Diaries of a Speculative Biologist

The domestic canine or dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is one of the most widespread and populous mammal species on Earth, with approximately 400 million dogs across the world. They are a highly adaptable species, having established a number of feral populations globally. Some of the more notable feral dog groups include the dingoes of Australia, the singing dogs of New Guinea, the pariah dogs of Asia, and the Carolina dog of the southern United States. Although often dependent on humans for survival, feral canines have become adept to open and wild environments where they must hunt and care for themselves. Here are various concepts for descendants of the domestic dog.

Lupine pack-hunter

The most obvious possible future dog is one that fills the role of the domestic dog's ancestor, the wolf. Feral dogs and even domestic dogs (especially those raised for hunting, such as beagles) show many qualities of social predators, including the pyramid of dominance found in wolves. Thus, it is likely these large pack-hunters would live in groups (mostly related individuals in a pack) led by an dominant male-female pair. These dogs have the best chance to evolve in North America and in Great Britain where wolves are largely absent or are endangered. There would only be limited competition from solitary carnivores like foxes and cats.

Bone-crushing dog

In northern Europe, the British Isles, North America, and parts of Asia where there are no major land scavengers (like hyenas and jackals), there are a number of openings for dogs to evolve into hyena-like predator-scavengers. Such canines would most likely be huge, muscular beasts with short, robust jaws designed to crush bones and rip flesh. Such Cujo-like monsters could be either solitary or pack hunters; individuals in packs would likely have higher pup survival rates, longer lifespans, and greater chances of catching prey. Certain insular environments could also produce miniature bone-crushing dogs, having evolved to snap the necks of island fowl and other creatures.

The mesonychoid

Perhaps a more unusual dog descendant would be a canine adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle. Such a species could evolve from breeds like the retrievers and Newfoundland dogs, known for their webbed feet and water-resistant coats. They could range from medium to large-sized mammals specializing in preying on birds and fish, as well as other aquatic fauna. Long maws would aid in capturing such prey items, while long, thick legs would allow them to wade through currents to reach areas where such animals are prevalent. Although there may be lots of competition from aquatic birds and mammals like otters and seals, eventually such dogs could evolve into short-legged swimming forms resembling the prehistoric Ambulocetus.

Chihuahuas from hell

One of the scarier ideas for future dog species is that of tiny, ferocious dogs that live in huge packs on isolated islands and forests. This concept resembles the modern bush dog (Speothos venaticus). They live in huge packs of at least a dozen individuals, which allows them to take down relatively large prey. It is possible that they also become burrowers, perhaps with a population branching out and becoming subterranean cave-dogs, hunting underground rodents and possible specialized armadillos. The concept of these toy-terrors is open to all sorts of fantastic and strange modifications.

*All of the above concepts are open to modification and reuse for future world and alternative world projects.

The idea of land-dwelling cephalopods was most popularized by the television program The Future is Wild. The show introduced the world to several species: the swampus, an octopus descendant; the squibbon, a small arboreal squid with high intellect; and the megasquid, a massive multiton creature dwelling the future's northern forests. These future finned molluscs are all fantastic and unusual, but are not very likely to evolve, as will be detailed further on in this article.

The walking-squid (or ambuloteuthid)

The background behind the walking-squid is rather elaborate. As with most land-squid concepts, such a creature would require at least 200 million years or so for the cephalopods to come on land with at least one, if not more, extinction events having occurred between that time and modern day.

It has made several major adaptations to a terrestrial lifestyle. First, the mantle has vascularized and become roughly equivalent to lungs with the gills becoming (originally I had designed it so that the gills entered and exited the body, taking in oxygen with every flicker, but such a behavior would cause the gills to dry and stick together and outweigh the benefits of the increased exposure to air). Three pairs of legs have been re-purposed for walking on land with a rigid muscular/cartilaginous system and powerful suckers at the tips of the legs for more support. A fourth pair of legs has been adapted for the manipulation of food and other objects. The rostrum (molluscan beak) has been enlarged severely and is attached to a long proboscis that aids in feeding. Even the siphon has been modified, now used for vocalization rather than for propelling in water. Although having made all these adaptations to land, the ambuloteuthids still spend a good deal of their lives in the water as larve and adolescents as these cephalopods live an amphibian-like lifestyle.

Now, this concept still has a number of problems. First, for such a muscular system to develop, it would require a complete restructuring of the squid's muscles and cartilage. And even after that there would be no guarantee that the structure of the legs would be rigid enough to support the body. Second, there are countless other species that would venture on land long before the cephalopods (the strangest of molluscs) would take that evolutionary leap. Finally, the gills and mantle may not be suitable for the derivation of lung-like structures, so the land-squids might find themselves about of breathe after they climb onto shore.

Denizen of the canopy, the slothsquid

The concept of the slothsquid is basically an alternative to TFIW's elegant squibbon. This cephalopod has taken on a slow, arboreal lifestyle. Rather than being an active hunter like its marine ancestors, the slothsquid is a herbivore that uses its tentacles to grasp fruits and vegetation. The slothsquid has a few advantages over the ambuloteuthid. First of all, it doesn't need nearly as strong limbs; the rigidity needed for a terrestrial lifestyle is not nearly as necessary for an arboreal species. The highly adhesive suckers on its legs allow it to cling to branches and tree trunks. Also, the slothsquid lives in a humid, tropical environment where it would be easier for a creature with a combined gill-lung breathing system to acquire air to breathe. Still, the evolutionary probability of such a squid is not very high.

The best bet

The most likely terrestrial specialization for cephalopods is not large walking squids or climbing slothsquids. Instead, it is for small, slow-crawling octopi. Such octopi would not need to make major adaptations for terrestrial life. They would likely only need small, primitive lungs in order to breathe on land. The advantages for coming on land could vary: a way to escape predators, a way to catch terrestrial prey, or even an extra route to reach fresh breeding or feeding grounds. Such mollusc species could evolve as soon as only several million years in the future if they are to be residents of island environments. Otherwise, the horizon does not seem too bright for terrestrial squids and octopi.

The domestic cat (Felis catus) is one of the most widespread mammal species thanks to the activities of mankind in the Holocene epoch. It has been introduced to every continent except Antarctica and has successfully established feral populations in many regions. Its effect on local wildlife has been drastic, surely shaping the ecosystems of future Earth. The cat itself will surely be shaped as well, and here are some possible descendants of the house-dwelling feline.

Apex predator

The cat is an adaptive predator and agile creature that could easily replace some of the top carnivore niches. In North America, it would certainly face competition from lynxes (or bobcats) and mountain lions, both adaptable and successful species. Still, they could easily outcompete both with their faster birthing rates and smaller bodies (both helpful in surviving extinctions). In Australia, there is also a good chance that the former house cats could become major predators. The local marsupial fauna could easily be pushed out of the way in favor of these placental predators. Cats and foxes would dominate the formerly marsupial-dominated environment. Such apex cats would likely be leopard-like or even lion-like predators (cats seem to be more social than some of their feline counterparts, possibly leading to a pride lifestyle).

Arboreal bird-catcher

Over the past few centuries, cats have made a major impact on the birdlife of the areas they've been introduced to. Perhaps this taste for avians could lead to specialization. The forest regions of North America and island chains such as the Galapagos and Hawaii would be perfect for species of cats adept to catching and preying on flighted birds. Cats have already shown to be skilled climbers and wild species, like the serval, are extremely capable of capturing birds while in flight. It is unlikely that such species would resemble the striger from After Man (as felines could not change their morphology so much as to be similar to a primate) and would also not evolve into gliding or flying forms.

Island monster

Islands seem like evolutionary machines, producing all sorts of unique creatures. Its likely that the descendants of domestic cats on islands would be far from their mainland counterparts, developing unique adaptations and specializations. With the process of island gigantism creating larger rodents and flightless birds on isles, the cats would be the best predators for such creatures. In fact, the descendants of cats could be instrumental in the development of anti-predatory defenses like sickle-claws on flightless birds (maybe even giant chickens!) or spines on giant isle rats. And of course such defenses would require adaptations on the part of the cats (a sort of biological cold war), perhaps leading to miniature versions of the prehistoric saber-toothed cats or even dropping cats (cats that are adapted to live in trees and drop down on top of large prey).

If you have suggestions for any more descendants, be sure to comment on this post.

In future Atlantic isles, not present in Holocene Earth, there is a variety of large waterfowl like none ever seen before. In size, they are similar to an ostrich or even the extinct moa of New Zealand. The birds have small heads with long swan-like necks. Their bodies are large and fat and are held up by relatively short and stalky legs. The wings are nearly nonexistant, having become useless for these flightless giants.

Birth of an island chain

As millions of years in time pass, the world will constantly change geographically. Currently, the Pacific Ocean in shrinking due to the continuous westward movement of the American continents. As the Pacific shrinks, the Atlantic Ocean will spread. Tectonic forces in the Atlantic will likely produce a number of volcanic islands, possibly similar to the Galapagos and Hawaiian island chains present in the Holocene Pacific. Once the islands begin to jut out above the surface and the volcanic activity begins the slow, they will easily be colonized by a number of plant and animal species. Using Bermuda and the Azores as models, the islands would have a subtropical or temperate climate. The landscape would be dominated by broadleaf forest with plants like evergreens (cedars, oaks, etc.) and ferns (including tree-ferns such as palmettos). Once plants have established themselves, animals would begin colonizing the islands, especially migratory birds and insects, possibly bats as well. Eventually, after millenia of existence, species will evolve that are unique to this archipelago, possibly including flightless birds.

Giant waterfowl

This future giant is in no way a new development. There have been a number of occasions where waterfowl (birds of the order Anseriformes) have adapted to a flightless lifestyle and even have become gigantic in proportion. Hawaii has produced a number of such species in its history. The most notable would be the various species of moa-nalos, large herbivorous ducks with large heavy bills. These large folivores lived in the Hawaiian chain from about 3.6 million years ago to sometime after Polynesian colonization (but before European arrival). Hawaii was also home to a large Branta goose (the wood-walking goose or Branta hylobadistes) that apparently was moving towards a flightless lifestyle and was larger than the modern Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis). Neither the moa-nalos nor the wood-walking goose are anything in comparison to the group waterfowl-related titans, which lived in Australia only about 20,000 years ago (which means during the last ice age and after the human colonization of the Australian continent). The dromornithids were massive birds that could reach 3 meters in height and may have been voracious predators, scavengers, or opportunistic omnivores. With so many examples of waterfowl evolving into flightless giants, it isn't far-fetched to suggest that waterfowl could produce even more large forms.

The gander of ganders

The giant goose that has become adapted to the isles and lost its ability to fly is a descendant of the migratory Brent geese (although it may just as well evolve from the grey geese of the genus Anser, the Brent goose is simply used for this model). This massive goose has grown so large due to a lack of large mammalian predators, just like the moas and the elephant birds. The lack of predators is supplemented by a surplus of vegetation for food, provided by the fertile soil of the volcanic islands and the minimal amount of other species that could impede on the dietary requirement of such large birds. Their long necks also allow them to reach out and eat leaves far out of reach of most other ground birds that dwell the same territory. Island gigantism such as this has occurred many times in both mammals and birds during the Cenozoic.

Seeing as there is much risk of predation, adults of this great bird have highly decorative plumage. The head and neck are covered in a wonderful pattern of black, white, and blue. The bill is thick and large for ripping up leaves and other tough plant matter and is topped by a small disc-shaped crest similar to that of certain swans, but larger in proportion. In males the crest is larger and is a vibrant blue, while in females it is smaller and is a dull grey or black. The body is mostly greyish with a white underbelly. The wings are extremely tiny and are plain-colored with some black blotches. The goose's legs are very stubby and limit the creature to a slow waddle-like pace (there is no need to be a fast runner when there is nothing chasing you).

The titans of the Atlantic are gregarious and live in gaggles consisting of somehow related individuals. One dominant pair governs the entire gaggle and consists of an alpha male and alpha female. All are monogamous and typically have only one mating partner in their entire life. Eggs are laid on the ground in the underbrush. They are covered with soil and detritus to protect them from egg-eating carnivores. Once hatched, the young goslings are raised by both the male and female parent and are protected by the entire gaggle. Predatory birds and reptiles will sometimes attack and eat young goslings.

This concept is open for reuse and modification. Remember that any art on this blog is copyright to the respective owners and therefore cannot be claimed as your own.