The world of Extraordinary!, like our own, is full of life: plants and animals of all shapes and sizes roam across it, not only on the Earth's surface and in its skies and oceans, but also beneath it, above it, beyond it, and even alongside it. All known organisms are able to respond to external stimuli in some way, and most are also capable of reproduction, growth, development, and homeostasis.
Contemporary and Historical Species
- The dodo, Raphus cucullatus, is a flightless bird endemic to Mauritius, widely considered extinct but actually persisting in select locations, mostly under deliberate protection by various individuals and organizations. The myth of their extinction is perpetuated by the masquerade, which knows the bird as the diricawl, {Harry Potter ₁₉₉₇} in order to promote the conservation of other species--dodos are actually magical creatures capable of teleporting themselves and have remained hidden and apparently extinct because of this.
In Prehistoric Enclaves
A prehistoric enclave is an isolated region of the world where, in some way, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals have survived. When various prehistoric enclaves were first discovered, it was thought that the animals living in them were relict populations of fossil species, but it was soon discovered that most of them are actually the descendants of fossil species, with only geologically recent species being relics of the past. The true cause of prehistoric enclaves wasn't discovered until the 21st century: almost all prehistoric enclaves have high concentrations of magnetic minerals, which attracts temporal anomaly activity {Primeval ₂₀₀₇} through which fossil species emerged millions of years ago, after the extinction events which wiped out the rest of their clades, and persisted. Furthermore, many prehistoric enclaves are connected to each other through the "Hollow Earth," especially underground regions such as Pellucidar, {At the Earth's Core ₁₉₁₄} which are themselves prehistoric enclaves. For simplicity, species known in the fossil record will be excluded from this section.
- Arsartis agilis {King Kong ₂₀₀₅} is an unusual four-legged theropod dinosaur endemic to Skull Island, where it was a major terrestrial predator of the uplands, essentially a local equivalent to a great cat. They have also been observed in Pellucidar, known locally as jalok and somehow mistaken for the fossil mammal Hyaenodon. {At the Earth's Core ₁₉₁₄}
- The carrion parrots (Caropsittacus spp.) {King Kong ₂₀₀₅} are a relatively diverse group of parrots native to Skull Island which evolved to exploit the readily-available carrion after arriving on the island a few million years ago. They are unknown in other prehistoric enclaves, meaning that they probably became extinct in 1948 when Skull Island was destroyed. The great carrion parrot, Caropsittacus maximus, was initially mistaken for the fossil bird Teratornis when first encountered by early expeditions to Skull Island. {King Kong ₁₉₃₃}
- Malevolusaurus perditor {King Kong ₂₀₀₅} is a sailed pelycosaur first discovered in the highlands of Skull Island. They have such a close resemblance to the fossil species Dimetrodon that they were initially mistaken for such, both on Skull Island and by Oliver Lidenbrock in the 1959 Saknussemm Expedition to Pellucidar, {Journey to the Center of the Earth ₁₉₅₉} though it is now thought that they are descended from Dimetrodon which emerged into post-Permian time periods via temporal anomalies and grew to gigantic size. Following the sinking of Skull Island, Malevolusaurus is now known only from certain locations on the shores of the shores of the Lidenbrock Sea in Pellucidar.
- Megaprimatus kong, {King Kong ₁₉₃₃, King Kong ₂₀₀₅} colloquially known as simply Kong, was a large species of ape found only on Skull Island in the Indian Ocean. Though outwardly identical to an African gorilla save for its size, it is thought that Megaprimatus was actually a type of gigantopithecine, a type of very large ape that lived in southern and southeastern Asia as far back as nine million years. Megaprimatus was clearly a historically-recent arrival to Skull Island, but the circumstances of its coming to the island are unclear: theories range from a natural arrival like many other island-dwelling species across the world to a deliberate introduction by the Ancient Skull Islanders. By 1933, the species was functionally extinct; the last known specimen, dubbed "King Kong," was destroyed by the United States military after going on a rampage through New York City, culminating in the giant ape climbing to the top of the Empire State Building. Any still-living members of the species which may have existed on Skull Island in the following fifteen years were undoubtedly killed when the island sank into the ocean in 1948.
- Vastatosaurus {King Kong ₂₀₀₅} is a very large theropod dinosaur commonly known as the V-Rex based on its Skull Island species, Vastatosaurus rex, though that species has been extinct since 1948. However, species of Vastatosaurus exist elsewhere in the world: they are the dominant terrestrial predators in Pellucidar as V. zarith (from the local name for the animal, zarith) {At the Earth's Core ₁₉₁₄} and a dwarf species, V. capronensis, is found in Caspak; {The Land That Time Forgot ₁₉₂₄} in both regions, it was initially mistaken for Tyrannosaurus. Vastatosaurus is notable among tyrannosaurs for having a third digit on its front legs, whereas most others have only two, and has scaly, crocodile-like skin instead of feathers. When they were first encountered on Skull Island, Vastatosaurus was simply called "the Meat-Eater" and, before determining that it was a new genus entirely, was thought to be a relict Allosaurus or Tyrannosaurus. {King Kong ₁₉₃₃}
- Vultursaurus, {King Kong ₂₀₀₅} also known as the thipdar, {At the Earth's Core ₁₉₁₄} comes from a lineage of theropod dinosaurs which evolved bat-like wings instead of feathers, distantly related to the Jurassic Yi qi. It is known from Maple White Land, {The Lost World ₁₉₁₂} (where it was initially mistaken for Dimorphodon and from which a live specimen was brought to London as proof of the plateau's existence) the subterranean realm of Pellucidar, and formerly Skull Island, where it was mistaken for Rhamphorhynchus. {King Kong ₁₉₃₃}
Dragons
Dragons are such a ubiquitous, widespread, and simultaneously diverse and uniform clade of animals that they are described separately here. Dragons first evolved from crocodilians during the Mesozoic period, rising to prominence alongside dinosaurs, {Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real ₂₀₀₄} though evidence of them is seemingly absent from the fossil record--Dr. Ernest Drake notes in his observations that dragon remains decompose very quickly, explaining firstly why dragon fossils are so rare, with those that are found often being mistaken for dinosaurs, and why so few dragon bones and corpses are found in the wild through to the present-day. {Dragonology ₂₀₀₃} During the Mesozoic, dragons diverged into two families, the marine dragons and the prehistoric dragons: the latter, as terrestrial and flying megafauna, were wiped out during the K-T Extinction while the former managed to cling to life in the oceans, eventually evolving into the terrestrial forms seen today during the Cenozoic period.
The existence of these dragons was common knowledge through to the Iron Age, when dragons became the victims of systematic extermination by humans and others both to stop them from pillaging farms for food and out of the belief that they were demonic monsters. Knowledge of dragons' existence has waned significantly since the early modern period, to the point that the vast majority believes them to be entirely fictional, and most of those that do know of their existence now believe them to be extinct. In fact, dragons still persist, but only in extremely remote locations or on reserves protected by the masquerade, such as in Romania. {Harry Potter ₁₉₉₇} General knowledge of dragons persists largely because of Ernest Drake, whose journal on dragons was widely published in the 21st century as Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons; unfortunately, Drake's text was tragically incomplete and inaccurate, declaring all dragons to belong to the singular genus Draco, now recognized as a subgenus of many other dragon genera.
The existence of these dragons was common knowledge through to the Iron Age, when dragons became the victims of systematic extermination by humans and others both to stop them from pillaging farms for food and out of the belief that they were demonic monsters. Knowledge of dragons' existence has waned significantly since the early modern period, to the point that the vast majority believes them to be entirely fictional, and most of those that do know of their existence now believe them to be extinct. In fact, dragons still persist, but only in extremely remote locations or on reserves protected by the masquerade, such as in Romania. {Harry Potter ₁₉₉₇} General knowledge of dragons persists largely because of Ernest Drake, whose journal on dragons was widely published in the 21st century as Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons; unfortunately, Drake's text was tragically incomplete and inaccurate, declaring all dragons to belong to the singular genus Draco, now recognized as a subgenus of many other dragon genera.
- The amphitheres (Amphipterus (Draco) spp.) are a widespread group of small dragons, ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet in length and found on every continent except Antarctica and in all temperate and tropical environments except for Ireland, where they were systematically exterminated. They are characterized by their total lack of limbs except for wings, and are primarily arboreal, hunting small rodents and birds and eating their eggs. Because of their small size, amphitheres are classified by masquerade communities as XX-level creatures, in contrast to the XXXXX-level given to most dragons and they can legally be kept as pets in almost every country on Earth. {Harry Potter ₁₉₉₇} However, because of their lower danger rating, amphitheres have become extremely widespread in masquerade black markets and resulted in the amphitheres being introduced into environments never meant to support them. {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- firewing amphithere (Amphipterus viperapennignus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- garden amphithere (Amphipterus viperahortus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- golden amphithere (Amphipterus vipera) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- mothwing amphithere (Amphipterus viperablattus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- rock amphithere (Amphipterus viperapetrus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- starburst amphithere (Amphipterus viperacometus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- swallowtail amphithere (Amphipterus viperaduplexus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- vulcan amphithere (Amphipterus viperavulcanus) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- The Asian dragons (Cathaidaus (Draco) spp.) are similar to the more famous Asian lung, lacking wings and having long, serpentine bodies, but unlike the lung possess prehensile tails and are incapable of flight; instead, they use a series of frills along their bodies to glide short distances through the air, giving the appearance of flight, differentiating them from their closest relatives, the Drakus genus, and the Arctic dragons which they share regions with and are often confused for. Cathaidaus are omnivores, eating mainly bamboo and fruit but also meat when available, and are usually solitary and shy, preferring to live in extremely remote locations far away from mankind. {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- temple dragon (Cathaidaus dracotemplum) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Tibetan dragon (Cathaidaus (Draco) montana) {Dragonology ₂₀₀₃}
- Cetusidus spp. (aquatic dragons) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Dracanguillidus spp. (sea dragons, sea orcs, sea serpents) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Dracorexus (Draco) spp. (true dragons) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Drakus spp. (drakes, gargoyle beasts) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Dracimexus spp. (feydragons) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Lapiscoculidus spp. (New World basilisks) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Nimibaquidus spp. (Arctic dragons) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Ouroboridus (Draco) spp. (drakons, lindworms, wyrms) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Volucrisus (Draco) spp. (dragonelles, dragonettes) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Vulcanilacertidus spp. (alchemic salamanders)
- Wyvernus (Draco) spp. (wyverns)
In addition to the "true" dragons, (not to be confused with Dracorexus detailed above) there are many kinds of dragon-like creatures which are not actually related to them but are often mistaken for true dragons.
- The "Amazonian dragon" is an enigmatic species, purportedly discovered by Drake in the 19th century but never seen again. Drake believed it to be an amphithere and classified it as Draco americanus incognito, though most modern dragonologists agree that, if it exists, it is probably a coatyl instead. {Dragonology ₂₀₀₃} Some suggest that the "Amazonian dragon" is not a dragon at all, but a singularly unique entity of unknown origin, perhaps even a divinity of some kind.
- The Asian lung as described by Drake (given the name Draco orientalis) resembles the genus Cathaidaus, which it also shares a range with, but unlike most dragons is fully sentient and capable of flying despite lacking any sort of wings. {Dragonology ₂₀₀₃} This has led many to believe that they are some kind of supernatural being instead.
- Hydrus spp. (hydras) {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
- Quetzacoatylus (Draco) spp. {Dracopedia ₂₀₀₉}
Fossil Species
Fossil animals have proven time and again to be some of the most fascinating creatures of all, stimulating the imaginations of all age groups as to what they may have looked and behaved like.
- Acceraptor sp. {Terra Nova ₂₀₁₁}
- Achillobator giganticus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Anurognathus ammoni is a small pterosaur of Jurassic Germany. Though long considered to have been either a slow flier relying on maneuverability or something of an analogy to the modern nightjar, live Anurognathus were encountered--though their existence was covered-up--in March 2007 when an entire flock of them emerged from a temporal anomaly on a British golf course. Instead of being insectivores like fossil evidence seemed to suggest, they were essentially flying piranhas with a keen sense of smell, allowing them to detect the slightest trace of blood from hundreds of feet away and stripping flesh to the bones in minutes when acting as a swarm. {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Arthropleura armata {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Brontosaurus excelsus is one of the most famous dinosaurs ever, Brontosaurus was long considered to be an invalid synonym of Apatosaurus and many insisted on referring to the animal by this more correct name even as the former stayed in common use, but in 2015 it was determined that Brontosaurus was a valid genus after all, retroactively proving the many mistakes of the past right and reassigning the type species of Apatosaurus from A. excelsus to A. ajax. "Brontosaur" is often used as a generalized term for the sauropod dinosaurs. A herd of seventeen apatosaurs were among the genetically-engineered dinosaurs intended for display at Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, and a herd of apatosaurs was also present on Isla Sorna, but by 1996 were in steady decline due to the epidemic DX virus and had all died out again by the 21st century. {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Brontoscorpio anglicus {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Carnotaurus sastrei is an unusual theropod, a South American abelisaur distinguished by prominent horns on its head, hence the name: "meat-eating bull." The carnotaur is known from a single well-preserved specimen about thirty feet long, though fragmentary fossils suggest that they may have exceeded the famous Tyrannosaurus in size as well as living much further north than originally thought. {Dinosaur ₂₀₀₀} A small number of carnotaurs was cloned by InGen but was never moved to Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar and, in the wake of Hurricane Clarissa, were released into the wild on Isla Sorna and settled in the abandoned worker village. {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀} After fossil evidence from the 21st century, confirmed by the observations of temporal colonists from 2149 of true fossil carnotaurs, {Terra Nova ₂₀₁₁} it became clear that InGen's genetically-engineered animals had been drastically altered--probably unintentionally--during the process of cloning: not only were they much slower than their prehistoric counterparts, they possessed the ability to change colors like cuttlefish to blend in perfectly with their surroundings, making even raptors and tyrannosaurs afraid to enter their territory.
- Cearadactylus atrox {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Coelurosauravus elivensis {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Dilophosaurus wetherilli was a twenty-three foot carnivorous dinosaur, one of the largest of its time and region despite being outsized by many other theropods. Its most prominent features are its rounded crests, forming a V-shape from the front and very unusual; fossil evidence clearly indicates that they were too fragile to have been used for anything but displays. However, it is impossible to know everything about an extinct animal just by examining its bones, which was proved in the 1980s when InGen cloned seven dilophosaurs to be displayed in Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar: after the animals were created, it was revealed that they were actually capable of spitting venom up to fifty feet; this poison was used to blind prey by spitting in the eye, at which point they were at the dilophosaur's mercy. {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀} Dilophosaurs were not observed on Isla Sorna by either of the parties which went there in 1996, so it could be assumed that they had already fallen back into extinction by that time.
- Empirosaurus sp. was an extremely large spinosaur native to South America, the largest carnivorous dinosaur that ever lived. It is unknown in the fossil record, instead being first observed by temporal colonists from 2149 when they settled the Cretaceous in an effort to escape the overpopulation and pollution of their time period. {Terra Nova ₂₀₁₁} According to data recovered from Isla Sorna after most of the cloned dinosaurs there died out, InGen had recovered the DNA of an Empirosaurus, which they somehow mistook for Spinosaurus despite the DNA having come from South America. They had planned to clone it before Hurricane Clarissa forced them to abandon their facilities on the Island. {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Euoplocephalus tutus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Gallimimus bullatus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Hadrosaurus foulkii {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Hesperornis regalis {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Inostrancevia alexandri was a very large species of gorgonopsid which lived in what is now Russia during the Late Permian period. Though fossil evidence suggests that their maximum size was about twelve feet in length, some suggest that they may have been twice that large and speculate that they were implacable animals which will pursue prey at all costs with a hide thick enough that they could withstand gunfire. Some have also noted that one of the few purported photographs of the Beast of Dean--a cryptid living in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England--bears an uncanny resemblance to a gorgonopsid. {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Liopleurodon ferox {MEG ₁₉₉₇}
- Maiasaura peeblesorum {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Microceratus gobiensis, colloquially known as "Microceratops," was a small ceratopsian which lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous. They were arboreal animals, eating fruit from the tops of trees as they avoided predators. A group of twenty-two microceratops were among the genetically-engineered dinosaurs intended for display at Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, and may have been present on Isla Sorna as well; while all the microceratops on Isla Nublar were destroyed, it is possible that--if they were on Isla Sorna as well--that they survived the DX outbreak and are among the few dinosaurs still living on the island. {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Mussaurus patagonicus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Ornitholestes hermanni {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Ornithomimus veloxi {Prehistoric Park ₂₀₀₆, Clash of the Dinosaurs ₂₀₀₉}
- Othnielia rex {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Parasaurolophus walkeri {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Procompsognathus triassicus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Scutosaurus karpinskii {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Stegosaurus stenops {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Styracosaurus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Torosaurus latus {The Green Buffalo ₁₉₉₂, Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Triceratops serratus {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Troodon pectinodon {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₃}
- Tyrannosaurus rex {Jurassic Park ₁₉₉₀}
- Xiphactinus audax {Terra Nova ₂₀₁₁}
Fauna of the Future
In the next million years, the loss of many species will prompt humanity to try repairing Earth's ecosystem by genetically engineering replacements for them from within mankind itself. Some of these future human species would be engineered for other purposes, but most are intended to replace other animals as they fell to extinction. Most of these species will begin life within the genus Homo, but will eventually evolve independently into their own genera. {Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future ₁₉₉₀} Simultaneously, other animals will begin to adapt to the changing climate and rampant pollution of humankind in their own way, ultimately leading to the extinction of many clades by just the year 3000. {Future Evolution ₂₀₀₁}
- The aquamorph will be among the first truly engineered species derived from humans, meant to live in the oceans expanding by climate change and created around 2190. They will be strikingly similar to the Deep Ones, {Cthulhu mythos} resembling frogs with gills on their chests, paddle-like legs and feet, and thick layers of blubber. {Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future ₁₉₉₀}
- In truth, the vacuumorph, Homo caelestis, will not be bred so much as built around 2190. It will be a type of human created to live only in outer space, possessing an exoskeleton and unable to reproduce independently. {Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future ₁₉₉₀}
From two million years in the future, Earth's lifeforms will diversify further, more closely resembling its ecosystems from before the human-driven extinction. Around five million years in the future, the geography of Earth is still recognizably similar to what it was in the present-day, but is experiencing an ice age which covers the Northern Hemisphere as far south as Europe in glaciers. {The Future Is Wild ₂₀₀₂} A notable change in the global geography will occur ten million years from now with the formation of the Pacaus island chain several thousand kilometers east of Papua due to the collision of Australian and Pacific tectonic plates at the equator. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁}
Fifty million years in the future, the continents--except for Antarctica and South America--will have merged into a single gigantic Northern Continent by the collision of Africa with Europe, Australasia with Southeast Asia, and the Russian Far East with Alaska. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁} At this time, the Earth will be inhabited by a beetle-like race which became hosts for the Yith. {Cthulhu mythos}
- The horrane, Phobocebus hamungulus, is a descendant of arboreal African primates which evolved a wholly terrestrial lifestyle to occupy niches previously occupied by great cats. They lie in wait on the savannah until a gigantelope comes by and then leap out in an ambush, ripping deep wounds into the necks and throats of prey, causing it to quickly bleed out. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁}
- The Mer are semi-terrestrial descendants of the Piscanthropus which mainly live along the coasts of South America, where they share the ocean with a type of shark that has a harpoon-like tongue covered in spikes. {Primeval ₂₀₀₇}
- Night stalkers, Manambulus perhorridus, are the largest and most fearsome of the terrestrial bats that live on the island of Batavia. They are nocturnal, screeching as they hunt and bringing down anything they can sink their claws into, walking on their front legs--former wings--and using their hind legs as if they were hands. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁}
- The raboons, genus Carnopapio, are the apex predators on the African savannah, having evolved complete bipedalism not unlike that of the prehistoric theropods. The raboons diversified into several species which specialize in different prey: C. longipes is very small and hunts similarly-sized animals, C. vulgaris is very wide-ranged and mainly eats rabbucks, and C. grandis is the largest species which lives purely as a scavenger, able to bully any other animal off a kill thanks to its size. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁}
- Rundihorns, Tetraceras africanus, are a type of gigantelope--the descendants of antelope which evolved to fill the niches emptied by the extinction of many large herbivores--which have unusual forward-curving horns that are used for both defense and mating displays. The rundihorn took over the niche previously held by the rhinoceros. {After Man: A Zoology of the Future ₁₉₈₁}
By 100 million years in the future, Antarctica will have drifted northward to become a tropical continent inhabited by new plant clades descended from Antarctic mosses and algae and birds descended from marine fowl. Simultaneously, a thermal maximum will melt the icecaps and turn most of the world into rainforest with swamps ringing the continents. {The Future Is Wild ₂₀₀₂}