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Published: 2012-04-01 02:11:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 43547; Favourites: 826; Downloads: 592
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This is something I've been working for quite some time now, ever since I came up with the idea for this in 2009
And eventually it became tied to my world concept
Anyway this whole thing started with a cousin of the lobe-finned fish. Instead of using only 2 pairs of limbs for locomotion it used 3, which led to the prehistoric 6 limbed reptile that birthed the entire hexapod family tree
One of the family lines grew a colorful interdigital membrane to intimidate opponents and attract partners. Eventually that membrane gained a new function, which led to the development of wings
One particular sub-family developed a feather coat, initially to survive better in colder climates. Eventually it replaced the membrane, since it was more efficient
While one of the species retained the claws and hunting habits, the other favored speed on land and a more varied diet
The other main family line is the mammalian, which focused more on using all 6 limbs for locomotion. Over time those limbs led to particularly nimble and dextrous fingers
One of the sub-families managed to grow quite huge, valuing strength and size over speed. That also meant they needed large quantities of food, so the 1st set of limbs grew longer and pushed the body into a vertical position and put more pressure on the 3rd set. Eventually the 2nd vanished completely
The other sub-family valued speed, using the 1st set of limbs to grab and carry food, while the other 2 took care of the locomotion. The 2 descending species are still closely related, though one of them learned how to use fire and doesn't need such a large jaw as its cousin
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Comments: 198
ElSqiubbonator In reply to ??? [2012-05-19 01:24:37 +0000 UTC]
I'm sorry. No offense meant.
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tigerbreath13 In reply to ??? [2012-05-09 19:06:17 +0000 UTC]
Tell me, what all are those animals besides the dragon, griffin and centaur
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Birvan In reply to tigerbreath13 [2012-05-18 22:12:38 +0000 UTC]
Pterippi, giant and deertaur
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tigerbreath13 In reply to Birvan [2012-05-18 23:55:39 +0000 UTC]
Okay and nice concept of the giant being a descendent of a six-limbed ground sloth
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Birvan In reply to tigerbreath13 [2012-05-19 21:07:10 +0000 UTC]
I wanted them to be more than enlarged humans. Plus there are some stories with 4-arm giants
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Terraraptor In reply to ??? [2012-04-20 02:21:27 +0000 UTC]
I really like this. I've never seen an explanation for vertabrates with more than 4 limbs, so this is really cool. I like how you incorperated the gryphon, dragon, and centaur into it.
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Birvan In reply to Terraraptor [2012-04-20 08:53:39 +0000 UTC]
I basically took the classic evolution and adapted it
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Friggo-Glicker In reply to ??? [2012-04-10 16:11:18 +0000 UTC]
interesting theory...pretty credible..I going to fave this
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vinczeerno In reply to ??? [2012-04-05 17:10:35 +0000 UTC]
One of the best pieces of speculative evolution of fantasy creatures. So many of them have six limbs rather than four, and you took all of them together. Maybe the ancestor of humanoid giants could have also evolved into a winged (sort of angel-like) humanoid being?
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Birvan In reply to vinczeerno [2012-04-09 12:18:28 +0000 UTC]
Sorry for taking so long to reply but I've been pondering on how that would fit in the evolutionary line. Sadly I haven' come up with an answer yet
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vinczeerno In reply to Birvan [2012-04-11 20:02:38 +0000 UTC]
I'd imagine that the ancestor of the giant (the six-limbed sloth) could evolve bat-like wings from its top or middle pair of arms. Alternatively, the ancestor of the dragon may evolve into something that looks like a winged devil.
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Birvan In reply to vinczeerno [2012-04-11 20:07:43 +0000 UTC]
The dragon leading into a reptilian winged humanoid I can imagine, but the other one no, at least not like that. Most likely it would have to be some 6 limbed monkey that lived on the trees, not a ground dweller, to spark that evolutionary trait
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vinczeerno In reply to Birvan [2012-04-11 20:15:28 +0000 UTC]
6 limbed monkey that lives on trees, that's actually not a bad idea. It may evolve first into some sort of gliding creature - looking sort of like the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz -, and then growing larger and losing its tail.
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Schatten-Drache In reply to ??? [2012-04-03 20:04:54 +0000 UTC]
Why lost the humanoid one his extra limbs?
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Birvan In reply to Schatten-Drache [2012-04-03 20:39:28 +0000 UTC]
Simple answer is they lost their function, he same way dolphins and whales lost their legs
The more complex one, this chart only represents the main hexapod families. Most giants lost their 2nd pair of arms, but there are some sub-families that still have them
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Schatten-Drache In reply to Birvan [2012-04-03 20:48:32 +0000 UTC]
Dolphins lost them, because they destroyed their streamlined shape.
Slow land creatures don't need that - but big land creatures won't mind if there is a extra pair for their weight - fast ones could loose them, but i don't think that for low ones
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Birvan In reply to Schatten-Drache [2012-04-03 20:51:55 +0000 UTC]
Yep, but when becoming bypedal the extra set of walking limbs throws their balance off. And just because they are generally slow doesn't mean those can't get in the way. Especially during fights
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Megaloceros-Urhirsch In reply to ??? [2012-04-03 18:06:45 +0000 UTC]
Hyppogryph and Pegasus. XD
cool idea. x3
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Birvan In reply to Megaloceros-Urhirsch [2012-04-03 20:35:35 +0000 UTC]
Actually Gryphon and Pterippi
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Megaloceros-Urhirsch In reply to Birvan [2012-04-05 10:39:04 +0000 UTC]
Whats a Pterippi? O.o
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Birvan In reply to Megaloceros-Urhirsch [2012-04-05 10:43:06 +0000 UTC]
It's greek (or latin, I'm not sure which) for Winged Horse
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Megaloceros-Urhirsch In reply to Birvan [2012-04-05 10:48:42 +0000 UTC]
Ah. xD
Pegasus! *u*
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Birvan In reply to Megaloceros-Urhirsch [2012-04-05 11:18:56 +0000 UTC]
Pegasus is an individual
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Megaloceros-Urhirsch In reply to Birvan [2012-04-05 18:51:16 +0000 UTC]
Γhhh. okay?
I cant see in google. :/
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Birvan In reply to Megaloceros-Urhirsch [2012-04-06 05:28:01 +0000 UTC]
What do you mean?
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Megaloceros-Urhirsch In reply to Birvan [2012-04-06 10:16:57 +0000 UTC]
Perippi in google. i can not see other Picture of this animal. :/
Sorry for my very bad english. ^^Β°
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Birvan In reply to Megaloceros-Urhirsch [2012-04-06 14:32:05 +0000 UTC]
There isn't much to go around, yeah. I didn't know about it until I read the name in Skin Deep
But they're just regular winged horses
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CanecaDePapel In reply to ??? [2012-04-02 19:09:49 +0000 UTC]
Tu nΓ£o tens noΓ§Γ£o do quanto eu adoro as tuas criaturas, ok. ;A;
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Birvan In reply to CanecaDePapel [2012-04-03 20:32:48 +0000 UTC]
E a piada Γ© que estou a usar criaturas mitolΓ³gicas normais, nada meu
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bronze-dragonrider In reply to ??? [2012-04-02 18:41:50 +0000 UTC]
WOAH. I'd never even thought of the concept of an evolutionary chart to link fantasy creatures together. This is brilliant!
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Birvan In reply to bronze-dragonrider [2012-04-03 20:32:22 +0000 UTC]
It took me quite some time to fully develop it and even then it's only partial
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bronze-dragonrider In reply to Birvan [2012-04-04 20:37:40 +0000 UTC]
It definitely paid off! If you ever do an expanded version I would love to see it.
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Birvan In reply to bronze-dragonrider [2012-04-04 23:59:17 +0000 UTC]
Most likely I'll make different reference sheets addressing the species
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LiimLsan In reply to ??? [2012-04-02 02:41:34 +0000 UTC]
Wow, perfect. The concept is just...beautiful, hon. ^^
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