Speculative Dinosaur Project - Blogging

!ABOUT ME! Name:Timothy-Donald-Morris Location:Adelaide, South Australia, Australia I'm a young adult studying to become a visual practitioner. -The Speculative Dinosaur Project- "Spec" is a website-collaborative of conceptual zoology writing. It's on the subject of modern day fauna, and what it would be like if Dinosaurs never went extinct. This project is collaborative , involving numerous people on forums posting ideas, pictures and essays. I hope you enjoy yourself. Tim

Name:
Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

I'm a young adult studying to become a visual practitioner. This and my other two blogs are for excercises in speculative zoology. I hope you enjoy yourself. Tim

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Atlanitc south american coasts and their inhabitants.

The waters off the atlantic coasts of sothern south america can be inhospitable. Only the toughest beasts survive in such dangerous water.

Flightless kelp swans (Aetocygnus giganteus) as large as emus, ply the chilly waters in search of the most delicious sea plants, honking and shaking their ash-grey feathers.

Anatolutrids are found here to an extent, the 3 meter Shaggro (Hispidolutra ornatus), with a long, broad tail, and sharp, horny pads on the inner edges of the mandibles, tear at Cnidarians and Tunicates, as well as the very large soft corals. It only has large forelimbs, the back have shrunk to the size of seagull's wings, hidden beneath the fur, bearing large poison spurs.

Manky-logs (Atlanosiren niger) at 2 meters, are another local anatolutrid. With large clawed forelimbs, tiny hindlimbs, and powerfull tails, they ply the tumultuous waters in search of favoured prey, like flatfish and benthick molluscs. Their powerfull jaws and teeth make short work of even the toughest prey.

A relative of the vulgures also braves the water. The Waldo (Vulguropsis tardox) is moderately large at 4 meters long, shaggy, and wades the waters with long, powerfull legs. It crunches molluscs, grabbing the rocks with it's enormously powerfull arms.

The bloop (Thasellovicugna agilis) feeds selectively on succulent algal growths, swimming at great speeds to escape their predators, like sharks. They have webbed feet and broad tails, swimming like crocodiles. They, like other atavotheres incubate eggs inside their bodies. Their faces, unlike gloops, are narrow and doglike, for grabbing choice algal growth.

In the calmer waters beneath the waves, the Tweaker (Anatops anatops) at 70 cm long, forages for small, succulent vertebrates and worms. It is a small relative of the creaker, looking remarkably similar save for the grey pelt, it uses suction to snatch small prey items. It has a remarkabe feature for it's group, it's tusks are large and strong, and used primarily for upturning stones in search of hiding prey.

Gaunt snakeneck-loons (Ophiavis magnifecens) the local hespie cormorant, is as large as some of the nearby penguins attaining a height of one meter, they can swallow remarkably large fish. They power through the water with their strong feet and wings, snatching fish and squid alike.

Tim

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Penguato! Wave to the men who smile and raise hands!

Well, hiya,

This is from the abbysall archival resrves of early last year, the skill is up there, tho, but I suppose Liz-wiz and Han-ray will be kept busy by this.

Right,

















Pengs, at that time I was a peng-o'matic. The "toothy" one is the Antarctic sawnoff, and they'rec serrations. I've more penguin images, so stay tuned.














More ceds, messing with feather whiskers, seeing as kiwis have them.












Crabeater-seal-penguin.











Long awaited cheetah cadazin, Tiina will field that.












Sammy-sawnoff, that's it's name, google "The Magic Pudding" if you miss the pun. This is a primitive penguin group that are akin in role to furseals, across the southern hemisphere at-least, the pointy bits on the bill are serrations, DONT PANIC!

Tim

Friday, May 12, 2006

Crackerjack!

Borosphendodontidae: Blueys, Larrys, Crackerjacks.

This group is most closely related to the Sphenodontians of Aoteoroa, but consists of numerous species that are larger, and have significant physiological, dental, and metabolic differences to any other sphenodonts known.











The most famously known member of the group is the Crackerjack (Borosphenodon horribilis). This sphenodont is found throughout Australia and Papua, and weighs a whopping 1 tonne in the largest specimens, and measure from three to four meters in length. They mainly feed on carcasses left behind by large predaceous dinosaurs, having stout, immensely powerfull jaws, filled with robust, semi-conical teeth.














They posess strong external dermal armour, consisting of large scutes, and a layer of cutaneous armour several inches thick, sitting on a layer of subcutaneous fat. This leathery armour makes them nearly impenetrable. They are regularily seen trailing groups of rynchoraptors, and can reduce euclasaur femurs and hip bones to nothing in remarkably little time. They rest mainly in mud and water, adding to their putrid stink, and any social tussles are handled by bunting eachother with their cranial and nasal horns.

Larrys (Choosphenus sp) and Blueys (Tiquillosphenus sp), are much more conservative members of Ozpec's herpetofauna. They take the roles that, in our timeline, went to large skinks like Tiquilla. They feed on almost anything, invertebrates, small vertebrates, carrion, fruit, flowers, tubers, and even eggs. They, for the most part, resemble the tuataras of the genus Sphenodon, but are usually patterned in shades of grey or brown, with darker stripes or blotches. Blueys, like the eastern bluey (Tiquillosphenus ledii) have bright blue tongues used in defensive bluff displays. They mainly attain a length of around 50 to 70 centimetres, but the northern giant larry (Choosphenus giganteus) regularily attains a length of 1 to 2 metres. The adelaide pygmy bluey (Tiquillosphenus nanus) is a plain brown species that commonly makes it's home in ant colonies, being relatively tiny, at only 15 centimetres in length. Reports of such a creature were disregarded as mis-identifications of Agamids or skinks, untill a specimen was exumed from a small snake, subsequent searches or nearby areas allayed any misconception.

Tim

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Crocwolves

Eulycosuchidae: Crocvars, Crocdogs, Crocwolves.

This group originates in Australia, the earliest fossils from members of this group have been found in the Miocene of Riversleigh. Even early in their geological history, they exhibit trademark features of the group, long legs, reduced dermal armour, and tall, theropod-like snouts.











The Crocvars (Varanosuchus Sp, Choolainia Sp), including the Laced Crocvar (Varanosuchus robustus) take the role of some larger monitors in Australaisia and the Indonesian archipelago. They are adaptable and comparatively quick-witted, being found in most ecosystems, they can run quickly over short distances, and retain the ability to swim well. They exhibit territorial behavior mainly when breeding, or when prey is scarce, they fight mainly by biting eachother, though not usually hard enough to make serious damage.

They have an erect stance, a lightly built torso, a long, balancing tail, their legs are long and muscular, though not as long as those of other Eulycosuchids, they also posess strong, curved claws on the digits, except the outer two on the forelimbs. Crocvars are generally between 1.5 and 2.5 meters long, weigh up to 7 kilograms, and prey mainly on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and occasionally fish and eggs. The coloration of most species is subdued, usually brown or grey with darker stripes, spots and blotches. Crocvars very frequently climb trees, and can often be seen clambering through the banches. Their mating call is unique, being a tinny, high-pitched "Chik-Chik", earning them their colloquial name, tin-crocs.









Crocdogs (Cynosuchus sp) appear strange at first sight. With long, strong cursorial legs, and compact, paw like feet, there's more than a vague passing resemblance to a canid like a dog or jackal. However, these beasts are very much reptillian, with scaly hides, long tails, and strong jaws filled with pointed teeth. These beasts can be found in most Australasian habitats, from dense rainforest to open savannah and desert, though they are far less common than some cedunasaur species.

They feed mainly on vertebrates such as birds, reptiles, mammals and non-avian dinosaurs, they have been observed eating giant earthworms and freshwater crayfish. Due to their lower metabolism compared to endotherms like mammals, dinosaurs and birds, crocdogs eat less for their bodyweight, they also have a higher rate of reproduction, larger clutch size, and slower growth rate, these factors allow crocdogs to coexist with theropods like warriguls and puffindingos. In the mating season, they can be fiercely territorial, males often lock jaws and try to topple one another in a feat of strength, but serious injury rarely occurs from such tussles.

The most common species, the Choo's Crocdog (Cynosuchus chooi), averages at 3.5 meters long, and usually weighs up to 25 Kilograms. This species has a range over most of the australian continent, and even ranges as far south as the Flinders ranges. It is coloured a dirty olive brown, with darker blotches and spots over the body, ranging down to stripes and bands along the hips and tail. They are famous for the occasional habit of climbing and resting in trees, which has resulted in many a tall story by over zealous spexplorers. Like most members of the family,they can attain an impressive speed, but cannot sustain it for very long, as such they mainly hunt by ambush.













The crocwolf (Eulycosuchus ferox) is the most agressive and infamous of the "crocdog" group. Found mainly on the lesser Sundas and Sumatra, it was a surprise, to say the least, for early spexplorers to come across such a beast, in an area where dinosaurs were said to be the dominant group. At 4.5 meters long, and commonly weighing in at 45 kilograms, it strikes an imposing figure. It has a fairly typical Eulycosuchid bodyplan, and likewise a fairly typical predatory lifestyle, but is more heavily built, it's colouring is usually a brown-grey, with dark markings that fade as the beast matures. Despite early assumptions that the animal made no sound, it was later found that the beast made hatchling-like squeaks during mating rituals and at other rare intervals.

Strangely, crocwolves pair for life, but disputes over females can be brutal. The males will begin by defecating and pawing frantiaclly at the ground, the two antagonists will then strut from side to side, sizing eachother up. the next phase of the ritual involves the males rearing on their hindlegs and "boxing" like rutting kangaroos, if a stronger male prevails here the fighting will peter off. However, if the initial bout is evenly matched, all hell breaks loose, males will often try to bite eachother's limbs or tail-tips off, or grab a leg and topple the opponent. Consequently, it is relatively common top see older male crocwolves covered in battle scars, even occasionally missing hands or tail tips. This observation lead to the most remarkable discovery about these creatures, that a member of the pair will often obtain food for their mate if they are impeded by injury. Members of a mated pair tend to hunt alone if both are in good shape, but a mated pair hunting together is a force to be reckoned with. Their most common prey are hogfowl and ornithopods, but smaller animals like gamebirds and lizards often feature in their diet also, like most members of the family they hunt primarily by ambush.

Tim