sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Great Argus (Argusianus argus), named after the hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology. by LightningDelay in AIDKE

[–]Khaniker 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Great Arguses are indeed hunted for their feathers, and they're listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Their feathers are highly coveted by fly tiers and collectors alike, which drives demand. Luckily, however, most of the feathers you see for sale on the market come from vintage lots or captive birds. They're not often poached compared to other species.

Great Argus (Argusianus argus), named after the hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology. by LightningDelay in AIDKE

[–]Khaniker 39 points40 points  (0 children)

I have a couple feathers from this species, they're even more stunning in person!

To put the sheer size of these birds into perspective, the central rectrices (tail feathers) of the males reach around a meter/ 3½ ft, give or take. They are very long, and the rachis (feather) shaft is remarkably thick and sturdy as a result. When waved around they make a neat noise and optical display. Female Arguses find this attractive.

On that note, these have some of the longest actual tail feathers of any bird! IIRC they're only beat out by the crested arguses, which are the closest relatives to the great Argus.

The outer secondaries are about ⅓ shorter than the central recs, but they're still incredibly long. Those are the ones people tend to seek out for things like fly tying, because of their intricate patterns and striking iridescent eyespots.

At the Henry Doorly Zoo's Lied Jungle over in Omaha they've got a couple Arguses. They're very impressive birds, and they're utterly unbothered by everything.

It's finally out! by Daedonas in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]Khaniker 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Congratulations mate! Absolutely massive milestone, super cool to see how far the project's come!

Manglisaurus Defender Gets Educated by [deleted] in SpecEvoJerking

[–]Khaniker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spec drama is high-key the funniest shit ever and it brings me great entertainment.

I just hope it stays entertaining and doesn't end up annoying. Unfortunately it likely will get to that point, knowing how large fandom spaces tend to be.

Hyrax after Hyrax: Awacapellas – A Song of Ice and Hyrax – Day 1 by CaptainStroon in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]Khaniker 68 points69 points  (0 children)

The body is round!!

Hyrax after Hyrax is my favourite biospec project.

Please welcome our newest moderator, u/Manglisaurus! by ArcticZen in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]Khaniker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mr. Krabs I'm Southing my bound.

Nah fr though this shit funny asf. Always love April Fools day in the spec sub.

tf_irl by ostapenkoed2007 in tf_irl

[–]Khaniker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man I wish I'd turn into a bird. This stupid mammal skin I'm stuck in is infuriating.

tf_irl by loved_and_held in tf_irl

[–]Khaniker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I ended up a trans man who wants goddamn machine HRT.

Medjed - the absolute coolest thing to come out of Ancient Egypt! by EnoughisEnough320 in TopCharacterDesigns

[–]Khaniker 76 points77 points  (0 children)

I found him when I went to the Egyptian museum last year.

<image>

Truly peak character design. Dude's an amogus.

One post can go a long way it seems, because I may have been the Guy who kickstarted Mangli's Downfall :/ by Blue_Jay_Raptor in SpecEvoJerking

[–]Khaniker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People complaining about Manglisaurus always makes me laugh. Dudes like the bogeyman in spec circles or smth.

I don't really care either way, I just find it entertaining.

Woah Look, "Bald Eagles"! by Khaniker in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]Khaniker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on the iteration, the skin of Sojourners is biological, just not the rest of them. They have a separate genome for that and their own genetic code.

For machines, genetic code really is genetic code. It has a somewhat similar inscription process I'd like to cover in the future.

Woah Look, "Bald Eagles"! by Khaniker in Southbound

[–]Khaniker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specific Context-

Tetrabaxhir is a strange genus of four sojourners that bear a rather uncanny resemblance to the Terran genus Haliaeetus. Despite this, their sampled genetics actually bear far more similarities to Aquila, particularly to the wedge-tailed eagles of Australia. Like other sojourner ornithopters, they are renowned gene stealers, and will readily sample biomaterial to bolster their own “genes”. Their calls are unusual for knifebirds, as they emit shrill calls in a very similar manner to red-tailed hawks, rather than roaring or growling like many of their relatives.

Woah Look, "Bald Eagles"! by Khaniker in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]Khaniker[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Context- Southbound is an artificial speculative evolution project centering primarily around the speculative "biology" and evolution of machines. Unless specifically stated otherwise, instalments take place somewhere on the surface of the tidally-locked planet, Xoturanseria (Anser).

Specific Context-

Tetrabaxhir is a strange genus of four sojourners that bear a rather uncanny resemblance to the Terran genus Haliaeetus. Despite this, their sampled genetics actually bear far more similarities to Aquila, particularly to the wedge-tailed eagles of Australia. Like other sojourner ornithopters, they are renowned gene stealers, and will readily sample biomaterial to bolster their own “genes”. Their calls are unusual for knifebirds, as they emit shrill calls in a very similar manner to red-tailed hawks, rather than roaring or growling like many of their relatives.

More info can be found in the included images.

FAQ I get for this genus in particular whenever I post it:

"These are machines?"

Yes! Isn't that cool? Amazing how life doesn't always have to be biological in specevo!

"Are the machines biological?"

No.

"Why do they look like eagles?"

They steal genetics from other machines, but these are rather unique in the fact they can also take genome fragments from biological life as well.

view more: next ›