Eighty million years ago… dinosaurs ruled the surface of planet Earth.
Yet in the blink of a cosmic eye, this kingdom would fall to a mass extinction, and an entirely
unexpected order of animals would take their place.
If a similar calamity were to upend nature’s order once again, what kinds of incredible
lifeforms might emerge?
Set eighty million years from now, the Sol’Kesh Bestiary is a speculative biology project
by the brilliant artist and worldbuilder Terry Maranda.
Through naturalist-style illustrations, it explores a world where humanity has long disappeared,
and evolution has drastically transformed the animals we know today.
So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll explore this reborn Earth.
And as always, you can support the artist on Patreon to see more of the project using
the links in the description.
Now, let’s travel to the far future, and discover the creatures of the Sol’Kesh Bestiary…
Eighty million years from now, the island of Sol’Kesh is a landmass where the extremes
of the environment meet the extremes of evolution.
Today, some of the most extreme ecosystems are coral reefs.
In the era of Sol’Kesh, coral has adapted to thrive in the inter-tidal zone, allowing
familiar reef life to take to the land.
One of the first pioneers of these semi-terrestrial reefs is the tentacled Cerrophol.
This semi-aquatic cephalopod creeps from the ocean as the tide falls, feeding on mollusks
and crustaceans left exposed to the sun.
Incredible as this might sound, we already have some documentation of cephalopods moving
upon the land in a limited capacity.
And while the Cerrophol is technically more closely related to modern squids than octopus,
80 million years is plenty of time for such a creature to emerge given the right conditions.
Cerrophol tentacles have hardened into claw like tips for dragging their body across the
land — and for cracking open the shells of urchins and crabs so they can feast.
For like their squid ancestors, Cerrophols are carnivores...
But there are larger carnivores in these reborn reefs.
The Lancelet is a slithering terror that searches for the telltale rhythm of prey with their
sensitive antennae.
Perhaps unexpectedly, these ambush predators are the descendants of the lethargic sea slug.
Yet in the era of Sol’Kesh, the Lancelets can move with whip-like speed, able to launch
themselves at prey with deadly accuracy and spear them with their forward-facing prongs.
In the arms-race of evolution, these reefs are a warzone.
Surveying the battlefield with their solitary orange eye, the Gharril is one particularly
alien creature.
With four loping limbs, they stride across the sand, feeding on anything the tide dredges
up.
Remarkably, these slimy carnivores are the descendants of mollusks, although they’ve
evolved fleshy limbs convergent with other land animals.
Their unique method of digestion produces a pearl of sorts in their gullet made from
compressed bone.
When threatened by a fearsome predator, they can expel this cannon-ball like pearl with
devastating force...
And few predators are as fearsome as the Daellash.
These serpentine hunters live together upon hatching, and when emerging from their burrows
resemble multi-headed hydras.
An offshoot of today’s garden eels, they’ve retained their ancestor’s habit of peeking
out of the sand in unison.
With exceptionally large eyes, the Daellash can track and snatch most any stray fish that
tumbles through the current with their trap-like jaws.
Yet these Daellash are only juveniles...
Adult Daellash are large enough to hunt alone.
These full-grown terrors are expert hunters, able to brave a wide variety of environments.
Like modern Moray Eels, they are experts at navigating tight corners, and lashing out
from hidden caverns to ensnare prey.
The Daellash are further proof that this new reef environment is a realm of fearsome competition...
Moving inland, the shore gives way to a mosaic of swampland.
In our era, swamps and other wetlands only cover around 7% of the Earth’s surface,
yet are home to numerous unique lifeforms that have adapted to both land and water.
And 80 million years in the future, many of these animals look quite different…
Rising to the height of a large dog, the Solmundis slinks through the wetlands hunting for prey.
While this amphibian has become a feared ambush predator in the shallow ponds of these swamps,
their ancestor is none other than the humble lungless salamander.
The Solmundis’s tongue is tipped with a deadly bone spur that sits beneath their skull
while at rest.
To hunt, the Solmundis lashes out with this spear-like tongue to impale and quickly retract
their prey into a gluttonous, needle-toothed maw.
In the impenetrable murk of the waters that flood the woodlands, the Murrow sense their
surroundings clearly.
Though blind, these gargantuan fish use their many sensitive whiskers in combination with
low-voltage electrical pulses to detect the movement of prey — much like how their ancestors,
the catfish, do today.
Creatures outside the water are equally unsafe, as this predator can quickly breach the opaque
surface with a vacuum-like gulp, with prey instantly disappearing into the Murrow gullet
as they sink back contently into the thick silt.
Roaming in small herds across the tidal flats, the Pebbleback Auhk show that some mammals
still persist in this strange future.
While these sheep-like creatures might seem out of place in a swampy environment, they
are well adapted for a lifestyle that’s a bit soggier than what most mammals would
put up with.
Despite their appearance, the Auhk are actually highly derived offshoots of the hippopotamus,
which are already semi-aquatic.
To stay safe while wading into treacherous waters, the Auhk possess a wide crest of horns
and rows of hardened osteoderms (awsteo-derms) to deter predators.
For nightmarish creatures lurk in the depths of the swamp.
In the sullen green light of the kelp forests, the Larkiera slides through the tall plants
without making a whisper.
Large enough to feed on other predators like the Murrow, the Larkiera is a descendant of
modern freshwater fish that has grown to a startling size...
North of the swampy coast, the land gives way to great, untamed forests.
Today, the world has lost over one-third of its forests due to human activity, but in
the time of Sol’Kesh, the forests have rebounded in the extreme — allowing familiar woodland
animals to evolve into unfamiliar forms…
Tip-toeing unseen through the northern timberlands are the shy and skittish Frondilli.
Covered in specialized waxy hairs that mimic leaves, these camouflaged herbivores move
with the utmost caution.
Unsurprisingly, the Frondilli are relatives of modern deer, although a change in diet
has led to them becoming significantly smaller.
They feed on the sap that runs through the northern trees, breaking into the bark with
their wedge-like, razored jaw.
While feeding, the Frondilli keep an ear out for potential danger, and at the slightest
snap of a twig they scurry back into hiding.
High among the colossal conifers of mountainous forests, the Calitross quietly climbs from
branch to branch.
These avian creatures have long lost their ability to fly, with their phalanges having
regressed back to a more digit like form — with curved claws allowing for agile climbing.
The Calitross are a close genetic descendant of barn owls, and while they’ve lost their
ability to fly, in the branches the Calitross have found a new niche as one of the most
versatile omnivores of the new world.
While one lineage exits the skies, another is just starting to stretch their wings.
The Basilospri are a member of a reptilian genus that is re-evolving powered flight — following
in the footsteps of Pterosaurs millions of years earlier.
While still unsuited for long periods of flight, the wingbeats of Basilospri might soon be
heard across the skies of Sol’Kesh.
And speaking of making noise: a colossal omnivore barges through the deep forest.
The Jhotus are so large they can topple small trees with the heavy trod of their hooves,
and carve a path through leagues of woodland in their endless pursuit of food.
A supersized descendant of modern pigs, the Jhotus have retained the boundless appetite
of their ancestors.
This mighty genus sustains its size with a slow metabolism, for there is little reason
for such a massive beast to hurry — especially with their rock-hard hide and spiny fur.
An immense network of cave systems winds through the mountains of Sol’Kesh.
In our era, the vast majority of underground chasms remain unexplored — and in the depths
we have charted, the lifeforms within have been much changed by their eons in isolation.
Given 80 million more years, who knows what might evolve…
In the haunting glow of bioluminescent fungus, a sightless terror clambers along the dripping
stalactites.
Molocks dwell in the darkness in large colonies, navigating their maze-like home through echolocating
chirps.
A species of bat that adapted to a flightless lifestyle while venturing ever deeper into
the tunnels, Molocks no longer have any need to return to the surface.
They are completely at home in the deep hydrogen-sulfide based ecosystems that bloom far from the light
— having long forgotten the warmth of the sun.
Scuttling along the ceilings, walls, and floors of the southeastern caves are the bizarre
Mollucite.
These well-camouflaged carnivores resemble living stalagmites, and drag in prey with
their long, prehensile tongue.
The Mollucite are a highly-derived offshoot of scaly-foot gastropods, and like their ancestors
can incorporate inorganic material into their shells for protection.
Yet the Mollucite have found another use for the silica they extract from the cave tunnels
— having evolved a way to hone the substance into sharp, obsidian like teeth…
In the tight confines of the limestone cavities that riddle the western coastland, the sightless
Krainis live and die in utter darkness.
These eel-like creatures can search for the faintest pulse of heat from prey using highly
sensitive heat pits along the sides of their head.
Having evolved from snakes that became accustomed to life in the dark pits over millennia, the
Krainis haven’t lost the venom of their predecessors.
To administer their venomous strike, the Krainis possess forward facing fangs they use to spear
their prey in the narrow tunnels of the underground.
In the deepest limestone caves, the enormous Taurachni reigns supreme.
A mighty arachnid, the Taurachni uses its powerful front limbs to break through the
tough shells of its preferred prey.
While today the size of spiders is limited by the level of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere,
arthropods in the Sol’Kesh timeline have evolved a more efficient means of respiration,
allowing them to grow to sizes not seen since the Carboniferous period.
Extensive channels of spiracle openings provide the Taurachni with extra oxygen, giving it
the fuel needed to support its thick exoskeleton and armored limbs…
Back on the surface, a mighty, uninterrupted grassland stretches across much of Sol’Kesh.
In our era, grasslands are home to some of the largest land animals on our planet.
80 million years into the future, a new kingdom of giants might emerge…
Slowly plodding across the flower fields of western Sol’Kesh, the mighty Rutorts churn
up the earth in search of deep-soil tubers.
Protected from predators by a thick external shell, these herbivores are unlike any of
the megafauna seen on the plains today.
For Rutorts are another distant relative of arthropods, able to grow far larger than their
ancestors due to their highly efficient oxygen intake and a more complex internal support
structure.
And thanks to their docile temperament, certain birds have learned to nest on the backs of
these mild-mannered giants.
Amid the footsteps of behemoths, the quick pitter-patter of taloned feet resonates over
the dry plains as the Axilot rushes past.
These flightless avian creatures are scavengers in a world of goliaths, digging into carcasses
with their sharp, wedge-shaped beaks.
Today, numerous birds have traded in flight for a life on the ground, although none are
as peculiar as the Axilot.
Unlike most birds, the Axilot does not nurture their young, instead leaving their eggs burrowed
in the soil.
After a longer incubation than modern birds, the fledglings are born with the ability to
run and hide from the titans of the plains…
One of the mightiest beasts dwells in the rock-strewn dustbowl of the western plains.
The Grahknash are covered from snout to spiked tail in thick armored plates, sharp enough
to frighten all but the most ferocious of predators.
These standoffish creatures are descended from one of the many spiny reptile lineages
that dwell in the deserts of today.
And to take their armor to the next level, the Grahknash are known to lick stones and
mineral deposits to build up silica within their bodies, further strengthening their
plating.
Wherever massive tunnels mar the surface of the plains, a Korruk is surely nearby.
Timid and almost apologetic in appearance, these herbivores feed on deep-rooted plants
that they chew with their large shearing teeth.
The Korruk have retained both the scaly armor-plating and the spade-like claws of their pangolin
ancestors.
The claws of the Korruk aren’t just for digging though, but also serve as an effective
deterrent to mid-sized predators…
Yet some predators aren’t deterred so easily.
With whooping howls, the monstrous Draffers tear across the northern plains.
These bipedal beasts show what happens when a mammal converges on the predatory megafaunal
niche of the T-Rex.
When a Draffer runs, their thick claws dig into the cold earth for purchase, and their
powerful hind legs allow them to pursue prey across the flat tundra with ease.
Few creatures on Sol’Kesh are as feared...
The final region of Sol’Kesh is also the largest — the deep ocean.
Oceans currently cover over seventy percent of our planet’s surface, and have given
rise to some of the most extraordinary species on Earth.
And in the era of the Sol’Kesh Bestiary, ocean life has never been more spectacular…
Skimming over the waves in great flying shoals, the Tiama feed on swarms of hovering insects.
With their elongated mouths and keen eyesight, these fish are expert bug-catchers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Tiama are related to flying fish — although Tiama are far
more aggressive.
If a shoal of these fish is sufficiently threatened, the swarm becomes hostile, slashing predators
with their razor-sharp fins in consecutive fly-bys.
On the stony beaches of the Sol’Kesh coast, the Daugon basks in the seaside sun.
These peculiar mammals possess large dorsal sails to regulate their temperature, and to
attract mates.
The Daugon is another relative of the hippo, having taken their semi-aquatic lifestyle
to new extremes.
Their thick layers of blubber allow them to survive the frigid depths of the sea floor,
where they scavenge for large mollusks.
A streamlined body makes for a quick descent to the ocean floor to forage, a trip the Daugon
must make daily to maintain their bulk.
One of the greatest monsters of all lurks near the surface, their six eyes rising over
the choppy waves in search of prey.
The Arkiopti is a large crustacean that stealthily treads water with their paddle-like limbs,
keeping their body hidden until it’s time to strike.
Despite their impressive size, these creatures are most closely related to current day shrimp.
When prey lands close to the Arkiopti, they release a mucus covered shard of stone at
their target, then drag their fresh meal below the waves...
The Sol’Kesh Bestiary offers an inventive interpretation of life in the far future.
Yet in addition to being a speculative evolution project, this bestiary is also available for
D&D, with sheets for all creatures up on the artist’s Patreon — as well as 3D printing
files made in collaboration with Edge Miniatures.
Once again, there are links to follow and support the artist Terry Maranda in the description
below.
And as always, thanks for watching.
If you enjoyed this entry, please lend your support by liking, subscribing, and hitting
the notification icon to stay up to date on all things Curious.
See you in the next video.