#phtanum — Public Fediverse posts

Phtanum B - Radulids! This superdiverse clade consists of ground-mowing herbivores, from insect-sized to biblical in scale. Feel free to ask questions about any of them! ^-^

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Phtanum B - Ramjet Dragons! Napalm-ejecting aerial predators, all of them. From the deocardid-downing mirrorback to the colossal firewall ramjet, these alien parodies of mythological earthen beasts do the term justice.

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Phtanum B - Lactismids! An enormous deuvertebrate group with over 4000 species. Characterized by large size, high limb count and inhabiting megafaunal niches on most portions of the planet. Some like Polycnemis ayhani are terrestrial apex predators!

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Phtanum B - Deocardid Sketches!

These six phtanumbian critters are some of the biggest on the planet. These are, to be honest, some of my favorite critters from the project. A detailed description follows!

Description:
Sketches of six deuvertebrates of the aneucnemida superclass. These six organisms are deocardids, or windwhales - an aneucnemid clade that includes some of the largest deuvertebrates of the planet by sheer scale. Deocardids are aerial filter-feeders that scoop up swarms of smaller aerial organisms with foldable, fan-like extensions of their underside. These animals are highly pneumatized, to a degree where the extend of their lungs and air chambers exceeds that of their actual tissue by a huge margin - making these organisms deceivingly light for their size. This does bring its drawbacks however: deocardids need to avoid storms or mountaneous regions to avoid being brought out of control by strong winds or rapidly changing weather. In times of need, these organisms jam their extendable pseudofeet into the ground akin to a stake and reel themselves in to protect themselves during a storm. Smaller deocardids use this method to „kitewalk“ too.

Like nearly all aneucnemid flyers, deocardids use airhearts-pumps to propel themselves within the skies. While those of the smaller ramjet dragons may sound like screaming diesel engines, the ones of deocardids are slow and rumbling, and loud enough to rupture someone‘s eardrum when up close. This sound is also what gave them the clade the name deocardids - a name that translates to god-heart. The airhearts of windwhales sound like eerie heartbeats when heard from a distance.

With deocardids making so much noise, they are bound to attract some opportunistic predators eventually. Bright colors in the form of aposematism are supposed to disencourage predators from attacking, but that does not always work. Larger deocardids like the red windwhale have multiple lines of defenses: The first to engage with the predator are hordes of symbiotic smaller flyers, the congregation, that follow the windwhale around akin to a living aircraft carrier to feed on its dead skin or parasites. Once this line of defense falls, the giant organism resorts to pore-turrets that eject both intoxicating blinding black mist as well as high-pressurized fecal pellets to snipe the attackers out of the sky.

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Another piece I finished relatively recently.. Light ’Em Up, Johnny! A flock of mirrorback ramjet dragons (Autostochus miradorsum) hunts a red windwhale (Deocardis majestica) and its congregation. These 14-meter long aerial superpredators are the undisputed lords in the heavens of Phtanum B.

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Hello! I am Paul, an aspiring sci-fi artist who likes to draw red landscapes and weird creatures. Working on a worldbuilding project that documents organisms on an hypothetical alien planet: Phtanum B! Human history lore included!

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