Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
Alidia
Topic Started: Jan 4 2014, 05:31 PM (196 Views)
Olympianmaster
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
Alidia is a planet not unlike earth, with a similar size, rotation, etc.

I don't have much information as of yet I'll edit it in later.......but MAPS!! :P

Attached to this post:
Attachments: Alidia_map__800_.gif (191.1 KB)
Attachments: Alidia_map__Blank_.gif (17.87 KB)
Attachments: Alidia_map_Height_Key.gif (4.74 KB)
Attachments: Alidia_map_Height.gif (34.17 KB)
Attachments: Alidia_map_Biomes_Key.gif (8.11 KB)
Attachments: Alidia_map_Biomes.gif (35.31 KB)
Edited by Olympianmaster, Jan 5 2014, 12:21 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Olympianmaster
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
Added height map with key.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Olympianmaster
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
Added biome map with key.

I'll post descriptions of the biomes later.
Edited by Olympianmaster, Jan 5 2014, 12:28 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Olympianmaster
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
Tundra and alpine tundra
Areas where the subsoil is permafrost, and most of the year snowy and frozen. Unlike on earth, where it is an area almost impossible to grow on for trees, on Alidia some tree analogues have found ways to live there. Besides these sparse "trees" there is not much plant growth.

Taiga and mountain forest
Also called the Blue Forests, these forests are made up of the blue-leafed softtrunks. Most of the year it's very cold and snowy, although not as cold (and snowy) as the tundra.

Desert
Arid and barren areas of land on which, similar as on earth, the living conditions are hostile for both plant and animal life, although some species have found ways to survive. These deserts are dotted with small oases.

Savanna
Tropical grasslands of which there are two types: Tree savannas and grass savannas. On a grass savanna trees are widely spaced and scattered, on a tree savanna they are much closer to eachother while still having a widely open canopy.

Tropical rainforest
Warm and wet, those are the most important characteristics of an Alidian rainforest, just like on earth. Because of the lower gravity on Alidia these rainforests can grow up to 80-100 meters. Between the forest floor and the understory there is another layer, made up entirely of Acid-Nets (which will be described later ofcourse). Most of the plant species above the acid-net layer depend on the trees to grow on.

Mangroves
Pretty much the same as on earth: Various types of trees and plants that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics.

Temperate forest and temperate steppe
These occur in the temperate regions of Alidia. The forests consist of various kinds of antlerwood trees, with less undergrowth, while the steppes are almost fully treeless.

Mixed forest
These forests consists of both antlerwood trees as well as softtrunks, and only occur on the southern hemisphere.

Floating Forests
These occur in shallow parts of the oceans. They are made up of underwater tree-plants and various floating plants. They are home to many unique species of both animals and plants.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Olympianmaster
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
The Forest Floor

The forest floor of Alidian tropical rainforests are a harsh place to live for both plants and animals. Only 2% of the sunlight reaches the forest floor, like here on Earth, but unlike on Earth, the forest floor doesn't contain much decaying plant or animal matter. This is because of the layer above the forest floor, which is filled with Acid Nets that catch all that dies above them and digest it. The dead matter that is from beneath these Acid Nets will disappear quickly because of the warm, humid conditions promote rapid decay. The forest floor layer isn't too high either, only about 1 meter.

Flora of the forest floor

One of the most notable plant analogues of the Alidian forest floor are the Glowpipes. They are shaped like cylinders standing upright, different species glow in different colours through bioluminescense. They use this glow to attract the different insect analogues living on the forest floor. The "pipe" itself is filled with a sweet-smelling, sticky liquid with which they catch the attracted insect-analogues and digest it.

A nephew of the Glowpipes, the Parapipes, also live on the forest floor. These are also cylindric in form, but don't have the bioluminescent glow the Glowpipes have, and they are also much smaller, aroun 1-3 cm tall. They are parasites, living with thousands on the trunk of a single tree analogue. With a single root-like tendril they bore into the outerlayer of this trunk to suck out water, minerals and all they need from their host.

Black Rugs are huge, black, moss-like mats. A single organism can expand for tens of square feet on the forest floor. They use all of the light they can get for photosynthesis, and are very competitive (at least as competitive as plants can get), even growing over eachother, and digesting eachother in the process, to get more space and light.

Fauna of the forest floor

The Tropical Meryx is the biggest animal living on forest floor. Being an armacapit (Armicapita is a class of Alidian vertebrates) they have armored heads with split lowers jaws, and a leathery skin. Their body resembles the body of a musk deer, with a long tail. They are approximately 140-160 cm long, 100-120 cm tall at the shoulder and have a tail of 30-40 cm. They graze on the black rugs, but also eat carrion to supplement their diet. They live all their live with the same partner, and even when that partner dies, they will not choose another.

Several species of Forest Hoppers live on the forest floor, the most notable being the Lure Hopper. It has two hind legs (which are its only limbs), a scaled skin, and two small, tentacle-like appendages a bit underneath their mouth; all characteristics of an orecrinean (Orecrina is another class of Alidian vertebrates). They are insectivorous, preying on the many insect-analogues of the forest floor. One of their tentacles end in a small, bioluminescent bulb with which they attract their prey, while the other ends in a sticky bulb, like at the end of the tongue of a chameleon, which they use to catch their prey. Their legs are shaped similar as those of a kangaroo rat. They can leap 6-8 feet and quickly change its direction when landing.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
martiitram
Member Avatar
Very Active Member
[ *  *  * ]
I like it's resemblance to earth.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Extraterrestrial Evolution · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Black Water created by tiptopolive of the Zetaboards Theme Zone