#projectkarya

Introducing, Tarsiers:

As their own branch of the primate family tree, tarsiers first appeared around 45 million years ago, and fossils of extinct species have been found in regions across Europe, Asia, and even North America. Considering this, it would be easy to make spec evo a lineage that would come to be less dependent on the trees, maybe become more bipedal and saltatorial (movement by hopping), and even have one or two species becoming comfortable with the presence of sophonts to the point of inhabiting their dwellings. They would come to serve as pest control as well as "tidying up" scraps and what would otherwise be considered garbage (either to eat for themselves or to add to nests for decoration purposes).

Context

Hi, y'all! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things from fantasy settings could exist, if they were to exist in a science fiction setting instead.

Today, I wanted to share a depiction of one of the 2000+ species that are unique to the titular world of Karya: the Omorian strider (Megalodromeus omoriensis), descended from a species of non-avian dinosaur called Dysalotosaurus karyaensis. Growing up to seven-and-a-half meters in length, and topping the scales at over a metric tonne, it is the largest species of Megalodromeus, as well as the largest of the entire clade Microdromidae; it is also among the largest extant dinosaurs living on Karya. The Omorian strider is common grazer in the more rugged regions of the planet's polar continent from which its name comes from, most usually found in cold wetlands and expansive tundras. They are covered in a feathery coat that is a mottled brown during the summer, but turns an off-white during the winter to aid in camouflage. Their massive bulk and generalist diet made it an ideal species for several auran (equivalent to "elves") cultures to domesticate as a utilitarian animal, resulting in the domestic strider (M. domesticus) that is most commonly used for meat, its semiannually-shed pelt, and as a beast of burden.

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