Activity for Thalassan
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
Hematophagic Organism Body Size So how large of an organism can a diet of strictly of blood support? In a modern Earth setting it might be a bit hard for a large hematophagic organism to find a suitable group of prey that it won't drain completely, so what if it had access to megafauna the size of dinosaurs? (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Effect of Prolonged Egg Diapause on Species I have a species of megafaunal carnivore that are extremely mobile with territories spanning hundreds of square miles and lifespans of 120-150 years. They lay clutches of 2-3 eggs every 20-30 years,but their eggs often go into an extended period of diapause which can last at a maximum of 130 years. T... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Another Giant Tree Attempt I want to propose a new method for tree growth to exceed the max of 120 or 130 meters restricted by Earth's gravity. I propose for the tree to rely very little on its base or roots. The living part of the tree really only encompasses the top 100 meters of the tree and some its bark. The trees are are... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Dragon Rider Genes In Game of Thrones the Targaryen family had special heritage allowing them to ride their iconic beasts of war. I want to ground this in reality. Is there a way for heritable trait to allow you to be more attractive by another specific organism? I thought about the person having a gene that expresses... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Recreating Dinosaurs (or at least doppelgangers) In theory organisms derived from birds through genetic engineering could resemble theropod dinosaurs. So my question is what animals would serve as the basis for the other two groups of dinosaurs (sauropodomorpha and ornithischia)? (I'm not trying to re-create dinosaurs, merely create look-a-likes).... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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How large could a giant turtle get? Assuming a turtle or tortoise evolved adaptations to become large comparable to that of sauropods. How large could they become (in weight or potentially carapace size)? The turtle needs to be primarily terrestrial. Adaptations: Hollow, honeycombed bones (including shell) More efficient lungs like ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Dinosaurian Gamma Diversity Gamma diversity is defined as the entire species diversity of a landscape or region. Assuming we have a region of 100 square miles of temperate deciduous forest inhabited by cretaceous fauna. How many different species of large herbivores and predators could the region support? Edit: To narrow thing... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Segmented Endoskeleton I have a primarily marine creature that needs to be able to move around effectively outside of water yet still be extremely flexible. My idea is having an anatomy based largely on bony disks similar to vertebrae (shown below) that allow for a semi-rigid endoskeleton with muscular rings that make up t... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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How many terrestrial moons can my planet hold? I have a Gas Giant with 13x the mass of Jupiter. How many satellites of Earth size and mass can it hold safely in its orbit? Edit: This gas giant lies smack dab in the middle of its parent star's (Blue Giant) habitable zone. Edit: I would like to change the star type from Blue Giant to a Yellow Mai... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Hiding a solar system in a nebula I have a planetary system with a yellow dwarf similar to our own Sun and three habitable planets. I want to hide this system from sight and long range scans in a nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Can this planetary system exist safely hidden within the nebula or within a pocket of empt... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Ice Dome Greenhouse I have an icy planet with temperatures that average about -100 degrees Fahrenheit (-73,3 °C). The planet also has thousands if not millions of domes scattered across its completely icy surface heated to reasonable habitable temperatures ( 40-70 degrees Fahrenheit (4 - 21 °C) by natural processes. I... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Planet with Gridlike Seas An Earth analog had been modified by an advanced species to have saltwater seas in an interconnected grid across the planet's surface. The planet has no true oceans and only the large grid network of saltwater seas. Each sea is approximately 80 miles in width and varies in depth from 1 to 2 miles at ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Geothermal Oasis Alternatives on Ice Planet I have an Earth analog that is nearly completely covered in ice and glaciers. I want to have oases of warmth scattered across the planet. These oases aren't tropical by any means, having just enough heat to support soil temperatures warm enough to allow tree growth. However, geothermal heat often see... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Modern Landscape Lacking Wood Decomposers What would a modern landscape look like with the absence of lignin decomposing fungi, bacteria, and etc. What I mean is...would a forested area just become filled with fallen trees instead of a more "open" forest floor. (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Underground Atmosphere I have a terrestrial planet that is similar to Mars in many ways, a desert-like surface, thin atmosphere, and inhospitable to large flora and fauna as we know it. This planet has ceased tectonic activity yet still has a weak active core producing geothermal power. The planet also has a wide array o... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Technological Animal Control In various TV series and movies villains or organisations have been shown to control animals through technological or cybernetic means, such as the future predators in Primeval. These creatures have technological implants that allow them to be controlled remotely by one individual from a tablet. Theo... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Interplanetary/Interstellar World Blight I have a bacterial organism called the "World Blight" this creature's life cycle revolves around being introduced to a new planet, spreading across the planet and terraforming it to its liking, and then somehow reproducing. This organism is an extremophile being able to withstand extreme heat, cold, ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A Planet with No Animals Assuming that an Earth analog was inhabited by both plants and animals like our Earth. Could the non-animal life on the planet survive the absence of animals (excluding sponges and corals) on the planet? Assume that all non-animal life (plants, fungi, bacteria) is unaffected and the animals were wipe... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Abnormal Freezing Weather I have an Earth-like planet that has no frozen poles. It is very similar to a Cretaceous Earth. Is there any sort of odd, yet reoccurring weather event, that could cause freezing air from the upper atmosphere to descend quickly to lower the temperature of several islands in a non-polar latitude down ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Floating Ocean Vegetation I have several types of free-floating vegetation to pick from: Trees Reeds/grasses Lily Pad like-plants Which type would best survive in the open ocean supporting small pockets of creatures, since they would be faced with winds, waves, and other dangers? Edit: I want these plants to float at the... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Cave/Subterranean Lighting I have a cave that is ravine like and stretches approximately one kilometer down into the Earth. Let's assume that the cave has a clear, crystalline roof allowing some light in. Is there any sort of crystal, mineral, substance, or something else naturally occurring that could reflect light into mos... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Botanical Barricades I have a clonal colony of trees that are around 150 meters in height and live in a wetland habitat. These trees cover the majority of the wetland area, covering thousands of square miles. What reasons would the trees have for growing a "wall" of aerial roots (like cypress knees) only at the edge of... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Spaceship Engineering & Infrastructure Challenges: Air Currents I have a spherical spaceship that is about 2 kilometers in diameter with an outer clear, yet strong shell. This spaceship is largely made up of empty space occupied by air. Aside from this the spaceship has concentric rings that spin to produce artificial gravity on the surface of the rings. Ignoring... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Mega-Dandelion Seed Size How large, referring to weight, could a Dandelion seed become before the wind was no longer able to carry them away? Assume the physiology of both the seed and plant remain the same besides being scaled up in size. Also assume that the wind must be able to carry them under "normal" weather conditions... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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Oxygen Producing Chemosynthesis Chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of inorganic matter to create nutrients to sustain living organisms. One of the most widely known or popular examples is its use in the Giant Tube Worm, which uses an organ that contains chemosynthetic bacteria. The chemosynthesis of hydrogen sulfide uses... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Alcohol Secreting Gastropod (Booze Snail) I have an arboreal snail whose diet consists of largely fruit, would it be feasible through its natural bodily processes it turns part of these fruits into palatable alcohol to secrete as a defense mechanism to ward potential predators off? (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Is a Continent of Karstic Plateaus Feasible The Tsingy National Park is popular for its unique karstic plateaus. These karstic plateaus are thousands of large sharp pillars or needles that stretch towards the sky, creating a wide variety of unique niches. These formations are made from the process of water erosion on limestone. Is a continent... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Feasibility of Symbiotic/Beneficial Parasites Is it feasible for an ectoparasite such as a a Tick to create a symbiotic relationship with its host? The hosts feeds the tick and the tick has some sort of beneficial substance within its saliva. This could be some sort of naturally evolved anti-fungal or anti-biotic. This relationship would allow t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Largest Flower Size Possible On an Earth analog, assuming all the selective pressures necessary are there, how large can a flower's bloom evolve to be? I'm referring the the vegetative part of the flower, the petals! I have no clue how large a bloom could become since different species have varying petal strengths, of which I ca... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Realistic Shapeshifter Attempt Imagine a sessile, multi-cellular slime like organism (or whatever necessary) awaits in a burrow or along a tree branch. Then an animal lands in its ooze and is trapped and soon paralyzed by its venom like secretions. Then the shapeshifter envelops the creature, digesting it completely and obtaining ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Semi-Aquatic Ants Is it plausible for a species of ant that inhabits a mangrove-like marine environment to have their abdomen evolve into a tail-like appendage for swimming to move from tree to tree to forage? (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Marine Animals best suited for domestication? What marine or brackish water animals would be best for domestication attempts by a semi-aquatic civilization? Bonus Points for those that get me pet/domesticated sharks! (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Feasibility of a mainly forested planet I have a small planet with a Radius of 3,900 kilometers and a density of 8.9 g/cc. It has an extremely Earth-like climate and has been extremely volcanically and geologically active in the "recent" past, creating numerous fissures, lava tubes, and the like. This planet will only have a few freshwater... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could natural selection imitate humans' selective breeding? I have a small isolated archipelago. Is it feasible that the flora of the island through natural selection (with animals favoring bigger fruits) has been steered to evolve large, plump fruits of the same caliber as or much like what humans have produced through selective breeding? (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Is a Muscular Net feasible? I have a clam that has modified its foot to make a flat, net-like structure to catch insects often shaped like a leaf. I wanted to know where this hit in terms of feasibility or if there were any examples of an appendage like this in nature. It lives in an extremely humid canopy that is full of wate... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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What is the maximum height for coral? I have a type of coral that feeds off of bacteria that love bird feces (or something involving a bird species). It grows large rocky spires out of the water to create a habitat for birds. I need to know how high these spires can get realistically and if coral could even grow above the water's surface... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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What are the minimum dimensions for planetary rings to be as visible as the moon in our night sky? What are the minimum dimensions (length, width, height, etc.) for rings to at least be as significant (as in brightness/visibility) in the night sky as our moon? Since there are so many variables that come with latitude, and angles in relation to the planet: How big would the rings need to be to be ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Skin of Large, Terrestrial Amphibians I have some large, megafauna level amphibians inhabiting a temperate rainforest with naturally high levels of humidity. Would my large amphibians have any problems maintaining a classic amphibian type of skin (smooth & slimy) or would they need skin for akin to reptilian scales? Thanks! (Ignore circ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Feasibility of Giant Fungi I have a temperate rainforest environment within the arctic circle of my planet. What is the feasibility of fungi storing nutrients from dead matter during the daylight hours, then erupting to create a very tall (10-20 ft. ) cap & stem/fruiting body? I'm asking because I know fungi used to get rathe... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Polar Day/Night This is my first question so any feedback is appreciated! I basically have an Earth analog that has an axial tilt of approximately 12 degrees instead of Earth's 23, and I wanted to find out how I could approximate the length of the longer polar nights the flora and fauna would be subjected too. Thank... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |