The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution

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The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution (1988, ISBN 0-88162-301-6) is a book written by geologist and paleontologist Dougal Dixon. While Dixon's earlier book After Man is set fifty million years in the future, The New Dinosaurs speculates on how the dinosaurs and other animals could have evolved over the last 65 million years had the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event not taken place.

Animals Featured

The Ethiopian Realm

Waspeater, Vespaphaga parma, a green, arboreal, tropical rainforest-dwelling, anteater-like coelurosaur from Africa around the Equator that feeds on colonial insects such as wasps. It is part of a new group of post-Cretaceous coelurosaurs called arbrosaurs, which are mostly agile and tree-dwelling and developed from the same stalk as birds, brought about by similar evolutionary processes. The bones in a Waspeater's skull have become fused into a narrow armored tube that can penetrate deep into the nests of tree wasps. The strong hind legs and tail allow the theropod to hang from the branch and reach into insect nests that have been built in awkward positions. The long claws are used to climb trees and rip at wasp nests. Their scales are now overlapping plates, impenetrable to the stings of the insects. After the world forests dwindled from the changing climate and grasslands began to spread in the Miocene, the Waspeater and close relatives became restricted to a number of tropical areas, with most species now living in the equatorial regions of Africa.
Tree Hopper, Arbrosaurus bernardi, an African, stiff-tailed, agile, primate-like arbrosaur that moves like a monkey when in the trees of its tropical rainforest home, using its tail for balance when leaping about. When on the ground, though, it can only move over the ground by a series of undignified leaps, a lot like a sifaka, keeping its long arms and heavy tail well up out of the way. It has stereoscopic vision and narrow, finely toothed jaws ideal for winkling insects out from crannies beneath tree bark. The long claws on the three main toes and the three fingers are useful both for finding purchase on branches and for ripping up bark for insects. It is perhaps the most typical of all modern arbrosaurs.
Lank, Herbafagus longicollum, a flightless, African, herbivorous, long-legged, giraffe-like pterosaur that lives in tall grass savannahs. It grows 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) high to the top of its head. It is lanky and fast enough to outrun predators since danger can be seen coming from afar on the open plains. It runs with a pacing motion, both legs at the same side moving in the same direction at the same time (his prevents the long legs from becoming entangled). The fourth finger, that once supported the flight membrane, now carries the animal's weight and has a hoof on the end. The three small claws that once acted as a hand are now only used for grooming its fine pycnofibres. It is the most highly specialized of African, ground-dwelling, grass-eating pterosaurs. The long face of the Lank means that its eyes are still above the level of the grass even when its snout is grazing at the grass roots, thus it can keep an eye out for danger. Since herbivorous dinosaurs were not able to establish a foothold on African plains like they did in the Northern Hemisphere, pterosaurs beat them to it, lost their abilities of flight and have now spread across the local tropical grasslands, becoming the main grass-eating animals of Africa.
Flarp, Vexillala robusta, a flightless, bipedal, herbivorous, ratite-like pterosaur from Africa that lives in short grass savannahs, related to the Lank. Its brightly patterned wings are not used for flight, but for display, attracting mates and for warning rivals. The long fourth finger and the flap (the vestige of the flying wing) are normally held back out of the way, but when displaying they are extended ant the bright patterns are shown. This display is accompanied by raucous screeches that carry for great distances across the plains. It is about 1 meter (3 feet) high to the shoulder. It runs about the plains in small flocks of about a dozen. Flarps feed on plants such as grasses that grow close to the ground. While the Lank tends to eat the tops of the grass heads and leaves, the Flarp's short, sharp teeth positioned at the front of the mouth enable it to root about among the lower plants at ground level, eating closer to the roots of the plants.
Sandle, Fususaurus foderus, a small, burrowing, somewhat lizard-like coelurosaur from Africa that moves entirely on its belly, living in northern deserts and desert scrubs of Sub-Sahara and the Sahara Desert. The body is streamlined and covered in smooth fur-like feathers It can ambush its prey (smaller vertebrates, insects and scorpions) from lying in wait under the sand, with only its eyes and nostrils showing, and leaps out when the prey comes close. Its streamlined spindle shape is ideal for a burrowing way of life, since sand grains slide past its smooth contours easily as it tunnels through the dunes, digging and pushing with its stumpy legs. The eyes and nostrils are high up on the head, enabling it to see about and breathe while the rest of the body is buried. The Sandle never drinks but obtains water from the moist flesh of the prey it eats. Its kidneys are very efficient, allowing almost all the moisture to be retained, and secreting any poisonous compounds in a saliva that helps to paralyze and subdue its prey. Coelurosaurs have proved to be adaptable enough to develop forms that are uniquely suited to such a harsh desert environment, forms such as the Sandle and its relatives.
Wyrm, Vermisaurus perdebracchius, a similar African coelurosaur to the Sandle, also living in deserts and desert scrubs (both in the Sahara and Sub-Sahara) and moving entirely on its belly. However, unlike a Sandle, a Wyrm does not have forelimbs or a tail at all. Its head is trowel-shaped and used to force a path through the sand. There it moves by unduluations of the long body and by thrusting with a swimming motion of the broad hind feet. It has a long, snakelike neck that is agile, narrow and long enough to chase prey down their burrows, such as small hopping mammals (which the Wyrm's diet consists mostly of) and reptiles, usually hunting them at dusk and at dawn. The back of a Wyrm is covered with fine hair-like feathers while the rest of its body is armored by a network of thick scales. The head is a scaly shield. A row of heavy transverse scales runs the full length of its underside protecting its belly from the constant abrasion of sand and stones as it winds its way along. A heavy shield of scales covers the rump, to protect it from members of its own species that may pursue it down the tunnels of its prey. Like the Sandle they obtain all their moisture from the flesh of their prey, who in turn obtain all theirs from the scrubby desert plants and seeds that they eat. Wyrms make very efficient use of their water despite the fact that they have only one kidney, the other having been lost as the narrow shape evolved. There are many species of Wyrm (all originating in the African deserts), not all of which have continued to be burrowers, Many live in the burrows of other animals, such as the small desert mammals. Many others have spread into different habitats and different ecozones around the world. The long sinuous form that first evolved as a burrowing mechanism has applications in other ways of life. There are swimming types in various parts of the globe and a whole range of tree-dwelling Wyrms, especially in Asia).
Megalosaur, Megalosaurus modernus, a megalosaur that is a large and active predator/scavenger from the tropical lowland forests of Madagascar (mainly living alongside things like brightly-colored birds and large-winged pterosaurs), sometimes prowling singly and sometimes in packs. It is about 8-10 meters (27-33 feet) long. It is the largest carnivore on the island and hunts the local large herbivores and smaller carnivores, dead or alive. It will even steal from smaller scavengers, like scavenging birds and mammals. As it grows older and slower it lives as a solitary scavenger, devouring the corpses of already dead fellow animals and the remains of kills of younger Megalosaurs. It is a very different species from the Megalosaurus of Jurassic times.
Titanosaur, Altosaurus maximus, a very large titanosaur from the Madagascar dry deciduous forests, living in large family groups, browsing constantly from the trees (eating such things as new shoots and buds) that are about its height. It reaches lengths of about 18 meters (60 feet) and can reach heights up to 6 meters (20 feet), making it the largest animal on the island. The extremely long tail of the Titanosaur is strong and muscular, and can be used as a whiplash to inflict a severe blow upon an enemy, such as a Megalosaur. Its skull is almost identical to that of its cousins of Jurassic and Cretaceous times.
Dwarf Megalosaur, Megalosaurus nanus, a smaller, agile and nimble cousin of the Madagascan Megalosaur, living on the shorelines of the Comoros. It is only about 3 meters (10 feet) long (being about one third of the size of its bigger cousin), hunting similar-sized herbivorous dinosaurs and seabirds. It has the physical appearance of one of the lightly built coelurosaurs, rather than one of the bigger non-coelurosaurian theropods. It usually hunts singly and can prey on the many seabirds that feed in flocks along the tideline. The Dwarf Megalosaur is athletic enough to sprint along the beach snatch the birds out of the air as they flutter in panic into the sky.
Dwarf Titanosaur, Virgultasaurus minimus, a smaller cousin of the Madagascan Titanosaur, living among coconut palms of the seashore and in the ferny undergrowth beneath the trees of the inland Comoros forests in small groups of two or three rather than in large herds. They feed on the undergrowth and the leaves of the low-growing vegetation. It is only about one fifth of the length of its giant Madagascan relative, making it 4 meters (12 feet) long. It is often preyed upon by Dwarf Megalosaurs. There are different species of Dwarf Titanosaur found on each Comoros island.
Unidentified African desert-dwelling, kangaroo rat-like mammal, seen being ambushed by a Wyrm.
Unidentified Madagascan crocodile, seen being attacked by a Megalosaur.
Unidentified Comoros coastline-dwelling tern, seen being devoured by a Dwarf Megalosaur.

The Palaearctic Realm

Gestalt, Formisaura delacasa, a small, partly quadrupedal, deciduous and mixed woodland-dwelling pachycephalosaur from western Eurasia that lives a colonial antlike lifestyle. The build citadel-like nests that are kept in repair by the females. The nest is a thatched structure, built of twigs and straw, usually built around a sloping tree trunk over a stream. The interior is a mass of tunnels and chambers and each nest usually has the same layout: the egg chamber is near the apex where it will be warmed by the sun, the queen chamber is directly below, the nursery chamber (where the hatchlings are attended to) is below that, the toilet area is directly over the stream, the food store is attached to the main trunk and there are up to six additional food stores on the lower branches of the tree, long sticks and saplings are woven into the structure to supply escape routes if the main entrance along the tree trunk is rendered impassable by attack or weather damage. The queen is the largest member of a colony and grows to almost a meter (3 feet) long with a bloated body, laying on average one egg per day all year round (each egg hatching into a juvenile that is cared for by adult worker females that never leave the colony, and when both male and female juveniles reach an adolescent stage they work outside the nest); other adult females in the colony (who, like the queen, have very small eyes and find their way about the gloom of the nest's interior by means of sensory hair-like filaments growing from their shoulders) work as nest-maids (when they reach adulthood and eventually return to the nest) and are prevented from coming into a breeding condition by pheromones emitted by the queen, yet when a queen dies the pheromones stop and a new queen develops from one of the female workers; adult males are soldiers of the colonies, standing guard at the nest entrances and warning of approaching danger by head-banging against the branches, and have poison spines that grow outwards from their head shields (old males may come into breeding condition, shedding their spines, adopting a more subdued color and living inside the nest with the queen, yet these breeding males are short lived and are replaced every 10 days or so). The food of a colony consists of buds in the spring, young shoots in summer and fruits and nuts in autumn. The adolescents gather the food, passing it along a chain of individuals from one to another until it reaches the nest (the chain is guarded on both sides by adult males). In times of plenty, the population tends to grow too big for the colony to sustain. Small groups of adult males and females then leave to start new colonies. Temperate streams may be marked by lines of the conical citadels. It must be the most remarkable vertebrate of Eurasia. It evolved fairly recently, during the Pleistocene in the last ice age, when there were few other non-avian dinosaurs and reptiles existing in the region and food was scarce (the animals that did survive there had to develop all kinds of strategies in order to make the best use of the food available under the harsh circumstances). It is likely descended from Goyocephale due to its skull shape.
Bricket, Rubusaurus petasus, a small, magnificent-looking, well-camouflaged, European lambeosaurine hadrosaur with a colorful tail used for signaling members of the small herds they live in to alert of the presence of any nearby predators. It lives in temperate/deciduous and mixed woodlands north of the Alps. Its streamlined shape is ideal for fast movement through the tangles and thickets of the temperate woodlands. It usually browses from high branches. The small herds live in the dense undergrowth and bramble thickets, usually resting during the day and feeding at dawn and dusk. The expanded crest, found in both males and females, is both used as a display structure, particularly during the autumnal mating season, and as a deflecting device when it must move swiftly through the vegetation. It is descended from post-Cretaceous lambeosaurines that migrated into Europe from the further east (part of the great spread of the hadrosaurs over the northern continents).
Zwim, Naremys platycaudus, a particularly common, semiaquatic, shrew-like placental mammal with venomous saliva that is able to swim in the rivers and streams of deciduous and mixed woodlands. It is one of the numerous varieties of small mammal living in the Eurasian temperate forests. It has a length of about 30 centimeters (1 foot) long, most of which is taken up by its long flattened tail. Its long sensitive snout is used for probing under stones and in dead vegetation for insects and other invertebrates to feed on, both at the bottom of a stream and on land. It lives in burrows on the riverbanks and can defend itself against predatory reptiles (like pterosaurs), dinosaurs and fish by biting with its sharp teeth, the venomous saliva being quickly effective. The Zwim is a social animal and as many as a dozen burrows can be found within a short distance from one another on heavily wooded riverbanks. Sometimes they will feed on parasites (such as ticks and fleas) that have been living off of something like a Bricket, with large numbers of Zwims sometimes congregating at the wallowing pools of Brickets in order to feast on the parasites they shed there. It is an active swimmer, thanks to its webbed hind feet and its flattened tail that works with a strong up-and-down undulation. The eyes are large and can adjust their focus to see both underwater and on land. Throughout the Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene periods mammals have changed little since Triassic times and still remain small, compact creatures, not adapting into any of the wide ranges of lifestyles occupied by the dinosaurs, yet some of them have a number of interesting adaptations, such as with the Zwim. It is very similar to the Eurasian water shrew. It is most likely descended from Zalambdalestes.
Coneater, Strobofagus borealis, a migratory, conifer forest-dwelling hypsilophodont that is 3 meters (10 feet) long and lives in small herds, each herd consisting of about a dozen individuals, living along the sub-polar latitudes of both forests and open country in Eurasia. Although it generally eats conifer cones and the seeds they contain, in winter it eats tree bark, needles, mosses, lichens, and seeks out stores of nuts hoarded by smaller animals. Its body is insulated from the intense winter cold by deep folds and wrinkles of fat. Its beak can snap twigs and cones. It is almost the only large animal found in Eurasian coniferous forests. It is probably descended from Hypsilophodon.
Jinx, Insinuosaurus strobofagoforme, a medium-sized, about 3 meters long (10 feet), dromaeosaur that lives in conifer forests of Eurasia and looks and smells very much like a Coneater. Usually hunting in pairs, these predators use this deceptive appearance and scent of theirs to sneak into Coneater herds, pretending to be Coneaters themselves (the markings in the fine pelt of feathers resembling the overall pattern of wrinkles and folds in the fatty skin of a Coneater, its thick mane giving the flexible neck a robust appearance, and black markings on the snout can be mistaken for a Coneater's beak), and eventually attack. This deception is so successful that a herd of Coneaters may travel for quite some distance without noticing the danger in the midst. The Jinx only eats Coneaters, and nothing else since there are fewer types of other certain-sized animals living in the coniferous forests. It is descended from either Velociraptor or Adasaurus.
Tromble, Gravornis borealis, a large, 3-meter-tall (10 feet), flightless, herbivorous, tundra-dwelling bird with legs as massive as tree trunks and no wings that migrates in huge herds seasonally, much like caribou and mammoths, spending winters in the shelter of the coniferous forests to the south. In the mating season (which is in early summer), the males sprout long, bright yellow display feathers on the sides of their heads. It comes from the tundra regions of both Eurasia, Greenland and North America. The beak is broad and hard, used for cropping great mouthfuls of the coarse tundra vegetation. The huge herds migrate across the waterlogged landscape of the summer tundra. Eggs are laid in temporary nests at the northernmost point of the migration, and they hatch very quickly with the young able to travel immediately. It is the largest animal of the northern tundra to migrate depending on seasons and evolved when the tundra regions appeared during the last ice age. Several similar ground-dwelling birds have also evolved here since there are no flightless predators to threaten them (there are not even any non-avian dinosaurs living this far north).
Whiffle, Adescator rotundus, a small, flightless, insect-eating, kiwi-like bird that lives in tundra regions. They live in large, ground-scurrying flocks and have a symbiotic relationship with Trombles by picking parasites (such as flies, like warble flies, and fleas) off of the larger birds' massive, tree trunk-like feet. Whiffle flocks follow Tromble herds, pecking here and there in the stunted vegetation with their long beaks. Several species of Whiffle are found on the tundra, but they are all rather similar to one another. The body is round and the neck is short, to minimize heat loss. Long slender legs enable it to wade in ponds and the long beak, with a sensitive tip, can probe into mosses and under stones for insects. Like the Tromble and most other tundra creatures, it comes from the tundra regions of Greenland, Eurasia and North America.
Taranter, Herbasaurus armatus, a bulky, somewhat glyptodont-like ankylosaurid that lives on the windswept steppe grasslands of Central Asia (living alongside many small seed-eating burrowing animals, particularly mammals, and a variety of other large grazing animals). Its armor, developed from horn-covered bones set in the skin, has become a continuous covering for the back. This, and the bulbous shape of the body, help to prevent desiccation in the dry winds. While ankylosaur armor (consisting of horn-covered bone) originally evolved as a defensive mechanism (present in such forms as Euoplocephalus), it has become more important in the Taranter as a means of consuming moisture. Hollows inside the skull are lined with damp membranes that moisten the dusty air as it is breathed in. Defensive armor is still present as horny spikes along the flanks and the heavy club on the tail. By settling down into a hollow and presenting its streamlined armored surfaces to the wind, the Taranter can withstand the stinging sand and dust storms that are common in the area. The head armor of the Taranter is a horny covering that forms a grass-cutting beak along the edges of the broad mouth, and flat teeth in the back of the mouth grind up the plant matter. It is probably descended from either Tarchia or Saichania.
Debaril, Harenacurrerus velocipes, a small hypsilophodont that is able to bound, measuring about 60 centimeters (2 feet) long, that lives in the deserts and desert scrubs of the Arabian desert and the Sahara (living alongside tortoises, plant-eating lizards and nocturnal mammals), closely related to the larger northern Coneater, well adapted to the extremes of its environment. It is able to hop like a jerboa. It is active at dawn and dusk, eating roots and seeds, conserving its water efficiently and burrows in the sand. It is one of the few non-avian dinosaurs that live in these particular deserts.

The Nearctic Realm

Sprintosauridae, a new, swift-moving family of almost antelope-like hadrosauroid ornithopods evolved from North American hadrosaurs. They are completely quadrupedal, have long, spindly, lightweight legs and primarily live in the prairies and grasslands of the Great Plains since most forests in North America gradually gave way to grassland in the last 65 million years. There are two main groups of sprintosaur: the crested sprintosaurs and the non-crested sprintosaurs. The main difference between the non-crested and the crested sprintosaurs, apart for the crest, is the length of the tail (non-crested sprintosaurs have long, tall and stiff tails with males having fans on them). Crested sprintosaurs (descended from North American lambeosaurines like Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus) tend to inhabit western high prairies in the Western United States, grazing on the short grasses and undergrowth of prickly pear cactus in the dry shadow of the Rocky Mountain Region. Non-crested sprintosaurs (descended from North American hadrosaurines like Hadrosaurus and Edmontosaurus) are grassland animals just like crested sprintosaurs, and have a diet of tough, silica-rich grass. Both crested and non-crested types of sprintosaurs travel over the plains in closely knit herds.

Ancoracephalus major, a crested sprintosaur with a crest that has hook shapes on it.
Sprintosaurus quadribullus, a crested sprintosaur with a crest that has a row of knobs.
Sprintosaurus dolabratops, a crested sprintosaur with a crest that has a broad blade shape to it.
Vexillosaurus levipes, a non-crested sprintosaur that lives out on floodplains near the Missouri River. It moves about in tight herds often only seen as a bunch of tails waving above the long grasses. When a predator such as a Northclaw attacks, the herd breaks up in a confusing flurry of flags and poles, leaving the attacker bewildered.

Northclaw, Monuncus cursus, a colorful, almost felid-like coelurosaur that lives in prairies and grasslands from the Great Plains, mainly hunting sprintosaurs. Its left hand has three clawed fingers but its right hand has two, with one claw being much bigger than the other, used for killing prey. When stalking prey, it slinks through the grass, its tawny stripes on its feathery coat blending it into the dry yellows and browns of the vegetation. It is similar to a cougar.
Monocorn, Monocornus occidentalis, a huge, bison/rhino-like ceratopsid that dwells in prairies and grasslands of the Great Plains. It may differ in appearance to its cousins (like the now extinct Triceratops and Styracosaurus), but its lifestyle has not changed, migrating in herds and sparing for the privilege of mating. The horn of a Monocorn is a formidable weapon when turned on an attacking carnivore like a Northclaw. It is one of several species of ceratopsian that still inhabit North America and Eurasia. It looks very similar to Elasmotherium. Monocorn herds usually travel with big males on the outside protecting the females and hornless young. The bony frill is very long, covering the length of the neck to the high shoulders and is used when males spar with each other for herd leadership, the contestants pushing harmlessly against one another until one tires and gives way. The herds of Monocorn need to be on the move constantly, for once all the grass in one area is eaten up they have to move on to fresh areas. The legs are therefore longer and more slender then one would expect in such a large animal. The feet are digitigrade, that is they support the weight of their bodies on their toes rather than on the flat of the foot. Ceratopsids in general are no longer restricted to just North America, for several species are also found in Eurasia where they spread via Beringia during the last ice age.
Balaclav, Nivesaurus yetiforme, a 2-meter-long (6 1/2 feet) thescelosaurid with Iguanodon-like hands that dwells in the tundra and alpines of braided mountain chains in Alaska and northwestern Canada in small family groups in the highest mountains. It has insulating layers of fat and fur-like filaments and eats lichens and alpine plants, such as mosses. It can often be seen trekking across snowfields and glaciers from one lichen-covered rock or mossy hollow to another. It can subsist on a very poor diet. It is one of the few non-avian dinosaurs that have adapted to live in glacier and snow-clothed mountains, moving in from the regions round about and adopting a lifestyle that would support them there. The hair-like filaments on the tail and feet help it to grip icy surfaces. Its broad beak and the spade-like nails on the three middle fingers enable it to scrape up lichens and moss, while the longer claws are used for digging up unique alpine plants.
Mountain Leaper, Montanus saltus, an agile, swift, intelligent, long-tailed coelurosaur with thick, shiny, flowing feathers that lives in tundra and alpines of Alaska and northwestern Canada. Its head and body reach a length of about 1 meter (3 feet), but the flowing feathers, the long legs and long balancing tail with its spectacular plume make it look much larger. They live in small packs, with the males undertaking all the hunting and protection of the females and the young. Its large brain coordinates its movements, and enables it to make swift judgments as it springs and leaps between the spires and crags of the mountain peaks, hunting the small birds and small mountain mammals on which it feeds. When not hunting the male Mountain Leapers stand as motionless sentinels, guarding the females and the young of the pack. On bright days a pack may sun itself on the open slopes, at which time it is vulnerable to attack by birds of prey and mountain pterosaurs. Mountain Leapers are agile and swift when traversing the mountain peaks and crags. With surefooted springs and leaps they move rapidly, maintaining balance with the long tail. It is closely related to the Northclaw.
Springe, Necrosimulacrum avilaqueum, a strictly carnivorous troodontid that lives in the midst of wetland deltas of mixed woodlands of the American South. It lures its prey (carrion birds and scavenging pterosaurs) over by playing dead, lying on a tidal mud bank in an attitude of rigor mortis, its head and tail thrown back and one of its hind legs pulled into a stiff pose, its belly inflated (showing off the deathlike mottling), and giving off scent that smells like a putrefying carcass (as well as its skin being mottled a deathly white and pink and its matted feathers being dark-patterned, giving it a derelict, morbid appearance) and then attacking with a swift dart of the killing claw, impaling the victim. It measures about 3 meters (10 feet) long. It is the most cunning of predatory non-avian dinosaurs, much like its ancestral relatives like Saurornithoides. It has larger brain than its ancestors and its killing claws are carried on particularly long second toes. It is descended from Troodon.
Sift, Pterocolum nibicundum, a heron-like, omnivorous, bipedal pterodactyloid pterosaur with long-shanked legs that wades in mixed woodland deltas, swamps and backwaters from the American South and the American Southwest (living alongside similar wading pterosaurs and similar water birds, such as ducks, loons and waders), close to the coasts. It eats shrimp, worms, little fish, floating algae and weeds, catching the waterborne food with its long, thin jaws that are armed with a multitude of tiny, fine, comb-like teeth. Prey is stirred up by the long-toed feet and caught with the narrow jaws. Plant matter is strained from the water by the fine teeth. The Sift congregates in flocks out in the shallows. The folded wings, larger in proportion than those of birds, catch the sun and provide an ever-changing pattern of light as the flock moves about flittering the tiny insects and crustaceans from the water. At a distance, pterosaurs like the Sift (usually seen in wheeling flocks in the open skies above the swamps and lakes, alongside many bird flocks, particularly at dawn and at dusk in the evening) can be distinguished from birds in flight by their comparatively larger wings.
Nauger, Picusaurus terebradens, a striped arbrosaur that has specialized front teeth that it uses to peck into wood for food (such as the larvae of wood-borrowing beetles), like what a woodpecker does with its beak. The second finger is about as long as the forearm, used for poking down holes and winkling out prey to feed on (a hooked claw at the end secures the catch). It is one of the most specialized of arbrosaurs. It lives in deciduous and mixed woodlands. It is part of the vast variety of arbrosaurs filling the trees of North America, each one specifically adapted to a particular way of life.
Treepounce, Raminsidius jacksoni, a vicious arbrosaur that mainly lives in the trees of deciduous and mixed woodlands and has great stealth when stalking prey (like Naugers and other fellow arbrosaurs), being very much like a marten. It is larger than most arbrosaurs, the head and body reaching 70 centimeters (2 feet), tending to be less agile. Lying on a branch on a sunny day its spotted coat makes it almost invisible in dappled sunlight. With infinite patience it waits until an unsuspecting Nauger, or smaller fellow arbrosaur scrambles close, and the pounces, making a quick kill. It relies mainly on its hearing for hunting, and so its ears are highly developed. Tufts of hair-like feathers around the ear opening funnel the sounds into the ear canal. In appearance the tufts resemble the fleshy external ears found on some small mammals. The coloring of the coat conceals the Treepounce in the trees.
Footle, Currerus elegans, a small, very agile, almost hummingbird-like arbrosaur that eats insects. It is about 50 centimeters (1 1/2 feet) long but most of this is made up of the long tufted tail (similar to that of a squirrel). The body weighs only a few grams. The three fingers and four toes, all long and thin, can perch on, and grasp, the thinnest of twigs while the long jaws can root around under the leaves to catch insects hidden there. It dwells in both the trees and ground of deciduous and mixed woodlands, scampering and leaping nimbly through the treetops along boughs and leaping from branch to branch with ease. Many species of Footle live in the forests of North America. It is a typical narrow-jawed arbrosaur.
Unidentified light-colored crested sprintosaur, a grazing herd is seen being stalked by a Northclaw.
Unidentified spork-horned crested sprintosaur, seen being attacked by a Northclaw.

The Neotropical Realm

Pangaloon, Filarmura tuburostra, a partly quadrupedal, slow-moving, pangolin/giant armadillo-like arbrosaur that is a ground-dweller instead of a tree-dweller. It lives in the Amazon Rainforest and feeds mainly on ants with its long tongue, clawing into ant nests with its strong, hook-like middle claw on its forelimbs. The keratin armor gives it protection against attacks by predatory reptiles that live on the tropical forest floor. Unlike its relatives, a Pangaloon cannot take refuge in trees. When it is threatened, the Pangaloon can curl its paddle-shaped tail beneath its body to protect its soft underside from the stings and biting jaws of the large ants. It is quite similar to the African Waspeater. Its ancestors evolved as ants flourished during the Oligocene.
Watergulp, Fluvisaurus hauristus, an aquatic, tropical rainforest swamp-dwelling, manatee-like thescelosaurid from the Amazon River (living alongside other huge, placid, slow-moving water beasts, water snails, other aquatic invertebrates, fish and lightly built tetrapods that crawl over the tops floating leaves and probe downwards). It is about 2.5 meters (8 feet) long, being one of the largest river animals. It's sharp-edged horny beak can cut through the stems and leaves of the toughest water plants. Each Watergulp also supports a large colony of parasites and other companions that feed on algae growing on its flanks, and on smaller creatures disturbed from the mud by its passage. It is the largest the local river browsers. Thescelosaurids came into South America from North America about 4 million yeas ago in the Pliocene, as part of the alternate Great American Interchange.
Gimp, Melexsorbius parvus, a tiny, herbivorous arbrosaur, no more than 20 centimeters (8 inches) long including the slender delicate head, that lives up in the trees of the Amazon tropical rainforests around the Equator and feeds on nothing but flower nectar. Many species of Gimp exist in the South American forests with different patterns on their backs (this can range from spots, to stripes, or large patches of color), and each one eats the nectar of a particular species of flower and has a correspondingly different shaped snout. The Gimp feeds on nectar rather like moths and bees, pushing its long, tubular snout down into the base of long flowers to reach the nectar and gather it with its extendable tongue. As a result, the snout emerges covered with pollen which the Gimp then unwittingly transfers to another flower, thus fertilizing it. The animal's shape is similar to that of the other small arbrosaurs but it is not as fast-moving. Its forelimbs can grasp flower stems. Its body is very small, since nectar needs very little digestion and requires only a small gut.
Scaly Glider, Pennasaurus volans, a colorful close arbrosaur relative that is partly quadrupedal with a set of elongated, paddle-like scales, growing horizontally from each side of its body and spreading out to allow for gliding (similar to Longisquama). Muscles in the flanks and attached to the ribs give the scales some limited mobility, allowing the bright undersides to be exposed or hidden at will. The total body length is only 30 centimeters (12 inches), including the whip-like tail, and the wingspan is 25 centimeters (10 inches). It lives in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon Rainforest. It eats mainly insects, such as butterflies. The Scaly Glider is among the smallest and most lightweight of all the non-avian dinosaurs. It and the related South American arbrosaurs evolved from North American abrosaurs that traveled down to South America as part of the alternate Great American Interchange during the Pliocene.
Turtosaur, Turotosaurus armatus, a bulky, almost turtle-like titanosaur sauropod from the grasslands of the Pampas. It has thick armor formed from bone masses that grow in the skin and are covered by a layer of horn, similar to a cingulate. The back armor is a solid mosaic of small skin bones, with much larger bones spread between them. These larger bones provide the bases for a series of conical spikes. Huge hip bones and shoulder bones support the weight. There is no armor on the legs or the underside of the tail. When danger threatens the sauropod flops down on its belly and presents an impenetrable shield of bone and horn to its enemies. It is likely descended from Saltasaurus.
Lumber, Elephasaurus giganteus, a 25-meter-long (80 feet), 70-tonne titanosaur sauropod from Pampas grasslands with an almost proboscidean-like, flexible trunk, used as a feeding organ that grasps and uproots large bunches of grass. The trunk is also clearly a breathing organ, but the position of the external nostrils do not interfere with its feeding action. The teeth are confined to the front of its mouth and are adapted for cropping grass. It is the largest land animal alive today. It cannot raise its neck far above its shoulders, but it can sweep around and reach vast areas of grass without moving its feet. The skin is thick and leathery, quite resistant to carnivores' claws and teeth, and most predators leave the huge herbivore well alone.
Cutlasstooth, Caedosaurus gladiadens, a large, pack-hunting coelurosaur from the Pampas grasslands with six long and serrated upper teeth, related to Northclaws and Mountain Leapers. Its dentition is unique among dinosaurs. The first tooth of each upper row is a long, curved slashing weapon, those behind it are continuingly growing (once the front tooth is broken and discarded there is another to take its place). A Cutlasstooth's jaws can open remarkably wide. Packs of 4 or 5 work together to take down sauropods like Lumbers, slashing it until it bleeds to death. It is very similar to Smilodon.
Gourmand, Ganeosaurus tardus, a massive, slow-moving, 17-meter-long (60 feet), 15-tonne tyrannosaur with a very flexible skull and leads a life as a scavenger. It has no front limbs and can swallow large amounts of food by unhinging its jaws like a snake. It swallows whole the carcass of any dead animal it discovers. After eating, a Gourmand rests for several days while it digests its meal, doing this while lying motionless in the grass (its back armor of bony plates sheathed in horn protecting it from other predators). It lives in the Pampas grasslands. Its ancestral cousins travelled from North America to South America by island-hopping during the Eocene (about 55 million years ago), long before the alternate Great American Interchange began. While the Gourmand and its relatives still thrive in South America, tyrannosaurs living in North America and Asia died out back in the Eocene. The line in their evolution continued and they increased in size.
Dip, Harundosaurus montanus, a heron/Baryonyx-like coelurosaur with long and narrow jaws (furnished with many fine-pointed teeth) from the Andes and has stereoscopic vision from its forward-facing eyes. It is related to the Mountain Leaper, the Northclaw and the Cutlasstooth. It can escape from other predators, like large predatory birds and pterosaurs, by moving acrobatically along the sides of crags. It has long silky feathers like its North American cousins to protect it from harsh mountain climates. It is one of the most interesting fish-eaters of the Andes. The Dip is a patient hunter and sits by the pools of mountain waterfalls waiting for fish.
Harridan, Harpyia latala, a somewhat condor-like, bipedal pterodactyloid pterosaur from the mountain peaks and valleys of the Andes with keen stereoscopic vision. It mainly hunts small mammals. It has a wingspan of over 5 meters (17 feet). It can maneuver expertly while in flight. The air sweeping over its unique broad wings is controlled by additional membranes attached to the second and third fingers of the hand. These two fingers are elongated but not as much as the fourth finger that supports the main flying membrane, like in all pterosaurs. The first finger carries a claw which is used when the Harridan is crawling on cliff faces. In addition to the wing membranes, it possesses membranes on its hind legs. Each of these is supported by a very long first toe, and is used to control the animal in flight. With its very keen eyesight, a Harridan can spot smaller animals scampering about on the ledges hundreds of meters below. The Harridan is a solitary pterosaur, yet it mates for life and nests on high pinnacles in the mountains, rearing no more than two young each year. It is one of the largest of the soaring creatures of the Andes. It is very similar to the Andean condor.
Unidentified extinct Pampas titanosaurs, a group of extinct, long-legged, fast-moving titanosaur sauropods. Throughout their evolution, sauropods seemed to diminish in size. They reached their largest size in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and then, towards the Late Cretaceous, a number of small forms appeared. This trend continued until there were a number of quite lightweight sauropods on the South American continent in Paleogene and Neogene times. Some were quite fleet of foot and would run gracefully in herds across the Pampas. South American Titanosaurs like them continued to evolve, with no hadrosaurs to compete with, until the Great American Interchange in the Pliocene, with the arrival of new carnivores, they had to develop protections like armor, coming in the flamboyant and spectacular forms of today.
Unidentified Pampas pterosaur, seen being consumed by a Gourmand.
Unidentified Andes rodent-like mammals, a pair is seen running from an attacking Harridan.

The Oriental Realm

Rajaphant, Gregisaurus titanops, a savannah plains-dwelling titanosaur from central India that wanders in small herds, grazing the tough yellow grasses as well as the soft leaves of bushes and trees. It has a meter (3 feet) wide muscular gizzard in the forward part of the stomach to store vast quantities of food. It has a lifestyle like that of Asian elephants, except with a patriarchal herd leader instead of a matriarchal herd leader. Each herd has a strict and complex social structure, and this is especially evident while a herd is on the march across the grasslands in the rainy season. Out in front is the undisputed old male leader of the herd. The younger males march along the flanks in a defensive formation. The females shepherd the young in a knot in the center of the herd. Members of a herd work together to protect their young from predators like hunting pterosaurs and predatory birds that visit the open plains and grasslands, soaring and circling in the hot skies searching for likely victims. Herds act very defensive when protecting their vulnerable young from predators. The adults cluster round and lash out at the swooping hunters with their long necks and teeth, and their heavy whip-like tails. The Rajaphant is the largest animal now living in India. It is likely descended from Titanosaurus.
Hanuhan, Grimposaurus pernipes, a hypsilophodont from the Himalayas adapted to high elevation and able to climb steep slopes. It lives in small family groups, usually scattered over a wide area of mountainside, living at altitudes of about 4,000 meters (13,500 feet), near the snowline. It is a very nimble bipedal animal, surefooted on crags and confident on the narrowest of ledges. The brain has developed well to control balance and muscular coordination. It has deep layers of fat for insulation, and strong claws and beak for scraping the sparse plant material: mosses, lichens and unique alpine plants from the rock crannies. The food is so sparse at these altitudes that larger concentrations of vertebrate animals would not survive. Its adaptations are similar to the North American Balaclav. It is closely related to the Coneater, making it another Hypsilophodon descendant.
Taddey, Multipollex moffati, a slow-moving, partly quadrupedal, somewhat panda-like basal ornithopod living in forests at lower altitudes of the Himalayas than the Hanuhan, that lower altitude being about 2,000 meters (7,000 feet) in misty regions in the lower flanks and foothills. Being 2 meters (6 feet) long (excluding the tail), and from its slow movement, it differs from other basal ornithopods greatly. Its diet consists almost entirely of bamboo shoots. Several species and subspecies of Taddey exist in the bamboo thickets and Rhododendron scrubs, each one being isolated from the others on particular ranges and foothills. Its five-fingered hands are able to firmly grasp bamboo stems. The beak is used to scrape leaves and shoots from the woody canes. It is a large and heavy animal, unlike its ancestors, and is able to maintain its slow way of life in the absence of ground-living predators in the Rhododendron and bamboo forests. It is one of the largest of the many animals that live at lower Himalayan elevations.
Numbskull, Sphaeracephalus riparus, a pachycephalosaur from the Kali Gandaki Gorge. It looks similar to species from the Cretaceous. It lives in herds and family groups in the river gorge, with males periodically sparring with one another for leadership of the herd. The Numbskull roams through the tropical forest found in the gorge, maintaining balance with its strong tail. It is the most typical Kali Gandaki Gorge animal. It is probably descended from Tylocephale.
Treewyrm, Arbroserperus longus, a long-necked, armless, arboreal, snakelike coelurosaur that is directly descended from the Wyrm of Africa (one difference being that it has a short tail). It differs greatly from its burrowing, desert-dwelling cousins (both the Wyrms and the Sandles). It lives in lowland tropical rainforests and feeds on small arboreal insects and smaller vertebrates, hunting these with its stereoscopic vision and can catch them with rapid flips of its long neck and snaps of its jaws. Many species of Treewyrm exist in the tropical forests of Southern Asia and nearby islands. The extra ribs along the neck can be moved in waves, like the legs of a centipede, and allow the animal to crawl up very steep slopes and the bulbous body is pushed along behind by the hind legs. At rest, Treewyrms lie along boughs or dangle like creepers. The insides of their hide legs have an arrangement of strong scales angled inwards allowing them to grip branches firmly. The distribution of Treewyrms is widespread, especially in the tropical forests of Southern Asia, the coelurosaurs having moved there across the Thar Desert.
Flurrit, Labisaurus alatus, a gliding arbrosaur found only in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia that feeds mainly on insects (such as mantises). It has flaps of skin (or patagia) to help it glide, much like what a flying squirrel has. Its glide path has an angle of descent of about 45 degrees which can be controlled to some extent by the arms. The Flurrit is very small, its body and head being about 30 centimeters (1 foot) long. The underside of the patagia has a very bright pattern, invisible when the skin flaps are folded, and this is used for display and intimidation. Different species of Flurrit are found on different Indonesian islands and they are distinguished from one another by their markings.
Paraso, Umbrala solitara, a colorful, bipedal, crane-like pterodactyloid from the swamps and deltas of tropical and mixed woodlands in India. It has a fishing technique much like that of a black heron to catch fish, standing on one leg and using its wings as a kind of trap to lure and catch fish with the shade it makes. It is quite large, with a wingspan of about 3 meters (10 feet). Unlike other fishing pterosaurs, the Paraso is a solitary species, flying and hunting on its own. It is one of the many wading flyers (including both pterosaurs and birds) that live in these mangrove swamps and feed on the fish and small mud-dwelling swimmers, as well as one of the oddest.
Glub, Lutasaurus anacrusus, a 2-meter-long (6 feet), swimming hypsilophodont, similar to the Watergulp of South America, but with no back legs at all. It lives in mixed woodland mangrove swamps of India. The front limbs have paddles and a long claw for digging up the roots of the water plants on which it feeds. It is the largest of many different animals that consume the many water plants in these mangrove swamps. Sinuous, lateral movements of its body and tail, aided by the tall fin down the back, drive the animal forward through the water. It steers itself by its forelimbs. Its eyes and nostrils are on the top of the head to allow it to see about on the surface while the body is submerged.
Unidentified Indian, orange-colored, grassland-dwelling pterodactyloid pterosaurs, a flock is seen trying to attack young Rajaphants, but being fended off by the adults of the herd.
Unidentified extinct Indian stegosaur, a recently extinct species of stegosaur. It is was the last remaining stegosaur species, living only on the Indian subcontinent. Most stegosaurs died out in the rest of the world during Early Cretaceous times. However, several species survived throughout the Paleogene and Neogene on the isolated subcontinent, undisturbed by more advanced beasts. The climatic changes at the beginning of the last glacial period 2 million years ago, in the Quaternary, killed them off.

The Australasian Realm

Cribrum, Cribrusaurus rubicundus, a 2-meter-long (6 feet), omnivorous, flamingo-like maniraptoran descended from Kakuru, living by the deltas and lakes of scrubs and tall grass savannahs in eastern Australia. Its long curved jaws are armed with thousands of tiny, needlelike teeth that strain food (crustaceans and algae) from the fine mud and shallow water from the deltas and lakes it dwells near. Like a flamingo, it is able to stand on one leg while feeding and its color changes depending on where it is feeding; its skin and feathers turning light grey when feeding in the freshwater of the streams and turning pink when feeding in the salty waters of the lakes (this is caused by the red algae that is eaten by the crustaceans that are then eaten by a Cribrum). Few predators live on the shores of the salty lakes, but when one does appear, slinking down to the water's edge to try and trap an unwary Cribrum, the herds panic and scatter in all directions. The milling surge of pink distracts and confuses the hunter, while the voluminous curtains of spray thrown up by the dash through the shallow water conceals the direction of the fleeting herd.
Pouch, Saccosaurus spp., an amphibious, web-footed, semiaquatic, almost duck-like maniraptoran descended from Kakuru, just like the Cribrum, with a throat pouch much like a pelican to catch fish with. It dwells by rivers in scrubs and tall grass savannahs in eastern and northern Australia. Adults look very ungainly and vulnerable when waddling on land (due to their buoyant bodies, big heads and webbed feet), especially when tending to their nests on riverbanks, but are more happier sculling about on the surface of the water and diving to the riverbed. The nests are built of mud and sticks, above the local flood level. The eggs, hatchlings and juveniles resemble those of a totally land-living creature, suggesting that it has not been long since the Pouch evolved from its strictly terrestrial ancestor. The swimming habits of the young Pouches must be learned at their parents' side while their bodies develop the semiaquatic adaptations of adulthood. Several species of Pouch exist near the Australian rivers, many live together and the species are distinguished by the different patterns of color on the tail (these generally belong to the same genus, Saccosaurus). In the water, the adult Pouch swims gracefully on the surface, with its striped tail waving as a flag. It moves steadily with powerful strokes of its webbed hind feet and dives swiftly after fish, steering with a membrane between the forelimb and the body, seizing its target between its sharp teeth. The catch is held in its throat pouch until the Pouch returns to land.
Gwanna, Gryllusaurus flavus, a 3-meter-long (10 feet) iguanodont that lives in small family groups (containing four or five adults and a number of young) in the deserts and desert scrubs of Australia's outback, often eating tough sparse grasses and occasionally plants with more nutrition. Its solid horny beak has evolved to crop tough grass. It has a sandy color for camouflage from a distance. They move mostly by walking on all fours or running bipedaly, but when faced with sudden danger, such as finding a poisonous Dingum in the grass, they leap like kangaroos out of the way, flashing their flank patterns as a warning to others. At rest, a Gwanna is on all fours, with its head near the ground. The hand can be used for walking (two hooves), for grasping (two fingers) and for fighting (thumb spike). The brightly-colored head crest is used for signaling during the mating season. It is the last of the non-hadrosauroid iguanodonts and is the only large animal living in the outback. The larger number of cheek teeth meant that iguanodonts like it were in a better position than the basal ornithopods to evolve into grass-eaters when grassy plains developed in the Miocene. It is most likely descended from Muttaburrasaurus.
Dingum, Velludorsum venenum, a bizarre, omnivorous maniraptoran, from the deserts and desert scrubs of the Australian outback, that exhibits great sexual dimorphism: males are only about a meter (3 feet) long, partly quadrupedal, have a setup of spines on the backs of their heads for defense and have a brilliantly-colored, flexible, Dimetrodon-like sail on their backs used for display (and are filled with toxins from the poisonous plants they will eat to fend off larger predators like pterosaurs); females are larger (almost the same size as a Gwanna), are strict bipeds, have no head spikes, no sails on their backs and look more like typical non-avian coelurosaurs. The Dingum has a complex mating and nesting ritual that begins during the wet season. The male begins to build a nest from clay and the half-built nest is used as a display arena while he courts a female. After mating the couple continues to build. By the dry season, the nest is completed, with the female walled up inside incubating the eggs while the male hunts for food. In the next wet season when the eggs have hatched, the male stands guard at a newly enlarged nest entrance while the female hunts. It eats many sorts of plants and other animals such as small mammals, reptiles and insects. It is similar to both a dingo and a thylacine. It is closely related to both the Cribrum and the Pouch, making it another Kakuru descendant.
Crackbeak, Fortirostrum fructiphagum, an arboreal, partly quadrupedal, basal ornithopod with an almost hornbill/cassowary-like head that eats mainly fruit. It is descended from ground-dwellers. Its size and shape has a superficial resemblance to arbrosaurs. Crackbeaks live in the Queensland tropical rainforests, and are even found in many other parts of the world, particularly in the tropical rainforests of Asia (doing so along the chain of Indonesian islands, with some Asian specimens becoming the Taddey) and Africa, but it is only in Australia that they are so abundant and varied. Its beak is delicate enough to pick individual berries out of a bunch, yet powerful enough to crack open even the hardest nuts. The beak is used only for picking and cracking; the actual chewing is done by the back teeth. The horny crest on the head, along with the bright color of the face and dewlap, is used for signaling both to mates and to enemies. It is likely descended from Fulgurotherium.
Tubb, Pigescandens robustus, a silver-colored, koala-like, arboreal, basal ornithopod about 70 centimeters long (2 feet) from the temperate forests of southeastern and southwestern Australia, living up in the topmost branches. Similar to the Crackbeak and the Taddey, it has two opposable fingers on its hands. It can protect itself from enemies, such as predatory birds and pterosaurs, by having distasteful flesh, given to it by the Eucalyptus leaves and bark it eats. Like the closely-related Crackbeak, it is also likely a Fulgurotherium descendant.
Kloon, Perdalus rufus, a flightless, herbivorous, moa-like, bipedal pterosaur about 70 centimeters (2 1/3 feet) long with no wings at all (being a typical ground pterosaur of its land). It is covered in thick, shaggy, hair-like pycnofibres and lives secretly in the undergrowth of Northland temperate kauri forest of North Island, New Zealand, eating low-growing plants and living alongside other pterosaurs and birds (many of the latter flightless), which makes up the bulk of New Zealand's animals (also living here is a group of small primitive reptiles, the rhynchocephalians, that lives near the north coast and has remained unchanged since Triassic times). It is quite similar to the broad-billed moa.
Wandle, Pervagarus altus, a large, flightless, herbivorous, moa-like, slow-moving, bipedal pterosaur that is a larger relative of the Kloon, also having no wings. It is about 2 meters (6 feet) high to the hips. Herds of Wandles dwell in the Canterbury-Otago tussock grasslands of South Island, New Zealand. Many species of Wandle exist at different altitudes between the Southern Alps and the grasslands, and they all eat slightly different foods; the tall grasses of the lowlands, or the shorter grasses of the foothills (one species lives even higher up and eats alpine vegetation). Like the smaller Kloon, the adult Wandle has no predators. It is similar to the South Island giant moa.
Coconut Grab, Nuctoceras litureperus, an unusual ammonite from the tropical coastlines of Oceania and New Guinea. It is peculiar because it can spend much of its time out of the water, crawling about on land. On many tropical islands it can crawl up the beach and eat coconuts, and even climb trees to find coconuts if there are not many that have fallen to the ground. Coconut Grabs usually come ashore at night when it is cooler, and dawn finds the beaches crisscrossed by their distinctive trails. It is very similar to a coconut crab.
Shorerunner, Brevalus insularis, a mostly bipedal, flightless, seaside pterodactyloid pterosaur from the tropical islands of New Guinea and Oceania (close to the Equator), living mainly on the beaches, running here and there, catching other shore creatures, and able to climb trees nimbly, using its long fingers and toes and running adeptly along branches using its atrophied wings for balance. It pecks about in the ferny undergrowth for smaller reptiles, ground-dwelling insects, burrowing insects (winkled out of tree trunks by the long jaws) and even Coconut Grabs (which it is a major predator of). Should one Coconut Grab linger too long over its coconut so that the sudden tropical dawn finds it on dry land, it will be set upon by a flock of Shorerunners and torn to pieces. The Shorerunner's ancestors may have arrived on these islands about 5 million years ago in the Pliocene. From that flying ancestor, several different species have developed to populate the groups of islands, all with slightly different shapes and sizes and differing eating habits.
Unidentified outback-dwelling, multituberculate-like australidelphian marsupial, seen being eaten by a Dingum.

The Oceans

Soar, Cicollum angustalum, an albatross-like pterodactyloid pterosaur with a wingspan of over 4 meters (13 feet). It mainly lives along the shorelines of the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean along the west coasts of North America, South America and Africa (even sometimes near the Antarctic), eating primarily small fish. It is just as graceful at swimming as it is flying, for while swimming it holds its wings above its back, never wetting them (only the head and long neck are plunged into the water). It can fall prey to Birdsnatchers when flocks hunt out over the open ocean. The Soar nests and hunts in flocks, forming rookeries on rocky islands. Hunting trips may take several days, after which the adult brings a crop full of fish back to feed the young. It is one of the many types of pterosaur that have evolved a fishing way of life.
Plunger, Pinala fusiforme, a flightless, bipedal, semiaquatic, fish-eating, chinstrap penguin-like pterodactyloid with black and white patterns of color from the shorelines of snowy and rocky islands near Antarctica. A development of the wing membrane between the hind legs and tail has produced the Plunger's powerful swimming paddle. The swimming motion is augmented and steered by the wings, which are strong flaps of gristle. Fatty insulation is reinforced by the sleek pelt of fine pycnofibres, with its striking back and wing pattern.
Whulk, Insulasaurus oceanus, a massive, 20-meter-long (67 feet), baleen whale-like pliosaur from temperate seas. It cruises the oceans of the world and feeds entirely on plankton, as opposed to its cousins and ancestors which eat/ate cephalopods such as squid and ammonites. It feeds by swallowing great volumes of water and straining out the plankton through its thousands of tiny teeth. It is the largest marine reptile alive today.
Birdsnatcher, Raperasaurus velocipinnus, an elasmosaurid plesiosaur with long and narrow jaws, armed with pointed teeth that are angled outwards, designed for catching birds and pterosaurs on the wing. It lives chiefly on fish, but now and again a school of Birdsnatchers will work together to seize a flock of birds from the sky. It lives in temperate seas. The neck is extremely long and flexible and consists of more than 70 vertebrae. It still resembles its ancestors.
Kraken, Giganticeras fluitarus, a large omnivorous ammonite from the open sea with an enormous shell, reaching 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter in some specimens. The shell acts as protective armor, as well as a float to keep the animal in the fertile surface waters (their floating shells sometimes serving as perches for migrant birds and pterosaurs). It has 12 tentacles that it spreads around itself, and each of these has thousands of trailing fibers that are armed with stings and hooks. This whole arrangement forms a deadly net that covers an area of about 20 meters (67 feet) in diameter. It will eat almost anything that gets entangled in its trap, from microscopic floating plants to fairly large fish. The trailing fibers with their hooks and stings are evolved from the suction cups found on the tentacles of its relatives/ancestors. When the prey is caught it is passed to the mouth along the tentacles by muscular contraction. Many Krakens often drift in the same area of productive waters. It is the largest ammonite in the world. It is a bit like a Portuguese man-o'-war.
Pelorus, Piscisaurus sicamalus, a small, 2-meter-long (6 feet), polycotylid-like pliosaur that hunts in warm placid waters of the doldrums in the open sea. It, like its relatives, mainly eats different kinds of ammonites, including the Kraken (which is its main prey), able to get through the armed tentacles to attack its fleshy head. It is one of the smallest of the pliosaurs and the only type that has the ability to attack and kill Krakens.
Unidentified gulls, seen perching atop a Kraken's shell.

References

An online version of the book