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Acinonyx Jubatus' Designing Topic; The topic in which Acinonyx Jubatus shows his Designings
Topic Started: Mar 6 2015, 10:25 PM (66,989 Views)
Yi Qi
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Quote:
 
for the climate; thank you very much, it's extremely helpful. So in terms of ZT2 biomes, would that be closer to cold desert, temperate forest or temperate grassland?


I guess the wetlands or boreal forest would be the best (even if there wasn't much of a forest around), or if the old pre AD biomes still work, Bog would be the perfect fit.

Quote:
 
Also, as the only temperate member of a largely tropical clade, I wonder if Anteosaurus would have had a more behavioural approach to temperature regulation; maybe it gorged itself to build up insulating fat reserves, or maybe it hibernated during the winter, or both.


I don't know where you got the "mostly tropical" clade from, both Tatarstan and the Karoo groups (The more famous anteosaur bearing formations) would've been pretty cold (and high altitude btw, with Tatarstan and related siberian formations around the Perm region of Russia having some of the world's highest highly volcanic peaks at the time.) and temperate, and the world in general was colder back then, with even the desertic expanses in central pangea looking more like the arid U-Tsang region in tibet than your conventional desert. You'd find warmer areas around the coastlines near the equator and in the area that now makes up for much of eastern and centrel Brazil, as well as parts of western africa, but the southern and northern tips of Pangea were definitely cold.

Basically the popular Image most people have of the permian is entirely wrong.

Also, in terms of thermoregulation it's very likely these animals were warm blooded, as even early pelycosaurs show signs of having being geared towards it. So I guess instead of basking in the sun, blubber would work best to keep them insulated in the cold and in the water. But again that's just my guess.

Quote:
 
It's true that my Anteo's body is basically a very bulked-up Titanophoneus; that's because I could find exactly zero reference images that were of the skeleton instead of some artist's depiction of the living animal. With nothing else to work from, I just guessed that Anteosaurus, as Titanophoneus' sister taxon, would be broadly similar in proportions. If I could get my hands on a picture of its skeleton it'd clear the whole thing up.


The thing about the skeleton is that we have many parts of it, but not the complete thing so much of it is indeed filling in the blank with related species, however we do have enough to know that this was a proportionally bulkier and stockier animal, with a lower body and shorter legs, IIRC we even have it's hands http://www.geo.utexas.edu/faculty/rowe/Publications/pdf/005Anteosaurus.pdf
But papers on the rest of the body are old and extremely hard to find, the same can be said about papers on Estemmenosuchus and the original holotype of Carnotaurus.

Quote:
 
My issue with the whole "tied to water" thing in extinct animals is this: pretty much ALL animals that get the fossilization treatment, regardless of their habitat in life, tend to end up on the bottom of lakes and rivers and deltas when they die. It's nothing to do with their habits in life; it's the fact that that's where the deposition happens and that's where the bones get fossilized. It's a huge preservation bias and one I'm not convinced is useful in distinguishing between aquatic and non-aquatic forms.


That's true, however we know by the flora and fauna of the region that this was not only an area that happened to be a river but part of a large wetlands complex, and anteosaurs are only found in areas where such a complex exists. It's not that they show a bias to be found at the bottom of rivers, they show a bias to showing up in habitats that favour aquatic and semi aquatic creatures.

Edited by Yi Qi, Jan 9 2018, 12:48 AM.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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I guess the wetlands or boreal forest would be the best (even if there wasn't much of a forest around), or if the old pre AD biomes still work, Bog would be the perfect fit.


I'll do Boreal Forest, then; and if there's a working Bog biome out there, I'll include a hack to put it in that. I frankly hate the ZT2 Wetlands biome; it's super cluttered with EA animals, and even with reskins it's a frankly very ugly biome.

Quote:
 
I don't know where you got the "mostly tropical" clade from, both Tatarstan and the Karoo groups (The more famous anteosaur bearing formations) would've been pretty cold (and high altitude btw, with Tatarstan and related siberian formations around the Perm region of Russia having some of the world's highest highly volcanic peaks at the time.) and temperate, and the world in general was colder back then, with even the desertic expanses in central pangea looking more like the arid U-Tsang region in tibet than your conventional desert. You'd find warmer areas around the coastlines near the equator and in the area that now makes up for much of eastern and centrel Brazil, as well as parts of western africa, but the southern and northern tips of Pangea were definitely cold.


It was in that site you linked me to; something about Anteosaurus being the only Anteosaurid from the high-latitude Karoo, while there were four species from the tropical Isheevo region. Here's the quote:

"It is interesting that whereas in the South African temperate zone fauna there is only one Brithopodid preditor (the giant Anteosaurus), in the tropical Isheevo fauna (yes, at the time Russia was located over the equator!) there are four. Perhaps there were more ecological niches in the tropics for these animals."

Regardless of the average global temperature, the tropics were likely at least rather warm (if not outright hot) all year round, implying less need for protection against the cold. Also, doesn't high-altitude terrain erode? How can there be fossil deposits from the mountains?

Quote:
 
Also, in terms of thermoregulation it's very likely these animals were warm blooded, as even early pelycosaurs show signs of having being geared towards it. So I guess instead of basking in the sun, blubber would work best to keep them insulated in the cold and in the water. But again that's just my guess.


Or fur. But that's controversial. I see your point; However, seasonally stocking up on fat reserves would work more or less the same way.

Quote:
 
The thing about the skeleton is that we have many parts of it, but not the complete thing so much of it is indeed filling in the blank with related species, however we do have enough to know that this was a proportionally bulkier and stockier animal, with a lower body and shorter legs, IIRC we even have it's hands http://www.geo.utexas.edu/faculty/rowe/Publications/pdf/005Anteosaurus.pdf
But papers on the rest of the body are old and extremely hard to find, the same can be said about papers on Estemmenosuchus and the original holotype of Carnotaurus.


I saw the hands; they look pretty much the same as Titanophoneus' to me. I can make the legs a little bit shorter, I suppose. I have to redo the bone recon anyway. But if the rest of the body is pretty much the same as Titanophoneus but bulkier, my reconstruction's fine.

Quote:
 
That's true, however we know by the flora and fauna of the region that this was not only an area that happened to be a river but part of a large wetlands complex, and anteosaurs are only found in areas where such a complex exists. It's not that they show a bias to be found at the bottom of rivers, they show a bias to showing up in habitats that favour aquatic and semi aquatic creatures.


Fair enough; I'll buy that it lived in wetlands. That said, are there any South African Capitanian deposits that aren't wetlands? Modern predators frequently cover a large range of habitats; And since I'm still not convinced that Anteosaurus' body is specialized for an aquatic existence (the skull, for one; neither the eyes nor the nostrils are optimally positioned for ambush from below the water's surface) it'd make more sense for it to be a primarily land-based predator that merely had no problem with hunting in soggy locations.
Edited by Acinonyx Jubatus, Jan 9 2018, 02:15 AM.
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Yi Qi
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Quote:
 
Regardless of the average global temperature, the tropics were likely at least rather warm (if not outright hot) all year round, implying less need for protection against the cold. Also, doesn't high-altitude terrain erode? How can there be fossil deposits from the mountains?


The fossils werent from the mountains per se, we only known that the area around the formation was montainous, as for the tropical forms, I honestly wasnt familiar with the Isheevo forms, like I said before I mainly studied the Tatarstan forms and knew south africa had a similar enviroment, that and i skimmed through the page too quickly before sending it to you, apologies.

Quote:
 
Fair enough; I'll buy that it lived in wetlands. That said, are there any South African Capitanian deposits that aren't wetlands? Modern predators frequently cover a large range of habitats; And since I'm still not convinced that Anteosaurus' body is specialized for an aquatic existence (the skull, for one; neither the eyes nor the nostrils are optimally positioned for ambush from below the water's surface) it'd make more sense for it to be a primarily land-based predator that merely had no problem with hunting in soggy locations.


Ok fair enough I guess, though even then it'd be a fairly slow and sluggish land predator but I guess each guess is as good as any at this point.
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velociraptor
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I based on the upper Permian temperatures and Permian/Triassic extinction event, but -my mistake- the Anteosaurus lived lots earlier. I agree that boreal forest or bog can be chosen as a main habitat for it. There is functional bog biome by Hendrix modified/expanded by Ulquiorra in the Bog Pack Remake.
Edited by velociraptor, Jan 9 2018, 11:39 AM.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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Yi Qi
Jan 9 2018, 03:13 AM
The fossils werent from the mountains per se, we only known that the area around the formation was montainous, as for the tropical forms, I honestly wasnt familiar with the Isheevo forms, like I said before I mainly studied the Tatarstan forms and knew south africa had a similar enviroment, that and i skimmed through the page too quickly before sending it to you, apologies.


Ah. Thanks, that does make more sense.

Quote:
 
Ok fair enough I guess, though even then it'd be a fairly slow and sluggish land predator but I guess each guess is as good as any at this point.


That's true. It's a little bit sad how little is known about Therapsid appearance and lifestyles... I guess that's why I love the group so much.
Edited by Acinonyx Jubatus, Jan 9 2018, 02:00 PM.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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Just a quick update on the Anteo: It's ingame, works great, moves very nicely. I managed to add hunting behaviours, and it lays eggs no problem. Still working out a bug where the baby crashes the game- doesn't seem to be the .bfm or the .xml, so it's probably the model file itself. Hopefully I'll get that sorted out and you'll have a brand new Dinocephalian to scare your guests with in the next few days.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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Posted Image

Click the image to download.
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Six Foot Turkey
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Feather Friend

Thanks for this great animal.
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magpiealamode
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.

Looks fantastic, thanks AJ! I love that skin. Mind if I ask what some of the sources were?
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Cole12345
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future zoologist in the making...

Thank you for the release !
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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magpiealamode
Jan 15 2018, 09:29 PM
Looks fantastic, thanks AJ! I love that skin. Mind if I ask what some of the sources were?
Thanks! It's mostly Hippo, Rhino and Xoloitzcuintle dog, with a bit of Warthog for the scruff of fur. I took the eyes from a Red Fox.
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Deanmon
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Hello AJ, First off, I just wanted to say that your Anteosaurus looks heccin AMAZING ingame. The anims make it look unique towards all the other animals I have. But I'm having a problem with your metriorhyncus. Even though I have ALL expansions plus the anims for the croc, it appears invisible ingame, above and below water. Everything else besides it being invisible works tho. Pls help :(
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magpiealamode
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.

Acinonyx Jubatus
Jan 15 2018, 09:39 PM
magpiealamode
Jan 15 2018, 09:29 PM
Looks fantastic, thanks AJ! I love that skin. Mind if I ask what some of the sources were?
Thanks! It's mostly Hippo, Rhino and Xoloitzcuintle dog, with a bit of Warthog for the scruff of fur. I took the eyes from a Red Fox.
Good, only mammals That's pretty cool, I would not have expected Xoloitzicuintle but I can see it now. The eyes also really stuck out to me, I think red fox was a good choice. Even though we have no idea what this animal really looked like, your take is just as good as any, and better than some. I'm really impressed.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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Deanmon
Jan 15 2018, 10:15 PM
Hello AJ, First off, I just wanted to say that your Anteosaurus looks heccin AMAZING ingame. The anims make it look unique towards all the other animals I have. But I'm having a problem with your metriorhyncus. Even though I have ALL expansions plus the anims for the croc, it appears invisible ingame, above and below water. Everything else besides it being invisible works tho. Pls help :(


Hmmm... Is it also invisible after you place it, or just before? It works all right in my game, so I really don't know what the problem could be. Perhaps you have another version of a Metriorhynchus that's conflicting?

magpiealamode
Jan 15 2018, 10:22 PM
Good, only mammals That's pretty cool, I would not have expected Xoloitzicuintle but I can see it now. The eyes also really stuck out to me, I think red fox was a good choice. Even though we have no idea what this animal really looked like, your take is just as good as any, and better than some. I'm really impressed.


Thank you! Xoloitzcuintle actually worked really well- it has a different texture than your usual hippo skin, and the wrinkles and stuff are subtler and less chubby- much more aesthetic for a predator, I think.
Edited by Acinonyx Jubatus, Jan 15 2018, 10:41 PM.
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Deanmon
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1: It is invisible BEFORE AND AFTER placement

2: I don't have any other metriorhynchus mods other than yours, so i dont know what might be interfering with it...
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