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So, most Ukfauna don't have any bones nor any mentioned respiration (presumably, they must breathe through their skin). That should put a hard limit of 10 centimeters on their size. It is established that even with active respiration (like that of Uktanks), terrestrial Ukfauna without bones should still have a hard cap of 30 cm. Yet, numerous species with no explanation for either grow significantly larger--even into the multi-meter range.

So far, at least for weight-bearing issues there have been retcons proposed of varying plausibility. However, respiration is more difficult--several Ukfauna evolved varied kinds of respiration later, and to add any form of lung would require editing past art to add nostrils.

In the worst-case scenario we may need to have a plague to eliminate all Ukfauna that cannot be explained. This is obviously not ideal, so this thread serves to discuss ways to resolve this without editing artwork or messing up features that were evolved later.

So, wait, this means that, like, ukbacks/ukjaws dont' have bones and respire through their skin? Then what are their claws made of?

Edit: On a side note, I would always err in favor of eliminating any """"need"""" for a plague. I disapprove of the concept in the first place for several reasons, the primary of these being that I feel it is a form of implausible "hand of God" intervention which makes me uncomfortable. I know that its meant to rectify an earlier implausibility, but that feels more like an 'indirect' oversight rather than an intentional outside intervention.

The easiest explanation is that Sagan 4, at this time, has higher oxygen levels. That alone won't be sufficient, though. Is there some kind of cladogram that shows the development of different modes of respiration among the Ukfauna? Basic respiratory structures could probably evolve convergently.

I believe clade-specific plagues specifically as a form of retconning should be used very sparingly. This is especially true for Sagan 4's Alpha timeline, since it's not meant to be as strictly scientific in tone as the Beta timeline.

If necessary, one could find the least plausible lineage and do a sort of "soft retcon" by making a genus group for them (only plausible if they're small) or a very widespread, generalist species that makes scientific sense, which also re-occupies the niche for most of them.

There is also a possibility of making a microbe or parasite of some sort that alters their physiology slightly. Perhaps some could have dense coatings of "algae" that produce oxygen for them, or gut biota which produce oxygen that is, in turn, absorbed by the gut lining. This would only work for the more borderline examples, though.

A extinction event that's an oxygen crash could wipe out implausible Ukfana by saying their sizes are no longer sustainable, although it would wipe out many other fauna, too.