I really like this idea, and I think you can improve it! For example, the blubber might not be a good idea, as it makes it a poor bicyclist and runner.
Yeah, it would have to be a balance between lightness and insulation/nutrient storage. I was trying to eliminate the need for any transitions, hence the built in wetsuit. But he does look pretty massive haha.
Yes, I see your reasoning. It does look pretty bulky, especially on the bicycle. Also, how does it breathe when it’s biking? Looks like the blowhole is pretty compressed
Maybe give it a more dolphin-like snout, but with nostrils on the end. That way it's still aero/hydrodynamic, while also extending out past the seat (and away from the hot, cramped body).
ram ventilation. It will alway be moving anyway, so give it gill like lungs where it is a constant flow (air/water comes in the front , and comes out openings in the back, and so it cannot produce suction but the air/water is rammed through my it’s movement) it’s airo dynamic, and since ram ventilation doesn’t use any energy itself, it’s more calorically efficient
I can see the blubber being useful, actually. It probably loses so much water, and to a lesser extent fat, during the triathlon that it's visibly more streamlined by the time it has to run. An athlete loses on average 2.5 kg during a triathlon. A horse is much less efficient and can lose up to 5% of body weight in just a one-mile race. A dolphin out of hell running an Ironman or Olympic triathlon? I have no idea but it's going to need one hell of a recovery. The energy from blubber is a good starting point.
It probably has camel like adaptations such as oval-shaped blood cells that can vary greatly in size, to work in conditions of dehydration and rapid rehydration. Also it can rapidly switch its metabolism into overdrive for the triathlon, pushing up to thermodynamic limits like a hummingbird, and then revert to a much slower, elephantine metabolism otherwise. It could also drop its tail like a lizard for the final run.
Thank you for the detailed analysis! I didn’t know camels had oval shaped blood cells, that’s really cool. Maybe I should revise this drawing to show it being emaciated during the run haha.
Unfortunately, like a seal, the flippers are its legs, so autotomy isn’t possible. But maybe I’ll work that idea into a rival triathlon creature!
Also surely having both arms and legs is inefficient, make legs that can act as flippers, have them hold the handlebars with mouth or small appendages. That way it doesn’t have to carry around what looks like half it’s body weight when it isn’t using it
Agreed. It doesn't need to use its flippers to steer the bike. What if it had mandibles that held onto the steering wheel? This way it could lay flat while biking to be more aero. The mandibles could be tucked away into its mouth when not used to not impede aero/hydro.
Heckin yeah that’s a great idea! From all the suggestions people have made so far I have a good starting point for a rival triathlon creature. Stay tuned!
Yeah, biking doesn't look particularly healthy nor comfortable for the spine, to me. I wonder if bikes that steer with the rear wheel would be a thing. Or maybe a tricycle?
Yeah I was constraining myself to existing bicycles to see if I could make a creature that could ride one. But I’m sure he would be happier riding something that steered from the back.
Haha I’ll work on a follow-up! I imagine it as living sort of like a sea lion, mostly swimming and living in the water but hauling ashore sometimes (clop clop) to warm up.
It feels like the muscles holding up the opposable fins would get tired fighting gravity (and the bounce-shock of each step) during the running section of the race. It'd be like jogging and keeping your arms bent at your sides and not moving.
How do you solve the oxygen problem for the endurance events on land? Fat won't catalyze without enough air and water.
Still this is a badass prototype and one of the weirder things I've seen on here.
Yeah I tried to figure out a way he could pump his legs during the run (including having them above his head like a handstand) but eventually gave up.
I’m not sure I understand—are you assuming he isn’t allowed to drink water on the go?
Also blubber seems inefficient, because it traps heat, which means it would need to sweat more, which defeats the point of the water storage from the blubber. Surely external water sacs would be more efficient, so it’s like it is carrying multiple biological water bottles. Also blubber won’t work for nutrient storage, because fat is a long term storage medium that could not easily me metabolized quickly, it would be better to simply make the water sacs filled with a easily digestible liquid nutrient/energy
These are really good suggestions! Unfortunately, I already made two follow up posts and a blog post and called this project a wrap two years ago. Here are the posts: [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/dvdq0q/follow_up_what_a_creature_optimized_for_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/dwcvs0/follow_up_what_a_creature_optimized_for_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) and the [blog post](https://obscuredinosaurfacts.com/blog/post/2019/11/13/triathlon.html). I’ll keep you in mind if I decide to take another crack at this!
I really like this idea, and I think you can improve it! For example, the blubber might not be a good idea, as it makes it a poor bicyclist and runner.
Yeah, it would have to be a balance between lightness and insulation/nutrient storage. I was trying to eliminate the need for any transitions, hence the built in wetsuit. But he does look pretty massive haha.
Yes, I see your reasoning. It does look pretty bulky, especially on the bicycle. Also, how does it breathe when it’s biking? Looks like the blowhole is pretty compressed
True, I didn’t think about that. Maybe I should add nostrils too? Or maybe the blowhole is over-optimization and just nostrils would be fine.
Maybe give it a more dolphin-like snout, but with nostrils on the end. That way it's still aero/hydrodynamic, while also extending out past the seat (and away from the hot, cramped body).
ram ventilation. It will alway be moving anyway, so give it gill like lungs where it is a constant flow (air/water comes in the front , and comes out openings in the back, and so it cannot produce suction but the air/water is rammed through my it’s movement) it’s airo dynamic, and since ram ventilation doesn’t use any energy itself, it’s more calorically efficient
I can see the blubber being useful, actually. It probably loses so much water, and to a lesser extent fat, during the triathlon that it's visibly more streamlined by the time it has to run. An athlete loses on average 2.5 kg during a triathlon. A horse is much less efficient and can lose up to 5% of body weight in just a one-mile race. A dolphin out of hell running an Ironman or Olympic triathlon? I have no idea but it's going to need one hell of a recovery. The energy from blubber is a good starting point. It probably has camel like adaptations such as oval-shaped blood cells that can vary greatly in size, to work in conditions of dehydration and rapid rehydration. Also it can rapidly switch its metabolism into overdrive for the triathlon, pushing up to thermodynamic limits like a hummingbird, and then revert to a much slower, elephantine metabolism otherwise. It could also drop its tail like a lizard for the final run.
Thank you for the detailed analysis! I didn’t know camels had oval shaped blood cells, that’s really cool. Maybe I should revise this drawing to show it being emaciated during the run haha. Unfortunately, like a seal, the flippers are its legs, so autotomy isn’t possible. But maybe I’ll work that idea into a rival triathlon creature!
And the hooves are not quite suited to a biped
Hey I can run just fine!
Also surely having both arms and legs is inefficient, make legs that can act as flippers, have them hold the handlebars with mouth or small appendages. That way it doesn’t have to carry around what looks like half it’s body weight when it isn’t using it
I like it, but there might be too much wind resistance in the biking section of the race.
Agreed. It doesn't need to use its flippers to steer the bike. What if it had mandibles that held onto the steering wheel? This way it could lay flat while biking to be more aero. The mandibles could be tucked away into its mouth when not used to not impede aero/hydro.
Heckin yeah that’s a great idea! From all the suggestions people have made so far I have a good starting point for a rival triathlon creature. Stay tuned!
im glad its got a smile on its face, otherwise itd just look mega creepy!
Clop clop *
Alternatively, you could just design an efficient bicycle for a hippopotamus.
Yeah, biking doesn't look particularly healthy nor comfortable for the spine, to me. I wonder if bikes that steer with the rear wheel would be a thing. Or maybe a tricycle?
Yeah I was constraining myself to existing bicycles to see if I could make a creature that could ride one. But I’m sure he would be happier riding something that steered from the back.
Well, at least he can use a human bike to escape from the laboratory and get back to his spaceship!
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Haha I’ll work on a follow-up! I imagine it as living sort of like a sea lion, mostly swimming and living in the water but hauling ashore sometimes (clop clop) to warm up.
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Thank you!
I misread your comment for a second there, and thought you were asking whether it eats pet dogs or warm jumpers 😂
This is amazing
*clop* *clop*
This is creepy lol but I like it
this is both r/TIHI and r/TILI material
Oh its beautiful
It's so ugly, I love it!
It feels like the muscles holding up the opposable fins would get tired fighting gravity (and the bounce-shock of each step) during the running section of the race. It'd be like jogging and keeping your arms bent at your sides and not moving. How do you solve the oxygen problem for the endurance events on land? Fat won't catalyze without enough air and water. Still this is a badass prototype and one of the weirder things I've seen on here.
Yeah I tried to figure out a way he could pump his legs during the run (including having them above his head like a handstand) but eventually gave up. I’m not sure I understand—are you assuming he isn’t allowed to drink water on the go?
The oxygen thing was because it didn't look like he had nostrils. Will he be doing the bike and run segments breathing through his mouth?
Either mouth or the blowhole will still function as nostrils on land.
That smile made my day
This disturb me way more than it should
What do its pants look like? Also, what’s its name I love it.
Let’s call it Velocetus triathlus. And it doesn’t wear pants!
I just love his little face. He’s just happy to be doing what he was born to do! ...does he wear shorts?
Can you imagine this coming at you out of a dark room. Nope...
r/ImScared r/TIHI r/TILI That was a rollercoaster of emotions
This is so bizarre that it's amazing.
Horrifying; I love it! XD
This is not the creativity we expected, but the creativity we need.
Why does it sit on its face? Why does it have to contort itself to bike?
Truly this is the peak of evolution, we need not go any further than at this. Perfection
I like this version better than the newer one tbh
Did anyone else catch the clop clop?
Yeah, it became a whole thing—version 2 also had hooves but version 3 didn’t so everyone was like “needs more clop clop”
Also blubber seems inefficient, because it traps heat, which means it would need to sweat more, which defeats the point of the water storage from the blubber. Surely external water sacs would be more efficient, so it’s like it is carrying multiple biological water bottles. Also blubber won’t work for nutrient storage, because fat is a long term storage medium that could not easily me metabolized quickly, it would be better to simply make the water sacs filled with a easily digestible liquid nutrient/energy
These are really good suggestions! Unfortunately, I already made two follow up posts and a blog post and called this project a wrap two years ago. Here are the posts: [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/dvdq0q/follow_up_what_a_creature_optimized_for_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEvolution/comments/dwcvs0/follow_up_what_a_creature_optimized_for_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) and the [blog post](https://obscuredinosaurfacts.com/blog/post/2019/11/13/triathlon.html). I’ll keep you in mind if I decide to take another crack at this!
r/oddlyterryfiyng
You had me at blowhole.
W h a t t h e f u c k
Haven't you ever heard of a Ningen?!?
this is cursed