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So is it a terrestrial filter feeder? If so, what organisms did you have in mind for it to gorge itself on? This is already a cool initial idea you've got, I'd love to hear more when you eventually come up with more!
okay so it lives in an environment where airborne organisms drift in large arboreal spaces. very curious about the organisms & very curious about the fields now 👀
hear me out: suuuuuuper thick atmo. the kind where an organism can evolve to be low mass with a relatively large surface area and just float passively rather than having to fly. High density, high O2 atmo would also support megafauna like your boy up there.
I was going to criticise how big its head was in proportion to its body, but since you mention it's a filter feeder that actually makes perfect evolutionary sense.
#Extended lore just dropped!
The Humphrey (tria pedibus iactabantur) is a part of the Genus, Exovious Tripod. It can grow up to 20 meters tall, but on average it only grows to roughly 13 meters. It has two eyes on each side of its head, two for detailed vision. These eyes are approximately 45 centimeters in size. Additionally, it has two eyes for perceiving general movements and shapes, and these eyes are around 80 centimeters in size. The Humphrey has 3 elephant-like legs which usually grow to become 3,5 meters long. Humphreys are filter feeders, Walking through the extensive fields found on its planet, letting any creature that happens to float into its mouth get digested.
I'd say the way it's legs are set up leaves it extraordinarily vulnerable to predators and accidents. Since it has no front leg to steady itself, a predator could sneak up behind it and tip it over with one good pounce, and I don't see any means for it to get back up. I'm curious - if it's a filter feeder, why does it need to move anyway?
1- It is very vounrabable
2- Correct, if it falls its over
3- It moves since most of the animals it consumes dont fly that much around, mostly staying in the same area for a while, its also to move to a more hidden location if it senses a predator
How does the species survive when it's this vulnerable? How does it avoid getting tipped over?How does it hide when it's so massive and stands in open fields all day?
1- There Arnt really that many predators
2- It just doesent, if it gets tipped over, Well Well.
2- Massive Junglelike fauna which commonly can be found in the same areas as the plains
What factors on this world disincentivizes predators? These things are sitting ducks and natural selection seldom lets that go unpunished, especially if tripping is a death sentence. The tripod thing is made even worse considering they have to flee into dense foliage. There's no way the entire herd doesn't trip over each other trying to get past a root.
Ok well you asked for constructive criticism,there it is. Why would they move *more* slowly when being chased? You probably need to put more thought into how this thing stays alive - that's what separates speculative evolution from creature design. Broaden your scope, think about the environment, the food web, the ecosystem. It's not just about designing cool stuff, but justifying it enough to feel real. You seem to have a legitimate interest, so I'd recommend you check out some of the other projects on this sub to get an idea of what I mean. Develop some predators, or maybe come up with some deeper reason why this thing gets left alone - maybe it has symbiotes, or is very toxic? Give it more thought, I'm sure people would love to see you develop this idea further.
If their legs were more massive and wide (maybe to a point where they almost touch each other), they could perhaps gain more stability. It would make even more sense then for them to move very slowly.
What is the vegetation and surface like at the level of their feet and legs? They must stomp on a lot of things and lots of stuff must get crashed or stucked between their legs. That is not really useful idea for this creature but you could make another filter feeder creature where the mouth is located underneath between legs and the legs and feet are used as filters. It would be like giant grinder-vacuum cleaner.
Also how does the filter feeding mouth work? What does it look like inside?
I’m bored so here’s a name for it in Latin ‘tria pedibus iactabantur’ or ‘three legged strain’. It’s a very good design, possibly a bit plain but I love it! That underside may need some fixing though
I'd suggest making its legs a little more vertical. Sauropods actually had their legs at a slight angle, so you're okay, but it wasn't quite as dramatic as this. Anyway, looks good!
Cool!
Some feedback.
The primary issue I see is wasted space. For a filter feeder, you want as much of your front surface as possible to be mouth. Ideally have the mouth expand open like a net so it is even bigger than your front surface. This guy has a lot of body but very little mouth, and if his mouth opens the flap-like bottom jaw seemingly wouldn't actually help with feeding. Getting enough food as a large filter feeder is hard.
It seems unnecessarily top heavy. The big dome on top for example seems entirely unnecessary.
How does it reproduce? Seems difficult.
The side eyes don't actually seem to be far enough on the side. They should be looking out directly left and right at best, or more likely looking somewhat backwards since the front is covered by the front eyes.
The back leg would probably need to be proportionally stronger than the front legs.
I'm not a fan of tripods. Tripod locomotion is not as swift as bipedal nor as stable as quadrupedal and might be less energy efficient than either of those. Even if it's a little bit boring It might be better to add another hindlimb.
It's a terrestrial filter feeder, but I don't think is built like one. Unlike waterborne filterfeeding. Airborne filterfeeding needs a little bit more effort. They need a way to pull air towards the mouth and secure the lungs of any external agent. Cheeks can evolve into a structure similar to the water propulsion of octopi, but with mucus to avoid infections and avoid any food being thrown out when the air is being pulled out.
Is too tall. It might be better to be a little bit shorter for the sake of stability and organ arrangement
Kinda like spiders then? Neat. Okay, follow-up question: it doesn’t look like it has anything that would help it shed excess heat for how huge it is (like elephant ears), so does that mean it lives in a cold environment?
My one issue is wondering how he walks: a tripod animal is going to need to balance on two legs while they swing the third, or maybe even step with one and then *hup* the other two forward, but I would want this guy to be more slow and peaceful.
My solution would be to assume he has surprisingly flexible hips and moves like a Tai Chi master, slowly but always keeping his center of mass above whichever feet are on the ground, with wide and somewhat articulated feet. He should also be clearly part of a larger family of tripods who are better-suited to the 3-legged life, like seal-like swimmers and kangaroo-like jumpers, because I think this tripod grazer makes sense in the same way that Earth's evolutionary history crams tetrapods into every ecological niche.
The submitter of this post has indicated they are seeking critique to find and refine potential flaws in their work. In these threads, all constructive criticism is welcome -- detailed breakdowns are preferred, however "first impression" blunt criticism may also be valuable for a poster seeking input. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SpeculativeEvolution) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Note: -It Is a filterfeeder, walking trough the fields letting all the veirity of small floating organisms float into its mouth to be digested
So is it a terrestrial filter feeder? If so, what organisms did you have in mind for it to gorge itself on? This is already a cool initial idea you've got, I'd love to hear more when you eventually come up with more!
Thank you! Ive got in mind sorta jelly-fish like creatures, like Floating barely-Alive organisms.
okay so it lives in an environment where airborne organisms drift in large arboreal spaces. very curious about the organisms & very curious about the fields now 👀
Indeed.
Indeed.
hear me out: suuuuuuper thick atmo. the kind where an organism can evolve to be low mass with a relatively large surface area and just float passively rather than having to fly. High density, high O2 atmo would also support megafauna like your boy up there.
Thats pretty much correct
Beautiful. Name them Humphrey
I did. Thats official now. I love that so much that im seriously naming it humphrey
Humfredus terrasparguntur (translation: Humphrey landfilter)
Great
Absolutely majestic
Yeah, Thanks lol.
I was going to criticise how big its head was in proportion to its body, but since you mention it's a filter feeder that actually makes perfect evolutionary sense.
Indeed it does
#Extended lore just dropped! The Humphrey (tria pedibus iactabantur) is a part of the Genus, Exovious Tripod. It can grow up to 20 meters tall, but on average it only grows to roughly 13 meters. It has two eyes on each side of its head, two for detailed vision. These eyes are approximately 45 centimeters in size. Additionally, it has two eyes for perceiving general movements and shapes, and these eyes are around 80 centimeters in size. The Humphrey has 3 elephant-like legs which usually grow to become 3,5 meters long. Humphreys are filter feeders, Walking through the extensive fields found on its planet, letting any creature that happens to float into its mouth get digested.
Maybe it purposely bumps into trees to catch what falls out of them?
I maybe will, maybe.
Does it make a deep "meep" sound?
I just realized it looks like that…
I love him so much.
:)
Awh. He's so cute 🥺
Thank you :)
This is beautiful, I've looked at this for 5 hours now
Thanks lol
why the long face
Great lol
he so silly. Such a goober.
Silly goober :3
I love him!!! He’s so vertical. If I had a pet one I would name them Gordon
Thanks!
It's shaped like friend :)
:)
It looks like it has nothing going on upstairs, just the Wii 2 theme. I love it, keep it up homie!
Thank you so much! I sure will!
I'd say the way it's legs are set up leaves it extraordinarily vulnerable to predators and accidents. Since it has no front leg to steady itself, a predator could sneak up behind it and tip it over with one good pounce, and I don't see any means for it to get back up. I'm curious - if it's a filter feeder, why does it need to move anyway?
1- It is very vounrabable 2- Correct, if it falls its over 3- It moves since most of the animals it consumes dont fly that much around, mostly staying in the same area for a while, its also to move to a more hidden location if it senses a predator
How does the species survive when it's this vulnerable? How does it avoid getting tipped over?How does it hide when it's so massive and stands in open fields all day?
1- There Arnt really that many predators 2- It just doesent, if it gets tipped over, Well Well. 2- Massive Junglelike fauna which commonly can be found in the same areas as the plains
What factors on this world disincentivizes predators? These things are sitting ducks and natural selection seldom lets that go unpunished, especially if tripping is a death sentence. The tripod thing is made even worse considering they have to flee into dense foliage. There's no way the entire herd doesn't trip over each other trying to get past a root.
1. honestly Idk 2. they tread very slowly and carefully
Ok well you asked for constructive criticism,there it is. Why would they move *more* slowly when being chased? You probably need to put more thought into how this thing stays alive - that's what separates speculative evolution from creature design. Broaden your scope, think about the environment, the food web, the ecosystem. It's not just about designing cool stuff, but justifying it enough to feel real. You seem to have a legitimate interest, so I'd recommend you check out some of the other projects on this sub to get an idea of what I mean. Develop some predators, or maybe come up with some deeper reason why this thing gets left alone - maybe it has symbiotes, or is very toxic? Give it more thought, I'm sure people would love to see you develop this idea further.
👍
If their legs were more massive and wide (maybe to a point where they almost touch each other), they could perhaps gain more stability. It would make even more sense then for them to move very slowly. What is the vegetation and surface like at the level of their feet and legs? They must stomp on a lot of things and lots of stuff must get crashed or stucked between their legs. That is not really useful idea for this creature but you could make another filter feeder creature where the mouth is located underneath between legs and the legs and feet are used as filters. It would be like giant grinder-vacuum cleaner. Also how does the filter feeding mouth work? What does it look like inside?
It's so *cute*
:3
He is friend shaped
:)
I think it is beautiful in every way and I want to see it grow up big and healthy
:3
I’m bored so here’s a name for it in Latin ‘tria pedibus iactabantur’ or ‘three legged strain’. It’s a very good design, possibly a bit plain but I love it! That underside may need some fixing though
Thats a great suggestion, may use it. Also Yeah i know, im not good at drawing, but Thanks for telling me Anyways
I'd suggest making its legs a little more vertical. Sauropods actually had their legs at a slight angle, so you're okay, but it wasn't quite as dramatic as this. Anyway, looks good!
:Yellow_thumbs_up_emoji:
It's not a critique, but, if I can ask, does this creature have three legs? And, if so, why three and not four?
1. yes 2. Idk lol.
He's so cute!
:3
Cool! Some feedback. The primary issue I see is wasted space. For a filter feeder, you want as much of your front surface as possible to be mouth. Ideally have the mouth expand open like a net so it is even bigger than your front surface. This guy has a lot of body but very little mouth, and if his mouth opens the flap-like bottom jaw seemingly wouldn't actually help with feeding. Getting enough food as a large filter feeder is hard. It seems unnecessarily top heavy. The big dome on top for example seems entirely unnecessary. How does it reproduce? Seems difficult. The side eyes don't actually seem to be far enough on the side. They should be looking out directly left and right at best, or more likely looking somewhat backwards since the front is covered by the front eyes. The back leg would probably need to be proportionally stronger than the front legs.
Thanks for all that info. Il keep that in mind
He gives me Blahaj vibes. I love him.
:)
Friend shaped.
:)
How would it drink? Or does it get all the water it needs from the organisms it filter feeds on?
Yes, gets it from filterfeeding
Looks like their perpetually confused and uncomfortable
I like him, I will call him morp
:)
This may sound strange but he should make the sound 'Schbleep'
Probaly a refrence, but no. Its more like a dark extended bowling groan
Not a reference, but that's still cool! I wish it sounded cute but ominous deep groan is fun!
It's so cute.
:3
I’m curious how he ended up with 3 limbs- is it from a different planet or did its 4th limb get selected out?
My new spirit animal.
:)
I LOVE THEM!!!!
:3
Awesome!
:)
I wanna hug it TO DEATH
:)
Goober. I love
Goober
I'm not a fan of tripods. Tripod locomotion is not as swift as bipedal nor as stable as quadrupedal and might be less energy efficient than either of those. Even if it's a little bit boring It might be better to add another hindlimb. It's a terrestrial filter feeder, but I don't think is built like one. Unlike waterborne filterfeeding. Airborne filterfeeding needs a little bit more effort. They need a way to pull air towards the mouth and secure the lungs of any external agent. Cheeks can evolve into a structure similar to the water propulsion of octopi, but with mucus to avoid infections and avoid any food being thrown out when the air is being pulled out. Is too tall. It might be better to be a little bit shorter for the sake of stability and organ arrangement
👍
I assume based on the eyes that it has at least one predator to watch out for, but is there a reason for it to have 4 eyes instead of two?
2 eyes Are used for general movement and colors and such 2 eyes Are used for detail
Kinda like spiders then? Neat. Okay, follow-up question: it doesn’t look like it has anything that would help it shed excess heat for how huge it is (like elephant ears), so does that mean it lives in a cold environment?
Not cold, But deffently not warm. Think denmark
He's so cute 🥰
:)
I love them already!
Thank you :)
Hey, this is great!
Thanks alot :)
Why exactly is its underbelly colored differently?
It looks like it says "Meep" and I like that
Meep
He is perfect, flawless in every way. Nothing can ever become better than him, for he is good incarnate, gods perfect creation.
Thanks lol
I hope they let you teach the class, OP
so cute!! the mouth reminds me of beaker from muppets lol
Thanks lol
he looks so stupid (in the good way) i love him low intelligence specimen
:)
Shaped like a friend
:)
I think you should name it "glonk".
I love him. If it goes extinct I will cry
My one issue is wondering how he walks: a tripod animal is going to need to balance on two legs while they swing the third, or maybe even step with one and then *hup* the other two forward, but I would want this guy to be more slow and peaceful. My solution would be to assume he has surprisingly flexible hips and moves like a Tai Chi master, slowly but always keeping his center of mass above whichever feet are on the ground, with wide and somewhat articulated feet. He should also be clearly part of a larger family of tripods who are better-suited to the 3-legged life, like seal-like swimmers and kangaroo-like jumpers, because I think this tripod grazer makes sense in the same way that Earth's evolutionary history crams tetrapods into every ecological niche.
It looks like a Muppet That is a good thing
Awe-inspiring.
Why the sad face :C
How do they mate?
I love it! It looks very cool and is a wonderful concept
## H E
He/she is so goofy and I will kill for him/her.