Terra Septentrionis

**Terra Septentrionis** is one of the continents of Wallace II, known as **Ra** under the Godly naming convention. It is the northern most continent. Under the Salty naming convention, it is further divided into **Ang** (South-West) and **Domini** (North-East), with Mountains separating the two.

## Faunal and floral composition

Terra Septentrionis is one of the, if not the, most isolated landmass on the Wallace II planet, having not been connected with any other landmass since the Scelusian, some 175 mya. This continent has, for many millions of years remained mostly a cold and snowy place, and over the course of time, clades went extinct with the periodic freezing ice ages that englobed the entire continent in ice and snow, or diversified in the wake of warmth and the generation of temperate climates. For instance, 150-75 million years ago, Terra Septentrionis has been covered in glaciars, which reaped a lot of native fauna and flora, but the ancient survivors eventually laid a rich descendance in the aftermath of the glaciation, by the mid-Compsogene, allowing for much more diversification, just in time for some interchanges to disrupt the originally glacial world of this northern landmass. This isolation eventually provided it a refuge for ancient rulers of the planet, that are otherwise restricted or extinct. Some faunal interchanges occured after its isolation. Glacial periods allowed some creatures from Occidentis to migrate to Terra Septentrionis, and the peculiar sea currents that lie below the continent drifted some creatures from Media Insula to the isolated landmass. In the late Compsogene and early Recensgene, allied to climatic changes allowed the Thron island, which would later collide with Cheru to make Media Insula, passed very close to Terra Septentrionis, allowing some interchanges to occur during that period.

### **Gomphiobia**

The isolated and cold nature of Terra Septentrionis both promoted the formation of unique ecosystems composed of creatures either gone elsewhere or with a completely different impact in the rest of the world. Gomphiobians are one of the biggest success stories, not just in Terra Septentrionis, but in Wallace II in general, with various lineages having left the water and turning into relevant terrestrial fauna in the millions of years that followed. Terra Septentrionis, however, holds refuge for a myriad of ancient lineages of the Leorhynchoata clade, one of the most diverse and most anciently derived clades of terrestrial gomphiobians, most of them forming lineages of formidable predators. Due to the adaptability of leorhynchoatans to colder environments, in comparison to celernantids and the other big lineage of terrestrial gomphiobians, the insidiocaroids, they managed to form one of the most prominent faunal assemblage of this god forsaken continent, alongside ambulospeculids, of course. The basalmost leorhynchoatan, the semi-aquatic Sahleenodon piscator is a giant *Spinosaurus* like predator, a relic of long lost times, that still survives in the freshwater courses of the continent. Cetaflumenians are a clade of once semi-aquatic or terrestrial gomphiobians that returned to the water, and Vortodorsus is a species that is a semi-aquatic herbivorous cetaflumenian that visits the coasts of the continent. The apex predator of Terra Septentrionis must only be the basalmost notonychian Leonix, with an astonishing length of 12 meters. It is a relic of long lost times, and the only other surviving notonychians are instead smaller predators found in the secluded Media Insula continent. The amplectendans diversify greatly in this continent, again, different ancient lineages have found refuge in this location. The snow sprinter is a formidable one meter long predator of the tundras. The sextripodeslacerta is likely the most derived amplectendan, with terrestrial, semi-aquatic and fully aquatic species inhabiting the regions of the continent. Fully marine species do not stray too far from the oceanic waters that surround the continent and its more than likely they do not have a Terra Septentrionian ancestry, due to their closest relatives living in other continents. Fuzzbuckets, however, are true natives. These are small omnivorous fluffy creatures that dominate the undergrowth. They have managed to invade Media Insula in the Compsogene through Thron. The successful doryplocephalians are an extensive clade of gomphiobians spread in all continents, with a titanic diversity of ancient clades spread throughout the world. The extremelly ancient Neognathus is a formidable small predator in this continent, again a relic of ancient times. The doryplosaurs, a lineage of anciently diversified, mostly predatory, gomphiobians, exists in most continents of the globe, but two ancient lineages exist in Terra Septentrionis. The tridoprobozaurians are predators that existed in Occidentis, but eventually went extinct there, being found in Thron and invaded Cheru and Terra Septentrionis as it passed by them, and eventually the Tridentigerivenator rex, a surviving native Terra Septentrionian member of yet another ancient lineage, has managed to reach Media Insula, through Thron too, but they still reside in the northern continent, as formidable dominant predators. Due to the early diversification of many leorhynchoatans, many ancient lineages exist today, however, the entomogracilians, which diversified at a slower rate, but are nevertheless successful everywhere else, could not lay a lasting influence in Terra Septentrionis. Despite having caused heavy competition in many temperate and warm continents, the extreme glaciation periods of Terra Septentrionis was responsible for true terrestrial entomogracilians to be absent in the continent, allowing ancient leorhynchoatans to prosper. The only entomogracilians present are the marine and sea turtle like Entomochelona, peaceful herbivores that crawl onto the shore to lay their eggs, and the recently evolved flying viditdontians, which have spread quickly in the Recensgene all across the globe, and causing some severe impact in the diversity of small insect-like flying dispeculates, such as flying panoplovitans and even small xenopedans. However, by far, the major flying clade of gomphiobians prospers in the continent. Ornithosmilids breath their own diversity, as the basalmost yet, somehow, super successful clade of independently evolved gomphiobians. The other related, yet much more diverse and successful clade of flying gomphiobians are the ichthyowestonians. The coasts are filled by aquatic inhabitants, such as Ichthyopteryx prosilitus and the scissor beaks. Larger ichthyowestonians include the big durophagous Papiliocornus magnum and the bird of prey analogs: the dracolodontidians, spread across the entire world. A recently independently evolved and super diverse lineage of marine, freshwater, semi-aquatic and terrestrial gomphiobians, is the Cimetroiani. In Terra Septentrionis, there are not much truly terrestrial species, mostly semi-aquatic and truly aquatic, unlike the titans that invaded Media Insula. The freshwater tescphibium is a thoramphibian that despite having a water-based lifestyle, are known to feed on parasites in the fur of ambulospeculid jumpers. Ultimately there's the Diabolus, a large ostrigonian that independently evolved the abbility of laying eggs on land. The gigantic, yet very light-weight, females crawl onto land to lay their eggs, and then the babies hatch back to the water, where they pursue an aquatic/aerial life.

### **Panoplovita**

Terra Septentrionis, in terms of non-marine panoplovitan diversity is criminally poor, in comparison to other continents. Not even freshwater panoplovitans are known from this continent. The fully terrestrial lineage of panoplovitans that colonized all four southern continents of the world is absent in Terra Septentrionis, mostly because it originated in the southern continents after Terra Septentrionis was already isolated. Because of that the only non-marine panoplovitan in Terra Septentrionis is the common nymphus, a small moth-like creature adapted for blood sucking. These creatures evolved from aquatic ancestors in the Compsogene, and were once widespread across the world, but now they are restricted to areas closer to the poles, where they can avoid competition with the recently evolved viditdontians.

### **Celernantida**

The extremelly cold climate proved too challenging for celernantids. Although there are many precedents of celernantids adapting to a colder climate, they generally avoided it. Conditions back in the Tenerian-Accomodatian extinction event, that caused a violent global cooling seem to have caused severe setbacks on the land-dwelling celernantid diversity. Currently the most major endemic clade of terrestrial celernantids are the terrarcaulian, these are the basalmost terrarmians, a second radiation of terrestrial celernantids, that seem to have evolved extensive coatings or warm-blooded metabolisms to allow the survival on the cold. They are currently represented by the terrarmis, the dergol and the mud stalker. The mostly cosmopolitan and social Celernantida maxima, from the Venenumaxima clade, benefited from rafting to reach Terra Septentrionis. The northern continent has its fair amount of flying celernantids from the Septevola clade, with the highly successful and migratory Septemales volucris and the endemic Volantestoma. The semi-aquatic dentamontians benefit from the desolate northern parts of the globe, and here the Zomonties is observed.

### **Ambulospeculida**

Ambulospeculids are notorious for dominating and diversifying across the entire globe. Here in Terra Septentrionis, their abundance does not know limits too, even though this continent has its fair share of gomphiobian rulers. Instead they respectfully share the environment, with gomphiobians mostly sharing the role of apex predators, though predatory ambulospeculids do exist here in abundance. The native inhabitants of this continent are mostly ancient species, but a good amount of them are also migrants from other continents in recent times. There are three distinct groups of ambulospeculids that seem to have reached Terra Septentrionis and settled there before it split from other continents. One of them is the basalmost terrestrial alcyoneuvermian, the titanic ice beast, or Diadematus glacies bestia. The other two are celestipleures, a group of creatures that, in the rest of the world are composed by bug-like creatures, and when not, usually small derived ones except on some islands where they reach huge sizes. Celestipleures diverged and derived very early and were very relevant in the land-dwelling fauna, but the times they are a changing, and they settled on Terra Septentrionis, one of the last refuges of their long lost domain. Two distinct groups exist, one is the most notorious and diverse, called the Oresaderia clade, including titan and small herbivores like Hoplatarx and Oreduroum, as well as small predators like Semborasaderia. The otranax is another group of celestipleures, that evolved into herbivores, omnivores and carnivores, but they are part of the Sabulianaxia clade, whose only other representative is a small desert leaper of Media Insula. Eventually other ambulospeculids managed to migrate there. The highly successful Media Insulan native crinitusavem has migrated to Terra Septentrionis due to its highly migratory nature and powerful abbility for swimming, being seen swimming in large portions of the sea many miles away from shore. These advanced alcyoneuvermians, however, are much better at pursuing an omnivorous and cursorial life on land. Ambulospeculids tied to the water have easily managed to colonize the shores, as it is evidenced by the altufonsian tide springers and the huge aquatic adriaeanatian Titanothalassus, which is an endemic but more than certainly had an ancestry elsewhere. Small xenopedans easily were transported there and colonize the area, such as the spurlites, which were transported in the back of other animals to every other landmass, and the related xenoarachnians, also cosmopolitan though these are ground-dwelling arthropod-like hunters. The native Petram comedenti is indeed a much more derived and endemic xenopedan, but its size and different lifestyle makes them perfectly adapted to survive in the less diverse world of Terra Septentrionis, which unfortunetly suffers from the small gomphiobian viditdontians, which prevent the diversification of much smaller flying xenopedans. The continent was also populated by flying ambulospeculids, like the aerotherians, including the large Aervenator and the much smaller and feathered Hamodactylus. The colder regions of the continent, however, prevent much estabilisment of the temperate and tropical living aerial caedifuremians, to which the continent only has the ambulovolant to harbour. Pseudocampians are traditionally Occidentian creatures, but at some point in time in the late Compsogene, the jumpers managed to get there, likely by rafting, after Thron broke off from Occidentis and then passed very close to Terra Septentrionis, and there they diversified, where they were otherwise constrained by the already suffocating niche-filled ecosystem their ancestry provided. Jumpers occupied niches otherwise left unoccupied or badly taken by the native creatures and diversified from there. Thron eventually allowed jumpers to reach Media Insula, once it crashed with Cheru. Oromollabians from Media Insula managed to reach the Terra Septentrionis continent too. The Oroursa is a clade within Oromollabia that is endemic in that continent and likely reached there from a mollab like creature through rafting. The Oroursa includes creatures like the dung feeding mountain chipracka and the carnivorous tardiursans, which include the huge tardibear and the small burrowing mud lurker. The Gitanonychus is a desert-living non-oroursan oromollabian from Media Insula. It likely reached to Terra Septentrionis through swimming, its body is weirdly buoyant, and likely allowed this herbivore to reach the arid southern regions of the continent.

## List of Environments

* Terra Septentrionis Mountain
* Terra Septentrionis Humid Continental

### Ang

* Ang Temperate Oceanic
* Ang Temperate Rainforest
* Ang Sub Arctic
* Ang Tundra

### Domini

* Domini Sub Arctic
* Domini Tundra
* Domini Ice Cap
* Domini Cold Desert
* Domini Cold Semi-Arid

## List of native terrestrial and freshwater species

**Depicted Above**

1. Bouncers\*
2. Exacavidae boreas
3. Corunanixis
4. Exego\*
5. Equitembestia
6. Fuzzbuckets\*
7. Laneuvirdi
8. Leonix
9. Lutorlactus
10. Ornithosmilidae\*
11. Pellisvagusidae
12. Phalangesdontidae\*
13. Ungesadvadis

**Not Depicted Above**

* Altocoelidas

* Capomuscus
* Keratodermata\* : Antleria\*; alcesae

### **Canon**

#### **Gomphiobia**

Panzercaria

* Panzercaris\*

Sahleenodontia

* Sahleenodon piscator

Cetaflumenia

* Vortodorsus\*

Notonychia

* Leonix

Amplectenda

* Fuzzbuckets\*
* Sextripodeslacerta
* Snow sprinter

Neognathia

* Neognathus

Doryplosauria

* Tridentigerivenator rex\*
* Tridoprobozauria\*

Entomogracilia

* Entomochelona
* Viditdon sanguinem lactantem\*

Ornithosmilia

* Ornithosmilidae\*

Ichthyowestonia

* Dracolodontidia\*
* Ichthyopteryx prosilitus
* Papiliocornus magnum
* Pterolocarididae\*

Electrapistrida

* Cimetroiani\*

Thoramphibia

* Tescphibium

Ostrigonia

* Diabolus\*

#### **Panoplovita**

Communicetacea

* Common nymphus

#### **Celernantida**

Venenumaxima

* Celernantida maxima\*

Autovenaria

* Sac grazer\*

Ostofortosproboskidoidea

* Ostofortosproboskida\*

Terrarcaulia

* Dergol
* Mud stalker
* Terrarmis

Septevola

* Septemales volucris\*
* Volantestoma

#### **Ambulospeculida**

Cetathalassa

* Ventuscibum\*

Alcyoneuvermia

* Crinitusavem\*
* Diadematus glacies bestia

Celestipleura

* Hoplatarx
* Oreduorum (genus)
* Otranax
* Semborasaderia

Altufonsia

* Tide Springers\*

Xenopeda

* Equitembestia\*
* Petram comedenti
* Xenoarachnia\*

Aerotheria

* Aervenator\*
* Hamodactylus carpasinus

Pseudocampia

* Blue-backed jumper
* Tundra jumper

Caedifuremia

* Ambulovolant

Adriaeanatia

* Titanothalassus

Oromollabia

* Gitanonychus\*
* Mountain chipracka
* Tardibear
* The mud lurker

*\*The lineage is not exlusive to the continent*

## **Snapshots of life**

*This section includes pictures and artworks of multiple different organisms across Terra Septentrionis interacting with one another and with their environment.*

**This picture of subartic Domini includes the organisms:**

* Venandidominus leonix- Leonix
* Protosmilus polikus- Polar saw-birb
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry tree
* Pilosaherba- Fluffy moss grasses
* Lepidorhizaen- Xenoaruacaria

**This picture of the Taiga Domini includes the organisms:**

* Pilosaherba- moss grasses
* Xenoauracarias-Chortaridendron chortaridendron- Mosspines
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry trees
* Pukwudzia apes-Pukwudzie
* Ursus leonixus-Snootboop
* Cryptoelephas octokorna- White tailed Schnuffles

This picture of Terra Septentrionis Swamps includes the organisms:

* Bratteapleura intermissus-Common spurlily
* Laxopraxiis croconautii- Terra-septentrionis Croconauts

**This Artwork of Terra Septentrionis Taiga includes the organisms:**

* Pukwudzia apes-Pukwudzie
* Loriadoe
* A generic Bone Tree

**This picture of tundra Domini includes the organisms:**

* Venandidominus leonix- Leonix
* Pilosaherba- Fluffy moss grasses
* Pellisvagusid- Wooly Snuff

**This picture of tundra Domini includes the organisms:**

* Nixraptor occultus- Northern Ravager
* Exacavidae boreas- Northern Burrowers

**This picture of Terra Septentionis Coast includes the organisms:**

* Xenorhynchoides thomasi- Thornbeak
* *Crinitusavem silva*

**This picture of southern Terra Septentrionis includes the organisms:**

* Xenocorax cristatus- Coraxbirbs
* Falcatotherium rudis- Butterbears
* Microtherus pseudovolas- Flying sparrels
* Laneuvirdi
* Antleria megalocerosae- Irish oaks
* Pilosaherba- moss grasses
* Xenoauracarias-Chortaridendron chortaridendron- Mosspines
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry trees

**This picture of a Dominiang alpine river includes:**

* Susignis-Pyom
* Tardusmilus splendida- Streaming saw-birb

**This picture of the Dominiang alpine environment includes:**

* Emetograsidi olumpiakos- Red Beans
* Cucumilapis- Stonemelon
* Taraxcum Herba- Poofgrass

 **This picture of the Dominiang Mountain range's cliffs inculdes the species:**

* Capramimus alpinus-Alpine fuzzbucket

**This picture of the waters surrounding the southern Terra septentrionis's coast includes the organisms:**

* Lumenspeculas maritimus- Morning skywatchers
* Pelagic Os

    **This Picture of Southern Tesminia's Temperate Rainforest includes the Organisms:**

* Manecervos sonorus- Tesminian Roosterlope
* Circumcorvus Noctomortis -Roundraven/Scavenger Borb
* Piscanturavem tesminia - Tesminian Sicklefisher
* Vesperachios vesperachios- vesper os
* Absconditestudo tutus - Tesminiasaurus
* Xenoauracarias-Chortaridendron chortaridendron- Mosspines
* Pilosaherba- moss grasses
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry trees

    **This Picture of Southern Tesminia's Temperate Rainforest includes the Organisms:**

* Tridentipanthera gracilis-Forest Venator
* Kladianura fuscus- Branchfrogs

**This picture of Southern Terra Septentrionis's Oceanic forests includes the Organisms:**

* Mare splendens- Sea Stalker
* Hyacinthum clypeus- Blue crested Dappingos
* Hirundosolis occasum- Sunset Sickleswing

**This picture of Southern Terra Septentrionis's Oceanic forests includes the Organisms:**

* Tetraophthalmopleura flavopoda-Yellow-legged spurlite
* Xenoequis insidiis-Butterdeer

**This picture of Southern Terra Septentrionis's Oceanic forests includes the Organisms:**

* Antleria megalocerosae- Irish oaks
* Pilosaherba- moss grasses
* Xenoauracarias-Chortaridendron chortaridendron- Mosspines
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry trees
* Foliumaranea minutulus- Spidergrasses
* Terrapraxis saltatus- Terranauts
* Afratoarachni afratoarachni- Striped arboreal puffleg
* Cryopiperas cryopiperas- Common Chirrets
* Plumavryo uligo- Feathermoss
* Fungiforma-Pollyshrooms
* Sarcoantennus bicolor- Blue Butterbadgers
* Macrolura leocollis - Fluttermotti
* Aquanino ignis- Fire Polefrog
* Alsmegalia pseudotetartocauli-Alsmegalia Scrantrob

 **This picture of northern Terra Septentrionis, around Terasept lake, includes the Organisms:**

* Venandidominus leonix- Leonix
* Cryptoelephas octokorna- White tailed Schnuffles
* Protosmilus polikus- Polar saw-birb
* Antleria alcesae - Mooseberry tree
* Pilosaherba- Fluffy moss grasses
* Lepidorhizaen- Xenoaruacaria
* Chortaridendron chortaridendron-Mosspines
* Nixraptor occultus- Northern Ravager
* Pukwudzia apes-Pukwudzie
* Pellisvagusid- Wooly Snuff
* Microstellava tetrapteras-Hellicopter stars
* Perussimphibian arcticulacus-Tescphibium
* Pansaurus Blankii-Frosty Polefrog
* Diadematus glacies bestia-Crowned Ice Beast
* Skalicimex meridionali-Carvbug
* Plumavryo uligo- Feathermoss
* Fungiforma Ophiophytes- Polyshrooms
* Falcofrigus falcofrigus-Falcon Sicklewing