This probably wont end well. Aim for whatever soft spots I can find and take this predator out with me
Thanks for the new round Stealth! 
Action: Take a nice long rest in my sponge home until Iām no longer exhausted, Iāve earned it. Preferably I will wake up when itās light out and my eyes can be of use again.
Action:Bury myself beneath the sand and rest
Action: Stay in the cove, filtering as much food as I can find near the seaweed.
hide and rest under a rock, if i cannot find one then swim to the bottom of the lake and try to hide myself in the sand before resting.
Action: Enter into the cove to eat the seaweed, keep my eyes open for a possible ambush from the Pseudoicthys that could be inhabiting the small cove
Thats for the round.
Action: swim up to the other of my species and mate then look for some food
Action: Hunt the Anazitonta and then go back to where my old shoal mates were to try to escape from the increasing heat and salinity
I am dead though, right?
Iāve done it again - never mind.
Round 187 - P.1
~62.3 million years since the Atroxian Began~
Oliverian Period, Astathean Stage
Event: 5 - None
Meta
Wiki Home Page: https://path-of-the-wild.fandom.com/wiki/Path_of_the_Wild_Wiki
World: https://path-of-the-wild.fandom.com/wiki/Current_World
Species: https://path-of-the-wild.fandom.com/wiki/Extant_Species
Discord Server (anyone can join): https://discord.gg/weGdxFB
Reward Shop
Rewards are subject to change.
- Bonus Point: Get a + or -1 to use on the action roll of any player, yourself included. = 1pt
- Guaranteed Action: Use this on an action to definitely roll a 4 or higher. = 2pts
- Guaranteed Evolution: Use this during evolution to definitely roll a 4 or higher. You can save them up and use multiple at once. = 3pts
- High Roller: Get a guaranteed 6 for either action or evolution. = 4pts
- Call of the Wild: Summon an event that focuses on any specific area of the world you choose. However, the event is random and may be larger than you anticipate. = 5pts
Tectonic activity carries on, causing the volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges to pump megatonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It has increased by another degree, reaching 30c. The temperature has stabilised. The global climate is now mostly tropical and subtropical, as temperate zones have been pushed into the polar zones. Because of the heat, the oceans are highly stratified and water below the thermocline is hypoxic. Ocean downwelling occurs now at the equator, and at much less frequency.
@Agenttine - Points Stored = 3
Salcaedis corcillum, Male (LC)
Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Early Spring
You turn back and head into the water from which you came, the estuary channel. The Dinocaroides is still fairly nearby so you quickly swim away before it notices. When you can no longer see the predator, you settle into the riverbed and rest. When you have finished your rest, you have recuperated a small amount of energy but you are now starving. The brackish water is hot and murky. The tide is moving back out, and you are moving with it because you are too small to swim against it. You are close to one of the rocky shores. As the water levels decrease, you see a small tidepool form at the sides. In it, you can sense an Icthyotelus. A Mandibulidon is poised on the edge of the shore. You smell saltwater in the direction the tide is pushing you, and see a couple of Salcaedis moving now this direction. (4)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 35% (Juvenile) / 2cm / 1 month
Health: Starving
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 55% / 1.6/2.7 (40%) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: None
Salcaedis corcillum
Latest Mutations: Tropical Tolerance = 5, Intelligence = 6, Heart = 5, Stronger Mandibles = 2
This species has become marine, occupying the tropics around the Uteenessa Ocean. It can only hunt soft-bodied creatures because it has rather blunt and weak pincers. It can also graze. When reproducing, they return to certain sites in estuaries based in the tropics across both Olympia and Tartarus. This is thanks to their ability to remember long-term events.
Status: LC
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Tropical Upper Ocean & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens
Niche: Predator, Herbivore
Size: 13cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (133NP/10) x 13/10 = 14.8NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (14.8 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 8NP / 14.8NP
Abilities: Moderate UV Resistance, Pincers Penetrate Hardness 0, Moulting, Can Roll Up. Osmoregulation (High Salinity, Brackish Tolerance), Circulation, Excretion. Long-Term Memory.
Perception: Chemoreception 2 (Senses chemical particles from 5m away, only vague sense of direction), Sight 1 (Clear sight to the sides), Perceives Blue and Green.
Stats: Respiration 1, Coordination 1. Digestion 1.2 (Can Break Down Multicellular Matter, Can Digest Meat, Can Digest Plants, 10% less), Immunity (Immunity Physical Barrier), Support 1.5, Intelligence 1, Desiccation Resistance 1, Hardness 3. Walk Speed 2, Swim Speed 4.1, Stamina 2, Jumping 1, Strength 0.5, Dexterity 0.5, Filtration -0.5. Evolution 1 (4 mutations).
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When feeling pain; roll up into a ball. When hungry; look or sense for algae or animals. In Early Spring, when ready to reproduce, move to brackish water and gather in specific breeding sites and then sense for pheromones of opposite sex and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: Iridiphore pigments give the calcified exoskeleton with many plates covering the cylindrical body a metallic, blue sheen. This covers the skin. The mouth has a pair of mandibles (chelicera) and also has nearby chemoreceptors. On the side of the head are a pair of lens eyes and behind them a pair of compound eyes. The exoskeleton sports ten pairs of legs; the first are chelipeds which end in long, serrated pincers (chela), the next four are lined with paddles and used for walking and the final five are smaller, forked (biramous) swimmerets, also with paddles. The exoskeleton ends in a fan tail, and below this is a hyponome.
Internal Features: Spiracles at the edge of the body draw in water past gill-like structures. A closed circulatory system of blood vessels transports blue blood efficiently around the body, pumped by a two-chambered heart. Anti-freeze glycoproteins circulate in the body fluids. A nephridium funnels out chemical waste and expels it through a pore. The body is supported by a system of muscles. From the mouth, a tube leads to the stomach, then into the coiled intestines and finally to the anus. A brain in the head connects to a nerve cord, which itself is connected to nerves like rungs of a ladder. In the centre of the body is a swim bladder, while below can be found testes (in a male or hermaphrodite) or an ova (in a female or hermaphrodite). Throughout the whole body seeps a bitter fluid.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs. Hermaphroditism.
Castes/Phases: Male & Female until late life (Identical) (+1 Evolution)
Locomotion: Walking. Paddling. Fluke Swimming. Hyponome Burst. Buoyancy Control.
@immortaldragon - Points Stored = 2
Pigocauda corallus (NT)
_Polar Temperate Shallows, Early Spring
You smell a sponge and follow the trail in pitch black until you feel yourself bump into it. You try to bite into the sponge but the outer layer is too tough. You are therefore not able to rest in security. The water is cool and you are still living in the rocky outcrop, where you smell a few soft corals and sponges. You sense electrically the presence of a Stegopus nearby on the outcrop. In the complete darkness, an Anazitonta can be smelt. (2 + 1)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 55% (Juvenile) / 3cm / 1 year
Health: Lost pectoral fin, shattered scales, bleeding wounds on tail
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 80% / 14.4/18 (80%) / 100%
Temperature: Cool (Metabolism x 1)
Notes: Reduced agility and speed.
Pigocauda corallus
Latest Mutations: Better eyes with a transparent humor or rather than water = 4, Armour plates around head and jaw = 1, Two-chamber heart = 4
Info: This relatively slow-going proto-fish mainly sticks near to the seafloor because this is where itās food is located. Unlike its hunting relatives, itās too slow to be able to hunt enough nutrient-rich food and instead feeds on soft corals. The reason for its lack of speed is the strange scales covering its tail from tip to base; it is composed of heavy but brittle scales that provide no protection but restrict movement of the critical tail. However, it has better stamina because of a two-chambered heart and better eyesight with an actual true eye (composed of a aqueous humor supporting a cornea and lens bending light to the retina) that helps it pick out the soft corals.
Status: NT
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Subpolar Temperate Shallows, Polar Temperate Shallows, Tropical Upper Ocean, Subpolar Temperate Upper Ocean, Polar Temperate Upper Ocean
Niche: Predator (eats soft corals)
Size: 6cm (length)
Nutritional Worth: (86/10 X 6 =) 51.6NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: 25NP / 41NP
Abilities: Permeable Skin. Bioluminescence. Short-Term Memory.
Perception: Decent binocular vision in front, can use electroreception up to ten metres away, can smell odours up to ten metres away.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. It knows to eat and avoid being harmed.
External Features: Streamlined fish-shape body with black pigmentation; it has oval pectoral ray-fins, a caudal fin beneath the tail and two spines on itās base. A brittle, heavy type of scale covers the tail from tip to base. Cycloid scales cover the thin skin layer, a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores dot the body. A mouth containing lots of razor-shaped teeth, olfactory receptors and forwards facing eyes - with aqueous humor supporting the cornea and lens directing light to the retina - make up the face.
Internal Features: Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. A network of vascular blood vessels circulates red blood containing hemoglobin, pumped by a two-chambered heart. Muscles line either side of the body between the body wall and the cartilage membrane. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has stomach a with digestive juices followed by intestines leading to the anus. A slightly bigger brain, with a memory lobe, encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into network of nerves. A swim bladder lies in the centre of the body, near to the electric organ. It hosts male and female gonads. Protonephridia, connected to hemacoel, expels waste through pores.
@soundwave - Points Stored = 2
Archaeostomus fallus (LC)
Subpolar Temperate Shallows, Early Autumn
You see an Anazitonta hovering nearby a rocky outcrop, and charge towards it. It does not see you until you collide with it, plunging your fangs and teeth, creating a gaping wound. The Anazitonta is affected by blood loss and toxins and quickly dies. You eat your catch as the water gets hotter and saltier. When youāve finished eating, you travel in the direction in which there is less salinity. You manage to escape the increasing salinity along with your one remaining shoalmate, partly with help from a current across empty ocean water where you see no surfaces. You gain four more shoalmates on your journey by the end, although your oldest shoalmate fell victim to predators during the journey. You are now exhausted. The ocean here is warm and clear but you see no surfaces- just open, gloomy ocean. Around you are your four shoalmates. You see only the blurry shapes of what appear to be a Cerceps and an Anazitonta. (4 + 1)
Status:
Maturity/Size/Age: 95% (Subadult) / 8cm / 23 months
Health: Exhausted
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 30% / 5.4/7.2 (75%) / 100%
Temperature: Warm (Metabolism x 1.25)
Notes: None
Archaeostomus fallus
Latest Mutations: Long-Term Memory = 6, Quicker Sexual Maturity = 3, Venomous Fangs = 5
This proto-fish has a mouth reminiscent of the Archeoarcha that went extinct in the very early stages of the Oliverian, because it shares venomous fangs with the aforementioned has a larger brain than any other species at the time it appeared because it has a longer memory, that can store information for up to a month.
They use this memory to recognise individuals in the small shoals that they form.
Status: Unlisted
Habitat: Temperate Shallows, Temperate Upper Ocean
Niche: Predator.
Size: 8cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (179NP/10) x 8/10 = 7.2NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (7.2 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 4.3NP / 7.2 x 0.9 = 6.5NP
Abilities: Air Space. Bioluminescence. Excretion, Liquid. Excretion, Solid. Toxin, Fatal. Circulation, Large-Body. Penetrates Toughness 1 (jaw). Permeable Skin. Pressure Tolerance, Moderate. UV Resistance, Strong.
Perception: Electroreception 1 (passive electrical field 1 body length away). Blurry Sight (above). Smell 1 (detects odours 1m away).
Stats: Agility 1. Buoyancy 1. Coordination 1. Digestion 2 (Break Down Multicellular Matter, Digest Meat, 10% off). Evolution 1 (4 votes). Filtration 0.5. Flexibility 2. Immunity 1. Intelligence 1. Memory 2 (1 month). Respiration 2 (Cutaneous Respiration, Ram Ventilation, 10% off). Sharpness 1. Stamina 3. Strength 1.5. Support 1.5. Swim Speed 3.3. Toughness 0.5. Walk Speed 0.7.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When observing a predator; swim away. When hungry; look for prey. When ready to reproduce, smell for other adults and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: It has a fish-shaped body with black pigmentation, oval pectoral ray-fins, a caudal fin beneath the tail and two spines at itās base. Cycloid scales cover the skin and a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores dot the body. A mouth containing sharp teeth and a pair of fangs in the upper jaw, olfactory receptors and upwards facing pinhole eyes make up the face.
Internal Features: Inside each cell has a low pressure tolerant metabolism. Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. A network of vascular blood vessels circulates red blood containing hemoglobin, pumped by a simple heart. Muscles line either side of the body between the body wall and the cartilage vertebrae. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw, which is linked to a cartilage skull. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has a stomach with digestive juices followed by intestines, with vegetation-digesting microfauna, leading to the anus. There is also a liver. A brain with a memory lobe encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into network of nerves. A swim bladder lies in the centre of the body. It hosts either male or female gonads. Kidneys, connected to circulatory system, expels waste to the bladder a tract.
Reproduction: Sexual. Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs.
Castes/Phases: Male and Female (Identical) (+1 Evolution).
Locomotion: Carangiforme (+1 Swim Speed). Crawling. Gas Buoyancy. Active. (20NP)
@blackink - Points Stored = 1
Archiproticthys backshalli (NT)
Tropical Shallows
You move towards the seaweed that you see, making sure that the smell of the Pseudoichthys does not get stronger. There is a lot of large seaweed and you feed well on just the one frond. No predator comes near while you eat. It is now several months later and you have eaten and avoided predation long enough to grow into a subadult. You are, however, exhausted. Looking around you, you still see the walls of a small cove, in which there is plenty of seaweed. The seabed is sandy and there is a small channel which leads to open water. Some Dolichostoma float in the water. You can smell a Pseudoicthys somewhere. (5 + 1)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 85% (Subadult) / 7.7cm / 10 months
Health: Exhausted
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 25% / 17.5/17.5 (100% - 60% left over for growth) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: None
Archiproticthys backshalli
Status: NT
Temporal Range: R.150 - Present (Oliverian)
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Temperate Shallows
Distribution: Cosmopolitan
Niche: Herbivore
Size: 9cm (length)
Nutritional Worth: (76/10 X 4 =) 26.6NP
Predecessor: Leptia leptia
Classification: Sanicthyopsinae (sf), Skelechelusidae (f), Eoicthyes (so), Chordata (sc), Bilateria Ā§
Perception: Blurry binocular vision in front, can use electroreception up to ten metres away, can smell odours up to ten metres away.
Latest Mutations: Genders, Heart, Bigger
Info: With little competition and predation, this species of proto-fish can focus on improving things like reproductive fitness, evolving genders. It also has a simple heart to increase its stamina and has grown larger on the ample supply of algal food.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. It knows to eat and avoid being harmed.
External Features: Streamlined fish-shape body with black pigmentation; it has oval pectoral ray-fins, a caudal fin beneath the tail and two spines on itās base. Cycloid scales cover the thin skin layer, a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores dot the body. A mouth containing square teeth, olfactory receptors and upwards facing pinhole eyes make up the face.
Internal Features: Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. A network of vascular blood vessels circulates red blood containing hemoglobin, pumped by a simple heart. Muscles line either side of the body between the body wall and the cartilage membrane. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has stomach a with digestive juices followed by intestines, with vegetation-digesting microfauna, leading to the anus. A brain encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into network of nerves. A swim bladder lies in the centre of the body. It hosts either male or female gonads. Protonephridia, connected to hemacoel, expels waste through pores.
Discoverer: StealthStyle
@jellyfishmon - Points Stored = 0
Salcaedis corcillum, Male (LC)
Tropical Shallows, Early Spring
You approach another female Salcaedis and successfully mate again. Eggs are scattered into the water. You then see some small bits of algae growing at the bottom of the estuary and settle down on the riverbed to feed. A Dinocaroides travels nearby but avoids you because you have grown too big for predators. Therefore, you are free to keep feeding on the bottom, gathering in lots of food and replenishing your nutrition. However, you are now exhuasted. You see the Dinocaroides hunting around at the edge of the murk. You smell another Salcaedis. The tide is moving back out towards where you smell saltwater, and as the water levels decrease, you see a small tidepool appear, in which you can smell an Icthyotelus. (5 + 1)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 100% (Adult) / 13cm / 1 year
Health: Exhuasted
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 40% / 13.5/14.8 (90%) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: 2 Reproductive Points
Salcaedis corcillum
Latest Mutations: Tropical Tolerance = 5, Intelligence = 6, Heart = 5, Stronger Mandibles = 2
This species has become marine, occupying the tropics around the Uteenessa Ocean. It can only hunt soft-bodied creatures because it has rather blunt and weak pincers. It can also graze. When reproducing, they return to certain sites in estuaries based in the tropics across both Olympia and Tartarus. This is thanks to their ability to remember long-term events.
Status: LC
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Tropical Upper Ocean & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens
Niche: Predator, Herbivore
Size: 13cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (133NP/10) x 13/10 = 14.8NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (14.8 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 8NP / 14.8NP
Abilities: Moderate UV Resistance, Pincers Penetrate Hardness 0, Moulting, Can Roll Up. Osmoregulation (High Salinity, Brackish Tolerance), Circulation, Excretion. Long-Term Memory.
Perception: Chemoreception 2 (Senses chemical particles from 5m away, only vague sense of direction), Sight 1 (Clear sight to the sides), Perceives Blue and Green.
Stats: Respiration 1, Coordination 1. Digestion 1.2 (Can Break Down Multicellular Matter, Can Digest Meat, Can Digest Plants, 10% less), Immunity (Immunity Physical Barrier), Support 1.5, Intelligence 1, Desiccation Resistance 1, Hardness 3. Walk Speed 2, Swim Speed 4.1, Stamina 2, Jumping 1, Strength 0.5, Dexterity 0.5, Filtration -0.5. Evolution 1 (4 mutations).
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When feeling pain; roll up into a ball. When hungry; look or sense for algae or animals. In Early Spring, when ready to reproduce, move to brackish water and gather in specific breeding sites and then sense for pheromones of opposite sex and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: Iridiphore pigments give the calcified exoskeleton with many plates covering the cylindrical body a metallic, blue sheen. This covers the skin. The mouth has a pair of mandibles (chelicera) and also has nearby chemoreceptors. On the side of the head are a pair of lens eyes and behind them a pair of compound eyes. The exoskeleton sports ten pairs of legs; the first are chelipeds which end in long, serrated pincers (chela), the next four are lined with paddles and used for walking and the final five are smaller, forked (biramous) swimmerets, also with paddles. The exoskeleton ends in a fan tail, and below this is a hyponome.
Internal Features: Spiracles at the edge of the body draw in water past gill-like structures. A closed circulatory system of blood vessels transports blue blood efficiently around the body, pumped by a two-chambered heart. Anti-freeze glycoproteins circulate in the body fluids. A nephridium funnels out chemical waste and expels it through a pore. The body is supported by a system of muscles. From the mouth, a tube leads to the stomach, then into the coiled intestines and finally to the anus. A brain in the head connects to a nerve cord, which itself is connected to nerves like rungs of a ladder. In the centre of the body is a swim bladder, while below can be found testes (in a male or hermaphrodite) or an ova (in a female or hermaphrodite). Throughout the whole body seeps a bitter fluid.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs. Hermaphroditism.
Castes/Phases: Male & Female until late life (Identical) (+1 Evolution)
Locomotion: Walking. Paddling. Fluke Swimming. Hyponome Burst. Buoyancy Control.
2 Likes
R.187 - P.2
@Spring_blooms - Points Stored = 2
Dolichostoma springbloomi (NT)
Tropical Upper Ocean
Barely having to move, you are able to filter up lots of nutritional detritus through your siphon. You remain here for the next few months, feeding well alongside other Dolichostoma. You are hardly bothered by predators in this cove. You have grown into a juvenile and the water is no longer thick and viscous. Looking around you, you see the walls of a small cove, in which there is plenty of seaweed. The seabed is sandy and there is a small channel which leads to open water. Some Dolichostoma float in the water and you can smell marine snow. You can smell a Pseudoicthys somewhere. (5 + 1)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 35% (Juvenile) / 1.4cm / 4 months
Health: Healthy
Stamina/Nutrition//Hydration: 55% / 1.9/1.9 (100% - 35% left over for growth) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: None
Dolichostoma springbloomi
Latest Mutations: Increased Intelligence = 3, Increased Size = 5, More Efficient Digestive System = 3
Dolichostoma has a peculiar mouth which has a long, trunk-like siphon. The siphon contracts its muscles to draw water, and with it food, into the mouth. Cirri on the end of the siphon further help to draw food in.
Status: Unlisted
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Tropical Upper Ocean
Niche: Pelagic Filter-Feeder
Size: 4cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (136NP/10) x (4/10) = 2NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (2 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 1NP / 2 x 0.9 = NP
Abilities: Anti-Freeze. Barrier Immune System. Circulation. Cutaneous Respiration. Liquid Excretion. Long-Term Memory. Moderate UV Resistance. Permeable Skin.
Perception: Blurry Vision. Chemoreception 2 (Senses chemicals 5m away). Light Detection.
Stats: Agility 0.5. Coordination. Digestion 2 (can break down multicellular matter, 10% off). Filtration 3. Intelligence 1. Respiration 2 (10% off). Solid Excretion. Stability 1. Stamina 2.5. Strength 1. Support 1. Swim Speed 1.5. Walk Speed 0.5.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When feeling pain; swim away. When hungry; filter with tentacles. When ready to reproduce, sense for a member of the opposite sex, move toward it and mate with the source. There is a chemical for each of the following meanings: āfollow meā, ādangerā and āhelpā.
External Features: The soft skin of the cylindrical body is covered in yellow structural colouration. The mouth has a siphon that extends from it and on the end are eight cirri with chemoreceptors. On one side of the body is a pinhole eye, on the other an eyespot. An umbrella-shaped lobe , made of four parts that can fold in, surrounds the head and four membranous lobes running down the body have cillia on them.
Internal Features: Behind the head are six gill slits. An open circulatory system carries fluid across the body, and anti-freeze glycoproteins travel in the fluid. There is also a nephridium and muscles lay longitudinally along the body. A tube from the mouth meets the intestines, which leads to the anus. A brain in the head is connected to the nerve cord with branches of nerves, with a notochord running along side it. In the male, a testes can be found and in the female an ova can be found.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs.
Castes/Phases: Male and Female (Identical). (Evolution +1)
Locomotion: Suspension, Cilliated Rowing. Active (20NP)
@OoferDoofer - Points Stored = 2
Archaeostomus fallus (LC)
Subpolar Temperate Shallows, Early Autumn
You hatch out in an ocean current. Nearby in the current is an Anazintonta and you squirm through the thick and viscous water to hunt it down. It does not see you until you collide with it, plunging your fangs and teeth, creating a gaping wound. The Anazitonta is affected by blood loss and toxins and quickly dies. You eat your catch. You become a juvenile. A shoal of four Archaeostomus comes by and you join them. The ocean here is warm and clear but you see no surfaces- just open, gloomy ocean. Around you are your four shoalmates. You see only the blurry shapes of what appear to be a Cerceps and an Anazitonta. (4 + 1)
Status:
Maturity/Size/Age: 25% (Juvenile) / 2cm / 6 months
Health: Healthy
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 55% / 3.5/3.5 (100% - 25% left over for growth)
Temperature: N/A
Notes: N/A
Archaeostomus fallus
Latest Mutations: Long-Term Memory = 6, Quicker Sexual Maturity = 3, Venomous Fangs = 5
This proto-fish has a mouth reminiscent of the Archeoarcha that went extinct in the very early stages of the Oliverian, because it shares venomous fangs with the aforementioned has a larger brain than any other species at the time it appeared because it has a longer memory, that can store information for up to a month.
They use this memory to recognise individuals in the small shoals that they form.
Status: Unlisted
Habitat: Temperate Shallows, Temperate Upper Ocean
Niche: Predator.
Size: 8cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (179NP/10) x 8/10 = 7.2NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (7.2 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 4.3NP / 7.2 x 0.9 = 6.5NP
Abilities: Air Space. Bioluminescence. Excretion, Liquid. Excretion, Solid. Toxin, Fatal. Circulation, Large-Body. Penetrates Toughness 1 (jaw). Permeable Skin. Pressure Tolerance, Moderate. UV Resistance, Strong.
Perception: Electroreception 1 (passive electrical field 1 body length away). Blurry Sight (above). Smell 1 (detects odours 1m away).
Stats: Agility 1. Buoyancy 1. Coordination 1. Digestion 2 (Break Down Multicellular Matter, Digest Meat, 10% off). Evolution 1 (4 votes). Filtration 0.5. Flexibility 2. Immunity 1. Intelligence 1. Memory 2 (1 month). Respiration 2 (Cutaneous Respiration, Ram Ventilation, 10% off). Sharpness 1. Stamina 3. Strength 1.5. Support 1.5. Swim Speed 3.3. Toughness 0.5. Walk Speed 0.7.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When observing a predator; swim away. When hungry; look for prey. When ready to reproduce, smell for other adults and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: It has a fish-shaped body with black pigmentation, oval pectoral ray-fins, a caudal fin beneath the tail and two spines at itās base. Cycloid scales cover the skin and a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores dot the body. A mouth containing sharp teeth and a pair of fangs in the upper jaw, olfactory receptors and upwards facing pinhole eyes make up the face.
Internal Features: Inside each cell has a low pressure tolerant metabolism. Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. A network of vascular blood vessels circulates red blood containing hemoglobin, pumped by a simple heart. Muscles line either side of the body between the body wall and the cartilage vertebrae. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw, which is linked to a cartilage skull. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has a stomach with digestive juices followed by intestines, with vegetation-digesting microfauna, leading to the anus. There is also a liver. A brain with a memory lobe encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into network of nerves. A swim bladder lies in the centre of the body. It hosts either male or female gonads. Kidneys, connected to circulatory system, expels waste to the bladder a tract.
Reproduction: Sexual. Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs.
Castes/Phases: Male and Female (Identical) (+1 Evolution).
Locomotion: Carangiforme (+1 Swim Speed). Crawling. Gas Buoyancy. Active. (20NP)
@Zenzonegaming - Points Stored = 3
Carcharobrachia rigidus, Male (LC)
Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Late Winter
The dangerous waves cause you to look for shelter but there are still no rocks visible to you. Instead, you swim downwards but slowly because of your missing leg and wounds. However, before you can get too far, the currents shipped up by the winds drag you upwards. Though you struggle, you cannot outswim it. The harsh waves toss you about in the heavy rain of the hurricane until you pass out from the exhaustion. You perish. (1 + 1 = You have not thrived. You will be reborn, as your species goes on.)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 25% (Juvenile) / 4cm / 3 months
Health: Dead
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: N/A
Temperature: N/A
Notes: N/A
Carcharobrachia rigidus
Latest Mutations: Stronger Pincers = 5, Better Digestive System = 4, Spinal Cord = 4, Paralytic Poison = 2
The pincers of this species can crack even calcified exoskeletons, allowing it to hunt previously inaccessible animals.
Status: Unlisted
Habitat: Freshwater & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Polar Cool Oceanic Summer Semi-Humid Barrens
Niche: Predator, Herbivore
Size: 16cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (168NP/10) x 16/10 = 26.9NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (26.9 x 0.6) x 0.86 = 13.9NP / 26.9NP
Abilities: Air Space. Anti-Freeze, Barrier Immune System, Can Roll Up, Circulation, Foul Taste. Gas Buoyancy. Liquid Excretion. Moderate UV Resistance, Moulting, Penetrates Hardness 2 (Pincers). Solid Excretion.
Perception: Chemoreception 1 (Senses chemicals from 1m away). Sight 1 (Clear vision to the sides, can perceive green and blue light). View Angle 1 (from one pair).
Stats: Buoyancy 1. Coordination 1. Desiccation Resistance 1. Dexterity 0.5. Digestion 2.4 (Can break down multicellular matter, can digest meat, 14% off). Filtration 0. Hardness 2. Intelligence 1. Jumping 1. Respiration 1. Stamina 2. Strength 0.5. Support 1.7. Swim Speed 2.7. Walk Speed 1.5.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When observing a predator; roll up. When hungry; look for prey. When ready to reproduce, look for other adults and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: Iridiphore pigments give the calcified exoskeleton with many plates covering the cylindrical body a metallic, blue sheen. This covers the skin. The mouth has a pair of mandibles (chelicera) and also has nearby chemoreceptors. On the side of the head are a pair of lens eyes and behind them a pair of compound eyes. The exoskeleton sports five pairs of legs; the first are chelipeds which end in pincers (chela), the next are long and spindly with sharp stingers at the end, protruding close to the base on the outside of the chelipeds, and the final three are lined with paddles and used for walking. The exoskeleton ends in a fan tail, and below this is a hyponome.
Internal Features: Spiracles at the edge of the body draw in water past gill-like structures. A closed circulatory system of blood vessels transports blue blood efficiently around the body. Anti-freeze glycoproteins circulate in the body fluids. A nephridium funnels out chemical waste and expels it through a pore. The body is supported by a system of muscles and a axochord. From the mouth, a tube leads to the stomach, then into the tightly coiled intestines and finally to the anus. A brain in the head connects to a nerve cord, which itself is connected to nerves like rungs of a ladder. There is a gland in the body that secretes a seemingly useless substance. In the centre of the body is a swim bladder, while below can be found testes (in a male) or an ova (in a female). Throughout the whole body seeps a bitter fluid.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs.
Castes/Phases: Male and Female. (+1 Evolution) Hermaphrodite.
Locomotion: Walking. Paddling. Fluke Swimming. Hyponome Burst. Buoyancy Control. Active (20NP)
@Skyguy98 - Points Stored = 1
Skylos skylos, Male (NT)
Tropical Very Wet Barrens
Out of desperation, you attack the Mandibulidon with your remaining claw and get a lucky strike in the eye. This sends the Mandbulidon reeling and it retreats a short distance in the hot, murky, non-flowing water. You can also see the rocky bank nearby. The muddy bottom has a few small clumps of algae, where some other Skylos are feeding. You are now starving and exhausted. At your small size, the water is thick and viscous. (4)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 1% (Hatchling) / 0.6mm / 0 days
Health: Missing cheliped, starving, exhausted
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 25% / 0.2/1 (15%) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: None
Skylos skylos
Latest Mutations: Greater Social Intelligence = 3, More Efficient Digestion = 5, Something that enables us to spend longer times on the sand = 4, Eggs have shells = 5
This species can spend a bit more time than usual out of water because it can retain more water in its aquatic spiracles as a valve and the end can close over it. This valve also has waterproof hairs to stop water escaping. Other advantages include a muscular stomach and tightly coiled intestines for greater digestion and leathery eggs with yolk inside.
Status: Unlisted
Habitat: Freshwater & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Polar Cool Oceanic Summer Semi-Humid Barrens
Niche: Predator, Herbivore
Size: 6cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (160NP/10) x 6/10 = 26.9NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (26.9 x 0.6) x 0.86 = 13.9NP / 26.9NP
Abilities: Air Space. Anti-Freeze, Barrier Immune System, Can Roll Up, Circulation, Foul Taste. Gas Buoyancy. Liquid Excretion. Moderate UV Resistance, Moulting, Penetrates Hardness 2 (Pincers). Solid Excretion.
Perception: Chemoreception 1 (Senses chemicals from 1m away). Sight 1 (Clear vision to the sides, can perceive green and blue light). View Angle 1 (from one pair).
Stats: Buoyancy 1. Coordination 1. Desiccation Resistance 1.5. Dexterity 0.5. Digestion 2.6 (Can break down multicellular matter, can digest meat, 16% off). Filtration 0. Hardness 2. Intelligence 1. Jumping 1. Oxygen Storage 1. Respiration 1. Stamina 2. Strength 0.5. Support 1.5. Swim Speed 2.7. Walk Speed 1.5.
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When observing a predator; roll up. When hungry; look for prey. When ready to reproduce, look for other adults and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: Iridiphore pigments give the calcified exoskeleton with many plates covering the cylindrical body a metallic, blue sheen. This covers the skin. The mouth has a pair of mandibles (chelicera) and also has nearby chemoreceptors. On the side of the head are a pair of lens eyes and behind them a pair of compound eyes. The exoskeleton sports five pairs of legs; the first are chelipeds which end in pincers (chela), the next are long and spindly with sharp stingers at the end, protruding close to the base on the outside of the chelipeds, and the final three are lined with paddles and used for walking. The exoskeleton ends in a fan tail, and below this is a hyponome.
Internal Features: Spiracles at the edge of the body draw in water past gill-like structures and have valves with waterproof hairs at the opening. A closed circulatory system of blood vessels transports blue blood efficiently around the body. Anti-freeze glycoproteins circulate in the body fluids. A nephridium funnels out chemical waste and expels it through a pore. The body is supported by a system of muscles. From the mouth, a tube leads to the muscular stomach, then into the tightly coiled intestines and finally to the anus. A brain in the head connects to a nerve cord, which itself is connected to nerves like rungs of a ladder. In the centre of the body is a swim bladder, while below can be found testes and an ova. Throughout the whole body seeps a bitter fluid.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs. The eggs have a leathery outer layer and contain yolk.
Castes/Phases: None.
Locomotion: Walking. Paddling. Fluke Swimming. Hyponome Burst. Buoyancy Control. Active (20NP)
@PositiveTower - Points Stored = 0
Salcaedis corcillum, Male (LC)
Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Early Spring
You try to bury yourself in the sand but at the bottom of the water is rock and so you cannot dig into it. You therefore are not able to rest. You are still small enough that the water is thick and viscous too. You are exhausted and now starving. Eventually, the choppy water subsides and you can swim freely again. You find yourself in a shallow basin and water leading to outside the basin is quickly receding. The water is hot and murky. A Gryphorhinus is grazing on the algae that is growing around the basin. There is also an Icthyotelus and a Mandibulidon. (2 + 1)
Status
Maturity/Size/Age: 35% (Juvenile) / 1.3mm / 0 days
Health: Exhausted, starving
Stamina/Nutrition/Hydration: 5% / 0.1/0.2 (40%) / 100%
Temperature: Hot (Metabolism x 1.5)
Notes: None
Salcaedis corcillum
Latest Mutations: Tropical Tolerance = 5, Intelligence = 6, Heart = 5, Stronger Mandibles = 2
This species has become marine, occupying the tropics around the Uteenessa Ocean. It can only hunt soft-bodied creatures because it has rather blunt and weak pincers. It can also graze. When reproducing, they return to certain sites in estuaries based in the tropics across both Olympia and Tartarus. This is thanks to their ability to remember long-term events.
Status: LC
Habitat: Tropical Shallows, Tropical Upper Ocean & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens
Niche: Predator, Herbivore
Size: 13cm (length)
Nutritional Need: (133NP/10) x 13/10 = 14.8NP
Food / Oxygen Requirement: (14.8 x 0.6) x 0.9 = 8NP / 14.8NP
Abilities: Moderate UV Resistance, Pincers Penetrate Hardness 0, Moulting, Can Roll Up. Osmoregulation (High Salinity, Brackish Tolerance), Circulation, Excretion. Long-Term Memory.
Perception: Chemoreception 2 (Senses chemical particles from 5m away, only vague sense of direction), Sight 1 (Clear sight to the sides), Perceives Blue and Green.
Stats: Respiration 1, Coordination 1. Digestion 1.2 (Can Break Down Multicellular Matter, Can Digest Meat, Can Digest Plants, 10% less), Immunity (Immunity Physical Barrier), Support 1.5, Intelligence 1, Desiccation Resistance 1, Hardness 3. Walk Speed 2, Swim Speed 4.1, Stamina 2, Jumping 1, Strength 0.5, Dexterity 0.5, Filtration -0.5. Evolution 1 (4 mutations).
Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. When feeling pain; roll up into a ball. When hungry; look or sense for algae or animals. In Early Spring, when ready to reproduce, move to brackish water and gather in specific breeding sites and then sense for pheromones of opposite sex and move towards them, then attempt to mate with the source.
External Features: Iridiphore pigments give the calcified exoskeleton with many plates covering the cylindrical body a metallic, blue sheen. This covers the skin. The mouth has a pair of mandibles (chelicera) and also has nearby chemoreceptors. On the side of the head are a pair of lens eyes and behind them a pair of compound eyes. The exoskeleton sports ten pairs of legs; the first are chelipeds which end in long, serrated pincers (chela), the next four are lined with paddles and used for walking and the final five are smaller, forked (biramous) swimmerets, also with paddles. The exoskeleton ends in a fan tail, and below this is a hyponome.
Internal Features: Spiracles at the edge of the body draw in water past gill-like structures. A closed circulatory system of blood vessels transports blue blood efficiently around the body, pumped by a two-chambered heart. Anti-freeze glycoproteins circulate in the body fluids. A nephridium funnels out chemical waste and expels it through a pore. The body is supported by a system of muscles. From the mouth, a tube leads to the stomach, then into the coiled intestines and finally to the anus. A brain in the head connects to a nerve cord, which itself is connected to nerves like rungs of a ladder. In the centre of the body is a swim bladder, while below can be found testes (in a male or hermaphrodite) or an ova (in a female or hermaphrodite). Throughout the whole body seeps a bitter fluid.
Reproduction: Sexual, Ovuliparity (External Fertilisation). 1,000 eggs. Hermaphroditism.
Castes/Phases: Male & Female until late life (Identical) (+1 Evolution)
Locomotion: Walking. Paddling. Fluke Swimming. Hyponome Burst. Buoyancy Control.
2 Likes
This is for the 3rd anniversary of POTW on the 21st. Just a little something.
Ezta Explorations With Nigel Marvin: Episode Four
"Nigel Marvin; a time-travelling zoologist and a man who has had his fair share of close scrapes with dinosaurs. And now, heās journeying to another planet. In his latest adventure, Nigel will be travelling back through the prehistory of a planet called Ezta. He will be walking, flying or swimming alongside creatures that are truly out of this world.
Nigelās next stop is his first to the Oliverian, a time of upheavalā¦"
A boat trundles across a darkened sea, standing out against the orange sky as a weak sun peaks faintly above the horizon. The boat leaves a wake of white in its trail, and the last of the sun glints off of it. A few crew members work on the deck and Nigel is kneeling on the prow of the boat, peering out over the sea. He looks towards the sun.
Narrator: We join Nigel already sailing across the vast oceans that cover Ezta.
Nigel: Iām here within the poles of Ezta but unlike on Earth the water isnāt freezing cold and the summers get very temperate. This morning is the first time the sun must have risen in months.
Nigel (Narrator): This was my first visit to the Oliverian, a time which was experiencing great change and diversity. Itās been about 30 million years since my last visit to Ezta, which took place during the Atroxian. The ecosystems were very different too and thatās what we were going to explore on this trip. The oceans and freshwater were largely dominated by proto-fish, early true fish and arthropods.
The pristine, blue water is suddenly broken by a hook with bait attached to a line. This leads to a fishing rod that propped up on the railings of the boat.
Nigel: We didnāt come here just for a fishing trip but what I wanted to show you was the mouth of one particular species and to do that, we need a specimen on the boat. Donāt worry, weāll soon be getting into the water and up close with these creatures.
Nigel (Narrator): Now, it was just time to wait before our first taste of Oliverian fauna.
The fishing rod ticks over as the crew waits. Itās not long before there is activity at the end of the line.
Crew Member: Weāve got something Nige.
Nigel runs over and begins reeling in the rod and itās not long before a small shape is being pulled onto the boat. Itās black and vaguely fish-shaped; itās dotted with bioluminescent spots, has a pair of oval pectoral fins, a semi-circlular caudal fin under the tail and a pair of spines at the base of the tail.
Nigel: (Half laughs) This is exactly what I wanted to examine, itās an Archaeostomus.
Nigel holds down the Archaeotomus with one hand, while it tries to flop away.
Nigel: Itās a bit smaller than my hand but I have to be careful because it has spines and a dangerous mouth.
Nigel then immediately puts his fingers of his spare hand in its mouth. He holds the mouth open revealing razor-sharp teeth and large fangs.
Nigel: Now, you can see here that it has razor-sharp teeth but it also has these fangs which look so much like the ones of the Archaeoarcha in my visit in the Atroxian. They even have the same venom. But itās false because they evolved them independently millions of years later, and no Archaeoarcha survive today. I think itās time I threw this little fella back- oh, itās dead. Um.
Nigel quietly chucks the Archaeostomus overboard.
Nigel (Narrator): Now that I had got my hands on Oliverian life, I was eager to see them in their natural environment.
Nigel splashes into the sea. Itās still fairly dim lighting in there and Nigel has to look around using a torch.
Nigel: You may have noticed Iām not wearing any protective gear - well thatās because the predators here are not very dangerous to me. No species is bigger than my upper arm.
The torchlight scanning around picks up several straight-shelled animals gliding slowly through the water, and moving specks that are actually tiny Masticephalus.
Nigel: We know from the fossil record of this time that these squid-like animals - actually called Coliteuthisines - are really common and we can see that already - they are everywhere! Luckily for me, they are all filter-feeders.
Nigel moves on swimming through the sea.
Nigel (Narrator): The algae was already starting grow back after the long, dark winter and I was hoping that would help me find one of the other animals I was looking for.
A shoal of Archaeostomus swims past.
Nigel: This is interesting. The fossils we have of Archaeostomus often show them close together, and here is proof that they do in fact travel in shoals. It makes me wonder whether they actually hunt in packs because that would be quite advanced for such primitive animals. Iām going to follow them and see what they do.
Nigel swims after the shoal as they dart haphazardly over the sandy, sparsely rocky, seafloor. Suddenly, one of the Archaeostomus burst off into a small group of soft corals.
Nigel: One of them has just split off from the others - I think it may have spotted food.
Out of the other side of the soft corals appears another small fish-shaped animal, except itās back end is covered in some large, thick scales.
Nigel: Itās certainly chasing that Pigocauda, which is itself proof of the diversity of the proto-fish at this time. Itās very common prey for other proto-fish and is known for its quite self-damaging rear scales, which is probably a genetic oddity.
The Archaeostomus catches up with the Pigocauda and bites down on the tail. The scales shatter into the water and a cloud of blood appears.
Nigel: Ooh, I could not help but wince at seeing that. The scales there just completely shattered but thatās not the worst part for the Pigocauda. Archaeostomus kills its prey mainly through the toxin in its fangs. Iām not going to hang around to see that.
Nigel swims off again into the blue. Not long after, Nigel spots yet another fish-shaped animal, grazing on the algae below.
Nigel: This here is an Organia and it is one of the first true fish on Ezta. It differs from all the proto-fish weāve seen because it has a skull, which makes is sturdier in response to attack. They are already starting to replace proto-fish in the niches and locations they evolve in. It may be that weāre witnessing the heyday of proto-fish before the true fish really take over.
Two antennae round the edge of a rock nearby to where the Organia is feeding, followed by the rest of an arthropod body. It has a pair of pincers and a fairly sharp rostrum on the end of the head. The species is a Cerceps. It walks slowly over the rock, without the Organia noticing. It suddenly lunges but the Organia is too quick and darts off.
Nigel (Narrator): The crew and I are headed north towards the tropics of one of the continents, in search of land.
The boat is skimming along open sea.
Nigel: We are now looking for land in the tropics of Tartarus, the southern continent of Oliverian Ezta. Unfortunately, itās not easy because the sea level is so high in this time period, so the continents are flooded over large areas with seawater. We are actually sailing over the continent right now but thereās nothing but sea.
Time passes as the boat continues sailing. The crew members sitting out on the deck, including Nigel, are holding ice packs over their faces or necks.
Nigel (Narrator): We had been sailing for a while now and the heat was starting to get to us.
Nigel: At this period in time, Ezta is very hot and most of the planet has a tropical climate. The reason for this is believed to be that tectonic movement sped up and this caused a surge in volcanic activity along mid-ocean ridges. We have to make sure to keep cool.
Nigel (Narrator): Eventually, our prayers were answered as we finally found the coast.
The boat moored in a large, muddy estuary. Nigel hopped into a raft and travelled to the shore, clambering out onto the rocks.
Nigel: (Shaking his hand out) Ouch, these rocks are boiling under that sun. (Squinting out across the estuary) I am hoping we timed this right.
Not too far away from where Nigel was standing, something breaks out of the water and starts walking across the land towards a separate pool. Nigel starts running towards it.
Nigel: (Out of breath) Quickā¦over hereā¦
Nigel manages to catch up with the blue arthropod, which has ten pairs of legs, each with a broad paddle. The last five are smaller swimmerets. Mandibles and pincers are at the front, along with two pairs of eyes, one normal, one compound. It also has a tail lobe.
Nigel: What weāve found here is a Salcaedis. Fossils of them have been found in both estuaries and tropical oceans, but it is believed that they gather in estuaries to breed. I donāt see the rest of themā¦
Nigel wades into the pool that the Salceadis just disappeared into but all he can see there is the one Salcaedis. Suddenly, he turns to see a trail of many Salcaedis crossing from the estuary into the pool.
Nigel: Well, what do you know, they were right. (Chuckling) I better get out of here before I get swarmed.
Running out of the pool, Nigel catches his breath on the side.
Nigel: Salcaedis is just one of the many arthropod species that are so common in freshwater across the planet. Some, like Salcaedis, are also at the top of the food chain in the seas, although arthropods are not as common there. Looks like not all the Salcaedis are making it across.
At the waterās edge where the Salcaedis are emerging from the estuary is a pool of blue blood. Nigel heads over.
Nigel: I donāt want to get in with all that blood, but what I will do is put this periscope underwater to get a look at whatās going on.
The periscope reveals muddy water full of blue blood, and in the middle of it is a Carcharobrachia feeding on half of a Salcaedis. The Carcharobrachia is similar to Salcaedis but has only five pairs of legs, two of which are spindly legs ending with stingers instead of paddling legs. Nearby, another Salcaedis has curled up into a ball. A Dinocaroides also swims through the periscopes vision, which is also similar but has lobes like an Anomalocaris instead of legs.
Nigel: Thereās a lot of predators there. The big one feeding on the Salcaedis, thatās got to be a Carcharobrachia with those distinctive stingers - not that those are useful for this sort of prey. Carcharobrachia is the largest species currently on Ezta, at 16cm long. I also saw another Salcaedis exhibiting that defensive roll-up behaviour, much like a woodlouse. And then there was Dinocaroides, which is very distinctive with lobes rather than legs and a deadly bite. Luckily, those are much smaller. What a scene that isā¦but I think it is time for us to move on once again.
Narrator: Nigel and the crew have travelled across the planet to the ocean thatās splits the continent of Olympia.
Nigel: We are now sailing over the Geralluiji on our way to visit the tropics of Olympia. Itās interesting to see the different ecosystem and endemic species that live in seperate locations like the different continents and the Geralluiji also has its own endemic species. And with the continents splitting up more, it seems there may be even more diversity in the future.
Nigel shoulders a large fishing net.
Nigel: Now before we head up the estuary over there to visit the freshwater environments, I wanted to have a quick look in the Geralluiji because there is a real oddity that is unique to this ocean. Itās very small and common, so I should only need this net. Nowā¦
Nigel sticks the net into the sea and swoops it across. Shortly after he lifts it into the air but small animals slip through the net and into the water.
Nigel: What the- Oh, get off.
A Salcaedis is in the net, caught by one of its claws, although it has managed to cut a hole into it.
Nigel: Come on you.
Nigel plucks it out of the net and chucks it back into the sea.
Nigel: Go on, get out of here you rascal. Iāll be back when Iāve found a new net.
Nigel has another go at sweeping a net through the water and when it comes out it has a bunch of seaweed in it.
Nigel: What have we got here.
Nigel lowers the net to the deck and sifts inside.
Nigel: Thereās a couple of species in here. The first one Iāve got to be a bit careful with because it has spikes on the tail.
Nigel pulls out a vaguely fish-shaped animal.
Nigel: This one here is an Archiprotichthys. Itās a proto-fish but itās the closest one to true fish. Itās a herbivore, as you can see by these teeth, so I imagine it was feeding on the seaweed before I came along. I think Iāll let him return home now.
Nigel releases the Archiprotichthys into the water and the tips out the next species. Itās a very small animal with a sort of jellyfish-esque bell and on that bell is a long siphon with cirri at the end. On the stubby body are some cilia along four longitudinal membranes.
Nigel: This is what I came for. Itās found only in this ocean and lives by sucking up nutritional detritus from the water using this tentacled siphon here. The bell helps to suspend it in the water and it can move itself using cilia. It is such an odd, exquisite looking animal. Iām so glad Iāve been able to see that. I think the crew are wanting to head upriver before it gets dark, so I better comply before they mutiny again (laughs, then looks sad).
A truck is driving along the dusty landscape, with the coast stretching out behind, and the ground gradually sloping up towards the cone of a volcano.
Nigel: (Shouting over the sound of the truck) For my last part of the trip, I want to see the wildlife of Olympia. One of the crew doing a recce told me about a great spot; a spring where the clear water gives a great view of the animals. Unfortunately, it is close to that active volcano but the team are using a machine to track the seismology, and theyāll let me know if there is any change, Iāll be away with plenty of time to spare.
Nigel continues driving over the rocky, bare, yet wet atmosphere.
Nigel: Ah, this looks like it might be it.
The truck pulls up next to a crystal clear pool of water, where water bubbles up from the sand at the bottom. Nigel hops out and lays down at the springās edge, peering in. Swimming about inside are a couple of arthropod species and blue, tear-shaped organisms. Lots of algae grows across the bottom.
Nigel: This spring was a great find, I must remember to thank whoever it was who found this when I get back. These species are not the same as the ones we saw on Tartarus - thatās an example of the diversity caused by geographical separation. Youāve got arthropods, but they are Hydroambula and Skylos rather than Dinocaroides, Carcharobrachia and their ilk. You also get these very ancient primitive species; the Icthyotelus - their kind has been around since the Atroxian but have been made extinct in Tartarus. They are a sister group of the proto-fish and the Archaeoarcha. They are only just managing to survive in places and niches where arthropods do not yet exist. Icthyotelus are the prey of Hydroambula, which are similar to Salcaedis, but these also eat algae like Skylos and this spring is perfect for them because there are plenty of both options here. Tucked away in that algae, you can see Skylos eggs - we know they belong to Skylos because they are tougher and leathery.
Nigel tests the water with his hand.
Nigel: Ooh, thatās very hot. Thatās a bit worrying actually but the crew have given no indication that the volcano is about to erupt. Hello, what are you up to?
A Hydroambula has gotten out of the spring to look at Nigel.
Nigel: Are you coming to have a look at this strange animal? Never seen a human before have you? Ow, heās just given me a little pinch on the nose-
Crew: (Over the Walkie-talkie) Nigel. Come in Nigel.
Nigel: (Picking up the Walkie-talkie) This is he. Speak.
Crew: The seismology recordings are increasing. We recommend you head back here immediately.
Nigel: Righty-ho, Iām on my way now.
Nigel scrambles to his feet and jumps back in the truck. There is a massive explosion as the volcano finally erupts and a cloud of ash pours out. Molten rock starts peppering the land around Nigel. One hits the bonnet of the truck.
Nigel: Blimey!
Nigel turns the key in the ignition but the engine fails to start. He tries again and the same happens. Unbeknownst to Nigel, a Skylos has climbed into the underside of the truck and cut a valuable cable. The volcanic ash starts descending as a pyroclastic flow, a massive wall of fatally hot volcanic debris. It rushes down the slope towards the truck. As it looms over, Nigel turns on the door locks of the open-top vehicle and closes the windows.
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Survive the predator only to die of starvation and exhaustion. Lets try to eat some algae and take a short rest along the bank if we can
could plant life maybe evolve a bit more? preferably the land species?
i just feel like we have spent a lot of time in the water without any development on land.
also is there any way to get more mutations per evo? i have been wondering for a while.
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Action: sneak up on the anazitonta while it is hunting, then kill it with my fangs
Thanks for the new round Stealth. And an F in the chat for Nigel once again.
Action: Feed on the soft corals and sponges as needed. Hiding among the cover of them if that Anazitontaās scent gets closer than is comfortable. Barring that, use the nearby seaweed as cover instead.
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Action:hide myself behind a rock to see if the two of them fight and then snatch the meat of the loser
Wonderful writing! Nigel fits so well into PotW, the nostalgia is real.
Action: Continue to feed, using my chemical signaling to tell others of my kind to āfollow meā, making sure they are away of the bountiful food.
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