Imagine a version of Earth fifty million years in the future — one where humanity has vanished,
and extraordinary new creatures now populate the planet. This hypothetical future is the topic of
the retro speculative zoology book ‘After Man,’ written by a founder of the genre — Dougal Dixon.
The book is part of a trilogy alongside ‘Man After Man’ and ‘The New Dinosaurs’ — ( I have a video on
The new Dinosaurs in the archive). But ‘After Man’ is Dixon’s original masterwork, and an influence
behind other series like the Future is Wild, and C. M. Kosemen's infamous ‘All Tomorrows.’
Its impact no surprise, as the post-human Earth Dixon brings to life within the pages feels so
familiar, and yet so alien. And the biology of the futuristic animals he showcases are so strange,
it’s worth taking a closer look. So, for this entry into the archive, we’re going to break
down the animal ecosystems of the far future, bearing in mind that — as I mentioned in my
New Dinosaur’s video — some of the science is outdated, and it’s impossible to know exactly
what such a world would look like. Think of this book and this video as just an interesting guess.
So, let’s leap forwards fifty million years, and discover what types of fantastical species might
now reign over the planet. Beginning in the vast temperate forests and grasslands of this
reborn Earth, the planet’s biome distribution has shifted dramatically. 50 million years from now,
tectonic movements will likely rearrange the continents, pushing Africa into Eurasia, Eurasia
into North America, and separating North and South America. In these new transcontinental regions,
Dixon imagines you can find various species of rabbucks — sizeable, swift-footed grazers with
strange appearances. As you can imagine, rabbucks are descended from modern day rabbits, but have
become much larger with longer legs. This is because the rabbucks now occupy the evolutionary
grazing niche once held by deer, which have declined in this hypothetical future. The rabbucks
are preyed upon by the Falanx, a mid-sized predator species with scissor-like molars.
These carnivores are roughly wolf-sized. Despite this, however, the Falanx aren’t the descendants
of wolves at all — but a very distant offshoot of none other than the rat. And I will say:
I’m certainly glad that wolf-sized rats aren’t something we have to deal with in our time.
Moving into the forests, you can find the Oakleaf Toad: one of my personal favorite new species.
These curious amphibians get their name from the peculiar leaf-shaped growth on their back
with helps with camouflage. Many modern toads employ camouflage of their own — though few at
the same remarkable level as the oakleaf. Another way oakleaf toads are different from most modern
amphibians is they’re true carnivores — large enough to eat small mammals instead of just
insects. And within the nearby wetlands, the bizarre Reedstilt lurks: searching for
prey with its sinuous neck and balancing on its platform-like feet. Despite appearances,
the Reedstilt is a descendent of insectivores like hedgehogs! Over millions of years, these animals
lost their quills and became larger and larger as they transitioned into mid-sized predators.
Continuing on to the pine trees of the northern coniferous forests, we have the hornheads — a
large animal with unique horns for defense, and subsist off moss and lichen. These species are
a larger, more defensive incarnation of the antelope — trading the characteristic speed
of their ancestors for size and security from predators. And speaking of predators,
the Pamthret is one of the most dangerous within the coniferous forests. These creatures are
descended from ferrets — who are also carnivores in the modern day, just not quite as dangerous
ones. But even the Pamthrets sometimes think twice about tangling with this animal — the spine-tailed
squirrel. As you can tell by the name, they’re most closely related to modern ground squirrels:
although they’ve taken a page out of the porcupine’s handbook, and now sport long,
pointy quills for warding off predators. A creative, and effective survival strategy.
Moving even further northwards, we arrive at the windswept tundra and below-zero polar regions.
Here, you can find the wooly gigantalope, a thick furred beast with massive forward-facing horns for
clearing snow off the vegetation it consumes. As you can likely tell by the name, this species is
another offshoot of the modern antelope, although its lumbering size and massive horns make it
in many ways similar to a rhino. In the nearby icy mountains dwell the sure-footed Gorath,
a species well equipped for vertical movement upon the steep slopes. This high-elevation
species is likely the descendent of none other than the goat, with the horns of the modern
goat the precursor to the single bony plate the Gorath uses for territorial displays.
And even further north within the icy waters of what we call the arctic circle,
the leviathan-sized Vortex and smaller Porpin swim through the cold waters. The vortex is the new
largest creature on earth, and a clear analogue to whales, while the porpin shares many similarities
to the modern porpoise or dolphin. Despite this, these two animals are in fact descended from none
other than penguins — who, over the eons, became fully aquatic and swelled to immense sizes.
We’ve got more fantastical creatures to cover, including my personal favorite, but since we’re
halfway through the list, if you’re enjoying this content, please consider taking a moment to like,
subscribe, and hit the notification icon to stay up to date on all things curious.
Heading much further south to the equator, we find a vast sequence of deserts. Here, Dixon imagines
the rather unfortunate looking desert leapers roam the sands. These bulbous-tailed animals might look
(and hop) like kangaroos, but they’re actually another descendant of modern rodents. The desert
leaper also employs the same unique survival strategy as the camel — as the creature’s large
tail, like the camel’s hump, contains specialized fat deposits, which allow it to go without food
for long periods. Even more wrinkly than the desert leaper is the desert shark:
an animal with a truly unfortunate appearance. Their hairless bodies are a carryover from their
similarly alarming looking ancestors, the naked mole rats. And like naked mole rats, the sand
sharks (which have no relation to actual sharks) spend most of their time burrowing underground to
regulate body temperature. And the last creature in the desert is the Rootsucker, a much friendlier
looking fellow with hard plates for defense and long front claws for digging up the roots of the
succulents it feeds on. The Rootsucker is the evolutionary legacy of the armadillo, an animal
that shares its armored shell and also uses its front claws for digging for food. And are one
of my personal favorite species—though not yet my very favorite. ontinuing on, also near the
equator, a belt of tropical grasslands flourishes, in a climate similar to what supports elephant
populations today. But instead of elephants, the lumbering Rundihorn and Southern Gigantelope now
dominate the grassy fields. Both species occupy a similar niche to modern elephants as the heaviest
animals on the savanna — and perhaps the heaviest animals anywhere in this new world.
As the name implies, these species are yet another descendant of the antelope, if you can believe it.
But where there are grazers, there are predators, and the Horrane are the truly bizarre looking
species which preys on Gigantelope. Despite the build and coloring of their bodies resembling
that of the modern cheetah, as you could probably tell by their faces the Horrane are descendants of
primates, which have become fully carnivorous ambush predators. And even more horrifying
are the Raboons, another primate offshoot which became a grassland-dwelling carnivore.
Descendants of the modern, much less frightening looking baboon, the Raboons are no longer content
to feed on plants and fruit alone, becoming full-on scavengers. Like their baboon ancestors,
however, they have close family structures and live in groups instead of going it alone.
Further south, in the vast tropical forests of the world, the long-trunked Zarander feed on
high leafy branches. Despite their trunks, the Zarander aren’t related to elephants,
but to modern day wild boars. It’s hard to see the family resemblance, but fifty million years is a
lot of time for a species to adapt to a new way of life. Traveling along to the tropical rivers,
we’ve got the Swimming Monkey. The name kind of tells you everything you need to know about this
one. They’re a monkey… but they’re good at swimming. A pretty straightforward creature.
And in the same boat, we have the swimming anteater: which, once again, is an ant-eater,
but good at swimming. You get it. Much more unique is the unfortunately named Mud-Gulper — a species
which occupies a similar niche in the swampy waters as the modern-day hippopotamus, but despite
having a very similar looking snout, the mudgulper is yet another animal descended from a species of
rodent. And arriving at our last destination, we have the isolated and diverse world of islands. In
particular, the enormous island of Lemuria which broke off from the modern African continent,
is home to some of the most striking species this new world has to offer. Meet the Night Stalker:
an animal so strange it twists one’s mind just looking at it. The four-limbed, predatory night
stalker is a descendant of the bat, and has given up the wings of its ancestors in favor of a fully
terrestrial existence. But the Nightcrawler isn’t the only descendant of the bat worth mentioning.
The last species on our list is… this the Flooer, an absolutely absurd looking animal
which resembles a flower in sight and smell to lure in insects. Crazy though this might seem,
it’s not actually that far off from how Venus fly traps catch their prey — although such a trait
evolving in an animal is a truly insane concept. And for that reason, despite its appearance,
it’s my very favorite. And that’s the end of our voyage 50 million years into the future.
Like I said in my New Dinosaur’s video, Dougal Dixon’s work, while just an entertaining guess at
the future, is worth checking out if you ever get the chance. n the meantime, thanks for watching.
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