Let’s say you’re visiting Earth for the first time.
And the tour of the planet consists of being dropped into random locations for about five
seconds before being whisked away to an entirely different spot on the globe.
If you knew nothing whatsoever about life on Earth, how might you interpret what you
saw?
At first, these narrow glimpses of a vast world would be confusing, and probably a little
bizarre.
But over time, as the brief snapshots formed a greater whole — you might be able to get
a sense of broader patterns of life here on Earth.
‘Exobiotica’ is a speculative biology project by incredible artist Michael Beaudry
that offers similarly limited windows into the sprawling alien biosphere of a planet
called Veteris.
In the words of the artist, “Each composition is a tip of an iceberg – a momentary and
fleeting glimpse into an entire ecosystem.”
And the lifeforms we can document are uniquely alien — even by the standards of speculative
biology.
Yet the more art you observe, the more you begin to understand the larger stories of
life upon Planet Veteris.
So, for this entry into the Archive, we’ll shine a light on the secrets of each region
— and uncover how the larger ecosystems fit together.
And as always, you can follow and support the artist using the links in the description.
Now, let’s set off towards Planet Veteris, and prepare for our first glimpse of this
world of mysteries.
Planet Veteris lies beyond the outskirts of a stunning nebula.
The very name — ‘Veteris’ – gives us some understanding of the nature of this
world, as it means ‘Ancient’ in Latin.
And indeed, this planet is quite old relative to Earth — at almost eight-billion years.
Since this is nearly twice the age of our home planet, there’s no telling what life
has emerged.
Time for a closer look…
Touching down on Veteris, our first glimpse of the teeming surface is difficult to comprehend.
At a glance, it’s hard to tell which of these organisms are plants, and which are
animals.
On Earth, broad categories like plants, animals, and fungi are useful in the classification
of lifeforms, and it’s rare that one would mistake one for the other.
But the lifeforms on Veteris resist such classifications entirely, and many remain unnamed.
The large, plodding walkers move like animals, yet they can photosynthesize.
The flower-like lifeforms might look like plants, but they can ‘walk’ on their spindly
legs.
The long, rope-like organisms that carpet the ground can’t walk, but do grow at a
rapid pace to mark their territory.
Even the rock-like spheres are secretly alert, employing an electro-chemical defense to keep
the creeping tendrils at bay.
The end result is an ecosystem with extreme biodiversity that is truly difficult for us
Earthlings to comprehend.
But the more locations we visit, the more we’ll understand.
The twisting matrix of tendrils define a region known as the Low Forest, and here we’ll
discover another unusual organism roaming amidst the strands.
This is a Dacia — a generalist hunter that walks upon three flexible hydraulic legs,
which are powered by pressured liquid.
An organism powering their legs with hydraulics might sound like pure sci-fi, yet surprisingly,
many types of Arachnids actually use pressured liquid to help power their spindly legs.
And since Veteris’s gravity is lesser than Earth’s, we’ll find many organisms get
around on similar hydraulic tubes.
Aside from its locomotive limbs, the Dacia posses small grasping appendages to help it
apprehend prey and communicate with other members of its species.
For the Dacia is a fairly clever and naturally curious lifeform… which can sometimes lead
it into trouble.
For the most part, Dacias stick to the Low Forest when searching for food.
In our next snapshot, however, we can see a Dacia standing at the threshold of a very
different kind of environment.
An organic cave marks the entrance to the otherwise sealed Glow Forest.
Encouraged by the prospect of shelter, the Dacia considers entering the dark, yet inviting
refuge.
But what will it find inside…
Entering another snapshot, we can see that within the Glow Forest, a mysterious ecosystem
awaits.
Since this region possesses such a thick canopy, virtually no light reaches lifeforms that
dwell within.
As a result, these organisms have evolved a startling array of bioluminescent displays.
On Earth, surreal pageants of bioluminescence can be found throughout the depths of the
oceans.
These remarkable spectacles of light are thought to serve a variety of functions — from communicating,
to attracting prey, to warding off predators.
And in the Glow Forest, the mysterious displays are equally diverse.
This particular organism possesses glowing bands on its back, likely to attract a mate.
The vibrant colors and slug-like locomotive appendages of this lifeform call to mind certain
genera of marine gastropods.
And with a sharp, stinger-like protrusion on its front end, this doesn’t seem like
a particularly friendly customer…
Closer to the forest floor, vertical glowing bulbs sprout from the ground in vast quantities.
The vibrant light they’re emitting indicates these bulbs are on the cusp of reproducing...
but they might never get the chance.
For they are under siege by a slow-moving, yet ever-hungry behemoth — a Laterna Pulmonis.
Although a placid, rather unintelligent sort of fellow, this organism is nonetheless a
serious threat to the glowing bulbs.
Like its food source, the Laterna Pulmonis possess purple biolumescence, which helps
it blend into the surrounding forest.
So, unless a very sharp-eyed predator comes along, the Laterna Pulmonis will likely continue
its snacking...
In the murky ponds on the floor of the Glow Forest, we can glimpse a surprisingly diverse
community of organisms that thrive in these cloudy pools.
A miniature forest of towering colonial microorganisms dominates the landscape, feeding off of methane
gas released by decaying organic matter.
Upon this bedrock of the food chain, a plethora of creatures creep and crawl about their daily
lives.
On our planet, similar dramas unfold in coastal rock pools.
And while these pools might seem peaceful, they are actually battlegrounds for survival.
Predators like the starfish are constantly on the prowl — and they in turn are sometimes
swallowed up by certain sea anemones, which grow large enough to consume almost anything
in the pool.
And on Veritis, a similarly ravenous goliath terrorizes the murky ponds.
In the distance, the pond’s top predator rises over the towers — a shadowy leviathan
that devours everything in its path.
Other creatures need to keep their distance.
Far from the dimness of the Glow Forest, our next snapshot brings us to the vast plains.
Here, we can see a group of spindly lifeforms called the Magnavindix engaging in a very
intriguing behavior.
These imposing creatures, which stand around fifteen feet, or four meters in height, are
shepherds of sorts, keeping watch over their unusual flock.
They spend their days herding the placid, defenseless Lumentus that are their main source
of food.
On Earth, several species of ants are known to engage in a similar behavior.
These ants are herding aphids — small rotund insects that excrete a sugary liquid the ants
feed on.
In exchange, the ants go to great lengths to care for their wards, protecting them from
predators, carrying them to new pasture lands to feed, and even encouraging them to reproduce.
And the Magnavindix are similarly involved in the lives of the Lumentus, playing the
role of both defender and matchmaker, bringing pairs of Lumentus together when their bio-lights
signal they’re ready to mate.
Indeed, this symbiosis has grown to the point where the Lumentus have no conception of danger,
and are free to grow heavy and slow as they graze upon the expanse of fibrous purple organisms
that dominate this land…
Looking through another window, on Veteris, it seems symbiosis has emerged in other unexpected
formulations.
This spherical lifeform is a Round-Walker, and while it might not look particularly mobile,
it does, in fact, amble slowly on its long spindly legs.
At the moment, this particular Round Walker is beleaguered by a flock of flat parasites
clinging to its surface.
Yet the Round Walker isn’t bothered, for its surface is tended to by a spiny little
fellow called a Guardian.
Like their name suggests, Guardians are the defenders of the Round-Walkers, as well as
their cleaning service — and in exchange, the Round-Walkers serve as their living homes.
This mutualistic symbiosis has converged on a partnership similar to that of sea anemones
and clownfish.
Certain anemones rely on clownfish heavily — as clownfish both keep the anemone clean,
provide nutrients in the form of waste, and scare off any would-be pillagers.
In return, the anemone’s tentacles provide a safe home for the tiny clownfish.
The Guardians and Round-Walkers are similarly linked, to the point where you’ll never
find either species on their own.
And so, the Round Walkers amble along, each crowned by a spiny guardian defending their
small world.
Not all organisms are so harmonious.
Deep within a forested valley, a familiar arms-race has emerged in some very unfamiliar
lifeforms.
Here, a predatory creature called the Veloxos follows its hunting path by the river.
It’s a capable hunter, with three powerful hydraulic legs and a harpoon-like proboscis,
which extends almost to the full length of its body.
And this Veloxos has spotted its prey — a Dish-Faced Septaped that emerged from the
undergrowth for a drink.
The Septaped’s appearance helps it blend in among inactive lifeforms on the forest
floor — much like how Earth’s Bargibant's seahorses have evolved to almost perfectly
resemble the sessile stalks of coral.
But like the specialized seahorse, the Septaped’s camouflage only works for specific environments,
and in this light, it’s dangerously exposed.
Moments from now, an intense chase will begin between predator and prey.
No matter which species triumphs, the perpetual theater of natural selection will continue
all across the planet.
Natural selection doesn’t just breed competition on land, however.
Our next glimpse shows us a scene below the waves of this alien world.
Here, the quick and nimble Seaswifts jet along the current, sporting long, lateral spikes
to keep predators at bay.
Spikes are a common defense in the natural world, with certain types of marine gastropods
having converged on similar lateral defenses.
Near the spikey Seaswifts, the more vulnerable Bubble Swimmers drift along.
These filter-feeders use wave-like ripples in their translucent outer membrane to propel
themselves slowly through the current.
Both the Seaswifts and the Bubble Swimmers are on their own in the vast oceans…
But other species have partnered up.
The Glass Colligatio is a composite organism — a creature composed of multiple species
that share critical biological processes between them.
In the Glass Colligatio’s case, the larger swimmer provides mobility, while its multi-legged
symbiont feeds more effectively than it could alone.
As discussed before on this channel, numerous organisms on Earth are also comprised of multiple
lifeforms working in tandem to survive.
Yet curiously, interdependence between two separate species appears far more common on
Veteris than on Earth — a trend that will only strengthen the more lifeforms we observe.
Near the surface of this world’s oceans, one can — on rare occasions — catch a
glimpse of a bizarre display.
An entourage of deep-sea behemoths are making a brief ascent to the surface, releasing gelatinous
strings of embryos here in the sunlight where their young will have better visibility upon
hatching.
While a lifeform blindly releasing huge clouds of their children into the wild might sound
like a bad strategy, it mirrors that of many lifeforms on Earth.
In general, there are two main reproductive strategies on our planet.
Organisms that are K-strategists produce fewer young, but place a greater investment in each,
ensuring a higher percentage of their children reach adulthood.
But there are also R-strategists — which flood the ecosystem with progeny so that regardless
of how many don’t make it, at least some are likely to survive long enough to reproduce.
While the behemoths are clearly R-strategists — their children won’t be completely on
their own.
A swarm of intrigued lifeforms tail the behemoths, and will become unwitting hosts for their
multitudinous offspring.
The embryos will stick to and develop upon the surface of these surrogate species, until
they’re ready to hatch.
Luckily for the host species, however, they won’t suffer any ill effects from their
temporary parasites…
In the murky blackness of the deep sea, many creatures use bioluminescence similar to the
lifeforms of the Glow Forest.
The amusingly-named Gullible Vagari wander the depths looking for the matching biolight
of another member of its species.
Described as a hopeless romantic, whether the Vagari’s search ends in success or tragedy
is a matter of fate.
For there is dangerous predator skulking in the abyss.
The Giant Allicio is an organism that has evolved bioluminescent appendages that mimic
the light of the Vagari — its main food source — and lure them into its jaws.
This low-energy hunting method has resulted in a cumbersome lifeform that isn’t particularly
hydrodynamic.
On Earth, the lumpy Frogfish have a similarly ungainly body plan due to a convergent lifestyle.
Like the Giant Allicio, the Frogfish baits its prey with a specialized lure on the front
of its head.
After all, when your food comes to, you don’t have to be particularly mobile…
Back on land, a lifeform known as The Sunworshipper leads a placid and cautious existence high
above the ground.
Like many other mobile creatures on Veteris, The Sunworshipper receives a portion of its
energy from photosynthesis - as evidenced by the specially-adapted appendages radiating
from its body.
To stay safe, the sunworshipper has evolved ‘eyespots’ on its appendages — which
give predators the impression of a much more formidable opponent.
This sort of defensive mimicry is convergent with various Earth prey animals, perhaps most
notably the eye-spots on the wings of certain types of butterflies.
For a creature that wants to stay hidden, the coloration of the Veteris might seem strange
or even gaudy by our terrestrial standards, but in its native habitat the bright red serves
as excellent camouflage.
And in a world as extreme as Veteris, it pays to blend in…
Our second to last glimpse at Planet Veteris is one of the most striking.
Here, the ruler of a misty valley watches as a competitor makes their approach.
These lifeforms are Greater Confo, highly territorial organisms that do battle with
as set of forward-facing hydraulic spears.
This disputed territory is a surreal landscape of fluid filled branching grows called Camcenas,
a type of photosynthetic lifeform.
And this biome has hidden dangers.
The glowing orange gel that coats the forest floor is both tasty and extremely sticky,
designed to ensnare hungry lifeforms that will later be consumed.
A flock of Bicolor Micans have noticed this accumulation, are flying en masse to take
advantage of it – carefully.
For even a creature as large as the invading Confo might become trapped if it’s not vigilant…
And in our last image, we can see a scene where seasonal rains have blessed an arid
region.
Here, Desert Runners — lifeforms with now familiar tripodal body plans — congregate
for a drink.
But the allure of water has drawn in another organism as well — the unparalleled Monolith.
These living towers send thick tendrils towards the shallow pools to drink their fill.
The monolith may only get the chance to drink in this way two or three times a year, but
it’s enough to keep the structure alive during drier periods.
And along the surface of the Monolith, glowing biolights shimmer in the setting sun.
These points of light are signals to the Nox that soar nearby — fliers that root within
the Monolith during the day, and in return provide the structure with discarded food.
Each Nox can recognize the unique pattern of biolights on their home monolith out of
the crowd of others.
This final example of symbiosis may have been a surprise at the beginning of our journey,
but now, it’s just another familiar expression of Planet Veteris’s broader patterns…
Like an alien visiting witnessing Earth’s splendor in brief snapshots, our understanding
of Planet Veteris will always be somewhat limited, but we’ve now observed enough moments
across the planet’s surface to understand many of its fascinating systems.
It’s been a unique viewing experience, and there may be more to come.
According to the creator, the larger ‘Exobiotica’ project will eventually cover other planets
beyond the world of Veteris, that will harbor entirely new forms of life.
But for now, if you enjoyed discovering the secrets of Michael Beaudry’s incredible
compositions, you can once again follow and support the artist to see more exciting illustrations
using the links in the description.
And as always, thanks for watching.
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See you in the next video.