HOME | DD

#adaptation #animal #conceptart #conceptdesign #creature #creaturedesign #design #digitalart #drawing #illustration #lizard #naturalselection #reptile #scientificillustration #scifi #skink #speculativeevolution #art
Published: 2017-10-01 13:47:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 12523; Favourites: 379; Downloads: 59
Redirect to original
Description
Pterapodia roseus- the red winged flutter-newt is actually a bit of a misnomer since the flutter newt genera is part of the skink family. It is also a prime example of convergent evolution, where a certain species has adapted into having traits similar to another completely different species, in this case the flutter newt seemingly has 4 insect-like wings in place of its legs, though upon closer examination one would find that its wing structures is very similar to that of a bat, elongated fingers with membranes protecting it.the flutter newt also possesses different musculature that operates its legs, one that is more like how an insect wing muscle works as well as having a less flexible joint that feels more segmented and rigid. This allows its legs to move very rapidly the same way an insect wing takes off, but because of this advantage the flutter newt must sacrifice its mobility on land having very rigid and stiff movements much like a grasshopper instead of a lizard, its wing must fold together to form a ‘third’ joint where only one of its claws protrudes out to grasp onto surfaces. However, seeing that these creatures live high up in overgrown rainforest branches where there isn’t much land space, and that they mainly hunt smaller flying insects, this isn’t really a bad trade off. They spend most of their day in the air to hunt, only perching on branches to rest and scout for better hunting grounds or when they are asleep at night given their diurnal behavior.
aside from that, the newt has fake antennas attached to its first pair of legs that has more to do with mimicry instead of the functionality of an actual insect antenna. Some flutter newts like pterapodia vespa takes it even further with having the coloration of a wasp to deter predators, an adaptation frequently seen in the world of mimicry.
Related content
Comments: 7
killmepleaseijust [2021-09-08 03:55:22 +0000 UTC]
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
YellowPanda2001 [2019-02-26 19:59:01 +0000 UTC]
This is just a superbly amazing design. Beautifully drawn too.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0