First day of Spectember! To start this challenge, from the humid cloud forests of Europe, the Silvian Cucuy (Cucuypteryx europaeus).
This is a member of the Mimicoos (Infantophagidae), a clade of widespread and prolific brood parasites, one of the many clades of these to arise post-extinction, as no brood parasites managed to survive. They are mainly frugivorous, using their semi-zygodactylous feet to hang around branches plucking berries and fleshy drupes from trees and bushes, usually upside down to confuse larger predators.
However, once the breeding season arrives, they turn to more violent habits: females will lay their eggs in a dozen or more nests of multiple host species, mimicking the calls of predators or competitors while camouflaged to scare away the parents. If the egg gets rejected by the parents, the mimicoo will raid the nest and consume the eggs or young of the host species, using those nutrients to lay eggs in more nests.
The Silvian Cucuy (Cucuypteryx europaeus) and other members of its genus are endemic to Europe and Central Asia, where they typically parasitize columbiformes in forested to semi-forested areas. To avoid competition, the different Cucuy species inhabit isolated areas of forest separated by higher mountains, or live on the same slope but keep to altitude-specific habitats, making the ourean Mountains a hotspot of diversity for this genus.
They have a very interesting life cycle. They only live for about 4 years, but first, we start with the parents.
They spend the first year of their life with their older sibling, learning from them before the older sibling dies, as it is their last year alive. During the first mating season of their second year of life, they only reproduce one offspring. They then spend their second year teaching and protecting the young.
The strange thing is that they don't have distinct sexual reproductive organs, as they only live to protect their sibling.
The third year is the last year of the parent's life. They mate one last time before dying a couple of days later. Then, it is the sibling's role to take care of the young, raising them until they reach their final year, when the sibling dies. The life cycle then continues.
It's a strange life cycle that doesn't seem to make much sense, but it's so efficient that it hasn't changed much in millions of years.
Idk this is my take on sibling care and I like it also the body is quite understandable but those tentacles are it's eyes and nose they have small eyes on the tips not made for seeing but they also detect smells and guide food into it's mouth
The Saber Squirrel (Machairosciurus nivalis) is a medium-sized subterranean omnivore that inhabits the frigid northern tundras of Siberia and Canada. Equipped with elongated, chisel-like incisors designed to carve through frozen soil and icy roots, adults reach around 30 cm in length.
Because carrying a pregnancy to full term in sub-zero winters places a lethal metabolic strain on the mother, evolution favored extremely short gestations. Females give birth to tiny, 3 cm hairless neonates. To prevent the species' extinction in soils that rarely rise above freezing, the survival of these premature young relies entirely on their older siblings.
For 3 to 4 months (the time it takes for neonates to grow insulating fur) the sub-adult siblings act as dedicated "Brood Keepers." They interlock their bodies over the newborns in the deep nest, converting their own thermal energy directly into life-saving heat. During this period, both parents conduct tireless foraging runs, returning to the burrow with anything edible to feed themselves, the lactating mother, and the high-metabolism Brood Keepers.
Once the new brood grows their thick winter coats and can thermoregulate, the Brood Keepers' duty ends. They emerge from the burrow during the brief summer thaw to disperse, establish their own territories, and seek out mates,leaving the newly matured litter to take over incubator duties for the next generation.
Something I've seen about Future is Wild content is that maps about it are generally not very good and seems to look more as "simple visualisation" than as actually a detailed projection about the geography
So I decided to make my own fanmade version of Novopangea with extra stuff like non existing islands or a more diverse biome illustration, also with ice sheets even if I know that climate is supposed to be warmer than today
Day length and Temperature is canon, however for Sun Luminosity and Moon Distance that's outside calculations ; Era and Period names are fanmade
The Pantrunk (Pantruncus communis) is a large, social, bipedal rodent native to the warm, dense tropical forests of Africa. In this alternate timeline, rodents occupied a variety of niches, including an unusual one for mammals: bipedalism. The most distinctive feature of this species and its family are its two long grasping appendages, which originated from the labrum and philtrum, then split into two, and then developed digit-like appendages at both ends.
They are quite large, comparable in size to our chimpanzees: males are approximately 1.3 meters long and weigh up to 40-65 kg, while females are 1 meter long and weigh 30-45 kg. They are omnivorous, primarily feeding on fruits, nuts, leaves, and roots, as well as a variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates, such as lizards or rodents, and on rare occasions they hunt larger game. Their foraging method is also interesting, as Pantrunks are among the most intelligent rodents, and like chimpanzees, they use primitive tools, such as sticks and stones.
The only problem is raising the young. Since the female must sometimes leave to forage, the older siblings of the group take on the responsibility of raising them. Having learned various skills from their mother, they teach their younger siblings the same, such as which fruits to avoid, which stones are good for what, or how to collect insects using a stick. This learning often takes place through play, which has a positive effect on the young, as they better remember important information.
(This is the first post from my new project, named "Rodentocen)
An adult Kumba ba Teké may be the apex predator of the Cho’Tali savanna, but in a savanna ecosystem rife with smaller predators and nest raiders like hyenas, big cats, mongooses, troodontids, and Dromaeosaurs to name a few, hatchlings often have a high mortality rate. This is especially true for those belonging to the first clutch of eggs laid by their mother. However, if at least one of these early hatchlings survive their brutal first year of life, the odds of survival for any subsequent generations increases tenfold. Not only do older siblings hunt small nest raiders that pose a threat to the younger hatchlings (with the parents dealing with any larger threats), but they also provide their little siblings with additional food while the parents go out hunting for large megafauna to supply the whole family. As seen in the picture, they are also known for carrying their younger siblings in their arms like jacana birds. The care that juvenile Kumba ba Teké provide also prepares them for the time when they become parents themselves and start families of their own.
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Zaikane is a planet in a distant solar system characterized by waves of life harvested from Earth at various points in its geological history, ranging from the Cambrian to the Holocene, and set free to evolve along evolutionary paths independent from those taken by their Earth ancestors. A godlike interdimensional entity, known as the Allmother by the people who live there, is what is responsible for creating the portals that abduct Terran life and deposits them on Zaikane. Because the asteroid that ended the Mesozoic never collided with Zaikane, dinosaurs continue to dominate the planet’s ecosystems as its dominant terrestrial megafauna.
Found my old speculative evo crew designs and may finally make proper reference sheets for all of the ones here and unlisted, starting with my Gravedigger, Spindrift. He works as an engineer on the ship he is stationed on and his small size comes in handy for getting into areas most of the crew can't. One of the downsides is that the resident human(s) on board constantly get cuteness overload from his antics (which he gets very annoyed by.)
Small probocids that live in mountains,caves,plateaus and under ground tunnel sistems habitated by multiple species of humanoids.
They weigth around 300 kg and height of 1,70 meters tall. They've developed a huge heel bone so they can stand up to climb big rocks using their fore limbs and hook made of cheratine in their trunks while their short tusk pierce rock to maintain stability or to feed on salt an natural chalk.
They live in a matriarchy, the oldest female takes care of the herd and teach all before she dies, her daughters stay in the herd while the sons migrate to find females to start new herds and then leave to live alone, her grand children are taken care and stay in the herd for 12 months before they turn into adults and while that period of time they play and take care of any new young that is born.
They're very social creatures and can be tamed quiet easily,so much that underground societys utilise them to cary extra weigth,suplies to the deeper tunels and take care of humanoid children.
When compared to elephants it's noticeable that their hippocampus is much more swelled and their ofactory bulb is also enlarged, both adaptations helping them to dwell cave sistems,avoid dangerous areas with toxic gases,find water and food.
Diet: they're generalist omnivores, eating mostly: roots,mushrooms,fruits,leaves,bones,bugs small rodents and grasses.
25 million years in the future, the areas of former Mediterranean and Middle East are some of the least habitable places on Earth. The planet is locked in a new ice age, which caused Mediterranean sea to evaporate and turn the surrounding area into a giant, arid desert.
But some animals still can thrive here.
If you were to wander into rocky areas here, you could see small, stocky mammals basking and jumping on thr cliffs.
These are huddling hyraxes.
Huddling hyraxes evolved from rock hyrax, already the most northern dwelling species in its family, which moved even further up north when sea dried up. Already being small and adapted to life in arid environment, dassies were perfectly set for surviving in this hostile new world.
As mentioned before, huddling hyraxes live in rocky places, where they feed on hardy plants capable of surviving in these difficult conditions. Despite their overall appearance being similiar to it's modern ancestor, other than having larger ears to disperse heart, huddling hyrax has changed in some ways.
It is difficult to find members of your species when places with enough vegetation are so rare, so hyraxes must value any chance at mating they get. Unlike holocene species, huddling hyrax is monogamous. Male and female will find a den where they live for the rest of their lives. Soon, female gives birth to the first generation of pups. But even when they grow up, pups don't leave.
Instead, they wait for the second generation to be born, and help raising it. They keep an eye at baby hyraxes when they graze and protect them from birds of prey and snakes (which are their only significant predators).
When season of higher humidity comes, or if colony becomes overcrowded, males, and rarely females disperse to start their own colonies.
The name "huddling hyrax" comes from one particular habit they practice.
Just like their ancestors, huddling hyraxes are bad at controlling their body temperature, and can freeze at night when temperatures drop.
So when night comes, entire hyrax family comes together, and begins to huddle, keeping everyone warm, and soon fall asleep together.
Hey y'all! This is my first Spectember 2026 entry! I'm using this wonderful challange as a way to flesh out the biosphere of my main worldbuilding project of Planet Urathu!
Our first stop is in the volcanic Obcillian isles. At about 2/3 the size of Australia, the mainland of this island chain has had much time and space to develop many complex biospheres full of endemic life across its many climates. Stretching from tropical rainforest in the southern islands of the archipelago to sub-polar tundra in the far north, the ecological variety of this realm is unmatched!
The Fuafirka [ɸʷaˈfi˞kᵊ] despite looking a lot like canines, are actually a member of the order Mesonychia. Mesonichids ressembled canines but with hooves, as they are closely related to modern ungulates. While in our world, the mesonychids went extinct, on planet Urathu, they managed to survive on the Obcillian isles and speciate out forming many of thmost e important carnivores of the islands' many ecosystems. This order of diverged mesonychids are called the Canimimus.
Typically, Fuafirka are found in the boreal forests around the Votannukusutor lakes on the north end of the main island. They are a highly social species, living in packs of 3-10 monagamous pairs. Clans will live in caves or dig complex burrows in the snow to build their dens. Within each pack, there is a matriarchal dominance heirarchy determining access to food and social status, passed down to offspring via nepotism. Once offspring grow up they either stay in the clan or leave, dispersing to prevent inbreeding or overcrowding, with dispersal being far more common with female Fuafirka. Should a Fuafirka decide to stay in their birth clan, they will take turns with other adults between hunting and helping communally raise other offspring of the clan. They will guard and play with the young to teach them how to be a productive member of the clan. Their instincts to help raise young will also occasionally least them to adopt lost babies they come across, even if they are of a different species.
Diets consist of scavenging for meat and pack hunting, with occasional berries and nuts consumed to suppliment missing nutrients. Their pack hunting instincts evolved as a way to take down the large herbivores of the island such as Obcillian Elephant and Mammoth species. Occasionally, when territories of clan's overlap there will be "turf wars". These "turf wars" involve lots of howling and occasionaly fighting which, was first read as methods of intimidation to rival clans. However, recent studies by the Obcillian Wildlife Department has revealed that what was once percieved as violent altercations, were in fact far more often meetings between groups to affirm bonds or to visit long distance family. On closer inspection of the more violent meetings, most fighting was actually just play between clan members.
In popular culture, Fuafirka have become something of a cultural mascot of the region, featured in many cartoons and tourism imagery such as postcards or plushies. They are especially revered in ski towns up north where encouters with them are rather common.
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Artist Notes: These lovely critters are an idea I've had for a while. The Obcillian Isles are a region I've been working on for LITERAL YEARS and I had thought a while back that it would be fun to commemerate my dogs I've had growing up. This one in particular is one of my current dogs, Fluffy. She has a habit of eating literally anything she finds on the ground, hence the scavenger behaviour, which was also inspired heavily by Hyenas and their structure. She also has an attitude I'd describe as "princessly" which is why I gave them a dominance heirarchy. My wife refers to our dogs as siblings of each other so when I read the prompt this is where my mind went.
The little dude is done! The clothing took a while to figure out, given the stature and whatnot, but I ultimately decided that Spindrift usually eschews clothing when off duty, as do some of the other non-human sophonts do, due to less cultural strictness around coverings compared to humans. He'll still wear clothes for performing maintinence, identification, and formal events.
Any thoughts on the outfits or ideas for a personality? I'm working on a Birdbug next.
On Earth, many aquatic sauropsids such as thalattosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs have called the seas their home, though on a distant genesis world, the seas are dominated by different clades of vertebrates, one of those being the mangosaurs. Unlike the other aforementioned sauropsid clades, mangosaurs are actual dinosaurs.\
The mangosaurs (meaning "shark lizards") were once believed to be an offshoot of spinosaurs, though it is now known that they belong to a more basal group, the herrerasaurs, more specifically, the morphoraptorans. As descendants of terrestrial bipeds, mangosaurs have a bias for larger hindlimbs which is why the forelimbs of mangosaurs are either slightly shorter than the hindlimbs, highly reduced, or absent.\
They are the only viviparous dinosaurs as their terrestrial ancestors would have laid soft-shelled eggs.\
The earliest forms resembled coelophysids with dense bones and short, webbed feet, though they would eventually evolve into forms similar to metriorhynchids and sharks.\
The species pictured is the mangosaurid Oceanomedon dryptodon (meaning "ocean lord with tearing teeth"), one of the largest living mangosaurs; there are a few taxa that are larger. Most mangosaurs are primarily piscivorous, though O. dryptodon is a macropredator that eats larger sea animals such as whales, leviaphantasmoid choristoderes, and other mangosaurs.\
Evolved from *Dendrobates spp.* (Poison dart frogs) after roughly 5 millions of years, these frogs took the gregarious lifestyle of their ancestors one step further.
They are way larger compared to their diminute ancestors, being roughly 25-30 centimeters in SVL (Snout to Vent Length). This helps them cover larger distances than what their forbearers could, a key aspect of their life and namesake. These amphibians live in groups of roughly 20 individuals, crossing the forest floor in search of food, such as arthropods, smaller amphibians and a recent addition: fallen fruits.
The adults of the group -both male and female- are extremely territorial, and will chase and fight off other frogs, including other groups from the same genus, which is actually quite diverse. This aggressive behaviour led to a curious trait: the non reproductive members of the clan get to carry tadpoles on their backs. This is due to the nomadic nature of these animals, who don't stay in the same place for long, which is the reason the tadpoles are carried and tended by their siblings and cousins. Carrying them to puddles and other places with water and food where the larvae can feed and be safe from predators. To not fall off during travel, the tadpoles secret a sticky slime that keeps them secure on the backs of their siblings.
This is just an idea I had about some kind of simbiosis between an animal (mammal) and a plant, kinda like the Eastern emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica) which is a species of sea slug that use chloroplasts from the algae they eat for photosynthesis. Its is known as a "solar-powered sea slug", living in a subcellular endosymbiotic relationship with the chloroplasts of said algae (Vaucheria litorea).
Our first stop is in a near future, during a warmer period in the future where tectonic activity created a series of oceanic isles in the Pacific Ocean. Among the colonizers of these new lands, some geese evolved to an almost exclusive aquatic lifestyle, the whale birds or cetiornids. Heavy and grumpy flightless anseriforms that thrived in open waters.
The greater tualapi is one of the biggest species of this group, with males reaching up to 40kg. As other birds of this family, these creatures rarely go on land, with females only going to isolated oceanic islands to lay clutches of up to 15 grey mottled eggs.
Hatchlings and juveniles are morphologically idstinct from the swimming adults, with feet adapted to a cursorial lifestyle, slowly changing to a more and more aquatic habit as they mature during their first three years of life.
An interesting behavior on this species is the guarding observed on the bigger juveniles, acting as scouts and guards of the younger individuals to protect them from giant flying predators such as the frigatrosses.
Unfortunately for this lineage of birds the future is not bright, as the volcanic islands will slowly become more suited for new colonizers in a faster way than they can handle, with just a few relict lineages having some oceanic hope in lower latitudes.
Field notes: adults have bland flavoured meat, our crew found out that the best way to cook them is to chop in in small pieces and do a long boil with condiments for up to six hours. Serves well with red and sweet wines.
Species Profile: The Brosquire (Fraterascos calcis)Project: Spectember – Day 1: Sibling CareOverview & EtymologyThe Brosquire (derived from the roots brother and squire) is a massive, highly social organism native to a high-density atmospheric exoplanet. Measuring up to 3 meters in length and weighing between 800 kg and 1 metric ton, this species exhibits a fascinating survival strategy centered on trade-offs between structural defense, bio-energetics, and kin-selected altruism.Anatomy and LocomotionThe Buoyancy Organ: To withstand the crushing pressures of a dense atmosphere and mitigate the mass of its structural components, the Brosquire possesses an internal visceral sac filled with metabolic molecular hydrogen (\(H_{2}\)). This organ acts as an aerial swim bladder, generating constant positive buoyancy that allows its heavy body to move efficiently without exhausting its metabolic reserves.Support System: Its internal framework consists of a lightweight yet rigid chitinous endoskeleton. This provides the necessary anchor points for its dense, columnar musculature, which is designed to sustain a heavy load over long periods.Sensory System: Entirely eyeless, the Brosquire navigates using specialized electro-receptors lining its anterior flank, functioning similarly to the ampullae of Lorenzini found in Earth’s elasmobranchs. It interacts with its environment and manipulates food through a single, highly muscular cranial appendage.Ontogeny and Calcite OntogenesisDuring the early and juvenile stages of development, the Brosquire is covered by a thick, heavy calcite carapace composed of minerals abundant in the planet's upper crust. This shell provides absolute immunity against small and medium-sized apex predators.However, as the organism reaches maturity and its sheer volumetric scale increases, maintaining this mineralized shield becomes energetically unsustainable. Consequently, the Brosquire undergoes a slow, systemic atrophy of the calcite carapace. The mineral content is gradually reabsorbed or sloughed off, shedding dead weight to optimize energy efficiency and increase overall agility.Behavioral Ecology & Sibling CareBecause sub-adults and mature adults are stripped of their primary physical armor, they rely entirely on coordinated social defense mechanisms to survive predation:The Phalanx Dome: When an electro-magnetic anomaly alerts the herd to an incoming predator, the organisms rapidly converge to lock their broad, flattened dorsal surfaces together, creating an impenetrable calcified dome.Kin-Selected Protection (Sibling Care): Because forming this dome is a mechanically slow process, younger siblings with heavier, incomplete carapaces are highly vulnerable to being left outside the perimeter. To prevent this, sub-adult siblings utilize their cranial appendages to physically herd and shove their younger, slower kin into the epicenter of the formation before sealing the perimeter with their own bodies.Sacrificial Lag: The delay in forming the dome means that older individuals on the outer edge occasionally suffer the brunt of the predatory strike. This altruistic behavior ensures the survival of closely related genetic lines (sibling cohorts), making the Brosquire a prime example of complex social evolution in extreme environments.
Equus fillis, the Sisterhood Horse, is a species of horse native to the boreal forest. They are about as tall as their thoroughbred ancestors, but instead of being muscular they're lean with proportionally long legs. Their strongest sense is that of smell, which they use to keep track of family, food and foes.
Like Equus ferus, they live in matriarchal herds, but the herd structure differs from their ancestors. Male E. fillis still join small bachelor bands, which are most commonly (but not always) brothers. Unlike E. ferus, stallions don't live with the mares as part of the herd and reform the same bachelor band after the spring/summer mating season. Foals are born in litters of 2-3, and the mating of one mare has an anaphrodisiac effect on her herdmates. In a herd of 5, only 2 or 3 might be pregnant in a given year. Mares are very choosy about their mates and reject related stallions or those that just don't impress them.
Mares form strong bonds between sisters. Sisters disperse together and form their own herds of just sisters, usually no more than 5 mares. The mare that leads the herd is generally just the biggest or most socially dominant sister. Sisters graze closely together on leaves and always look out for each other. They reject all non-related horses, though they remember the scent of their kin, and younger sisters or half-sisters have been known to join established herds. Aunts are very involved in raising the foals.
When danger threatens, mares will defend each other by turning around and kicking. They stay near their injured or sick kin and try to comfort them as best they can.
Species Name: Retrovolanis reversoptera Creator: jacja Clade: Aornithospondylidae, inside Gibbumspondylidae, Retrovolanopteria (descendant from Paranornis perplexus) Habitat: Open woodland, savannah Size: 50-70cm wingspan/legspan Ecology: small generalist predator with omnivorous tendencies Extra Info: With the continent becoming an empty canvas, new and very strange evolutionary roots became viable and in some cases even successful, the “Retrovolanis reversoptera” are such examples. With the returning of forest a small branch of Paranornis perplexus became arboreal/semi-arboreal using their powerful hopping legs to jump between trees and quickly away while on the ground. A subsection developed patagium along their legs forming parachutes with some evolving larger and longer legs to increase the surface for the fall and travel between perches, with time a group started to flap their legs for more height or slow down their landing and from them that “Retrovolanis reversoptera” arose. “Retrovolanis reversoptera” is a fully flighted species of paratetrapods with their whole wings being supported by their legs and four elongated fingers. Generalist in their diet with insects being the bulk of their diet but small vertebrates, mushrooms and very occasional plant matter being eaten too. These animals show quite the flexible breeding behavior woodland populations prefer nesting in treeholes or in elevated areas while savannah populations prefer using dicynodont borrows (generally abundant ones but small species are known to be either eaten or bullied out), in both cases they are found in small groups with females guarding the eggs until hatching while males go out to fetch food. Very unusual is that older siblings stay nearby and help to raise and protect the chicks, why this behavior evolved is unclear.
This is my first submission for the Paleothalassa project
(the prompt i a bit wasted here but i'll probably redo it later)
The Dentieques genus are a clade of horses drawn from the lost world of Ruudash, a harsh land of elevated niche competition and demanded omnivory.
They are best known for their lengthy lower tusks, more forward-facing eyes, and ability to stand and locomote bipedally when the need arises. This is most commonly seen when they are hunting or fleeing larger animals, while quadrupedal stances are favored for slower but longer treks.
The forehooves often have a dense, thorny structure, as they use them to pummel rivals and predators, with even the smallest of their genus being able to fracture bone.
For the longest time it was believed that the lone surviving Dentiequus species was the tol’Gorga, the titular Orcish Horse.
That was until this past year, when a troop of Daari/Shune naturalists was able to investigate the sparsely populated taiga that separates the Hondonan steppes from the Tundra of Troshun.
Following tales of vicious stone-footed hounds from the rare Dennikar trader, they did eventually discover the Hopf Jackals, with the first sighting not far from the rarely discussed World Remnant known as the Tomb of Unknowns.
They were immediately recognized as a species of Denitequus; their observations, when combined with beast tales drawn from the Olruuni Charred Library, paint a clear image of the beasts.
They differ from tol’Gorga in appearance, namely in size, only standing around four feet tall on their hind legs, making them rather diminutive for Ruudashi fauna, and facial structure; they have narrow jaws and longer, curved tusks which have a serrated edge on the inward curve.
Their pelts are more darkly colored than tol’Gorga, with deep browns, greens, and blacks being most common.
While at the bottom of the megafaunal food chain on their Homeworld, they were swift pursuit predator, mobbing and isolating a chosen animal before bringing it down with a punch to the back knee or a bounding bite around the throat. They typically did not wait for their prey to die, using their tusks to carve open flesh and then worming their thin heads within ribcages and stomachs to draw out the organs, which they gulp down with little chewing. This ravenous and sudden feast is born of the fact that another animal, larger and stronger than them, would nearly always be along to steal their kills, be it a tol’Gorga stallion or a pair of Warga.
They supplemented their diets with thorny vegetation, cinder grass, and raiding Ogre river freezers.
On Arclund, they have left much of their plant-based diet behind, but though they do consume conifer seeds and pine nuts, they instead hunt Kolnu and reindeer, with most predators of comparative size and lesser aggression within the region; they have risen to the near pinnacle of the food web.
They’re communal animals, but are distinct in that, unlike their cousins, males and females are fully integrated, hunting and living alongside each other in herd-packs of up to twenty.
One thing about their family structures that remains from their time in Ruudashi is how the young are cared for.
While most commonly a singular matriarch controls the herd, she is not the only mare that breeds, and the young are raised communally, not by the adults, who are constantly out hunting and foraging, but by the older sets of young.
Hoof Jackal foals are most commonly born as twins, within small box canyons or under tree falls. They can walk hours after birth and gain their first teeth two months later, allowing them to eat partially digested meat, their gag reflex being another noted alteration from other equine genera. At this point, their mothers will leave, going back to hunting and defending their territory, while older foals become lookouts and teachers.
Typically, the largest of the older foals is the one in charge, using force and intimidation of its fellows to make sure all goes smoothly.
This is most commonly the eldest child of the matriarch, as they get fed the choicest portions.
This paternal abandonment is instinctual, and new mothers that are solo typically either learn their first litter or seek out a herd-pack, supplication themselves to the matriarch, which has the latter bite and pin the former, tasting of her blood before releasing her.
As noted, Hoof Jackals are only found within the taiga regions of Northern Umasi, yet as with other anomalous Ruudashi fauna populations, no one can quite understand how they got there. They predate the exodus of the Ogres from Vrahal.
Regardless, they have become an important facet of the region, and a number of the roving Fiendmark tribes that find themselves stuck between the harsh Dennikari to the south and the expansionist kingdom of Yogdarpoda to the northwest have come to ally with the Hoof Jackals, being able to summon them to a fight or a hunt using keening whistles that mimic their giggle-like neighs.
After the massive reduction of forests, humans left the planet to look for a better place, leaving endangered animals adrift. After 20 million years, the Hammibala emerged. Hammibalas are koalas that evolved cannibalism, eating each other or eating conventional koalas. The continents moved in such a way that Australia collided with Asia, and Asia with Africa, forming a mega-continent called "New New Mini Pangea." They live in the forests of this continent, specifically in the interior of the continent. Your stomach, highly specialized in eucalyptus, can still digest this plant, but it is more specialized in meat.
Something I forgot to add is that the long neck gecko (ik perfect name) but due to the size there eggs are also bigger so ovi-geckos can't take them or put them in there mouths and also its not worth it to try to to long neck geckos being very territorial and only live in tight net groups
Species Profile: The Brosquire (Fraterascos calcis)
Project: Spectember – Day 1: Sibling Care
Overview & Etymology:
The Brosquire (derived from the roots brother and squire) is a massive, highly social organism native to a high-density atmospheric exoplanet. Measuring up to 3 meters in length and weighing between 800 kg and 1 metric ton, this species exhibits a fascinating survival strategy centered on trade-offs between structural defense, bio-energetics, and kin-selected altruism.Anatomy and LocomotionThe Buoyancy Organ: To withstand the crushing pressures of a dense atmosphere and mitigate the mass of its structural components, the Brosquire possesses an internal visceral sac filled with metabolic molecular hydrogen (\(H_{2}\)). This organ acts as an aerial swim bladder, generating constant positive buoyancy that allows its heavy body to move efficiently without exhausting its metabolic reserves.Support System: Its internal framework consists of a lightweight yet rigid chitinous endoskeleton. This provides the necessary anchor points for its dense, columnar musculature, which is designed to sustain a heavy load over long periods.Sensory System: Entirely eyeless, the Brosquire navigates using specialized electro-receptors lining its anterior flank, functioning similarly to the ampullae of Lorenzini found in Earth’s elasmobranchs. It interacts with its environment and manipulates food through a single, highly muscular cranial appendage.Ontogeny and Calcite OntogenesisDuring the early and juvenile stages of development, the Brosquire is covered by a thick, heavy calcite carapace composed of minerals abundant in the planet's upper crust. This shell provides absolute immunity against small and medium-sized apex predators.However, as the organism reaches maturity and its sheer volumetric scale increases, maintaining this mineralized shield becomes energetically unsustainable. Consequently, the Brosquire undergoes a slow, systemic atrophy of the calcite carapace. The mineral content is gradually reabsorbed or sloughed off, shedding dead weight to optimize energy efficiency and increase overall agility.Behavioral Ecology & Sibling CareBecause sub-adults and mature adults are stripped of their primary physical armor, they rely entirely on coordinated social defense mechanisms to survive predation:The Phalanx Dome: When an electro-magnetic anomaly alerts the herd to an incoming predator, the organisms rapidly converge to lock their broad, flattened dorsal surfaces together, creating an impenetrable calcified dome.Kin-Selected Protection (Sibling Care): Because forming this dome is a mechanically slow process, younger siblings with heavier, incomplete carapaces are highly vulnerable to being left outside the perimeter. To prevent this, sub-adult siblings utilize their cranial appendages to physically herd and shove their yonger, slower kin into the epicenter of the formation before sealing the perimeter with their own bodies.Sacrificial Lag: The delay in forming the dome means that older individuals on the outer edge occasionally suffer the brunt of the predatory strike. This altruistic behavior ensures the survival of closely related genetic lines (sibling cohorts), making the Brosquire a prime example of complex social evolution in extreme environments.
Could an organism as large as a building realistically evolve and still function biologically? What adaptations would it need to support its massive size?
Aderphotherium (brother beast) is a monotypic genus of non marsupial metatherian mammal, living in remote pockets of the Amazon rainforest. It is no larger than a cat and is a generalist omnivore eating eggs, fruit and small animals. It mates for life and has a very peculiar breeding strategy. A couple of Aderphotherium will give birth to a litter of about 10-15 joeyes. However, the female only has one mammary gland with milk. The joey that first gets to the mammary gland will grow much faster than its siblings. After 7 days in the pouch, the parents will abandon the litter. It’s up to the joey that reached that mammary gland and developed faster to take care of the young.(This more developed joey will have 10 mammary glands but all of them except one will eventually disappear in females and males totally lose the ability to lactate.For 2 years this more mature joey will take care of its siblings, teaching them how to fend for themselves. This reproductive strategy however seems to have been quite inefficient as all of its lineage (aderphotheroidea) except for itself, have all gone extinct since the Miocene. And this species is now only found in fragmented refugium habitats and is directly threatened by deforestation and climate change. It is the only non marsupial metatherian to have made it to the Holocene.
The species is also nocturnal and has poor eyesight with three fleshy nodes in its head, used for sensing its environment and having a very basic form of echolocation.
