Terra 2: A Second Tree Of Life

1 Million Years PE

Since 10,000 years PE, a world now already 990,000 years old, many changes have come to the planet of Terra 2. Firstly is the now wide assortment of different pigments in capybaras and hamsters which can now be found with different shades of brown, white, beige, and even black fur. In North Almara and Okiina near the poles many capybara species have vaguely white or grey coats to blend into the now-growing icecap. The icecap, while barely 150 km, is now growing rapidly. Snow is more regular, enough to encourage the evolution of white hair, but still rare and unheard of on the rest of the planet. Secondly, the first examples of predation on land are beginning to evolve in the robins. The relatively defenseless, flightless, and very stupid kiwi birds are no match for egg robbins who have used the kiwi's defenseless vulnerability to its advantage. They are now hook-billed and lightweight, perfect for breaking open eggs and running away if caught. While a kiwi can't do anything to protect its massive, ostrich-sized eggs it can bark violently and appear to be quite a formidable opponent. However, egg robbins aren't always so easily deceived.

Some kiwis are protected, though, and have a small friend to help them: The kiwi ants. They are now loyal protectors of their flightless friends and scare off any egg-eating robin from robbing the friendly bird's eggs. But even the ants can sometimes feel an appetite for eggs. Sometimes, when a partner kiwi has gone off foraging, the kiwi ants will break open the shell of the egg and feed the yolk and protein to their larvae and queen. But just before the mother kiwi returns, the ants pull a convincing scheme. They put an end to an egg robbin by overwhelming it, or just find an already deceased one, and stash its body inside the eggshell, essentially framing the dead bird for stealing the egg. The ants get away with it, in the kiwi's point of view a robin ate its egg and its friends protected it. So why stop trusting them? Though a symbiotic relationship for some, the ant-kiwi situation is starting to turn toxic and parasitic.

Hundreds of species of hamster now live on Terra 2, approximately 7,000, and have nearly lost their instinct to tunnel, although they still could if they needed to. They now make their homes in the large copse of weeds and in between bamboo grasses. Their lifespans have also begun to inflate, now instead of living for 1-2 years, they can live for up to 7 years. This is most likely because of the surplus of food and the absence of predators which means they can breed more often and for a longer time. They simply don't need a short life anymore and can now have around 200 descendants in just a single generation, with the hamster's biodiversity becoming incredibly healthy. They are also not limited to eating plant matter with many insectivore species now evolving to feed on the abundance of grasshoppers and crickets. The only threat hamsters now face are storms or the occasional advance of an egg robbin. It seems they are destined for an above-ground existence.

The cousins of the hamsters, the capybaras, and also some of the largest land animals on Terra 2, are now more widespread than ever. They can be found on all three continents and range in size from 1-4 feet at the shoulder, some having shrunk to deal with hot temperatures at the equator and some having grown larger as they evolve gigantothermy near the northern coasts. A four-foot capybara does not have enough mass or insulating muscle to keep them warm alone and so has evolved long thick coats. The northern capybara is about 4'3' and is the largest capybara on the planet. They feed off the few types of grass that can survive the harsh storms up near Almara and Okiina and can eat half their body weight every day. Their diminutive cousins, the summer capybara, are almost as small as a rabbit and just barely reach 1 foot. Unfortunately, however, summer capybara cubs often fall target to egg robbin attacks.

Another notable critter on land is the garden snail. They are now the largest mollusks on Terra 2, at least on land. Too big to be eaten by insectivorous kiwis or robins and too small to seem like a hazard to a capybara. Their shells are reduced but still present and their bodies are massive, reaching almost 3 feet in length. They reproduce often, sometimes twice in one day, and live lengthy, ignorant lives up to 11 years old. Because of their immense size, for a snail, they are too heavy to climb up bamboo plants like their relatives and so cannot feed upon their succulent leaves. Instead, they gnaw away at the bottom of the stalk until the entire plant collapses and they can move towards its top and claim its meal. It's quite a strange sight to see a large 3-foot snail devour a bamboo plant after having cut it down like a lumberjack.

In the oceans, life is also diversifying. The guppies and goldfish have grown by several inches due to predation from piscivore lobsters. After all, a predator is going to choose the easier meal, in this case, small slow prey over large fast prey. The guppies have now colonized nearly all freshwater environments including rivers, lakes, and estuaries. They are particularly common, along with goldfish, in the northern Okiinan Riverlands, a series of freshwater rivers and lakes across Okiina's northern coast. This area, though far north, is unusually warm and humid due to an air current from the subcontinental gulf colliding with one from the eastern open ocean and creating a warm draft that makes its way here. Bamboo forests are common and fish thrive in schools of millions. Herbivorous robins gather in flocks hundreds strong to feed on dandelion seeds and kiwi eggs. It's one of the first, but not the only, tropical environments on Terra 2.

Plant life, especially bamboo, is now incredibly rich in population and success. Bamboo woodlands grow everywhere there are storms or sunlight, with their fast growth cycles helping them quickly recover from damage like hurricanes or tornadoes. Some bamboo now grows up to 120 feet tall and is pretty problematic for birds to fly up and eat their leaves due to high winds. The only place bamboo isn't present is the ocean and the Tielen Isles; an isolated island chain near the coast of the Dakina Land Bridge (see map). Dandelions and roses, both flowers which grow in close clusters connected by roots, have begun to lose colouring, and their flowers diminish. This is because of the lack of pollinating birds or insects to spread their seed, with their color being the thing to attract pollinators no longer needed if there isn't anything to attract. The dandelion's female form has begun to take on a dark greenish color with small, weak pettles and a pushed-out pistil to increase the chances of wind picking up their pollen.