Questions tagged [creature-design]
For questions regarding the viability of a life-form design. These questions should focus on biologically plausible creatures.
1,417
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Anatomically Correct Hunter from Needle
Hal Clement's novel Needle was revolutionary in featuring a non-parasitic alien lifeform capable of inhabiting a human body.
Specifically, the Hunter in its independent form is a gelatinous mass ...
12
votes
9answers
4k views
Would evolution select for mermaids without breasts?
So ignoring all the other hydrodynamic inefficiencies associated with sticking a human torso on a fish body, let's just worry about those most distinct of human female features, breasts. The problem ...
29
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19answers
10k views
Why do dragons like shiny stuff?
I like the classic trope of dragons loving gold and collecting it in their lair, yet it seems poorly justified. I know that it is often used as a metaphor for greed; "dragons disease" to show how ...
15
votes
5answers
1k views
Biophage: A creature that kills all other creatures
Concept: For some twisted reason, a xenocidal space-race living somewhere in our vicinity decides that nothing deserves to exist.
So they make a species. Any feasible size, any kingdom.
It eats ...
5
votes
2answers
162 views
What aquatic creatures would evolve in a world with ripped apart/chaotic oceans?
In this world, a progenitor has created a mass of order out of chaos, with the possibility of entropic fluctuations increasing the further out from the center you get. What do I mean by entropic ...
24
votes
7answers
5k views
Could mollusks become extremely large?
In a brand baby spanking new world I am building, appropriately named Escargard, punningly named by the AndyD273, mollusks have become the dominant form of life. Resulting in aliens similar to those ...
7
votes
2answers
475 views
What element would make up a creature if it used the weak nuclear force during its metabolic processes?
I was doing some research on how to design a scientifically possible alien, when I came across an interesting section on metabolism. I found it very interesting and read about the weak force, as ...
2
votes
8answers
516 views
How would Fair Folk-type elves deal with dietary iron?
One of the beliefs about the Fair Folk is that they are repelled or even damaged by iron. For purposes of this question, let's focus more on the latter: namely, how would an elf manage to live to a ...
6
votes
6answers
334 views
Can a machine benefit from stored heat energy?
Setting Overview
My world suffers from an abundance of a particular type of energy. This energy can be safely absorbed and utilized by living cells, enabling, for example, a dragon's flight and fiery ...
9
votes
1answer
159 views
Creating an Anatomically Correct Lusca
The Lusca (its name meaning 'Octopus Shark') is a cryptid from the Bahamas, supposedly a 6-9 meter (or even 23 meter) long man-eating Octopus that lives within the blue holes, dragging victims down ...
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vote
3answers
158 views
what is the proper physical build of a fantasy adveturer? [closed]
I am trying to make a game and I want the characters to look somewhat like they could actually be someone who goes around slaying monsters, fighting evil over lords and their henchmen, all while still ...
10
votes
4answers
689 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
172 views
Requirements for race that lives close to a sun [closed]
I have an idea for a race that lives on a planet that is extremely close to a sun (similar to ours), just far enough away to not be pulled in.
So my question is, what would be the requirements for a ...
8
votes
4answers
655 views
How would thermophilic fish survive?
I'm designing alien creatures for illustrations, and I'm just sketching some that might live in areas with a lot of geothermal activity. So basically, animals that live around geysers and hot steam. I ...
5
votes
3answers
704 views
The plausibility of a pack-hunting carrion-eating snake
I was thinking of a hypothetical species of snakes that join together for protection called Ladôni, due to their habit of mobilising in massive beds which make them resemble a large multi-headed snake....
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 ...
13
votes
5answers
333 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
179 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 ...
6
votes
5answers
474 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
367 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 ...
10
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 ...
7
votes
3answers
246 views
Are pharyngeal and cutaneous breathing possible for an aquatic mammal?
I'm working on a setting with merfolk that I'd prefer to be fully mammalian. However, they have underwater cities and I find that hard to believe for a species that needs to surface every few hours ...
Cyn says make Monica whole
19.5k2 gold badges39 silver badges88 bronze badges
5
votes
3answers
351 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 ...
8
votes
3answers
193 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 ...
3
votes
5answers
242 views
How can I make these feet spikes more sturdy?
The bone is three inches circumference at the joint and one-millimeter circumference at the tip. How might this bone support the front of an animal weighing one-hundred pounds? It runs with its legs ...
2
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2answers
117 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 ...
8
votes
4answers
511 views
What could a dragon tooth be made of to tear through tank plating made using reinforced depleted uranium?
My version of a tank uses reinforced depleted uranium as armor plating, however it was recently attacked by a large dragon which managed to crunch, and chew off a piece of it in one big bite.
What ...
7
votes
2answers
150 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 ...
2
votes
3answers
153 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 ...
8
votes
5answers
370 views
How would eyes that evolved in air differ from our own?
In one of the documentaries he's featured in, Neil deGrasse Tyson talked about the evolution of the eye.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SXHMm5I-68
The part that's always intrigued me is this:
...
Cyn says make Monica whole
19.5k2 gold badges39 silver badges88 bronze badges
9
votes
4answers
455 views
Would my horned theropod dinosaur- like creature be able to lift his head and/ or balance?
I'm in the process of designing a creature loosely resembling a theropod dinosaur that sports a number of horns/tusks on its head and face, and I'm wondering if anyone can help me evaluate its ...
60
votes
12answers
8k views
Justifying why a troll's skin would turn to stone in sunlight
It's a fairly common legend that trolls turn to stone when exposed to daylight, and I was thinking about using such a creature in a story. I'm searching for a plausible way of justifying such a ...
3
votes
1answer
252 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 ...
6
votes
8answers
498 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
274 views
How could can humans evolve to have reptilian attributes?
In my world, all of my demihumans have evolved from the same ancestor from modern humans. This conceptually includes my version of Reptilians/Lizardfolk. For the most part I would have them share the ...
4
votes
6answers
485 views
What could make a species evolve downward facing ears?
To give an illustration of what I mean with downward ear, here's an illustration taken from mtrakholisova's Pinterest.
I want to make a species with downward facing ears. They cannot be moved facing ...
8
votes
2answers
459 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 ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
Possible material for dragon wings
Most (quadruped) dragons are depicted as having two wings sprouting from their back, consisting of a limb structure draped with a leathery membrane as the way to create lift and fly, somewhat ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
Explanation behind shape shifting
I’m writing a novella for a school competition. My main character is a shape shifter.
I am trying to find a plausible scientific explanation for how shape shifting is possible. I tried finding ...
11
votes
2answers
541 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
62 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
253 views
Which hydrogen halide to have in blood to replace water?
So I want to have an alien creature on a planet with a halogen atmosphere. It will have to be at a temperature where the hydrogen halide is liquid or solid.
This hydrogen halide I would have as the ...
8
votes
4answers
225 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 ...
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vote
2answers
140 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
282 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 ...
5
votes
6answers
311 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 ...
148
votes
7answers
15k views
Anatomically Correct Strange Women In Ponds Distributing Swords
Chaos plagues the land. In the West, the King in Orange blusters and bloviates endlessly in barely comprehensible gibberish. Perhaps he is attempting to call forth the Elder Gods? In the East, the ...
82
votes
19answers
19k views
Would a 'World Tree' be feasible in real life?
A livescience.com article claims that trees can reach a theoretical height of 400 to 426 feet (122 to 130m). This is due to the tree being unable to carry water up to the top at that certain point due ...
8
votes
6answers
869 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 ...
