#Through Time and Clades

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

#Through Time and Clades #Dinosaurs: The Second Chapter #Dinosaurs #Birds #Goodbye Gondwana #Youtube

[albertonykus]

New episode of Through Time and Clades! In this month's news episode, @killdeercheer and I discuss giant arrow worms that terrorized the seas, how male weaponry in deer and antelopes affects brain size, whether feathers might help dinosaurs scare insects, and why invasive ants change lion behavior.

#Palaeoblr #Bioblr #Podcast #Paleontology #Through Time and Clades

[killdeercheer]

Hey! If you don't know already, I co-host a natural history-themed YouTube series called Through Time and Clades with my good friend @albertonykus! We cover all sorts of topics from biology to anthropology, but in about a week we're going to be hosting an interview with our friend and paleontologist @zygodactylus (of the amazing blog you know and love @a-dinosaur-a-day). If you have any questions for Meig, feel free to leave a comment or DM me or Albert, and we'll be sure to get it! Many thanks and see you there!

#ttc #through time and clades #Meig Dickson #a dinosaur a day #adad #paleoblr #palaeoblr #paleontology #dinosaurs #prehistoric life

[thagomizersshow]

Apes are a kind of monkey, and that's ok

This is a pet peeve of mine in sci comm ESPECIALLY because many well respected scientific institutions are insistent about apes and monkeys being separate things, despite how it's been established for nearly a century that apes are just a specific kind of monkey.

Nearly every zoo I've visited that houses apes has a sign somewhere like the one below that explains the supposed distinction between the two groups, focusing on anatomy instead of phylogeny.

(Every time I see a graphic like this I age ten years) Movies even do this, especially when they want to sound credible. Take this scene from Rise of the Planet of the Apes:

This guy Franklin is presented as the authority on apes in this scene, and he treats James Franco calling a chimpanzee a monkey like it's insulting.

But when you actually look at a primate family tree, you can see that apes are on the same branch as Old World monkeys, while New World monkeys branched off much earlier.

(I'm assuming bushbabies are included as "lorises" here?)

To put it simply, that means you and I are more closely related to a baboon than a baboon is to a capuchin.

Either the definition of monkey includes apes OR we can keep using an anatomical definition and Barbary macaques get to be an ape because they're tailless.

"I've got no tails on me!"

SO

Why did all this happen? Why did we start insisting apes are monkeys, especially considering the two words were pretty much interchangeable for centuries? Well I've got one word for ya...

This the attitude that puts humans on a pedestal over other life on Earth. That there are intrinsically important features of humanity, and other living things are simply stepping stones in that direction.

At the dawn of evolutionary study, anthropocentrism was enforced by using a model called evolutionary grades. And boy howdy do I hate evolutionary grades.

Basically, a grade is a way of defining a group of animals by using anatomical "complexity". It's the idea that evolution has milestones of importance that, once reached, makes an organism into a new kind of thing. You can almost think of it like evolutionary levels. An animal "levels up" once it gains a certain trait deemed "complex".

You can probably see the issue here; that complexity is an ephemeral idea defined through subjectivity, rather than based off anything truly observable. What makes walking on 2 legs more complex than walking on four? How are tails less complex than no tails? "Complexity" in this context is unmeasurable, therefore it is unscientific. That's why evolutionary grades suck and I never want to look at one.

For primates, this meant once some of them lost their tails, grew bigger brains, and started brachiating instead of leaping, they simply "leveled up" and became apes. Despite the early recognition that apes were simply a branch of the Old World monkey family tree (1785!), the idea of grades took precedent over the phylogenetic link.

In the early years of primatology, humans were even seen as a grade "above" apes, related but separated by our upright stance and supposed far greater intelligence (this was before other apes were recognized tool users).

It wasn't until the goddamn 1970s that it was recognized all great apes should be included in the clade Hominidae alongside humanity. This was a major shift in thinking, and required not just science, but the public, to recognize just how close we are to other living species. It seems like this change has, thankfully, happened and most institutions and science respecting folks have accepted this fact. Those who don't accept it tend to have a lot more issues with science than only accepting humans as apes.

And now, we come to the current problem. Why is there a persistent idea that monkeys and apes are separate?

I want to make it clear I don't believe there was a conscious movement at play here. I think there's a lot of things going on, but there isn't some anti-monkey lobby that is hiding the truth. I think the problem is more complicated and deals with how human brains and human culture often struggle to do too many changes at once.

Now, I haven't seen any studies on this topic, so everything I say going forward is based on my own experience of how people react to learning apes (and therefore, humans) are monkeys.

First off, there is a lot of mental rearranging you have to do to accept humans as monkeys. First you, gotta accept humans as apes, then you have to stop thinking in grades and look at the family tree. Then you have to accept that apes are on the Old World monkey branch, separate from the New World monkeys.

That's a lot of steps, and I've seen science-minded zoo educators struggle with that much mental rearranging. And even while they accept this to an extent, they often find it even harder to communicate these ideas to the public.

I think this is a big reason why zoos and museums often push this idea the hardest. Convincing the public humans are apes is already a challenge, teaching them that all apes are monkeys at the same time might seem impossible.

I believe the other big reason people cling to the "apes-aren't-monkeys" idea is that it still allows for that extra bit of comforting anthropocentrism. Think of it this way; anthropocentrism puts humans on a pedestal. When you learn that humans are apes, you can either remove the pedestal and place humans with other animals, OR, you can place the apes up on the pedestal with humanity. For those that have an anthropocentric worldview, it can actually be easier to "uplift" the apes than ditch the pedestal.

Too make things worse, monkeys are such a symbol of a "primitive" animal nature that many can't accept raising them to the "level" of humanity, but removing the pedestal altogether is equally painful. So they hold tight to an outdated idea despite all the evidence. This is why there's often offense taken when an ape is called a monkey. It's tantamount to someone calling you a monkey, and that's too much of a challenge to anthropocentrism.

Personally, I think recognizing myself as a monkey is wonderful. Non-ape monkeys are as "complex" as any ape. They make tools, they have dynamic social groups, they're adapted to a wide range of environments, AND they have the best hair of all primates.

I think we should be honored to be considered one of them.

#primatology #primates #phylogeny #sci comm #monkeys #apes

[jpnriikicore]

── hickey galore

paring colby brock x fem!reader, word count 774, genre kinda suggestive, authors note there is a age-gap between colbs and the reader but of course the reader is of age, ( masterlist )

something colby has always held over your head since you’ve known him is the fact that he knows your neck is incredibly sensitive. in public he would place a gentle kiss on side of your neck just to watch you squirm. he would continue to tease you about it through the day and continues on like nothing happened. god, the teasing gets worse in privacy.

now, your cuddled up on the couch you settled between his legs. the arm that started at your waist at the beginning of the night was now holding the back of your thigh. one hand is interlocked with his. your fingers playing with his rings as a comforting habit you’ve picked up over the years. you were at this party that sam decided to throw last minute. you were almost late colby somehow convinced you that you had more time than what you did just so he could kiss you longer.

the majority of the time of getting ready was you attempting to cover up the hickeys that he gave you, but eventually in the end you just gave up and went to the party covered in his hickeys anyways.

his hand moved closer lifting your dress a little bit higher.

"colbs." you mumbled, putting your hand on top of his in a poor attempt to stop his actions.

"don’t worry nobody’s paying attention, kid." he whispered in your ear.

the nickname that fell from his lips sounded degrading. you weren’t a kid anymore. you were incredibly mature for your age. he used every chance to make you remember that you were younger than him. you weren’t that younger than him just young enough to make society look down on you two.

every time his hand moved an inch higher the more his touch felt like electric waves going through your body.

sam called him over as you shifted away, so colby could get up.

he leaned against the wall as he continued to talk to sam. occasionally glancing over at you. he’s wearing the black button up that you adore on him. the first few buttons are undone like normal, but tonight a few more buttons were undone. like as if he was just begging for attention exposing his collarbones and some of his chest. you could see his tattoo peak through the shirt some. he knew exactly what he’s doing.

he ended his little conversation with sam. immediately walking back over to you maintaining eye contact. he settled you in his lap. you "accidentally" shifted yourself closer to him in a way you just knew that would rile him up.

"i want you." you whispered in his ear while your dainty hand played around with his necklace.

his eyes glanced at sam who seemed to be preoccupied with a friend as he sit down the glass that was filled with whatever liquor he was drinking.

he pushed a few strands of hair behind your ear. his hand slipping up your dress completely his ring claded hand stroking your legs and stomach. the coldness of his rings compared to your warm flushed skin made a shiver go up your spine.

"come with me," he whispered, you shifted onto your feet and you link your arms with his as you walk upstairs to the bathroom. "you have to be quite for me."

you promised to his good girl as you walked into the bathroom. not a second later after he locked the bathroom door he taken back by you pushing him against the bathroom wall kissing his chest leaving a few hickeys, but you found yourself being roughly pushed against the wall. the roles being switched.

he continued to add to his collection of hickeys on your neck. whines escaping from your mouth due to the sensitivity of your neck.

"what would sam think seeing his little sister like this?" his hand slid up to wrap his hand around your throat adding some pressure to the sides just enough to keep you dazed.

hickeys littered your entire neck and area that your chest was exposed due to the dress you wore being low cut. you was completely flustered, your hair was completely messed up, your dress was wrinkled, and your eyes was blown out with lust.

you couldn’t even think straight. in response a loud whine escaped you. fuck, you was fucked.

"want to take this back to the car?" he mumbled, against your lips. you untucked the rest of his button up that was tucked in his jeans. letting your fingers fiddle with the buttons of his shirt hurriedly trying to unbutton the rest of them.

"mm-hmm."

© JPNRIIKICORE, 2023

#colby brock #colby brock x reader #colby brock imagine #colby brock fan fiction #colby brock x you #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock x y/n #colby brock imagines #colby brock fanfic #sam and colby #xplr

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wed Beast Wednesday: Mudskippers

For this Wet Beast Wednesday I want to go over a fish that seems to have forgotten it's a fish: the mudskipper. Mudskippers are amphibious fish that are just as comfortable on land as they are in the water. Mudskippers are classified as gobies but goby taxonomy turns out to be weirdly complicated and there's not a clear consensus of what clade constitutes a goby. Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae and consist of at least 23 species, with some sources list up to 43 species. Not all members of Oxurdercinae are considered mudskippers, only those who live a partially terrestrial lifestyle. Mudskippers live in tropical to temperate regions throughout the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

(image id: a mudskipper sitting on a branch just above the surface of the water. It is a long, skinny fish with a large head and two large eyes positioned on the top of its head. Its pectoral fins are large and its dorsal fins are folded up. The tail fin is submerged and not easily visible. It is mostly light brown, but has a black stripe going down the body and small, blue speckles all over.)

Mudskippers have a fairly standard goby body plan, but with adaptations to support their terrestrial lifestyles. The most important adaptations for a fish that wants to live on land is to develop an ability to oxygenate themselves without continuously passing water over the gills. Mudskippers have developed two ways to breathe out of water. The first is with their gills. The gill pouch can be sealed off, trapping a bubble of water inside, keeping their gills continuously in contact with water. The gill filaments are also stiffer than in most fish and do not coalesce with each other if they dry out. In addition, the skin, mouth, and throat can absorb oxygen with the help of many small blood vessels, but must be wet to do so. Mudskippers spend up to 3/4th of their time on land, but will die if they dry out. They live mostly in the intertidal zone, primarily on mangrove forests and mud flats, where they have access to water but also plenty of room to move and hunt on land. To assist in moving on land, the pectoral fins have evolved into pseudo-feet. The fins of most ray-finned fish are simple, consisting of a group of inflexible fin rays attached to the body that can be moved (individually in some species) by muscles in the body. Mudskippers have their fin rays jointed part way through and again at the connection to the body. This creates a "shoulder" and "elbow" joint in the fins, giving them greater strength and flexibility. Mudskippers can drag themselves along with their pectoral fins in a skipping motion, which is the source of their common name. Some species can use their pectoral fins to climb on mangrove roots or other exposed plants and rocks. Mudskippers are also adept jumpers. By rapidly folding and extending their tails, mudskippers can leap up to 61 cm (24 in). This is used primarily to escape predators and for display purposes, but may also be used to leap onto higher vantage points. Mudskipper eyes are also special. They are located very high on the head and protrude quite a bit from the body. This eye position gives the mudskipper a very wide range of vision and allows them to bury themselves in mud, only leaving the eyes exposed. Mudskippers can also blink, something other fish cannot do. To blink, a mudskipper will retract an eye into its body while a membrane called a dermal cup rises to cover the eye. Blinking allows the mudskipper to clean its eyes and keep them moist on land. Mudskippers are small fish, with the largest species (Periophthalmodon schlosseri, the giant mudskipper) getting to about 28 cm (11 in) long.

(image id: two mudskippers sitting on sand. one has its front end eld up by its pectoral fins and its mouth partially open. This one's dorsal fins are extended, which run down the body. The other one is lying flat had has its both closed and its dorsal fins folded down. They are light brown with dark stripes. The dorsal fin has many blue dots)

Mudskippers build burrows using their fins and mouths. These burrows are used for shelter and for mating. Most burrows will have their oepning exposed during low tide but will flood during high tide. A chamber in the burrow holds a pocket of air even when flooded. This allows the mudskipper to breathe even if the water is low in oxygen, though it must periodically bring in mouthfuls of air to refresh the pocket. During mating season, males will build burrows. after the burrow is completed, he will come out and start competing for mates. Competitions involve jumping, with the make who can jump the highest attracting the most females. Sometimes mudskipper will fight over territory, though males are especially prone to fighting during mating season. Fights consist of the fish demonstrating at each other with open mouths and raised dorsal fins. During fights, they will also vocalize at each other, with the one who can string together the most vocalizations being the winner. How mudskippers vocalize is still a mystery. Most fish who make sound do so with their swim bladders, but mudskippers don't have swim bladders. Once a female picks a male to mate with they will return to his burrow, where she lays eggs and he fertilizes them. The female departs afterwards, leaving the male to care for the eggs. He will guard the burrow against predators and bring air in to keep the eggs oxygenated until they hatch.

(image id: a mudskipper mid-jump. Its fins are all extended and its body is covered in blue spots)

(image id: two mudskippers fighting. They are facing each other with mouths open, heads pointing up, and fins fully extended)

The majority of mudskipper species are carnivores, though some have transitioned to being detritivores. They hunt invertebrates including worms, insects, and crabs, and some species are cannibalistic. They can hunt both on land and in water, but are more effective at land hunting. When in water, mudskippers use the same suction feeding method that most predatory fish use. When on land, mudskippers use a different method. They carry water in their mouths and chase after prey. When positioned over their prey, the mudskipper will spit some of the water out, allowing it to cover the other animal. It then sucks the water back in, carrying the prey with it. The suction also help propel the prey to the throat, which is useful because mudskippers lack tongues to push their food back.

(image id: a mudskipper in its burrow.The entrance to the burrow is raised above the ground and made of sand. Only the mudskipper's head is visible)

Mudskippers are useful to science in a few ways. They are useful as bio-indicator for the health of their environments. Breathing through your skin is a double-edged sword. It lets you oxygenate on land, but also makes it easier for harmful chemicals to enter the body. Dissection of certain organs allows for testing of environmental chemical levels. Passive observation can also provide data on environmental health. Mudskippers are also used as a model organism for scientists studying the transition of vertebrates to land. While the fish that colonized land were lobe-finned fish as opposed to the ray-finned mudskippers, they can still provide clues to the adaptations and lifestyle of the earliest tetrapods. Outside of science, mudskippers are used for food and as pets. The different species had different classifications by the IUCN ranging from least concern to critically endangered. Their main threats are pollution, habitat loss, and overfishing.

(image id: two mudskipper facing the camera with their mouths open)

#wet beast wednesday #fish #fishblr #fishposting #mudskipper #marine biology #biology #zoology #ecology #animal facts #fish that forgot how to fish

[extrajigs]

Finally finished my Whorl redesign. They were cute before but idk, I wasn't digging their eyes. I gave them a frisbee head and they are much better for it now! More in depth info to be found below!

Whorls are a sophont from the slime ball planet Backera, the planets crust is entirely covered in miles thick microbial mat so the floor is always very much alive. The main form of "animal" life on the planet are the pentapods, analogous to Earth tetrapods in terms of niches and all that. Pentapods are distinguished by their five limbs, five jaws, partial exoskeleton, and an internal boney limb girdle. Whorls are from a clade of predatory pentapods who branched into frugivory a while back, eventually leading to tighter knit communities built around maintaining their farm mats. Whorls live in towns with populations between a few dozen to a few thousand, their settlements are also how they get their name. Their buildings are spiral shaped, expanded by spiraling them outward! I'm getting around to drawing that, its v cool. They eat mostly 'plant' matter, fruiting bodies from sessile organisms and maybe some choice floor scrapings. Meat is also greatly enjoyed, but is typically reserved for older Whorls or very small children. Children who by the by, go through a little aquatic stage before committing to wet land. Babies are traditionally left to grow in slow moving rivers, but modern times find communal pools to be a lot more popular.

Whorl families consist of one 'bearing' parent and anywhere from 1-5 'seeding' parents. Whorls do not have sexes, but they do have a few genders! Mostly they have to do with who is stabbing/getting stabbed and gender will change throughout a Whorls life. An important note here though is that most pentapods, including Whorls, fertilize via traumatic insemination stab. This is understandably rough on the stabbee so generally only older, larger individuals will be the ones going through pregnancy. That's the basic gist, will get more into it as I get around to it. But just wanted to reboot them a little!

#pentapods #whorls #alien #worldbuilding #art #tagging alien pomegranate #spec bio #speculative biology

[simpforrooster]

be careful with my baby pt 2.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x F!Reader

Read part one here.

t/w: cursing, mentions of alcohol, mentions of death, some angst

....did he really just say that?

You didn't sleep a wink. How could you?

First, he drops that bomb on you.

Second, he had you pulled against him, his large hand splayed across your stomach.

Once he fell into a deeper sleep and that iron-clade grip loosened, you stealthily rolled off the couch and into his bedroom.

No way you could stay next to him on that couch with all those confusing thoughts in your head. Plus, his bed was a million times more comfortable than the couch.

When you finally decided it was an appropriate time to head into the kitchen, it was 7 am.

Rooster is still asleep on the couch, letting out little snores every now and then. His hand rests across his forehead, and you know he will complain that his arm is sore from that uncomfortable sleeping position.

You expertly move around his kitchen, putting on coffee and finding something to whip up for breakfast. Rooster's refrigerator and pantry are pretty bare bones since he just got back from a mission, but you manage to make something work.

Thank God your grandmother taught you how to make pancakes from scratch.

Rooster stirs on the couch, and you hold your breath.

"Fuck..." he moans. This has to be the most sexual-in-a-non-sexual-setting-thing he's ever done. "How much did I drink?"

Okay, so he remembers he asked you to stay over.

"Too much," you tell him from the stove.

Rooster rolls off the couch, his clothes from the previous night disheveled. He runs a hand through his sandy hair, grimacing as the lights in the kitchen hit him.

"Coffee?" he chokes out. You motion to the full mug you made for him on his bar. He slides into the stool opposite of you. Bringing the mug to his lips, he takes a large sip as if this coffee is a magical elixir that will cure his massive hangover.

He groans, confirming that that was exactly what he was hoping for, and the elixir failed him.

You can't help but let out a small giggle.

This man is adorable.

And sexy.

God, so sexy. How can someone be sexy and adorable?

Rooster smirks up at you. "You laughin' at my pain?"

"Always."

The two of you fall into a rather comfortable silence, considering the last thing he said to you before falling asleep, while you finish up the pancakes.

You set a plate in front of him, and take your own to the barstool next to him. Rooster digs in like he hasn't eaten in months.

"This is it," he gestures to the pancakes, "not the coffee. This is the magical hangover elixir. You have to stay over every time I drink to much from now own."

The compliment turns your cheeks pink. In the years you've known Rooster, this is the first time you've ever cooked for him. Your platonic nights spent together usually involved take out of some kind, or Hard Deck bar food.

Which is much better than you'd think.

Rooster takes both your empty plates to the sink, a new pep in his step thanks to your magical pancakes.

His words, not yours.

You watch as Rooster cleans up the kitchen. He told you when he grew up, the person who cooks gets out of clean up duty. Seeing Rooster act so domestic does things to you you didn't know possible.

Neither of you has brought up what he said last night. You're terrified he doesn't remember it. He remembers he asked you to stay, but maybe he blacked out before whispering those words to you.

Maybe he thought he was asleep and dreamt saying them?

You try not to dwell on it as you sip your coffee. The coffee is the best part about being at Rooster's. He always stocks up on fancy blends, sometimes bringing some back from overseas.

"Thank you for taking care of me last night," he mumbles, pulling you from your thoughts. He's drying the skillet you used, not making eye contact with you. "I hate when I step over that line I've drawn for myself."

You know Rooster likes to keep a clear head about him and typically stops after a few beers, but it's not like the rest of you haven't been there. Rooster has taken care of you countless nights. You've seen Phoenix guide Bob out to her car. Jake has pulled you down from a few tables. Hell, Mav's pulled a glass out of Jake's hand before when he's had enough.

Everyone looks out for each other.

"Roos, stop beating yourself up. You were celebrating a successful mission."

Rooster still hasn't met your eyes. "It almost wasn't." The words are so soft, you almost miss them.

Your blood runs cold. Being friends with fighter pilots has it's risks. You are well aware that when any of them go up, they may not make it back home.

"If Phoenix hadn't been there..." he trails off. His hand circles the skillet that is well dry by now.

You don't pry. Rooster has a very specific way of letting these moments out.

"All I could think of in that moment was you. Fuck, and how I've been such a coward."

Your heartbeat picks up. If you were wearing your Apple Watch, you're certain you'd get a "high heart rate" alert. You swallow your nervousness, waiting for his next words.

He finally sets the skillet down. Bracing his hands on the counter's ledge, he looks up at you.

"I meant what I said last night."

The confession knocks the wind out of you. The two of you stare at one another and your breathing starts coming in ragged intervals.

"I hate that I had to be drunk to say it. I've been so afraid to ruin this friendship." His eyes peer into yours. "I don't have family besides Mav, and I thought if I came clean, I'd loose you as a friend. I couldn't bare that."

Words still hang at the bottom of your throat, so he continues.

"When I was nose to nose with that jet, all I could think about was that I'd never told you how I felt. Dying without you knowing my feelings, shit, I couldn't believe it."

A tear escapes your eye and rolls down your cheek.

"So, I meant it, y/n. It wasn't just some drunk words."

The emotions you're feeling hit you like a tidal wave. Thrilled that Rooster feels the same way. Devastated that you almost lost him. Angry that he doesn't think more highly of himself.

"Please say something," he mumbles to the counter.

It takes every ounce of courage you have. "I love you too, Bradley."

His eyes snap up to yours, and within an instant he's rounded the bar. He swivels the barstool toward him. Looking up at him, with his arm above your shoulder, you feel so safe and small. His other hand brushes a piece of hair behind your ear. He hits you with the sweetest grin you've ever seen on your face.

"Can I kiss you?" he mumbles.

"You better, Lieutenant."

Rooster's hand trails from your ear to cup your face. Leaning in, his mouth covers yours in the safest kiss you've ever had. Your arms lock around his neck, pulling him as close to you as you can.

"Better than I've imagined," he whispers when he pulls back.

You answer him with another kiss.

a/n: I hope y'all liked it :) I'm so here for domestic!Rooster

masterlist

taglist:

@justanothermagicalsara

@baju69

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradleybradshaw #bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradley bradshaw #bradley x reader #rooster x reader #rooster top gun #top gun imagine #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fic #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #rooster x oc #rooster fluff #rooster fanfic #bradley bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw x reader

[luxudus]

Dragons in a Trail of Cryptids

I don't care if this technically was posted in march i uploaded it to deviant art in time this is a february art post lmfao. This was meant to be a birthday gift for @jennywolfgal and her other project Trail of Cryptids. Enjoy!!!

   The world of Trail of Cryptids explores an evolutionary history for life on earth. One in which the beasts of our folklore are more fact than fiction. Cryptids and mythological creatures exist and evolved naturally through both expected and unexpected origins. 

One such group of organisms are the legendary dragons of countless tales of our world. Here they only recently diversified, but their ancestry dates all the way back to the beginning of the triassic.

    Their earliest ancestor was a third offshoot of the Avemetatarslians, the same group of archosaurs that gave rise to the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Ancient Silesaur-like Paradrakoans lived under their brothers’ shadows for the entire mesozoic period. Only scraping by through the smallest niches and farthest corners of the world like the equally unfortunate mammals.

    Once the asteroid hit the earth 66 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Only 2 representatives of this once great clade remained. Birds, and a single paradrakoan. A small burrower classified as Fodermasaurus superstes, cheekily named by paleontologists as the spug. 

     It took a long time for the Drakoans to grow their wings and spread it. At first climbing trees and making burrows, then gliding to ease the falls from the canopy. Then longer webbing on the hands to change direction. And finally learned to flap them to gain height. Countless now dead lineages, finally producing the first Drakoan over 40 million years ago during earth’s late eocene.

    Nowadays the Drakoans are a fairly small group. They only consist of roughly 1,116 species. A far cry from their far more successful avian cousins. But nonetheless a monumental achievement relative to their entire evolutionary history.

    Some common traits that distinguish the Drakoans from other vertebrates are developed egg-teeth that some species retain well into adulthood. Large auricles or external ears, Keratin horns. And most notably powered flight, evolving independently from their avian cousins. 

    We’ll start out with the order Avidrakoa. An order of Drakoans unique for possessing fully developed beaks derived from their egg teeth. And a unique wing structure made more out of fur bristles than a tough skin membrane. The Avidrakoans first split the moment the class as a whole first evolved powered flight. Allowing their wings to be this derived

    They are not too common, numbering in 148 species in total. Most of which are split between basal bipeds such as thunderbirds and the more derived quadrupeds which include griffins.

    The species here is an actual griffin. Gryphon tropicus to be exact. They are apex predators of the rainforests of indonesia. Their deep warm coloration and disruptive stripe conceal them in the forest scenery to ambush prey. And their powered flight lets them hop across islands, making them not only a formidable predator, but a widespread one too.

    The most famous members of the Drakoan class are the Eudrakoans, the true dragons. They are characterized by their strong parenting mentalities and a natural ability to breathe fire. Through 4 orifices in the corners of their mouth they spew out a liquid biofuel into the path of a similarly regurgitated and highly reactive gas, igniting the fuel into a stream of flaming liquid. 

    They are the most widespread group of dragons, totalling at 447 different species. Most species are either small sprawling quadrupeds such as the European forest dragon to erect striding quadrupeds like the legendary Eurasian mountain Tsar

    The species representing the True Dragons. Megaloros thereusicthys is a close relative to the Eurasian mountain Tsar. Although unlike their apex cousin this species is a wading piscivore. Using their stilted legs to practically hover over the water and their flexible necks to pluck fish out of the rivers they tread through.

    Next up is the order Wyverna, a group of Drakoans distinguished by the development of poison laced quills found in certain places along the body. All interconnected to a set of poison glands in the upper mandible. These glands oddly enough share the same ancestry as the biofuel tanks in the Eudrakoans. And a stiffer wing structure making them obligate bipeds

    They are the second most common order of dragons. Numbering at 335 documented species. Including the cockatrice surprising many.

    The species pictured here is Ouranodyno chrysokephale. A generalist omnivore with a generalist range across Mexico with a rather extravagant hunting method. They dive-bomb towards their prey and catch them with their mouths. More as showmanship for mates than an actual means to survive. They also have extravagant coloration to warn would-be attackers of their poisonous tail quill that could kill a bison in under a minute

    The order Neosauria is in a way, a twisted mirror of the beasts of the past. They are notable for a complete lack of wings. Reduced horns and aurica. But are most unique for their Theropod-like body plan as a consequence for their ancestor and their stiffer wings like their wyvern cousins.

    They are a very rare order, the rarest order of dragons in fact. There are only about 62 species documented. Most of them are found across africa as smaller generalists. But a few can get big enough to recapture what the original dinosaurs had lost

    Representing the Neosaurians, the Kasaii asymneter is a south african desert dwelling relative to the legendary Kasaii rex of the southern congo rainforest. They are both pursuit hunters and act relatively similar. The main difference is the prey selection and differenc coloration.

    And finally there is the order Wurmiza, the most derived group of dragons recorded. They are distinguished by a near complete lack of hind legs. Fully internalized ears, a streamlined annelid-from body plan, and aquatic to semi-aquatic lifestyle. They are the 2nd rarest order of dragons. Consisting of only 124 documented species. Consisting of the smaller seafaring Ladons and the larger Oceanic sea Serpents.The species used to represent the Wyrms, Pachaktevenator horribilis. Is a medium sized sea serpent found in the Indian ocean. They are notable for their extreme aggression and their mating season being spent on the beach. Draconian elephant seals if you will.

#speculative zoology #spec bio #speculative biology #my art #artist on tumblr #art #worldbuilding #dragon art #year of the dragon #wyvern #creature #creature art

[bob-the-seagull-king]

"While born quadrilaterally symmetrical, Wyrms grow into a bilateral form over time through tropism; a term commonly associated with plants on earth." 

Some sort of beastie from Rehua, my ages-old spec world. Wyrms are a major clade present in all biomes and trophic levels.

#art #speculative evolution #rehua #alien #scifi #biology #evolution #xenobiology #spec evo #wyrm #worm

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

#Through Time and Clades #Dinosaurs: The Second Chapter #Dinosaurs #Birds #A New Beginning #Youtube

[albertonykus]

New episode of Through Time and Clades! We interview paleontologist and science communicator @a-dinosaur-a-day, who discusses with us eir science outreach blog A Dinosaur A Day, eir conversion to Judaism and its connections to paleontology, the new fossil birds ey helped name, and more.

#Palaeoblr #Bioblr #Birblr #Podcast #Judaism #Paleontology #Dinosaurs #Birds #Interview #Meig Dickson #A Dinosaur A Day #Through Time and Clades

[killdeercheer]

Time for our next episode of Through Time and Clades: our first review of a work of historical fiction! Follow me as I recount my time reading Margaret George's The Memoirs of Cleopatra (1997), the incredible story of the last active pharaoh of Egypt. For added context, I also give a brief history of the Hellenistic World born of Alexander the Great and discuss controversies in modern classical studies regarding the woman herself. Featuring artwork by me!

Link:  https://youtu.be/o3hXO-dtQJ8

#Through Time and Clades #reviews #book review #The Memoirs of Cleopatra #Margaret George #Cleopatra #Julius Caesar #Mark Antony #Octavian #classical studies #antiquity #Ancient Egypt #Roman Republic #world history #historical fiction

[all-too-random]

Ethan Clade- The LGBTQ+ Rep We've Been Waiting For

So I just got around to watching Strange World the other day, and it made me UNBELIEVABLY happy.

(Mild spoilers ahead)

I had heard we were going to get a gay character but I was afraid it was going to go one of two ways: It would be something that could easily be brushed aside (not overtly gay, or in a very minor scene with a minor character), or that it would be portrayed in an annoying way (as in, the gay character would be a stereotype or have that be the only part of his personality).

I was very very happy to find out Strange World did none of these things. The gay character in question was Ethan Clade, one of the main protagonists the movie followed. This on its own was huge, as it makes Ethan the first openly gay protagonist in an animated Disney film. Ethan only interacts with his crush (a male character named Diazo) twice throughout the film, and in one scene it is just a short clip. However, it is referenced several times as well. Just after their first scene together, Ethan's father reminisces about his own first crush in reference to his son and Diazo. Ethan can also be seen rehearsing a made-up conversation with Diazo while walking through the forest. Later, he has a conversation with his grandfather, where Diazo is explicitly stated to be Ethan's "sweetheart". In none of these scenes are Ethan's family shocked by his sexuality. They simply accept it as part of him without any dramatic scene of "coming out".

While Ethan's gayness cannot simply be brushed away, it is also NOT the only part of his character. It is only one part of who Ethan is. He does not spend the whole movie focusing on his crush, nor is he a walking stereotype. He is a kid who loves adventure and card games, who cares very deeply about nature and his family, and who wants to find a way for people to peacefully interact with the world around them.

The character of Ethan Clade is a huge step for Disney. I hope more people go watch this movie, and I'd love to see more content about Ethan and Diazo soon.

#disney #strange world #ethan clade #diazo #searcher clade #lgbtq #lgbtq community #lgbtq+ representation

[birchbow]

I’ve been thinking about drones and just the whole logistics of it all. They’ve got to pick up two contributions from every troll? One after another? So presumably the pails get filled ahead of time. Would a troll have enough time to help out more than one pitch/flush partner if there’s an odd number of trolls total? Or is someone just SOL if they’re on a ship with an odd number of trolls? Oh hell, on the dark carnival there’s sometimes prisoners - and jeez, what about them?? Ah this got kind of dark and now I’m second guessing sending it, but I’m curious about your thoughts, feel free to ignore if you like!

These ARE the questions lol. I've been hammering away and I'm putting together a theory I will call the Tax Fraud Drone Theory and I am figuring pieces of it out as I type this at two AM, lol. CW of course for drone-season/fuck-or-die related discussion because: terrible bug aliens from hellmurder planet.

tl;dr, drones are a basic system that expects to hit up trolls in tribal/village numbers and slowly, methodically iterate their way through. Their system isn't evolved for modern trollish community structures, and often won't have the storage capacity to hit every single troll or couple (especially in a whole city) before they head back to the Mother Grub--so you can gamble and get by with one quadrant. OR even dodge them completely, but the contagious effect of their pheromonal presence will make you real sorry if you do! Further extensive rambling under the cut.

SO: a concept.

The basic function of drones is to follow the pheromonal/scent trail of trolls to a population center and go down the line demanding donations. (Theoretically, hitting different areas of the planet in waves, always coming and going, so the whole population isn't incapacitated at once.)

in situations that would have been natural when trolls were first established as a species, drones would largely find you living in groups ranging from a small travelling clade to a manageably village-sized collection of hives, SO:

In those circumstances, the drones could simply progress logically from iteration to iteration, prioritizing people who haven't contributed and then starting over with the people who have had the longest break since their first contribution, until pitch and flush contributions have been collected from everybody and/or the people who can't keep up have been culled.

(Presumably people who were near the start of the chain and already checked both boxes sometimes find it in their heart/spades to flip pitch or flush with an unlucky straggler, although that's risky if you don't genuinely think you can summon up a compatible enough match to satisfy the drones)

This is part of the reason drone pheromones send trolls into such an altered state, because odds are good you'll have to be in the mood for a hot second while the drones work their way around your community, and also will have to fuck several times.

Plus, I could imagine it's not unheard-of on-planet for one drone to finish up and then another one to show up a day later, attracted by the increased number of trolls and their much "louder" pheromonal signature! If we assume the drones are a semi-sentient purpose-driven messenger evolved to serve the Mother Grub (which I do haha) it's not like they would have a database.

(Drone pheromones would also function as a sort of indirect, auxillary means of reinforcing their purpose--not having quadrants to bone down with when drones are around is harshly physically/ mentally taxing and even if you managed to evade them and/or lock yourself up alone, most trolls will be fucked up enough they'll end up culled shortly afterward anyway.)

While trolls can't produce drone pheromones themselves, they're triggered by it to involuntarily produce a similar substance, which is notably incredibly "contagious" to other trolls around them, so even one drone in an area can have far-reaching ripple effects of Horny Time

BUT: Even prior to the Rebellion of Beasts, in semi-modern Alternia, trolls often lived in much larger cities than the drones' basic biology and capabilities could iterate combinations for, and so they would just continue to fill buckets from the next "fresh" troll they caught a whiff of, preferentially alternating pitch and flush, until all the drones dispatched to the area had reached capacity.

THUS: while it's still crucial to have strong quadrants filled if you want to be relatively safe, not every troll will be necessarily be demanded to consummate both, but WATCH OUT

Basically in the same way that you COULD falsify your taxes, but you could get audited at any time and then you're fucked, you CAN go into drone season with just one quadrant (or even no quadrants at all if you're feeling incredibly lucky and live in a super crowded area). BUT if the drones happen to get to the end of a chain of quadrants and end up next door, and you're the nearest relatively "fresh" troll they sniff out, you're dead meat.

It's also possible to physically lock yourself away from the drones but it requires heavy fortifications--it's also wildly illegal and grounds for immediate culling, and fiercely policed by the community, since every troll that tries that shit makes it that much harder and more deadly for everybody else.

If you get caught by your neighbors building some kind of panic room or something you are IMMEDIATELY under intense scrutiny and you BETTER be seen out and about every single drone season. Or a neighbor is likely to take things into their own hands and take you out of the gene pool themself.

While usually the exponentially-increasing privilege of the hemospectrum makes higher bloods exempt from shit like that, the exponentially decreasing physical numbers of colder bloods means that a different kind of social pressure is leaning on highbloods, a more noblesse oblige expectation that you'll do your part to keep the ruling classes populated with fresh blood from powerful couplings.

That said, a rare few especially powerful or crucial members of the empire can be ruled exempt by the empress, which basically just means she says explicitly that you get to build a bunker and lock your door when the drones come around--along with one or two other trolls For Your Health.

The Grand Highblood, a handful of seadwellers from her court that don't tideally suck, and any especially competent imperial generals of the various divisions of her army tend to fall under exemption, although she'll revoke it off-handed if you fuck up, so there's a lot of impetus to stay on top of your game.

In modern Post-Rebellion Alternia, trolls out on the farthest warfronts have increasing amounts of time between drone seasons, because the drones have to fly out from Alternia, track down ships and then fly all the way back. This is one of the many ways the empire encourages people to get way the fuck out onto the frontlines.

But they could still show up at any time, including to ships actively on the war front, so like. you better watch out you better watch out YOU BETTER WATCH OUT YOU BETTER--

In cases like the Church Fleet as I've written it, where there are prisoners present on-ship, it's just kind of expected that their lives are going to hornily suck absolute shit for several days while the drones are on-board, but the fortifications to keep prisoners secure also do keep the drones out.

In pursuit of not having prisoners die prematurely of dehydration and exhaustion, which is a very real risk if you're just locked up by yourself alone during drone season, I'd guess a lot of ships with prisoners just kind of throw them in groups into cells with extra food/water supplies and come back to pick up the pieces after the drones are gone again.

In some ways, a better way to spend the drone season than most free trolls, because you're locked up and don't have to worry about the drones! But also: kind of a nightmare hahaaa @_@ And also you're still a troll prisoner so like. You're going to die eventually anyway.

It's not good! But like, what about the Alternian empire is tbh. Hell society of the murder-bugs.

Bonus concept I'm chewing on: pheromone trails are a workable sollution on-planet, but basically impossible to follow all the way out into space--the reason the drones can find you no matter how far away you run to set up a colony is that the Mother Grub and her drones actually folded the Glb'golyb into a symbiotic relationship early in Alternian history/troll evolution. Her psychic connection to every troll in the empire means that they can get general positioning data from her and then hone in by smell when they arrive within direct sensory range. The Mother Grub gets to fulfill her purpose, and Glb'golyb basically farms trolls and lusii for food, taking her tithe of flesh from the Mother Grub's worker bees trolls (the general population).

#Homestuck #drone season #ask time! #this also provides a social pressure for trolls (pretty violent packed into tight spaces together) to live in cities and colonies together #because there's security in numbers both from a war perspective and from a drone perspective. #much to ponder! it's now three thirty in the morning lol I have to stop poking at this. HAVE IT

[arminreindl]

Prehistoric Planet Croc Ideas

So this was a thing I did on Twitter in anticipation of Prehistoric Planet. Obviously crocs (in this case meaning crocodylomorphs) were a pretty massive part of earth's fauna during the late Cretaceous, and seeing as the first season featured NONE I came to speculate which taxa could hypothetically make an appearance. Now part of the challenge for myself was to come up with a new, interesting contender every day in anticipation of the show's release, each based around the confirmed episides we had and restricted purely to taxa from the Campanian and Maastrichtian. While it took a lot of energy, I did manage to do so. Hell, halfway through they dropped the reveal of Simosuchus, which I had saved for later.

Obviously we didn't get much still, but I'll regardless post my list of candidates and ideas here, perhaps third time's the charme for a lot of these (tho for convenience I'm still ordering them by S2s episode titles). I'll also try to break them apart roughly by biome, starting with islands. PS: I'd love to hear which crocs people would have loved to see themselves. Any on this list or stuff I didn't even mention? Let me know I'm curious.

We got a shit ton of island crocs from the Cretaceous actually, which you can broadly divide into two categories. The crocodiles of the European archipelago as seen in the top row. Featuring the small, possibly shellfish eating Acynodon (art by Adramelech89), the incredibly widespread Allodaposuchus which did have some possibly semi-terrestrial forms (art by Alejandro Blanco, Aina and Agnès Amblás) and Aprosuchus, a tiny terrestrial critter from Hateg (art by @knuppitalism-with-ue). They already give a nice diversity between tiny durophages with blunt snouts, large, more traditional crocs and lanky land species.

The other island category concerns Madagascar, which had a lot of attention in season 2. Discounting Simosuchus, we got Araripesuchus tsangatsangana (art by Scott Hartman) and Mahajangasuchus (art by Mark Hallet). Both are really cool. The former is yet another smaller terrestrial species that may not actually be part of Araripesuchus, while the later is a massive, 4 meter relative of the famous Kaprosuchus that took to the water independently from all other crocs and has been nicknamed "Hippo croc" for its weird skull. Really I'd have loved to seen an episode entirely dedicated to this place.

Next up we had the badlands episode, which oh boy has a lot of contenders from the clade Notosuchia. Brace yourself.

Here again I could split these in two categories. The first is just general badland taxa. There's Ogresuchus for example, from Spain's Tremp Formation (art by Aina and Agnès Amblás). A relatively small sebecid found in a sauropod nesting site. And we all know what PhP does with baby sauropods. Or the long-necked Gobiosuchus (art by @yoofilos) from Mongolia, which may look like its related to the other ones in this category but actually is a far more ancient type of croc.

The far bigger group concerns South America's Notosuchians. ALL OF THESE are from the Bauru Group, with some even from the same single formation. You got Stratiotosuchus (again by Joschua Knüppe), a large terrestrial baurusuchid that filled the nische of mid sized carnivore in an environment shared by sauropods and abelisaurs. There's Pissarrachampsa (by Felipe Alves Elias), another baurusuchid I decided to feature because we have evidence of a nesting site that shows they only had few eggs. A great opportunity to show their tender side. Uberabasuchus (justin_an74), part of the bizzarly proportioned peirosaurids. Adamantinasuchus (by Deverson da Silva), a small, lanky Notosuchian and of course the heavily armored omnivore Armadillosuchus (by the ever talented Júlia d'Oliveira). Hell you could do a full episode just on the foodweb of the Bauru Group (Godoy et al. 2014).

Then there's swamps, which I'll just use to dump all the crocs that don't fit into the other categories.

As you'd expect, freshwater would be ideal for crocs with a more traditional semi-aquatic lifestyle, here represented by three forms. Jiangxisuchus (image by Li et al. 2014) is a paralligatorid, which are tiny crocodilians from the Cretaceous and Paleogene of east Asia. We honestly don't know what they are, some say alligator relatives, others say they are closer to crocs. But its small and cute. Then there's Roxochampsa (artist of the model I couldn't find), which looks suspiciously crocodilian but is actually a relative of Uberabasuchus from the badlands, hell it appeared in the same formation. Still, I reasoned that I'd throw it into this category because I already proposed so much for badlands (none of which came true but hey). And then there's Denazinosuchus (art by Andrey Atuchin). Again it looks deceptively like a modern croc, but is actually the last remnant of the goniopholids, crocodyliforms that were prominent animals in the Jurassic and early Cretaceous. It could have brought both taxonomic diversity nad highlighted croc resilience till the end.

When it came to picking out crocs for Oceans, it got tricky. Obviously season 2 tried to differentiate itself by being set more in the open ocean, not the coast, and true pelagic crocodiles weren't around by the end of the Cretaceous. So I had to settle for coastal animals. There's Sabinosuchus (Schiller II et al. 2016), a cousin to Sarcosuchus and, like Denazinosuchus, one of the last of its lineage. Also its from Mexico which is rarely talked about for its fossils. Rhabdognathus (Ghedoghedo) is a distant cousin, a slender snouted dyrosaur. Unlike pholidosaurs, dyrosaurs actually did really well after the KPG impact and spread around a lot, living way into the Eocene. And finally Chenanisuchus (art by artbyjrc), which like Rhabdognathus was found both before and after the impact that killed the dinosaurs.

And the final two I shall talk about, both of which I thought/hoped would appear in the North America episode. Again, there's certainly overlap, both would have just as much fit into swamps, while many others would have also suited North America. Regardless, here's Brachychampsa (Tom Parker) and Borealosuchus (Chris Masna), both iconic animals from the Hell Creek Formation. One closely allied with alligators and caimans, the other more basal with a head-shape more similar to todays crocodiles.

Now obviously there'd have been a lot more. Part of the challenge to myself was to try and be as diverse as possible, rather than just listing 10 different baurusuchids I went with only two, tried to include as much of the world as possible, etc.... There's also the fact that some really awesome taxa, Titanochampsa, Brachiosuchus and Eurycephalosuchus, all incredibly unique or interesting, were published too late to have been considered for the show. And now, in hinsight, we obviously know that with the exception of Simosuchus none of them made it in. Which is a shame, but maybe next time.

#prehistory #palaeblr #crocodile #paleontology #long post #prehistoric planet #prehistoric planet 2 #borealosuchus #brachychampsa #simosuchus #pissarrachampsa #stratiotosuchus #gobiosuchus #ogresuchus #uberabasuchus #roxochampsa #armadillosuchus #adamantinasuchus #jiangxisuchus #denazinosuchus #sabinosuchus #rhabdognathus #chenanisuchus #mahajangasuchus #araripesuchus #acynodon #allodaposuchus #aprosuchus