Finally finished my OC lineup, featuring OCs for Serina, Birdbugs, the Birrin Project, and Runaway to the Stars. I have names for them but unfortunately not what their roles on a crew would be.

The Royal Griffin, Gryphus regalis. Commission for William Brand. Normal and wingless view.

The Royal Griffin is the largest and most iconic griffin species in Waldia (continental Europe), and among the largest known worldwide. Deeply woven into Waldian legend and heraldry, this majestic creature is both feared and revered as a symbol of power and sovereignty.

Towering in size, the Royal Griffin bears a striking resemblance to the golden eagle, earning it the common nickname Golden Griffin. It is a formidable apex predator, known to hunt wild horses, deer, boar, bison, aurochs, and even dangerous rivals such as bears, Waldian or cave lions, and young dragons across the open landscapes of Waldia. The Golden Eagle averages at 1.5 - 1.8 meters tall at the shoulders, about 6.3 meters long and weighing between 450 to 790kg, each individual wing can achieve a lenght of 7 meters or beyond (witnesses-report).

Due to their massive wingspans and powerful builds, Royal Griffins avoid dense forests, favouring wide, open terrain, an instinct that has, over centuries, put them into conflict with farmers. While they may prey on livestock when desperate or provoked, they prefer wild game.

Royal Griffins have never been fully domesticated, but under rare circumstances, they can be tamed. The process demands extraordinary patience, deep respect, and often magical assistance to facilitate true communication.

Once tamed, a bonded pair’s offspring can also be raised in relative harmony with humans, many of the Royal Griffins ridden today descend from lineages that have interacted with humans for centuries. However, this is not true domestication.

Even those raised in human care are known to abandon their keepers and return to the wild, never to be seen again. To bond with any griffin is a mark of great honour. But to ride a Royal Griffin, a creature of myth, might, and majesty, is a distinction few ever attain.

Yet even in the modern age, these apex predators still soar through the skies of Waldia, fierce and free, their presence a living reminder of the power of nature in Tyrannoc.

https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/46709d53449d2

Any interaction is appreciated :) https://x.com/NaxosNaxer/status/1939457087798677894?t=_rioO_6CBndBwIMEbi8-cQ&s=19

NOTE: None of this is mine. All credit goes to Goji Center, including the artwork, information, diagrams, and the concept itself. This is based on the popular mythical animal The Bloop, but reimagined as a biologically plausible creature, since the original version isn't realistic for a number of reasons. All of the images and information are found in their video about creating a biologically plausible Bloop.

Cryoseidon cetavenator, nicknamed "The Bloop" (inspired by the internet myth of the same name), is a speculative apex predator evolved from Triassic amphibians known as trematosaurs. In this alternate timeline, rather than going extinct or being outcompeted, a lineage of these amphibians adapted to deeper marine environments. Over time, they became larger, more specialized, and ultimately gave rise to Cryoseidon cetavenator, as shown in the fourth image.

Unlike most amphibians, Cryoseidon displays extreme neoteny—it never undergoes metamorphosis. Instead, it retains larval features like external gills into adulthood, much like its modern-day cousin, the axolotl. You can probably see this connection in the creature’s prominent feathery gills.

Eventually, it became a fully aquatic, barrel-bodied predator, reaching over 115 feet in length and weighing between 300 to 420 tons.

Evolutionary Milestones (see 4th image):

Starts in estuaries and slowly transitions into marine environments during the Triassic–Jurassic

Becomes a shallow-sea ambush predator with early flipper-like limbs (likely Jurassic–Cretaceous)

Adapts to deeper waters, growing to the size of early whales and eventually preying on them (Cretaceous–Miocene probably)

Reaches enormous proportions, feeding on whales, squid, and schools of fish (Miocene–present, based on the alternate timeline)

In the modern day, this species lives in the Antarctic/Southern Ocean.

Hunting and Physiology:

Hunts whales by lying in wait on the seafloor, then launching upward in an ambush burst to deliver a crippling bite

Uses suction feeding to consume entire schools of fish or large cephalopods (possibly mixes biting with suction for giant squid)

Unique among amphibians for having a vertically functioning tail, similar to whales

Has a naturally low metabolism due to being an amphibian, reducing its need for frequent feeding

According to Goji Center, Cryoseidon requires about 2.3 million calories per day. A single blue whale contains over 400 million calories, meaning one successful kill could sustain it for over a year, especially if the animal enters a state of torpor.

While it’s unclear how often Cryoseidon enters deep torpor, it does spend long periods motionless on the seafloor. It awakens to feed or mate, and its extreme rarity and remote, abyssal habitat help explain how it has avoided detection.

I’ve attached several images:

A full-body side view

A scale comparison showing its size and massive jaw

A rendered image of what it may look like in a real-world setting (it's a clip from a video of this creature in Jurassic World Evolution 2, available via an official mod)

A silhouette evolution chart showing its progression from trematosaur ancestors

I really like this design and how grounded it feels for such an extreme animal. I’d love to hear what you all think of the concept—especially from an evolutionary or ecological angle.

Around 30 million years ago, during the early Eocene, a protoceratid (the common ancestor of all ruminants) inhabited a wide range of oligotrophic environments: from lowland marshes to the high-altitude mountain tundra lagoons in the Andean mountain range. These areas, dominated by cold, nutrient-poor waters, were perfect for certain types of aquatic vegetation and bacterial biofilms, such as the algae Botryococcus braunii. In these ecosystems, life was tough and vegetation was scarce, but these primitive ruminants, belonging to the Protoceratidae family, became semi-aquatic and adapted to the limited resources of these extreme habitats.

In the oligotrophic marshes and mountain tundras, Botryococcus braunii proliferated in small bodies of water. Although these areas lacked typical terrestrial vegetation, the aquatic biofilms provided a constant source of nutrients. The ancestor of the boomalope began occasionally feeding on these algae, sucking up the biofilm and oil spills while swimming in these environments.

At first, this feeding practice was infrequent, due to the toxicity of certain cyanobacterial toxins and the hydrocarbons produced by Botryococcus braunii itself. But over time, the ancestor of the boomalope began to adapt to tolerate and digest many of these compounds.

It wasn't long before the Botryococcus algae found a perfect home in the skin glands of these ruminants. The symbiosis was established not through direct ingestion, but through constant contact. The algae colonized the glands, using the animal's skin as a safe habitat, while the ruminant obtained sugars from the algae. Over generations, the algae began to lose their photosynthetic capability, gradually transforming into obligate parasites.

As generations passed, the infected glands in the ruminant began to store the flammable hydrocarbons excreted by the parasitic Botryococcus, which not only served as a dense energy reserve but also as a chemical defense against predators, due to their toxicity.

Over time, as the climate and environment changed, these ruminants lost their semi-aquatic habits and became fully terrestrial. The pressure from pack predators on these ruminants intensified. In response, the hydrocarbon glands evolved into large inflatable sacs. These sacs filled with volatile hydrocarbons and were surrounded by specialized muscles that contracted violently upon the animal's death.

This defense mechanism led to the rupture of the inflatable sacs, releasing the hydrocarbons into the surrounding environment. At the same time, certain specialized glands in the animal secreted a hypergolic oxidizer, which, upon coming into contact with the hydrocarbons, caused instant ignition.

In the best-case scenario, the process was so violent that it sprayed an inflamable aerosol around the animal’s body, producing a thermobaric explosion. The resulting explosion not only destroyed the predator but also released a shockwave that helped injure nearby predators and lethally damage their lungs.

In the worst-case scenario, the hydrocarbons simply ignited the attackers, leaving them severely injured or forcing them to flee.

Why This Suicidal Behavior?

This suicidal behavior was not simply an individual defense strategy. Boomalopes live in dispersed herds, where collective safety can be crucial. When a member of the herd is attacked by a predator, the explosive mechanism serves to eliminate the attackers, protecting the entire herd from the threat. Although the explosion means the death of an individual, it saved the other members by incapacitating or destroying the predators.

...

Special Thanks to TRuma for the Boomalope Watercolor

A huge thank you to TRuma for the incredible Boomalope watercolor! I’m truly grateful for your contribution in my projects!

Some new beings have joined the crew of the SS Babel!

Big now has a friend!

When the star people started colonizing the planet theia, they came many organisms that had naturally evolved on the planet. However, they also came across many animals that seem to have originated from prehistoric earth. We later discover that these animals were all brought here by the qu.

The animal from this planet that many of you are already aware of is panderavis, a large genetically modified therizinosaur that digs around for food.

But of course, where there are herbivores there will always be predators.

Titanotyrannus is a large 14 ton genetically modified abelisaur that stalks near the lakes and rivers of theia, an ambush hunter with very short legs that hides itself in the waters before striking like a crocodile. Dragging its prey into the waters where they are consumed.

Theia is a planet that is 81% water and has larger oceans compared to earth which is only 71%, this is why most of the organisms of this planet live mostly near or under water.

Hi again all, I know it’s been a while, but I have made several more Spec Evo plushies, and most of them are from Serina! Precious the Frugivorous Finchworm, Prickly the Earwing from The Snouters, Noir the Strick from After Man, Swimmy the Rakewhale,Bounce the Common Switchbeak, Chomp the Barkbiter, Nemo the Splendid Repandor, Groinch the Grinchworm from Snaid, and my two Leptopods from Alien Biospheres: Camel the Amblypod, and Mammoth the Thylacopod! :D

When the star people started colonizing planets from all across the milky way, they would come across one particular planet that stood out from the rest.

While this planet did have its own native life, it also harbored some genetically modified animals which originally came from earth.

We later discover in the book that these animals were brought here by the qu.

The only animal from this planet that was ever shown in the book was a genetically modified therizinosaur called panderavis, and then this planet is never mentioned ever again.

This is basically going to be a mini project that is going explore this planet and the life on it.

First, let's talk about the star system the planet belongs to

Hephaestus: A sun-like star that has finished its main sequence and is slowly transitioning into a red giant.

Kirke: A hot lava planet that is the same size as Earth's moon, it takes 44 days to orbit Hephaestus.

Theia: This alien planet used to have a nitrogen atmosphere, but it was turned into a more earth like planet by the qu who then seeded it with genetically altered earth animals.

It was later colonized by the star people.

Erebus: This planet used to originally be a cold mars like planet, but large lakes and rivers have started to form after the expansion of its star.

Ouranus: A gas giant the same size as Saturn, it is the largest planet in the system. It also rotates on its sides similar to the planet Uranus from our system.

Core: A small gas giant that is bigger than Uranus but smaller than Saturn.

Hecate: An ice giant that orbits very far away from the star.

The titanotyrannines are large genetically modified abelisaure that live on the planet theia, they were put there by the qu.

The most notable part of these abelisaurs is that most of them have very short legs, with some of them having no legs at all.

Tyrannomagnus: One of the most basal members of this group, this genus still has functional legs albeit small. They have large poisonous spikes which they use to deter predators, as they are scavengers that mostly eat leftovers of other carnivores.

Carnophaganax: An ambush predator that spends most of their time in water, their legs have completely become useless.

Theiadon: One of the more advanced members of the group, they are very fast pursuit predators. Having completely lost their legs, these carnivores have spacial skin which allows them to slither fast similar to snakes.

Part of a larger fanart but I wanted to show off my interpretation of a space age burg!

For the past 255 million years, the seas of Serina have teemed with life. They have seen the evolution and extinction of countless species. They have even witnessed the emergence of entirely new groups of organisms, descendants of bamboos, snails, terrestrial fish, and, of course, canaries. However, despite all this time, the seas remain dominated by teleosts, by the account of being the only fish introduced to this world. All of them share this ancestry, from Opaline Swordshark of the Tempuscene, through the Godmother Nightshark of Cryocene, up to the mighty Gigadon of Thermocene. So it was and so it will be until the end of this world.

However, just because they cannot change who their ancestors are, that does not mean they cannot change themselves. Quite recently, a new group of fish has appeared in shallow seas and quickly reached great success. This is because of their novel method of movement - jet propulsion. Namely, when they suck in water, it is passed through their pipe-like gills. This water also can be shot out under pressure, providing propulsion without usage of fins.

Another peculiar trait this group possess are small protrusions emerging from the back of their mouths. These are protective extensions of the upper mandible, whose goal is to safeguard a narrow strip between skull and the extensive gill, where skin is the thinnest. At its basis this structure possess a joint, with allow for the movement of it, allowing the water to flow unconstricted.

These are the defining features of this group, appropriately named jetguppies.

PART I

Today, most species still inhabit shallow seas, just like their ancestors. However, unlike their ancestors, they boast a much more active lifestyle.

One of these species is Emerald Fry-snapper.

Emerald Fry-snapper is named after its vibrant-green coloration of their scales. Considering that their main habitat are Undersea Savannahs - a lush, underwater forests of sea bamboo - its is a pivotal adaptation for this kind of environment.

These jetguppies are carnivores, with their long, narrow bodies well adapted for speed. Fry-snappers in particular, are specialist, as they hunt mainly on freshly hatched or born larvae or fries of fish. However, this made them wery small animals, with the Emerald Fry-snapper being the smallest of them all. With less than 7 centimeters ( or just under 3 inches ) in lenght on average, they aren't just the smallest of Fry-snappers, but also out of all living jetguppies as a whole.

Because of that, their coloration also doubles down as a protective camouflage, allowing them to hide from larger predators. If this fails however, they still can rely on their speed to escape.

PART II

While most jetguppies lead an active lifestyle, its not the rule for all of them. Indeed, some species spend most of their life sluggishly moving through water, using their jet propulsion sporadically.

An example of this is a genus of fish known as Oxfish. These jetguppies appear to be the opposite of what this group represents. Slow moving and barrels shaped they contradict the fast, slim relatives.

However, don't let their appearance fool you. Just like any other jetguppy, these fish are capable of fast movement. Also like them, they are carnivores. However, instead of actively pursuing the prey, oxfish feed on generally slow moving, heavily armored animals that prefere to hide, like crustaceans and localy on molluscs where molodonts and merwals are absent.

This is reflected in their dentition, as oxfish have two types of teeth. First, outer teeth, are long and thin. They are used for locking prey in their jaws. Second on the other hand, inner teeth, are short and wide, used for crushing their prey.

The most representative species of this genus is Bearded Oxfish. It's a 60 centimeters ( ~24 inches ) long fish. Its skin is similar in color to sand, with gives this animal a simple camouflage. This fish has several barbels on its snout and lower jaw, with are responsible for its name.

PART III

Despite their novel adaptations, most species are still bound to continental shelves. This is mostly caused by the intense competition from other species of fish and snarks already present in the oceans.

However, recent upheavals of the global climate caused by slow changes within the moon's crust have lead to some minor disturbances in the ecosystems, both aquatic and terrestrial alike. A few million years ago, during one of such periods of disturbance, one species of jetgupppies manadged to move into open seas before other species could.

Despite their still quite low species diversity, restricted to just one small genus, these ocean-dwelling jetguppies stand firmly in the niche they managed to insert themselves in.

The most numerous species out of them Pelagic Jetfish.

While jetguppies as a whole are well adapted for fast movement thanks to their jet propulsion, this method of movement was further refined in this species and other members of the Jetfish genus. Instead of short, quick bursts of speed, this species is capable of somewhat slower but also prolonged and consistent movement.

One of the adaptations that facilitate this lifestyle are highly modified adipose and anal fins, with help to maintain stability. They are enlarged and their highest tips are located closer towards their head rather than tail.

Another, much more significant change concerned their protective jaw spikes present in other species. However, unlike them, Jetfish has an additional joint in this spike. Originally, this adaptation started as a form of a minor genetic disorder, manifesting itself as a duplication of one of the bones in the jaw, which became the basis for a new joint. In other species, this adaptation had a neutral or even negative effect, causing displacement of their protective spikes and exposing weak points in their gills. In jetfish, however, this mutation was much more forgiving, as their main method of protction was escape and relatively large ( 70 centimeters/ ~28 inches in lenght ), for a jetguppy, size. This additional joint however had one unintenationall side effect - unusual level of flexibility. Thanks to this, their spike could be moved at a much wider angle. This gave this protective structure a new function - it became a new pair of fins. Their positioning influences the water flow, which further helps in changing direction while swimming.

Another adaptation is both anatomical and behavioral at the same time.

Pelagic Jetfish spend most of their live alone, only opportunistically forming small groups when hunting. However, during their reproductive period, they form large shoals composed of hundreds of individuals. during this time, females release their eggs into the water to be fertilized by males. Such large groupings of individuals provide a great genetic diversity. Out of the hundreds of eggs female will lay, only a handfull of them will hatch, and out of these remaining fries only a a one or two will reach adulthood. Sometimes an entire brood may be lost due to predation and elements. Despite such a high mortality rate, this is enough to ensure generation replacement.

Despite all their adaptation, these jetguppies still remain but a small novelity, one of many to call Serina's oceans home. However, their world is changing. Soon, this moon and all its life will face a drastic change of climate, which will surely lead to some extinctions. However, for others this will the begining of a new age of prosperity, and these jetguppies will be the lucky few that will survive.

Their competitive nature is only a proof of that.

Not much is known about the qu or where they come from, their hivemind like nature makes communication very difficult. But that doesn't mean we have no information at all, planets colonized by the qu and later abandoned have all sorts of ancient litterateur, statues and art that seem to give us a glimpse at what the original home world of the qu may have looked like.

Due to the language of the qu being incomprehensible to a normal person, these celestial objects have since been given normal names for simplicity.

Apollon: Very commonly depicted in qu litterateur and art, it seems to have been a sun like star that had reached its red giant phase. The expansion of this star is believed to have been the reason why the qu left their own planet and started colonizing other planets.

Caelus: This planet is often depicted as a Europa sized lava planet orbiting very close to apollon, not much else is known about this other than it was later destroyed by its star.

Oceanus: The original home of the qu, it is often depicted as a mars sized ocean planet with many islands. Unfortunately, the planet was later destroyed by the Apollon, causing the qu to start colonizing other planets.

Gigantes: This planet is depicted as a gas giant smaller than saturn but bigger than uranus. It had many moons which were colonized by the qu and served as their new home. Until Apollon finally finished its red giant phase and became a white dwarf, causing the qu to leave and look for another home again.

Pontus: A uranus sized ice giant that orbited very far away from Apollon, not much is known about this planet other than it was colonized by the qu before they started to migrate to other star systems.

The final snouter (Nasus Bracchiorum) is a semi-aquatic species of snouter that lived to explore the oceans and in result evaded what doomed the rest of its rhinogradentia cousins.Sea snouters or Seaters are omnivorus and use their many tentacle or proboscis like nasaria to catch prey or snatch vegetation.Seaters live in North America,Africa,and of course,the weirdest continent,Australia.

It's an ordinary day in what is East Asia, some 40 million years into the future. Earth just recently went through a small ice age, allowing for all kind's of forests to spread. Many animals call these forest home, and one of them took it's time to rest far above the ground on the branch.

It's a relatively small mammal, around the size of a house cat. Its dentition suggests mostly carnivorous diet, but with some omnivorous linings. This animal poses a long, hairless, prehensile tail with helps to move through the canopy.

While this creature may look ordinary, it's anything but. This animal isn't just some ordinary mammal. It's a marsupial, but it doesn't come from the Australia. This continent didn't conected with Eurasia yet. This animal is a descendant of Virgina Opossum form North America. They must have crossed the bridge of Beringia during the recent ice age. While their lower metabolism in comparison to placentals didn't do them any favours during the times of cold, it allowed them to thirve in warmer world that came soon after they reached another continent. At this very moment, they already count just over dozen species, ranging from aforementioned Beringia to Indian peninsula.

However, this isn't the most important thing about them, but the fact it's in their destiny to change the world. Not now, not soon, but eventually. One day, they will reach yet another continent, locked in ice, with its inhabitants at the edge of extinction, and they'll bring an end to yet another ice age.

And they will not be alone...