Alien Biosphere Evolution
Life on other planets: What can the latest scientific insights tell us about the evolution in alien biospheres? In this series, we'll be going through the theoretical basis needed for well-informed speculative zoology indispensable for modern attempts at worldbuilding. Far too often in science fiction, sapient alien beings are depicted as extremely humanoid. Given the many possibilities that evolution can explore for the adaptation to different ecological niches, this seems implausible. Convergence does play a guiding role as natural selection tends to push organisms to similar solutions. However, evolving creatures will experience many contingencies that over the span of tens of millions of years. These will lead to changes to the design or body plan of animals, which will set constraints for further developments. The most decisive adaptive radiation in the history of life on Earth, with regards to body plans, was the Cambrian Explosion, which established all the major groups or phyla that we know today. Leading up to the Cambrian Explosion was a long period of stagnation, only interrupted by the Avalon Explosion, which established the Ediacaran fauna. Previously known as Vendobionts, the Ediacarans were presumably a simple kind of proto-animals. In their turn, the Ediacarans stood in the way for the bilaterally symmetrical and active animals known as the Bilateria. When speculating about Earth-like exoplanets and exomoons, which we will call "Terroid worlds" here, it seems likely that the same stages will occur. Or at least: A period dominated by microbial life will eventually be overturned by larger and more active organisms. The evolution of larger-sized individual units of species is often aided by a modularity, meaning that discrete, complex systems can be replicated to create larger and even more advanced systems. Examples on Earth are Endosymbiosis of microbial life, which led to the more complex Eukaryotic cell, and multicellularity. The latter actually originated independently multiple times in different lineages, so is likely to do the same elsewhere in the universe. This is the overall plan what I want to detail in this video series for the time being, but come back regularly for updates.
Arthropods are about as alien to us as another highly evolved bilateral animal can be. That’s undoubtedly the reason why their looks and features are often adopted into science fiction for creating odd-looking extraterrestrial beings. Despite their humble body sizes, arthropods have been extremely successful in populating our biosphere. So given the enormous success of this particular body plan, it's likely that alternate "arthropoids" or "arthropodoids" could enjoy the same success in alien biospheres. It would be a very interesting exercise in speculative zoology to design and tweak such “alternate arthropods” to evolve in different ways. But before we do that, we need to know how our won arthropods, like insects, crustaceans, chelicerates (spiders and scorpions), myriapods and others evolved. It all goes back to the Cambrian Explosion where weird life forms like Anomalocaris and Hallucigenia, but also Priapulids, hold the key to understanding the genesis of this major phylum. So how could these life forms evolve elsewhere? Let’s find out! REFERENCES (under construction) - Chen et al (2013) "Trace fossil evidence for Ediacaran bilaterian animals with complex behaviors" Precambrian Research Volume 224, January 2013, Pages 690-701 - Harvey THP, Dong X & Donoghue PCJ (2010) "Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans?" Evolution & development https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-142X.2010.00403.x - Smith MR (2015) A palaeoscolecid worm from the Burgess Shale. Palaeontology, 58: 973-979. https://doi:10.1111/pala.12210 - Smith MR & Caron JB (2015) "Hallucigenia’s head and the pharyngeal armature of early ecdysozoans" Nature 523 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14573 CREDITS (under construction) Images: - Spider anatomy | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Spider_internal_anatomy-en.svg - "Diyu Arthropods" by Trollmans | https://www.deviantart.com/trollmans Footage: - "Title" @yt | URL - "Kinorhyncha, Echinoderes sp" Matthew Lee | https://youtu.be/H86xOLhFv3E Music: - "Backyard Safari" by TechSmith - "What Does Anybody Know About Anything" by Chris Zabriskie | http://chriszabriskie.com/ | CC BY 4.0 - "Digital Memories" by @Unicorn Heads - "Progressive Chords Lead" by Frankum | https://soundcloud.com/frankumjay - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum
Evolution in alien biospheres elsewhere in the universe will likely result in advanced animal-like beings, just like on Earth. Many animals have attained highly convoluted creature designs that are the result of a well-coordinated cascade of biomolecular patterns expressed during the embryonic development from a single cell. So in order to get an idea of what alien animals or "animaloids" might be like, we’d have to gain some level of understanding of the deep body patterning of living systems as evolved on Earth. So how did single cells become everything from tiny insects to majestic whales? And what are some universal guiding principles for the evolution of animals that we may also expect to apply elsewhere in the universe? Let’s find out! FURTHER READING: - "The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity" (2013) by Douglas Erwin and James Valentine - "On the Origin of Phyla" (2004) by James Valentine - Hueber SD, Weiller GF, Djordjevic MA, Frickey T (2010) "Improving Hox Protein Classification across the Major Model Organisms." PLoS ONE 5(5): e10820 - Turing, Alan (1952). "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 237 (641): 37–72. - Harrison, L. G. (1993). Kinetic Theory of Living Pattern. Cambridge University Press. - Wartlick, Ortrud et al. “Morphogen gradient formation.” Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology vol. 1,3 (2009): a001255. - K.J. Painter, G.Hunt, K. Wells, J. Johanneson, D.J. Headon (2012). "Towards an integrated experimental–theoretical approach for assessing the mechanistic basis of hair and feather morphogenesis." Interface Focus 2, 433-450. - Detlev Arendt (2018) "Hox genes and body segmentation" Science 28 SEP 2018 : 1310-1311 - He et al (2018) "An axial Hox code controls tissue segmentation and body patterning in Nematostella vectensis" Science 28 Sep 2018: Vol. 361, Issue 6409, pp. 1377-1380 - Genikhovich G & Technau U (2017) "On the evolution of bilaterality" Development 144: 3392-3404 CREDITS Images: - Sollasina chthulhu, Clausocaris & Thanahita (Lobopodia) courtesy of Nix Illustration | https://nixillustration.com/ - Nautilus anatomy | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nautilus_diagram-en.svg - Spider anatomy | https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Spider_internal_anatomy-en.svg - "Marine Snow": National Oceanography Centre UK | https://www.rapid.ac.uk/abc/bg/bcp.php - "Maternal Effects": Lee S et al (2007). "Epigenetic Regulation of Histone H3 Serine 10 Phosphorylation Status by HCF-1 Proteins in C. elegans and Mammalian Cells". PLOS ONE - Creature concept art for MMORPG "Ryzom" | https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryzom/ - A plethora of images of extinct animals were created by paleo-artist Nobu Tamura and available here: http://spinops.blogspot.com/ & https://www.deviantart.com/ntamura - "Kepler-186f" by NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/kepler-186f-the-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone - "Earth-like Exoplanet" by Scott Richard - "Nematostella & Mouse Hox genes" graphic by V Altounian adapted from Detlev Arendt (2018) Science - "Evolutionary Hox Tree": Fröbius, AC & Funch P "Rotiferan Hox genes give new insights into the evolution of metazoan bodyplans" Nat Commun 8, 9 (2017) - https://pixabay.com Footage: - "Choanoflagellate movement" courtesy of @microuruguay | https://youtu.be/ppUFD-rzJuI - "Sphaeroeca volvox" courtesy of @Francisco Pujante Capilla | https://youtu.be/IZf9newUOUQ - "Sponge Larva responds to light" courtesy of prof Sally Leys @leyslabvideo | https://youtu.be/hhHP--RHqpU - "Maternal Effects" from Lee SoyoungetEpigenetic regulation of histone H3 serine 10 phosphorylation status by HCF-1 proteins in C. elegans and mammalian cells. PLoS One. 2007;2(11):e1213. Published 2007 Nov 28 - "Turing's labyrinth" by @kjpainter | http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~painter/videos.html - "Turing patterns across parameter space" by @kjpainter (Kevin J Painter) - "Evo-Devo (Despacito Biology Parody)" by @acapellascience | https://youtu.be/ydqReeTV_vk - "Spore Creature Editor" by @firefish72 Music: - "Backyard Safari" by TechSmith - "What Does Anybody Know About Anything" by Chris Zabriskie | http://chriszabriskie.com/ | CC BY 4.0 - "Digital Memories" by @Unicorn Heads - "Sprite Star" by @Saibysed | https://soundcloud.com/saidbysed - "Progressive Chords Lead" by Frankum | https://soundcloud.com/frankumjay - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum
When it comes to the evolution of life on Earth or other planets the general rule is that: Probabilities decrease with increasing specificity. The more specific a life form, the less likely it is that it will evolve naturally. A humanoid being, for instance, though often the staple of science fiction, may actually be relatively unlikely, because of the long chain of contingent events needed to arrive at it. That doesn’t mean anything more specific is implausible, but just that we can expect it to be less common in the universe. No matter what, we can be certain about one thing: Life will start out tiny. From mere molecules to minute microbes, life on any exoplanet far, far away, will probably be stuck at microscopic scales at first and remain so for aeons. That is because, starting from such humble beginnings, evolving creatures need to achieve key innovations in order to break through into the macroscopic world. So what are some of the strategies employed by living systems during evolution to attain ever greater sizes and is there a single universal trend? Let's find out! REFERENCES (Under Construction!) - ... - Mángano MG & Buatois LA (2014) "Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks" Proc. R. Soc. B 281 | http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0038 - ... CREDITS (Under Construction!) Images: - ... - A plethora of images of extinct animals were created by paleo-artist Nobu Tamura and available here: http://spinops.blogspot.com/ & https://www.deviantart.com/ntamura - "Kepler-186f" by NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/kepler-186f-the-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone - "Earth-like Exoplanet" by Scott Richard - https://www.pexels.com/ - https://pixabay.com Footage: - ... - "Lipid Bilayer (Cell Membrane)" by @Ragdoll Studio LLC | https://youtu.be/NL98YVxesjo - "Gold Farm" courtesy of @Sylle7 https://bit.ly/Sylle7YT - https://pixabay.com/videos/ Music: - "Backyard Safari" by TechSmith - "What Does Anybody Know About Anything" by Chris Zabriskie | http://chriszabriskie.com/ | CC BY 4.0 - "Digital Memories" by @Unicorn Heads - "Sprite Star" by @Saibysed | https://soundcloud.com/saidbysed - "Progressive Chords Lead" by Frankum | https://soundcloud.com/frankumjay - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum
Bilaterians, the kind of creature we are most familiar with, have dominated the Animal Kingdom for well over half a billion years. But for tens of millions of years, they were just an odd collection of tiny bottom feeders. However, once bilateral symmetry evolved, it was poised and ready to seize the stage. This moment in time is known as “the Cambrian Explosion”. But how exactly did bilaterians manage to take over in the end? What kickstarted the Cambrian Explosion and can we expect the same thing to happen in alien biospheres? Was the Cambrian Explosion destined to happen or just a fortunate fluke? Would bilaterally symmetrical animals always evolve on Earth-like worlds? Let’s try to find out! REFERENCES - Prieto-Barajas CM et al (2018) "Microbial mat ecosystems: Structure types, functional diversity, and biotechnological application" Electronic Journal of Biotechnology - 31, 48-56 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2017.11.001 - Hoyal Cuthill JF & Morris SC (2017) "Nutrient-dependent growth underpinned the Ediacaran transition to large body size." Nature Ecology and Evolution 1, 1201-1204 - Bobrovskiy et al. (2019) "Simple sediment rheology explains the Ediacara biota preservation" Nature Ecology Evolution 3, 582-589 - Chen et al. (2019) "Death march of a segmented and trilobate bilaterian elucidates early animal evolution" Nature 573, 412–415 - Muscente et al (2017) "Environmental disturbance, resource availability, and biologic turnover at the dawn of animal life" Earth-Science Reviews" 177 - Mángano MG & Buatois LA (2014) "Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks" Proc. R. Soc. B 281 - Smith MP & Harper DT (2013) "Causes of the Cambrian Explosion" Science - 341, 1355-1356 - Budd G (2013) "At the Origin of Animals: The Revolutionary Cambrian Fossil Record." Current Genomics - 14, 344-354 CREDITS Images: - "Cambrian Explosion Illustration" by Mesa Shumacher from the Santa Fe Institute: https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/204144.php - "Yohoia tenuis" by Jun @ni075 https://twitter.com/ni075 | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20191020_Yohoia_tenuis.png - A plethora of images of extinct animals were created by paleo-artist Nobu Tamura and available here: http://spinops.blogspot.com/ & https://www.deviantart.com/ntamura - "Kepler-186f" by NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/kepler-186f-the-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone - "Microbial Mats in Yellowstone" by Penny Higgins | https://www.flickr.com/photos/paleololigo/3747590665/ - "General structures of microbial mats" by Prieto-Barajas et al (2018) - "Andiva ivantsovi" by Masahiro miyasaka | http://bit.ly/andivaivantsovi - "Dickinsonia costata" by Verisimilus | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DickinsoniaCostata.jpg - "Charnia spun" by Verisimilus | http://bit.ly/charniaspun - "Tribrachidium" by Masahiro miyasaka | http://bit.ly/tribrachidium - "Avalonian (Ediacaran) Rangeomorphs" by Charlotte G Kenchington | http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3671/ - "Rangeomorpha" by Jennifer Hoyal Cuthill | Cuthill J H & Morris S C (2017) - "Helminthoidichnites traces" from http://www.ediacaran.org/trace-fossils.html - "Yilingia spiciformis" by Zhe Chen Nanjing Institute of Geology & Paleontology | Chen et al (2019) - "Trace fossils and ichnotaxa from the Ediacaran and early Cambrian" by Muscente et al (2017) - "Kimberella quadrata" by Masahiro miyasaka | http://bit.ly/kimberella - "Kimberella quadrata" by Aleksey Nagovitsyn (Alnagov) | http://bit.ly/kimberella1 - "Cambrian Explosion predators" by CNX OpenStax - "Diagram of Eye Evolution" by Matticus78 | http://bit.ly/eyeevolution - "Agronomic Substrate Revolution" by Mángano MG & Buatois LA (2014) - "Trace Fossil Diversity" by Budd G (2013) - "Causes of the Cambrian Explosion" based on Smith & Harper (2013) - "Earth-like Exoplanet" by Scott Richard - https://www.pexels.com/ - https://pixabay.com Footage: - "Proconvoluta primitiva" by @haplorhini1 | https://youtu.be/85BrSaoS4Fg Music: - "Backyard Safari" by TechSmith - "What Does Anybody Know About Anything" by Chris Zabriskie | http://chriszabriskie.com/ | CCBY - "Digital Memories" by @Unicorn Heads - "Sprite Star" by @Saibysed | https://soundcloud.com/saidbysed - "Progressive Chords Lead" by Frankum | https://soundcloud.com/frankumjay - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum
Evolution has no long term direction and no end-goal. It is governed by chance events, both genetic mutations within the organisms themselves and the ever wandering environment they try to survive in. And the same will hold true on other planets as well. With every contingency follows the establishment of novel developmental constraints as creatures become dependent on the very adaptations that were key to its success. But what does this mean in practice? In other words: How do developmental constraints work and how can we apply this biological principle when thinking about the evolution of alien biospheres? Let’s find out! REFERENCES: - "Developmental origins of precocial forelimbs in marsupial neonates" Keyte et al (2010) Development 137: https://dev.biologists.org/content/137/24/4283 - "Limb bone scaling in hopping macropods and quadrupedal artiodactyls" Doube et al (24 Oct 2018) Royal Society Open Science 5: http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180152 - "The Cambrian Conundrum: Early Divergence and Later Ecological Success in the Early History of Animals" Erwin et al (2011) | https://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6059/1091.full - "The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity" (2013) by Douglas Erwin and James Valentine CREDITS Images: - "Cambrian Explosion Illustration" by Mesa Shumacher from the Santa Fe Institute: https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/204144.php - "Yohoia tenuis" by Jun @ni075 https://twitter.com/ni075 | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20191020_Yohoia_tenuis.png - "Marsupial neonates at birth (Fig 1)" | https://dev.biologists.org/content/137/24/4283 - "Bennett's wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) hindlimb compared to blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra)" | http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180152 - "The origin and diversification of animals as inferred from the geologic and genetic fossil records" Figure 1 from Erwin et al (2011) | https://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6059/1091.full - "Photo of Squidworm (Teuthidodrilus samae)" by Laurence P Madin | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3097850/ - "Biota of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum" (2011) by Aldo Chiappe for National Geographic - https://pixabay.com - Wikimedia Commons FOOTAGE - "Continental drift" by C Scotese via the Paleomap project | http://www.scotese.com/ - https://pixabay.com/videos/ - "Frankenstein" (1931) - Universal Pictures - "Mr Bean" (1994) - Endemol UK - "Triops shedding chitin shell" by TheUjulala | https://pixabay.com/videos/skinning-triops-chitin-chitin-shell-3859/ - "Them" (1954) - Warner Bros MUSIC - "Ambience composition" by Georgke https://freesound.org/people/Georgke/ - "Pretty Synth Melody" by LemonCreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/ - "Stalemate" by TechSmith - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum J. http://freesound.org/people/frankum/ COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Any unlicensed copyrighted material used in this video is done so for purposes of education, review and/or satire and thus covered by "Fair Use". No ownership is claimed for any such materials other than my own.
The Cambrian explosion, often called the “Big Bang” of biology, marks the period when the earliest animals diversified into a remarkably wide range of different life forms, leading to the major phyla known today. Famed paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould made the case that the Early Cambrian was exceptional and saw it as a biological lottery. Historical contingency would make it unlikely that anything like human species would arise again. Although somewhat exaggerated, contingency does play an important role as do the developmental constraints that flow from these events. Convergent evolution on the other hand would result in superficially similar results nonetheless. So when speculating about alien biospheres how can we apply the interplay of contingency, constraints and convergence? How can we use actual scientific insights into worldbuilding projects? Let’s find out! LINKS: @Jackson Wheat on the Cambrian Explosion Pt. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9l4msxHFc0 SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Phrenotopian Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/phrenotopia/ REFERENCES: - "Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History" (1989) by Stephen Jay Gould - "The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity" (2013) by Douglas Erwin and James Valentine CREDITS Images: - "Cambrian Explosion Illustration" by Mesa Shumacher from the Santa Fe Institute: https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/204144.php - A plethora of images of extinct animals were created by paleo-artist Nobu Tamura and available here: http://spinops.blogspot.com/ & https://www.deviantart.com/ntamura - "Sanctacaris" courtesy of Nix Illustrations: https://nixillustration.com/science-illustration/2018/sanctacaris/ - "Illustration of Eogyrinus attheyi" by Andreyi Abelov https://www.deviantart.com/abelov2014/art/Eogyrinus-649956946 - "Onychodus" by DiBgd https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OnychodusDB15.jpg - “The Road to Homo Sapiens” from: "Early Man" Time-Life Books (1965) - "Acanthostega model" by Dr Günter Bechly - "Acanthostega swimming" by Sylvia Lorrain https://soundcloud.com/sylvia-lorrain - https://pixabay.com - Wikimedia Commons Footage: - "Proconvoluta primitiva" by @haplorhini1 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85BrSaoS4Fg - "Back to the Future part III" (1990) Universal Pictures - "Frankenstein" (1931) Universal Pictures - "The Simpsons" S9 E8: "Lisa the Skeptic" (1997) 20th Century Fox - "Howard the Duck" (1986) - Universal Pictures - "X-Men" (2000) - 20th Century Fox - "The Great British Year" Episode 4 (2013) - BBC One: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01db10t/episodes/guide - https://pixabay.com/videos/ Music: - "Ambience composition" by Georgke https://freesound.org/people/Georgke/ - "Cinematic Ambient" licensed from Stereo Nuts https://audiojungle.net/user/stereonuts - "Pretty Synth Melody" by LemonCreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/ - "Stalemate" by TechSmith - "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum J. http://freesound.org/people/frankum/ COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Any unlicensed copyrighted material used in this video is done so for purposes of education, review and/or satire and thus covered by "Fair Use". No ownership is claimed for any such materials other than my own.
Are humanoid aliens the unavoidable epitome of evolution on all Earth-like planets or can we expect some radically different body organizations of sentient extraterrestrials? In part 2 of the video series on alien evolution, we will be look at the human body plan and any alternative adaptations the animal kingdom on Earth provides. What is the evolutionary and developmental background for the way our different bodies are put together? How can we use these insights for speculative evolution and speculative zoology in an alien biosphere in our worldbuilding projects? Let's find out? ********* CREDITS ********* MUSIC: Intro: http://freesound.org/people/georgke/ Ambient: Licensed from Stereo Nuts at Audiojungle.net https://audiojungle.net/user/stereonuts Outro: http://freesound.org/people/frankum/ VIDEO: School of Caribbean Reef Squid - Jonathan Laba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw1E7jKa3dw IMAGES: Derek Keats - "Coral and sponge at Little Brother, Red Sea, Egypt" https://www.flickr.com/photos/dkeats/6211798112 Proporus sp. - Curini-Galletti et al. (2012) "Patterns of Diversity in Soft-Bodied Meiofauna: Dispersal Ability and Body Size Matter." PLoS ONE Acoel flatworm Neochildia fusca. Egger, B. et al. (2009). "To be or not to be a Flatworm: the acoel controversy." PLoS ONE 4 (5): e5502. Dinornis robustus - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dinornis_robustus_(AM_LB4361).jpg Meara stichopi. "Development and juvenile anatomy of the nemertodermatid Meara stichopi (Bock) Westblad 1949 (Acoelomorpha)." Børve A, Hejnol A - Front. Zool. (2014) COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL: Any unlicensed copyrighted material used in this video is done so for purposes of education, review and/or satire and thus covered by "Fair Use". No ownership is claimed for any such materials other than my own.
Lovers of science fiction in both literature and the cinema are pretty much used to sentient alien creatures being pretty much similar to humans: So-called humanoids. We know them from star trek, but also from star wars. In this video, we're going to take a scientific look at the question whether humanoid aliens are at all plausible. Can we get an answer from genetics? By looking at human DNA, can we get an idea of what it takes to create a humanoid species? What is the likelihood of the evolution of such creatures on another planet in outer space? Is there any plausible reason why aliens would evolve to look like us? Already on our own planet Earth, our upright stature and bipedal stance with two arms and hands is pretty much unique, even among primates. This is the first video in a series that will analyse the human body plan to assess how many conceivable alternatives there are for each element. We'll look at how we can use these insights for speculative evolution and speculative zoology in alien biospheres for scientifically plausible worldbuilding scenarios. ********* CREDITS ********* MUSIC: Intro: http://freesound.org/people/georgke/ Ambient: Licensed from Stereo Nuts at Audiojungle.net https://audiojungle.net/user/stereonuts Outro: http://freesound.org/people/frankum/ COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL: Any unlicensed copyrighted material used in this video is done so for purposes of education, review and/or satire and thus covered by "Fair Use". No ownership is claimed for any such materials other than my own.