Welcome to my Metazoic site! This site discusses the existence of the creatures to come along after humans will be extinct. I first became interested in a world after man when I acquired my first copy of Dougal Dixon's After Man: A Zoology of the Future in 1992. However, I unwittingly created creatures that did not exist from the time I was about 8 years old. But it was after I obtained a copy of that book (now a collector's item) that I decided to take these same creatures I created as a child and make them more realistic in an evolutionary sense. Though it may be hard for a lot of us to grasp, humans will soon become extinct. One of the biggest factors of how this will happen is the current overpopulation rate. Which is why I don't contribute to the population. I created this world with little more than mammals fulfilling all ecological niches with the help of some friends. I even gave the era of the age after man a name, I called it the Metazoic, derived from the words for "After-era" (Meta, meaning after, and zoic meaning era). We are now in the Cenozoic era. To view all the animals I have created since I began this project, you can go to the "Meet the Mammals" section of this site. To discuss your own ideas about what you think will happen in the future world, and share your ideas with others, please feel free to leave a comment.
One more thing, some of you may find this site quite offensive, and you have a right to your own opinion. But please respect my right to have an opinion too. I'm not saying there is no GOD, I believe it was HIM who got the ball rolling. But I believe after that, evolution took over. There is so much more evidence of evolution than there is of creation. Even that going on right under our noses. Other than that, enjoy yourself and visit our many links.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Family of the Week: The Raccoons And Relatives
The coatis in the Metazoic are not only equipped with a highly developed sense of smell, but with flexible fingers and long, sharp claws. The flexibility of the fingers allows these animals to grasp fat grubs, fruits and other food items and draw them up to the mouth to be consumed. The long, sharp claws is used to dig, or pry open rotten logs or as traps to capture small rodents and other small animals and hold them tight so they cannot struggle free. The two genera of coati types are Bidenictis and Nasuunguis. Bidenictis is smaller and the males are equipped with tusks that protrude out the mouth. These are for show rather than for eating. Nasuunguis is also called the "hog-nosed coati", and does indeed have a long, flat, pig-like nose. The area around the nose is hard, rather like a callous, that aids in sniffing and digging at the same time. Coatis are omnivores, the majority of the food they consume is animal matter. Fruit, berries and nuts make up about 20% of their diet.
This family is a highly varied family. There are species that are almost humanoid-like in appearance (Procyon sapiens). Some are bear-like in appearance (Onychocyon). Some are cat-like in appearance (Neoprocyon). Some are fox-like (Alepousa). Some are carnivores (Neoprocyon and Alepousa). Some are herbivores (Calamophagus).
The most fascinating species is Procyon sapiens. The genus Procyon has been separated into 2 sub-genera. P. sapiens is the sole species in the sub-genus Metacyon, while all other species are in the sub-genus Procyon. P. sapiens differs by being bigger, and has actually learned to use tools to handle prey. They are actually more social than other raccoons, living in some of the largest groups of any carnivores. The hands are capable of grasping almost as good as those of the primates. The sense of smell is less developed than in other raccoon species. The communication is even more complex than in any other carnivore species. This particular species has more than 100 different vocalizations, each call used for different tasks. There are distinct calls to identify family members, to let others know their social rank, to assign separate tasks to which ever group members, and even for spotting predators. In fact, each predator may have a distinct identifying call.
The only herbivorous species is Calamophagus, known as the Metazoic pandas. They are also the only Old World members of the raccoon family. There are 5 species of panda. They are strictly vegetarian, and only feed on bamboo. Either they will feed on the stems, or tender shoots and leaves. They have hands and feet much like a monkey's, and are able to climb the stalks to get up to the fresh leaves and feed. The tail is usually long, and flexible, but not really prehensile.
Raccoons and relatives are not without predators. Deinognathids are among the worst. Young Deinognathus species are common predators of the coatis and raccoons. Tamanoa is known to actively feed on Calamophagus in the orient. Dogs, Barofelids, Ailurocyonids, snakes, predatory bats, and raptors are also predators of various procyonids. These animals are not pushovers though. They have sharp teeth, and can bite hard. The claws can also turn into formiddible weapons. These combined with a very quick temper make these animals very tough adversaries.
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