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Published: 2011-04-25 02:26:24 +0000 UTC; Views: 26613; Favourites: 441; Downloads: 0
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Description
I should preface the description of this creature by giving a short statement about the natural history of its home planet. Early in its evolutionary history, life on this world did not split into such rigidly defined taxa as it did on Earth. For example, the majority of multicellular earth-life is divided into autotrophic creatures (plants) which are immobile, and the highly mobile heterotrophs (animals). On grandulus's planet, the peculiar biochemistry allows for a much higher rate of horizontal gene transfer and endocytosis. This means that instead of a taxonomic "tree of life" like on Earth, their evolutionary history looks more like a web. In short, this allows for a wide array of photosynthetic, yet mobile creatures. The grandulus is one of these. It moves around slowly with its sticky appendages and positions itself in a spot with maximum sunlight to unfold its inflatable photosynthetic organ from its posterior shell. It also feeds on the internal fluids of metaflora, as well as decaying organic matter. Its many species range in size from that of a quarter to the size of a hippo.Related content
Comments: 9
wendibnkywuv [2025-01-14 04:38:48 +0000 UTC]
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ThunderYeti [2019-09-25 00:36:54 +0000 UTC]
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Corallianassa [2016-09-09 19:46:33 +0000 UTC]
I am going to work on an exo-biotic project in the future too.
Your ideas are really creative, I wouldn't have thought of this
[though to be fair, I have less room for creativity, as I use a real existing planet called Kepler22-b, or Gliese 667c, both have pretty extreme conditions and only a small strip of liveable area)
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IceJudgement999 [2013-03-20 18:13:37 +0000 UTC]
Wow it's fun how people like you think in such an original way! Your creativity is fascinating and the best part is how scientifically you explain them! good job on these aliens!
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Preradkor [2013-01-07 18:08:03 +0000 UTC]
For some time I was wondering if ecosystem based on horizontal gene transfer could evolved in macro-world creatures, and I couldn't imagine how the hell it could work... But you designed something like that in believable way and with just amazing drawing quality. I am truly awestruck.
And I must say your aliens look believable and just very alien.
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MickMcDee [2011-04-25 16:13:21 +0000 UTC]
great concept, a web of creatures instead of taxa - are hybrids able to become children? (in opposite to earth's hybrids like the offspring of horse and donkey)
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