Deviation Actions
Description
Diversity: 21 species
Introduction:
Whereas many different groups of humans have now evolved, including ones that dwell in the oceans or even in the air, it is only fair that certain groups have taken the ecological spaces of river dwelling predators. On Earth, these are fulfilled by crocodiles, alligators, gharials and even giant salamanders, as well as historically phytosaurs, champsosaurs, ambulocetids and many other groups. On Anthropoterras, the continent of Westeros has many angler-beasts roaming its southern edges. But elsewhere, another group of animals has taken this niche. The suchosimians are that group, and they are very unusual creatures in their own right, totally unlike any other group of humans on this world.
Evolutionary history:
The appearance of the crocmen appeared relatively far off in the past, diverging quite soon from the other groups. Their ancestors managed to redevelop a tail for balance while on the ground, and they developed unusually large incisors which helped them grab prey without using their arms, extending forward and helping them predate other organisms. Around 70 milion years before present, the ancestors of the suchosimians made a move toward the water. Their tails became muscular and helped them to swim effectively, while their limbs allowed them to swim quite effectively as well. By this point, the ancestors of trolls and anurocetes were already thriving, so the crocmen developed to avoid these creatures by developing a different system of hunting. Rather than the heron like methods of the trolls, they would dive directly after food like otters. The unusually large incisors became ever more pronounced, growing well beyond the reach of their regular jaws, and even developing serrations. Gradually their other teeth shrunk and even disappeared, and in modern species, only the rudimentary wisdom teeth remain from their ancestor, with the incisors resembling a bizarre beak with serrated edge. These animals saw that fish and crabs were not the only possible items of prey, and so they became efficient ambush predators, feeding off various land animals as well. Their metabolism even lowered, allowing them to spend more time without food and become more different to their ancestors, to the point of being almost hard to recognise, though not quite.
Anatomy:
The appearance of most of the suchosimians is quite grounded, though some distinct variations are present. Nevertheless all members share a number of traits. The animals incisors are massively inflated, but have limited nerves inside, allowing them to become a mammalian beak, excellent for such purposes as cracking shells, breaking through ice or snatching syndactyls from the water’s edge. What remains of the lips can protect some of the beak, but are much atrophied as well, making it look as if a bird’s beak is poking out of the mouth of these creatures. The nostrils are high, and do somewhat resemble the nose of an old human being, though facing upwards rather than forwards. Similarly, the eyes almost appear as if they are on stalks like hippopotamus gorgops, and the ears are small and in many species internal. The neck is quite straight in design, being fairly flexible and allowing it to make turns effectively. The animal’s lower body resembles that of an ambulocetid, though the hands are webbed and padded, allowing them to move silently when on land, and giving them a superficial resemblance to an otter. The back limbs are often larger than the forelimbs, which helps them walk on the surface when trying to breath in shallow water. The limbs themselves are unusual in that they have a semi-sprawling posture as opposed to the normal erect legs of other mammals. The tail is quite long, making up to half the animal’s length in some species, and is fairly flattened, though not as much as in a beaver, and is paddle like in design. The animals have a light coating of fur covering most of the body, with no whiskers (whiskers as a whole are very rare on anthropoterras) which they used to help keep warm in different weather and to maintain stability in water. A flexible spine helps them to swim quickly and effectively, and also to make quick turns to dodge threats. The group do have some variations in them nevertheless, and it is necessary to look at the different members as well.
i.imgur.com/FsOsk63.png Bigger Pic available here.
Species:
A. Beak-beaver (cryosuchus austrialis): An unusual creature living in the south pole, this species is somewhat more terrestrial than other species (though still aquatic by all means) and has a much thicker coat of fur to endure the harsh winters. Interestingly, when the ice freezes over the lakes and rivers, they can use their beak to crack it and get to the fish inside. Measures about 2.3m long and weighs 75kg.
B. Chopper (suchosimius fastos): a common species of croc-man found across rivers all around Parthia and Eastern Westeros, particularly near Savannahs. It is quite a generalist, feeding on both fish, crabs and unlucky land animals. Measures up to 4.5m long and can weigh over 300kg.
C. Water-sifter (fastanthropus piscea): this relatively small species is specialised toward smaller shellfish and bivalves, using a long beak to sift through sand to find its prey, often using it to detect vibrations in the sand and pick out its prey. measures about 1.5m long and weighs 20kg.
D. Sword-tooth (pisciphagitherium tropicalis): a rainforest dwelling beast, this animal has very sharp incisors, which it uses to spear fish in the water, and is one of the most specialised species, living in the rainforests of Central Parthia. Can measure 3m in length and weigh about 100-120kg, with males being slightly larger.
E. Gambo (suchosimius occidentalis): throughout the oceans of anthropoterras, this creature sifts for prey of almost any kind. It is by far the largest of them, measuring almost 7m in length and weighing over a tonne. It is also the most aquatic, though still easily capable of motion on land, hence why it is found all across the world’s oceans.
F. Shredbeak (magnidontus terriblis): this island based species lives on the island of Bliss, one of the few animals to arrive here from elsewhere (as opposed to from scratch), and has not only taken a terrestrial lifestyle, but has become the island’s apex predator with very pronounced serrations on its incisors. The former webbings make excellent padding to help it silently move through the leaf litter, making it a great ambush predator. Measures about 3m long and weighs about 120kg.
And there you have it, all the different clades of anthropoterras. Environmental updates shall be in future. See you then!