
Ramul's water table seems to be smaller than Ramul itself, and, in any case, it does seem unlikely the caverns would be connected to each other, and, if so, to the extent a 90-cm-long organism could forage between them. The rules (as they presently exist) do say: - "Water Tables can connect to any water source on a continent", but whether something as big as 90 cm can fit through them to forage is still questionable. The rules also cross out "You cannot have air breathing species in the Water Table", oddly enough.
"Available food [in karst aquifers, the variety most hospitable to multicellular life] is constantly recycled among the organisms, with only occasional additions from the outside. These underground ecosystems have a very low carrying capacity. They can only support a few individuals of any one species, and these individuals do not grow very large."
For comparison, accordingly to Wikipedia, olms, one of the biggest exclusively aquatic-subterranean animals, are 20-30 cm long, with some specimens growing up to 40 cm.
Ramul's water table seems to be smaller than Ramul itself, and, in any case, it does seem unlikely the caverns would be connected to each other, and, if so, to the extent a 90-cm-long organism could forage between them. The rules (as they presently exist) do say: - "Water Tables can connect to any water source on a continent", but whether something as big as 90 cm can fit through them to forage is still questionable. The rules also cross out "You cannot have air breathing species in the Water Table", oddly enough.
| QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Nov 24 2021, 06:32 AM) |
| In the words of one source on underground water ecosystems (though limited to just one state in the U.S.): "Available food [in karst aquifers, the variety most hospitable to multicellular life] is constantly recycled among the organisms, with only occasional additions from the outside. These underground ecosystems have a very low carrying capacity. They can only support a few individuals of any one species, and these individuals do not grow very large." For comparison, accordingly to Wikipedia, olms, one of the biggest exclusively aquatic-subterranean animals, are 20-30 cm long, with some specimens growing up to 40 cm. Ramul's water table seems to be smaller than Ramul itself, and, in any case, it does seem unlikely the caverns would be connected to each other, and, if so, to the extent a 90-cm-long organism could forage between them. The rules (as they presently exist) do say: - "Water Tables can connect to any water source on a continent", but whether something as big as 90 cm can fit through them to forage is still questionable. The rules also cross out "You cannot have air breathing species in the Water Table", oddly enough. |
This isn't quite what the thread was intended for, because there is no possible way this could still be alive.
The Botryophis is an obligate parasite of the Tinsel Quillball. However, when the Tinsel Quillball went extinct, the Botryophis did not. It's still listed as living in Drake Steppe, and appears in the diet list of some upcoming submissions. Even if it could parasitize its ancestor's ancestor, which seems unlikely, its ancestor's ancestor doesn't live in Drake Steppe.
The Botryophis is an obligate parasite of the Tinsel Quillball. However, when the Tinsel Quillball went extinct, the Botryophis did not. It's still listed as living in Drake Steppe, and appears in the diet list of some upcoming submissions. Even if it could parasitize its ancestor's ancestor, which seems unlikely, its ancestor's ancestor doesn't live in Drake Steppe.
| QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Aug 21 2022, 01:04 PM) |
| That's weird. Did it get spread by something? |
Perhaps. Its fruits are very hairy and can spread through the fur of fauna. Specifically:
"These fruits are thickly coated in hairs with fishhook-like tips. These hairs allow it to cling to the hair or feathers of passing fauna, spreading it beyond its parent flora." However, I cannot trace this on the wiki. It's possible this was just an oversight, because it doesn't look obviously like an obligate parasite.
Inconveniently, one approved organism, the Switchfang, already eats it. Thankfully, it has a wide diet, with no special relation with the flora in question.
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