Living Fossils
Added 2015-11-24 18:41:52 +0000 UTCI have decided to take a slightly different direction with this critter that allows me to both experiment a little with the form, and also demonstrate another evolutionary concept - the so called 'living fossil'.
The creature is now not a direct ancestor to the birrin, but rather a modern organism in the oceans of Chri-irah. It has passed through geological time rather conservatively, its efficient hunting style serving it well until it reached the modern era largely unchanged. In its predatory worm-like form we see many traits shared between it and the ancestors of all complex quadrilaterian life, particularly the early importance in feeding using the sensory tentacles/eyestalks, and the formation of the inner jaw structures.
If you are worrying about it biting its own tentacles with those huge jaws, dont worry! They are just for show, usually for ritual combat over the best hunting areas and burrows.
Image Credits
Horseshoe Crab Fossil - David Goehring
Living Horseshoe Crab - Michael Lusk
Comments
Some of them had a sense of pride! They like to see their cunning, snappy-mouthed roots :P
Alex
2015-11-24 18:48:07 +0000 UTCGreat idea, I love living fossils like the Coelacanth. I can only imagine the reaction of Birrin scientists who first discovered they're related to these creatures.
Anastasia
2015-11-24 18:44:59 +0000 UTC
