Posts tagged creature-design
In a novel I am writing, one of the characters is an immortal* shape-shifter, called 'Creature'. Creature has been around since shortly after the beginning of life on earth. Its cells divide/replic...
Let there be an Intelligent alien species of heavily armored but lightly armed folks. Think of sentient crabs without claws. The are physically incapable of fighting each other. They are filter fee...
The brain is 1 major developmental difference between us and these humanoids. These humanoids start off with larger brains to begin with and so brain development in the womb happens at about the s...
So here's the rough idea. I'm trying to figure out what kind of life could exist that spends basically its entire life in the air, for an alien world I'm working on. No sentient life, just wilderne...
I know, it sounds like a geek swearing at Windows 8 on his work-owned computer. But actually I was just reading Peter Clines (Fold and then had to order 14 for instant delivery), and when I got to...
In previous questions on this topic, I've devised a genetically-diverse creature that uses a cold fusion internal engine to provide tremendous amounts of short-term (sprint) energy. However, there...
Is the following scenario reasonable? Enormous metal whales, which fly through space eating planets and nebulae by: Churning with blender (like mastication), then Melting them down in a furnace ...
(I have tried to fix this question as best as possible with the help provided from the staff of the site.) I have started to develop my own crustacean species that resembles ants slightly. I would...
On an Earth-like planet, I'm imagining a bipedal sapient species whose juveniles have a largely hollow head so large that they can retract the whole body into the head when frightened, the way a tu...
Sperm whales can go 90 minutes at a time without needing to surface. I am interested in an idea for a creature that is air-breathing, but spends a lot of time at depths of (100m to 300m) and some...
I was at a musical event a while back and as I saw the brass instruments a question popped my mind, could an animal come with an instrument built in? It seems far fetched but evolution has given us...
These creatures are a few feet longer and about a foot thicker than your average cow. Their skin is covered in densely packed bristles to trap air, and thus heat, close to the skin in cold climates...
Imagine for a few moments that despite the difficulty a race has evolved in space, away from any atmosphere (perhaps a species of space jellyfish). This race exists in a fairly 'noisy' nebula, but...
Cerebrospinal fluid is a thin layer of liquid that helps use avoid being knocked out (among other uses). Creatures with a thicker layer have more trouble being knocked out. I want my humanoids to n...
Humans show aggression by baring their teeth, dogs show aggression by growling and cats, by hissing. All groups of animal show aggression in a way that makes it clear to attackers that they are agi...
Suppose in one part of the universe unexplored by science, I imagine there exist a species that rely on quantum teleportation to transmit information about their genetic codes across to the other s...
This question is intended as a follow up to this one: Naturally occurring wheels - do the 'mech' vs. 'tank' comparison apply to organics? I agree with the arguments against wheels evolving in plac...
We love turtle worlds. We already have a question about turtle planets : How do I prevent my turtle from collapsing under its own gravity? but let's scale it down. I would like to have a waterball...
So, as the title suggests, I have a reptilian alien species capable of human-tier thought. Anatomically, they are centaur-like (four legs on the ground, two manipulating limbs up top), standing sli...
It looks human, feels human, can walk and run like us and can even argue with us, but it do not possess DNA. Is it possible to create this homunculus?
Melanin is what causes the color to appear in the skin, hair and eyes. But in humans there seems to be a limit to this. For example human hair can be orange(gingers) but not green or blue. iris's c...
In many famous alien species you see that the iris is so large that it almost appears that it replaces the sclera. What evolutionary history would support the irises growing to that size. The only...
Hey guys so I've posted on this site before and I've finally made an account so I'd like to ask again about mine and my friend's webcomic WIP. Biology wise, I've made three main groups of animals, ...
Let's say there is a species of intelligent beings who are indistinguishable from humans in every way - except on average they can jump twice as high as the average human, based on Earth gravity. ...
This concept is relatively simple. There are many animals which start mobile, but become sessile later in their life history, all of which are simple and primitive. And I was wondering this: what i...
Every child is afraid of the darkness. For them its not simply the absence of light, its the absence of information. Even if you know that there should be a wall or a doorway right in front of y...
On our world we have any number of creatures that use: Noxious Chemicals Poison(Spiders and Snakes being the obvious examples) Sound Electricity as an alternative to their teeth and claws. One...
In Ribbontails Series Aman5 there are creatures called Kuutamian animals. These animals are sapient and can have any form. The creator uses the excuse that they have three DNA strands, but how real...
Meet the following specimen of Armatae Bestia. I'd describe it, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just put one here instead (Feel free to drag it into browser window to get a much bi...
I'm aware that deep sea fish don't actually "explode" when brought to the surface but any air sacs in their bodies would expand and cause them possibly fatal damage. However, what other physiologi...
This question has no background information here. I just want to know if there are any evolutionary advantages for a species to have 4 ears?(The kind a mammal has).
In my world I have a couple species of sentient animals, mainly cats, who among other things are capable of communication with human beings. While I am perfectly happy to resort to explanations i...
Many fantasy stories involve large spiders like in Harry Potter. These creatures behave almost exactly like normal spiders despite their size. My question is: can large spiders still walk upside d...
Based on this question and answer about a human sized creature that lives completely on textiles, how feasible is it for a creature to consume nylon and polyester to derive fats/lipids useful for b...
Since there are living beings (like moth larvae) which feed on textile fibers (wool, cotton, silk, et cetera), I was planning to introduce a human-sized creature with such feature, plus the ability...
A race of aliens exists on a distant planet whose biological functioning depends on absorbing a specific type of energy. They have what is essentially an antenna through which they passively absorb...
I've always been curious whenever I heard the mother wererabbit sings a popular folksong to the young, there is a particular line in the lyric that seems to puzzle me. It goes likes this: "up up a...
I've been inspired to ask this question based off of my answer, and the resulting discussion, to this question: Why would a species of intelligent parthenogenetics invent males? However, this is a...
This is in my world of balloons and zeppelins, war and peace, day and night. Sleeping may be the least important thing but it is still important. On this world, the day and night cycle is 8.89 of t...
How can I explain a female adult dragon standing at 30 to 32 meters living on the peaks of a snowy mountain, will dive and swim hundreds of miles into the ocean to hunt for sperm whales and colossa...
Jellyfish is consists mostly water and they live in the ocean, I like to create a world of airborne jellyfish how can I explain the levitating mechanism and evolutionary advantage scientifically?
Disclaimer : I'm working on the entire pseudo-science thing , so the scientific part of this whole thing isn't made up properly... Certain things have not been explained , this is to keep the post ...
Background We all know that our species evolve during and after the last ice age, (or is it sufficient to say that they evolve at the end of ice age?). A. Initial Condition Suppose I had another...
I am imagining a race of spider-like creatures that remain still in the water. They glow to attract prey/would be predators. They surround themselves with a thick layer of slime that can catch crea...
I am specifically interested in a form of reproductive cycle something like that of aphids on earth, where several generations of female-only parthenogenesis go by, followed by a generation being b...
For a (Super super super soft)Sci-fi RP I've been planning, I've been trying to design an alien race to act as a suitable antagonist. The basis of this antagonistic race is that they are far, far m...
There are lots of posts speculating about a planet (or whatever) where life evolves intelligence and goes on to produce technology, under different differences lacking something or another that is ...
These questions are a sort of follow up of my question about white pupils. I'm designing some other creatures whose defining traits involve "weird" eyes: How would a creature with oddly shaped pu...
This is loosely linked to my nature Mage questions. In my fantasy world I want a race of Orcs. These are the characteristics they have to have: Stand between 6 and 7 feet tall Have crude weapons ...
On Earth, the polar bear is among the most sexually dimorphic animals, with males being on average almost twice as heavy as females (Wikipedia claims average weights of 450 kg for males versus 260 ...