/r/SpeculativeEvolution
Where evolution meets science fiction and art.
Speculative Evolution (also called Speculative Biology and Speculative Zoology) is the envisioning of fictional, but scientifically possible creatures that could have existed on an alternate Earth, or might actually exist somewhere on another planet or in the deep sea.
Ever wondered what lifeforms might exist under the ice on Europa at this very moment? Or how life might have evolved if that cataclysmic asteroid impact 65 million years ago never wiped out the dinosaurs? If so, you're at the right place.
Welcome to the Speculative Evolution subreddit! This sub is for images, discussion, and articles about life forms that could have existed in a different world. Speculative organisms may be from the future, an alternate timeline, or alien planets.
Speculative maps and landscapes, and concepts relating to speculative evolution as a whole, are also permitted.
The content of this sub is a combination of biology, sci-fi, paleontology, astrogeology, and artistic creativity. When posting art, please include the name of the artist in the title if it's available.
Feel free to cross-post any submissions from this sub!
r/SpeculativeEvolution Rules
1. Follow Reddit site rules and Reddiquette
You are required to abide by Reddit site rules and Reddiquette. Depending on severity, infractions may result in a ban. This includes but is not limited to:
Do not harass, bully, or make threats of violence for any reason
Do not engage in spamming, vote manipulation, or ban evasion
Respect individual privacy
Do not impersonate others
Label graphic content as such
2. Be respectful
Observe the following:
Critique constructively
Ask to critique before doing so (outside of posts specifically flaired "Seeking Critique")
Do not speak of or to others in a disrespectful manner, regardless of if they are present on the subreddit or not
Do not attempt to solicit others publicly
Do not incite drama or witch hunts; attempt to work out differences in private and alert the mod team if you need assistance
3. Submissions and discussion must relate to speculative evolution
This subreddit is focused on the speculative evolution genre. Similar content is allowed if relevant, such as (but not limited to):
Paleontology
Extinct animal reconstructions
Portrayals of aliens in fiction
Concept art
Speculative geography and maps of fictional planets
If content does not clearly relate to these, please provide a rationale when posting. Sexually explicit and fetish content are not permitted under any circumstances.
4. Crediting the artist(s) is required
When posting other people's art, credit the artist in the title and use a relevant non-OC flair. The name of a project alone is insufficient credit. If posting a gallery of works produced by multiple artists, please append a comment with a link to the direct sources of each work on your post, such as the artists' website, or Behance/DeviantArt/ArtStation page.
When posting original content [OC], you do not need to do this.
5. Plagiarism is prohibited
Plagiarism is the act of copying the work of another individual and claiming it as your own without proper attribution to the original creator. Sharing the works of another artist and attempting to pass them off as your own, publicly posting traced drawing, and claiming a project to be your own are all forms of plagiarism. If found guilty of plagiarism, the offense is grounds for a **permanent ban.
6. Comment descriptions on original content [OC] image posts are mandatory
You are required to include a description of your artwork when using flairs marked as original content [OC]. If text is present on your submission, as in a diagram, simply copy that into the comment. The automoderator will approve your post once the description has been added. When sharing non-OC artwork, a comment description is not necessary, but you must still credit the artist and use the correct flair.
7. Refrain from low effort posts and comments
You are expected to put effort into your posts and comments. The following are prohibited on the grounds of being low effort:
Claiming plausibility/implausibility without an in-depth rationale
Fantasy creature designs without hypothetical biology, anatomy, or ecology
Asking how fictional creature designs could evolve without attempting to speculate yourself beforehand
Shitposting
8. Short posts should be directed to the Weekly Discussion & Announcements thread
The following post types should not be posted independently outside of the dedicated weekly thread:
Project announcements without content
Project server links
Seed organism or planet condition lists
Short descriptions of organisms
To find the active Weekly Discussion & Announcements thread, please follow this link and select the most recent thread.
9. Memes and non-OC inspiration crossposts are only permitted on certain days
Memes are permitted only on Mondays starting at 0:00 UTC; please use r/specevojerking outside of this time window.
Non-OC crossposts meant to provide inspiration are permitted only on Tuesdays starting at 0:00 UTC; speculative evolution content from other subreddits such as r/worldbuilding and original content depicting real world phenomena (using the [OC] Inspiration flair) are always allowed at any time.
Do not attempt to circumvent this rule by assigning an inappropriate flair.
10. Flair your posts correctly
The burden of labeling your post correctly falls to you; please take responsibility and carefully chose your flair prior to posting. Incorrectly flaired posts will be subject to removal. A list of flairs and their intended functions can be found on this Wiki page.
11. Limit submissions to 3 per day
You may post as many as three submissions per day. This is not a hard limit, but is enforced when an individual appears to be monopolizing the subreddit feed.
Spec Evo Resources
Community FAQ
Web Resources
Speculative Evolution article on Wikipedia
Speculative Evolution DeviantArt
Spec-Evo Projects Catalogue | Community Document, maintained by u/RustyyOnions
Notable Completed/Paused Projects
Snaiad: Life on Another World by CM Kosemen
The Amphiterra Project by u/Citysaurus_ART
Notable Ongoing Projects
Alien Biospheres by Biblaridion
Antarctic Chronicles by u/Risingmagpie
Rhynia by BobsicleG & u/Romboteryx
Serina: A Natural History of the World of Birds by Sheather888
Sol'Kesh Bestiary by u/Daedonas
Literature
After Man: A Zoology of the Future by Dougal Dixon
The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution by Dougal Dixon
Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future by Dougal Dixon
Expedition by Wayne Barlowe
All Tomorrows by C.M. Kosemen
Future Evolution by Peter Ward
The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island by Weta Workshop
The Snouters: Form and Life of the Rhinogrades by Gerolf Steiner
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
Mockumentaries
/r/SpeculativeEvolution
99,433 Subscribers
how could aliens use neon gas?
could neon gas be pumped, or combined with another element?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_compounds
01:23 UTC
Day 25 military ecosystem
00:20 UTC
Help with a fiber optic nervous system/skeleton hybrid?
I want to make an alien species, and i want some feedback on this one idea of mine, in their final stage, they are GIGANTIC, vaccum of space dwelling, flying starfish esque aliens
That causes it's whole OTHER lot of issues, but my idea for countering the delay they'd posses when moving their limbs if their nervous systems worked as basically a fiber optic?
My idea was that they'd possess a silica skeleton, similar to a starfish's, the difference, is that it'd maybe extend even further, it'd be segmented and flexible, so it could extend more throughout the body without impairing mobility too much, and in the inside, they'd have something in similar function to a fiber optic cable, a transceiver in the brain would convert electrical signals into optic signals that'd then pass through the skeleton/nervous system hybrid, and upon reaching it's destination, it'd be picked up by another transceiver that'd then convert it BACK into an electrical signal, that'd then be interpreted and the desired action would then be performed
I know it's not the most realistic idea by FAR but if anyone has any feedback on this idea i had so i can try to make it work i'd be extremely grateful!
22:19 UTC
Sus
20:52 UTC
What changes would have to be made to the human respiratory system for us to survive in oxygen rich time periods like the Carboniferous
Working on a little writing project where a Nordic inspired cultures coexists with large insects and other terrestrial arthropods, and I like my worlds to make somewhat sense. Would humans need to be much different physically to survive on an earth with oxygen levels high enough to noticeably increase the size of terrestrial arthropods?
19:15 UTC
Some assorted critters of Proxima.
18:43 UTC
Engineered knuckle walking wyvern?
I’m working on a GMO engineered wyvern for a sci-fi setting, my wyvern are around the size of Arrax from House of the Dragon, when fully grown. I was wondering if it was a good and viable idea to have my wyvern walk on their knuckles of the wing to help support their weight, instead of the side or palm of their wrist like in Game of Thrones? Couldn’t get replies from my initial post of this and something went wrong with the last one.
Edit: forgot to mention that my dragon wings would fold up when walking around on their wings/arms.
16:32 UTC
From Pikmin's Distant Spring - Any idea what kind of animal left this skeleton? What could be the purpose of that pair of extra holes on the snout?
07:57 UTC
Where do I begin on making my first Speculative Evolution project?
I recently came across Biblaridion's Alien Biospheres and I was really fascinated by it and it inspired me to want to start my own spec evo project however, I have no clue where to begin. Can you give me ideas on where to begin?
11:04 UTC
Could cellulose be used as a substitute for chiton?
I'm designing an organism which has a flexible cuticle that has to be shed similar to Ecdysozoans and it got me thinking. Would it be viable for an animal-like organism to develop an cuticle made of cellulose instead of chiton? As far as I can tell they're both just chains of sugar so biochemically I don't see why an animalian organism couldn't evolve to produce it, but again I'm no biochemist so...
05:00 UTC
"You made me look ridiculous" but it's Spec Evo
06:46 UTC
Man After March Day 24: “Hundred Handers”; Featuring: The Heckatoncheries
05:30 UTC
Isolator bird-ambush human predator
23:19 UTC
Day 24 hundred-handers
23:38 UTC
does the blog ever explicitly say the reason some of the birds on Serina managed to get so massive is because of the same anatomical features that allowed some non avian dinosaurs to get so big? IE unidirectional breathing and hollow bones?
I always assumed this but I'm not sure if sheather ever actually says it?
22:25 UTC
Terra Tomorrow: Nathairsiorcs (art by Tortoiseman)
19:44 UTC
Macroraptorial Baleen Whales - Clustermaws
17:39 UTC
How realistic are land whales?
I really love the idea of land whales but how realistic would they be in a future earth scenario?
I feel like most land ecosystems are already too competitive and complex for a whale to just flop into. Plus even if there was room on land for one wouldn’t a fish be just as if not more likely to crawl up there? whales are already very derived and specialized to water.
Idk maybe maybe I don’t know enough about whales
16:49 UTC
Squonk Biology Explained | The Science of the Most Morbid Cryptid
14:50 UTC
(New Paleozoic)-The New Project
14:17 UTC
Javera machete hand (Estrapolugire nenonte)
12:25 UTC
How does one gain the ability to think of a creature?
07:12 UTC
What are ways that a placental mammal could evolve marsupial-esque birth?
I'm curious for my current seed world project, what are some ways that I can have a placental mammal (probably a rodent) evolve into something akin to a marsupial?
Specifically, I'm referring to marsupial birth with the use of a pouch and the care of altricial young.
On a previous question, someone had suggested this possibility but I'm unsure how it could develop.
02:00 UTC
Exotheropoda - At the top of the food chain
Sketch
04:02 UTC
Man After March Day 23: “The Ultimate Livestock”; Featuring: The Lost Ones
03:26 UTC