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captainswaglord500 · 5 years

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Eastern Thalassian Oceanic Fauna

Saber Monkey (#1)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Suborder: Haplorhini

Infraorder: Simiiformes

Family: Cercopithecidae

Tribe: Papionini

Genus: Smilopithecus

Species: S. piscophagus (”fish-eating knife ape”)

Ancestral species: Macaca radiata (Bonnet macaque)

Time period: late Nyctocene to early Solocene (102 million years to 118 million years in the future).

Information: a massive, piscivorous monkey the size of a lion, the Saber Monkey lives across the eastern coast of Thalassia, where it hunts in the shallow seas and estuaries. It uses its long teeth to help grip onto prey, and its hands and feet are webbed to help aid in swimming. Its thick, brown, fur coat is hydrophobic, meaning that water will not adhere to its surface, and it also doubles as protection against the cold. As of so far, we are uncertain of the threat it possesses to humans. Therefore, if approaching this animal, one should take reasonable caution.

Dragonfish (#2)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Siluriformes

Family: Dracoichthyidae

Genus: Dracoichthyes

Species: D. siluroides (”silurus [a genus of catfish]-like dragon fish”)

Ancestral species: Bagarius yarrelli (Goonch)

Time period: early Solocene (105 million years to 120 million years in the future).

Information: a fast-moving oceanic catfish the size of a Great Barracuda, the Dragonfish bares a vague resemblance to the dragons of East Asian folklore. It hunts primarily in open oceans worldwide, and feeds upon primarily other fish. Its skin is dark blue on its back and light blue on its underside to provide camouflage. Armed with a vicious set of sharp teeth, the Dragonfish’s jaws is not something that you’d want to find yourself on the receiving end of. Its large eyes help it to see in the dark.

Vent Worm (#3)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Annelida

Class: Polychaeta

Subclass: Aciculata

Order: Xenopodia

Family: Deinoannelidae

Genus: Deinoannelida

Species: D. giganteus (”giant terrible annelid”)

Ancestral species: Alitta virens (Sandworm)

Time period: early to late Solocene (105 million years to 140 million years in the future).

Information: with its chimerical appearance, one would guess upon first glance that the Vent Worm were a creature from another planet. But in fact, it is just as much an earthen being as us. The Vent Worm, despite its name, does not live solely in volcanic vents. In fact, it can be found almost anywhere in the ocean worldwide, from warm, shallow seas to cold, deep trenches. Its name derives from the fact that it was first discovered near volcanic vents. The Vent Worm is a very-large annelid, being nearly 6 feet in length. It predates on a variety of different creatures, including fish and even occasionally stripping pieces of flesh off of live animals. Its skin is a sandy color with its crest and break are grey.

Estuarine Coelacanth (#4)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Sarcopterygii

Subclass: Actinistia

Order: Coelacanthiformes

Family: Microcoelacanthidae

Genus: Microcoelacanthus

Species: M. orientalis (”eastern small hollow spine”)

Ancestral species: Latimeria menadoensis (Indonesian coelacanth)

Time period: late Lithocene to early Solocene (65 million years to 110 million years in the future).

Information: at only around a foot in length, the Estuarine Coelacanth is a fairly-small creature. Its scales a light blue color, allowing it to blend in with the surrounding water. It feeds primarily off of aquatic plants, but will also eat worms it can find in the sediment. Though it is low on the food chain, a special chemical in its flesh prevents most predators from wanting to eat it, as its flesh tastes notoriously-bad. It is found across much of Thalassia’s coast.

Cormorant Turtle (#5)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Clade: Testudinata

Order: Testudines

Suborder: Cryptodira

Family: Ornithochelidae

Genus: Ornithochelys

Species: O. coelosteus (”hollow-boned bird-turtle”)

Ancestral species: Macrochelys temminckii (Alligator snapping turtle)

Time period: early Solocene (105 million years to 115 million years in the future).

Information: a massive turtle the size of a bottlenose dolphin, the Cormorant Turtle is a semiaquatic hunter found along the coast of eastern Thalassia and western Occidensia. It feeds primarily of fish, and is notable amongst turtles for the fact that its shells is now vestigial, taking the form of armor plating on its back and underside. Their skin is green to blend in in the kelp forests where they predominantly hunt. Its aerodynamic body allows it to travel at fast speeds, and its clawed hind legs are for helping it move on land.

Bat Seal (#6)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Caniformia

Infraorder: Arctoidea

Clade: Pinnipedia

Superfamily: Otarioidea

Family: Aeropinnipedidae

Genus: Aeropinnepedia

Species: A. chiropterygoides (”bat-like air seal”)

Ancestral species: Neophoca cinerea (Australian sea lion)

Time period: early to late Solocene (105 million years to 140 million years in the future).

Information: the Bat-Seal is a very-interesting case of convergent evolution. As its name would suggest, though it morphologically looks like a bat, it is, in fact, a seal that has evolved to live a life in the air, even going so far as to re-evolve hind legs with digits. The Bat-Seal is comparable in size of a wolf, and is a cathemeral piscivore, predating on a wide variety of fish. Its brown fur is hydrophobic, hence allowing it to dive into the water if necessary. Its eyesight is exceptional, and it is particularly attracted to shiny objects, which it perceives as its prey. Its threat level to humans seems to be low, and they show a kind-of friendly curiosity around people. They live along several coastal regions worldwide.

Sea Parrot (#7)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Superclass: Osteichthyes

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Labroidei

Family: Labridae

Genus: Psittacoichthyes

Species: P. fatalis (”deadly parrotfish”)

Ancestral species: Chlorurus sordidus (Daisy parrotfish)

Time period: early Solocene (105 million years to 115 million years in the future).

Information: the Sea-Parrot is peculiar for a parrotfish in that it is actually a carnivore. An ornately-colored carnivore. At around the size of a small dog, the Sea-Parrot is a formidable predator of smaller fish, in particular the Estuarine Coelacanth. It lives across many tropical and subtropical oceans of the world, and can occasionally be found wandering into more-temperate waters, where its bright green and blue scales make it stand out a lot from the local oceanic fauna. Its threat level is low to humans, and they, in fact, seem very-skittish around humans.

Whale Monkey (#8)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Suborder: Haplorhini

Infraorder: Simiiformes

Family: Hydropithecidae

Genus: Hydropithecus

Species: H. cetops (”whale-faced water ape”)

Ancestral species: Papio anubis (Olive baboon)

Time period: early Solocene (105 million years to 120 million years in the future).

Information: bearing a vague resemblance to the Ambulocetus of an era long past, the Whale Monkey is a lion-sized semiaquatic hunter found across much of Thalassia’s coast. It is a crafty and intelligent primate, and can make tools, though it rarely needs them. The Whale Monkey is an omnivore, and feeds off of a variety of plant matter and animals. They are social animals, and tend to live in small troops of around 10 other individuals. Their fur is brown and hydrophobic. Like primates from our own timeline, they are very playful and inquisitive towards humans, and will actively approach them. This may perhaps one of the most-bizarre creatures we’ve encountered so far...

Emperor Seal (#9)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Caniformia

Infraorder: Arctoidea

Clade: Pinnipedia

Family: Phocidae

Genus: Suchocetus

Species: S. imperator (”emperor crocodile-whale”)

Ancestral species: Phoca vitulina (Harbor seal)

Time period: early to late Solocene (105 million years to 140 million years in the future).

Information: At 20 feet in length and fully aquatic, the Emperor Seal bears a vague resemblance to pliosaurs. Likewise, it fills a similar ecological role. Stalking the seas around Thalassia, the Emperor Seal hunts a variety of other animals, both big and small. Its fur is brown with grey spots, and concealed in its jaws are a large set of canines, which allow it to grip onto its prey and tear it apart. But even this massive animal has predators. It is predated upon by both the Great Sea-Reaper and the Giant Eel Shark alike, and therefore, its smaller size compared to both make it vulnerable. Luckily, it can also use this to its advantage, as this allows it to retreat to the shallows if necessary.

Coral Shark (#10)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Chondrichthyes

Subclass: Elasmobranchii

Infraclass: Euselachii

Superorder: Selachimorpha

Order: Squaliformes

Family: Squalidae

Genus: Microcarcharus

Species: M. orientalis (”eastern small shark”)

Ancestral species: Squalus acanthias (Spiny dogfish)

Time period: early to mid Solocene (105 million years to 125 million years in the future)

Information: the Coral Shark, at only 2 feet long, is a fairly-small animal. Feeding on a variety of smaller fish, particularly Kittenfish, the Coral Shark lives primarily in tropical reefs worldwide, hence its name, but can be found in subtropical and even temperate regions. Its skin is a greyish-white color, and it is a fairly-skittish animal.

Reef Dagger (#11)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Scombriformes

Family: Xenoscombridae

Genus: Pseudoanguilla

Species: P. ferox (”fierce false eel”)

Ancestral species: Ruvettus pretiosus (Oilfish)

Time period: early Solocene (105 million years to 117 million years in the future).

Information: at around 3 feet in length with 4-inch-long tusk-like teeth, the Reef Dagger is a force to be reckoned with. Living along much of Thalassia coast, this mottled green-and-brown predator hunts by ambushing, waiting silently on algae-covered rocks for smaller to approach before jolting up and engulfing them in its maw. It is a fairly slow-swimming animal, and hence uses its fins to “walk” on the seafloor. Certainly not something you want to accidentally step on...

Reef Shark (#12)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Chondrichthyes

Subclass: Elasmobranchii

Infraclass: Euselachii

Superorder: Selachimorpha

Order: Heterodontiformes

Family: Sinocarcharidae

Genus: Sinocarcharus

Species: S. macrops (”large-eyed Chinese shark”)

Ancestral species: Heterodontus portusjacksoni (Port Jackson shark)

Time period: early to late Solocene (105 million years to 140 million years in the future).

Information: the Reef Shark is fairly-small, being only about 4 feet long. It lives along the coasts of eastern Thalassia and feeds predominantly on smaller fish. its skin is brown with black spots on its back.It is primarily nocturnal, hence its large eyes. They are skittish animals, being easily scared off by larger animals.

#scifi #fantasy #speculative evolution #novella

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