Age of Vertebrates

[Balaur]

Well, I guess I'll reveal what I have in store for Age of Vertebrates (previously Age of Conquering), my third and final part of my made up series, a prequel to Age of Reptiles and Age of Mammals, and set in the Paleozoic. I have six episodes, each set in one location, to make up for Walking with Monsters disappointment with multiple stories per episode and only three episodes (I actually prefer one story per episode because then you can go into much more detail into the environment.)

#1 - Cambrian Explosion
#2 - ?
#3 - Out of the Water
#4 - Age of Insects
#5 - Permian Texas
#6 - The Great Dying


Episode 1 - Cambrian Explosion - Focusing on the adventures of a small Opabinia in the Cambrian Seas of what is now Canada.
Episode 2 - ?
Episode 3 - Out of the Water - This episodes main creature is Tiktaalik, and his importance in the evolution of tetrapods. However, the majority of this episode focuses on the flora of the Devonian.

Episode 4 - Age of Insects - I can't decide whether or not if I want to have a giant insect episode or explore the Carboniferous Oceans.
Episode 5 - Permian Texas - Episode focuses on Ctenospondylus, a close relative of Dimetrodon.
Episode 6 - The Great Dying - Episode focuses on life in Siberia right before the biggest mass extinction occurs.


Photos of Tiktaalik are likely to be the first drawings done.

Cambrian Explosion


Out of the Water

Age of Insects

Age of Reptiles

[Concavenator]

Looking forward to see pictures   

[Yutyrannus]

Sounds very cool, can't wait to see the creatures in this series !

[Balaur]

Thanks Yutyrannus and Juan!

As a gift I have a giant explanation for you..... and then my list of creatures.

So, I was looking up and researching Permian reptiles, and when searching, I of course got the very familiar Mesosaurus, the marine reptile of the Permian. However, then, I found unfamiliar names such as Acerosodontosaurus and Claudiosaurus. What do those two animals have in common? They are both from Madagascar, and are both aquatic reptiles. Because Permian Siberia has been chosen before, I and choosing Permian Madagascar to focus on instead, as it has some other cool critters such as the lizard like Thadeosaurus. I just learnt about this literally 15 minutes ago (at the time I am writing this post) and I am really excited with the prospect of showing seldom seen creatures, which has been the goal of my entire series. As anyone shown the stem-crocs of Brazil? Or Barboroufelis and Teleoceras of Miocene Nebraska? No, which is why they are great picks. While I have more knowledge about the Permian reptiles of Siberia, I want to not only show something seldom seen, but expand my knowledge of the Late Permian elsewhere. While doing this series, I actually have expanded my knowledge, and that is the fun part about this. Not just sharing my ideas, but also discovering whole worlds that I've never known before. While researching what else to show for Age of Mammals for the Dawn Cat episode, I learned about a bunch of animals, some of which I had to cut out sadly. But still, I think that most people here also may have never heard of these creatures, which ruled our Earth millions, thousands, or just a few hundred years ago. There is still a lot about the past I still have to learn, and probably will never learn everything. That curiosity is why I love paleontology.

Okay, know that that is out of the way, I has creature lists. 

Dawn of Life -
Burgess Shales -
Opabinia
Pikaia
Anomalocaris
Trilobites

Silurian England -
Mixopterus
Aetealaspis
Baragwanthania
Cooksonia

Fram Formation -
Tiktaalik
Laccognathus
Eoarthropleura


First Steps -
Acanthostega
Ichthyostega
Hyneria
Groenlandaspis
Obruchevia


Land of Insects -
Protothoptera
Arthropleura
Meganeura
Pulmonoscorpius
Crassigyrinus
Archaeothyris
Anthracosaurus

The New Tetrapods -
Cotylorhynchus
Ophiaconodon
Varanops
Dimetrodon
Labidosaurus
Mesosaur

King of the Mountain -
Estemmenosuchus
Titanophoneus
Ivantosaurus
Ulemosaurus
Deltavjatia
Proburnetia

A New Beginning -
Euchambersia
Archosaurus
Lystrosaurus
Milleretta
Prolacertidae
Conodont


About the pictures: I won't have access to an actual scanner for about a week so expect the first picture in a week or so, so it may be a while. Sorry.

[Yutyrannus]

Sounds cool !

EDIT: Also, I might be able to help with the Fram Formation as I have it in my series too. Have you tried the Wikipedia page on it? They usually have a list of the creatures found there.

[Balaur]

Sounds cool !

EDIT: Also, I might be able to help with the Fram Formation as I have it in my series too. Have you tried the Wikipedia page on it? They usually have a list of the creatures found there.

I checked the Wikipedia page on it and it doesn't have a list of animals, mentioning only Tiktaalik. Which means I have to search in other places maybe including any scientific papers that may contain what sort of creatures lived there.

EDIT: Just found this abstract. While it is not only about the Fram Formation it does mention a few creatures found there. Heres the link.

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/Downloads/2005_Daniel_&_Witmer_SVP-abstract.pdf

[Yutyrannus]

Thanks !

[Balaur]

Your welcome!

I am about to update my list of creatures after I have posted this.

[Yutyrannus]

This sounds awesome!

[Balaur]

I have decided to not do early Permian Texas, and replace it with middle Permian Russia, with creatures like Titanophoneus and Estemmenosuchus. Creature list is about to change.

[Yutyrannus]

Cool! This means we will be able to do a Titanophoneus comparison . Also good luck with Estemmenosuchus, he is not easy to draw.

[Balaur]

Yes. Estemmenosuchus is going to be hard, but he is famous but also never depicted in documentaries or films, so I had to have him in. I can also say that in the Age of Reptiles thread, I am announcing my first spin-off (specials don't count as spin-offs).

[Yutyrannus]

Yes. Estemmenosuchus is going to be hard, but he is famous but also never depicted in documentaries or films, so I had to have him in. I can also say that in the Age of Reptiles thread, I am announcing my first spin-off (specials don't count as spin-offs).

Cool! Also, I finished my Titanophoneus drawing today, I will probably color him either today or tomorrow and I will try to post him on Friday. I don't know if I'll have colored my Placerius by then though. Also, I thought I should mention that I came up with a system for how we post our comparisons, we should post our comparisons in the thread of whoever finishes their version of the creature last but it doesn't matter who posts their comparison first. And, also, I found a Titanophoneus skeletal so I'll try and post it here as soon as I can, perhaps when I post my new pictures. And, I really can't wait to read about your new spin-off . How many episodes will it have?

[Balaur]

My new spin-off will have six episodes, and is about the prehistory of the Earth's Oceans. I like your new system. We should use it.

[Yutyrannus]

My new spin-off will have six episodes, and is about the prehistory of the Earth's Oceans. I like your new system. We should use it.

The spin-off sounds cool ! And thanks for liking the system.

[Yutyrannus]

Here is the Titanophoneus skeletal :

[Balaur]

Thanks for the Titanophoneus skeletal Yutyrannus!

By the way, I've changed the name of the series from Age of Conquering to Age of Vertebrates. I know its broad, but really, unlike the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic, no one type of organism dominated. Cenozoic was mammals, Mesozoic was reptiles, Paleozoic was... was.... eurypterids, and fish, and amphibians, and reptiles - the Paleozoic was a very big time for the vertebrates, they over came a lot of things, so that's why changed it. I want the name of the dominant organism of that era in the title, so, yeah, deal.

Oh, and to not disappoint anyone with my boring post above, I have my first picture for the series!


Pikaia

[Yutyrannus]

Cool !

[Balaur]

I am going to change the format a little. I can't come up with a story that would fit half an hour in my first two episodes, so I'm combining them, leaving more room to show more of what I want.

[Yutyrannus]

Cool!