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thomastapir — Conchodile

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Published: 2017-12-20 05:18:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 2372; Favourites: 87; Downloads: 7
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Description Conchodile! Conchucopia? Corn on the conch...? Anyway, semi-aquatic ambush predator. I wanted to leave the symmetry on this one ambiguous--is the snout-like "horn" on the shell merely a deceptive false head, or is it a true secondary head, or does it function as a complementary upper/lower jaw to the "true" head when the body is retracted? What's the admixture of invertebrate DNA in this thing--i.e., how much plasticity of form does it actually have? Is it a bilateral animal inside a helical shell, or is there something much stranger going on in terms of its total body symmetry...?

I've had a lot of ideas for conch-convergent pseudo-vertebrates recently, but the image flash for this one was so compelling I had to get it into paper immediately. Inspired by this photo series:
ainawgsd.tumblr.com/post/16344…
[via Speculative Evolution and Real Monstrosities tumblrs]

and by this gharial I saw at the San Diego Zoo circa 2011:
 

I was VERY tempted to add gharial-style teeth to the underside of the "horn" for the neat resonance with murex spines, but I didn't want to disrupt the overall ambiguity and the clean silhouette.

Sketchy sketchy...Will Scrap soon.
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Comments: 15

danielmarquezart [2019-01-19 08:03:45 +0000 UTC]

i see an elephant

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Zippo4k [2018-01-04 18:18:33 +0000 UTC]

DUDE! This looks like a form that has some potential for development into some really cool creatures!

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

thomastapir In reply to Zippo4k [2018-03-09 01:01:28 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, man!  I've actually had a lot of different variations in mind for this same basic premise, but they haven't quite come together yet.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Zippo4k In reply to Zippo4k [2018-01-05 01:00:09 +0000 UTC]

Sort of arthropod like, like someone took a polychaete and gave it a posterior shell.

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Rodlox [2017-12-21 10:54:31 +0000 UTC]

a mouth-brooder, from what I see.

a splendid creation

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to Rodlox [2017-12-24 19:48:28 +0000 UTC]

Oh, cool interpretation...Thanks!

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raygungoth [2017-12-20 14:59:57 +0000 UTC]

I swear this thing murdered me in ARK once.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to raygungoth [2017-12-21 01:09:02 +0000 UTC]

You know what they say--if you gotta go, go by Conchodile!

I would see this creature.  NAO.

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raygungoth In reply to thomastapir [2017-12-21 07:51:51 +0000 UTC]

Turns out it was just two Sarcosuchus clipping together.

Which explains a lot.

Now I have to figure out how to recreate that moment.

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thomastapir In reply to raygungoth [2017-12-24 19:48:12 +0000 UTC]

That kind of magic really can't be reproduced--just be glad you got to experience it once.

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Viergacht [2017-12-20 14:43:02 +0000 UTC]

Maybe it's reproducing - alternating forms, bilateral and helical.

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thomastapir In reply to Viergacht [2017-12-21 01:19:40 +0000 UTC]

Also very possible!  You know, I saw a beautiful painting yesterday that inspired me to an idea eerily similar to that...It was a representation of the life cycle of a frog from egg to adult with each developmental stage depicted inside one of the chambers of a cross-sectioned nautilus shell--egg at the center and the mature frog perched to jump out.  Of course I've spent all day trying to find it again with no luck. 

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Viergacht In reply to thomastapir [2017-12-21 10:28:07 +0000 UTC]

Share when you do, that is a really cool sounding piece.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to Viergacht [2018-01-25 23:12:58 +0000 UTC]

Small, but!
img0.etsystatic.com/216/0/5926…

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keenansun [2017-12-20 13:10:06 +0000 UTC]

Nice 👍 channeling Giger

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