Metazoica

This was an interesting article I found, and something to think about in a speculative biology project. How dogs survived so long and reproduced in an infected area, like Chernobyl. The dogs did not die of the radiation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They have survived and thrived, and still do today. Although you won't want one of these dogs in your home, unless you have a death wish. But they offer some great examples of how animals can live in an area infected with radiation. It could even give some insight to how animals can survive cataclysms that might end humanity. So I thought this was a good subject to post here. To view the article, you can go here  https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/pets/chernobyl-s-feral-dogs-offer-clues-to-radiation-s-role-in-evolution/ar-AA1v0yOb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ACTS&cvid=4d41b9f4b3fd4e1d98192c329b8cac1f&ei=17 Chernobyl's Feral Dogs Offer Clues to Radiation's Role in Evolution Story by Angela Park Have you ever thought of...

 The same object that is said to have wiped out life throughout history may also have been the one event that brought life to this planet. Of course, that has been a theory for quite some time now. I used to hear about it back in the 90s. When I was a kid, my ma used to threaten me when she couldn't handle me with "I brought you into this world, and I'll take you out!" This theory brings a whole new meaning to that phrase. This article I found this morning believes that an asteroid is responsible for bringing life to Earth. That would mean that we are not originally earthlings. Also that there must be other forms of life out there living their lives on another planet. Maybe more advanced than we are? Who knows? What could these other forms look like? Could they be creatures with 9 legs and tentacles growing out of their head? Are 9 legs possible in any life form anywhere? I guess that would depend on it's surroundings. The reason we retained the formula of having ...

 I found this article very interesting. Apparently, taxonomic names can be used more than once. So, a few of the names I had to change before, I changed back. For example, Dolichotragus is back to being called Juncus . It's the name of a reed, but I am also using it for a slender therapedid on my list. It's actually a name I gave the animal back when I first created it in the 1980s. So, I think I should continue using it. Now that I have read this article, I know that it is OK. I'm posting the article here, as I thought this might help anyone creating their own futuristic project. If you want to read the full article, you can also view these rules at this link . Rules for assigning scientific names have become well codified in order to keep the names internationally unambiguous and understandable. The full set of rules is rather involved, but the most important parts are fairly simple: Rules for ZoologyBinomens - A genus name is one word. A species name is binomial -- the ...

 Well, I kinda got a burst of inspiration from working on the Australian bush foxes yesterday. So, I've been working on my checklist for Metazoica. I thought it was proper to add the other foxes to the canine family in the Metazoic, because to be honest with you, I don't believe foxes are going anywhere. There's a slight difference. There are 4 genera of foxes, instead of simply using the one that is classified today. I divided the genus Vulpes into 4 separate genera. I'm using not only Vulpes (northern forest foxes), but also Fennecus (for old world desert foxes), Neocyon (for American prairie foxes) and Alopex for the arctic and corsac foxes. Then, of course I added Urocyon , which is a genus currently in use today for the gray foxes. I also added a few species of my own to these genera. For example, the silver and "cross fox" are separate species in the genus Vulpes . Today, they are simply mutations of the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ). But, I figure by t...

 I was surfing the internet yesterday. I was looking for a picture of a particular animal for a project I'd like to somehow work on that has NOTHING to do with Metazoica or speculative biology. I was looking for a picture of a numbat. A numbat, in case you didn't know, is a small marsupial, said to be related to the extinct Tasmanian tiger. It's one of Australia's most beautiful animals, IMO. Well, I've known about numbats long enough to know one when I see one. But what I found was definitely not numbats! Eventually I did find a pic of a numbat, but these pics I found caught my eye and captured my heart and imagination. Apparently, they are AI generated. The coloring was almost reminiscent of a numbat, but the structure of the body and head were very different. The appearance was more like that of a cross between a mongoose and a fox. With a little bit of a squirrel thrown in there. Well, this gave me a new idea. I do need some more entries for my checklist to fina...

 An amazing event happened now, in 2024, that has only happened twice before in Earth's history. Watch this video for details... It looks like new life may be emerging. The first time this happened on Earth, it gave us mitochondria. The second time brought plants that get their nutrients from the sunlight. So, I wonder in the next billion years, what lifeforms are going to spring up from this symbiotic merging. Modern scientists already have a name for this new potential of life. They called them "Nitroplasts". Probably because they feed on nitrogen in the air. But either way, scientists are very excited about this event happening right before our eyes. It's a very rare event that truly only happens once every billion years. To me, this is exciting. The potential for new lifeforms is amazing. And to think, it's happening right now, in my lifetime! Of course I will not be around to see what is made of this, but the thought of what it could turn into is an exciting ...

So, what vertebrates have been the most successful throughout the history of the world? Was it dinosaurs? No. They were around for about 250 million years before they went extinct 65 million years ago. I'd say insects but I don't think they count. LOL! I think it's perhaps the mammals that are the most successful. Why? Because they ruled the land twice. It started in the Permian period. I used to look at mammals as evolutionary losers. Especially after Jurassic Park and what I learned about dinosaurs after becoming fascinated by them in the movie. It was actually reading Dougal Dixon's book that made me a believer in the age of mammals. In the Permian, we had synapsids. We cannot call them "mammal-like reptiles" anymore, but they were reptiles with mammal-like characteristics. Most people today refer to them as "mammaliformes". Which is a name I originally was going to assign to the mammals of tomorrow because there are a few distinct differences bet...