'Exobiotica' Explained | Speculative Biology

[@baronofnothing8896]

These speculative biologies are always fun to watch. Always makes you wonder what really is out there.

[@Keigo_88]

There could be a rock out there that is shaped like a dick

[@dragonsbeyond5550]

Oh yeah, I recently got into speculative zoology and Curious Archive contributed to that. As well as C.M. Kösemen too. Just completely wondrous to speculate what is beyond this blue marble and how they would adapt to different environments. And of course there is a possibility we come along sentient life too, but probably not the grey stout aliens that we see of as today.

[@vipahxxx7640]

True, I love it.

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

Yeap

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

@@dragonsbeyond5550 maybe in Europa or Titan 🤞🏻, simple live of course or complex like some arthropods.

[@sparkyshorts1517]

My son used to love drawing his own speculative alien worlds. From single cells to highly evolved, he never ceased to amaze me with how rich and diverse he populated them. I stumbled across awesome videos like this one and learned what he had done is a whole Thing. I share these with him and hope they spark his imagination as much as he does my own. Thank you for sharing these with us! EDIT: Thank you for your patience if you still would like to see his old drawings. It's a busy time of year, but we'll get the track down and posted on my little channel soon!

[@alienmapping3536]

thats adorable

[@sparkyshorts1517]

@@alienmapping3536 So Was! If I can find his old sketch books I'll share some of his species evolutions, as long as he doesn't mind, lol

[@alienmapping3536]

@@sparkyshorts1517 that would be very cool ! :)

[@anentiresleeveoforeos2087]

gay

[@nullus8717]

@@anentiresleeveoforeos2087 Jerma plz

[@friend_trilobot]

I really like these speculative Alien lifeforms better than many we've seen on here - I think it's bc they feel aesthetically natural, like they are unlike most earth organisms but feel like they still obey the constraints of biophysics

[@shelbyacre5264]

I agree wholeheartedly! It would be amazing to see a documentary of this planet like on Netflix or something

[@GoblinModeKnives]

Yeah I agree, a lot of spec zoo has at least 1 or two organisms that patently don't make sense. This is all so alien but has established examples on our world.

[@friend_trilobot]

A big thing for me is that I really feel like organisms, even alien organisms, would be made up of organs and other organic structures whose shape and build would ultimately be familiar to us, even if arranged in strange ways...like there's gonna be tubes, segments, vein-like structures, pods made of leaf-like shapes, blobs of predictable structure, e.t.c. - but they would still be arranged in ways that would seem visually appealing to a human on some level bc they would still exhibit balance, symmetry and logical organization - like even the strangest creatures on earth still kind of make sense to us and follow those rules - i mean a water bear or a sea slug is nothing like more familiar animals but its body still makes sense to us - I think good spec biology would ideally make us feel like we're seeing a real creature and be able to understand where it starts and ends but it might take a moment to understand what the actual body plan is and which parts sense which purpose. I feel a lot of the spec zoology (we've seen on here at least) tends to fail in at least one of those ways

[@Obreyze]

Hello

[@zandi1603]

Plot twist : the author actually went to an alien planet

[@jmm1067]

dumb idea: a C.A. video thats literally just exploring life on earth, describing the lifeforms with examples from fictional works in a role reversal way. treating the very real animals like their pieces of speculative work and vice versa. I.E. "in the vast earth oceans live an apex predator unchanged for millions of years, the shark. though they look remarkably simular to the squidsharks of 4546B, but are more closely related to earth fish than squids" as a terrible example

[@zuzananespalova2316]

That is great idea, i would love to see a video about that

[@hochigaming14yearsago90]

Earth is weirder than any of these planets.

[@locxlsxdsxck5171]

Definitely would work well as a future April Fool's video

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

It would make a great April fools vid.

[@kingmasterlord]

D&D perspective, someone from Faerûn is stuck here because there's no magic, found footage/lost notes type of story.

[@morbiddawg]

Another well-made video about speculative biology. Keep it up, sir.

[@CuriousArchive]

Thanks, will do!

[@mr.randomly2799]

@@CuriousArchive nutz

[@sonorasgirl]

I love that this had very distinct biomes and body plans from each other. They all looked like they’d evolved together but really varied in color, size, and overall form. It also allowed for much more realistic looking (while still bloody great and weird) scenes. Idk, I really liked this one, it was cool and kinda realistic in a weird way

[@wholesomedegenerate869]

This is one of the most fleshed out speculative biologies I've seen in this channel so far! The illustrations are high quality and the little interactions between these organisms in their alien ecosystem can be derived from the illustrations themselves and it's really interesting

[@shuggurath5636]

This is the first one I've seen and it honestly seems extremely one dimensional to be honest. Everything was described in relation to a symbiosis that is very similar to one on Earth. All predators are described as dangerous and hungry yet we barely have any clue how how they see, hunt, attack, eat, or digest ( 7:00 ). Other than how these things look, there is no detail. Even the gimmick of symbiosis and many pieces converging to a whole was not exaggerated enough. I was expecting something like an entire sub-biome seeming like one creature but is actually several. Predators are simply that. There is no anti-symbiosis such as sabotage (beneficial relationship becomes parasitic) and there is no anatomy. Very shallow universe from what I am getting.

[@bearsofintelligence]

This has quickly become one of my favorite channels - being continuously introduced to all these amazing speculative evolution projects is always such a treat

[@diabotron4935]

CA quickly became one of my favorite channels on internet and I am no biologist at all. great content!

[@GreatAukEntertainment]

love these showcases of underrated spec bio projects

[@remilperez5318]

I would suggest checking out the anime "Made in the Abyss" for a potential episode. The fictional creatures in the work are downright awe inspiring as they are bizarre.

[@patchyworx]

I completely second this as it's one of my favorite animes

[@BEZERKSTUDIOS718]

If you guys are going to keep advertising the show you should at least include a trauma warning lmao

[@Tobi-gy5kn]

Very good suggestion!

[@kirbyfazendoummoonwalk9214]

Weeb

[@noobiusmaximus6314]

One area of speculative are the predictions of life on the planets of our solar system (as you may have seen in Lemmino's recent video. People have proposed ideas for life on the moon, mars, venus etc for hundreds of years, as well as modern day. In that same sense, videos surrounding the biology of aliens visiting earth (ie, usually as invaders) would be interesting.

[@swseine1670]

😴😴😴😴😴😴

[@pinetorch7876]

18:18 I always love when people expand their universe of creations away from 1 planet. It gives so much more aliens with different environments to adapt to

[@floridaman6572]

I’m the opposite. When multiple planets are involved people tend to get less creative with their life forms for it takes more effort. This author though seems to have done a rather good job with his planet.

[@WryTrvr]

What I love most about speculative biology is by showing just how strange and amazing things could be, it gives you a perspective that really helps you grasp just how strange and amazing the real life on earth is

[@winterfooox3238]

videos like these do really make me want to try out speculative biology

[@computergamescritical6917]

I mean, you’re always free to try :)

[@pinetorch7876]

you can do it! It doesn't take that much effort, just knowledge in biology and a planet for a template for organisms and you can create aliens. You don't need to even be good at art to do it

[@pinetorch7876]

@@thecrappycoder what

[@happynihilist2573]

I'm sad you didn't make an April Fool's joke but Very happy you covered a project I've been a fan of for years

[@austinfernando8406]

i think a good joke would've been to present real-world but obscure creatures as if they were speculative biology i have an example maybe too obvious, but caecilians are weird, they are amphibians that look like worms who eat their mothers skin when young (which then regenerates and is eaten again, and so on) there are a lot of weird creatures out there

[@privatepessleneck]

wouldn't have been funny if he did a video on regular earth biology and acted like it was speculative stuff.

[@Muhammed_English314]

NO

[@happynihilist2573]

@@privatepessleneck actually that would have been perfect I can imagine it like "next is the Giraffe a odd-looking animal witch has elongated its neck to better feed on tall trees, which seems unlikely considering trees are few and far between but-"

[@floridaman6572]

@@privatepessleneck ya I agree, April Fools is a dumb “holiday”. Either people take their jokes too far or they’re bland and uninteresting.

[@marxtheenigma873]

Something I've noticed about alien spec bio things is that I don't often see structures analogous to fur or feathers on the critters. I wonder why?

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

It makes them look alien as they do with dinosaurs, we know now some developed exactly that. Like squirrels or lizards at the beginning, it is easier a membrane to appear.

[@เรียนภาษาอังกฤษวันนี้]

Such authors often imitate each other. I have yet to see a well thought out universe.

[@floridaman6572]

@@เรียนภาษาอังกฤษวันนี้ they are actually pretty well thought out considering we only have earth biology to go off of.

[@sgoldendragon3603]

Personally, I don't do fur or feathers for my creatures super often because I find them a bit harder to have nice patterns on, and feathers are extremely difficult to illustrate. Possible others experience something similar, but I am not sure.

[@Lst-kb3sr]

I think it's because fur or feathers on something that trying to be alien immediately makes it less alien and more earthly or even cute and authors usually don't want such thing to happen.

[@CrossbredManiac]

Gaugh this project is particularly beautiful to me for some reason. I'll never stop appreciating the fact that you encourage viewers to support the artists and explore their works outside of your videos. You're legendary for that.

[@PutRandomNameHere]

I really hope you never run out of projects to show us, this is quickly becoming my favorite channel!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

This is one of my favorite types of speculative biology type worlds. The art style, the true to form nature techniques. It's amazing.

[@SpiralDown2077]

Thank you for giving so many artists a platform with you, I really enjoy going thru everyone’s gorgeous work after and episode. Sometimes I can even hear your narration as I look. You’re awesome 💚

[@bartolomeestebanmurillo4459]

I always love speculative biology! Veteris is a truly alien ecosystem where even the ground is alive!

[@LolTolerant]

You see, this is what KZbin should be like! Fun, creative and informative! I salute everyone who works on this channel as this channel is hundreds of times better than 99% of KZbin. A sub well earned!!

[@quintonneal2881]

This is definitely one of my favorite additions to the archive. I like the unfolding of the story, and how the way the planet has evolved comes into light as the video goes on. You did a great job encapsulating the coolness of it all! Keep it up!

[@wanamingo4961]

It’d be really cool if you covered nausicaa and the valley of the wind, it has some amazing world design

[@foxybingo1112]

That would be amazing

[@au71sm0]

I saw these on DeviantArt once, but I couldn’t find them for such a long time. These are really cool art pieces.

[@bobmorgan476]

Beautiful and intriguing art in this one. Thank you for researching and reporting on these wonderful speculative biology explorations. Your own touches bring these alien worlds to life, from subtle atmospheric effects to sweeping pans and effective scoring to accompany your narration. Thank you, and the talented artists you feature, for such an amazing KZbin experience!

[@Mark-Wilson]

I thought this would be an april fools joke and I am kind of sad it isn't *BUT" this led me to another amazing speculative biology project and so i am happy again!!

[@draum8103]

These designs are so creative, and the drawings are completely gorgeous! I like how diverse the organisms are as well.

[@OMalleyTheMaggot]

The idea of a forest canopy being so thick it creates a deep-ocean-esque effect of making everything bioluminescent is so cool

[@nicoborgonia]

thanks Curious Archive for introducing me to speculative biology. I'm an artist myself particularly someone who likes to draw fantastical things such as creatures and stuff and realizing that these brilliant artists' works are rooted on science and are carefully researched inspires me to put on the same effort on my artworks. Keep making these great contents.

[@ashsmash666]

Absolutely love your speculative biology videos, some of the best on the platform!

[@firelow]

2:12 "On Earth it's rare that one would mistake plants, animals and fungi" People think fungi are plants all the time, just a quick useless note.

[@dogwalker1896]

I highly recommend checking out Runaway to the Stars. A hard Sci fi project with spec bio that focuses on how aliens live their daily lives. Very cool.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

Man, I can't sufficiently express how much I appreciate, or in all sincerity, love your channel! It's the content, your style of narration, the obvious fascination for life as such! Thank you! In my opinion alien lifeforms in fiction are usually pretty boring, merely copying what we have here on earth and at best creating a chimera out of familiar organisms and maybe making it a bit more vicious and/or intelligent but seldomly original. I have to admit that coming up with something truly alien is a real challenge - probably because of the way our brain works. I guess it is similar to the terms and words we know are effecting our thinking; we have to work with what we have respectively know. That's why I'm just the more impressed by those biologically educated artists who actually manage to create something which truly defies our earthly experiences. I guess I owe my fascination for such topics to my great-grandfather who wrote a science fiction novel back in the 60's which dealt with the first international expedition sent to explore another solar system and an earth-like planet in its star's orbit where they encountered a civilisation of intelligent plant-like beings. The book blew me away and I think it was way ahead of its time, but written in german and published in the former GDR it of course remained obscure. He was a gifted writer and I feel very sad that I hadn't a chance to meet him because he died well before my birth - when it comes to my great-grandfather my grandmother always mentioned how similar we are.. However - most people take life in it's innumerable forms as granted and don't feel its "magic" and countless possibilities. I'm glad that there are other people as you and the artists creating such amazing projects like this one out there - it might sound sentimental, but I in a way feel connected with you people. 😅 Thanks again and greetings from Berlin!

[@catpoke9557]

Only problem is when artists try so hard to make something alien that they forget convergent evolution exists and avoid all similarities to Earth animals. I prefer that over people who make things too earthly, though. I'd rather too weird than not weird enough. Also, what was your great grandfather's book called? I can't read it but people who know German could. If they can get access to it, they could read his book!

[@kai_plays_khomus]

@@catpoke9557 I agree - the true challenge respectivly art might lay within finding the right balance between not being too similar to earth's life to feel like a knock-off and not being too outlandish to hail from the same universal evolutionary mechanisms. Thanks for your interest! My great-granddad's book is called "Planet der Träume" ("Planet of Dreams") by Hans Prüfer, GDR 1973.

[@ekszentrik]

9:00 this gave me the strange epiphany that Earth life has a certain minimum speed of locomotion. The slowest animals (or macroscopic organisms, but only animals matter here) are like around snail speed. Why don't we have slow striders that take days to cross a few meters? This is a common trope in fantasy and spec bio, but entirely absent IRL.

[@kakizakichannel]

Have you seen how long it takes a sunflower or a vine to move?

[@ekszentrik]

@@kakizakichannel I know what you mean, which is exactly why I used the term "locomotion" instead of just "moving".

[@jonathancole9664]

You mean like sauropods ?

[@ekszentrik]

@@jonathancole9664 You are a funny human.

[@vascanatomy9443]

I suppose it's partly because we don't have animal-like autotrophs which has different selection pressures.

[@confusedcryptid]

Finally! a video uploaded on April first without any JOKES!

[@alexahlers1577]

This looks like what I imagine the home world of the elder things or some other eldritch species.

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

The home of C'uthulu.

[@DeclanRese]

Always nice to see your speculative biology narration videos on my feed buddy

[@snail5469]

i love how everything in this planet is so strange it almost looks like its meant to be microscopic

[@Manj_J]

I adore this! I wish I could get prints of these scenes, I'd hang them up in my room and get inspired by them to draw all the weird and wonderful alien stuff in my mind. Making your own alien world seems like such a fun project, I really want to try this someday!

[@FulgrimDragon]

I love how something so alien can begin to feel familiar after an analysis like this. love your videos looking forward to other projects you'll cover!

[@jfk-qf5nj]

This may not seem like a compliment but it is, your voice always helps my insomnia racked brain

[@coledaulton8740]

I really enjoy your speculative evolution videos

[@shelbyacre5264]

I think this is one of my favorite speculative biology projects yet!

[@Chloe11501]

These videos never fail to amaze me, just looking at some of the things that people can creat, really makes you wonder what could really be out there.

[@josequiles7430]

RIght of the bat I love that the author doesn't call these organisms "plants" or "animals", as such are earth specific categories. Because, y'know, all organisms in the same category are related. And life forms on other planets wouldn't be related to the ones from earth.

[@anonrickfail1]

This speculative biology actually made me realize a good point that I myself have never thought of, when we think of other planets creating life why do we assume that they would be like ours? Why do we assume it would be distinct between animals and plants or what we perceive animals and plants to be, animals plants and fungi are just what happened to evolve on Earth that doesn't mean that that's what's going to happen on any other planets These videos really make good food for thought, keep up the great work at not only making these but helping us as viewers discover these amazing works by these amazing artists and writers

[@teathesilkwing7616]

Well it’s safe to assume the base of the food chain would be some sort of photosynthesis, and there’s not really a reason for autotrophs to move a ton, and they would have less energy to do so because they don’t eat, so photosynthetic organisms would probably tend towards being sessile. It’s also easier for the author most likely

[@KabuMontasaurios]

It's so refreshing to see a project doesn't rely in convergent evolution nor states a clear distinction between "plants and animals", I think this one is my favorite so fat

[@-insertnamehere-5503]

Yay another video to satisfy the endless hunger for more speculative evolution content

[@justtoms3773]

this might be my favorite alien creature desighns so far i love this

[@hillwench]

I got recommended one of your videos a week or two ago and have been absolutely hooked since. Your narration has a wonderful mix of relaxedness and passion that makes for a perfect documentary atmosphere. Thank you for making these videos!

[@bardia8905]

YAS! Always a great day when Mr Curious Archive posts another spec bio video

[@CyclopsRat]

Hey CA! I hope some day you cover the speculative biology project conducted by the KZbin channel Biblaridion titled "alien biospheres". It's still an ongoing project but it is incredibly fascinating to see a speculative biology project develop before your eyes. If you are reading this and are interested in the subject, I highly recommend the series!!!

[@johnohnohnohn]

I’ve noticed he doesn’t really cover projects that are largely showcased on KZbin, probably because it doesn’t make sense to make a KZbin video about someone else’s project that they have spent a while making KZbin videos of. Kind of steals the light.

[@CyclopsRat]

@@johnohnohnohn totally fair. I just am so enamoured by that project that I want more people to know about it but I guess there are more ethical ways to promote it.

[@jeanm9538]

A little bit high. Thinking about a speculative project like a planet where every 5 minutes every species teleports randomly to another part of the planet. Love the channel.

[@the8thsin165]

Is there a speculative biology world where everything evolved from crabs

[@hondaaccord1399]

Why is everything evolving *from* crabs?

[@emberandfriendsanimations2454]

@@hondaaccord1399 is that a reference to the eons episode on why animals keep evolving crablike body plans

[@the8thsin165]

Because aliens put a bunch of random crabs on a planet they had to evolve somehow

[@hondaaccord1399]

@@emberandfriendsanimations2454 Yes, as I was assuming the OP's comment was!

[@the8thsin165]

@@hondaaccord1399 no it is not

[@zorak964]

3:20 Fun fact: starfishes also power their locomotor structure with hydraulics. These animals even has an entire system dedicated to pump water; it's called water vascular system.

[@disorganizedbones8139]

Absolutely love this planet, the simple way to put it is if plants are alive and have animal like intelligence, and that concept is fascinating.

[@isaacchristensen659]

This was one of my top 5 favorite speculative biology videos you’ve done!

[@ivanabah2237]

Speculative biology are my favorite topics

[@chucksellers8422]

This is my jam, but what would make it better for me would be to hear the planet stats before you get started. The planet's star type and name, the planets size, temperature, atmosphere gas percentages and could we survive on the planet are things I wonder about.

[@KnightOfThe_Onion]

This is probably one of the most realistic fictional alien world I've seen on KZbin. In reality, aliens we first encounter will very most likely not be a humanoid life form (like grays) but an extremely different and strange creature that seems impossible, but still follows the laws of bio physics

[@quip7658]

Best channel EVER.

[@lilyangel7611]

Ugh this is why I love this channel Keep it up I'm addicted

[@researcherchameleon4602]

This would have given HP Lovecraft a heart attack

[@troyjones2687]

I find it fascinating yet terrifying to imagine being on a planet like this. Taking one step in any direction could mean being some creature’s dinner. 😣

[@NathanTarantlawriter]

Speculative biology is such fun. Great video showcasing some great artwork!

[@rrrrrrrrrr9354]

the artwork is … WTF .. imagine literally being able to make a whole world like this

[@sir.fender6034]

If Carl Sagan was still living, he would be subscribed to this channel.

[@AphidKirby]

YESSSS! i absolutely looove the creatures of Veteris! Super happy to see this one getting covered! the walking leafs that look like mermaid wineglasses are my fave! ps. When you talk about colonial organisms composed by multiple individuals you show footage of Tomopteris, which is a polychaete worm and a single individual! Not a siphonophore or any kind of colonial organism!

[@ursidae97]

I've been waiting for something this soothingly nightmarish, yet entirely realistic

[@justaguywhodraws]

NOW THIS, this is gonna be a good episode

[@xan5948]

Anybody else notice the trend that almost every inch of this world is covered in living matter? Half of the images are living creatures crawling along a mat of other living organisms.

[@Kazooples]

I will always have hope that in my lifetime we might find a planet nearby with similar life to this, I can only imagine the scientists hyperventilating while trying to remain calm and study what they’ve seen.

[@jokerace8227]

The fun part is that if life is relatively common in the vastness of the Universe, there's probably a creature that looks uncannily like every creature that every human and AI artist has ever imagined, maybe ever will imagine, somewhere at some point in Time.

[@Ponera-Sama]

Finally, a fictional alien planet with more than one biome

[@haydend.maniac227]

Thank Christ it isn’t an April fools video

[@tysondennis1016]

I’m watching this to get some ideas for worldbuilding my cousin and I’s project. It’s a post apocalyptic fantasy that takes place on an Earthlike world that’s not our world.

[@Gayoinion]

Def one of the best I’ve seen

[@rga1605]

I really gotta say it's beautiful in a very alien way. Though I'm surprised the author didn't go for sapient life even if the world is older than Earth; not that it was necessary or not, it's just it's something the author didn't choose to.

[@gastongodoy4944]

I love this kind of content Thanks for all the work you put into this

[@xavier84623]

This is one of the better ones Iv seen. Seems more grounded and less fantasy than a lot of other spec bio projects

[@nakenmil]

Absolutely love speculative evolution. So much fun.

[@giuseppedagostino6979]

I love this content so much

[@Violet_iris]

I would love to see a video on the dragons of Wales

[@hex_1733]

The art is absolutely mesmerising!

[@fabriziobiancucci7702]

I love this video. Can you make a video about the fifth part of Serina? I know that the author is continue the story

[@TalesofDrCreepYPasta]

This speculative biology project really puts the "speculative" in speculative biology.

[@Oliver_but_digital]

Wonderful to see my favorite project get covered! Be sure to go show Michael some support!

[@nagymarton7674]

3:18 Sorry, but for me, who lives in Eastern Europe, i can't do anything, but smile on the fact, that this creature called Dacia, like the car manufacturer in Romania.

[@Texan_christian1132]

Literally no one knows what that is. Heck I’d be surprised if anyone knows what Romania is.

[@nagymarton7674]

True!

[@glennrossdiolata5390]

I just discovered speculative evolution and I'm loving it

[@inkynebula]

I love this artist! omg this is so exciting

[@Edujs23]

Could you look into the Monster Hunter Monsters and their behaviour?

[@diegoowen8094]

This has made me realize how much work went into Subnautica's world.

[@cg.man_aka_kevin]

This channel is indeed a reference to extraterrestrial life or aliens which makes my Sci-Fi alien movie projects more realistic... Lol...

[@zenebean]

the unparalleled monolith is my fav, but everything in this project is stunning

[@Lyarrah]

Honestly with that intro I was expecting this to be an April Fools video that treated earth animals as weird and alien XD I have to agree with a lot of the other comments that I like the ones on this planet, too - the author clearly didn't try too hard to make their aliens absolutely non-terrestrial, nor did they simply go "here is an earth animal except it's purple and has six legs", nor did they try to make the aliens look freaky for the sake of being freaky... they just went for biologically logical things. probably one of my favorite fully alien worlds you've covered (my favorite remains Sirena, but it's not really alien technically).

[@janus9148]

I can't believe this channel is free

[@shellexpedition2013]

I love this “series” I enjoy seeing the parallels to creatures I’m familiar with😘

[@blitzkreg335]

These videos always blow my mind. To think taht this can actually be a thing somewhere in the universe.