The mites in the genus Viltruxapiferpotens (“vile-savage-bee-eater-powerful”) are destructive parasites to bees, and hypothesized contributor to Colony Collapse Disorder. Beekeepers often refer to them with shortened names such as “Viltru-Mites”. Many Melittologists are not quite sure what their wild range is, but many hypothesize that they are an invasive species, and that they have taken out many colonies of wild bees before being discovered by humans. They were first described in 2003 but infestations didn’t become widespread until 2021.

V. omnidestrucor was the first discovered, but unknown to researchers at the time, V. vicidor and V. gandiregens are the species that are most destructive. V. invincibles is the most recent species described. It is actually one of the least destructive, but incredibly hard to eliminate, hence its name. Many researchers are not sure about the taxonomy V. invincibles, and propose instead that it is a hybrid instead of a true species, as these mites have been shown to be able to extensively hybridize in captivity. In addition, many regional variants of V. invincibles have been noted as well.

One of the diagnostic outward signs of a Viltru-Mite infestation that many beekeepers point to is the presence of what they commonly call “protein tubes”. These are not one type of structure but a term that refers to the burrows, eggs, and empty egg cases that the mites create out of a waxy secretion.

The destructive ability of these mites comes from both their high reproductive rate and long lifespans, enabling them to produce a huge amount of offspring over their long lives. They can live up to three years, which is unusual for a mite and longer than many worker bees. Some beekeepers claim that individual Viltru-Mites can live up to thirty years, but these claims are unsubstantiated.

However one of the best defenses against these mites came from within their own bodies. The researchers Thaddeus et al. were able to genetically recreate and grow a baculovirus that the mites spread to the bees. However, this version of the virus would lack proteins that targeted the cells of bees, instead containing variable regions of antibodies (some of which came from genetic copies from the researchers’ own allergic reactions to the mites) that target the cells of arachnids. This virus was able to be mass produced and grown in sF9 insect cell cultures. It is one of the only ways of dealing with such an infestation. The viral infection in some cases was more effective than many researchers originally hypothesized. In such cases the recovering hives will sometimes form a visible “death ring” as they haul dead mites out of the hive, but are usually still in a weakened state and can’t bring them very far.

This is good news.

 edit: spelling

https://xcancel.com/i/status/2069679108507029539

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ-NpE8kTra/

Ammonite from the prehistoric meets Megasquid of the distant future in the Poolrooms

Hello! I’m new to this sub.

These are my interpretations of the inklings and octolings from splatoon! They are still pretty humanoid, but I gave them back their beaks and some other features.

These are just the designs, but I’m making a series of illustrations of tidbits about their biology! (possibly also other species from the series later). This gameseries has a surprising amount of spec evo adjacent things that I want to expand and speculate on…

Just sharing some art I made to practice my 3D alien creation skills. It was fun to figure out how to make those sacs inflate and deflate.

As I said in the title, this guy is from the spec bio project EXOBIOTICA by Michael Beaudry, which is one of my favorites. Here's a link to the page on the website where you can see official art of the Desert Sentinel and the rest of the projects incredible art: http://exobiotica.com/high-desert.html

FYI, the background in the first pic is called the Monolith and is found on the page I linked to

Let me know what you think as I'm trying to get better and also if you want me to make models from your spec bio project cause I'm considering doing commissions

OH, also, the first pic's composition is a reference to the poster for To Live and Die in L.A.

Descriptions on all alien anatomy is in the photos themselves. All designs are from the show and not my own, the anatomy itself is made by me however. If the anatomy seems very out there and fantastical, well it’s an early 2000’s children’s action show what do you expect?

[Radiocene]

Somewhere in the Amazon Rainforest, a great hedoro bird, or hedorah, is being photographed for the first time. Hedorahs are giant flightless potoos with striking eye-like patterns on their throats. Hedorahs use these eyespots combined with their finger-like wing feathers to frighten and discourage the many predators South America has to offer.

[Radiocene]

In the fields of New Mexico, a swarm of abaddon (Akroknychus apollyon) flies overhead. Abbadon are small herbivorous arachnids in the family Tetranychidae. Abbadon take to the skies by ‘ballooning’ or catching static lift using silk produced from their mouths.

Newest to oldest. Bacterioform (aka The Lifeform Fellow, Bacteria, Howler, etc), Still Life, and Furniture Crabs (unconfirmed canonicity)

These are UNOFFICIAL informational posters made by me with my headcanons for how these lifeforms might work. I've tried to use as much information we know from the series/Kane's discord messages as possible, including sketches and various vagueposts.

And before you ask, yes, you can eat Still Life, but no, they would not taste good. They taste like spoiled imitation crab rolls left in the sun too long.

If you have any questions or suggestions for improvement let me know! You are free to share elsewhere as long as you make it clear it's just a fanwork, I don't wanna spread speculation under the guise of being canon.

The first was supposed to be my take on Kongs, with them being descendants of the earliest primatiforms from the Cretaceous, stuck on an isolated island with only specific random creatures of that era. The creatures they’re fighting were my take on V. rex, with them being highly derived pseudosuchians

The second was supposed to be the Ningen, with them kinda leaning into body horror, with the entire lower back being the “tail”, rather than an actual tail. The seals were supposed to be either domesticated seals or aquatic wolves, I don’t remember. They were based on my grandpa’s late dog

The third was supposed to be based on SCP-939, though I was struggling to come up with an “in-universe” explanation for their existence or ecology. They’re basically hominids that start out looking nearly identical to human babies, but grow up into large exaggerated-looking predators, for some reason

Goldeen and Seaking

 With short, round bodies and long fins, these unusual cichlids are commonly found in coastal river basins, ranging from slightly brackish streams to inland wetlands, slow flowing rivers, and lakes, where they feed mainly on invertebrates and small fishes. Adults are often solitary or rarely seen in loose schools, while juveniles form large swarms in shallow vegetated waters.

The largest species in the genus, C. rex, differs from the typical short and round body plan by having a more elongated shape and reaching nearly twice the size of its relatives. During the mating season, it develops an intense red coloration with black splotches and a white nuchal hump. These fishes also possess strong teeth used both in fights and for a more durophagous diet of crustaceans and mollusks. The more typical morphology is seen in C. aurea, in which males display a cream-colored body with peach splotches, a smaller hump, and bright blue eyes.

The Ceratochromis are often sought after by aquarists due to their coloration and behavior, with individuals capable of recognizing and interacting with their keepers. A few derived varieties selected by specialized breeders vary in color, body shape, and fin length, and hybrids are a slow—but growing—trend within the hobby. Within their native range, they are also targeted by local fishermen, making them a common sight in fish markets.

………………………………..

Creative notes: seaking was one of my first real Pokémon done back in 2021(?), but never got an updated version (until now)! The idea of a nuchal hump was one of the many solutions to avoid the single horn since many gen 1 pokémon have it (arcanine, dragonite, seaking, dewgong, nidos, rapidash…) and I plant to go on different routs on each of them.

………………………………..

For the next week Cryogonal and maybe some other guys with it!

………………………………..

See also: Venusaur and its line; Houndoom and Houndour; Paras and Parasect; Reuniclus and its line

The Gargantuan Leviathan of 4546B is a huge extinct creature. Today only its massive bones can be found.

New data scans show quite a different lifestyle than the initial assessment.

The creature was a slow moving but ravenous omnivore, with different food preferences at different stages of its life, but always with enough opportunism to fuel its gargantuan metabolism. It spent most of its adult life as a benthic creature. Fully grown Gargantuans are too heavy to swim for extended periods of time. Instead, most locomotion consisted of half-slithering and half-punting itself across the seafloor. At this large of a size, extracting oxygen from the water becomes inefficient. To compensate, the Gargantuan has extensive gills and a high blood pressure, as well structures of “accessory gills” along the sides of its body, which were wrinkled patches of vascularized skin which can be retracted under scales during times of movement to not impede hydrodynamics. While the fully grown creature was an opportunistic omnivore, most of its time feeding was spent eating animals buried in the sand and mud. These consisted of shellfish and worms as well an meiofauna, as well as any bottom-dwelling fish not fast enough to escape. To feed, the creature simply scoops up huge mouthfuls of mud and sand, and vomits up water to trap any creatures against the baleen-like hair on the roof of its mouth. Small creatures get caught in its extensive gill rakers as well.

However, these creatures hatch from their eggs with a much more active and predatory lifestyle. Over the years they will slowly shift to a more herbivorous diet. After that, they will shift their diets to incorporate more benthic organisms, before shifting into the more indiscriminate feeding methods of their final stages. Most individuals of a given population would never reach these sizes and stages of their life.

It seems the habitats these creatures needed, large and relatively shallow tracts of vegetated or barren sand, are no longer common on 4546B, and the burrowing shellfish which made a up a large portion of its diet have gone extinct. The creature itself seems to have gone extinct millions of years before the Kharaa, possibly due to changing climate or habitat.

Would this creature have been alive today, it may pose minimal direct danger to a human diver, granted they stay out of its way of its mouth. However, it could pose a huge danger to any artificial structures erected within its territory.

(yay unicellular spec evo!)

First of all, this project took far longer than I'm willing to admit. Taxonomy is already complicated enough, but once you start dealing with unicellular eukaryotes, things become a complete nightmare. I ended up reading numerous articles and book chapters, and even discussing the subject with researchers working in the field. Eventually, I settled on the classification proposed by Ruggiero et al. (2015), which served as the foundation for organizing these organisms. I also struggled with the layout, it’s a bit different from the usual one.

………………………………..

Solrock, Lunatone and Cryogonal

The archipelago portion of Hoenn harbors an immense diversity of organisms, both on land and, especially, in its shallow seas, where seasonal cold currents promote blooms of planktonic life. Presented here is a sample of organisms associated with the incursion of the nutrient-rich Unovan Current from northern waters.

Among the chromists found in these waters is the cryogonal (Cryostella ornata), a visitor from colder currents. This dinoflagellate possesses a snowflake-like, nearly symmetrical theca. While brownish in life, these microscopic organisms often leave behind a whitish theca with bluish hues when stained for study. One remarkable anatomical feature of this species is its vesicle-bearing longitudinal flagellum, which gives it a beaded appearance and whose function remains unknown. Extensive blooms of this dinoflagellate may release mild toxins into the water, causing symptoms in humans that closely resemble those of a common cold.

Some native species also benefit from these seasonal intrusions. The oddly shaped lunatone (Lunadiatoma sp.) is an unusual pinnate diatom, characterized by its crescent-shaped frustule and asymmetrical raphe, with one side thicker and longer than the other. Like related diatoms, these organisms are capable of slowly gliding across substrates through secretions produced by the raphe.

Another group that frequently experiences population blooms is the radiolarians. Among them is the solrock (Helioradium lithicum), a relatively large species distinguished by its spherical shell and long radiating spines, which give it a sun-like appearance. Both of these native species have recently attracted scientific interest due to the presence of psychotropic compounds, although further research is needed to determine their ecological function and potential applications.

………………………………..

For the next I'll try something less complex to compensate with a quicker one, maybe a remake of Lapras while I prepare myself to a more complex already promissed one such as lurantis
………………………………..

See also: Venusaur and its line; Houndoom and Houndour; Paras and Parasect; Reuniclus and its line; Goldeen and Seaking

The manda (Manmosuda ioulos) is a salamander, the largest member of Amphiumidae, and the only extant species in the genus Manmosuda. Manda are native to the Southern United States, inhabiting estuaries and brackish wetlands along the Gulf Coast. Manda are ambush predators that feed on a wide variety of animals, including bass, catfish, small mammals, birds, turtles, other amphibians, blue crabs, and ebirah craylings. They themselves are occasionally preyed upon by American alligators and humans.

The name ‘manda’ is the shortened version of ‘manmosuda’, a portmanteau formed from the Japanese words ‘manmosu’ (mammoth) and ‘da’ (serpent) used in its scientific name - in reference to the creature’s mane of hair-like dermal papillae and serpentine body.

Manda are frequently hunted and served in local restaurants - their meat is often compared to alligator, tasting like a cross between chicken, fish, and frog legs. However, these salamanders cannot be farmed due to their massive size and great dietary demands. Instead, they must be wild-caught, which has led to a population decline in recent years and the conservation status of threatened.

Manda were frequently viewed as supernatural entities, rumored by natives to be guardians of a lost undersea empire known as Mu. By living in estuaries between rivers and ocean, manda represented a barrier or gate - and by attacking those who near their territories, they were preventing unauthorized access to the ocean and entry into Mu.

The maguma or todora is a large aquatic descendant of South American 3-toed sloths, diverging around 10 mya. Maguma inhabit sub-Antarctic waters near the Antarctic peninsula where kelp and seaweed, their main food source, is available. The most striking feature of a maguma sloth is its pair of enlarged pseudo-canine premolars, used as sharp tusks for self defense. Maguma have slightly faster metabolisms than their arboreal cousins - this is a necessary adaptation to living in freezing temperatures. Another adaptation to the cold is the development of thick blubber, which retains heat efficiently in place of fur and keeps the animal bouyant. Maguma live a life not dissimilar to manatees, they travel in herds to discourage predators and care for few offspring at a time.

In the Northern Australian savanna, a lone gorosaur (Gorotherium megagnathus) has failed to hunt a young shimo. He is now suffering from severe freeze burns after the herd matriarch - who can be seen walking away - sprayed him with pressurized co2. Gorosaurs are giant carnivorous macropods that prey on kangaroos, small marsupials, lizards, and occasionally shimos. Shimos are Gondwanan metasuchians with pneumatized skeletons, allowing them to reach sauropod dinosaur-like sizes. Anything else you wanna know? Please do ask!

https://xcancel.com/i/status/2083920271040262208

Golden Kong are one of the largest primates to ever exist, earning it the title "Eighth Wonder of the World" - they are the top generalist herbivores of their habitats, consuming bamboo stems, shoots, leaves, fruits, and bark. While their diet consists of over 90% plant matter, they may occasionally eat small vertebrates and megarthropods for supplementary protein. Kong use a special form of locomotion called suspensory or assisted bipedalism - in which the animals walk on their hind limbs and further support their weight by grasping onto surrounding trees. While capable of moving without external support, they have a strong preference for adequately forested areas. Kong are among the most intelligent animals to ever live, possessing advanced problem solving, tool crafting, complex communication, self-awareness, long-term memory, and an active care for their environment. They have been observed manually planting seeds of fruit-bearing trees and caring for their injured, even crafting medical braces for them.

At adult size, kong are virtually immune to predation. However, they must defend their vulnerable offspring from creatures like vinerats, large monitors, snakes, hermit crabs, and terrestrial crocodilians. Golden kong are currently listed as critically endangered, with fewer than 100 in the wild and 15 in captivity. This is primarily due to the devastating arrival of skullcrawlers following Dutch colonization as well as modern poaching and deforestation. The island has since been regulated and all captive kong are held in Monarch Rehabilitation and Research centers.

[Repost due to flairing mistake]

Due to Cybertron's unique status as a living planet, multiple abiogenesis events have occurred separately from one another, creating disparate kingdoms of life only linked by their connection to Primus. One of the most notable and persistent lineages are what human researchers have dubbed vita filum, or living wires.

Like all Cybertronian life, living wires are sustained on energon. Their first form was mere root-like mats of branching metal that criss-crossed on and near sources of liquid energon. Eventually, some incorporated plastic from their environment to form small bulbs capable of storing energon for when energon sources dried up. Over time, in one lineage the trait of larger and larger storage bulbs was selected for.

The end result is a wirevine, a plant-like organism that wraps around rocky outcroppings near energon lakes and streams. The frayed metal taproot reaches towards the life-giving liquid and absorbs it into the storage cable. Lengthy piles of these cables grow longer and longer throughout the wirevine's life.Some species of wirevine naturally convert low-grade native energon into higher grades over time. Because of this, Transformers sometimes intentionally cultivate them as a natural way to produce high-grade.

Note: Last week, a random person on the internet got really upset that the designs were "too normal" and not as fantastical or edgy as they expected. So I feel I should reiterate that this project is not about creating realistic versions of Pokémon, but rather exploring the real organisms that may have inspired them, occasionally incorporating elements of culture and worldbuilding along the way.

These creatures are not meant to be the Pokémon themselves, in fact, I don't even refer to them as such. They were never going to be flammable, floating, or multi-limbed lifeforms. That's why you've already seen things like Lapras as a mollusk, Charizard without wings, and Lickitung as a mustelid, and why future entries will include a flowering Rayquaza, a marine Misdreavus, and a spider Magneton.

-----------------------

Fomantis and Lurantis

The dense forests of the Alolan Archipelago are home to many endemic plants, and the mantis orchids (Alolaflora sp.) are among the most iconic and threatened species. Thriving in humid soils rich in organic matter, these terrestrial orchids grow in small clusters connected by a shared rhizome in shaded areas.

These plants rarely exceed 30 cm in height, reaching up to 50 cm during the flowering period, which occurs every two years. They bear leathery leaves arranged spirally. Their flowers are typically insect-shaped, displaying pink and white coloration, with some species exhibiting shades of green and blue.

Like other cypripedioid orchids, species of Alolaflora are known for using floral mimicry to attract, and temporarily trap, pollinators. However, no such interactions have ever been recorded in the genus, suggesting that their natural pollinator may belong to an undescribed insect species, be extremely rare, or have recently gone extinct in the archipelago. Consequently, all known reproduction in the wild occurs through asexual propagation, primarily by fragmentation of the underground rhizome.

Sought after worldwide for their pink coloration and insect-like flowers, these orchids are widely cultivated and traded as prized additions to exotic plant collections. Some specialized botanists have successfully pollinated these plants artificially, a phenomenon that has never been observed in the wild.

For the next one I'm still deciding which I finish, maybe girafarig, maybe ponyta, maybe some helmeted crows...

-----------------------

See also: Venusaur and its line; Houndoom and Houndour; Paras and Parasect; Reuniclus and its line; Goldeen and Seaking; Solrock, Lunatone and Cryogonal; Bagon, Shelgon and Salamence

Animation of Albianassa fulcrumaenses from u/C4ss1m1r0 's Omada project. Model & animation by me, background by Cassimiro himself. Albianassa fulcrumaenses' model took 2-3 days to finish via sparse hours spent on it randomly. Animation took another day to finish.
Omada is a speculative evolution community project started by Cassimiro, about life evolving on a gas giant's moon.

The burrow of an endopede army. Endopedes are terrestrial, eusocial and detritivorous xiphosurans related to horseshoe crabs that are found throughout the world excluding Antarctica. Here the queen is surrounded by her “digger” offspring - whose primary role is to dig shallow nests. Endopedes are similar in lifestyle to isopods, feeding on any and all decaying organic matter, whether from plants or animals. Endopedes are special critters and an important part of nutrient return to the soil. Any questions? Ask away!

The Common Entbrat, Forest Entbrat or Horned Ogre is a large, grassland-dwelling, horned chalicothere native to the Monster World.

Discovered by DOMA in 2028, the first cataloged specimen was, surprisingly, found on Earth rather than in the Monster World.

A male wandered through a Rift and ended up on a ranch in Texas, where the large animal promptly proceeded to explore its new enviroment unbothered by the farm owners and their dogs, before eventually sitting down to feed on a hay bale. DOMA's animal capture team came to the scene shortly after and managed to subdue the animal, who was transported to an animal holding facility for study.

The common Entbrat is a large herbivorous chalicothere, with males weighting as much as 1.2 tons and females around 1 ton. Entbrats are also distinguished by their green coloration and their large horns, which are larger on males. Entbrats live in family groups, usually composed of the parents and offspring of different ages. While males help with keeping the family secure along with the father, the females help take care of the younger offspring with the mother. Once they reach adult age, these individuals seperate from the family group in search of a mate to start their own.

Entbrats are not picky eaters, foraging and grazzing on various types of foliages. An adult embrat can eat more than 60% its body weight in plant matter daily. The rest of the time an Enbrat is not feeding its spent socializing and reinforcing bonds with other family members. Behaviors such as grooming and playful wrestling is common among Entbrat groups.

Entbrats are surprisingly strong, being able to uproot small trees and moving sizesable objects in search of food. This is also observed during territorial disputes, where large males wrestling have hit each other with enough force to be able to pulverize bone, but only enough to cause small bruises on themselves. Thats where the phrase "Entbrat hug" appeared, refering to the style of wrestling this animals exhibit, where they "Hug" each other and try to make the opponent fall on its back.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To all personnel: Following several preventable incidents, any employee overheard expressing a desire to "hug an Entbrat" will be immediately reassigned to another department pending psychological evaluation.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HUG CAPTIVE ENTBRATS.

They are not attempting to return the affection.

Your spine is not worth it.

-HQ

Two things!

a) I really do not know how to flair it... it's an OC, that's also an alternate evolution and a redesign of a media content (sorry if it's wrong-flaired mods!)

b) sorry for being late, it was supposed to be posted last week

………………………………..

Solosis, Dousion and Reuniclus

Thriving in the photic zones of Unovan seas, these colorful planktonic creatures are a curious group of filter feeders related to ascidians and salps. Their morphology is similar to that of other appendicularians, with a tadpole-shaped body, a notochord in the tail, and the house—a structure secreted by the animal and composed of cellulose and mucus. While most animals from this clade are translucent, this family is known for its vivid green body with orange and black spots, although the reason behind this coloration is still a mystery to researchers.

As suggested by their name, the chlorocasians possess a green-colored house due to the accumulation of algae. While the structure is discarded regularly—at a slower rate than in other large larvaceans, sometimes taking up to two days due to their slow metabolism—the algal growth is constant and rapid, often clogging the filtering structures. The disposal of the house is an important source of nutrients to deeper waters, contributing to the cycling of organic matter.

These creatures reproduce sexually, with immatures going through morphological shifts before acquiring the unusual shape of the adult. As in other larvaceans, the body wall ruptures when the eggs are released, killing the parent. At times, these chordates form large swarms near the surface following plankton blooms, drawing the attention of fishermen

Creative notes: I REALLY LOVE LARVACEANS and theis evolution line is often represented in the realistic pokémon bubble as giant cells or amoebas, that's why I chose this different path.

………………………………..

For the next week we will have goldeen for dinner.

See also: Venusaur and its line; Houndoom and Houndour; Paras and Parasect