HOME | DD

Description

270 Million Years PE (Late Ocean Age)

The thalassic woodcrafter (Otodactylus thalassicus) is the water adapted descendant of the woodcrafter (Otodactylus sylvamunitor). It is quite amusing that just like the name gravedigger the name woodcrafter has become a misnomer too, as they don’t have trees (at least ones that can be called trees) anymore.

They can stand on their hindleg just like their ancestors, but there are no trees to reach anymore, so they do it mostly to get a better view of things.

At first glance they look just as their ancestors, but when you take a closer look you can see some subtle differences. Their nostrils are slightly higher up their head, which allows them to take breaths while in water without having to lift their head as much. Also their antler arms have stronger and longer prongs/fingers, especially the ones other than the main three of them are elongated, helping them with gripping oars.

Also the woodcrafter females now have whiter faces, now their cheeks are white just like those of the males, which is a continuation of the trend seen in woodcrafters 5 million years ago.

When they are in the water, it becomes evident that they are rightfully thalassic woodcrafters, as they have webbed feet which act as paddles, and they can hold their breath for at least 10 minutes, they have strong lungs too.

Another organ which has become stronger is the stomach, which allows them to eat a wide variety of plants. They eat mostly seaweed, and still have to trim their teeth, even after 5 million years…

Land plants are only a tiny fraction of their diet, as they are mostly relics, which are kept alive through the eons, basically being living museum pieces.

5 million years have been enough time for the woodcrafters to become capable of eating meat/fish, because their stomachs have adapted to eat many plants, but they rarely ever eat meat/fish, unless they absolutely have to, as they can only eat the freshest meat and don’t like the taste of it. Chewing the meat is very easy, but it tastes very gross, and digesting that stuff is not something one wants to do unless absolutely necessary…

Despite their adaptations, they are comparably slow in water, being slightly slower in water than the thalassic gravediggers, but such a speed is still very impressive for such a creature. Also their way of swimming is probably very unique.

They have a similar ecological niche like the greenskeepers, as they swim around freely (as long islands or boats are close enough) and graze on the sea weeds.

They are also part of the sea stewards, an alliance of the greenskeepers, novan daydreamers and thalassic gravediggers.

Up until now all of them have survived, but the future is uncertain, we can only hope that they continue to survive…

-- This Fanart is based on Serina, a speculative evolution/worldbuilding project, which is the sole intellectual property of .
You can view his work on sites.google.com/site/worldofs… . --

Description

270 Million Years PE (Late Ocean Age)

The thalassic woodcrafter (Otodactylus thalassicus) is the water adapted descendant of the woodcrafter (Otodactylus sylvamunitor). It is quite amusing that just like the name gravedigger the name woodcrafter has become a misnomer too, as they don’t have trees (at least ones that can be called trees) anymore.

They can stand on their hindleg just like their ancestors, but there are no trees to reach anymore, so they do it mostly to get a better view of things.

At first glance they look just as their ancestors, but when you take a closer look you can see some subtle differences. Their nostrils are slightly higher up their head, which allows them to take breaths while in water without having to lift their head as much. Also their antler arms have stronger and longer prongs/fingers, especially the ones other than the main three of them are elongated, helping them with gripping oars.

Also the woodcrafter females now have whiter faces, now their cheeks are white just like those of the males, which is a continuation of the trend seen in woodcrafters 5 million years ago.

When they are in the water, it becomes evident that they are rightfully thalassic woodcrafters, as they have webbed feet which act as paddles, and they can hold their breath for at least 10 minutes, they have strong lungs too.

Another organ which has become stronger is the stomach, which allows them to eat a wide variety of plants. They eat mostly seaweed, and still have to trim their teeth, even after 5 million years…

Land plants are only a tiny fraction of their diet, as they are mostly relics, which are kept alive through the eons, basically being living museum pieces.

5 million years have been enough time for the woodcrafters to become capable of eating meat/fish, because their stomachs have adapted to eat many plants, but they rarely ever eat meat/fish, unless they absolutely have to, as they can only eat the freshest meat and don’t like the taste of it. Chewing the meat is very easy, but it tastes very gross, and digesting that stuff is not something one wants to do unless absolutely necessary…

Despite their adaptations, they are comparably slow in water, being slightly slower in water than the thalassic gravediggers, but such a speed is still very impressive for such a creature. Also their way of swimming is probably very unique.

They have a similar ecological niche like the greenskeepers, as they swim around freely (as long islands or boats are close enough) and graze on the sea weeds.

They are also part of the sea stewards, an alliance of the greenskeepers, novan daydreamers and thalassic gravediggers.

Up until now all of them have survived, but the future is uncertain, we can only hope that they continue to survive…

-- This Fanart is based on Serina, a speculative evolution/worldbuilding project, which is the sole intellectual property of .
You can view his work on sites.google.com/site/worldofs… . --