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nineslugsart — Variation on a Theme

#alien #arboreal #blue #cyclops #photosynthetic #quadrupedal #sentient #tail #vishnu #speculativebiology
Published: 2015-06-18 19:54:14 +0000 UTC; Views: 4705; Favourites: 110; Downloads: 24
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Description Pictured is an example of an A. arborensis individual presenting a short pelt phenotype. People with this type of photosynthetic "fur" typically originate from the brighter equatorial regions of their world, where the sunlight required for them to produce vital nutrients is more readily available. This individual is likely of mixed ancestry, as short haired folk also commonly lean towards having a more purple hue to their fronds. 

Anomalosapiens arborensis, like other Vishnuvian megafauna, rely on a mixture of photosynthetic pigments similar to the terrestrial phycobilins  found in cyanobacteria. The exact expression of pigments is variable depending on heritage, allowing for pelts to range in color from red to orange to purple. Individuals from temperate climates tend to express longer "fur" in warmer colors, while those hailing from hotter and brighter climes have shorter hair in cooler hues.  

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I feel like I'm finally honing in on some of the finer aspects of this species' anatomy. While I'm not particularly fond of this drawing, it's still one of the better representations of how these creatures appear in my mind.

I've finally refined how their paws work... four cartilaginous fingers mounted above a gripping pad, surrounding a single retractable claw. The thumbs of the front paws are mildly opposable, while the middle arms are fully dedicated to manipulation and fold beneath the chest membrane when not in use. Their bodies are much more flexible than they appear, relying to a great extent on a combination of mutable collagenous tissue and fine muscles for maneuverability and leverage. This, coupled with a skeletal structure of tough, fibrous organic polymers allows them to contort in to a variety of positions or stiffen their bodies in ways a human could not.

Two spiracles beneath the mandible are used for breathing, and two ocelli flanking the main eye help the creature to orient itself in space. 
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Comments: 18

Glacial23 [2015-07-30 00:34:01 +0000 UTC]

Interesting how this race is slightly bulkier, is that individual variation or does it apply to all equatorial Anomalosapiens?

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Airayu [2015-06-19 16:39:38 +0000 UTC]

Oh that's interesting =O

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Rodlox [2015-06-19 00:57:14 +0000 UTC]

this greyhound build keeps getting skinnier. 

cool use of phycobilins.

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nineslugsart In reply to Rodlox [2015-06-19 19:48:45 +0000 UTC]

Haha, yeah! They do live on a lower gravity world than we do, so I've been trying to incorporate a weirdly skinny look to their legs. Plus, the reproductive organs are in the chest, so no need for a large pelvis! 

I was doing some reading about the evolution of photosynthesis recently, and (though I might be wrong) it seems like phycobilins appear in groups of more distantly related cyanobacteria, so I see no reason that something similar couldn't evolve again

Also, I was thinking that life probably evolved in the oceans on Vishnu, similar to earth. The tidal forces from the super earth it orbits would have probably circulated early photosynthetic "cells" from shallow to deep water, so it would have been advantageous for the early organisms to take advantage of both situations through use of different phycobiliproteins.

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Tarturus [2015-06-18 23:12:11 +0000 UTC]

Makes sense that, like our own species, many sapient alien species could have multiple different ethnicities, with small physical variations based on local climates and so on.

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WorldBuildersInc [2015-06-18 23:07:03 +0000 UTC]

Very intriguing musculature! may I ask if they operate on a solid-muscle, hydraulic, or pneumatic basis?

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nineslugsart In reply to WorldBuildersInc [2015-06-19 20:04:02 +0000 UTC]

Actually, they don't really rely on any of those things! The closest they get to is a solid muscle structure. 
Their body is comprised of a mutable collageous tissue like that found in echinoderms, able to switch between stiffened and compliant states based on nervous signals. Stiffened tissue fixes posture, while compliant tissue can be further manipulated by muscles to change posture.  

There is an interesting paper describing mutable collagenous tissue and muscle interactions in echinoderms here
It's a bit old, but cool stuff!

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WorldBuildersInc In reply to nineslugsart [2015-06-19 20:23:32 +0000 UTC]

That's fascinating! especially useful for an arboreal creature; as that would allow it to simply lock its limbs in place around a branch and not have to worry about slipping while asleep or preoccupied. I wonder if they undergo some sort of intense rigor mortis..?

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nineslugsart In reply to WorldBuildersInc [2015-06-21 19:56:13 +0000 UTC]

Exactly! Remaining tensed without exerting much effort is an extremely useful trait
And when they die parts of them might just... melt. I don't have any specific evidence to back it up, but I've seen echinoderms like sea cucumbers and sea stars just fall apart when they die!   

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Ryan-Bowers [2015-06-18 23:02:03 +0000 UTC]

Yay! Love it

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Ryan-Bowers In reply to Ryan-Bowers [2015-06-20 23:28:55 +0000 UTC]

Are the Rattlers highly advanced I forget ? Im just curious about their culture, i think i might creat a new sophont and something exotic looking 

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nineslugsart In reply to Ryan-Bowers [2015-06-21 20:05:14 +0000 UTC]

Yes, they are very advanced! At the peak of their technology some nations had a much greater understanding of physics than modern day humans, and were able to synthesize significant quantities of negative mass matter. This allowed them to create structurally stable wormholes. 

Rattlers never got very far beyond building extrasolar probes and broadcasting their address though, since political unrest in some parts of the world started to become a big problem around the same time. Some rattler cultures relied on slavery far into their development, and general objection to this peaked at about the same time as bioterrorisim did. 

In the end, some shoddy attempts at biological warfare did most of them in. 

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Ryan-Bowers In reply to nineslugsart [2015-06-21 20:17:20 +0000 UTC]

Interesting info when can we expect to see more vishnuvian fauna?

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nineslugsart In reply to Ryan-Bowers [2015-06-21 20:24:36 +0000 UTC]

Whenever I get their evolutionary history more solidified
I learned a lot about phylogeny and evolution this quarter, so it's given me a lot to think about! I'll probably get to posting some sketches in the next few weeks. 

I wouldn't hold my breath though... I've got summer classes and lab work vying for my time! 

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Ryan-Bowers In reply to nineslugsart [2015-06-21 20:27:03 +0000 UTC]

Summer classes? Boooooo 😎im going on holiday! I also have a up and coming world building project

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nineslugsart In reply to Ryan-Bowers [2015-06-21 20:29:20 +0000 UTC]

That sounds fabulous! 
Wish I could get time off, but I really have to take organic chemistry. And since I'll be at university for research it won't be so bad  
What's your world building project? 

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Ryan-Bowers In reply to nineslugsart [2015-06-21 20:34:34 +0000 UTC]

Literally just have a partially designed sophont, the world is slightly smaller than earth has a shallow ocean the size of the americas, has red vegitation annnnnnd that's literally all I have, im going to Anguila at the end of July so that'll give me some inspiration hopefully

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Midiaou [2015-06-18 21:56:33 +0000 UTC]

Amazing design!

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