Questions tagged [creature-design]
For questions regarding the viability of a life-form design. These questions should focus on biologically plausible creatures.
1,309
questions
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1answer
68 views
Anatomically Correct - (ONI) Hatch
My offering to the Anatomically Correct Series.
I came across a curious creature, the Hatch!
The Hatch is an adaptable creature whose wide-ranging diet allows it
to integrate easily into most ...
5
votes
5answers
441 views
The Giant Roc and Pulse Jet propulsion
I am currently in the process of making a world, and am trying to ground it in scientific fact as much as possible. The world is a hard magic setting, and while fantastical creatures exist, they are ...
12
votes
9answers
2k views
How would my creatures handle groups without a strong concept of numbers?
I'm thinking about a species that is at the intelligence level of proto-humans. They have limited language but can still discuss concrete things with a little bit of abstraction. For instance, their ...
9
votes
7answers
3k views
How to evolve human-like eyes that can stare at the sun without protection?
Imagine a species that is very much like humans in shape, size and physiology. But they are able to stare at the sun for long periods without suffering any harm, and without needing any artificial ...
5
votes
3answers
252 views
What would humans look like if their blood were silver?
I have a species in mind that I want to write about for a book I'm planning, and they look exactly like humans (minus the 'unnatural' hair and eye colors they can posses). However, they have silver ...
6
votes
2answers
272 views
Can one person do nearly everything to sail a 25 meter cog for a few hundred miles if that person is a tireless being?
In my fantasy world I have a humanoid species that can work pretty much non-stop. Assuming he has enough energy, can one of these creatures do most of the necessary things on a 25 meter long cog to ...
8
votes
4answers
579 views
What attributes and how big would a sea creature(s) need to be to tow a ship?
I'm trying to come up with ways as to how a ship could travel places with a very low number of people (like 4 crewmen). One of the ways I like for how to do this is to have large sea creatures ...
20
votes
4answers
5k views
Would a carnivorous diet be able to support a giant worm?
In my fantasy world there is a large valley. At the northern end lies the 'endless desert' called the "Sea of Glass" due to its shimmering sands. Within these deserts live great wyrms that swim ...
2
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2answers
92 views
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 ...
12
votes
5answers
281 views
Where are all the non-aquatic mouthbrooders?
Some fish mouthbrood. Some amphibians mouthbrood. Crocodilians carry their babies in their mouths to water. Is there a reason why there are no instances (that I know of) of terrestrial animals that ...
8
votes
3answers
156 views
Sprawling climbers: how will they develop tools and civilization?
Say we have an intelligent species whose body plan is inspired by walking insects (ants, beetles, etc.) and reptiles (particularly lizards).
More specifically, let's say they have four legs (I think ...
6
votes
2answers
125 views
Odd-Toed Ungulates
I'm creating a large ungulate that is likely a part of the suborder Anclyopoda.
Suspension of disbelief is expected, but there's a detail with the current design that's really bugging me.
The ...
3
votes
1answer
207 views
How big would this creature be before it would collapse in on itself?
I am making a titan like creature, similar to godzilla, that lives in a swamp like environment. What I was wondering is, how big could it be before it crushes itself under it's own weight.
Here is ...
1
vote
3answers
145 views
Could a mammal procreate if it existed out of multiple sets of DNA in different cells? If so, how? [closed]
I was wondering about creating mammals that consist out of multiple sets of DNA and if they could procreate. I am talking about a singular being that isn't composed out of multiple seperate parts ...
7
votes
2answers
322 views
Anatomically Correct Giant Spider
Fantasy and folklore has many instances of giant spiders,ranging from creatures like the J'ba Fofi to Aragog from Harry Potter. My question intends to ask whether a creature like the J'ba Fofi could ...
6
votes
8answers
393 views
What limitations can I put on wings for more tense/risky action scenes?
This is my first post on Stack Exchange, so I'm not sure if this follows the right format. Let me know what I can change to make this more helpful on the site. Anyways, let's get to the backstory of ...
3
votes
2answers
49 views
Order of Limb Pair Types for Amphibious Creature (Hexanewt)
I need to add a bit of descriptive detail on a species from a brief description. Essentially add a bit of finer detail to someone else's broad-strokes worldbuilding. An amphibious species' body layout ...
11
votes
2answers
402 views
Body plan of a 4D human-analog?
I am attempting to design aliens that live in a universe with a 4+1 space-time--i.e., a universe with four orthogonal spatial dimensions, rather than three, in addition to a fifth time dimension. In ...
8
votes
4answers
189 views
How big could a land-dwelling arthropod get if it wasn’t limited by oxygen consumption?
Insects and other land-based Arthropoda are stuck at the size they are due to how inefficient their respiratory system is. They were able to reach the size they did in the Carboniferous period because ...
20
votes
8answers
3k views
What could be the physiological mechanism for a biological Geiger counter?
Some humans have been genetically engineered to be able to detect ionizing radiation to better survive the harsh environments found outside of earth's protective magnetosphere. What could be the ...
0
votes
2answers
120 views
What animals would be most suited to a tidally-locked world? [closed]
Are there any species that would be able to sustain themselves on the sunlit face of the planet, the habitable Terminator-zone or even the freezing icy side of the planet? How would animals adapt to ...
5
votes
6answers
277 views
How can I prevent the creation of fruit-salad chimeras?
A Chimera is a creature made up of two different animals that are fused together in a process known as polymerization. This spell can combine animals to create an entirely new animal which contains ...
2
votes
2answers
230 views
Anatomically Correct Ego Sword
I'm reading a comic set in a really unique fantasy game. One of the creatures that really caught my attention were a type of slime/sword called ego sword. In their normal form they're a blob but can ...
8
votes
6answers
829 views
What would prevent chimeras from reproducing with each other?
There exists a polymerization spell that allows distinct animals to combine with each other, creating an entirely new creature. The beasts in question are held in transumutation circles linked by ley ...
6
votes
3answers
278 views
How to produce milk that's similar to blood?
How could a mammal produce milk which resembles blood?
The blood milk should keep as many properties of milk as possible, curding for example, while resembling blood as much as possible. The mammal ...
5
votes
1answer
152 views
Traversal of creatures in space (hydrogen metabolistic processes)
For a space-based story I am writing, I was hypothesising about how to have organisms that can thrive the vacuum of space.
Ignoring plausibility of such a creature evolving, I realised a few problems ...
7
votes
2answers
517 views
Anatomically Correct Swarm of Rodents
Rats are commonly associated with illness and disease due to the role they played in The Black Death. However, some works of fiction portray rats as carnivorous swarms, devouring people ...
5
votes
1answer
156 views
No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 4: Silver)
Part 1 No Iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 1)
Part 2 No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 2)
Part 3 No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 3)
Only two parts left to go!
Now my fair folk ...
3
votes
3answers
114 views
How can a soul sucker avoid the negative traits of its victims?
People are souls that inhabit and animate human bodies. The lifeforce of an individual is what powers the soul and allows it to excercise control over the body. Physical and mental attributes, such as ...
3
votes
2answers
133 views
No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 3: Iron)
Part 1 can be found here No Iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 1)
And part 2 can be found here No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 2)
So, my not so metal inclined Fair-folk are encountering ...
5
votes
1answer
86 views
No iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 2: Radioactive metals)
For reference, here is part 1 No Iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 1)
A brief recap. My fair-folk are weak to all metals, but each metal has their own specific effects. The last question resulted ...
27
votes
7answers
5k views
If a person had control of every single cell of their body, would they be able to transform into another creature?
If a person had control over each and every single cell in his body, I.e:
Cell growth
Cell multiplication
Shape and form of cells
How cells bond/bind with each other
Cell Function
Would they be able ...
5
votes
2answers
144 views
Seasonal Shade-Plant
There is a forest in my world with a special property: All the trees are optimised to shade as much as possible during summer and give as little shadow as possible during winter, to regulate the ...
6
votes
3answers
457 views
No Iron for your fair-folk maiden? (Part 1: alkaline)
Excuse the broad question but I couldn’t resist making a metal pun.
So in my universe the Fair Folk encompass a large group of creatures. They live in their own little pocket universe, in which ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Making a scientifically accurate fire-breathing dragon [duplicate]
I came up with a concept for how a dragon could breathe fire. However, I haven’t figured out some crucial details, which I need help with.
The dragon would capture the methane gas produced by its ...
5
votes
2answers
422 views
Anatomically correct Guivre
The Guivre is an amphibious dragon from French mythology:
Many of its aspects are typical of Western dragons, but there are two which distinguish it from others:
Its breath causes disease
It cannot ...
10
votes
1answer
147 views
Using sound to swim through sand
Subarenaceous animals are those which can move long distances through dry sand - like sandfish lizards, or Dune's sandworms. The main problem they have to tackle is turning the sand immediately around ...
3
votes
2answers
133 views
Let's make a thunder creature!
Let's create a creature with the ability to create a loud boom with only its body. We'll start with a terrestrial predator, that gives us a good reason as to why it needs to do this. It uses the ...
3
votes
2answers
179 views
Would advanced Plantoids be plausible? [closed]
Could it be plausible that if enough time given and favorable conditions are met, the dominant species of an alien planet could be a species of plant and by dominant I mean achieving sentience and ...
6
votes
2answers
196 views
Brain Micromanagement
Imagine a creature much like ourselves that can control the usage of their own mind.
For example, a dying ancestor may tell some parting words which are so important that the individual explicitly ...
3
votes
3answers
201 views
How could a marilith evolve?
Mariliths are these D&D creatures that are basically nagas except with six arms.
OK, technically this image is from Final Fantasy, but you get the point. What environmental factors could cause ...
5
votes
6answers
361 views
Why would a bird have split wings?
On my world there is a creature that has a 'split' in the plumage of its wings and tail.
Instead of having a singular D-shaped surface (when viewed from above, the bird facing to the left), it is ...
5
votes
2answers
221 views
Anatomically Correct Pinocchio
Pinocchios are known to be mischievous creatures, but why did they evolve that way and how do they survive?
The creature has the following properties:
Appears to be made of wood
Not taller than a ...
11
votes
2answers
305 views
Speculative Biology of a Haplodiploid Humanoid Species
In haplodiploid sex-determination system, female/diploid individuals are developed from fertilized eggs by means of sexual reproduction, while male/haploid individuals are developed from unfertilized ...
35
votes
10answers
5k views
Anatomically Correct Carnivorous Tree
How might a carnivorous tree look or work?
The following conditions must be met:
Consumes members of the biological kingdom 'Animalia'
Possesses something resembling a trunk or stem of any kind
...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
How would a race develop specific adaptations in an area with hard, rocky soil and sturdy trees? [closed]
In my world, one of the races is from a part of a continent with dense, rocky soil and large, hardwood trees. Their whole culture is structured around establishing sturdy foundations and permanence ...
2
votes
2answers
125 views
Could bio-luminescent plants survive in total darkness for ~3 months annually?
If a three-month dark period was a normal, recurring, part of a 15-month calendar, and plants had evolved to be bio-luminescent, could they survive? Would only some survive and, if so, would it be ...
3
votes
3answers
120 views
Advantages of being covered in taste buds? [closed]
On my conworld, I am developing a creature that is covered externally in taste buds. What would be the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of having this adaptation?
4
votes
5answers
579 views
What would an animal that absorbs nutrients though its skin be called? [closed]
Animals that eat meat are carnivores, animals that eat plants are herbivores, animals that will eat anything are called omnivores. But what are animals that absorb 25% of their nutrition directly from ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
If quadruped mammals evolve to become bipedal will their breast or nipple change position?
As the title says, you know stuff like minotaur, lycanth or werewolf, cat or dog folk, etc especially for the female specimens.
I want to know what happen if quadrupedal mammals which usually have ...
