Отправлено: 13.04.22 18:17. Заголовок: Fauna and Flora of Meganesia

I'm making another thread so we can discuss animals and plants of these regions here. I had some ideas for animals living on Meganesia:
Hare-kangaroos (Genus Leporoo): members of the Family Potoroidea, they are quadrupedal omnivorous marsupials that move by gallop-jump.
Dwarf emu: A dwarf descendant of the emu endemic to Tasmania.
Hunter glider: a more carnivore descendant of the sugar glider
Marsupial otter: a semi-aquatic descendant of the marsupial mice living in the mangroves of Northern Meganesia and maybe southern Sund land.
Do you think that these animals are plausible?

 Отправлено: 13.04.22 20:27. Заголовок: JOrnitho Thank you ..

JOrnitho
Thank you for the thread idea, but it would be great to check the Bestiary of mammals for already existing species of the same or similar niche. This is also true for birds, surely.

 Отправлено: 13.04.22 20:41. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: but i..

Биолог пишет:

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but it would be great to check the Bestiary of mammals for already existing species of the same or similar niche. This is also true for birds, surely.

I was checking the Bestiary, I thought that at least the hare-kangaroo or the hujter glider could occur. However, it seems that Meganesia is already well filled of animals. I'll maintain my suggestions to species of other regions.
Although, regarding the marsupial otter, do you think that, rather than a marsupial, one of Southeastern Asian species of mongoose couse evolve to fill the otter's niche in this region? If yes, maybe they could occur in coastal Northern Meganesia.

 Отправлено: 14.04.22 10:57. Заголовок: JOrnitho one of Sou..

JOrnitho

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one of Southeastern Asian species of mongoose couse evolve to fill the otter's niche in this region?

An aquatic mongoose? Sounds interesting, but what would force it into the water? Mongooses seem to have plenty of food and habitats on dry land.

 Отправлено: 14.04.22 17:21. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: but w..

Биолог пишет:

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but what would force it into the water?

I thought that their ancestors could have started to explore preys on wet areas, such as mangroves an marshes. The disappearance of the otters could also allow them to explore this vacant niche. With the passing of the time, these mongooses would start to become more and more adaptated to a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

 Отправлено: 14.04.22 18:31. Заголовок: JOrnitho mangroves ..

JOrnitho

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mangroves an marshes

And that's possible!

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With the passing of the time, these mongooses would start to become more and more adaptated to a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

That is, like otters. I think it's possible.

 Отправлено: 11.05.22 17:22. Заголовок: I found this descrip..

I found this description on the files of my computer.

Hunter glider (Carnopetaurus vorax)
A descendent of the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) introduced by the humans in Tasmania during the Holocene, the hunter glider developed a taste for meat. This species evolved in Tasmania and reached continental Meganesia when the two were connected during the last Ice Age. Its habitat is the forests of Tasmania and Southern Meganesia. The hunter glider lives in family groups with two adults and their young, sometimes young males and females leave the parents group to form their own.
The hunter glider has a squirrel-like body and large, forward-facing eyes, short (though pointed) face, and a long partially prehensile tail which is used as a rudder while gliding. The length from the nose to the tip of the tail is about 26 to 37 cm. This species is sexually dimorphic, with males typically larger than females. They are more active at night and have folds of loose skin (patagia) running from the wrists to the ankles. They use the patagia to glide from tree to tree by jumping and holding out their limbs spread-eagle. They are able to glide for distances over 140 metres. Their fur is light gray, with a black mask through the eyes. There is also a black stripe running from its nose to midway on its back. The fur of half of the tail to the tip is black. The belly, throat, and chest are cream in color. Males have four scent glands, located on the forehead, chest, and two next to the cloaca, that are used for marking of group members and territory. Scent glands on the head and chest of males appear as bald spots. Females also have a scent gland near the anus and others in the pouch, but do not have scent glands on the chest or forehead.
This mammal eats small lizards, birds and mammals; they will also eat insects and more rarely plant material. They attack nests of birds during night, eating chicks, eggs and sometimes the parent that is incubating the eggs. The hunter glider can rarely eat pollen and nectar, like their ancestor, they will prefer to wait hidden near a flower waiting a small bat or a pygmy possum approaches the flower to feed on nectar, then the hunter glider will jump and kill the prey with a bite in the throat.
The hunter glider breeds once or twice a year depending on the climate and habitat conditions. The female has a marsupium (pouch) in the middle of her abdomen to carry offspring. The pouch opens anteriorly, and two lateral pockets extend posteriorly when young are present. Four nipples are usually present in the pouch. A hunter glider female gives birth to one or two joey per litter. The gestation period is 15 to 17 days, after which the tiny joey will crawl into the mother's pouch for further development. The eyes first open around 80 days after birth, and young will leave the marsupium around 110 days after birth, when they are weaned. The hunter glider reaches sexual maturity with 12 month and their lifespan is of 7 years.

 Отправлено: 11.05.22 18:31. Заголовок: JOrnitho Good!..

JOrnitho
Good!

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 13:54. Заголовок: I changed the descri..

I changed the description of the man suar so it would be a descendant of the dwarf cassowary in Meganesia rather the Southern cassowary in Seram Island.

Man suar, giant cassowary (Megalocasuarius cyanocephalus)
Order: Casuariiformes
Family: Casuariidae
Habitat: Tropical rainforests of Northern Meganesia.
During the Holocene, cassowary species inhabited Australia and some islands of Indonesia. In the Neocene, the dwarf cassowary (Casuarius benneti) survived and now its descendants live in Meganesia, the landmass formed by the combination of Australia and Papua New Guinea. In the Neocene they gave rise to several new species, among them the man suar, the giant cassowary. Man suar is the name given to cassowary in the Biak language, meaning “strong bird”. This species is endemic to the tropical rainforests of Northern Meganesia.
The man suar is a large bird, with a height ranging from 180-220 cm. Females are heavier and taller than males. She can have 72 kg, while the male has 58 kg. This species has stiff, bristly black plumage, a dark blue face and a long neck, bright orange on the cape and two red wattles hanging down around its throat. The casque is dark gray and flattened at the tip giving the appearance of a shield. The casque sits at the top of the head. The bill is dark gray. The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque, larger bill and brighter-coloured bare parts. The juveniles have brown longitudinal striped plumage. The legs and feet are light gray. Like their ancestors, the man suar has thick and powerful three-toed feet, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 18 cm on the inner toe.
This species forages on the forest floor for fallen fruit and seeds and are capable of safely digesting some fruits and seeds toxic to other animals. They also eat fungi, and some insects, other invertebrates (such as snails), small vertebrates (such as fish, frogs, small birds and their eggs and nestlings, and small mammals), and carrion. The man suar is very aggressive, attacking predators with powerful kicks as soon as he sees them.
The man suar is a solitary bird, which pairs only in breeding season, in late winter or spring. During this period, the male will make a thunderous call at the center of his territory, calling for a female. The male builds a nest on the ground, a mattress of herbaceous plant material 5 to 10 centimetres thick and up to 100 centimetres wide. This is thick enough to let moisture drain away from the eggs. A clutch of two to three green colored eggs are laid. The male is the only one that incubates the eggs, with the female bringing food to him and guarding the nest's area against other man suar and predators. The chicks hatch after 50 days. The female remains with the males and chicks for the next three weeks, slowly moving away from the family during this period. However, if she hears a distress vocalization of the male or chicks, she will run to help. After these three weeks, the male raises the chicks alone. Chicks stay with the male for 7 months. Sexual maturity is reached within three years. The man suar has a lifespan of 27 years.

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 14:24. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: I c..

JOrnitho пишет:

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I changed the description of the man suar

We have false mihirungs added to the project by Timothy Morris. Is it better to make this bird one of their species?

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 14:40. Заголовок: Автор пишет: We hav..

Автор пишет:

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We have false mihirungs added to the project by Timothy Morris. Is it better to make this bird one of their species?

I think that it's a possibility. Where I can see the false mihirung description? I'll read it and write the changes accordingly.

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 16:27. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: Whe..

JOrnitho пишет:

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Where I can see the false mihirung description?

https://sivatherium.narod.ru/enbirds.htm#pseudodinornis_savannum_en
Oops! Not Tim Morris, nut Simon had been the author of these descriptions. False mihirungs are not accepted, if I'm not mistaken.

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 19:19. Заголовок: I changed the descri..

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I changed the description of the man suar so it would be a descendant of the dwarf cassowary in Meganesia rather the Southern cassowary in Seram Island.

Now it is much better!

 Отправлено: 07.12.25 19:24. Заголовок: Автор пишет: https:..

Автор пишет:

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https://sivatherium.narod.ru/enbirds.htm#pseudodinornis_savannum_en Oops! Not Tim Morris, nut Simon had been the author of these descriptions. False mihirungs are not accepted, if I'm not mistaken.

In this case, I think that it could still be a descendant of the dwarf cassowary. The Pseudodinormis seems more adapted to open areas and woodlands, rather than tropical rainforests.