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Wildlife of Aeolia
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flora, fauna, and fungi
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 13 Feb 2024, 02:52.

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Like all known multicellular-life-bearing planets in the galaxy, Aeolia got that way through human terraforming.

At the time (ca. 5000 AD, ca. 32000 years before present in-setting), with millions of planets having been explored to find no more advanced extraterrestrial life than the occasional microbe, the custom-terraforming industry was in full swing. Astro-, geo-, and bio-engineering combined to seed habitable-zone planets and moons (of appropriate atmospheric, gravitational and magnetic conditions), first with hardy oxygen-producing algae, then with other microbes, then with a succession of gradually larger genetically-engineered lifeforms, mimicking in rapid-time the development of life on Earth. The final ecosystems were carefully designed by teams of thousands of people, to create food chains that would remain stable even with human civilization living on the planet. As for designing the specificities of plant and animal lifeforms, the aesthetic requests of the clients (i.e. prospective inhabitants) were taken into account, and where they didn't specify, it was a playground for the eco-engineering teams to design flora and fauna to their hearts' content.

Aeolia's one supercontinent has four main land biomes: the windswept highlands above the canyons, the sheltered canyon walls where Aeolians themselves make their homes, the rainforests lining the canyon floors, and the rocky beaches where the land meets the ocean. The ocean of course also contains various biomes but I don't know anything about marine biology so it will not be covered here until I have done more research.

Basic Aeolian bio vocab
eseu (neut.) - animal
alwei (neut.) - plant
hody (neut.) - fungus
öred (resp.) - fruit
coqo (desp.) - peel, husk
leta (resp.) - bird
sesö (neut.) - bee
wisely (neut.) - spider
tica (neut.) - stick, branch, twig
dira (neut.) - aquatic animal (forms the root of the verb diraa "to swim")

Upland Wildlife
cero (neut.) - bush, shrub
wuc (neut.) - genus of small flightless burrowing bird, like a kiwi but smaller.
-- ljutywuc (neut.) - the blue wug. notable for being an all-female species reproducing through parthenogenesis, similar to the New Mexico whiptail lizard.
saqry (neut.) - upland lynx. a low slinky wildcat specialized to ambush prey emerging from their burrows.
heha (desp.) - upland donkey. size of an Earth miniature donkey, with thick gray fur.
curo (desp.) - upland springhare. a rodent that hops on its large back legs using its tail for balance, like a tiny fluffy kangaroo. has venomous spurs on its back legs to add zing to its predator-defense kick.
tacaqo (desp.) - upland croc. a caiman-sized, land-based crocodilian with a lifestyle similar to monitor lizards.
hodyqruu (neut.) - mothshroom. a category of fungus with an extremely specialized method of spore dispersal. when ripe, the fruiting body unfurls four to six "wings" or "sails" which catch the wind, then pops off the stalk and glides away on the wind, shedding spores. some species have developed a complicated hydraulic system that allows the wings to flap for some time, thus extending the flight range. mothshroom fungi, especially the flapping ones, are a common "class pet" for Aeolian creches.

Canyon-wall Wildlife
rale (resp.) - a small flying mammal with wing-membranes on both its fore- and hind-limbs, like a mammalian version of Microraptor. sleeps clinging to cliff faces with its fore- and hind-claws, in large flocks. often kept as a creche pet.
corsesö (neut.) - flightless rock-bee. a hand-sized, fuzzy insect with four legs specialized with gecko-like pads for clambering over rock, and the front two legs specialized for enlarging cracks and dips in soft stone into burrows. can be kept as a pet if provided with an appropriately large terrarium and burrowing surfaces.
rale-tretrese (neut.) - rale-eating tarantula. similar to Earth's bird-eating tarantula. a popular pet, as Aeolians are immune to tarantulas' irritating hairs.

Canyon-floor Jungle Wildlife
resi (resp.) - forest, jungle
iree (neut.) - bamboo
reriid (neut.) - jungle-specialized lagomorph similar to Earth's tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) except social and grayer-colored to blend into Aeolia's generally teal foliage
ahalui (neut.) - jungle lion. fills the "jaguar" niche and has similar spots, but with the mane and hooked tail of a lion.
sila (resp.) - literal flying fox. a small tree-climbing canid with gliding membranes linking its fore- and hind-legs, like a flying squirrel's.
dijo (neut.) - jungle tree-rat. there are several species of these brightly colored, prehensile-tailed rodents. some species feed on poisonous invertebrates and sequester the toxins in their flesh to become poisonous themselves, while others simply chew the poisonous bugs into a toxic paste and smear it into their fur.
celja (neut.) - spiny civet. civets with hedgehog-like, raisable quills. there are several species, all of which prey at least partly on dijos and are immune to their toxins.
-- xelacelja - horned spiny civet. a species with several keratinous horns (no bone core, similar to rhino horn) on the head.
-- qoracelja - armored civet. a spiny civet species with pangolin-esque keratin plates rather than spines.

Beach Wildlife
qudira (desp.) - marine rat. a muskrat-sized, semi-aquatic rodent with a tall, narrow tail. builds rocky nests on shore. its mouth harbors many strains of deadly bacteria.

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