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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
adding the last of the weird animals (phew); some wiki touch-up
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"On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | "On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | ||
== | ==Strange life forms== | ||
===Plants=== | ===Plants=== | ||
Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | ||
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Some fungi [[wp:Foxfire|create light]]. | Some fungi [[wp:Foxfire|create light]]. | ||
The [[wp:Pestalotiopsis_microspora|pestalotiopsis microspora]] eats plastic. | |||
===Animals=== | ===Animals=== | ||
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*The [http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/psychedelic-fish-video-vin psychedelic fish] has an unbelievably impractical sense of coordination, resembling a drunk driver as it "swims". | *The [http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/psychedelic-fish-video-vin psychedelic fish] has an unbelievably impractical sense of coordination, resembling a drunk driver as it "swims". | ||
*Males in many oceanic species live only to find a female and supply sperm, sometimes lacking the organs they need to eat — examples include the [ | *Males in many oceanic species live only to find a female and supply sperm, sometimes lacking the organs they need to eat — examples include the [[wp:Anglerfish|anglerfish]] (where the male sometimes fuses with the much larger female to become one entity!) and the [[wp:Blanket_octopus|blanket octopus]] are examples, as well as the black dragonfish above. | ||
*[[wp:Argonaut_(animal)|Argonauts]] are octopuses that make shells for themselves. | *[[wp:Argonaut_(animal)|Argonauts]] are octopuses that make shells for themselves. | ||
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====Mammals==== | ====Mammals==== | ||
The [[wp:Manx_Loaghtan|Manx Loaghtan sheep]] has up to six horns. | *The [[wp:Manx_Loaghtan|Manx Loaghtan sheep]] has up to six horns. | ||
*Squirrels can scare away snakes with their tail flagging; they also [http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/robo-squirrel-flags-snakes-with-infrared-tail/ heat up their tail] as they face rattlesnakes, giving off infrared light that the snake can see. The flagging may help them evade attacks, or just be for sensory confusion. Remarkably, squirrels’ tails do not heat up when facing snakes that don’t see heat. | |||
*Mammals can live socially like bees -- see the [[wp:Naked_mole-rat|naked mole rat]], a very unusual mammal. | |||
====Other land animals==== | ====Other land animals==== | ||
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====Birds==== | ====Birds==== | ||
The Guianan Cock-Of-The-Rock is fairly ordinary besides its crest, but [http://24.media.tumblr.com/3e8ed38fbb46c34148a7516c1e3a8b42/tumblr_mgxo8qk4iO1s3yrubo1_r1_1280.jpg from certain angles] it looks unearthly. | *The Guianan Cock-Of-The-Rock is fairly ordinary besides its crest, but [http://24.media.tumblr.com/3e8ed38fbb46c34148a7516c1e3a8b42/tumblr_mgxo8qk4iO1s3yrubo1_r1_1280.jpg from certain angles] it looks unearthly. | ||
*The [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/55f702a4e4b0794fbe24736b/1491257723630-KCAVSSPB2LSJT4XMJIBR/Spatuletail+Hummingbird.jpg?content-type=image%2Fjpeg marvellous spatuletail] has extremely improbable tailfeathers. | |||
====Insects==== | |||
*The question mark butterfly's [http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/bfly2/question_mark07.jpg frightening caterpillar form] has maxed out its defense stat. It also has the awesome Latin name Polygonia interrogationis. Also see the [[wp:Spiny_oak_slug|spiny oak slug]] and the [[wp:File:Stinging_Rose_caterpillars,_Megan_McCarty65.jpg|hag moth caterpillar]]. | |||
*The American dagger moth is named for [https://bugguide.net/images/cache/H06/0K0/H060K0E0YQKQBRZQNRKQYRSQYRZQBRJKCQYKWRFKCRN0R0P0YR60L0SQH07QZ0SQYRU0ORYKARI0WRZQOQ80VRJK.jpg its larval form], which looks dangerous because it is; touching it causes a skin reaction similar to that from a stinging nettle. | |||
The [ | *The [[wp:Cycnia_tenera|dogbane tiger moth]] or delicate cycnia has learned how to make clicking noises that warn bats not to eat them (they'll taste bad). | ||
*The [[wp:Euchaetes_egle|milkweed tiger moth]] acquires a compound called cardiac glycoside from the plants it eats, which is capable of stopping the heart. This, in addition to clicks like the dogbane tiger moth's, protect it from bats. | |||
The | |||
The | *The [http://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2015/1/5/doubling-down-on-defense-the-polka-dot-wasp-moth-isyntomeida-epilaisi polka-dot wasp moth] looks dangerous as a caterpillar but does no harm. It looks even more dangerous as an adult, appearing to be a wasp (and developing danger markings) in order to fool predators. Like many moths, it only eats one or two plants, mainly oleander, but its native food may be the devil’s potato plant, from which it picks up cardiac glycosides for defensive purposes. | ||
The [[ | *The white satin moth [https://bugguide.net/images/raw/OHW/HLR/OHWHLR8HZREHYHNHHR4LVZUHVZIL8ZLLPZRLCHIHCHXHCH9HYHMLNZNH9ZUHZRNHBZSLAHZLAHIHGZ.jpg is] [https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/bamona_images/2011-0630_0.jpg just] [https://www.mindenpictures.com/cache/pcache2/80168856.jpg gorgeous]. | ||
*Adorable in [https://featuredcreature.com/from-dangerous-fluff-to-bunny-stuff/ larval form], it's surprising that we don't raise the adult [http://www.flickr.com/photos/34154526@N07/4674281745/ flannel moth] for its fur! | |||
*If there's one thing in nature, above any others, that absolutely screams Do Not Touch Me, it's the [https://i2.wp.com/ugaurbanag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/saddleback.jpg saddleback caterpillar]. If it looks they have a painful sting, it's because they totally do; read the list of potential effects of touching one [[wp:Saddleback caterpillar|here]]. | |||
The | *The assassin bug [http://www.arkinspace.com/2012/05/assassin-bug-malaysias-macabre.html wears the skeletons] of its victims like a trophy. | ||
*The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNgeaiEuFc0 stalk-eyed fly] alters its body in a particularly unsettling manner using air pressure. | |||
*Tortoise beetles [https://www.google.com/search?q=tortoise+beetles&tbm=isch vary so widely in appearance] that you'd think they were totally different species. | |||
*Ants in the Amazon [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0921_050921_amazon_ant_2.html use acid] to cultivate gardens of their preferred tree species. | |||
*Queens in the "longhorn crazy ant" species can switch between [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20072-zoologger-invasion-of-the-crazy-incestuous-ants.html three methods of reproduction]: the typical sexual process, asexual self-cloning, and cloning of males, making her a cloning machine that allows the nest to sustain small populations without suffering from inbreeding. | |||
*Oriental hornets are apparently partly [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19709-zoologger-the-solar-powered-electric-hornet/ solar-powered], generating electricity from the sunlight that falls on them, though we still don't know how exactly they use it. | |||
*Some ants [[wp:Aphid#Symbioses|farm other animals]]. Also see the complex web of interactions with ants known as [[wp:Myrmecophily|myrmecophily]]. | |||
*Ants can be completely fooled by [http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/06/butterflies-scrounge-off-ants-by-mimicking-the-music-of-quee/ sound mimicry]. | |||
*[[wp:Termite|Termites]] have a complex system of classes and roles. Note the “alates”; this can be the basis for a dramatic revelation that a certain kind of alien animal has a winged caste. | |||
==Parasites== | ==Parasites== | ||
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*The [[wp:Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga|Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga]], which infects a specific kind of spider, forcing it to build a stronger-than-normal web, then makes the spider sit at the center of the web until the wasp larva emerges and consumes the spider, then pupates on the web which has been strengthened to support the pupa. | *The [[wp:Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga|Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga]], which infects a specific kind of spider, forcing it to build a stronger-than-normal web, then makes the spider sit at the center of the web until the wasp larva emerges and consumes the spider, then pupates on the web which has been strengthened to support the pupa. | ||
*[[wp:Ichneumonidae|Ichneumons]], parasitoid wasps, have metal-tipped ovipositors and mandibles for wood-boring. | |||
*[[wp:Cuckoo_bee|Cuckoo bees]] are parasitic; some of them only lay eggs in other bees’ nests, but some actually kill and replace the nest’s queen! There are also other forms of parasitism, such as kleptoparasitism (flies that steal ants’ or spiders’ food); this is most well-known in the case of hyenas and jackals. Some species steal only intraspecies, some steal interspecies. | |||
*This doesn't have anything to do with parasitism, but just to conclusively demonstrate that wasps are the kings of the insect kingdom, witness the [[wp:Tarantula wasp|tarantula wasp]]. | *This doesn't have anything to do with parasitism, but just to conclusively demonstrate that wasps are the kings of the insect kingdom, witness the [[wp:Tarantula wasp|tarantula wasp]]. | ||