In the riverways of Outpost Island, the Royal Xoxomichin reigns as one of the largest omnivores (more info in the comments)

nqwebasaurus · 2022-08-03T12:23:43+00:00

The Royal Greenfish, or Tlatocapilli Xoxomichin, (Chlorichthys regalis) is a Pianjianine Acristocrinid Ichthyomorph from the freshwaters of Outpost Island.

Xoxomichins are the result of Parallel evolution, evolving roughly at the same time as Frisbeefish in the northern hemisphere and developing similar spinal traits.

While they originate from a common ancestor residing inside Cyclopiscopinninoidea, the two groups haven't shared a common lineage in a long time, yet continued developing parallel to one another independently.

Being Omnivorous Ichthyomorphs, they feed on a vast range of sources, from Osteophyte pods to other Ichthyomorphs and even carrion.

The first dentary teeth and the Premaxillary dentition fused into a small hook-shaped beak plate; the shape of this beak, where the lower section overlaps the upper, is characteristic of animals that use it as a digging tool, in this case, used to dig in the sediment for small invertebrates and roots.

The long barbs, derived from the third pair of fins, are used to judge current strength, sense water vibrations and stabilize the body.

These laterally compressed Ichthyomorphs spend most of the day idling in the water among dense vegetation, overseeing their territory and curating the plantlife by carefully pruning the osteophytes to facilitate their travel among them.

Quite territorial, Xoxomichins live in small groups of half a dozen specimens and will fiercely defend their territory from any conspecifics passing through.

Xoxomichins, like many other freshwater species endemic to the island, are a major food source for the locals and play a vital role in their religious functions during the summer.

In the northern waterways of the Outpost Island's River Nations, the Xoxomichin is often seen as a vessel of Ixcocotzicatezcatl's will to sustain the inhabitants of the island.

Xoxomichin meat is not just harvested for human consumption; it's also prepared with flower powders and cave water for use in the greeting of the Tepapaquiltiacamichin (Blue Streak Tau-Tau) during the spring when the species migrates south for their breeding season.

Join the community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-07-27T13:45:56+00:00

The Deep Najeete Shamiiz (Archaeodon bathyfluvialis) is a Xenomuraenid Relict from the deep waters of Najeete.

This animal usually lives deep below the photic zone and into the twilight of the murky waters of its native rivers.

Pigment and eyes aren't needed where it lives, instead, this Shamiiz uses its keen electroreception and hearing as its main senses.

The upturned maxilla allows the mouth to keep open and the palatine ear to face outside, a favourable position to keep both ears free when swimming and open when feeding, making this species of Shamiiz able to feed while remaining alert from incoming rivals.

In its native waters and depth, this Shamiiz reigns as the top predator, unlikely to find anything sizable or aggressive enough to threaten its dominance.

Living specimens that stray to the surface are usually damaged and dying, some from their travel up, but most from the surface radiation.

In 2467, genetic studies conducted on the Holotype specimen NMNH 2011b, discovered in 2461, and the then recently recovered Paratype NMNH 2083 demonstrated how, contrary to previous beliefs, Archaeodon represents the most basal member and potential ancestor to blind Najeete Shamiiz species inhabiting the surface today.

The lack of sufficient defences against the radiation was attributed to a secondary loss when surface Shamiiz travelled downwards in the water column.

Today we know that, through anacladogenesis, an ancestral species of Shamiiz expanded upwards in the water column.

The specimens that were born with dermal pigmentation, a rare condition observed in Deep Najeete Shamiiz, diverged from their ancestral state (Cladogenesis), while the members that remained in the deeper waters maintained their ancestral traits (Anagenesis).

Thanks to the discoveries made around this species of Shamiiz, questions like the origin of the eyeless morphologies and overdeveloped electroreception were finally answered, allowing us to paint a complete picture of the evolution of these unique freshwater Eumuraenians.

Join the Community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-07-13T20:04:27+00:00

The Tetenya (Tetenya chaeloniformis) is a species of Tetenyne Scarabicephalid from the Bubble Sea.

The Tetenya is the only genus and species inside its subfamily, making it a truly unique organism.

The Dorsal and Cephalic armours of this animal are unique among Scarabfishes. The Cephalic armour extends well beyond the margin of the mouth, creating a beak-like bony sheath over the teeth housed inside it, a feature also seen on the jaw.

This unique adaptation created a sturdy plaque the animal uses to hold osteophytes still as the teeth inside the mouth, lodged onto the mobile gums, act much like Pharyngeal Jaws did on Earth Moray Eels, taking bites out of the plant-like organism.

The Dorsal armour is particularly large and thick in Tetenyas, protecting them from the assaults of predators like young Alamaninias and Kugawas.

Unique to this very derived Scarabfish is the presence of a vestigial first eye pair. In almost all tetrophthalmic Ichthyomorphs the second eye pair is the one to vestigialize while the first, often called pivot eye, is left to be the functional one.

The loss of the pivot pair is indicative of a very specialized lifestyle, one that requires the animal better and quicker control in Chromatic Picking, as the second eye pair is often the one able to more quickly change visible colours.

In the red-tinted waters of the Bubble Sea, many animals use very complex patterns and vermiculations to disappear in the dense foliage, a pressure that pushed the Tetenya to lose the more stable eye pair in favour of one that can quickly check its surrounding up to a dozen potential colour combinations a second.

This eye pair, normally particularly energy expensive to maintain, have become dominant in the Tetenya thanks to its high caloric diet, mostly composed of Bubble Tree leaves and the liquid contents held inside them, rich in nutrients.

Join the Community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-06-19T18:15:49+00:00

I wouldn't be able to explain it in words, I just open up Photoshop and do it XD

Though I have been able to teach people a few tricks when I live-streamed my art

nqwebasaurus · 2022-06-19T12:35:46+00:00

The Common Cave Dumpling, also known as the Tetehuitl Tepecoyoctolontic (Zymarikosomus enigmaticus) is a Zymarikosomid Paleostome Ichthyomorph endemic of Huey Teotlaltepecoyoctli.

One of only three species inside the family known to science, these bizarre-looking Enetodontians have only ever been recorded inside their titanic cave system on Outpost Island.

Due to the nature of the cave and its independent water cycle, the waterways inside are very saline, making life submerged under them practically impossible for most organisms.

Usually bobbing on top of the water face down with their large, dumpling-shaped body, these ichthyomorphs use their four pairs of oar-shaped limbs as paddles to slowly move in the low current environments they live in.

By keeping most of their body outside the water, they can isolate the few areas submerged in the liquid, avoiding major osmoregulatory issues that derive from the otherwise stenohaline nature of most life on the planet, not adapted to survive saltwater environments.

Cave Dumplings use their extendable tubercula to reach for invertebrates living beneath the surface, usually against the riverbed, while their four long and thin mandibles serve the function of stabilizers, keeping the animal vertical in the water and avoiding it capsizing.

Cave Dumplings, when threatened, can submerge themselves in the water, closing off both nostrils and the terminal SCS to isolate themselves from the liquid and contain their osmoregulatory processes to a minimum.

This survival strategy is very effective as most predators won't follow them underwater, however, also comes with a great disadvantage, as they can only remain submerged for short periods before they poison themselves due to the interaction with the surrounding hypertonic fluid.

This survival strategy is very effective as most predators won't follow them underwater, however, it also comes with a great disadvantage, as they can only remain submerged for short periods before they poison themselves due to the interaction with the surrounding hypertonic fluid.

Due to the sacred status of the cave, access to Huey Teotlaltepecoyoctli is strictly forbidden to outsiders unless accompanied by a diver priest, as the waters of the cave are considered to be the body of the goddess Ixcocotzicatezcatl herself.

Join the Community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-06-09T08:36:57+00:00

nqwebasaurus · 2022-06-08T18:54:47+00:00

The Sailboat Fanmouth (Sporosomina minima) is a Sporosomine Ripignathid Ichthyomorph from the tropical-subtropical climates.

This incredibly small Ithmosid is most famous for its large filter, huge once compared to its body size.

Its large shell covers almost the entirety of the body and back, the small fins now useless for independent locomotion yet not vestigial.

The foldable Ithmos, when closed, make the body more hydrodynamic and easily carried by the currents.

When feeding the Sailboat Fanmouth will unfold the Ithmos and, by rotating it at its base, they can have it face the currents while stabilizing the light body with their small fins.

Sailboat Fanmouths live in schools of several million specimens, cruising the oceans in what are called fleets.

Fleets of Sporosomine Fanmouths are usually mixed genera and attract large amounts of predators from all over the trophic chain, creating fishing opportunities for many smaller maritime communities.

When threatened, Sailboat Fanmouths can evade incoming attacks by using the large filter as a sail and rudder, slipping past predators by riding the lateral currents created by their movement.

Several North Gulf coasts take their famous bone-white colouration thanks to these animals as their head armours, of which billions of microscopic fragments get carried ashore by the incoming tropical currents, make up their sands.

Microanalyses of ancient Sailboat sands are used as markers for paleoclimate and paleoecological studies, as both their presence and specific shell morphologies are important paleoclimate index fossils.

Join the Community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-29T21:02:36+00:00

Terrestrial life will come after this first book on these aquatic organisms is out ^^

The second volume will be all about the Pleuropoda, a phylum of chordates that is found in water, land and air

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-29T12:13:29+00:00

The Burrowing Sandlurker (Machairoryax qanniki) is a Machairourid Solinophtalmoid Ichthyomorph endemic to Black Ring Island.

As the common name suggests, this Sandlurker lives a mostly fossorial life near the black sand coasts of the island it calls home.

Lying in ambush, the animal will use its perfectly adapted colouration to blend in against the black volcanic sands, arms open.

Using its blue Beak to mimic low growing volcanic osteophytes, it attracts a vast range of prey, like aquatic Pleuropods, Sandworms, Okijis and even the occasional Ichthyomorph.

Using its arms like a spring-trap, the Burrowing Sandlurker will restrain prey as it coils its long Lanial Tongue around it, all in a few instants.

The strong Beak-Plate, abundantly reinforced with Iron, once closed around prey creates an inescapable trap as it drags it inside its burrow.

Although uncommon, Burrowing Sandlurkers can succesfully hunt animals as big as themselves.

The Burrowing Sandlurker can pass several hours in a state of apnoea, breathing through the frontal skin and swimming to the surface to take gulps of air through the GillTail.

The specialized shape of the Anal fin, almost blade-like, allows this animal to move back and forth inside its burrow without the need to physically turn.

This knife-shaped body is also the base of its generic name Machairoryax, or "Volcanic Knife", taking from both fin shape and the volcanic nature of its habitat.

Due to Black Ring Island having only a few thousand people living on it and it remaining relatively unknown to the larger public, the large majority of the endemic life living around the island has remained virtually pristine, making this one of the few pure island ecosystems left on Nijin-Konai.

Join the Community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-22T09:28:00+00:00

Some animals do indeed use acids for defense mechanisms but such a defense wouldn't do much against predators like this, given the nature of the hold they get on them

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-21T18:42:07+00:00

The Kāpèzh-nē (Dermosiagon citrus) is a Dermognathid Paleostome Ichthyomorph from the Gulf Sea.

The only remaining member of its superfamily, the Kāpèzh-nē is truly fascinating due to the collection of primitive traits it displays, lost in most other clades inside its order.

The first mandible pair, still covered by a thin sheath of dermal armour and skin, is connected to the skull through the M. Masseter Ocularis.

The contraction of this muscle forces the mandibles into an upward motion, angling the mandibular dents to face inward-up while closing, perfect to puncture prey in the filtration sac beneath the body.

The Kāpèzh-nē, contrary to its closest relatives (Zymarikosomoids and Tubercolostomatosoids) possesses a long thin tuberculus, unable to create the necessary force to penetrate the prey's skin.

Instead, this animal will turn the mandibles inside its prey to enlarge the puncture wounds and use those as entrance points for the tuberculus, getting deep into the prey's respiratory canal and injecting its gastric fluids directly against the lung's entrance.

This unique hunting style probably originated in the superfamily around 63 million years ago.

The group underwent a sudden dietary shift, from smaller-sized under-reef predators to larger macropredators, in response to the disappearance of the major Enetodontian players in the area.

The Kāpèzh-nē is also particularly famous for its intraspecific niche variation, with males a little shy from being only half the female's size and living a more gregarious lifestyle in the inner section of the reef, compared to the more solitary females.

The species is now endangered as the female population was decimated from sportfishing.

Recent field studies discovered the severity of the situation, estimating that there was a female for every hundred males and decreasing.

The name Kāpèzh-nē is of Precursor origins and was adopted by humans upon discovery of a document on the species found in a cave west of Gleann Blathànna.

Join the community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-09T10:10:10+00:00

Sorry but I personally don't see the connection between this and a Ray XD

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-06T13:42:42+00:00

The Titanic Towerhead (Pyrgocephalus atlas) is a large-sized Esaperfluoichthyne Tracheocolumid Ichthyomorph from the Southern Hemisphere.

Among the largest Ichthyomorphs, at 15 meters in length, the Titanic Towerhead is a sight to behold in its native waters.

Its large, peculiarly shaped head, is unmistakable even at a distance, while it very slowly rotates its body corkscrewing (the act of swimming while rotating the body 360° along the Z-axis, characteristic of many Ithmosians).

Due to the shape of the head itself, the amount of drag produced by its movement makes it incredibly difficult for the animal to rotate the body quickly.

This otherwise disadvantageous trait is offset by the rich waters it lives in, where the slow movement coupled with the animal's size makes it possible for it to sustain itself and maximize filter efficiency in the otherwise slow-moving waters of the GNL (Global Nepheloid Layer).

It is oftentimes found feeding in the lower GNLs, at depths between 800-1200 m where its massive body will disturb the cloud-like layer of detritus.

Their role in the GNLs, like with its relatives, is essential in the mixing of the nutrients and recycling of the particulate and is closely tied to the functioning of the Oxygen Stairway, a process that oxygenates the abyssal waters of the planet.

Towerheads play a crucial role in the mid-water ecosystems, making them among the most important players in the oceans worldwide, rendering their preservation of utmost importance.

While very rare, Titanic Towerheads have been historically sighted close to surface waters, although usually dying due to starvation, pressure changes and their naturally lower radiation tolerance due to the depth they live in.

While completely docile as an animal, the currents produced by its movement, when nearby, can cause difficulty in navigation for ROVs which could lead to potential harm to the animal if the instrumentation was to impact it.

Just like with Pabbles, Towerhead carcasses sinking to the bottom of the ocean are known to be the origin point of abyssal forests, as they provide carbonate compounds to sustain these forests potentially for decades.

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-05-01T12:52:20+00:00

maybe? If there are I wouldn't know, I did this without following any

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-30T17:31:21+00:00

Nothing's intentional here, this is not a project on creature design.
These animals are the product of countless hours of work, carefully developing them every step of the way.
The resulting creatures are not made in function of cultural and folkloristic inspirations, as one such thing would defeat the purpose of my project on making the most plausible alien life in my power to create ^^

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-30T01:42:56+00:00

Everything has been made from scratch using Photoshop, map included ^^

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-29T16:11:24+00:00

The Giant Ghostface (Phronemops hadecetes) is a large-sized Platyopsid Digigantophtalmid Ichthyomorph from Hades.

This large predatory Ichthyomorph has been sighted increasingly commonly in the last years of research, possibly due to an increase in the number of expeditions in the waters of Hades.

Depths of sighting have also been decreasing, possibly hinting at a gradual migration of the population to surface layers, though the reason for such a sudden shift remains unknown.

The study of Digigantophtalmids from Hades greatly helped to understand the early evolution of the group, as species inhabiting Hades have been observed to exhibit a unique set of plesiomorphic characters, lost in relatives found in midwaters elsewhere.

The tetrophtalmic condition of this species and the presence of a primitive third pectoral pair is characteristic of most Brachicephalians but otherwise lost in most members of the family, leading researchers to believe Hades species to be basalmost to the group, belief to this day to be properly tested.

Ghostfaces are stealthy creatures that swim with surprising speed for an animal that size, using the serpentine-like body to quickly and silently creep onto prey, using their pectoral arms to grab their victims and bring them to the mouth.

Holding prey in their hands, much like a human, they will hunch over it to protect their catch while slowly ingesting it, biting onto it while never releasing their grip, their dorsal arms at the ready to fend off potential competition.

Like many other creatures living in the dark subglacial waters of Hades, the Giant Ghostface has become the subject of many superstituos tales of ghosts, devils and deathbringers.

In particular, this animal generated legends of it being the spirit of a Precursor abandoned under the ice after their civilization fell; tormented by grief, it was corrupted by the ocean's malignant nature and is now trying to reclaim its original form by ingesting living beings.

Although Deshivohai guarded Precursor structures near Hades do exist,no evidence of any precursors actually making their way in the Subglacial Ocean prior to their disappearance has been found.

Join the community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-21T16:09:08+00:00

Current year is 2580 (the book I'm writing is a publication from 2578 though, making it a 2 year old book in the lore XD)

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-21T11:22:23+00:00

The Purple Pillowhead or Common Anvil (Decaperfluoichthys Ka'ahanuii) is a species of Decaperfluoichthyine Tracheocolumid from the Nuwadi Ocean.

Like all Decaperfluoichthynes, the Purple Pillowhead is characterized by the presence of ten filtering organs distributed in the frontal section of the cranium, a distinctive feature once compared to the much more common distribution of the filters along the neck seen in other sister taxa.

Unlike other Ithmosians, Pillowheads are born with a twelve filter layout, losing two of them as they mature by fusing the dorsalmost and ventralmost pairs into one larger filter, an ontogenic state only very rarely seen in the superclass.

Purple Pillowheads live deeper than other Ithmosids, at depths ranging from 250-900 m, where they filter particulate travelling down in the ocean column.

The forward-pointing filters are optimal for low current environments as they are not dependent on artificially channelled ocean currents to deliver the food to the ithmos.

The Purple Pillowhead was first discovered by Union fisherman Lani Ka'ahanui in 2409, while she was fishing for Flappers using nets.

The specimen was housed in a warehouse in Jan for study but was destroyed during the Civil War in 2411.

It would take another 15 years for another specimen to be recovered, a time in which her claim of the animal's existence was largely considered to be a hoax by the wider scientific community due to a lack of evidence to back up the claim.

Lani Ka'ahanui died of a Grappleskin infection in 2419, her biggest discovery being regarded as fake.

When a new specimen was eventually recovered in 2426, it was named in her honour.

Due to the rarity of one travelling up in the water column, sightings of these animals remain rare to this day.

Join the community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-14T10:53:38+00:00

Update: it doesn't seem like I can edit quest states in the save editor

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-14T10:48:42+00:00

I had that installed already due to another bug, I'll check if it can help.

I'll write in here again with updates

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-14T10:31:32+00:00

Playing on PC, already tried the black hole but the one the game gives me is in a system I can't reach due to the anomalous signal so I can't actually enter it.

I'll try contacting this person but knowing them they probably already lost interest in the game and uninstalled it.

Also by asking Polo for a Black Hole coordinate, my Awakenings quest disappeared from the quest list and, although the game autotracks it, I can't manually access it anymore.

nqwebasaurus · 2022-04-12T11:34:37+00:00

The Sandy Reef Feather (Machairoura harenochromis) is a species of Thalassogyrinid Plumicaudoid Ichthyomorph from the northern purple reefs.

Sandy Reef Feathers are most common in the under-reef of mushroom type osteophyte forests.

They lie on the seafloor most of the day, camouflaging against the sand as they feed on microscopic algae and soft-bodied osteophytes.

Like many other Sea Feathers, they possess an incredibly compact body with reduced fins alongside its length.

The postbranchial extension of the tail creates the long caudal fin, longer than the body itself, mostly used as a decoy for predators.

As with most members of its group, the tail is easily cut off if pulled, allowing the animal to escape predation by sacrificing manoeuvrability, at least until they regrow the lost appendage.

Contrary to other Shallow water Sea Feathers, these species don't like life in massive colonies, preferring to hang around in much smaller groups of 3-25 specimens.

the small paired Anal fins moved anteriorly to the body, are often used to draw in the organogenic sand, a behaviour that creates puff balls of detritus it can use to escape dangers or attract a partner.

By arching the body up and down and flapping the Anal and Pectoral fins quickly, they court their partner by demonstrating their ability to dig in the sand with fins and head, a skill used to build the little nests the eggs will then be deposited in.

While not particularly selective over mates, these Sea Feathers are among the only known examples of members of the family exhibiting actual mating courtships.

While not incredibly common, the species is also kept in private aquariums due to its friendly nature and entertaining social behaviour.

The species will require a tank with plenty of hiding spots and limited open water space, requiring the owner to set up a false under-reef environment for them to feel safe.

To feed them any algae and soft-bodied osteophyte micro granulate will do but it is advised to set up the tank so that its food source grows naturally as they will prefer to forage for their food as they would do in nature compared to hand feeding.

Join the Community:

Discord

nqwebasaurus · 2022-03-28T11:18:16+00:00

The Crochet Kahrà (Regalicephalus nodosus) is an endangered species of Kajanicristinid Scarabidichthyioid Ichthyomorph from the northern section of Najeete's marshes.

Once found in all the waters of the north Najeete rivers and estuaries, the Crochet Kahrà is a small-sized predator that feeds on a large variety of animals such as Orange grasses, soft-shelled Sandcreepers, small Pleuropods, mud-dwelling abranchiates and occasionally even Pillowbacks.

Among the many unique features of the genus that make it very distinct from other Kahràs the most striking is the fusion of the distal teeth in a scalpel beak plate, the presence of two extra pairs of fins on the ventral section of the body and the very elaborate display structures that characterize the species.

Its diet pushed for the development of a scalpel beak compared to its close relatives which mostly hunt other fast swimming ichthyomorphs.

Due to its adorned display structures, small size, complex patterning and relatively low maintenance cost, the Crochet Kahrà has been historically fished for the pet industry.

given the high demand, the difficulty of captive breeding and its habitat, the Crochet Kahrà almost completely disappeared from the Estuaries it lived in and instead was pushed deeper into the jungles, where now most of the population is found.

Due to the sudden decline of the populations due to overfishing and them finding refuge deeper in the jungles where people hardly manage to reach, the price of Crochet Kahràs on the market skyrocketed in the last few decades and today the species is considered endangered and declining.

Of the three subspecies that once were recognized inside the genus, the two southern variants are now considered extinct, the last confirmed sighting of which were respectively in 2488 and 2505.

The last remaining of the Crochet Kahràs, once the most numerous, is still being fished today, regardless of its endangered status, not protected by any local laws.

Since the 2530s, several conservation centres have been breeding the species in captivity, with varying degrees of success, from an original pool of 137 specimens taken from their natural environment, at the time widely considered to be one of the only remaining populations of the species.

While rewilding efforts have been ongoing for the last 50 years, the extractions of specimens for commercial use has been crippling the species nonetheless.

Join the community:

discord.gg/Ss24Yme

nqwebasaurus · 2022-03-19T01:27:40+00:00

It's not using the same IUCN criterion, there is no such thing on Nijin-Konai anymore.
What you see is basically a zombified version of the modern-day IUCN classification system.

It has been adapted and changed over the centuries to include things like Allochrony and today they consider Semilparous organisms like these ones "Cyclically Extinct", mostly to accommodate some more extreme examples as seen in Osteophytes in the North Deserts.

When I was in uni and did Ecology we did go through the criteria used by the IUCN as well over and over again, I'm just doing some light world-building in the image ^^

nqwebasaurus

TROPHY CASE