Welcome back to Curious Archive. This video is the second part of a two-part series exploring the
incredible speculative biology project of Snaiad: a planet teeming with incredible alien life.
Snaiad was created by C.M. Kosemen — an expectational artist and the creator of
all tomorrows. As usual, I have links below where you can follow and support his work.
When we left off, we’d visited many of the basic lifeforms on Snaiad. Now, it’s time to study
aliens of greater sizes and stranger biology — in a journey that will reveal secrets from Snaiad’s
mysterious past, and perhaps its unexpected future with humans….and even some never-before-seen
images from Kosemen’s upcoming book. So let’s get started. On the curious island of Mapag,
something on the beaches is walking upright on two legs. This is an Armless Blumbomen,
a creature whose facial pouch — in which it is currently carrying its baby — is so pronounced, it
almost looks humanoid. Are the Armless Blumbomen Snaiad’s approximation of intelligent life?
Not quite. These bipedal oddities are actually closer to earth penguins than they are to us:
as they’re cumbersome on land but well-adapted for the water. But the intelligence of these creatures
isn’t distinct from other creatures on Snaiad. Indeed, the author imagines no species currently
living on the planet’s surface possess advanced intellect… But looking into the archeological
record of Snaiad, there’s evidence that intelligence may have existed in the distant past.
According to Kosemen, 30-million-year-old stone axe-heads have been discovered, but there are no
clues as to their origins. Metallic artifacts of an apparently artificial nature called the ‘Dosadi
Screws’ have been dated to even early. As Snaiad is almost twice as old as Earth, it seems that
perhaps civilization has risen multiple times only to be obliterated and erased by mass extinction.
But all this is uncertain… The creatures that currently wander across Snaiad, however, are truly
fascinating regardless of their intelligence. On numerous offshore islands, the beaches are buzzing
with the sounds of Grey Blumbomen — a related type of Blumbomeniform. Like their larger cousins,
these somewhat awkward looking creatures are also most graceful under the waves — able to chase down
numerous marine organisms almost like tiny seals. Hilariously, Kosemen mentions the Grey Blumbomen
will one day become a major symbol in the popular culture of human settlers, and will even form
the basis for cartoon characters and children’s toys. That’s right: humans will eventually create
settlements on Snaiad. Kosemen states that in the future of this narrative, human history will
become intertwined with that of Snaiad’s as we create the first settlements on this alien world.
The idea of humans trying to coexist with these awe-inspiring yet often terrifying
creatures is certainly an interesting one. And one important future animal to human settlers is the
Orca Runners: mighty herbivores with distinctive coloring and a peaceful demeanor. Thanks to their
fast-running speeds and friendly temperament, these unusual creatures will, surprisingly,
become critical domesticated animals similar to horses in the lives of the first settlers.
This is a telltale sign that humans and the planet’s fantastical native life will have a
wide range of surprising interactions. The windy crags of the Pontic mountains conceal one of
Snaiad’s most spectacular animals. The aptly named ‘Spinies’ possess foreclaws, first-head beaks,
and dorsal spines all elongated into javelin-like spikes. Despite appearances, however,
the Spinies are herbivorous and have evolved these spikes for defense… so they’re actually
closer to a hedgehog than they are to some apex super-predator. Kosemen imagines human colonists
rarely glimpse spinies due to their shyness, instead only hearing the haunting sounds they
produce by rattling their spikes against each other… Across the mainland continent,
a hulking, armored lifeform is on the move. This is the Chasmotaurus — a type of Allotauriform:
an extremely successful lineage of large Snaiadi herbivores. Unlike its more amiable cousins,
however, Chasmotaurus prefers to be left alone: and will charge down and trample anything
that invades its territory much like an Earth rhinoceros. And since they grow up to 22 feet,
or 7 meters long, their poor attitude will make them difficult for colonists to study… In the
misty forests of midland, a much smaller organism wanders among the trees. The Austrotaurus is an
Allotauriform which has shrunk considerably due to its forest habitat, and rarely exceeds six feet,
or two meters in length. Far from defenseless, the Austrotaurus has evolved armadillo-like bands of
segmented body armor, which keeps the tiny titans safe from predators like the Fututoriformes.
In all manner of regions across Snaiad, you might find the fututoriformes on the prowl.
This particular species is an Arbophobos — a species whose name alludes to its tree
climbing abilities, but is indeed able to conquer most any environment. Like most fututoriformes,
Arbophobus is an agile, adaptive hunter similar in many respects to the large cat species of our
own planet. Indeed, the deadliness of this predator would end up being its undoing,
as these fearless hunters would attack countless settlers in the early days of human exploration.
As a result, the Arbophobus would be purposely hunted to extinction…
But there’s another hunter early settlers will fear even more than the Arbophobus.
A creature they’ll know through its shrill screams on dark nights, and the glints of huge eyes.
That is, until cameras eventually reveal these nocturnal organisms are barely over three feet, or
one meter long. Called infernocyons, these timid hunters don’t deserve their frightening name,
as they only use their scissor-like jaws to feed on small animals, and simply have
unusually loud calls and large eyes for their body-size. In the nearby peaks of Oroland,
a relative of the infernocyons lives in seclusion. These are the Selenocyon, the largest species of
their order, and critically endangered. Kosemen notes they often hunt near forest streams at dusk,
with the starry sky reflecting off their enormous, haunting eyes. It will be a truly
sad loss if these fascinating animals fade into extinction sometime in Snaiad’s future.
One species with a far more certain future can be found in abundance north of the Divider mountains.
This is a Pescidon, a bipedal omnivore with a curious penchant for cooperation.
One of the most social animals on Snaiad, Pescidons are known to coordinate hunts
in large family groups, with similar dynamics to wolf packs on Earth. Their affinity towards social
bonding will make them a favorite domesticated animal among future human settlers — with their
path mirroring that of humans and dogs… if dogs were ten feet, or three meters long that is.
Upon the elevated plateaus of the south-east, another animal that will have a key role in
humanity’s future is waiting. These bizarre, spherical creatures — whose first-head faces have
become mashed directed into their bodies — are actually cousins of the Pescidons we just visited.
And indeed, these hulking, heavy beasts are of a similar size… which will make
them ideal draft animals filling a role similar to earth cows in the lives of early settlers.
Speaking of early settlers, during the first aerial surveys of Snaiad, vast paths across
the landscape will be glimpsed, and at first assumed to be the creation of intelligent species.
In reality, however, these lines are the trails of the unintelligent Tractorsnakes,
massive herbivores of the ‘lophophid’ classification who vacuum the land for
vegetation like living combine harvesters. At an astonishing 22 feet, or 7 meters long, these
giants might not be great thinkers, but they’re truly impressive shapers of their environment.
At the edge of the Ankyranian Desert, a more modest sized Lophophid slithers across the
sands. This is a Phytophyton — a lifeform that at first glance shows a high degree of convergent
evolution with snakes here on earth. Unlike all types of snakes we’re familiar with, however,
the Phytophyton isn’t a hunter, but instead a generalist herbivore like their larger
Tractorsnake cousin. A fascinating lifeform. If you’re looking for a carnivorous snake analogue,
the sprogland along the eastern plains contains the closest thing. Say hello to a Chasmostomos:
a rather odd-looking fellow that is a representative of the poorly-understood
Sprogophidian classficiation. While a predator, at only 7 inches, or 20 centimeters long,
they’re not the most frighting thing on Snaiad. Yet they do have one truly fascinating adaptation:
the ability to shed their fatty tails when attacked — in a strategy not dissimilar
to some types of geckos. Unlike geckos however, Chasmostomos tails don’t grow back.
We’ve now seen species from all over Snaiad, and have learned about the future role they’ll
play in the lives of human settlers. But there’s still one great frontier that we’ve yet to chart:
the massive oceans. Taking the common Jetshark as our baseline for underwater life, we’ll see
that life in the oceans is vastly different from on land. The group the Jetshark belongs to, the
jetocetes, take the two-headed Snaiadi bodyplan in a highly unexpected direction. Their first heads
are connected to their digestive tract: and their second heads have become an almost jet-like pump
connected to an entirely different system. That’s right: much of undersea Snaiadi life
is jet-powered, kind of like some species of squids on earth, just taken to a new extreme.
The jetshark has found, unsurprisingly, a niche similar to a shark in the underwater foodchain.
Far to the north, in the frigid polar waters, you can find a very different kind of undersea giant.
Meet the Hadrocetoides: a 22 foot, or 7-meter-long specimen that is similarly jet-powered. Protected
from the cold with layers of thick blubber, they travel in large family pods much like the mighty
orcas that swim through our own oceans. Unlike the predacious orcas, however, the Hadrocetoides
are peaceful filter feeders… And elsewhere in the ocean, the fantastic conclusion to our tour
of life on Snaiad is waiting. The Xenoposeidon Thalassarcos is a truly awe-inspiring beast,
and the largest animal on the planet at a staggering 130 feet or, 40 meters in length.
Their cavernous beaks have an ingenious system of inlets and holes that allow them to filter huge
amounts of plankton from the water — giving them the food they need to reach such incredible sizes.
Of course, these creatures are most similar to Earth whales in their size and feeding behavior.
But what relationship will future humans have with this animal? That’s a detail the author has yet to
reveal… And many more details regarding Snaiad might be revealed later, as Kosemen is working
on a meticulous remake of the project: which thus far has yielded some incredible re-imaginings of
familiar Snaiadi organisms. He gave me a few never-before-seen images from the upcoming
book to share which I’m showing with you now, and in my opinion, these new designs are even
better than the old ones. If you’re a fan of this project and like me want to see a book someday,
please follow and support Kosemen in the links in the description below! And as always,
thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this entry, please lend your support and like, subscribe,
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