It’s September, it’s #Spectember, and I’m still plugging away at that big ol’ pile of speculative evolution idea submissions from a few years ago.
I will never be free.
Much like last year I’m not setting a definite posting schedule for this month; it’ll just be whenever and whatever I can manage to get done.
(Also, a reminder: I’m still not currently taking new requests!)
So let’s get started with an anonymous submission that requested a “swimming piscivorous canid”:
Descended from the short-eared dog (a species that in modern times already has partially-webbed paws and eats a large proportion of fish in its diet), Pelagicyon salsus is a 2m long (~6’6″) semi-aquatic piscivorous canid with a stocky body, short webbed limbs, and a long flattened tail.
The back of its skull is very wide, anchoring its thick neck musculature and accommodating huge cheekbones with powerful jaw muscles, but in contrast its snout is elongated and slender – a combination of features that allows it to sweep its toothy jaws through the water to rapidly snap at fish in a similar manner to gharials.
Most other members of its lineage inhabit freshwater rivers and swamps, but Pelagicyon is an unusual marine offshoot that has developed enough salt tolerance to swim, feed, and even drink exclusively in seawater.
I would love to see a bald eagle like raptor
They have already done something like that, go to October of 2023.
They have already done something like that, go to October of 2023.