Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Arts & Talents => Topic started by: Bobboau on May 15, 2005, 08:47:32 pm
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started by this (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,32612.0.html)
so the evolution game, one or more primitive animals (or plants, for simplisity when ever I say animal from now on in this post I mean organism) will be put up and from them we will _very slowly_ imagine them evolveing.
some rules:
1)with the exeption of the first one or two animals you must use an exsisting animal as the template for your animal
1a)in the first round base animals must be reasonably simplistic as to be reasonable to expect to come from a clump of single celled organisms, at a certan point base animals must be closed out because we're assumeing these things are comeing about at about the same time.
2) if you add something to an animal, you have to go into extreem detail as to how that addition came from, you can't just say "it evolved eyes" or "it evolved fingers" you have to say were these apendages came from and what sorts of mutations led to them
3)were starting off on a world populated by single celled organisms of varying biochemistry. to make things interesting there were (at least) two seperate abiogenisis events giveing rise to two diferent lines of life.
first is the Germanium line, organisims princibly made up of Germanium Selenium, and Hydrogen, also utaliseing Arsnic, Antimony, and Tellurium (as well as smaller amounts of most other elements), this line has many members who are sensitive to free Selenium and produce it as a waist product (they use sunlight to make GeSe sugar like molicules out of Germanium Diselenide similar to how plants use the energy of the sun to do the same with carbon and oxygen) while other members are able to use free Selenium as an energy source and produce Germanium Diselenide as waist.
second is the silicon line, principly made of silicon, sulfur and hydrogen, also utaliseing phospherus, arsnic, and selenium (in addition to small amounts most other ellements). like the carbon line there are some members sensitive to free sulfur produceing it as a waist product (the heat of geothermal vents to brake silicon disulfide into something similar to sugars and free sulfer wich they release as waist) and others that use free sulur as an energy source produceing silicon disulfide as waist.
these two lines do not directly compete for resounces generaly (other than space), and there biochemistry is largely incompatable so they don't tend to eat each other (at this point).
4) the planet we'er on is 1.3 times the mass of earth, it's atmosphere consists of mostly Argon with signifigant amounts of Sulfur and Selenium present. it orbits a stable binary system both stars have signifigantly buler spectrums than our sun.
so to start off the game I'm proposeing the following base animal.
comeing from baceria of the germanium line wich developed a survival stratigy of growing into clusters for defence, and later developed specalisation based on there location in the group. this organism is essentaly a giant stomoch. it has a single opening on the top of it wich opens into a large sack lined with three specalised cells. one type removes water and other relitively useless chemicals from the sac pumping it through the lineing of the sac into the main tishues of the sack wich eventualy expell them through the outer lineing. the second type are ensomites, they produce a ensyme that breakes down just about any germanium based organism that ends up in the gut they also produce a protective slime that prevents the ensyme from breakeing down the stomach wall. and the third cell absobs nutrients digested by the ensyme. the three work in a particular order, when the sack is filled the water pumpers remove as much as they can as fast as they can when there job becomes suficently dificult (they've removed most of the water) they stop working and relese a chemical trigger that alerts the ensimites to produce there slime, and then the digestive ensime, similar queues tell them when to stop and the absorbers to start, when the absorbers are done all that is left is mostly unusable/toxic wais wich is expelled when the organism inflates the sac. now the wall of the organism is mostly a specalised cell type, it has a protene structure on it's surface that causes it's membrane to be a partucular ovaliod shape but when exposed to the right chemical triggers can reverse it's shape, with many of these cells linked together it has a primitive musle cell. it has many bands of these cells linked together to form bands around it's body, when in there relaxed state they compress the stomoch cavity, when stimulated they expand the body sucking in the surounding water and the thick slime of single celled organisms and nutrients within it. in addition it has two large lobes of muscle on either side of the stomach opening (the mouth) that in there relaxed state close the mouth, but open it when stimulated.
this organism lives near the surface of the water were there is an extreem abundance of germanium based life forming a thick dark purpleish soup (the algelike organisms specalise more on the blue end of the spectrum makeing there light absorbing chemicals more reddish than the chlorophyll of plants on earth)
it reproduces via spore like buds that float away in the water.
now you only have to go into this much detail if your makeing a base organism
and a piture of the beasty, wich is why it's in the art forum.
I'll try makeing a few variants to get things moveing if no one else does
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Bob, you should give it a name (that will stay consistent wiht evolution) for clarity of the thread.
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eh... stomochpod, how's that sound?
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gastroped if you're going to be specific... :p
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well it isnt a stomoch foot, its a pod that's basicly a stand alone stomoch.
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Filmoid
Lifeform based on silicon
The Filmoid is a one cell thick filmlike creature with indeterminate growth (For those who dont knwo what this means, trees have indetrminate growth, branches anywhere, whereas humans do not ,set position for ams and legs).
The Filmoidhas low level of cell spesilistation from two major cell types, one that pumps water and extracts energetic molecules from it, and another that produces a cement to bind the organism in place.
A small filter feeder, the filmoid creates water currents through it thin filmlike body by the use of energy to move cillia like strand located in pores throughout the body. Nets of strandlike ensymes woven through these pores bind with energy sources in the water and break them down causing a change at their other binding sites within the cell causing the connection of two organic phosphate molecules. This diphosphate group is the base form of the organism's energy.
Unicellular organisms blocking the pores typicaly will recive a low level of nutrition due to the water flow and may die. The Filmoid posseses an early symbiotic relationship with organisms able to resist the water flow that break down organisms stuck inthe pores causing a downfall of all it's internal molecules to feed the filmoid (if it is silicon based)
The filmoid is venreble to organisms that will attack it but due to the size ofthe organism it can normaly repair any damage done.
Deep in the depths of the ocean the creature needs no protection from sunlight and thus takes on a clear unpigmented translucent look.
The filmoid reproduces asexulay by splitting of individual sheets into two or by loss of a part of a sheet that will drift off and grow into a new creature.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/Film.png)
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liveing near the surface exposes the stomachpod to much UV radiation, while some develop thicker layers of defencive outer cells others grow in a maner that gets them partaly burried, leaveing only there mouth exposed and needing defence, thicker mouth coverings also alows them to funnle more into there mouth, eventualy also allowing them to scope surounding dirt (rich in untapped nutrients) into there mouths the muscles in these mouth covereings become arainged in ways that allow them to not only open and close but also to move in a manner that allows them to scoop dirt. however the motions are still controled by simple chemical queues, and it depends on currents and such to bring soil to it.
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Stomachpod Drifter
For those that moved deeper rather than shallower divergent evolution held a different path. The water pumping cells began to form on a thin wavy membrane to increase pumping area. At the same time small hollow body cavities formed allowing the stomachpod to float. Currents could then carry it while it picked up organisms and rapidly filtered out water. Though this consumed more enrgy the vast amounts of organisms taken in from the current more than offset this. Every few minutes the organism will close it's mouth to digest it's food before continuing to take in microorganisms.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/StomachPod_Hopper.png)
The planet is Rigel 4, jsut saying that for clarity.
And bob, gastro doesnt mean foot, pod does.
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gastropod means somoch foot, and it's used to describe slugs and stuf I think...
there need to be a few more intermediaries before they go jet propelled, first there needs to be a seperation between the mouth into a 'in' opening and an 'out' opening, this seems like a likely thing to happen given seperate orifices would mean that waist gets removed more effectively. given that, the outlets would likely be, initaly at least, still twards the "top" of it, though eventualy they would likely move away to better remove waist. after that they could use more powerful expultion muscles to do a squid like jet propultion like you've got there, and they'd then have mobility and access to both deeper water plankton cover and the ability to filter larger areas.
/*(just filling in some blank spots I saw)*/
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Yeah, i just realised i contradicted myself, if the cellullar ones still existed this would be possible, but not fast enough... editing.
There, now it just drifts and filters out unicellular organisms.
Note, there is no "out opening" at this poinnt, there is no physical connection between the mouth and the back part, it's all water pumped through cells. Waste is still removed from the mouth.
Basicly the wall got more surface area (folds) and it got some primative ceolem(sp?)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/Evo.gif)
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ahh, so it's sort of like how we piss :)
who'd have thought that would be used as a means of propulsion :D
what you have now seems fine, no jumps.
exept why did the cavities form? symbiotic alge of some sort?
Excavateing Stomochpod
ok next step of mine, the nutrient rich soil of the sea floor is too good a bounty to pass up, after a while some burowing stomochpods changed there orientation. the motion of there mouth parts was easily adapted to both scoop food and move the organism. every few minutes it will scoop another mouthfull of fresh life giveing mud into it's digestive chamber, then as it's ejecting the ineatable parts it's mouth flaps will move back pushing the organism into the hole it made a moment earlier before grabing more dirt to filter. when it ejects it's waist it tends to colect more tward the botom of it's mouth, waist removeal was more effecent whith a larger slit shaped mouth opening that goes more twards the belly. the excavateing stomochpod leaves a tell tail trail of digested dirt in a ditch behind it.
given the fact that it is now moveing a elongated and more arodynamic shape proved to be more effecent. thicker specalised skin on it's back forms to protect against the radiation danger, and the belly develops defences against it's own waist wich it is almost always soaking in.
those stomochpods able to move there mouth covers and body more efficently now have an upper hand and varius mechnisms begin to develop for more refined movements.
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Stomochopod Spinedrifter
This relative of the Stomachopod Drifter now has pigmentation which matches closer to its surroundings, preventing it from being eaten by predators.
Its mouth cavity has increased to a larger size, allowing for it to envelop prey that floats into its mouth.
Another recent development are the specialized spine-like extremities. These are created by symbiotic microbes which cause callusing of the tissue, leading to the formation of these spires over time. These microbes are toxic, and so these protrusions can serve as a way of stunning prey.
Each Spinedrifter has a different spine pattern since the locations of the symbiote infections vary per spinedrifter.
(http://www.savant-online.net/graphics/spinedrifter.png)
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no preditors have evolved yet (exept yours maybe), everything's still to stupid to track anything else down, let alone haveing eyes (wich are extreemly complex things to evolve, needing a whole bunch of prerequisites like something to act in a similar fasion as a nerve and some nervious system like mechinism to use the information colected by the eyes) for camoflage to do any good. were basicly dealing with spunges with primitive muscles at this point, the development of a nerve type cell is a huge leap, though sence all decendents of the stomochpod have the ability to triger cell actions to certan chemical stimuli something like a nerve cell (though not nesisarily exactly like it) could come about at any time.
and I'd think the water would be yellow/orengeish with all that sulfur and selenium. everyone else seems to think it should be blue though :)
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Wasn't thinking about water color.
My ceoloms came from infolding of membranes FYI.
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Ammogemm (Latin: Sand Bud)
The Ammogemm started as a single celled germanium life form in the tidal pools on the shoreline. as the cells collected into colonies and organized into specific functions, this organism moved toward the water and established itself in the breakers were it would get a constant supply of microbes to filter through it's opening at the top. It has a very thick hide (5-6 millimeters thick) to protect itself from the crashing waves, which do to it's constant exposure to the sun, becomes leathery at only a few weeks old. Any that take longer than this could be mashed to death by the breakers.
The Ammogemm reproduces by asexual mitosis. after it has reached it's maximum size of about 6 inches long, it may break off a piece about half an inch, which falls to the ground and is moved around by the current for a few minutes until it digs it's beak into the sand. reproduction will almost never occur if the cluster the Ammogemm is in is too large (about a dozen). accationally an Ammogemm will unlatch itself from the sand to break off into a new cluster. it will wait until the waves carry it to an isolated spot on the beach, then dig itself into the sand once more.
Ammogemms only "sleep" during high tide when they are submerged in water. when their skin detects high amount of argon, meaning they are no longer submerged, they wake up and begin filter feeding again.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/ae1e96e5.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/hlpgame01.jpg)
BTW, can i have this one all to myself? i've got "plans" :D
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if someone has an evolutionary split it won't interupt your plans.
Crawler
with those excavateing stomochpods best able to move through the mud being most sucessfull, the muscle paturnts origonaly made for filling and expelling the digestive sack begin to diferentiate, into inner and outer layers, the outer layer's muscles move in a wave like motion initaly by each band being trigered by the muscle band before them. some muscle cells become specalised in detecting the state of other muscle cells and telling other muscle cells when to flex and relax. these cells operate by chemical mesengers and eventualy develop into networks throught the body of the oraganism allowing complicated organised movement, they form something that acts as a simple nervous system, it's design is however distributed throut the body of the organism rather than centralised. it is able to contract one side of it's body to turn for instance rather than just randomly squiqleing around, soon some of these comunication cells develop the ability to sence things other than just the state of other muscles or other physical states in the body, giveing the system external stimuli. when it ditects stronger light on one side it moves away from it, when it detects stronger food on one side it moves tward it.
though the organism does not look externaly much diferent at this point it has had a major evolutionary advance it is now able to, on an extreemly simple level, react to it's environment, to think in a very very primitive sence of the word.
other internal changes brought on by this:
with the greater energy requierments simply defuseing Selenium from the sorounding water was insuficent, small muscle lined chanles in the tisue formed allowing selenium (and other nutrients) rich body fluids to circulate more redaly to the muscles, these chanles begin forming into a serese of networks all interconected tisue at some of the nodes in these chanles form into one way valves wich force the fluid into the tisues and out again, enhanceing this action the valves developed stronger mucular suport and began actively pumping in sequence usieng the newly formed decentralised nervious system. this gave the organism a consiterable energy edge.
in order for the nerve cells to function properly, they need a steady suply of sevral elements most importantly the alcaline Strontium, unfortunately the suply of Strontium is not always suficent, leading to eradic neriuos behavior, wich is especaly bad now that it's circlitory system is in place and dependent on the nervious system, with seasonal fluctuations in Strontium levels many crawlers die. soon they begin storing concentrated pocets of Strontium thruout there bodies
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Hetrotrophic Filmoid
For those that stayed in the depths they were blind, for they could not see the light.
When the filmoid movedto the more life filled habbitats at lower depths it became slowly capable of ensymatic activity to break down microorganisms. As this happened current slowly changed from through the film to across it and into large openings. This way any potential food would pass through a large "forest" of ensymes rather than simpy through a pore with a thin net. The cillia in the pores evolved to become larger, whiping across the surface and generating a stronger current to draw food across it's surface. The larger protein count made the creature less translucent.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/FilmMK2.png)
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Originally posted by Bobboau
if someone has an evolutionary split it won't interupt your plans.
that's true.
Dune Ammogemm
Over time, the rigours of the Ammogemm's lifestyle caused it's beak to become longer and more powerful. the elastic cords in it's beak that function the same way as muscles grew thicker and tighter, and soon it was able to move itself through the sand on it's own accord, no longer relying on the waves for transportation. As the Ammogemm's diet expanded from ocean microbes to microbe colonies in the sand (thanks to it's new mobility), it moved inland and set itself on the dunes. It's skin cells grew into bigger scaley bumbs, since it was now all the full mercy of the suns and sand blasting wind.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/6956dbdc.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/fa9e246e.jpg)
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Hoover
Evolved from the hetrotrophic filmoids, hoovers have forgone their cementing to the sea floor and have attained an even more saclike shape. Their new form somwhat resembles a cylindrical tube with openings at both ends. Proteins have helped somwhat stiffen the creature, in addition to the adittion of another few layers of cells.
The Hoover uses a system of pulsating muscle cells, exchibiting electrochemical interactions between oneanother that cause their contractions to move in time, cearing a ripple moving down the length of the creature. Towards it's front end some cells have adapted internal timers wich set off and control the muscle contraction sequences.
In addition to the muscles cillia lining it's interior still beat away, though they are mainly vestigial and are becoming less and less common. They ar harboured by the same cells that work as muscles.
Rather than having external digestion by proteins certian specialised "capture cells" lining the interior catch passing microbes on protein nets and endocytose them, absorbing before digesting. Bridges between the cells maintain energy distribution.
The cells on the tubes exterior are dead at maturity harbouring only a protein scaffold they constructed while still living.
A layer of reproductive cells divides into cells able to become either exoderm cells, endoderm muscle cells, or endoderm digestive cells.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/Jellies.png)
Anatomy
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/Jelly_Anatomy.png)
Cell layer corss-section
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/FireCrack/Cells.gif)
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Ammoerpes (Latin: Sand Crawler)
The Dune Ammogemm's beak continues to grow and strengthen, eventually allowing itself to pick itself up out of the sand whenever it feels, instead of just during feedings. The lips on it's mouth have become longer and stronger, allowing it to harvest the microbe colonies more easily. It's skin cells have completed the tranformation into true scales. It has also become more slender, making it easier to move about in the sand. Random clusters have turned into to families, although there is no social order. At 5 inches across and 8.5 inches from beak tip to lips, the Dune Ammogemm is now the Ammoerpes.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/79b84903.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/abf3289a.jpg)
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They look like unripe strawberries with flat tops.
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i thought they looked kind of like armadillos.
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Aquatic Ammogemm
While some Ammogemms moved away from the ocean, others moved into it. their original argon based sleep cycle having faded away, they now feed and sleep as required. living at a depth of between 10 and 20 feet below sea level, their skin has become smoother now that they no longer have to protect themselves against the waves, and it allows water to run over them with less friction. Largely immobile, the Aquatic Ammogemm lives in larger clusters, and it's beak has shrunken into a smaller rooter, needing less to keep itself in place without the breakers. around 4 inches across, the Aquatic Ammogemm is so far the smallest in it's family. it has expanded it's diet to both microbes and a purpleish soup that sometimes sinks towards the ocean floor when it becomes too dense.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/81dc1fa6.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/64740fc7.jpg)
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will someone make some plants already?
don't have time right now, it's already been established that the photoreactive agent is dark red-purple, but asside from that have at it.
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I think it's plausible that the Aquatic Ammogemm is making it's way toward plant, while the Ammoerpes is moving toward animal.
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Last one from this branch for a while, I promise.
Giant Ammoerpes
As the time the Ammoerpes spent anchored into the ground grew shorter and shorter thanks to their increased mobility, their beaks became longer and less trunk-like. now being used exlusively for movement, the end flattened out, and became a foot-like appendage. The ends on the Ammoerpes no longer needed to be flat in order to sit on the ground, and rounded out to allow better movement through the sand. their lips became longer and prehensile, allowing them to grap at food instead of scraping at it. this also let them pick small plants out of the sand, adding another source of food, letting them grow bigger. (about a foot long)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/ea36fa34.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/f16649c9.jpg)
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and speaking of plants
Crimson Sheet
developing from alge like single celled plants that grew in mats (primaraly as a defence from UV radiation) they developed firmer and firmer bonds to each other eventualy reaching a mass were they began specaliseing by there location. useing sun light as an energy source, these organisms convert germanium diselenium into surgar like compunds and release free selenium into the environment.
crimson sheet isn't a single species, but a family of plant like organism's that live primaraly in shallower waters. typicly there is a single ankering point with sevral long soft leaves emergeing from it, the anker looks similar to a root, but it does not actualy provide nurishment to the organism, insted it gets all of it's nutrients from the water (perhapes one day a decendend will tap this potent nurishment, but currently the organism is to simple to transport nutrients from one part of it to another (note the lack of veins in the leaves)). the name comes from the dark purple-red of it's photo-reactive chemicals (though far less commonly there do exsist blue, yellow, or green species), it typicly also has a beutiful shimering quality due to a semi-transparent layer of UV reflecting cells on it's outer membrate, causeing the color to change based on the angle you view it from.
crimsonsheets typicly reproduce by division of there ankers, but if two crimson sheets grow into each other they will share genetic material if they are similar enough. if a leaf is broken off or an anker detached, they will oftine be able to set a new anker somewere else if they settle down somewere without a current for a few days. the family is quite diverse, raingeing widely in colors and sizes (from less than a milimeter to more than 200 meter long leaves) and in leaf paturns (some have a fixed number of leaves, others have as many as are needed, also dispersal around the anker and leaf shape varys a lot)
pictured is a three stemed purple crimson sheet, one of the more primitive Crimson Sheet speciese.
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Funny, i had made the 2nd pic before even knowing about your crimson sheet, and yet the plants in it look like they may be one of the species.
Ammovesic (Latin: Sand Blister)
The Aquatic Ammogemm continued to migrate down the continental slope, until it reaches 20-30 feet below sea level. the increased pressure made it smaller (2 inches wide), and the low light has made it loose some of it's pigment, becoming translucent. The Aquatic Ammogemm is now the Ammovesic. It has a new symbiotic relationship with a purple algea that lives on it's mouth. The algea stays safe from animals that might want to eat it (the Ammovesic isn't particularly good tasting) and in turn, it supplies the Ammovesic with excess sugars. Unlike it's ancestors, the Ammovesic is completely immobile. It must depend on ocean currents to move it's offspring to different locations, and as a result, clusters have become much larger, at around twenty members.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/279f08f1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/f41a976d.jpg)
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as the crawlers progressed, there higher energy lifestyle of movent requiered a better energy distribution system the basic bloodlike fluid was augmented with a highly reactive agent, a cobalt based chemical that easily bonded with selenium in the water, cells specalised at extracting selenium lined all surfaces exposed to the watter, largely on the outer skin and the upper part of the digestive sack.
also, the stromtium deposits were being made into a fairly stable strontium-tellurium nodes, many of them placed near nerve clusters wich were forming to cope with more and more nerve information. with a better ability to perceve it's world crawlers began to utalise newer food sources, sevral specese began eating plants and other animals.
with the added complexity of the Crawler's biology, there reproductive systems became more complex, rather than delivering spores, they allowed the spores to mature somewhat inside the parent body and left them with some additional nurishment when they were expelled. if two Crawlers came into contact and were suficently similar to do so, they would share genetic material.
(multiple pictures comeing)
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Lustershelled Crawler
the strontium deposits on one line of Crawlers proved to be extreemly effective in blocking the UV radiation of there shallow water home. the deposits near the surface of the skin on there backs grew into a thin yet very hard and radiation proof shell, sevral diferent plates were made over the body allowing continued movement.
liveing near the surface allowed the lustershells to develop a higher energy solution to there selenium problem, they would take in and blow out water into there digestive sacs, absorber cells would extract the vital element as fast as posable. the less the blowing water interfered with the food in the gut the better, so eventualy the digestive sac seperated into two diferent cavities, the lower sack was for food, the upper sack was for resperation, and it developed into an almost spunge like network allowing extreemly eficent extraction of selenium. but requiering more energy.
pictured below is a Lusterback feeding on a Crimsonsheet
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Featherbacked Crawler
liveing in deeper waters, the featherback needed to develop a more passive selenium extraction method, long soft flods of flesh loaded with selenium absorbing cells formed along it's back and sides. liveing were less food was readily available it specalised in finding the larges deposits of food it could find fast, it quickly developed a superior nural structure, with multable sub procesing nodes all inter conected, it was able to pinpoint other organisms especaly the excavateing stomachpods and primitive crawlers wich leaft a distinctive trail behind them, but also any Ammogemm decendents wich were unlucky enough to be found by the Featherback.
unlike the Lustershel it stored it's strontium internaly in sevral large lumps and in the ends of it's mouth parts were a number of sensitive sensory nerves were located.
the featherback became the planet's first dedicated active preditor
(crappy picture :doubt: )
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We need more people doing this ot achive greater diversity.
Remember that, though thussofar all creatures have been 3d renders, it is not required to make a 3d render. A 2d image is just as good.
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yeah, things are setup for a cambrien explosion like event right now, these two lines of crawlers, I have been bulding up to this point the whole time, I'm starting work on sevral new lines from these. Carl's Ammogemms look like they'r going places too.
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sorry, won't have any pictures with this.
i think i'll provide the pathogens.
the flagellated gyrorod is a single celled organism with a germanium based respiration system. it is essentially two rods, attached at both ends with a flagellum on one end. these rods are also attached at various places along the middle to form a double helix. the cell membrane is composed of a single layer of flexible, unstable germanium hydrogen oxide compounds, which allows diffusion of nutrients and deformability of the gyrorod. the cytoplasm contains few mitochondria for the metabolism of diffused nutrients and free DNA (there is no nucleus).
the structure of the gyrorod allows movement by rotation of the flagellum, which transmits torque to the helix and allows more efficient movement.
however, because of its essentially simple membrane and cytoplasm, the gyrorod is vulnerable to mineral and electrolyte disturbances in the surrounding milieu and to hostile toxins.
the gyrorod reproduces by asexual mitosis; the two rods divide and regenerate to form two gyrorods from one.
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Edit: Nevermind. won't work.
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Originally posted by FireCrack
Remember that, though thussofar all creatures have been 3d renders, it is not required to make a 3d render. A 2d image is just as good.
Alright, then! This is the petra-cola (rocky dweller)
(http://img188.echo.cx/img188/5908/blob4ae.jpg)
It works like this:
The petra-cola consists of only three types of cells. Originally, the creature was only a bunch of purple translucent single-celled organisms which bonded together for protection. These cells consumed germanium. Eventually, these groups began to be deposited on beaches and were exposed to harsh radiation. The outside layers died, forming a tough shell around the blob. After many years, another type of cell came into the group. It was a small cell which consumed selenium and excreted germanium at a very efficient rate. When these cells bonded, they were able to expand the groups to larger proportions, due to the more effective energy intake. Eventually, another type of cell moved in, one that also consumed germanium. These cells had simple cilia which always pumped in one direction. These cells oriented themselves so that they pushed dirt into the interior of the organism. This caused the organism to expand to an even greater size.
Currently, the organism is so simple, it can barely hold itself together. Thus, when the cilia cells on the bottom begin to dig, the organism will follow gravity and slosh into the hole. However, with the increased efficiency, the organism is able to grow as fast as it falls, making it tunnel slowly into the ground.
later, the various cells began to form a column, in which the cilia and selenium-consuming cells would occupy. The cilia would pass the dirt past the selenium cells, who would digest what they needed and pass the waste to the rest of the organism. Each organism would normall have around five of these columns.
(http://img188.echo.cx/img188/6669/feeding0ef.jpg)
When the organism gets around six feet long, the relatively thin column it has created can no longer support such a massive entity. When this happens, it spits out "spores" which contain varying amounts of all three organisms. These spores roll down the sides of the petra-cola and start up their own colonies. Shortly after releasing spores, the organism dies.
On the surface, the petra-cola appears to be nothing more than a mound of lightly colored dirt, from which small pieces of sand slowly emerge
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anselenic flagellated gyrorod
the gyrorod developed energy storage mechanisms based on the equilibrium conversion reactions between selenium and germanium. in effect, it converts selenium into a stable germanium-selenium-hydrogen compound which, instead of excreting as waste, it stores. (the energy stored is slightly more than the energy used to create the compound, but only by a little bit.) when it finds itself in environments where selenium supplies are low, it can live off the germanium-selenium-hydrogen stores in its cytoplasm. over time the efficiency of various reactions involved improved. this of course, led to the gyrorod becoming, in fact, most efficient in low selenium environments. this further developed until the anselenic flagellated gyrorod emerged, which actually takes in germanium as nutrient rather than excretes it as waste, and does not utilise selenium as part of its respiration processes.
this evolution allowed the gyrorod to survive by colonising near other organisms' germanium disposal apparatus.
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I think you may be mis understanding the role Germanium plays here, it's an element that these organisms are based on, it takes the place of carbon, everything uses and excretes some form of Germanium (exept the few silicon based lifeforms that have developed)
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i know. the point is that its _not_ using selenium. which i think you used as a sort of oxygen substitute? anaerobic respiration was the model i had in mind. of course i'm open to correction.
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it wouldn't hurt you to just post an MS paint pic or something.
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terror from below
Formido Inferus
decendent of the featherbacked crawler this ruthless killer lives in deep water umung the rocky depths, but commonly stalks the shalower waters full of life. it has developed a secondary covering over it's digestive sack. they eat anything they can get there very large mouth around, the strontium-telerum deposits in the forward mouth parts of it's predicesor, not only aided nural activity within receptors and nodes, but made gougeing into prey and moveing easier, eventualy the tips of it's main jaw parts formed into rasor sharp daggers that it uses to impale and hold onto it's victoms as smaller toothed mouth parts rip chunks of fleash off. internaly there are sevral large strontum deposits wich have formed soley to aid in movement, along the centers of the main mouth parts and along it's tail. the soft selenium absorbing tisue is now better protected with strong fleshy flaps covering it, the flaps move in a liniar fashion propelling water through them. the development of these organs was origonaly a low energy solution to a selenum deficency, but it is now a high powered gill like aperatus that fuels a powerfull preditor. the Inferus is capable of limited swimming, but generaly prefers to crawl around between rocks and in crevases.
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slightly more pleasent perspective.
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here is a 360 animation of it, I still need to give it a proper skelital deformation so I can animate it right.
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Originally posted by Bobboau
Formido Inferus
ITS GONNA EET ME!!!1111 :eek:
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So that's what Vasudan fish look like :p
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Collosal Ammoerpes
The place at which the offspring of the Ammoerpes broke off of the main body became more specified over time, eventually settling on the inside of the body cavity, next to the selenium sensory gland inside the mouth. The infant Collosal Ammoerpes is born fully formed, and will crawl on it's own only minutes after birth.
the Collosal Ammoerpes' lips continued to elognate until they were able to manipulate objects. They could pick or even pull up plants with relative ease, which replaces microbe colonies as their primary food source. With this new abundance of food, the Collosal Ammoerpes could grow to up to 20 inches long. The tail was now strong enough to allow them to make small diagonal jumps of about three inches, which they could use to get at food that was just out of their reach.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/b5261fee.jpg)
A group of Collosal Ammoerpes. Two dine on a group of bulbous plants, while one gives birth.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/hlpgame07.jpg)
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The petra-cola has developed some new skills, as of late.
(http://img197.echo.cx/img197/332/blob3np.jpg)
(please don't crack jokes about the picture. I'm doing the best I can.)
Certain predators have begun to attack this organism, so now instead of simply letting the outer cells die due to radiation, the main body cells have specialized to the point where if they are attacked by radiation (signalling that they are at the outside of the body) they will consume as much germanium as they can, becoming very large and thick. They also assume a black color, which defends agianst radiation. So now it has a much thicker shell.
Also, some cilia normally used for transportation of food throughout the organism have migrated to the bottom of the above-ground section. When the column on the organism becomes too large, the upper section simply breaks off in addition to sending out spores. It then grows more cilia on the bottom and moves to a different location, which usually ends up being around two feet away. Due to the large pressures exerted by this action, the cells bonding the organism together have strengthened. A migration happens around once a month. This new mutation has caused two major changes. One: Colonies of this organism are now much larger, growing at a very fast rate. Two: The petra-cola will leave behind deep tunnels filled to the brim with energy-rich material.
The petra-cola still appears to be a small pile of dirt, due to the waste it continues to spit out. The shell of the petra-cola is too thick to be penetrated by all but the toughest of creatures, but the creature can be eaten if it is flipped over, exposing the soft underbelly.
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Originally posted by Liquid Fire
They also assume a black color, which defends agianst radiation.
White deflects radiation. that's why it looks white.
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white is also more like what you have pictured.
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White is the color of the waste it spits out. It basically oozes sand out the top and since its sides aren't steep, the sand just sits on top.
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Need more silicon creatures.
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see, the thing is that silicon only works for making complex life-forming molicules at 700 degrees or something like that. so we need a volcanic environment first.
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Uh... not exactly sure if I should post this, but I think it's a nice addition to the evolution game. All these nice creatures need a planet to live on :) I made it while waiting for kara to finish his own organism which I rendered.
Yes, I left water blue as most people seem to prefer the color :p
(http://img286.echo.cx/img286/8305/bobplanetv16uk.th.jpg) (http://img286.echo.cx/my.php?image=bobplanetv16uk.jpg)
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looks good. what'd you make it with?
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Photoshop + LightWave
EDIT: Oh, and I know that there are some stupid segmentation errors on the planet. I can do a new one, but first I'd like to hear if the color of the atmosphere, land and sea are as they should be. I tried to create a young planet but I'm not sure if I got it right :)
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I think It looks good the way it is, just turn up the polys.
-=THE EXPANDED UNIVERSE=-
The Collosal Ammoerpes have not forgotten their roots. They still enjoy the water, and can swim with their tail.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Carltheshivan/hlpgame08.jpg)
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you know I think those tails should be longer, they just don't look like they can do the job there suposed to be doing
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their tails are a little over half the length of their bodies, so they are proportionally longer than a human leg. a guy with one long leg could move around pretty well. and these things don't even stand upright on them, they just kinda slowly push themselves along.
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another mutation of the flagellated gyrorod has developed fimbriae along one of the rods in response to a lower-density environment. the fimbriated gyrorod thus has an extended surface area aiding its flotation in the low-density environment, as well as rendering its movement more energy efficient.
i'd do mspaint pictures if i could, but as i said i'm not using my own computer and i'd rather not save random stuff on other people's computers.
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There you go.
(http://img196.echo.cx/img196/6282/bobplanetv23ta.th.jpg) (http://img196.echo.cx/my.php?image=bobplanetv23ta.jpg)
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give the land a more red-purple color the shallow, water a diferent shade of red-purple, and the deeper water more of a yellow-orenge-brown.
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Here's a collaborative effort. Render by CannonFodder and description by me.
Webfilm
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/Misc-Pics/webfilm24ls.jpg)
An adaptation in the Filmoid has allowed it to cling onto the Stomachpod Drifter rather than simply staying rooted to the spot. This is a parasitical relationship as the Stomachpod gains nothing out of the relationship while the Filmoid is now mobile and thus able to feed more richly upon the nutrients it needs.
At this stage there is no intelligence evolved. Various mutations in the cement the Filmoid extrudes have produced a form that is good at sticking to stomachpods that happen to drift past.
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(http://img196.echo.cx/img196/6282/bobplanetv23ta.th.jpg)
Does the planet already have a name? If not, I suggest Mutalente. ("Moo-tah Len-tay", if I remember my pronunciation correctly for Latin.)
Relatively unimaginative, but it sounds good. ;)
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Firecrack said Rigel 4, but it think Bob gets to name it.
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(http://img286.echo.cx/img286/2593/bobplanetv31ds.th.jpg) (http://img286.echo.cx/my.php?image=bobplanetv31ds.jpg)
;)
Anyway, are the colors better? It isn't very pleasing to the human eye, but it's an alien planet :)
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the last one is fine. this one is too red.
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Rigel 4 is a designation, not a name.
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that last filmoid looks very cool.
i'm currently thinking about molecule chains. i'll come back later with more.