Questions tagged [creature-design]
For questions regarding the viability of a life-form design. These questions should focus on biologically plausible creatures.
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How useful (if at all) would these extra arms be?
Working on an aggressive, warlike alien species that, while having an average height of between 6-7 feet and a mostly humanoid frame also has a second set of arms extending from its abdomen that are ...
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Do digitigrade legs on a human-sized biped make sense? [closed]
Writers and artists have been know to depict bipedal aliens with digitigrade legs for "rule of cool"- but would the legs really be suitable for an organism with an otherwise humanoid frame? ...
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How fast would an animal moving like a propeller go?
I’m working on a spec evo project and one creature I want to add is the propeller fish. It’s an arthropod-like animal that looks similar to a remipede. It can roll up into a circle with fins on the ...
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The biology of hybridized scale-feathers
Years ago, I wanted to create a species that ‘evolved rapidly’ and therefore possessed as many evolutionary advantages as I could think of. Recognizing that my idea wasn’t the most original, I wanted ...
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What would the advantages or disadvantages of being a swordfighter with digitigrade legs and a tail?
Is there anything that keeps humanoids with digitigrade legs from being effective swordfighters? As in, is there a hurdle that they must cross that average plantigrade normal humies don't have to?
The ...
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Why would humans domesticate an omnivorous species that has human-level intelligence, varying sizes, and a longer lifespan than humans themselves?
In my world, there is a species of non-chordate deuterostomes with the following scientific name: Pogus pogus. This species is part of the Pogus genus. In English (and in Spanish and in French, each ...
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How can a bacterial colony move? [closed]
Last night I dreamt that I was in some sort of Medieval dungeon being used as a hospital. There was a wing that was entirely used to hold 2 diseases, yellowworm and blackworm.
Yellowworm was a ...
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How could creatures get oxygen in a brine pool?
I’m making a Europa-like moon with a subsurface ocean. It would have a water-ice shell that could be able to freeze small amounts of saltwater over large periods of time, producing brine. This brine ...
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Could a hydrophobic animal that drinks petroleum evolve on a desert planet?
I'm creating a sci-fi story with strange lifeforms. One such lifeform are the Inferni. The Inferni are quadrupeds who are great tunnelers. Inferni drink oil and other hydrocarbons for sustenance ...
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Can a tetrapod grow based on an external framework?
In my world, I am working on designing an organism that develops large wings as it grows to adulthood. These wings are formed from woody structures acting as a framework, grown by a symbiotic fungus(I'...
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Strong and shiny biological material
I’m working on a moon with a subsurface ocean, similar to Europa. It has 17% earths gravity and large amounts of hydrothermal vents. One of the animals that live around hydrothermal vents is something ...
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How fast could a small squid-like jet propelled animal go? [closed]
I’m working on a speculative evolution project on a small moon of a gas giant. This moon is an ocean world with oceans on average 17 kilometers deep. It’s has about 17% earths gravity. It is covered ...
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What is the maximum size of a gliding animal?
In the past many questions have been asked about powered flight. I am not interested in that. I would like to know what is the theoretical maximum size of an animal with Earth-like biology, possessing ...
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Could a fish use jet propulsion-like movement?
I’m working on a spec evo ocean world and there’s a type of fish-like phylum that has an organ only known to be in this phylum. This organ can collect water from the front end and expel it from the ...
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suggestions on natural dyes/plants to make natural dyes that can be used to dye skin for long periods of time?
I am creating a world where humans have colonized a large amount of space and have a few planets where they have left biologically engineered/altered species. The planet I'm currently working on has ...
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