How would organisms adapt to survive darkness beasts? [expansion to my old question]

Question

[This is an expanded/refined version of my old question: How would animals adapt to darkness-made beasts? ]

Premise: 'Beasts'/Seraphins are other-worldly intangible beings (you can't touch them, but they can touch you[edit]) that appear and reside within our world's dark places (caves, basements (if unlit) and the general wilderness at nighttime etc.) However, when exposed to some (depending on intensity) light, (only parts exposed to light, e.g., if only the arm is lit, only the arm is tangible.) They turn tangible and can be killed/harmed. However, it is very very unlikely that they will willingly stay tangible and so will avoid light as much as possible- they fear the light, in a way, as it makes them vulnerable and susceptible to harm.

They seek our 'dark places' as their own dimension is always unbearably bright- so much so that not only does it disable their incorporeal abilities; but also puts them in constant agony. There is no single surface/crevice/area in their home dimension that doesn't emit said 'blinding light'. However, they can open dimensional 'slits' that allow them to slip into our dimension- where darkness is quite abundant.

Information on 'Seraphins'

Appearance:

• Seraphins appear as semi-humanoid creatures that are invisible to the human eye save for infrared viewing devices, ie. infrared goggles, scopes, etc. as they do emit infrared radiation. Concept: [Credit to: Thomas Istepanyan @Artstation]

The main idea is that they look semi-humanoid ie. example/concept given above- but more on the colourful side. They also have human-ish features akin to 'Titans' from Attack on titan where they go into the realm of the 'uncanny valley'.

Consumption- Seraphins do consume food- mainly animals and humans, if given the chance. Sea creatures or any creature submerged in water is an exception- they cannot enter water. (Though if a building was underwater and was unlit, they could 'slip' into it.)

Behaviour-Their main behavioural patterns is akin to that of the previously mentioned 'Titans' (Attack on titan) where they wander aimlessly seeking food, though they will ignore prey if they are 'full'. The Seraphins are quite common- You might encounter 5-10 if you are in darkness.

Danger- Very dangerous mainly due to their inherent intangibility, most animals (unless they emit light.) can't interact with them, and humans (without light.) Can't either. Because of this, if you are in the dark you are pretty much already dead if a Seraphin takes an interest into eating you. No creature really presents it any danger- excluding animals/humans who emit light and other Seraphin. However, even if you manage to make it corporeal, if it feels in danger in any way whatsoever- they're dastardly hard to kill. If, in their corporeal form, put into the food chain, they would definitely be the apex of apex predators- A dog, wolf, bear or even a couple of lions will have a very hard time killing it- if it doesn't kill you first. In danger, it can move surprisingly quickly- think maximum human capabilities. Their attacks consist of human-esc grabbing, hitting, biting and clawing.

Guns and well-made melee weaponry eg. Spears or swords (if used with skill) can be enough to kill one, though more than one human taking it on would be advisable.

Weaknesses-

• While Intangible- Light. to be exact, if you can read in said light comfortably without straining your eyes, it should be enough to deter them (turn them tangible.).
• Water- they cannot enter water, though they are not hurt by it. (throwing water on them when they are tangible wouldn't be effective.)
• While Tangible-
• Bullets
• Fire (like many other creatures)
• Starvation (if kept tangible 24/7 and not fed)
• Mutilation/loss of blood (In this case, a golden ichor-like liquid)

Basically anything that will kill humans and animals, though in some cases eg. pure blunt trauma, just on a higher scale.

Question: How might Fauna (animals) adapt?

Could organisms (excluding plants- though they may also evolve to form a symbiotic relationship with some animals) adapt to emit light or would they have to rely on lantern/torch/floodlight/electrical light produced by humans for survival? [edit] More specifically, evolution leaning towards bioluminescence/chemoluminescence in plants and animals, Even more specifically just animals in general, ie. Predators and Prey (by this I mean if you talk about bio-luminescent defences for prey, for example, 'prey' will be an umbrella term for all prey) - nothing too specific like a whole species/family.

Answer 1

I don't think bioluminescence would be the best adaptation to this scenario. A bioluminescent animal would need to emit a strong light to keep away such creatures. But other than being very hard (I don't think any known bioluminescent animal can emit so much light), it would render the animal quite vulnerable to "normal" predators.

So my thoughts about adaptation:

• become a not-so-desirable prey: selection would probably reward small animals with high fertility (like mice), since they would be too small to be a suitable food source and anyway they would be able to quickly recover from the losses of population (even because they would face no competition or danger from bigger animals, which would be the preferred preys of seraphins). Moreover, animals that have bad taste (for the palates of the seraphins) would gain a big advantage over other animals and would become dominant

• become a nocturnal animal: animals that are awake in the night would gain some small advantage (maybe they could have a chance to flee from seraphins, even if it seems unlikely, given the description of their powers)

• become a partially aquatic animal: some animals would learn that under water, in the night, they're safe, so they could adapt to sleep (or anyway pass the night) submerged under water: hippos, dolphins or otters could somehow protect themselves this way. Maybe even elephants could adapt (they would pass the nights under water, keeping the tip of their trunks a bit over water to breath)

Answer 2

You would see more species with pit organs - these would allow the animals to "see" the Seraphins in the Infra Red spectrum.

Depending on the nature of their "inability to enter water" (is it just an aversion, or does it act like a static solid object such as the floor in their intangible state?) you might find animals start living behind waterfalls, or otherwise surrounded by water

Answer 3

I'd say everything we see today, just more of it.

The following just to mention a few.

Bioluminescence: A glowing sheep is just an annoying meal to the Seraphin, so I'd imagine it's mainly useful for animals that can additionally deter the Seraphin once corporeal. As others mentioned, glowing in the dark would also make you very vulnerable to traditional predators.

Additionally, if animals seek light to escape the Seraphins, it could be used by other predators for hunting purposes.

Poison and Venom: Your monsters aren't immune to poison as far as you stated, so being poisonous is a means of adapting. Nor do they need to be very corporeal to be vulnerable to deadly venom.

Passive defences: The Seraphins are incorporeal in the dark, but can touch you. How does it deal with spikes such as the porcupine, or a hard protective shell?

Camouflage: Can't hunt what you can't see, smell, hear.

Escaping: Any means of escape such as speed/endurance, swimming or flight. Nocturnal birds might be the majority of your fauna as such, other animals might gather around water as the Seraphins can't enter it.

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I'd imagine anything that's dangerous, and can be made both to emit light and stick to the Seraphins would be a massive problem for them. Imagine squirting glowing sticky acid at the Seraphin, or lighting them on fire with a bit of oil.

Answer 4

One idea, if these creatures evolved with other lifeforms, is other lifeforms use bioluminescence to deter them.

Maybe a frog that spits or oozes it, that also has spikes. If this "beast" attempted to eat the frog, the bioluminescence would make them "tangible" causing damage or pain in the beasts mouth.

However, this ability to become "intangible" isn't really possible with know evolutional processes, therefore, you can basically make up any defense or symbiotic forces you deem fit.

I do have an issue with this though. If normal matter cannot interact with them while they are in the dark, how can they interact with normal matter to eat them? I would imagine they would need to use some kind of light to allow them to kill their target.

Answer 5

Spoki0 mentioned bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is an excellent defense because it allows creatures to damage the Seraphins even when in the dark, but more specifically I think a certain type of bioluminescence would be put to use. The sea firefly emits a short burst of glowing liquid that confuses predators. What you could see are animals that glow in the dark more brightly as a fear or anger response, or even just when they encounter the Seraphins.

You could also see animals capable of spraying bioluminescent fluid like a bombardier beetle sprays its boiling caustic liquid. I have one question, they can eat animals from this dimension, but can animals from this dimension eat them? If so, you could see bioluminescent animals evolving that can produce very bright light from their body followed by the glowing spray. These animals would fill an important niche keeping these things in check, and would not have much competition with other predators.

Perhaps the ichor blood could be drunk, and these creatures might gain the appearance of, say, giant ticks (I hate ticks and I am cringing as I write this), but with massive lashing claws. Despite their terrifying and unnatural appearance, humans keep these creatures as pets because they are crucial for protecting human settlements. In exchange, humans would provide shelter and take care of the young. Another thing humans can do is provide medical treatment to injured animals, so these unsettling creatures might appear perfectly normal in human society. Maybe even considered loveable, like protective dogs.

It's just an idea, and it might not work if these creatures are chemically incompatible with life on earth, but it kind of sounds cool so I just wanted to present the idea. Life evolves to fill every niche, and if these beings are vulnerable to light than they could very well lose their role as apex predators. Instead, having to deal with something that is out for their blood.

Answer 6

Animals would tend to become more nocturne.

Since your seraphins are freaked out by any light, daylight would be safe enough for fauna.

By night, animals would use much the same defenses they already do to fight or flight. While it's true that sight does wonders by day, it is not the only sense available - most savannah animals for example are better than us humans at detecting threats through sound and smell.

So, supposing moonlight makes seraphins corporeal, they would be dangerous in caves, or in the open but on new moons mostly. Caves might not have enough biomass to sustain seraphins; in the open, animals will sleep by day and keep moving at night to avoid predation.

Remember that if seraphins are extremely good at hunting they might unbalance ecossystems by overhunting. If they decimate their prey in a season, they will starve on the next season and may go extinct due to hunger. Seraphins, like any other predator, will coevolve with their prey; So they might start developing handicaps to allow the ecossystem to rebalance itself.

Answer 7

The darkness beasts could lead to the evolution of sharp-edged internal cavities filled with water, which would be used as weapons. These structures would likely be contained in similarly shaped external structure, to prevent the beasts from grabbing on to the external structure of the weapon

Answer 8

In evolutionary terms they don't seem to have any real advantages; the light-aversion is a severe disadvantage. Unless they have a way of sneaking up on prey animals they are not much different to any other predator. (Could they catch a rabbit, or an antelope?)

They look to be killable enough by causing them to materialise around physical objects and a specialist predator or parasite would probably evolve to trick them into doing this.

I suspect they would be preyed on by something like a firefly/mosquito which makes them tangible by flashing and bites. They may also suffer from bioluminescent fungal infections.

Answer 9

These are aliens from another dimension. What happens to us depends on when they invade. If they show up after we have mastered fire, then we will do what we do best and drive them to extinction!

We have fire. A constant source of light, if it's properly tended, and a weapon in it's own right. As social creatures, some of us will take the night shift and tend the fire, or else everyone dies. With a constant light source, they can't approach us unless they want to get stabbed or burned. So they'll leave us alone, if they know what's good for them.

But that's not enough. We have big brains and big families that require a lot of food, and these seraphin things would eat too much of it if we let them. So every once in a while, we break out the torches and pitchforks, and go monster hunting! Huge mobs go into the forest in the dead of night and bring the fight to them!

And then there's the fact that we are not afraid to fight dirty. Burn forests, blow up caves, kill nestlings, take what we can and destroy the rest. Pretty soon the poor things will have no choice but to go back whence they came, or at least find some other planet to invade. I hear Betelgeuse has some nice, calm herbivores and no one to eat them.