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Description
Now I just read Steve Alten's MEG: Hell's Acquarium. Truth to be told...I was disapponted in Panthalassa. It was the typical google research on sea monsters thrown in there just to appear. And gills...GILLS!!!! It was kinda too demanding from my suspension of disbelief. So I decided to try my hand at making a more 'plausible' and possibly more original fauna for the dark hidden world of Panthalassa. In this version, David Taylor's a victim of adrenaline and stress, thinking he recognizes these ancient giants, when if fact it's a case of mistaken identity and convergent evolution. Enjoy!

1-"Mosasaur" A gigantic eel, closely related to morays and, by extension, to the 'Guivre' (From Alten's 'The Loch') a swift predator with powerful jaws, two pairs of them at that!

2-"Nothosaur" Very reptilian-looking frilled sharks, whose teeth adapted at catching fish and with powerful muscles to chase them. Group-living and aggressive denizens of the dark;

3-"Shonisaurus" Gigantic fish of somewhat difficult classification, seem somehow close to needlefish. They both hunt and filter feed, using their fins to assume a tripod stance on the bottom of Panthalassa's nutrient rich floor. Does not mean they are slow swimmers, being anything but;

4-"Halisaur" Low-tier predator and scavenger, it is quite unmistakingly a remarkably large Halosaurus, quite the naming joke;

5-"Vampire Squid" Grown enourmous in the nutrient-rich Panthalassa, this squid hasn't lost its natural timidness, preferring strategic retreat to fights. How it even survives down there nobody can tell;

6-"Leedsichthys" This thing really led people astray, the only thing they got right was that it's a fish. In fact, 'Leeds' here is actually a gargantuan relative of the smaller gulper eel, only it has adapted to use its absurdly disproportionate mouth to filter feed smaller creatures. Unfortunately the sheer size of the mouth and the powerful currents it makes can cause smaller creatures to be sucked in and stuck into the stupidly small throat of the eel. Nature has a sick humor;

7-"Kronosaurus" Pack-hunters living in both the Mariana Trench and the Panthalassa, Kronos are actually cousins to the infamous goblin shark, yet they have amazingly derived, to the point that their jaws are perpetually extended forward, giving the likeness of a reptilian muzzle, and their pectoral fins have become extremely muscular, to the point that they became the shark's main method of locomotion, akin to rays. Pelvic fins have enlarged as well, and while barely movable, prove an awesome maneuvering asset. All this and their tails still have some use, being able to propel the shark forward together with the front 'wings' in an explosive burst of speed;

8-"Piranha Anglerfish" What the name says, they have developed the habit to scavenge off what the great predators of the dark waters maul. They use their bioluminescent rods to communicte rather than attract prey;

9-"Elasmosaur" One of the most surprising critters down here, this colossal angler seems to have taken inspiration fro dragonfly nymps: it developed its lure into a 'fanged' appendage, ideal for snatching smaller prey to deposit in its cavernous maw. This fish also uses its pectoral fins for locomotion, together with its tail;

10-"Hybodus" Shark that is not a shark, rather an aberrant form of chimaera;

11-"Xiphactinus" The biggest and probably fastest viperfish ever. Don't piss this thing off;

12-"Dunkleosteus" enormous, free-swimming cousin to wolf eels, just as adapted to crack hard prey;

13-"Edestus" Second aberrant chimaera;

14-"Helicoprion" Third and final aberrant chimaera;

15-"Archelon" David really went off the hook on this one. Seriously, gilled turtles? Who can mistake giant free-swimming crabs for turtles?

16-"Liopleurodon" And Megalodon's title 'biggest shark ever' is officially revoked. Meg's got nothing on this leviathan, a cousin to Kronos who may be slower than both Krono and Meg, but far more maneuverable and with a biteforce to match its size. Unlike Kronos, Lio's pelvic fins are bulging with muscles, allowing the damn thing to basically turn on the spot with a strike of its four fins. As humans soon understood, even Lio's tail is a powerful appendage, being able to move the leviathan's bulk with surprising strenght for short periods. Undisputed rulers of Panthalassa, Lios are creatures you wish could not exist;

17-"Jellyfish" Unclassified cnidarians, Panthalassa's appearently full of new species;

18-"Tube Worms" Great patches of Riftia grow on the ceilings of Panthalassa, feasting on the chemicals erupting from the earth. Their vast numbers forming like chandeliers of the ceiling, giving the place a unique look;

19-"Squids" Swarms of this unidentified cephalopods swim all over the dark world of Panthalassa, forming a good chunk of the diet of a lot of local predators;

20-"Cameroceras" Not at all a giant Orthocone, rather a surprisingly convergently evolved Nautilus. Nothing of their behavior's really know, having just been fleetingly spotter by Jonas;

21-"Sea Scorpion" This stomatopod has taken a liking to hanging around the ceiling of Panthalassa and its various entrance craters, ambushing any creature that passes too close;

22-"Palm Worms" Surprisingly colorful deinzens of the dark undersea, these anellids add a touch of vivacity to an otherwise all-black world. Seems they're luminescent too, acting as a sort of perennal starred sky for the creatures of Panthalassa;

---------------------

Aaaaand there we go, this has been on my mind for a while now, and I finally managed to get it done. Whatcha think?

Big, enourmous thanks to my bro Gilarah, for being an awesome friend and having helped out with the concepts!

Description
Now I just read Steve Alten's MEG: Hell's Acquarium. Truth to be told...I was disapponted in Panthalassa. It was the typical google research on sea monsters thrown in there just to appear. And gills...GILLS!!!! It was kinda too demanding from my suspension of disbelief. So I decided to try my hand at making a more 'plausible' and possibly more original fauna for the dark hidden world of Panthalassa. In this version, David Taylor's a victim of adrenaline and stress, thinking he recognizes these ancient giants, when if fact it's a case of mistaken identity and convergent evolution. Enjoy!

1-"Mosasaur" A gigantic eel, closely related to morays and, by extension, to the 'Guivre' (From Alten's 'The Loch') a swift predator with powerful jaws, two pairs of them at that!

2-"Nothosaur" Very reptilian-looking frilled sharks, whose teeth adapted at catching fish and with powerful muscles to chase them. Group-living and aggressive denizens of the dark;

3-"Shonisaurus" Gigantic fish of somewhat difficult classification, seem somehow close to needlefish. They both hunt and filter feed, using their fins to assume a tripod stance on the bottom of Panthalassa's nutrient rich floor. Does not mean they are slow swimmers, being anything but;

4-"Halisaur" Low-tier predator and scavenger, it is quite unmistakingly a remarkably large Halosaurus, quite the naming joke;

5-"Vampire Squid" Grown enourmous in the nutrient-rich Panthalassa, this squid hasn't lost its natural timidness, preferring strategic retreat to fights. How it even survives down there nobody can tell;

6-"Leedsichthys" This thing really led people astray, the only thing they got right was that it's a fish. In fact, 'Leeds' here is actually a gargantuan relative of the smaller gulper eel, only it has adapted to use its absurdly disproportionate mouth to filter feed smaller creatures. Unfortunately the sheer size of the mouth and the powerful currents it makes can cause smaller creatures to be sucked in and stuck into the stupidly small throat of the eel. Nature has a sick humor;

7-"Kronosaurus" Pack-hunters living in both the Mariana Trench and the Panthalassa, Kronos are actually cousins to the infamous goblin shark, yet they have amazingly derived, to the point that their jaws are perpetually extended forward, giving the likeness of a reptilian muzzle, and their pectoral fins have become extremely muscular, to the point that they became the shark's main method of locomotion, akin to rays. Pelvic fins have enlarged as well, and while barely movable, prove an awesome maneuvering asset. All this and their tails still have some use, being able to propel the shark forward together with the front 'wings' in an explosive burst of speed;

8-"Piranha Anglerfish" What the name says, they have developed the habit to scavenge off what the great predators of the dark waters maul. They use their bioluminescent rods to communicte rather than attract prey;

9-"Elasmosaur" One of the most surprising critters down here, this colossal angler seems to have taken inspiration fro dragonfly nymps: it developed its lure into a 'fanged' appendage, ideal for snatching smaller prey to deposit in its cavernous maw. This fish also uses its pectoral fins for locomotion, together with its tail;

10-"Hybodus" Shark that is not a shark, rather an aberrant form of chimaera;

11-"Xiphactinus" The biggest and probably fastest viperfish ever. Don't piss this thing off;

12-"Dunkleosteus" enormous, free-swimming cousin to wolf eels, just as adapted to crack hard prey;

13-"Edestus" Second aberrant chimaera;

14-"Helicoprion" Third and final aberrant chimaera;

15-"Archelon" David really went off the hook on this one. Seriously, gilled turtles? Who can mistake giant free-swimming crabs for turtles?

16-"Liopleurodon" And Megalodon's title 'biggest shark ever' is officially revoked. Meg's got nothing on this leviathan, a cousin to Kronos who may be slower than both Krono and Meg, but far more maneuverable and with a biteforce to match its size. Unlike Kronos, Lio's pelvic fins are bulging with muscles, allowing the damn thing to basically turn on the spot with a strike of its four fins. As humans soon understood, even Lio's tail is a powerful appendage, being able to move the leviathan's bulk with surprising strenght for short periods. Undisputed rulers of Panthalassa, Lios are creatures you wish could not exist;

17-"Jellyfish" Unclassified cnidarians, Panthalassa's appearently full of new species;

18-"Tube Worms" Great patches of Riftia grow on the ceilings of Panthalassa, feasting on the chemicals erupting from the earth. Their vast numbers forming like chandeliers of the ceiling, giving the place a unique look;

19-"Squids" Swarms of this unidentified cephalopods swim all over the dark world of Panthalassa, forming a good chunk of the diet of a lot of local predators;

20-"Cameroceras" Not at all a giant Orthocone, rather a surprisingly convergently evolved Nautilus. Nothing of their behavior's really know, having just been fleetingly spotter by Jonas;

21-"Sea Scorpion" This stomatopod has taken a liking to hanging around the ceiling of Panthalassa and its various entrance craters, ambushing any creature that passes too close;

22-"Palm Worms" Surprisingly colorful deinzens of the dark undersea, these anellids add a touch of vivacity to an otherwise all-black world. Seems they're luminescent too, acting as a sort of perennal starred sky for the creatures of Panthalassa;

---------------------

Aaaaand there we go, this has been on my mind for a while now, and I finally managed to get it done. Whatcha think?

Big, enourmous thanks to my bro Gilarah, for being an awesome friend and having helped out with the concepts!