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Evolutionary:Example species: Difference between revisions

Sapient fauna native to Earth
Remove unused icon parameter
Example pages: Humans and the Sol system, at the level of detail of real articles
 
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{{Notice|'''This is an example article.''' It shows what a finished species page looks like, following the [[Evolutionary:Style guide|style guide]]. It isn't canon, and it isn't counted in any category. Open the editor to see how it's built, or copy its layout for a new page.}}
{{Notice|'''Example page.''' This shows how a species page is laid out, using humans as the subject. Open the editor to see how it's built.}}
{{Infobox species
{{Infobox species
| name            = Ember octopus
| name            = Human
| scientific_name = Thermoctopus fabricator
| scientific_name = Homo sapiens
| image          = Ember octopus example.png
| caption        = An ember octopus carrying molten metal away from a vent in stone tongs
| type            = Fauna
| type            = Fauna
| biochemistry    = Carbon-based
| biochemistry    = Carbon-based
| sapience        = Semi-sapient
| sapience        = Sapient
| homeworld      = Nereid
| homeworld      = [[Evolutionary:Example system#Earth|Earth]]
| system          = Halcyon
| system          = [[Evolutionary:Example system|Sol]]
| habitat        = Hydrothermal vent fields, 1,800 to 2,600 m deep
| habitat        = Terrestrial; every continent
| size            = Mantle about 40 cm; arm span up to 2.5 m
| size            = 1.5 ~ 1.9 m (adults); 50 ~ 100 kg
| lifespan        = 9 to 12 years
| lifespan        = 70 ~ 80 years (record: 122 years)
| diet            = Vent crabs, tubeworms, bacterial mats
| diet            = Omnivorous
| reproduction    = Sexual; mothers survive brooding
| reproduction    = Sexual; live birth after ~9 months
| communication  = Skin colour patterns, arm signals
| communication  = Spoken and written language; gesture; facial expression
| technology      = Stone tools; casting of soft metals
| technology      = Industrial; spaceflight
| discovered      = 2291
| status          = Widespread (~8 billion individuals)
| discovered_by  = Survey probe ''Meridian''
| status          = Locally common
}}
}}
<!-- First sentence: the page name in bold, the scientific name in italics, and what it is. -->
<!-- First sentence: the page name in bold, the scientific name in italics, and what it is. -->
The '''ember octopus''' (''Thermoctopus fabricator'') is a semi-sapient cephalopod native to the hydrothermal vent fields of Nereid, an ocean world in the Halcyon system. It is one of the few known species to have begun working metal, casting soft metals in the heat of the vents to make simple tools.
'''Humans''' (''Homo sapiens'') are carbon-based, bipedal primates native to [[Evolutionary:Example system#Earth|Earth]], the third planet of the [[Evolutionary:Example system|Sol]] system. They are the only surviving members of the genus ''Homo'', and are distinguished by their large brains, fine manual dexterity, and capacity for complex language and culture.
 
Humans are the most widespread large animal on their homeworld, inhabiting every continent and most of its climates. Through technology rather than physical adaptation, they have also established a continuous presence in low orbit, and have sent crewed missions to their planet's moon.


<!-- Sections follow the order in the style guide. Skip any that don't apply. -->
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== Description ==
== Description ==
The ember octopus closely resembles the octopuses of Earth, a striking case of convergent evolution. It has a soft, boneless body, eight arms lined with suckers, and large, forward-facing eyes adapted to the dim glow of the vents.
Humans walk fully upright on two legs, with an S-shaped spine and arched feet that absorb the impact of each step. This frees the forelimbs entirely for manipulation: each hand has four fingers and an opposable thumb capable of both a powerful grip and precise fine movements. Compared to other primates, humans have a flat face, a small jaw, and a large, rounded braincase.


Its skin is a deep red-brown at rest, but can flash through orange, gold and white within a fraction of a second. These colour changes are used both for camouflage against the mineral chimneys and for communication.
Most of the body is covered in fine, short hair that is barely visible. Thicker hair grows on the scalp, and after puberty in the armpits and groin, and on the face of most males. Skin colour ranges from very dark brown to pale pink, depending on the amount of the pigment melanin; populations that evolved under strong sunlight tend to have darker skin. Adults typically stand 1.5 to 1.9 m tall, with males on average somewhat taller and heavier than females.


== Biology ==
== Biology ==
The undersides of its arms carry thick, heat-resistant pads made of a tough protein similar to keratin. These let the animal briefly handle rock and metal at temperatures that would kill most vent life.<ref>The pads can tolerate contact with surfaces up to about 120 °C for several seconds, but not the vent water itself.</ref>
The human brain averages around 1,350 cm³, roughly three times the size expected for a primate of the same body mass. It consumes about 20 percent of the body's energy while making up only 2 percent of its weight.


Like Earth's octopuses, it has a large, distributed nervous system, with much of its processing done in the arms themselves. Its brain-to-body ratio is the highest of any invertebrate recorded on Nereid.
Humans are exceptional endurance runners. Millions of sweat glands spread across the skin let them shed heat during long exertion, a trait thought to have allowed early humans to hunt by running prey to exhaustion.


== Behaviour ==
Human young are born highly dependent and develop slowly. A single offspring is usual, after a pregnancy of around 9 months, and childhood lasts over a decade before sexual maturity. This long period of care leaves time for each generation to learn language, skills, and culture from the last.
Ember octopuses are mostly solitary, but gather in loose groups around the most productive vents. They are curious, and approach unfamiliar objects to investigate them rather than fleeing.


=== Tool use and metalworking ===
* '''Diet:''' omnivorous; humans eat a very wide range of plants and animals, and almost always cook or otherwise process their food.
The species' best-known behaviour is its use of tools. Young octopuses first learn to use loose stones as hammers and wedges, prying prey out of crevices.
* '''Senses:''' colour vision with three types of cone cells; good hearing; a comparatively weak sense of smell.
* '''Lifespan:''' around 70 to 80 years where food and medicine are plentiful. The longest confirmed human life lasted 122 years.


Adults go further. Near the hottest vents, water can reach over 350 °C without boiling, because of the crushing pressure at that depth. Ember octopuses collect lumps of tin and lead from the mineral deposits around these vents, carry them into the hot outflow using stone "tongs", and let them melt. The molten metal is then poured into hollows in the rock, where it cools into simple shapes: blades, hooks and weights.
== Behaviour ==
Humans are intensely social, living in families nested within larger communities that can number in the millions. They communicate primarily through spoken language, of which thousands exist, and record it in writing.


Only a minority of adults have been observed casting metal, and the techniques differ between vent fields. This suggests the skill is learned and passed on, rather than instinctive.
Tool use defines the species and its ancestors. Simple stone tools predate ''Homo sapiens'' by millions of years; humans added controlled fire, agriculture, metalworking, and eventually machines powered by fossil fuels and electricity.


== Habitat and range ==
== Habitat and range ==
The ember octopus lives only around active hydrothermal vents, at depths of 1,800 to 2,600 m. It is common in the vent fields of Nereid's southern ocean ridges, and has not been found elsewhere.
Humans first appeared in Africa and are now found on every continent, from equatorial forests to permanent research stations in Antarctica. Almost all live on land, although some cultures have historically lived on boats or along the sea for most of their lives.


Because vents can shut down without warning, populations regularly have to move. Groups have been tracked crossing several kilometres of open seabed between vent fields.
Beyond their homeworld, humans have maintained a permanent crewed presence in orbit since 2000, aboard space stations.


== Society and culture ==
== History ==
Unlike the octopuses of Earth, ember octopus mothers survive after their eggs hatch, and stay with their young for up to two years. Researchers believe this long period of care is what allowed tool use, and later metalworking, to be taught and refined from one generation to the next.
Humans share a common ancestor with chimpanzees and bonobos, their closest living relatives, from around 6 to 7 million years ago. The genus ''Homo'' appeared around 2.8 million years ago, and the oldest known fossils of ''Homo sapiens'', found in Morocco, are around 300,000 years old.


Different vent fields have their own styles of tools, and their own colour signals for the same objects. Some researchers describe these as early cultures.
Several other human species existed alongside early ''Homo sapiens'', and some interbred with them. Traces of their DNA survive in many living humans today:
* '''Neanderthals''' (''Homo neanderthalensis''), of Europe and western Asia, extinct around 40,000 years ago.
* '''Denisovans''', known mostly from DNA, who lived across Asia.
* '''''Homo floresiensis''''', a small-bodied species from the island of Flores, in present-day Indonesia.


== Discovery ==
Humans spread out of Africa from around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago. Farming began independently in several regions from around 12,000 years ago, followed by the first cities, and writing around 5,200 years ago. The first crewed spaceflight took place in 1961, and the first crewed landing on Earth's moon in 1969.
The species was first recorded in 2291 by the survey probe ''Meridian'', whose cameras captured an ember octopus carrying a glowing lump of metal away from a vent. The footage was at first dismissed as a camera fault.
 
Follow-up missions confirmed the behaviour, and the vent fields of Nereid are now one of the most closely studied sites for non-human tool use.


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
<!-- Out-of-universe notes go here: inspirations, design notes, ideas that aren't decided yet. -->
<!-- Out-of-universe notes go here: inspirations, design notes, ideas that aren't decided yet. -->
* The ember octopus was written as the example article for this wiki.
* Written as the example species page for this wiki, using real-world facts about humans.
* It was inspired by real octopuses, which are known for their intelligence and, in the case of the veined octopus, for carrying coconut shells to use as shelters.
* The metalworking is kept to soft metals on purpose. Tin and lead melt at temperatures the vents can actually reach, so the idea stays within hard science-fiction.
 
== Notes ==
<references />

Latest revision as of 08:49, 23 October 2026

Example page. This shows how a species page is laid out, using humans as the subject. Open the editor to see how it's built.
Species
Human
Homo sapiens
Classification
Type
Fauna
Biochemistry
Carbon-based
Sapience
Sapient
Origin
Homeworld
System
Habitat
Terrestrial; every continent
Biology
Size
1.5 ~ 1.9 m (adults); 50 ~ 100 kg
Lifespan
70 ~ 80 years (record: 122 years)
Diet
Omnivorous
Reproduction
Sexual; live birth after ~9 months
Society
Communication
Spoken and written language; gesture; facial expression
Technology
Industrial; spaceflight
Discovery
Status
Widespread (~8 billion individuals)

Humans (Homo sapiens) are carbon-based, bipedal primates native to Earth, the third planet of the Sol system. They are the only surviving members of the genus Homo, and are distinguished by their large brains, fine manual dexterity, and capacity for complex language and culture.

Humans are the most widespread large animal on their homeworld, inhabiting every continent and most of its climates. Through technology rather than physical adaptation, they have also established a continuous presence in low orbit, and have sent crewed missions to their planet's moon.

Description

Humans walk fully upright on two legs, with an S-shaped spine and arched feet that absorb the impact of each step. This frees the forelimbs entirely for manipulation: each hand has four fingers and an opposable thumb capable of both a powerful grip and precise fine movements. Compared to other primates, humans have a flat face, a small jaw, and a large, rounded braincase.

Most of the body is covered in fine, short hair that is barely visible. Thicker hair grows on the scalp, and after puberty in the armpits and groin, and on the face of most males. Skin colour ranges from very dark brown to pale pink, depending on the amount of the pigment melanin; populations that evolved under strong sunlight tend to have darker skin. Adults typically stand 1.5 to 1.9 m tall, with males on average somewhat taller and heavier than females.

Biology

The human brain averages around 1,350 cm³, roughly three times the size expected for a primate of the same body mass. It consumes about 20 percent of the body's energy while making up only 2 percent of its weight.

Humans are exceptional endurance runners. Millions of sweat glands spread across the skin let them shed heat during long exertion, a trait thought to have allowed early humans to hunt by running prey to exhaustion.

Human young are born highly dependent and develop slowly. A single offspring is usual, after a pregnancy of around 9 months, and childhood lasts over a decade before sexual maturity. This long period of care leaves time for each generation to learn language, skills, and culture from the last.

  • Diet: omnivorous; humans eat a very wide range of plants and animals, and almost always cook or otherwise process their food.
  • Senses: colour vision with three types of cone cells; good hearing; a comparatively weak sense of smell.
  • Lifespan: around 70 to 80 years where food and medicine are plentiful. The longest confirmed human life lasted 122 years.

Behaviour

Humans are intensely social, living in families nested within larger communities that can number in the millions. They communicate primarily through spoken language, of which thousands exist, and record it in writing.

Tool use defines the species and its ancestors. Simple stone tools predate Homo sapiens by millions of years; humans added controlled fire, agriculture, metalworking, and eventually machines powered by fossil fuels and electricity.

Habitat and range

Humans first appeared in Africa and are now found on every continent, from equatorial forests to permanent research stations in Antarctica. Almost all live on land, although some cultures have historically lived on boats or along the sea for most of their lives.

Beyond their homeworld, humans have maintained a permanent crewed presence in orbit since 2000, aboard space stations.

History

Humans share a common ancestor with chimpanzees and bonobos, their closest living relatives, from around 6 to 7 million years ago. The genus Homo appeared around 2.8 million years ago, and the oldest known fossils of Homo sapiens, found in Morocco, are around 300,000 years old.

Several other human species existed alongside early Homo sapiens, and some interbred with them. Traces of their DNA survive in many living humans today:

  • Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), of Europe and western Asia, extinct around 40,000 years ago.
  • Denisovans, known mostly from DNA, who lived across Asia.
  • Homo floresiensis, a small-bodied species from the island of Flores, in present-day Indonesia.

Humans spread out of Africa from around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago. Farming began independently in several regions from around 12,000 years ago, followed by the first cities, and writing around 5,200 years ago. The first crewed spaceflight took place in 1961, and the first crewed landing on Earth's moon in 1969.

Behind the scenes

  • Written as the example species page for this wiki, using real-world facts about humans.