Imagine a version of Earth where mass extinction events occur like clockwork.
Where every fifty-million years, solar storms wipe out the majority of life, and the survivors
must start again.
From such a relentless cycle of destruction and renewal, what sorts of species might rise
to the challenge?
Nijin-Konai is a speculative biology project set on a planet where periods of intense solar
radiation constantly reset the timeline on evolution.
As a result, the lifeforms that now populate this world are true survivors, the product
of countless generations of mass extinction and rebirth.
Brought to life by the talented artist and creator Lorenzo Battilani, the world is rich
in biological detail.
Indeed, this might be one of the most ambitious speculative biology projects I’ve ever covered
— comprising hundreds of species, with thousands of details about each one.
The first volume the artist is creating focuses on the aquatic life, so for this entry into
the archive, we’ll explore the seas of this incredible world.
So, let’s submerge ourselves in the waters of Nijin-Konai, staying alert to what lurks
in the depths as we discover a world beneath the waves...
The ozone layer of Nijin-Konai’s atmosphere is extremely thin, leaving the planet at the
mercy of solar radiation surges.
In between the surges, life rebound.
Just thirty-two million years after the most recent mass extinction, the latest inheritors
of Nijin-Konai have already achieved incredible diversity throughout the oceans.
In the midwater currents swims the ubiquitous Spotted Snake-Jetter, a creature that possesses
a surprising adaptation.
They ingest their food whole, storing their meals in an enlargeable sac.
Like the Gulper Eels of Earth, this sac can swell up to a size as big as the animal itself
depending on the size of their most recent mouthful — resulting in a rather absurd
spectacle.
The Spotted Snake-Jetter is a quintessential example of the fish-like Pressionatatia — one
of the main lineages that have risen to prominence in the current era.
Yet the uniqueness of the Snake-Jetter shows that on Nijin-Konai, even commonplace lifeforms
can be remarkable.
Deeper in the open sea, other lifeforms have found radically different niches to fill.
The Purple Pillowhead inhabits low-current environments, and has a peculiar method of
getting food.
Unlike the Snake-Jetter, this mid-sized lifeform is a filter-feeder, possessing ten forward-facing
filtration organs in the frontal section of their cranium.
They spend their days filtering particulates from the current, a feeding behavior similar
to Earth whale sharks.
The taxon they represent is composed primarily of filter feeders, which are finding great
success on the nutrient-rich currents of Nijin-Konai’s oceans.
In looking at such vibrant forms of life, there’s a strange comfort that these populations
are the remainders of a mass extinction…
In the reef-like environments of warmer waters, surreal forms of life seek refuge.
The Butterfly Chichi is one such species.
A rather tiny organism, their trunk-like appendage gives them an unmistakable look.
The Butterfly Chichi use their miniature trunk to bring small pieces of vegetation into their
mouths.
And though you’d never know it by looking at them, the Butterfly Chichi is the last
herbivore of a great line.
Once part of an incredibly successful order of megafauna, the latest extinction has left
the Butterfly Chichi all alone.
Yet upon the reefs, they have endured, and will continue to carry their taxon’s legacy
into the future.
In the thick vegetation of the denser reefs, a long, eel-like lifeform ungulates through
the water.
This is a Rainbow Rockhead, and while they might look threatening, they aren’t carnivores.
Indeed, this filter-feeder is rather shy, preferring to remain out of sight.
Like the Moray Eel, the Rainbow Rockhead makes their home in the cracks and crevices of the
coral reef, and spend most of their time hidden from view.
Yet a glimpse of a Rainbow Rockhead is a stunning one, as they possess vibrant colors to attract
mates.
While life on Nijin-Konai may be one of inevitable struggle, beauty still finds a way to emerge.
Yet all environments have their predators.
The Doublejaw Kugawa is a lonesome hunter, that will sometimes come to the reefs in search
of food.
Possessing a unique jaw-apparatus for ensnaring prey, the Kugawa can hunt a variety of prey
across the ocean.
While typically solitary, once a year, the Kugawa group together with others of their
kind in a school of unparalleled volume.
In our oceans, schools of fish can reach amazing sizes — with some stretching for several
miles.
Yet during their migration to the tropics of the north, the Kugawa school comprises
the species’ entire mature global population, a sight that would be as alarming as it would
be stunning.
And there is a giant upon the reef.
This is a Sandmaker, and they have one of the largest head-to-body ratios on the planet.
Evolved to feed on the shelled plants that make up the reefs they inhabit, they act as
a key contributor to the bioerosion processes of the ocean.
Each time they feed, they grind shells into a fine sand, creating new sediment that helps
the reefs expand.
Freshwater mollusks like Lithoredo Abatanica play a similar role in underwater erosion
on our planet — grinding up limestone into a fine-grained sand.
Although at over twenty feet, or six meters in length, the Sandmaker is a considerably
larger terraforming unit than an Earth mollusk.
Sizeable though they are, the Sandmakers are gentle creatures, and one of the more notable
herbivores on Nijin-Konai…
Across the oceans, one of the more variable clades are the frisbeefish.
Radiating out from a common ancestor that evolved a tall and flattened body to better
maneuver a densely vegetated area, the many types of firsbeefish have returned to the
open ocean — and are returning to more hydrodynamic shapes.
Many of these emergent lineages look quite distinctive, like the Heartfish — a species
that, true to their name, mates for life.
When a Heartfish couple bonds, the two court each other by swirling around mid-water.
It’s a rather poignant form of courtship, and can be seen among other types of frisbeefish
as well.
This is an Azure Frisbeefish.
These hypnotic, six-finned oddities have evolved to feed on floating fronds, which might explain
the design of their unusual fins.
On our planet, certain genera of seahorses and their relatives have evolved frond-like
protuberances to blend in among the plants they feed on.
So, it’s likely the Azure Frisbeefish’s strange fins help break up their silhouette
amongst alien foliage.
In any case, the Frisbeefish genus seems to be thriving, as this species can now be found
across three-quarters of the planet’s oceans.
Yet aquatic life on Nijin Konai isn’t limited to just the oceans.
Along the banks of coastal rivers, a peculiar customer is hiding in plain sight.
This is a Freshwater Pebble-Bug, and they are experts at looking like… well, pebbles.
When other organisms get close, the Pebble-Bug will quickly dig into the sediment to hide,
leaving only their shells exposed.
The unusual looking Scorpionfish of our oceans have converged on a similar behavior to conceal
themselves in aquatic sediment.
With only their shells sticking out, the Pebble-Bugs look like any other rock.
Yet the Pebble-Bug isn’t just designed to hide from predators, but also to lure in prey.
They possess an appendage that greatly resembles a plant to attract small herbivorous animals,
which the Pebble-Bug will then ambush and feed on.
In a world this competitive, even the gentlest looking species can be dangerous…
Back in the ocean, a relative of the Pebble-Bug swims close of the sea floor.
This is a Grappling Shieldback, and like the Pebble-Bug, they have a thick shell.
Too heavy for fast swimming, the Shieldback relies on their natural armor to keep them
safe from the jaws of larger predators.
Like the Sea Turtles of earth, the Shieldback must trust that their shells are tougher than
the teeth of most animals that swim under the waves.
Yet unlike the Sea Turtle, the Grappling Shieldback is a predator themselves, using their prehensile
appendage to stir up sand and ensnare fleeing bottom-feeders.
It might seem strange that both the Shieldback and the Pebble-bug are hunters.
But both species are members of the Entodontia, a once highly-successful order of mighty predators
that have been reduced to minor players following the most recent extinction.
In the world of Nijin-Konai few species stay on top for long…
Yet some Entodontia have managed to remain at the top of the food web.
In the open sea, the Four-Jawed Irobian Ripper hunts in the current.
With a name like that, you know a creature means business.
Unlike their relatives, the Ripper possess multiple vertically arranged jaws that they
use to latch on to prey.
This unusual jaw structure might seem overly elaborate, but many types of Earth crustaceans
possess similarly complex mouthparts for ensnaring food.
The Ripper’s extravagant mouth is actually a sign of their primordial origins, as the
ripper is the rare lifeform that has changed little over the past age.
To have endured so long with minimal changes, the Ripper’s strategy must be successful...
On the subject of successful hunters, peering up from the sandy seafloor is the Phantom
Sea Twinfish.
Resembling a fish flattened out by a rolling pin, the Twinfish is an ambush predator that
appears… a bit squashed.
Yet by lying flush with the seafloor, the Twinfish is in the perfect position to feed
on other bottom-dwellers.
It’s a strategy convergent with that of the Spotted Wobbegong — a real name for
a real shark species that lies on the seafloor and lets prey come to them.
They’re not the most glamorous species next to the sleek pursuit predators that are their
cousins, but the Spotted Wobbegong is one shark that knows being fast isn’t the only
way to score a meal.
Likewise, the Phantom Sea Twinfish is rather slow — but as one of the only species in
their niche, there’s not much competition.
Indeed, the entire genus was formed through an error in gene expression some 20 million
years ago — which helps make sense of the Twinfish’s odd appearance...
Elsewhere on the seafloor, a seemingly terrifying lifeform skulks.
This serpentine predator is a Southern Sandlurker — a creature that would be horrifying…
if they were more than a few centimeters in length.
The Sandlurker still stands out, however, thanks to their unusual evolutionary history.
Like sea snakes, the Southern Sandlurker is an aquatic descendant of a land-dwelling predecessor,
which made the transition quite recently.
As a result, the Sandlurker still possesses tiny limbs, which they use to peddle through
the water and snatch up their prey.
The result is a creature that looks… a little uncanny.
And disturbingly, there is another offshoot of the Sandlurker.
This photo shows an exceedingly rare Tooth Collector, a Sandlurker that picks shed teeth
up from the seafloor to ingest for calcium intake.
Not only is this behavior off-putting, the Tooth Collector seems larger than their southern
cousins.
A rather unsettling discovery...
Much further to the north, the arctic regions of Nijin-Konai are a land of ice and wind.
Yet here too, life has found a way to thrive.
This is an Arctic Wildmillworm, a creature that can only be found thousands of meters
below the ice.
Living in large colonies upon the seabed, Wildmillworms are one of the more extreme
creatures to emerge upon this planet.
Believe it or not, Arctic Worms also swim under Earth’s polar ice caps — prospering
in the pitch-black despite the glacial temperatures.
Likewise, the Wildmillworm is right at home in their environment, able to feed thanks
to filters on their four-part mouth.
These distinctive structures actually rotate in the arctic current like a windmill, allowing
the worms to catch more food and even direct currents towards other members of the colony.
A truly ingenious product of adaptation.
Elsewhere under the ice, a hunter with a curious swimming posture is waiting for prey.
This is a Dusky Traptongue, and they eke out a peculiar existence indeed.
Swimming with their mouth positioned upwards, The Traptounge spends much of their life waiting
for prey to pass overhead.
Their posture resembles the amusing looking Pipefish, which — like the Dusky Traptongue
— have a highly unusual vertical swimming position.
You or I might become uncomfortable with our necks permanently craned upwards.
But the Traptounge is quite literally born for this, having evolved a large stabilizing
fin and vertical countershading that helps them remain camouflaged while in their strange
hunting position.
At least this oddity won’t be uncomfortable...
Few undersea environments are more extreme than the polar regions.
Yet in the crushing depths of the planet’s trenches, conditions are even more hostile.
In the twilight zone of the abyss, the Crimson Knifefish flashes a fanged smile.
This deep-sea predator lives near volcanic fault lines, and snatches up fish that come
to feed on the chemical soup.
The structure on the front of its head resembles the lure of certain members of the Anglerfish
family.
The Knifefish’s structure isn’t a lure, however, but a deadly weapon.
Made of hardened bone, the Knifefish uses this horn as a biological blade — impaling
fast moving prey with pinpoint accuracy.
In the deep sea, staying alive is a constant battle…
A titanic predator inhabits the deep abyssal plains of the cold trenches.
The Grim Walker.
Instead of swimming, the creature has evolved to walk on the ocean floor using their six
lower fins.
An apex predator, the Grim Walker hunts using their large mouths to suck in prey — grinding
them alive within their secondary rows of teeth.
On Earth, the Warty Frogfish is an aquatic organism that also ‘walks’ on the sea
floor…
and they have a similarly horrific appetite, able to vacuum up prey almost twice their
size.
The ghostly white eyes of the Grim Walker betray their poor vision, as they seek out
food in the dark abyss using echolocation alone.
And since the largest Grim Walkers can reach almost thirty feet, or nine meters in length,
they’re a serious threat — known to swallow diving equipment like camera drones, and even
to attack small submersibles when hungry.
For this reason, the Grim Walkers are best observed from a distance.
Speaking of which, in the dark recess of Nijin-Konai, a disturbing presence haunts the void.
Little understood, Giant Ghostfaces are known to be swift and silent, grabbing unaware prey
with their four long arms.
In the few images of this seldom glimpsed lifeform, their appearance is like something
from a bad dream.
Perhaps some regions of Nijin-Konai, are better left unexamined…
But let’s end with a moment of beauty.
In the calm blue of the open ocean, one final lifeform is waiting.
This is a Painted Krillnet, one of the largest species that swim beneath the waves.
A leviathan of the deep, the Painted Krillnet grows to vast sizes on a diet of phytoplankton,
which they harvest through the specialized hair-like filaments on their frontal jaws.
Like a baleen whale, the Krillnet can consume several tons of these organisms every day.
As a result of their rich diet, the Painted Krillnet possesses a vivid coloration, which
plays an important role in their mating rituals.
The emergence of organisms this massive and complex in just a few million years proves
— one last time — how quickly life can fill a void following a mass extinction…
In the end, the story of Nijin-Konai is more than one of extinction.
Not only has life on the planet recovered in spectacular fashion, but the world itself
is far more detailed than I could ever cover in this video.
A larger science fiction story involving human settlers is emerging through the author’s
art, which you can explore more of in the links in the description.
If you enjoyed this glimpse into the larger world of Nijin-Konai, please consider following
and supporting the artist.
And as always, thanks for watching.
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See you in the next video.