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Description
Another idea I've had in mind for awhile with a few different influences behind it. In some ways it's a continuation of some of the ideas found in the Combills [link] and Scissorheads [link] (see also ~whale's much-improved variants thereof [link] ), as well as the Moebius Fish ([link] ), in the sense that it deals with unusual mandible designs and biological topologies. But the most direct influence was a little reptile I saw at the pet store a while ago with the spectacularly unimaginative name of "long-tailed lizard" [link] (long-tailed lizard is, presumably, his common and not his given name). My first thought upon seeing this little guy sunning himself on a branch, tail looping to the substrate of his vivarium, was that his tail would make a great device for snatching or perhaps even strangling prey--a kind of "constrictor" organ that does all the work while the animal itself doesn't have to move a muscle (forward of its tail, that is). I started thinking about taking that same idea of a looped constrictive organ and moving it to the front of the body, and the Noosejaw was born.

My thinking was that most "noosejawed" organisms would have a radula-like keratinaceous or cartilaginous strip running along the underside/inside of the "noose" with which to cut food into smaller, more manageable pieces. I can really see that "noose" squirming all over the place as a hungry animal disassembles a juicy piece of fruit (or a struggling prey animal!). Nooses of various lengths and specialized "dentition" are both very likely, as are all the obvious possibilities for traps, lures, intraspecific signalling devices, etc. I don't have a clear sense of where the actual food intake orifice is located here; originally I was thinking it would be that sphincter-like organ below the "chin," but the more I worked on it it seemed likely that the mouth is located at the center of those horny frontal plates that would appear, to our sensibilities, to constitute a more conventional terrestrial jaw.

This particular variant is not exactly a basal form, but a sort of generic representative of the clade. I wanted the focus to be on the underlying idea, so I didn't add a lot of ornamental craziness, and I also left it purposely ambiguous as to its specific environmental niche and even whether it's a carnivore or a herbivore. The head looks kind of like a turtle to me, but that's incidental rather than intentional.

Again, a relatively substandard drawing--the purpose is only to communicate the idea, not to stand on its own artistic merits. I will leave this here for a couple of days to give it some exposure and then move it to my Scrapbook.

Description
Another idea I've had in mind for awhile with a few different influences behind it. In some ways it's a continuation of some of the ideas found in the Combills [link] and Scissorheads [link] (see also ~whale's much-improved variants thereof [link] ), as well as the Moebius Fish ([link] ), in the sense that it deals with unusual mandible designs and biological topologies. But the most direct influence was a little reptile I saw at the pet store a while ago with the spectacularly unimaginative name of "long-tailed lizard" [link] (long-tailed lizard is, presumably, his common and not his given name). My first thought upon seeing this little guy sunning himself on a branch, tail looping to the substrate of his vivarium, was that his tail would make a great device for snatching or perhaps even strangling prey--a kind of "constrictor" organ that does all the work while the animal itself doesn't have to move a muscle (forward of its tail, that is). I started thinking about taking that same idea of a looped constrictive organ and moving it to the front of the body, and the Noosejaw was born.

My thinking was that most "noosejawed" organisms would have a radula-like keratinaceous or cartilaginous strip running along the underside/inside of the "noose" with which to cut food into smaller, more manageable pieces. I can really see that "noose" squirming all over the place as a hungry animal disassembles a juicy piece of fruit (or a struggling prey animal!). Nooses of various lengths and specialized "dentition" are both very likely, as are all the obvious possibilities for traps, lures, intraspecific signalling devices, etc. I don't have a clear sense of where the actual food intake orifice is located here; originally I was thinking it would be that sphincter-like organ below the "chin," but the more I worked on it it seemed likely that the mouth is located at the center of those horny frontal plates that would appear, to our sensibilities, to constitute a more conventional terrestrial jaw.

This particular variant is not exactly a basal form, but a sort of generic representative of the clade. I wanted the focus to be on the underlying idea, so I didn't add a lot of ornamental craziness, and I also left it purposely ambiguous as to its specific environmental niche and even whether it's a carnivore or a herbivore. The head looks kind of like a turtle to me, but that's incidental rather than intentional.

Again, a relatively substandard drawing--the purpose is only to communicate the idea, not to stand on its own artistic merits. I will leave this here for a couple of days to give it some exposure and then move it to my Scrapbook.