Cloakmouth

More life from the Birrin Homeworld.

"The flowerjaw body plan reached its peak diversity in marine environments, where this group inhabits almost every major ecological niche. The deep oceans, while low in energy and deprived of oxygen and sunlight, are nevertheless home to numerous creatures. The beings of this ecosystem are able to exploit the abundant surface environment through either migrating vertically at night to feed, or by preying on creatures migrating into the deep to escape surface predators.

Sit and wait predation is an energy efficient way to hunt, and the Crystalline Cloakmouth represents an extreme adaptation to this way of life.

The reduced, soft body hangs below the highly modified mouthparts, which are dominated by huge vertical jaws spanning 13 inches from tip to tip. Sharp semitransparent mandibles are poised ready to snap shut on any prey lured inwards by the bioluminescent tip of the tongue. Prey that comes too close is skewered by the mandibles and then enclosed by the heavily pigmented jaws. This prevents they preys' defensive bioluminescence being detected by larger foes.

The two huge lower eyes are oriented upwards and modified to detect the bioluminescence of prey, or their shadows' against the downwelling surface light. The horizontal jaws, thin and elongated, are spread to the sides and covered in a line of fluid filled spheres able to detect vibrations in the water, a system also present around the rim of the main jaws. The horizontal mandibles are shorter and more robust than the crystalline seizing jaws, and are hidden away until prey is captured, which they proceed to butcher and then pass downwards into the pharynx.

The upper eyestalks are highly elongated and the post-ocular sections bifurcated into sensors adapted to detect the sex pheromones of conspecifics. Currents are so slow and the environment so vast that highly sensitive antennae are needed to detect minute concentrations of chemicals in the water. The small eyes on these tentacles are still functional but of low resolution; they monitor the light from the surface world and allow the Crystalline Cloakmouth to tell night from day.

Although ungainly, the Crystalline Cloakmouth can move quickly in short bursts to escape predators. Defence consists of several stages: First, the jaws with their large surface area are clamped rapidly together, shooting the creature away in the opposite direction. At the same time, thin translucent threads are extruded from modified limbs near the tail to form a mesh in the fleeing animals' wake. Predators caught in this are tangled by the sticky threads, which bioluminesce on contact and thus render the predator visible to its own enemies. Proteins on the Cloakmouths' skin inhibit this reaction when it becomes entangled in its own threads. As a final defence, the Crystalline Cloakmouth leaves the area using paired fins usually held tightly against its body, swimming slowly backwards to new hunting grounds. "

Sardu Reef

The oceans of the Birrin homeworld are populated by vast numbers of organisms, particularly the mid-latitude tropical zones on either side of the hostile equatorial 'Kiln'; a region of intense heat and violent storms. The surface waves and currents generated by these weather events create deep oceanic mixing, bringing nutrients to nearby surface waters and supporting the assemblages of life found there.

The birrin are at home in water, and many engage in swimming recreationally with or without the aid of SCUBA systems. Diving activities are associated with risks: as in this potentially dangerous encounter with the creature seen here.

Evolved from the same land-living ancestor as the birrin the Sardu, as they are locally known, are air breathing creatures of great strength and predatory skill. They range across most regions of the ocean, hunting diverse prey depending on local resources, and adjusting their strategies accordingly. All however rely on an extraordinary ability to generate powerful electric shocks via organs housed in their huge, elongated horizontal jaws. This allows them to stun entire schools of smaller organisms to consume at their leisure, or to probe their jaws into soft mud and detect, flush out kill benthic creatures of considerable size. The electrogenic organs also have a social purpose; and mating individuals compete to show both their ability to generate electricity, and to withstand the shocks of their adversaries. The small creatures that accompany sahdy as commensals must also be tolerant of this hazard, and most swim to a safe distance during the closing stages of a hunt, moving in to feast on the scraps afterwards.

The birrin diver seen here may seem in danger, however it is experienced with the local sardu and knows it is not a part of their prey search image; the constant stream of bubbles generated by the SCUBA gear and bright wetsuit look so unlike the large bottom dwelling creatures it usually hunts that it does not view the birrin as food.

Birrin Study

The Birrin are a sentient hexapod species from a planet approximately the size of Venus. This individual resides in the tropical region of their world, bordering the uninhabitably hot equatorial zone many birrin call the 'Kiln'. Low employment, high temperatures and generally harsh conditions mean that narcotic use is high among many of the population here.

This birrin, after ending a work cycle and with no further hive duties, uses and deals in most of the local low end narcotics. The three clasped in the beak offer an enjoyable combination of flavours when partaken together. Other mixes are stored in plain view under a strap on the head for sale or later use. As there is no substance control in this region, they can be shown in plain sight.

Addition accessories include a wrist mounted multimedia device, which feeds headphone cables to the auditory receptors at the tip of the upper two eyestalks; the device was likely traded illegally, or purchased from a wholesale shipment moving from the deep water docks on its way inland.

The Birrin are part of an ongoing project, see my gallery for more.

The Making of 'Tenzeni Port'

The painting of 'Tenzeni Port' posed an interesting challenge. I wanted to capture the atmosphere of the old steamships of the Murray River in Australia, transported to the Birrin homeworld. You can read the story behind this painting here.

Following is a walk-through of my painting process as it usually proceeds.

The first stage of any image is often a rough, rapidly produced painting using large photoshop brushes and grayscale only. I leave colors till much later, as at this stage composition is the main concern.

 This process of basic, rough grayscale tests can be time consuming. As well as thinking about placement of elements in the image, one must also start to refine the designs of the objects and characters. Here I experimented with a series of aquaduct like overpasses that alowed vehicles to cross large sections of floatforest. As for the ship, I introduced some south-asian influences to the boats roof.

 After finding the aquaducts unsuitable, I started to work on the lighting and foreground elements. The trees and pier were conceived to make the scene more intimate and enclosed, as if this is a hidden port somewhere in a vast forest.

 Now that I was reasonably happy with the composition of the scene, I mirrored the image. This allows you to spot any potential perspective issues you would not otherwise notice. Unhappy with the level of visual noise in the foreground, I removed some of the trees to open it out, and made the ship taller and more imposing. Dappled light was also added to give the impression of a late afternoon/evening setting.

 The composition now complete, I turn the rough painting to 15% transparent, and start tracing over the top of. This allows me to work out all the finer details I need to know as line art, before the painting proper begins.

 

At this stage I often make a basic 3D model of the main scene elements. This irons out final perspective errors I missed previously. It can be extremely simple.

Now painting begins. Colors are blocked in and rendered to a basic level, and constant tweaks are made. This is all done under the lineart layer. At this stage the green water was meant to resemble a river filled with clay and nutrients washed down from the mountains.

 Further painting, this time on the foreground. The dead trees are reminiscent of those found in flooded artifical lakes on earth. At this stage I imagined the vessel in motion, and gave it a large bow wave.

Detailing of the foreground trees was progressing in this image. I tried to make the bark resemble the eucalypts of the Murray River, while making sure they stayed alien through the concentric rings on the trunks.

The final image.

Any further questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.

Zero Gravity Life - Part 2

One of the most interesting environments ever proposed is an open atmosphere with no gravity, such as appeared in Niven's The Integral Trees and the wonderful Airspheres of Ian M. Banks Culture universe. Having painted flying creatures for such a world in this work, I thought I would take another crack.

Here is a sketch of the external features of a small [50 to 100 cm] quadrilaterally symmetrical life form. A social creature, it travels in flocks across the vast web like tangles of forest that drift in the air currents. It hunts for small creatures that live within the tangled stems, dipping its long snout into the leaves to nip out morsels.

Quadrilateral symmetry gives 360 degree vision, vital in a world where predators can attack from any direction or orientation. Motion is achieved by undulating four equidistant fins in the manner of a trigger fish or cuttlefish, and with four control axis, they are quite nimble as they dip and dive for food. Four jaws and a mouth like a sea urchin support slicing teeth that grasp prey like a set of needle nose pliers and shred it to smaller pieces to swallow. The paired orifices behind the eyes are for respiration .

From this sketch I will develop some kind of basic skeleton for the muscles to be bound to, and the internal organs.

Criticisms welcome.

Is it possible to evolve radio communication through Darwinian evolution?

Could a creature ever conceivably evolve all the components of a radio transmitter and receiver, including tuners and resonators etcetera?

My next species, the Shaan, are an experiment to see just how strange animal communication could be if the environment favored them. They are either going to transmit information using electric fields in the manner of some catfish and knifefish (which seldom works out of water; air does not conduct very well), or they are going to be walking radio stations. But first I need to discover if it would be impossible to evolve a radio naturally.

I am not a scientist. And so I call on any who are to offer their opinions on the matter of radio communication. I just don't know enough at this time. Electro communication is however far more straight forward because it has happened on earth before.

Creatures that exploit electricity to survive and chat to one another include electric eels (a knifefish), electric catfish, sharks (which passively detect electric fields using highly conductive pits in their nose and face) and even the platypus which uses its bill to detect the electricity generated by the contracting muscles of its prey.

The one thing these animals have in common is that they hunt in water. Air is probably not conductive enough to warrant electrolocation, where eyes and ears provide sufficient sensory input.

So here is my first draft of an environment that could make land creatures favor electric sensory systems:

The homeworld of the Shaan orbits a star brighter than our own, with high levels of light and heat. Average temperature at sea level is 46 degrees C, with little temperature variation across the surface. This is because the atmosphere is loaded with water vapor, trapping heat and distributing it across the worlds' surface. In this permanent hot soaking fog, visiblity is less than on earth. Sunlight does not reach the surface as powerfully as our planet and so the vegetation is very dark to absorb more light, from deep reds and purples to almost black. Basking in the heat and moisture, plant life has run riot and verdant sweltering jungles cover most of the land in darkness. The air is dense, with air pressure higher than earth and soaked with oxygen from the photosynthesizing plants.

In this environment, one branch of life similar in some ways to earth vertebrates uses the soupy, moist air as a conductive medium for electric navigation, prey detection and eventually communication.

The Shaan are well adapted: Their bodies are long and snake-like, easily moving through thick undergrowth. Their tough leathery skin evolved to resist infection by the fungus like lifeforms that infest the forests. Six legs carry claws to hunt and climb, but can be folded against the body to swim and slither through rivers and rotting leaves. Its thick short tail is filled with fat tissue to store energy.

Its head carries a huge beak, taking up a quarter of the body length. This contains sensors and organs to produce and receive electric signals. Folded inside the beak are scythe like mandibles which tear huge chunks of meat from unfortunate animals.

When they hunt they also communicate electrically, sending pulses of information to each other. This allows them to co-ordinate hunts accurately because of the large information content of their language. This language allowed them to evolve complex caste societies, with queens nesting along riverbanks with 10 or so of their young who bring her food and keep her clean.

Both Shaan queens and drones are highly intelligent. In their future they will posses a technological society of vast power. But that is a story for later.

Barnards' Swordswallower - Painting and Critical Review

This is 'Sword in its natural habitat - the metal rich waters of its home world, filtering plankton from the water using its mucus net to guid food into its mouth. Small relatives of the 'Sword called Puukkos [named after a small Finnish knife] shelter in its shadow, feeding on plankton and parasites of the 'Sword, which in return provides them protection from predators.

Critical Review: I am pleased with this creature, and think it is reasonably novel, however there are problems with such a creature:

1. As pointed out by DeviantArt user Nemo Ramjet, the large main fin though creating a current moving generally towards the mouth, would also deflect some food away from it and thus reduce feeding efficiency.

2. Although I feel it would work, the gas-bladder used to control depth in water instead of shark like pectoral fins would likely mean the creature could not quickly or easily change its depth.

I invite anyone to add their own reviews and criticisms to the design: I would love to see what others see wrong [or right!] with this alien, and to figure out ways to improve it.

Anyway, enjoy!