#telogene

[on-beyond-holocene]

Colophotherium grimmorum

Colophotherium is one of the many descendants of cattle present worldwide 35 million years in the future. This species can be found in colder wooded habitats in northern Eurasia. Coat density changes with the seasons, allowing Colophotherium to inhabit the same regions year-round. The head bears an inflatable resonating chamber, similar to that present in saiga. Herds will communicate over large distances with amplified calls, and in fights, it is usually the one with the louder moo that wins.

The diet of Colophotherium consists of grass, leaves, and bark. As an individual grows, the horns are first used to scrape bark off of trees; at a certain age, the incisors and mouth musculature will be robust enough to remove bark on its own. The large horns present on the heads of adults are often used to fell trees, so that an individual can feast on leaves present higher up. The molars are honed to handle rough and hard-to-chew foodstuffs, and the extensive ruminant stomach can easily digest a day's worth of bark.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Phobotherium trachyops

While artiodactyls are generally thought to be a herbivorous clade, this is more of a guideline than a rule. Occasional carnivory is present across the clade, but at least two groups of artiodactyls, suids and hippopotamids, regularly eat meat as well as plant matter. One major lineage, Cetacea, is exclusively carnivorous. It is therefore not implausible that more carnivorous artiodactyls will evolve in the future.

Phobotherium is descended from wild boar, which prospered both during and after the Holocene. In the wake of larger carnivorans such as bears and big cats, millions of years of evolution have honed these hogs from aggressive generalists to apex predators, with a shoulder height of two meters. Individuals patrol large territories, up to hundreds of square miles, and, with the exception of mothers and juveniles, generally do not tolerate each other; most of the face is bare and rugose, and older individuals often bear scars from intraspecific fights. Phobotherium bears large tusks inherited from their suid ancestors, originally evolved for intraspecific conflict; here, they have been exapted to also inflict wounds on prey organisms. Phobotherium preys upon medium-to-large herbivorous mammals, such as bovids, cervids, procyonids, and other suids.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Venatoceros aethiopicus

Stalking-hornbills can be found in relatively open habitats throughout Africa and central Asia 40 million years in the future. These birds have traded flight for size; the largest species, such as the East African Venatoceros aethiopicus, can grow to three meters in height. This species has extensive featherless areas on its underside; this helps with heat dissipation in hot savanna environments.

Stalking-hornbills are so named due to their style of hunting: they roam grasslands in search of small reptiles and mammals. Their long necks provide leverage from which they may grab their prey and swallow it whole. This is an extension of the foraging habits of modern ground hornbills. Stalking-hornbills can be found in many of the same areas as manticores, and occasionally lone individuals may associate. The two predators do not compete, as manticores generally prefer larger prey than stalking-hornbills.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Kujirotaria grandis

50 million years in the future, the majority of cetaceans have become extinct. Cetacean diversity has been in decline since the Miocene, and human persecution has not helped. Only a few lineages of dolphin have made it this far. The extinction of larger whales have left larger predatory niches open, to be filled by descendants of other taxa.

The great sea bear is descended from sea lions. It is completely marine, and is unable to stand on land; the hind feet have formed a semi-fused, flexible fluke. The great sea bear reaches lengths of up to eight meters. It is an apex predator; its diet consists of sharks, seabirds, marine reptiles, large fish and cephalopods, and smaller marine mammals. Sea bears have a distinctly flexible neck, and sometimes kill prey by thrashing it to pieces. Sea bears live solitary, except for mothers and offspring, who may stay together for over a year after birth.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Hydrofelis chilensis

Feral cats started diversifying almost immediately after the disappearance of humans. By the beginning of the Telogene period, one lineage had taken root as a major lineage of marine mammals. These so-called ottercats can be found along coasts worldwide, even in Antarctica. As with sea otters, they lack blubber and are insulated by two layers of fur. Different species range between 60 cm and over 5 meters.

The South American ottercat ranges across the coasts of South America, being more concentrated in tropical regions. The average individual is 150 cm in length, with very large individuals exceeding two meters. Like all cats, its webbed feet bear retractable claws. Its skull is robust and has flattened, crushing molars, and can produce a bite force of around 400 N/cm^2. It has a generalized diet, which may include fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and seabird eggs.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Sirenichoerus beebei

Descended from pigs, meerschwein are a clade of marine mammals that evolved in the early Epigene, filling the aquatic herbivore niche that had been previously filled by desmostylians and sirenians. Although they are entirely herbivorous, they are aggressive and considered highly dangerous. Different species can be found across many coastlines, with notable exceptions being Antarctica and the north Atlantic.

The South American meerschwein is a common sight along the Peruvian coast 50 million years in the future. They can be found in shallow coastal waters, grazing on seagrasses and kelp. This species bears a prehensile trunk which assists with this. Clawlike hooves are still present on the front and hind limbs; these are used when hauling out onto land, as well as anchoring individuals to rocks upon which they graze. Medium-sized colonies may be found along beaches and flat coastal rock outcrops. The compositions of these are relatively loose, consisting of individuals either resting or attempting to breed at the moment. Males, which bear prominent tusks, are highly territorial and will proclaim their spots with loud, gravelly roaring noises.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Paractirapax acanthoglossum

Paractirapax is a predatory marine bird from 50 million years in the future. Descended from a modern species of diving duck, it is flightless and propels itself through a combination of wing- and foot-propelled diving. Its legs are able to provide adept terrestrial locomotion, however, and some individuals spend the majority of their time on land. This species can grow up to 1.7 meters in height, and ranges across the coasts of South America, as well as several Subantarctic islands.

Paractirapax is notable for having a very long tongue, which anchors on the sternum. This tongue bears numerous keratinous spikes along its length. It is used similarly to a harpoon, and can be fired at rapid speed out of the mouth to spear prey, which may include fish, large cephalopods, marine mammals, and other seabirds. Small groups have been observed walking up to beached meerschwein and stabbing them to death with their tongues.

[on-beyond-holocene]

Dyptogyps sp.

Seabird communities have changed significantly 50 million years in the future. The impact that humans caused on the oceans had a major effect on aquatic birds. Seabird diversity decreased at the end of the Quaternary, with some clades such as pelicans and albatrosses going extinct entirely. But by the mid-Telogene, new birds have evolved to fill these niches, and seabird biodiversity is high once again.

Diving-vultures are large and portly birds, with wingspans of up to three meters in large individuals. The genus Dyptogyps ranges along the coasts of South America and western North America. They are characterized by their brightly-colored heads, including throat pouches that take on vivid colorations during the breeding season. As the name implies, these birds are piscivorous, diving for food. Diving-vulture eyes have a thick but transparent nictitating membrane, allowing an individual to see prey and pursue it underwater. Although their ancestors had good senses of smell, diving-vultures lack external nostrils entirely; instead the internal nostrils house salt-removing glands.