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thomastapir β Bolozoan
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Published: 2017-01-28 02:58:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 889; Favourites: 45; Downloads: 2
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Description
Hypnagogic flash for an alt alien invertebrate body plan/locomotion style that seemed really novel until I drew it up and realized my subconscious had recreated the bolo tie. Β : p Β Anywho, the two elastic bands thread through the central annular body ring and merge to protrude at the front. Movement involves a combination of sliding, looping, and gripping with the cilia. The forward body is sticky, picking up bits of detritus and sliding them back to be enveloped by the central ring mouth/gut. The little forked things at front are peripatus-style sensory barbels. I picture this guy being roughly analogous to an earthworm on the evolutionary tree of its homeworld (or home continuum or whatevah).Just a rough sketch to share the concept, obviously--will Scrap soon.
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Comments: 12
So... like an undulating movement like a pair of side-winder rattlesnake bodies?
Never mind. I just saw the other comment about it.
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Cool!Β
So, it moves like a sidewinder, just in 2 pieces?
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I really like these little concept sketches of yours! They are always so completely otherworldly and novel
But I canβt quite imagine how this creature would move... I get how it would move forwards by essentially pulling the "treads" through the central body ring but how would it "reset" them? Would it lift them up and pull them back through the body to repeat the process or did you have something else in mind?
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You know, I don't think the "threading" aspect would necessarily be a huge part of the locomotion process--it applies more to feeding, moving the food into the central "mouth." Β If you imagine an octopus roping its way along the seafloor, that's more what I pictured--using the muscular loops to pull itself along, "crawling" using the cilia, and occasionally lofting the body at least partially clear of the ground (which would likely be where the "resetting" part of cycle occurs if necessary). Β I mean the "threading" is part of it, don't get me wrong, but there are several biomechanical factors involved and they are selectively favored depending on how it's negotiating the terrain, if that makes sense.
Thanks man, I really appreciate your consistently positive and encouraging feedback!
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Ah alright, I think I can kinda imagine it now...
Would be sweet to see an animated walk cycle of that thing (hint hint 
Youβre very welcome, itβs hard not to comment on such cool stuff
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remembers me how my neighbors walk around!
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The bolozoan's locomotion seems...needlessly complicated.
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I don't think it would necessarily be *quite* as complicated as it might appear here...The locomotion of a snake or an octopus might be a good analogy for how it uses the muscular loops.
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I can see simpler ways for similar creatures to move...but they aren't the creature or locomotion described here.
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