#specbio — Public Fediverse posts

🤔 2.0, ðe d-block seems to form 2 false periods(4 some assumptions about how it cud work), so it's like a mix of lanθanides/actinides & some g-block predictions😳
Also Nitrogen needs to be s2p4 to form N2,
CO2 wud need to be weirder like carbon monoxide irl, or replaced by HCO2 / C2O4 / C2O5 / C(OH)O2 / 😖

& ðen ðere's ðat θing between N & O, ðat you'd expect to be abundant & form volatiles & get incorporated into biology somehow, which is a bit concerning

#worldbuilding #4d #specbio #chemistry

🤔 2.0, ðe d-block seems to form 2 false periods(4 some assumptions about how it cud work), so it's like a mix of lanθanides/actinides & some g-block predictions😳
Also Nitrogen needs to be s2p4 to form N2,
CO2 wud need to be weirder like carbon monoxide irl, or replaced by HCO2 / C2O4 / C2O5 / C(OH)O2 / 😖

& ðen ðere's ðat θing between N & O, ðat you'd expect to be abundant & form volatiles & get incorporated into biology somehow, which is a bit concerning

#worldbuilding #4d #specbio #chemistry

SMAUGUST DAY 3 - TEETH

Based on Otiksimr’s Smaugust prompt lineup

In and around the forests of Dragamida, the Lanceleaper (Cutlerdontus audax) can be seen engaging in combat with members of its own species, both to impress mates and as a way of bonding with others. These fights employ a wide variety of attack types, mostly revolving around their tusks, with each Lanceleaper slowly developing its own preferred fighting style over the course of its life. One universal, however, seems to be the use of a jumping joust attack performed with the assistance of its wings. These short jumps are really all their wings are useful for, as they are otherwise too small to get the dragon’s fat little body off the ground.

SMAUGUST DAY 2 - LEGLESS

Based on Otiksimr’s Smaugust prompt lineup: https://www.tumblr.com/otiksimr/790568456634384384/very-quick-smaugust-list-for-next-month-because-i

The Aquamarine Lizeal (Lacertaphoca aquamarina) can be found all around the rocky coasts of the isle of Dragamida. In pursuit of being able to better chase after aquatic prey, it has readapted its body for a swimming-centric lifestyle, seeing its wings and tail rudders become fins and a full tail fluke respectively. As these alone were enough to allow it to fit this new niche, its legs, now only an obstacle to its movement, shrank away into barely-noticeable bumps on the underside of its body. Its nostrils and throat have also developed muscles that allow them to fully shut while underwater, which allow the Lizeal to avoid ingesting seawater while hunting no matter long it stays underwater for. However, it has not yet developed the increased lung capacity common among other aquatic land animals, meaning these swims are often short-lived anyway, with it frequently needing to surface for air. These surfacing periods where it reopens these orifices often result in the accidental gulp or two of seawater, which is immediately met with coughing and gagging as the dragon tries to undo its mistake. It hasn't yet developed those fancy salt removal glands that seals have, either. Probably also important to mention.

The process of the Lizeal genus adapting to its new aquatic lifestyle was remarkably quick, much moreso than other terrestrial animals which have made similar transitions, which is believed to have played a part in some of the evolutionary blindspots that it has been left with. It's far from the strangest evolutionary anomaly that has happened on this island, however. If anything, it's one of the most normal ones.

SMAUGUST DAY 1 - WINGLESS

Based on Otiksimr’s Smaugust prompt lineup: https://www.tumblr.com/otiksimr/790568456634384384/very-quick-smaugust-list-for-next-month-because-i

The Rainbow-Tongued Scamp (Alapoda hormona) resides exclusively within the many damp cave systems of its home island. It is well-adapted for life underground, forgoing many of the adaptations that its surface-dwelling ancestors used for survival, most notably sight and flight. What were once wings have been modified into a third pair of legs, which allow it to keep a better foothold when climbing around the many sheer drops and slick surfaces that comprise its habitat. Additionally, its eyes, having no light to pick up on, are permanently stuck shut, with the dragon instead relying on its senses of touch and, more importantly, taste to tell where it's going. By coating its surroundings in pheromones produced from modified orbital glands, it can create a series of trails for it and its fellow Scamps to follow, using their eponymous hyper-sensitive tongues to pick up info on where they're headed. These trails also serve as lures for ants, the Scamp's main food source, who will single-mindedly follow the pheromone trail into the dragon's den and be immediately devoured.

Why exactly the Rainbow-Tongued Scamp's tongue is so colorful despite living in an environment with no light remains unknown. Theories range from them helping to differentiate the tastes of pheromones, to being a side effect of a subdermal parasitic infection, to simply being a freak coincidental mutation that just hasn't faced any pressure to go away yet. The leading theory is that the Scamp's tongue evolved their signature bands, quote, "because it looks cool." Again, why the way something looks would matter in a pitch black cave remains a mystery.

SMAUGUST DAY 1 - WINGLESS

Based on Otiksimr’s Smaugust prompt lineup: https://www.tumblr.com/otiksimr/790568456634384384/very-quick-smaugust-list-for-next-month-because-i

The Rainbow-Tongued Scamp (Alapoda hormona) resides exclusively within the many damp cave systems of its home island. It is well-adapted for life underground, forgoing many of the adaptations that its surface-dwelling ancestors used for survival, most notably sight and flight. What were once wings have been modified into a third pair of legs, which allow it to keep a better foothold when climbing around the many sheer drops and slick surfaces that comprise its habitat. Additionally, its eyes, having no light to pick up on, are permanently stuck shut, with the dragon instead relying on its senses of touch and, more importantly, taste to tell where it's going. By coating its surroundings in pheromones produced from modified orbital glands, it can create a series of trails for it and its fellow Scamps to follow, using their eponymous hyper-sensitive tongues to pick up info on where they're headed. These trails also serve as lures for ants, the Scamp's main food source, who will single-mindedly follow the pheromone trail into the dragon's den and be immediately devoured.

Why exactly the Rainbow-Tongued Scamp's tongue is so colorful despite living in an environment with no light remains unknown. Theories range from them helping to differentiate the tastes of pheromones, to being a side effect of a subdermal parasitic infection, to simply being a freak coincidental mutation that just hasn't faced any pressure to go away yet. The leading theory is that the Scamp's tongue evolved their signature bands, quote, "because it looks cool." Again, why the way something looks would matter in a pitch black cave remains a mystery.