u/Neat_Ad_313

sorry if these illustrations are kinda bad😭 I don’t consider myself an artist like at all. At least the low quality allows me to draw these in only like an hour so I can post frequently. Also if u have any other questions about how any of these animals live, just ask me! It helps me to develop them further

moonfish are apex predators about the size of great white sharks. they live in kelp forests and hunt by using their bioluminescent skin flap thingy. they live in packs of 3-8 and have their own form of communication using their skin flaps’s light. Despite being apex predators, they have been seen to express “nice” behavior to animals they don’t see as prey, even going as far as to adopt lost animals. They have high emotional int and empathy, which likely evolved for them to stay in their packs.

quilt fish are a highly intelligent species. They are based off of blanket octopuses (yes octopuses is a correct plural form of octopu, you can search it up). They can basically be found all around the ocean (because they travel and stuff) but the habitat they originally come from is a system of hydrothermal vents in the sunlight zone of the ocean. this allowed them to develop metallurgy and cooking. quilt fish have a bioluminescent ink at the tips of their tentacles, which can be used kind of like pens! that is how they developed a written system of language. there used to be multiple languages, but their society merged as they advanced, which turned into one language. the language is called kouverta (which means blanket). it is a logographic language, meaning that the symbols represent entire words instead of sounds. symbols can be combined to make new words. currently, quilt squids are not as advanced as they used to be, which is because of the apocalypse caused by the war between them and the progenitors. I’ll explain who the progenitors are in another post!

also, I’ve kinda changed up the project. Scylla isn’t a moon of a gas giant anymore, but a habitable eyeball planet. I’ll still be keeping a lot of stuff from the previous versiom though, so no need to worry!

had to repost cuz I forgot to add the brown flipper thingies the back side for the sea bees😭

sea bees are a family of organisms that are aquatic and live in reefs. the image above is a species of sea bees. They live in hives of 100-1000 sea bees. They use hydrocyathans as their hives. They tend to be about the size of a bumblebee, but the queens are usually about 2-2.5x bigger. They are part of the cnithropoda phylum (which are basically a mix of cnidarians and arthropods. All u need to know is that they have jellyfish-like bodies on the inside and chitin exoskeletons on the outside). They have a large singular eye at the front of their “face” with the blue around it actually being their soft interior body exposed. Their diets mostly consist of algae and plants. They live for around 1-2 years. They have surprisingly high intelligence and can be seen communicating with each other, and are very loyal to their hives but aggressive towards other animals. But if you find one from birth and raise it, it’ll be very loyal to you. Likewise if you help one in danger or in a tough situation. Here’s a picture of a hydrocyatha. They’re based on archaeocyatha. Basically they’re just sponges. I’ll probably do a more in depth post on them later!

most of this info applies to all sea bees, except for the size, behavior, and life span

These organisms are aquatic and live in reefs. They live in hives of 100-1000 sea bees. They use hydrocyathans as their hives. They tend to be about the size of a bumblebee, but the queens are usually about 2-2.5x bigger. They are part of the cnithropoda phylum (which are basically a mix of cnidarians and arthropods. All u need to know is that they have jellyfish-like bodies on the inside and chitin exoskeletons on the outside). They have a large singular eye at the front of their “face” with the blue around it actually being their soft interior body exposed. Their diets mostly consist of algae and plants. They live for around 1-2 years. They have surprisingly high intelligence and can be seen communicating with each other, and are very loyal to their hives but aggressive towards other animals. But if you find one from birth and raise it, it’ll be very loyal to you. Likewise if you help one in danger or in a tough situation. Here’s a picture of a hydrocyatha. They’re based on archaeocyatha. Basically they’re just sponges. I’ll probably do a more in depth post on them later!

also, I basically resettled my spec evo project. Scylla is not the moon of a gas giant anymore. It is an eyeball planet orbiting a red dwarf star. Here’s the fauna + flora you should be expecting to see. I’ll add more in depth descriptions and more stuff as the project goes on. Flora phyla:

Chlomyphyta: Chlorophyta + Chytridiomycota

They produce both gametes and diploid zoospores that swim with the help of a single flagellum.

Mostly freshwater habitat

Both sexual and asexual reproduction

Store energy as starch within their plastids

Composite of cellulose and Chitin cell walls

Filscomyphyta: Ascomycota + Filicinophyta

Cell wall is a composite of chitin and cellulose

Stores energy as Starch (Fern trait) in the fronds and Glycogen (Fungal trait) in the rhizomes.

Instead of a simple root system, it would have a thick underground rhizome that sprouts fine fungal hyphae to actively digest organic matter in the soil while the "fronds" gather sunlight.

On the underside of the fronds, instead of simple sori (fern spore clusters), you would find Apothecia (cup-shaped fruiting bodies).

produce Ascospores (usually eight per sac) that are shot out via hydrostatic pressure

After spores germinate, the resulting mycelium would need to undergo plasmogamy (fusing cells without fusing nuclei) to develop the strength required to grow the large, vascular "fern" structure.

Balycomyphyta: *Basidiomycota** + Lycopodiophyta

Unlike true leaves, these "microphylls" would be covered in a fine hymenium (fertile layer). Instead of green mossy spikes, the leaves might have a leathery or velvety texture, housing Basidia (club-shaped cells) that produce spores.

Following the Lycopod body plan, the main "stem" would split into two equal branches repeatedly, but the "stem" itself would be composed of pseudoparenchyma (tightly packed fungal hyphae) reinforced with lignin.

Strobilus (the cone-like structure at the tip of clubmosses). the cone is actually a complex fruiting body. Instead of scales opening to drop seeds or plant spores, the "cone" would function like a Puffball. The spores (Basidiospores) would be "shot" off the cone using Buller’s Drop (a moisture-tension mechanism), allowing the "moss" to actively propel its offspring into the wind.

Cell wall made of a composite of chitin and cellulose

globryomyphyta: Bryophyta + Glomeromycota

Large asexual spores

Asexual reproduction only

Aseptate hyphae

lack specialized vascular tissues (xylem and phloem) for water and nutrient transport

thread-like structures called rhizoids, which anchor the plant to surfaces

Cell wall made of a composite of chitin and cellulose

Bangiomyphyta: Basidiomycota + Angiosperms

colorful, petaloid Hymenophores

In angiosperms, two sperm cells are used (one for the embryo, one for the food source). In this hybrid, the "pollen" (specialized dikaryotic spores) would initiate a dikaryotic phase within the ovary, creating a "seed" that is actually a dormant, nutrient-packed fungal sclerotium.

produce both floral essential oils and complex fungal alkaloids (like lignin-degrading enzymes or toxins).

uses scent and color to attract pollinators

They also produce fruit

Cell wall made of a composite of chitin and cellulose

Zryomyphyta: Bryophota + zygomycota

Mostly terrestrial, found in soil, decaying organic matter, and as pathogens of plants and insects.

grow very quickly. They possess primitive, non-septated (coenocytic) hyphae, which are broad and multinucleated, allowing for rapid growth and cytoplasmic streaming.

have rhizoids, which are unicellular or multicellular filaments that anchor it to surfaces

predominantly reproduce asexually by producing sporangiospores inside sporangia, which are supported by specialized hyphae called sporangiophores.

Cell wall made of a composite of chitin and cellulose

Phaemyphyta: Phaeophyceae analog

sclerotia are fertilized by compatible mating types (conidia), allowing them to produce recombinant spores.

Primary carbohydrate reserves are complex polysaccharides, specifically laminarin and mannitol

Almost exclusively marine, found mainly in cold, rocky intertidal and sublittoral zones. They are multicellular, with forms ranging from branched filaments to massive seaweed-like ones

Cell wall made of a composite of chitin and cellulose

By the way, most flora are colonial. Colonies can be nested inside of other colonies. 

Fauna Phyla:

Hydrocyatha: Archaeocyatha Analog

Cnithropoda: Cnidaria + Arthropoda analog
Chitin exoskeleton and soft gelatinous interior like a jellyfish. They are 85-95% water, have a decentralized brain, a gastrodermis, and a protective exoskeleton made of chitin. Most reproduce sexually and lay eggs. As larvae, they do not have their exoskeleton of chitin yet and develop it as they get older. They have to molt to grow. They have an advanced system of muscles attached to the inside of their exoskeletons

Mullinodermata: Mollusca + echinodermata analog
Bilateral symmetry
an endoskeleton made of calcareous ossicles
Water vascular system
Nerve ring
Muscular foot
Soft, unsegmented bodies

Cnithropoda: Mollusca + Cnidaria analog
Radial symmetry
No skeleton
Centralized nervous system
Soft, unsegmented bodies. often protected by a nacre shell secreted by a specialized tissue called the mantle
Stinging cells
2 muscular feet

Echithropada: Echinodermata + Arthropoda analog
Chitinous exoskeleton
Segmented bodies
Larvae start out with bilateral symmetry but undergo metamorphosis into pentaradial symmetry
Reproduce either asexually or sexually
Open circulatory system
Have to molt
Jointed appendages
Centralized nervous system
An internal aristotles lantern
Gills

live attached to surfaces or be slow-drifting, relying on sedentary or planktonic lifestyles. sessile or slow-moving, filter-feeding organisms lacking specialized heads

Chordonia: Chordata analog
notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal slits

Verticata: Vertebrate analog
Endoskeletons made of nacre
Six limbs
Backbone
Bilateral symmetry
Closed circulatory system
Decentralized but advanced nervous system that works as well as a brain. Basically their brains are tubes that are all around the body (like veins and stuff) and do everything the brain does, and send signals to the nervous system.

so this is a cool new magic system idea I came up with like 2 hours ago. I made it literally today so please feel free to give feedback and suggestions! Also I don’t have the names for the god-like beings or the two other types of beings made up of mnemonic energy, so any ideas would be appreciated!!

Magic system: people derive their power from their memories, specifically they are used as fuel for magic, which is called mnemonic energy. Your memories shape the abilities you have. Since everyone’s memories are different, everyone’s ability is unique to themselves. The more memories you accumulate, the stronger you become. To use greater acts of strength or magic requires more memories to be used up, while smaller amounts use less memories. All used up memories go into a place called Anamnesis, where all the memories in the world are stored. This is also the case for when organisms die.

There are also these god-like beings who are memories of specific aspects of the world, such as memory of chaos, memory of life, memory of death, memory of time, memory of wisdom, memory of water, memory of fire, etc. 

There is an energy called oblivion. It has the ability to erase memories, and is very harmful, especially when it affects the world’s memory (Anamnesis). When something is forgotten by the world itself, that thing will slowly fade away and cease to exist. Oblivious energy can condense into monsters called amnesiacs.

You can sacrifice all of your current memories to create a memorial seed. This will grow into a memorial tree, which spread mnemonic energy through their roots, and are the only things capable of helping the world to remember things that were forgotten by oblivion. But if the thing has already ceased to exist, the world will not be able to remember it no matter what. Memorial trees grow memorial fruits, which are full of mnemonic energy. When eaten, they provide you with mnemonic energy that can act as a replacement fuel instead of your memories being used up. They also can help people with amnesia to regain their memories. But it will not regain the memories of people who used their memories as fuel to make mnemonic energy, because the memories aren’t actually gone but are somewhere else. Likewise, it cannot be used to regain the memories of people who used their memories to make memorial seeds.

There are three types of being that are made entirely out of mnemonic energy. The first type are beings who are from specific memories. For example, someone’s memory of their best friend could turn into one. The second type is being made out of condensed mnemonic energy, which can happen naturally or artificially. The third type is the god-like beings mentioned earlier.