So, if you've been following my posts, you probably know about my story, Monster Cove. A story about a park filled with a lot of aquatic animals from prehistory. In this universe, evolution took a different path, and a lot of the apex predators of the seas and rivers made it to modern day. But dinosaurs were left behind.
First up, we have the main animal protagonist of the story, Donya, a Dolichorhynchops Aqusaltator. She is 4 feet tall, 17 feet long, and 1,200 pounds. Her species name means "Long-nosed Face Water Dancer". She's a little bulkier than a Cretaceous Dolichorhynchops, she has spiked brows, a sharp tail fluke, and spikes in the front of her fins, mainly used for ramming and stunning prey, she also has markings that look like flower petals. Donya was found at sea when a group of poachers were attacking her and her mother. Fortunately, Dr. Gi-wo Hun, a Korean marine biologist who specialized in marine reptiles, and his daughter, Su-yen, along with the coastguard, found the ship the poachers were on and boarded them. Unfortunately, Donya's mother died from blood loss because she was speared in the back. From then on, Su adopted Donya and has been taking care of her since. At Monster Cove, Donya's exhibit is called "Dolly Dimension", which is a live show where she and Su do performances. Because of how she was raised, Donya is very fond of people, almost acting like a pet. But her bond with Su is very strong, so strong in fact, that at one point, when the park was hacked and the animals started rampaging across the park, Donya saved Su from being killed by the park's flagship, Apollo the Unbelievable, a massive Prognathodon. She even helped Su and her father lure Apollo back to his enclosure.
Next up, we have our first remake. Big Duncan is a massive Dunkleosteus Malleocranium, measuring at 36 feet in length, 7 feet in height, and weighs 6 tons. His species name means "Dunke's Bone Hammer Skull". Big Duncan's story is unique in that he wasn't originally from Monster Cove. He was from a park called "Deep Scares", where he was the biggest animal in the park. But the park wasn't exactly the best when it came to managing the animals. In fact, it got to the point that a lot of the animals started dying, and soon enough, the park became smaller to better make Big Duncan the selling point. But one day, he snapped. He started ramming the glass of his enclosure, trying to break out, but then, the people of ScopeSea, the people who own Monster Cove, found out about Big Duncan's situation and sued Deep Scares for it's mistreatment of it's animals. After that, ScopeSea moved Big Duncan to Monster Cove. At first, he wasn't happy with being put into another cage, but then, he noticed that he wasn't just being fed small fish, no, he was being fed large chunks of meat, the kind of meat that his kind need to sustain themsleves. This led to Big Duncan becoming more laid back because he realized that people in Monster Cove actually do care about him, so his anger faded away until there was nothing left. These days, Big Duncan, despite his intimidating appearance, is well-loved by guests, and especially children because of how friendly he is. He even does something a fish shouldn't be able to do, he often winks at the guests, making them question things. But he knows they're confused and loves to play along with the mystery. His exhibit is called "Abyssal Encounter", because unlike a lot of the other exhibits, this one is set in a cave-like setting. Because in the wild, this Dunkleosteus species is mainly a night hunter and they prefer darker areas. He has far more armor than the Dunkleosteus of the Devonian, and his head is structured in a way where it can be used as a battering ram, and his lower jaw is also bulkier to enhance his bite power. In this universe, the reason why Dunkleosteus doesn't look like a massive goldfish, is because in the Devonian, well, they actually did look like the modern reconstruction of Dunkleosteus. But over the years, they started facing more challenges, especially from sharks, so they evolved a longer body for faster travel. So yeah, I actually have a reason as to why Dunkleosteus looks the way it does in this universe. It's convergent evolution, they're trying to copy sharks.
Next up we have the resident daredevil, Silas, a Cretoxyrhina Duplidentium. He is 34 feet long, 6 feet tall at the top of his dorsal fin, and 5 tons. His name means "Double toothed Cretaceous Sharp-nose", because he actually has two types of teeth. The teeth on his upper jaw are smaller and are used for ripping flesh, while the teeth on the lower jaw are used for crushing bone. Most of his body was inspired by both makos and Greenland sharks. Silas is a very energetic shark and one who always wants to eat large prey and rip it apart in the most violent way possible. He sees violence as an art form, but he never tried to kill his handlers because they're the ones who feed him, if he kills them, he has nothing left to rip apart. But then, when the park was hacked by an extremist group, Silas got out of his exhibit and swam through the connected pipelines of the park, and they were big enough to fit him in them. And eventually, he ended up at Triple Wave Lagoon, where the Plesiosaurs and the Hesperonis were. Chaos soon ensued when Silas tried to kill the Hesperonis in the exhibit, but the three Plesiosaurs, Peppa the Cryptoclidus, Marko the Mauisaurus, and Leido the Thalassomedon fought Silas to protect the Hesperonis because they saw them as neighbors. But he shrugged the Plesiosaurs off. But the problem was, he didn't know someone else was traveling through the same pipes he did. Big Duncan then swam into Triple Wave Lagoon, and he immediately rammed Silas, seeing him as a threat to the surrounding populace. The two of them fought until Big Duncan tired Silas out, enough time for the handlers to capture him and take Silas back to his enclosure. Silas' enclosure is called "Knife House" and it's filled with decorative shipwrecks and bones. The reason for the name is because Cretoxyrhina is often known as the Ginsu Shark, named after Ginsu knives. But after his rampage, he was put into a quarantine enclosure to better study his behavior. Monster Cove and it's staff aren't experimenting on him, they're simply trying to determine whether or not they should keep Silas or they should either give him to another institute or release him back into the wild. They're already planning on a possible replacement just in case Silas acts up again. It's very possible that if his behavior doesn't improve, they'll replace him with a pair of Hybodus or a Helicoprion. Though those two are still predators, their aggression pales in comparison to his.
Up next is a less problematic animal than Silas, we have Hanny, a Hyneria Defumembri. She is 17 feet long and 1.5 feet tall and weighs 3 tons. Her species name means "Missing Limb from Hyner", because, for some unknown reason, her species is missing a lot of the fins often found in Hyneria. She also has more armor on her head. Hanny lives in Superstar Grotto, an exhibit in the freshwater section with a lot of windows and crystal clear water. Hanny has night vision and can slither on land using her front fins for three hours. She is an ambush predator, but one who is an absolute diva when it comes to people taking pictures of her. Because if they don't get her good side, she often splashes the guests with a whip of her tail which flings water at them. But she's actually gentle when it comes to her handlers.
Next up is Ricky the Rhizodus Vitrumanus, He's 2 feet tall and 25 feet long, and 3 tons. His name means "Root Tooth Glass Hand", because his fins look like paned glass. Like Hanny, he's also ambush predator with a top speed of 20 mph in a short burst, and he can also crawl on land just like her. He can be found in the Ravenous Rivers exhibit, an enclosure with one massive glass view, the water that is intentionally murky so guests wouldn't be able to see Ricky at first, but he sees though the water just fine. Ricky, despite being a predator, isn't that aggressive, not even when he's eating. He's actually a prankster. He leverages the murky water as a way to sneak up on people and surprise them through the glass. He often targets an intern who's a new tour guide because he knows this intern is easy to scare. So, Ricky often rolls his eyes to the back of his head when he scares this intern. His color scheme is inspired by salmons.
Then, we have Jet, an Ophthalmosaurus Nasferrum, he's 7 feet tall, 20 feet long, and 3.5 tons. His name means "Eye Lizard Blade Nose", because if his jaws are closed, he can use them like how a needlefish uses it's jaws, to stab prey, and he also whacks prey like how swordfish do. He has superior night vision thanks to his big eyes, he also has echolocation and his top speed is 60 mph and he can maintain that for a long time, making him the fastest animal in the park. His enclosure is Jetstream Speedway, an enclosure that looks like a NASCAR race track, and has compartments where hoops come out. Most of Jet's body is a result of convergent evolution, for the same reason Big Duncan looks longer than a real Dunkleosteus. Because Ophthalmosaurus was competing with sharks, so they evolved a body similar to mako sharks. The stripes on his fins are supposed to look like racing stripes. He has a saddle because he's one of the only animals in the park that people can ride on. The handle on the top is what guests need to hold onto during a ride, they need to put their hands in the hole in the middle, but if that doesn't work they can hold onto the top of the handle, there are also straps meant to hold in a person's legs. Jet is cocky, overconfident, but he makes sure to slow down when someone is riding him. Sometimes, Jet is taken out of his enclosure and put into Triple Wave Lagoon to perform with the Plesiosaurs and the Hesperonis, this usually happens during big events or holidays.
Before anyone asks, no, despite it's name, this isn't a crocodile. It's pretty much a giant salamander that looks like one. This is Gus, a Prionosuchus Ucahabitator. He is 35 feet long, 4 feet tall, and 4.5 tons. His species name means "Saw Crocodile Mangrove Dweller", because that's the usual habitat for this animal. Gus is unique in that he's one of the few animals in the park who is a confirmed man-eater. When he was in the wild, he often killed humans and often attacked their boats on purpose. But then, one day, he fought a rogue saltwater crocodile that escaped from animal traffickers which is why it ended up in his territory. During the fight, the croc performed a death roll on Gus' left front leg, tearing it off. The croc then left, because Gus was far too big for it to take down even with his torn limb. For days, Gus just sat by the river banks, because he wasn't used to hunting without both his front limbs because he often uses them for lunging. But then, he was taken to Monster Cove and rehabilitated, he was given a prosthetic leg and ever since then, he stopped hunting humans and saw them as friends because they essentially saved his life. The staff even clean him once a week to make sure he doesn't have parasites or ticks. He lives in the Mangrove Mystery exhibit in the freshwater section, where a boat is driven across a massive enclosure filled with different freshwater animals, and Gus is at the very end of that tour. Because people aren't afraid of him due to his friendly nature, he often allows people to pat him. Gus was named after Gustave, a massive man-eating Nile crocodile. A lot of his features resemble crocs even more due to convergent evolution yet again, because crocodiles are his main competitors in the wild. He evolved a bulkier snout than a prehistoric Prionosuchus, and longer legs. He also has a sail inspired by the ones on newts, but only males like him have these sails and they're for attracting females and regulating heat during cold climates.
Next we have the Plesiosaur Trio, and we will start with it's smallest member. Peppa, a Cryptoclidus Pumilioserpen. She is 22 feet long, 4 feet tall, and 4 tons. Her species name means "Hidden Clavicles Dwarf Serpent", because she's actually smaller than a prehistoric Cryptoclidus, mainly because she's meant to be faster. Her most notable feature is a relatively small neck compared to other Plesiosaurs. That, and her color scheme is meant to fool the eye. If you look at her in complete darkness with only one source of light, it's very possible you'll assume she's a serpent because the rest of her body is colored in darker colors, so all you'll really see is her neck. She has a diamond shaped tail fluke, and spines on her back. She's the little sister of the trio. The most playful and lively one.
The second member is Marko, a Mauisaurus Deauratumanu, he is 30 feet long, 7 feet tall, and is 5 tons. His species name means "Maui Lizard Gliding Hand". His most notable features are the multiple sails on his neck and back, and the tattoo like markings on his body. The ones on his diamond shaped flippers are meant to resemble fish hooks, a reference to Mauisaurus' namesake, Maui himself. The marks on his tail fluke are also based on certain Polynesian tattoos. Marko is a bit of a perfectionist, he always wants his performances to be perfect and he often pecks Peppa when she gets something wrong, but it's not like he's heartless, because he does see the other Plesiosaurs as siblings.
Lastly, is the leader of the trio, Leido, a Thalassomedon Lugerentis. He's 45 feet long, 10 feet tall, and 6 tons, making him so far, the second largest animal in the park, only second to Apollo himself. His species name means "Sea Lord Light Wielder", because he's one of the only animals in the park, and the only marine reptile thus far who has bioluminescence. The sky blue marks on his body are the bioluminescent parts. Even the tips of the barbels on his head can glow. He uses those barbels to detect subtle movement. Thalassomedon Lugerentis in the wild mostly hunt at night in deep water, which is why they have bioluminescence, they use it to attract prey. But if they're threatened, by say, another predator, they start lighting up the big circular markings in the flippers, giving the illusion of eyes, making the predators think that the Thalassomedon is way bigger than it actually is. Leido acts as the big brother of the trio, he's the one who keeps Marko in check whenever Marko scolds Peppa. But he also cares deeply for his adoptive siblings, often bonding when them when they aren't performing. Another notable thing about Thalassomedon Lugerentis is that they have very thick necks, uncommon for Plesiosaurs. They evolved these to counteract Pliosaurs, so they won't be able to snap a Thalassomedon's neck too easily. The sail is primarily used to attract females. His flippers are meant to look like bird wings.
All three of them live in Triple Wave Lagoon, a massive enclosure where their trainers and them perform. They often jump through hoops, play with beach balls, and swim in coordinated ways that look like their version of dancing.
What do you think?
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