Voyage to Phtanum B | Alien Biology

Let's imagine an Earth-like planet much larger than ours. In fact, NASA has discovered numerous exoplanets, called "super-Earths," that are more than twice the size of our small home world. Most of these super-Earths cannot support life, but it is interesting to imagine what kind of organisms we would discover in a large version of a habitable world... Phtanum B is a speculative project created by the brilliant Stevemobcannon, Who imagines a planet like that and the incredible extraterrestrial life that could evolve on it? And as always, I have links where you can follow and support his work below. So for this archive entry, we'll travel to the extraordinary

alien

world of Phtanum B.

The planet gets its name from the Greek wood root 'phtan', which translates as 'Arriving first', a reference to the idea that Phtanum B It is the first planet with extraterrestrial life that humanity reaches in this fictional narrative. Nearly twice the size of Earth, with higher surface gravity and a thicker atmosphere, conditions on Phtanum B are quite different from those on our own planet. And life here is downright impressive, reaching colossal sizes despite the increased gravity... but we'll come back to that later in the video. For now, let's look at how humanity first arrived on these

alien

shores...

I wish I could tell you that in this timeline, humans became a great interstellar civilization, but the truth is that the author imagines that humanity became extinct before our story began. Their successors are mysterious genetically modified superhumans known as Deum, who wish to give their homo-sapiens cousins ​​a second chance. Traveling to Phtanum B, the powerful Deum placed a colony of reborn humans on this habitable world and watched its progress from afar. But what the last members of humanity will find on this planet is an ecosystem very, very different from that on Earth... Starting with the flora, the plants, like everything on Phtanum B, reach gigantic sizes.

Here, on the southern supercontinent, a lush world of red-tinged vegetation flourishes. The sheer amount of consumable biomass in this environment far exceeds that of any other on Earth, allowing the organisms that feed on this flora to reach equally astonishing sizes. One of the first animals humans encounter is the giant Ptyonocodite, a relatively common herbivore with iridescent green skin due to algae growing on its body that symbiotically supplies it with additional energy. Giant ptionocodytes also obtain energy by consuming plant matter in the surrounding environment, which they tear from the ground with their flexible, arm-like jaws. Oddly enough, the anatomy of ptyonocodites is a good "average" example of a body plan in Phtanum B, so let's take a closer look at the inner workings of these organisms.

The skeletal system of Ptyonocodytes and many of the other massive life forms we will explore is made of pyrite, capable of supporting much greater weight than the hydroxyapatite bones of land animals. Likewise, its muscular system is more powerful than that of a terrestrial organism, with core muscles made up of more long-chain myosin fibers for basic movements and a dedicated secondary muscle system for precise movements. Instead of a single brain, a decentralized neural system sends commands to these muscles, similar to the neural systems of some types of starfish and corals. Finally, you'll notice that instead of eyes, most of the life forms on Phtanum B have ridges lined with infrared light receptors on their heads.

Most organisms also lack traditional mouths, instead having a mouth-shaped hole between two tentacle-like "jaws" that carry food to the opening. But keep in mind that the Ptyonocodites are just a base, and life on Phtanum B becomes much more interesting... A distant relative of the Ptyonocodites are the plains-dwelling Bronze Sinylopes, life forms that use their strange shovel-shaped jaw for digging. food. These organisms move in large herds of up to thirty individuals, a survival strategy similar to the herding instincts of many animals here on Earth. At 10 feet, or 3.2 meters long, Bronze Synylopes could be considered megafauna here on Earth... but on Phtanum B, they're actually rather small.

This has led some human explorers to attempt to domesticate them, with mixed success. Along the volcanic shores of Phtanum B's coastal regions, a hunter relentlessly pursues his prey. This is a black Curvoglavid, a multi-limbed predator whose jaws have hardened into curved structures lined with pseudoteeth that it uses to catch its next meal. In this sense, the spiny jaws of a Black Curvoglavid are analogous to the jaws of some terrestrial insects. These resistance hunters may be deadly to humans trapped outside the walls of their colony, but they are actually only medium-sized predators on this world, which, compared to Earth's medium-sized predators, puts it into perspective. how much bigger and scarier life can grow in Phtanum.

B. Less common are the great frigatebirds, rarely found life forms that almost resemble extremely deadly living trains. Its multi-limbed body structure is somewhat reminiscent of the appearance of terrestrial insects such as centipedes or caterpillars. Interestingly, great frigatebirds hunt their prey by ramming them at high speeds, with the front bony protuberance of their body acting as a battering ram. After successful use of this strange hunting technique, the creature's hooked jaws deploy from hidden pouches and tear apart the prey. And if that's not intimidating enough, Great Frigatebirds are true goliaths, reaching almost 64 feet or 19.5 meters in length... although some of their distant relatives grow even larger.

But before we meet the Frigatepedes' relatives, there's another fascinating life form lurking in the snowy mountains. Here, away from the red lowland plants, you can see the remains of his last kill... which means our culprit is nearby. This is the Beartraphugger, a mountainous hunter that has a furry coat of silver fibers to protect it from the cold, similar to the fur of a polar bear on our own planet. The ancestry of the Beartraphugger is not fully understood, but the strange biting apparatus on the front of its head is an effective, knife-like tool when it comes to hunting prey.

But there are much stranger hunters in Phtanum B... Returning to the lowlands, even Phtanum B trees can be deadly, although the Sathrical Corpsetree is not a tree in the traditional sense, but rather a xenicozoophyte, an organism that can obtain sustenance from both the sun and other sources: which in the case of Cadaver, includes live prey. Mixed in with the red vegetation, these strange predators attack animals that get too close with the large claw at the end of their arm. The pierced prey is then inserted into a mouth-shaped hole near the base of the arm. Pretty scary.

Another Xenicozoophyte is Blitz Spire, a life form so strange and supernatural that it is difficult to understand at first. The largest non-motile organism in Phtanum B, Blitz Spire, can reach a staggering 1,600 feet, or 495 meters in height, and grow indefinitely throughout its life cycle until collapsing under its weight and mass. The tip of the Blitz Spire has evolved, incredibly, to attract lightning bolts, whose electrical currents can be released again to stun prey that approach its underground feeding tendrils. These living skyscrapers are truly a way of life like no other. However, the largest mobile predator in both modern and prehistoric times is the giant Lactismide, which has reached a scale that most carnivores could only dream of.

A larger relative of the Frigatepedes, giant Lactismids can reach 102 feet or 31.1 meters in length. This creature's incredible mass is supported by countless legs: including larger, weight-bearing outer limbs and pairs of thinner, hooked inner limbs that can help hunt prey. Giant lactismids also have alarmingly well-developed neural systems, making them conscious enough to avoid most human settlements... although on rare occasions, they have been known to hunt humans for sport. But even for a Giant Lactismide, not all life forms are easy to kill. Take the gigantic Castlewalkers, a group that, as their name implies, are impenetrable living fortresses, and some of the heaviest terrestrial herbivores on Phtanum B.

Occupying a niche not entirely unlike an elephant on our planet Castlewalkers vacuum up plant matter with a long, spike-covered jaw arm appendage to scare away predators. These creatures are also quite intelligent and can communicate with other members of their species using Morse code-like ground vibrations that they can sense through their feet. As you can see from this size comparison to other Phtanum B lifeforms—besides a T-rex, for good measure—Castlewalkers are true titans, reaching lengths of over one hundred and ten feet, or 34 meters. But even Castlewalkers are small compared to the last life form on our list...

The immense red wind whales are among the most legendary and impressive life forms on Phtanum B. Gliding through the open skies, the Castlewalkers Red winds are primarily made up of air-filled cavities that allow them to stay aloft despite reaching lengths of more than 425 feet, or 130 meters, and possessing a wingspan almost twice that length. Aided by the dense atmosphere, wind whales function almost like living paper airplanes, possessing retractable legs that function as hooks to anchor them to the ground in turbulent weather conditions. However, when these tethers fail and a wind whale dies, they create something called a "Whale Drop", an event in which organisms from all over Phatnum B come to feast on the fallen titan.

Because the saga of Phatnum B is a story of life and death. And now, humans are part of this story... At this point in the narrative's development, it is unknown if humans will be able to survive long-term in their new environment. Phtanum B is an ongoing project, so who knows what else could happen and what else could be lurking on this alien world... Thanks for watching. Please consider supporting the author using the links below: If you enjoyed this post, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification icon to stay up to date on all things Curious. See you in the next video.