Terraformed Dwarf Exoplanet

Offical blog for Project Melo, a worldbuilding/ Speculative Biology project by @octahedral-chaos

[project-melo]

Welcome!

Project Melo is a speculative biology/ worldbuilding project that I started. Essentially, Melo is a dwarf planet located in an Asteroid Belt around the star Passera, a relatively calm red dwarf. However, humans have terraformed it and seeded it with all sorts of genetically modified organisms. Oddly enough, these humans left, and after a long, long time, Melo has become a haven for bizarre creatures and other such oddities.

Ans one of the most unique are Melo's very own sophont, Thylaraptors.

Unlike my other attempts at worldbuilding and speculative evolution, I am hoping to keep this one more "loose" in terms of following reality, as well as being moreso for fun. Inspired by many other speculative evolution, xenofiction and worldbuilding projects, Project Melo is essentially me finally feeling inspired and determined to make an original world after a rough year, as well as wanting to try to develop it after losing motivation on other SpecEvo/ Worldbuilding projects of mine.

So come on down and let's learn about this strange world together!

Rules for Asks

Please, no NSFW/ 18+ stuff. I'm uncomfortable with it and want to keep this blog PG13. However, there may occasionally be mentions of reproduction in some anatomy posts, but nothing graphic.

Also no Bigotry or anything of that sort. This is a worldbuilding blog, we don't want any Real-World politics nor drama here

Please be civil! And don't forget to have fun!

Tags

Melo Lore - Anything written about Melo or Thylaraptors

Melo Art - Any artworks of Melo or Thylaraptors

Melo Asks - Asks of course! Can be about worldbuilding, speculative biology or anything of that sort

Melo Aesthetics - Posts that reminds me of either Thylaraptors or Melo/ Passera System

Thylaraptors - Everything regarding the sophont of Melo

Passera System - Everything about Melo's star system

OCTA speaks - Basically any non-Melo posts made by me!

[project-melo]

How do the Thylaraptors survive on the three continents? Or, I guess more specifically, how does life/ culture differ on every continent?

Thylaraptors, like humans, are extremely adaptable to their environment/ climates! Many cultures domesticated different animals and plants depending on what's avaliable, and they also used their respective resources.

They may not need clothing as much as humans (Since they have feathers), but they DO have different clothing and accessories depending on the resources. Likewise, languages tend to reflect their culture's homeland, such as weather, colours, etc.

[project-melo]

Star Sky by OCTAfan "Arali and Ecora stargazes, and talks about some things."

AKA FIRST PROJECT MELO FIC-

Pretty proud of how this came out, in all honesty!

[project-melo]

how diverse is the climate/weather on Melo, does that affects Thylaraptors?

Melo's climate is pretty diverse, with similar biomes that can be found on Earth. However, there are a few differences.

Namely, the Tropical Region is much wider than on Earth, thanks to the milder axial tilt. Thus, the Climatic zones look like this;

Tropical: 0-40° North/South

Subtropical: 40-50° North/South

Temperate: 50-70° North/South

Polar: 70-90° North/South

Tropical rainforests and grasslands dominant the Tropical and Subtropical zones, with a lot of deserts in the interior areas. The Temperate zones are mostly broadleaf woodlands and coniferous forests, with a few Temperate grasslands as well. Closer to the polar zones, there are taiga and tundra, then true Polar climates especially close to the poles. The only landmasses that are truly close to the Polar zone are the Northern tip of Revo, as well as the "Polar Islands" close to this tip.

In regards to weather, it's pretty similar to Earth, the only "true" difference is slightly weaker hurricanes and a wider "storm belt," both thanks to Melo's gentle axial tilt and Passera's cooler temperatures. Likewise, as Melo travels along it's orbit, the weather does get MUCH wamer (or colder) depending on how close the Aphelion/ Perihelion is, thanks to both the mildly eccentric orbit and orbital inclination. This affects weather quite a bit, resulting in snow for both Temperate and occasionally Subtropical areas AND the Rainy Season for Tropical.

In regards to Thylaraptors, they are pretty much affected by this! As they adapted to the places they settled, they developed traits that are better for their respective climates. This resulted in the several basic ethnicities that I will introduce soon. Likewise, it also affects their culture and society.

[project-melo]

Star Sky by OCTAfan "Arali and Ecora stargazes, and talks about some things."

AKA FIRST PROJECT MELO FIC-

Pretty proud of how this came out, in all honesty!

[project-melo]

Arali Sarobo reference be upon yee! Very happy that I can yeet her on Art Fight!

[project-melo]

Fun Thylaraptor Fact: They have memes

[project-melo]

Currently trying to work on Arali's (AKA Project Melo's icon) reference! So in the meantime feel free to send in asks!

[project-melo]

Any other neat Thylaraptor traits/ biology? Any common behaviors?

A bunch of them!

Like thylacines and yapoks, all thylaraptors have pouches. While (perisex) male thylaraptors have a backwards-facing pouch for their... bits, perisex female thylaraptors have a forward-facing pouch to incubate their joeys as neonates. However, thylaraptors lack mammary glands, instead regurgitating a milk-like substance that is produced in their crop (or just using store-brought formulae).

On behaviours, preening is a VERY important part of thylaraptor cultures. On the behaviour side, it helps to remove parasites, ensures that feathers are kept in good condition and waterproofs them! Like birds, thylaraptors have a preen gland at the base of their tails, which secrete an oily-substance that is waterproof and seems to have mild antibacterial/ antifungal properties.

Also their languages tend to be a mix of sounds and body language. Unlike humans, a LOT of thylaraptor languages uses body language as a sort of tone indicator, using their tails, ears and whiskers to indicate the tone of the sentence.

[project-melo]

Thylaraptors: Other Senses

As mentioned in a previous post, thylaraptor eyesight is much more powerful in dim lighting than humans, and has specialised cone cells that can pick up ultraviolet light (Known as "Titho" in certain thylaraptor languages).

A thylaraptor's sense of smell is also much stronger. They can easily sniff out scents that are too faint for humans to detect, and also use this sense to their advantage. In fact, male thylaraptors have scent glands on their snout that are used during courtship, and is usually rubbed on their feathers or clothing. The scent this scent gland produces is often described as "surprisingly floral."

Likewise, some thylaraptor art pieces also uses the sense of smell to add to the piece. Their sense of taste, however, is a bit less refined than humans, but they can taste bitter, spicy and sweet stuff.

Thylaraptors also have extremely sensitive hearing. They can hear from 0.03 to 30 kilohertz, a much wider range than humans, and are almost 3 times as sensitive to loud noises as well. Their long ears can swivel around independently, allowing them to easily locate the direction of a particular sound.

Finally, a thylaraptor's sense of touch is also quite sensitive. Along with their skin, they have several pairs of whiskers. On each side of their face, they have 10 mystacial/ snout whiskers, 5 submental/ "chin" whiskers, 5 genal/ check whiskers, 5 interramal/ throat whiskers and 6 superorbital/ eyebrow whiskers.

These whiskers are used both to sense their surroundings and as communication, allowing thylaraptors to easily sense objects in dark places.

[project-melo]

Map of Melo

Melo has three continents; Edla (Left), Revo (Top Right) and Zurva (Bottom Right).

Edla is mostly tropical rainforest, with a few grasslands and deserts to the South. The Barusai Island chain is also located to the West of it.

Revo is mostly Temperate rainforest and Woodlands, with a few grasslands. The Northern portion of it has taiga and tundra.

Zurva is mostly deserts and grasslands, with some rainforests near the Southern Coastline. The Ninua Islands are also located to the Northwest, while Denuso is located in the Southwestern seas near Zurva.

As seen in the map, Melo has a much wider tropical region than Earth, due to the axial tilt being 14.5°, much less than Earth's 23.5°. However, Melo's orbit is slightly inclined (15°) from the elliptic, and is a bit eccentric, resulting in seasons being a bit more pronounced than on Earth.

Bonus Map with Tectonic Plates under the cut

[amnhnyc]

You might know about wombats, but what about numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus)? These Australian marsupials are picky eaters with a taste for termites. Using their long tongues, these specialists can slurp down 20,000 of the insects in a single day! Unlike many mammals, the numbat’s mouth is filled with dull, peg-like teeth. But that doesn’t stop this critter, because it doesn’t chew its food anyway.

Photo: seashalia, CC0 Content, Pixabay

[amnhnyc]

The spotted-tail quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is a carnivorous marsupial that can be found on the eastern Australian mainland, as well as on the island of Tasmania. It hunts a variety of critters, including small mammals, reptiles, and birds, and takes down prey with a powerful bite. Its hisses and screams have been likened to the sounds of a circular saw!

Photo: Catherine Grenfell, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[project-melo]

Thylaraptors: Eyesight and Biofluorescence

(Or... time to revive this blog again-)

Thylaraptors, as descendants of bird-mammal hybrids, have a rather interesting sense of sight.

Unlike most mammal species, Thylaraptors have specialised cone cells that detect ultraviolet light. As a result, they can see things that may be "invisible" to humans. They also have very sensitive rod cells, meaning that they have shockingly good night vision. This, combined with the UV cones, means that they have highly sensitive vision in dim lighting, or even in seemingly total darkness!

Thylaraptors also have rather sharp eyesight, being able to see for a considerable further distance than humans. However, they can be very light sensitive due to all of the above points.

Also talking about Ultraviolet light, like many marsupial and bird species, thylaraptors are biofluorescent. This means that their fur, feathers and skin could re-emit Ultraviolet light in the visible spectrum. To humans, the UV-reactive fur appears as purples and blues. To thylaraptors, this appears as different shades/ hues of Ultraviolet, which is a colour known as "Titho" in certain thylaraptor languages.

Biofluorescence in thylaraptors are seen in "hidden" markings; such as stripes, spots or patches. Occasionally, individuals may have a combination of marking types, or unique patterns altogether. Likewise, there are a few fur conditions that may result in little to no Biofluorescent markings. These markings are fully visible to most thylaraptors, and are used as identification.

On the other hand, thylaraptor teeth, skin and ears also biofluoresce in Titho/ Ultraviolet light.

[project-melo]

Plants of Melo: Domesticated Grains/ Cereals

Like humans, Thylaraptors have domesticated many species of plants to use as food. These are a few of them, namely grains and cereals.

The Blue Featherstalk is a Triticale descendant, grown in dry conditions, usually in the grasslands regions of Zurva and Revo. The grains are used to make flour and the leaves can be boiled to make tea.

The Sooty Oak is a descendant of genetically modified Avena nuda, and grows in tropical climates, usually in the extremely rainy areas of Edla and the Barusai Island Chain. Also can be used to make flour, but the grains are usually cooked.

The Swamp Rice is a descendant of GMO Asiatic Rice, and grows near shallow waterlogged soil, not swamps. However, they grow in Subtropical regions, and are extremely hardy. They are usually cooked as rice.

The Neomaize is a descendant of the humble corn. Incredibly hardy, can bear mulitple times and can thrive in harsh conditions, it is unsurprising that they managed to survive for so long on Melo. The kernels and tassels are highly bioflorescent, showing off in UV light to Thylaraptors, but appears white in (Human) Visible Light. Can be eaten raw or cooked, and are usually grown in tropical regions.

[project-melo]

Okay so considering I feel a wee bit stuck with what to tackle next...

Have a poll!

Revised Map with plate tectonics and specific countries

Thylaraptor Livestock and crops

Thylaraptor mobility aids (And some other disability aids)

Thylaraptor variants

Thylaraptor architecture

OCTAfan's button

Voting ended onDec 2, 2025

[project-melo]

Whelp, guess we're tackling livestock and crops!

Then most likely revised map and architecture or thylaraptor variants.

[project-melo]

Okay so considering I feel a wee bit stuck with what to tackle next...

Have a poll!

Revised Map with plate tectonics and specific countries

Thylaraptor Livestock and crops

Thylaraptor mobility aids (And some other disability aids)

Thylaraptor variants

Thylaraptor architecture

OCTAfan's button

Voting ended onDec 2, 2025