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Vincent-Covielloart — U-watsi
Published: 2012-11-07 19:04:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 34181; Favourites: 421; Downloads: 0
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Description
U-watsiSemi aquatic herbivores, the U-watsi live in tight-nit family groups. Females carry their "exposed fetuses" up to the birthing, where they then expel, the fully capable offspring, into bodies of water. There the chicks will grow and undergo their metamorphosis to their adult form.
A symbiotic relationship is common between the U-watsi and Ka-wenu. while the U-watsi has a superb sense of smell the Ka-wenu has keen eye sight. The Ka-wenu also feeds on parasites especially those which are detrimental to the fetal growth. Ka-wenu are highly territorial of their U-watsi, especially male U-watsi, as female Ka-wenu lay their single egg within their dorsal fans.
I put a little hight comparison chart there to help everyone get a better understanding of scale.
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Comments: 31
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COOL! I LOVE THE EXPOSED FETUSES. (dreams of people having exposed fetuses instead of being pregnant) 
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reminds me of the sand beasts for a book I read a wile ago.
Exept the sand beasts had exposed stomach sacs that would detach when full, then the creature would lay eggs in them.
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I have a feeling you're going to be the next avatar creature designer. I wouldn't be surprised if they came across your designs and requested some stuff. Great designs and colouring, too. I can never seem to get the textures OR colouring right.
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WOW that is so nice of you to say!! I hope that happens!
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Hehe no problem you deserve it. I'll also wait eagerly for your art to make it big x3
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The detail is fantastic, and the coloration is great. This creature definitely looks alien and unusual. The musculature is impressive.
But I have to ask. What is the evolutionary advantage to having exposed fetuses in (what appear to be) delicate sacs? They appear to be easily removable (maybe I'm wrong here). I don't understand what the purpose of this adaptation is.
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thanks!
The idea behind the exposed fetuses is similar to that of amphibian eggs, except the fetus still receives some nutrients and protection of its mother. This image is later in the eggs development so they begin to loosen and sag, yet the "eggs" themselves are still durable and tough made up of a flexible skin. the mother will eventually expel the "chicks" into a pond where they live their first stage of life as solely aquatic creatures who will eventually "metamorphosize" into a semi-aquatic terrestrial adult.
so all in all its purpose allows for-
longer gestation period
protection of its mother
receives added nutrients
it allows the parent to still graze and move without being stuck to a specific area, there is no need to nest and brood.
I hope that clears things up!
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...so why then wouldn't the embryos just be held inside of a womb? that offers FAR superior protection than them dangling off the gut, and given this creature's physiology i see no reason why it couldn't/wouldn't have a womb. this seems needlessly less effective, trying too hard to be original.
its lack of body fat also seriously concerns me. it looks emaciated. being able to store energy is a good thing.
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The great thing about being a creative person is that you can create anything your imagination can come up with and not need the permission to do so.
The idea actually came from certain species of frogs that have similar brooding behavior so it has nothing to do with "trying to hard to be original." A lot of insects look emaciated as well but do just fine. There is plenty of animal anatomy and physiology that doesn't "make sense" to our idea of what is or isn't effective or needless..ie the hyena's birthing canal, giraffe etc etc. But thanks for the comment.
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I'm waving off your straw men (since none of those animals are similar to this creature, they don't justify what has been done here and are irrelevant), and just going to explain in further detail why this concept does not work.
These external womb things retain a connection to the mother according to your description, and thus have no need to be outside the body at all. The whole point of laying eggs is to get them away from the immune system, something that obviously is not a problem for a creature which can maintain a matrotrophic link to the embryos. This creature has neither the "rapid deposit" advantage of egg-laying nor the reliability aspect of internal viviparity; it only has the removal of the yolk sac and shell limitations, which are good, but the external placement would be highly ineffective, since there's a limit to how "tough" those membranes could be before the baby couldn't even tear out of them anymore, and if they are able to be torn by the fetus, they could also be torn by sharp jutting objects on the ground the mother's gut happens to pass over. Its field of vision tells me it would not be able to see under its own belly to tell if it's going to be passing over a branch, etc. which would snag and tear open the membranes. I also have trouble imagining that predators wouldn't sneak up on a sleeping one and just snatch the embryos right off its belly, which would be much easier even than stealing eggs since those at least have a protective shell, and since these are literally stuck to the gut they can't even be buried. Overall, a very inconvenient placement for them which would never be selected for over internal fetal development or egg deposition (the latter of which is impossible for a creature this complex).
Insects are small and poikilothermic; insulation is useless at their scale. Even then, they still store food in their abdomens and normally have relatively fat looking guts as a result of that (unless they are terribly underfed in which case the abdomen goes flat/caves in; that's an emaciated insect!). This creature does not appear to possess any sort of fat where it counts, since fat is useful not only for food storage, but also for protection of the inner structures via cushioning, and insulation. Thus, having it distributed across the body is evolutionarily ideal and would be selected for in any sizable organism.
I must give credit where credit is due: your skills with anatomy and rendering are quite advanced and I'd like to be able to paint on your skill level. I have the core ideas, but lack the skill to properly execute them.
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That makes far more sense now. You may want to put this in your write-up. It's very interesting, thank you!
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that is an incredibly freaky face for a creature! amzing work
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hmm, did you get the coloration of the U-Watsi from Mandrills?
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This is awesome. I especially like the Ka-wenu, it kind of resembles a flying monkey. Does it fly? I love the external fetuses idea, it's kind of like a cross between marsupials and carrying your eggs. The only real issue I see is that the 'umbilical cord' that attaches them to their mother looks too thin; it looks like you could easily snap it off. Making it just a little bit thicker would probably fix it.
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This is absolutely amazing! What I love about your ceeatures is the coloration. You always come up with something intersting and colorful, yet the creature has a sense of integrity and plausibility and doesn't scream with color. 
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brilliant.
shades of antelope/megafauna and the oxpecker birds...and yet more.
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Do you have a bigger picture? I'd seriously like to see details better.
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sorry everyone this is the biggest I can get it on DA but if you're really aching to see it bigger and closer you can see it on my tumblr, vcreatures.tumblr.com.
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I third this, particularly for the Ka-wenu.
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I'm working on a Ka-wenu painting now so that should be up in a week or so...hopefully?
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it will be worth the wait.
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