The Evolution of Speculative Evolution

Speculative Evolution is everywhere. But how did it begin? A breakdown of the incredible history of my favorite genre…
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Speculative Evolution or Speculative Biology can be defined as a genre focused on hypothetical scenarios in the evolution of life.
Today, Speculative Evolution is everywhere - from Subnautica, to Humanity Lost, to the Birrin, to After Man, to All Tomorrows, to any of the hundreds of amazing online projects that explore worlds beyond our own. But… how did we get here? Interest in the biology of fictional life wasn’t always so widespread. Monsters from ancient myth weren’t typically of thought to be part of an ecosystem, they just kind of… existed. The origin and rise of Speculative Evolution as we know it today is a fascinating tale - deeply intertwined with scientific advancement, and full of unexpected twists.
So, for this special anniversary entry into the archive, I’ll give you the full tour of this genre’s incredible history, and reveal the ‘evolution’ of Speculative Evolution…
0:00 Evolution of Speculative Evolution
1:02 The Time Machine
4:03 Life on Mars
5:54 Visitors from Beyond!
8:32 The Snouters
10:37 After Man
13:00 Age of Docufiction
15:29 All Tomorrows
17:02 The Birrin and Beyond
18:27 A Bright Future...
Sources:
History of The Time Machine - Laura Marcus: www.britannica.com/topic/The-...
History of War of the Worlds: www.denofgeek.com/books/the-c...
War of the Worlds Further Reading - A. Brad Schwartz: www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
UFOs and Aliens in Pop Culture: www.loc.gov/collections/findi...
The Snouters: sivatherium.narod.ru/library/...
Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. All video/image content is edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary.
I do not own the images, music, or footage used in this video. All rights and credit goes to the original owners.
♫ Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com):
Beauty Flow, Firesong, Impact Lento, Majestic Hills, Bittersweet, Floating Cities
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
#CuriousArchive #SpeculativeBiology #SpeculativeEvolution

[@ok_ghost4678]

You should’ve called the video “The evolution of speculative evolution”

[@maverickplays25]

@@ccriztoff why not I think that's an awesome title

[@randombadchannel8700]

@@maverickplays25 Indeed tough i think It May sound a Little redundandant

[@strangertryingtikillme1662]

this is genius

[@alexanderficken9354]

That's the title though?

[@LShropper]

Well now I’m wondering what it was called before this comment lol

[@wendigue]

I grew up on things like walking with monsters, alien planet, the future is wild, and spore and I just want to say thank you everybody for making my childhood and inspiring me to study biology and evolution from such a young age. Now I’m in high school and wanting to become a biologist, this amazing community is growing so rapidly and I really hope more projects like alien planets are made . Thank you

[@Mr.H0LL0W]

Walking with the monsters is definitely one of my favorite childhood shows.

[@fishoffailure]

character development

[@brandonm8920]

You are going places, dont stop man, maybe you can be the creator of a new speculative biology show just as good as all the ones from your childhood

[@wendigue]

@@brandonm8920 thanks. Although I don’t think I could make anything even close to the level of the other shows but thank you for the kind words. I have actually made a couple speculative projects and have thought of making another project and making a video series on it

[@brandonm8920]

@@wendigue thats a starting point, you can only go up hill from now on

[@konradklukowski1009]

speculative evolution is such a diverse genre of sci-fi. Its cool to see that its always had its place among the populace almost as long as concept of evolution has existred

[@busyg67]

Who knows, maybe someone else along time ago before the concept of evolution was conceived did something similar

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

Not just sci fi. I use a lot of principles of speculative evolution in my fantasy world building. I like giving mythological creatures with a logical biology and thought given to why they appear the way they do.

[@truthseeker7815]

@@etinarcadiaego7424, well that’s the same

[@truthseeker7815]

Not just fiction

[@buragi5441]

@@etinarcadiaego7424 "I use a lot of principles of speculative evolution in my fantasy world building. I like giving mythological creatures with a logical biology and thought given to why they appear the way they do." Monster Hunter is probably the biggest example of that in videogames.

[@Isassaur]

I got addicted to speculative zoology since last year, I dont think I'll stop searching about it with so much interesting content out there

[@boomaroom6254]

Same! I love seeing all of the different ideas and thought processes!

[@ActuararialTile]

I played Halo Videogames with the Flood and wanted to argue what alien planets not mentioned would be like growing as well as the life forms. I found a planet of cockroaches apt but not useful to biodiversity an intelligent hive mind would make.

[@cassanateli]

I bet you stopped didn't you

[@kevinp2225]

Check out South Scrimshaw

[@Signal_in_the_noise]

Speculate ancient history too

[@purplehaze2358]

_Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real_ genuinely has some of the best CGI I've ever seen. I can't find a single mention of its budget, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been that high. Which makes the effects present all the more impressive.

[@magiv4205]

Man, I absolutely loved that mockumentary!

[@iammegan6626]

I watched it when I was a kid and didnt remember the name. It made me fall in love with dragons, since I loved Dinosaurs too!

[@mr.boomguy]

@@iammegan6626 If you love dinosaurs, why not check out what came before them. Unless you already have ;)

[@joojoo4998]

I watched the dragon one while I was in Juvenile detention at like 15. Very fun watch. Gave me ideas of worldvuilding

[@nothanks7263]

Pretty sure Dr. Bright isn't allowed to comment on youtube among other things...

[@natto4now]

I love speculative evolution And honestly I don't really like how people tend to ridiculed past scientists for doing things wrong Yes we have hindsight and know what's true but still

[@mr.boomguy]

Ikr. 50 years from now, we're gonna think of this just as silly as 50 years before us, you get the point...

[@scientistx5717]

The least they could done was but some realism extrapolating from fundemental facts about niches autotrophs herbivores and carnivores and tactics and strategies evolved on earth and what different strategies can possibly work on other planets The earlier works have guess work excuse but most didn't even try to think hard about the possiblities from what we already seen on earth

[@Cat_Garfield]

human moment

[@Manie230]

It’s still fucking funny.

[@nelly5954]

chances are we don't know what's true even today

[@seerai-42]

my favorite speculative biology projects is "Alien Biospheres" by Biblaridion. the entire undertaking of it is so crazy and rich with potential since it covers flora, fauna, and much more on a planet that also takes into account plate tectonics, atmospheric conditions, and the planet's materials. id really recommend!

[@xdean816]

Yea! The only thing I actually donated to

[@ajipriyatmoko3767]

That series is worth waiting. Even if we have to wait for months.

[@ClariseTG]

one of these days i’ll finish art for it on time haha

[@Cl-2048]

Aciculognatha would probably end up being mostly parasites. With that proboscis, there's no way they'll just stick to being a herbivorous clade.

[@jamiemcgrath3305]

I first read this genre with “children of time”, highly recommend! Will check alien biospheres out

[@cmkosemen]

Great video! I'm humbled that you featured so many of my works here... :)

[@shreyaspamaraju262]

HOLY SHIT, THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE BIOLOGICAL BENDER HIMSELF.

[@camarlilee7205]

koseman, I'm such A huge huge fan of your work, and I know you probably won't see this bit will you ever expand on the all tomorrows universe, I've seen your sniad and sapient dinosaurs stuff and I love them all, I've even done some spec bio drawings myself. your amazing man

[@cmkosemen]

I've seen this and I'm so happy... Thank you.@@camarlilee7205

[@DeathBYDesign666]

My faves are the asteromorphs and the gravital. Imagine fighting a war for so long that one species ascended to near godhood powerful enough to stomp the Qu. They evolved so much technologically that even the qu couldn't match them. I feel like the author was from a species that was created by one of the human offshoots, but it could have evolved from bacteria in the billion years it took to get to him.

[@freakishuproar1168]

I have never heard of that 1950's _Mars and Beyond,_ and it looks quite incredible, especially by the standards of alien lifeform design at the time - charming and creative though it often was. Thank you for bringing it to my attention Curious Archive :D I think one of my favourite animals from _After Man_ is the Truteal. It's somehow both really bizarre looking yet utterly believable. There are some quite fanciful looking creatures in the book, and although I love them, there is a small number I find hard to envision running around "in the flesh" so to speak. But so many of the speculative creatures in that book are so well conceived and brilliantly illustrated I almost have to convince myself they aren't real.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Mars and beyond you can find on KZbin.

[@freakishuproar1168]

@@ExtremeMadnessX I'll have to look it up later, thank you Extreme Madness!

[@dylanharvey4769]

As a science teacher in training, the idea of setting up student projects based around creating speculative ecosystems is exciting, especially when using the sources, you described as student resources for class inspiration.

[@PrinceOfCola]

Do it

[@kimberleymonroe1157]

Damn I wish we had a project like this in school

[@skeepodoop5197]

Honestly, If curious archive grows large enough, they should kickstart a Speculative evolution series of their own! I think it would be amazing for the channel, and you'd have something completely new to review.

[@zuzananespalova2316]

There was an iterview with curious archive in the astrovitae magazine and when they got ask if they are ever going to make a speculative evolution project of their own they siad something along the lines of stay tuned so there may be a spec evo project from curious archive coming. Also for those who don know astrovitae is a magazine about speculative evolution

[@germanplantguy3133]

I just recently finished 'The Time Machine' and I found it somewhat hilarious that the penultimate creatures that evolved on earth where giant crabs xD Because of that theory turned meme, that one day everything evolves into crustaceans.

[@Ranzord95]

carcinisation yeah not sure if the guy was already aware of the idea through biology, or he was influenced by how arthropods are a massive part of animal kingdom, or decided crustaceans looked alien enough so it no longer would feel like earth was the realm of the humans

[@horsetuna]

The ending was a letdown for me but I find that many books of that era end like that. I still enjoyed it

[@horsetuna]

@@Ranzord95 for the life of me I can't remember which book, but I'm very sure that I saw his name mentioned in relation to the Royal institute and Darwin or one of Darwin's followers. So I'm pretty sure that he knew at least some

[@caliikoii7951]

reject humanity evolve into crab

[@DarthBiomech]

Its not theory, it's an inevitability. In the end, everything becomes crab.

[@thelegate8636]

I remember reading Dixons works at the local library as a kid, as well as watching the Future is Wild and that dragon show at around the same time. Spore had also come out around then too, and while it was a simplified game, I think it had a lot of impact on the community.

[@riohudson9612]

Serina: World of Birds will always be the most incredible speculative evolution project in my life. The sheer length of it, the details with each animal design, and the absolutely heart-wrenching stories of Serina's ice age, it's all an experience I will never forget.

[@markguyton2868]

So Wells is the the guy who started the indescribable eldritch tentacle beast thing... also giant enemy crabs apparently. jokes aside, you missed the opportunity to call the vid The Evolution of Speculative Evolution, good vid nonetheless. Edit: Oh wow he actually went for the pun, nice :)

[@anronpupkin1887]

I can remember reading a book by Eric B. Horsted "Chimera"(or something like that, because I could not find non-cyrillic translation of the book anywhere)(it is called Химера - Ерік Хадспет in my language). It speculated about mythical creatures of different cultures being real, having an actual anatomy and role in ecosystem. It had amazing illustrations of those creatures anatomy, it was pure delight to gaze on them, totally recommend you to check out at least few free pages

[@Directionless.Sponge]

I think I found the English version of the book you're describing: "The Resurrectionist" by Eric B. Hudspeth. From what I understand, it is the biography of a fictional doctor who believes that many mythical creatures were the ancestors of humans, and he performs Frankenstein-like experiments in order to reconstruct these creatures. I have never read the book, only descriptions, so I can't say whether or not it talks about the creatures' roles in the ecosystems as much as the one you're describing, but the diagrams are very similar, and a book summary I could find matched up perfectly.

[@anronpupkin1887]

@@Directionless.Sponge YES, IT IS, thank you

[@andyzhang7890]

In the first summer of quarantine I discovered the genre of speculative evolution, and I instantly became obsessed. I had never found something that so perfectly combined my love for animals, worldbuilding, and creature/monster/alien design, and I hope to leave my mark on this beautiful genre one day.

[@Josuh]

best of lucks

[@highlord2841]

I’ve been here since Serina pt 3 and you’ve gotten so much better and are what introduced me to speculative biology and I’ve been watching every new upload ever since, your my 3rd fav KZbinr and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I hope you keep making fantastic content and happy first anniversary for your time on KZbin.

[@slevinchannel7589]

Can i recommend you other Videos just like this 1 here or is that too random of an Offer?

[@highlord2841]

@@slevinchannel7589 sure

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@highlord2841 Oh, various come to mind, depending on how much i 'stretch' the defintion/s. Just try Templin Institute, Sci Man Dan, Joe Scott, Tom Scott, Veritasium, Creaky Blinder, Prophet of Zod, Sir Sic and Emma Thorne.

[@anniegurr860]

I don't usually make these kinds of comments at all but i just wanted to say i really appreciate the effort and editing you put into your content, I don't think I would've discovered my love for speculative evolution without your videos. Btw happy one year anniversary!

[@scrathed]

To put my two cents into the game, I really dig the way H.P. Lovecraft implemented speculative biology in his fiction. Of course, we all know the popular players of his stories like Cthulhu, which is more or less a humanoid body with an octopus head and wings, but his detailed descriptions of prehistoric, futuristic or alien creatures, that visit or colonize earth, is much more in the sense of Wells or even more the modern Barlowe, Ries and Kosemen. His "Elder Things", Mi-Go, Flying Polyps and Yithians are all impressive takes on speculative foreign biology. Since most of them are mostly plothooks and tools to tell a story, he doesn't expand on their evolution much, but especially reading "At the Mountains of Madness", "The Whisperer in Darkness" or "The Shadow out of Time" have amazing details about the biology, life and culture of his fictional terran and alien creatures.

[@Zorro9129]

I agree, "Lovecraftian" has become a literary adjective but it doesn't begin to explore how good of a writer Lovecraft was. He blended mystery, science fiction, fantasy and horror in a way very few can hope to achieve.

[@scrathed]

@@Zorro9129 Absolutely. I think in the end, that part is exactly what inspires me most about Lovecrafts work!

[@sytrosianoverlord3150]

Speculative evolution is the best thing in media without it I’m nothing

[@Zorro9129]

Rain World also deserves an honorable mention. Though most of the creatures have some vague resemblance to real-life animals, their characteristics and behaviors are very fleshed-out and are probably the best experience of an alien ecosystem in video gaming so far.

[@samuellima6193]

Well, we can say for sure that speculative evolution envolved over the years

[@VeryCrazyCoCo]

@DINOSAURS GAME Jeez take them out to dinner first

[@boobgoogler]

😐

[@imselfaware419]

Yes, but that's really stupid.

[@VeryCrazyCoCo]

@@imselfaware419 *funny

[@colbyboucher6391]

11:55 Is it just me or is it kinda wild how smooth that stop motion is

[@Aladite]

The thing I love about speculative biology most is that it allows the wildest imaginations to intertwine with science, it's just so fascinating and inspired me to work on my own projects myself

[@PersonOfRandomnesss]

It's crazy, I know that this channel is relatively young, but it's unbelievable that this marks only one year! I am beyond excited for what the next years are gonna hold. Maybe we could speculate it based on the KZbin ecosystem?

[@scientistx5717]

It was the last offical announcment to the beggining of a new age

[@ragnarokcinder470]

I deeply ove this genre. It inspires me in a way no other can, and people like Alex Ries and Kosemen are the ones whom gives me the hope of someday, make my own project in this wonderful genre

[@seanhuang5769]

All these examples and yet I can't believe you forgot to mention the amazing KZbin Channel of Curious Archive who has been documenting and editing such high quality videos about speculative evolution for the past year. Giving spotlights to incredible works and projects that people like me would have otherwise never known about and attracting new curious fans to the speculative evolution genre everyday. His dedication to the documentation, his knowledge of real world biological organisms when matching speculative analogues, and work in the field simply cannot be overlooked in the history of speculative evolution. A trailblazer in the truest definition who can with ease guide us in the exploration of even the most massive of world-building projects. Happy one year anniversary!

[@waywardscythe3358]

The Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroghs (1912) was I think notable for having specific discussion of how lower gravity made John Carter much stronger than almost every other living thing on Mars, because everything else evolved to not need to be so strong.

[@christiancline6531]

Speculative evolution has a bright future for sure, I'm beyond excited to see the work me and my contemporaries have in store. Happy anniversary!

[@ariochiv]

Disney did some really interesting SF & science stuff in the early days, from _Mars and Beyond_ to _Man in Space,_ and even the evolution of life sequence in _Fantasia._

[@laurelsilberman5705]

“This famous image” made me laugh out loud. How perfectly phrased 😂What a great look at the history of this rich genre. Major props to H.G. Wells👌🏽✨

[@howlinghellgar2214]

This channel is what inspired me to start a speculative evolution project of my own. Even though I don’t have much to show for it, it’s been one of the best experiences I’ve had and I’m so proud of it. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the push I needed to start it, so, thank you ❤️

[@arkurianstormblade4109]

I know its a nintendo property so I know there would be youtube shenanigans, but I'd love to see a look at Pikmin, more specifically Pikmin 2. Not only do they cover every single animal in their profiles, they even tell you HOW TO EAT THEM! now thats worldbuilding!

[@frankb3347]

H.P. Lovecraft is worth mentioning as one of the few early authors to depict aliens as truly alien. With things like the Elder Things and Dark Young I'd love to see a whole ecosystem worked out based on radial rather then bilateral symmetry. Even though we've gotten away from humanoid aliens in our speculative work we do still seem to have a bilateral bias.

[@rivelinorahmadyanirawanpra1469]

the next time you think speculative evolution is weird, remember that hummingbirds are a theropod dinosaur filling the ecological niche of a bee.

[@irishspartanstudios]

The biggest issue I see with developing a fictional species or ecosystem is making it alien without making it too absurd or uncanny. (I was wondering when you were going to talk about All Tommarows LOL.)

[@zombzto]

I think All Tomorrow's is just something to look at or something..

[@irishspartanstudios]

@@DeadGuye1995 Please elaborate. Isn't all speculative evolution technically fantasy?

[@volnartheunforgiving3952]

@@irishspartanstudios Yes but the intent is for it to actually be logical speculation instead of just like making a design that looks freaky and weird and giving it lore that's about evolution

[@irishspartanstudios]

@@volnartheunforgiving3952 Many speculative biology projects do as you describe, logically figuring out what traits a creature would have or need under various circumstances and then crafting a design-sometimes intentionally strange or abstract-around said traits. Hell, I've seen stranger things in real life than many of the things I've seen in fiction. As he climactically puts it in one of his other videos, a writer shouldn't be worried about their own creations being too Earth-like or the opposite, because nature is quite strange and there are virtually endless possibilities for life to develop in unorthodox ways. Other than that, I agree. Designs that just look odd without considering how an organism like that would function is mindless, but that isn't what this guy reviews.

[@hysterical5408]

@@irishspartanstudios What you said in your last sentence is like half of the projects covered on this channel though.

[@imperiodobrasilball8395]

"After Man" is like "Jurassic Park" for the Speculative Evolution genre. You can clearly divide this history into "before After Man" and "after After Man" (yes, the name is weird).

[@nakenmil]

There are some really cool, behind-the-scenes-style blogs out there on speculative biomechanics, which perhaps isn't as easy to showcase in videos series like these. I'm thinking particularly of Planet Furaha, a blog that's been going since at least 2008, where they've made computer models and the like for how verterbrate-like animals with six or more limbs would walk, or how animals with numerous wings would fly, etc. It's really quite cool and a useful resource for prospective writers and artists!

[@mk7893]

I was 8 when "dragons: a fantasy made real" was shown in i think discovery (correct me if im wrong) and having no concept of cgi, i was convinced they were real. Loved drawing them since. Thank you for reminding me of the title. Will be showing these to my nephews :)

[@ASCENSiON_]

With the reveal of the past and future themes going on within these two games, I have a really good feeling Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will play with speculative biology quite a bit by potentially adding future forms of Pokemon (and past forms) that can be accessible through time travel. The fact that a franchise as massive as Pokémon could go this route has me really excited. TrueGreen7 made a really fun video drawing future forms of Pokémon with other artists that I'd highly recommend checking out. RJ Palmer was also participating in it!

[@shumsik5612]

Congrats, you were correct

[@kirbyfazendoummoonwalk9214]

@@shumsik5612 Yeah the past forms are cool but the future ones are just robots

[@arshu_parshu1999]

Half right but ALL Pokémon in the future are RBG LED robots

[@totor0lling12]

As a kid, I came across After Man tucked away on a shelf in my grandparents home. I found it so strange and beautiful, and read it obsessively. Little did I know it would spark a love of sci fi and speculative evolution that would land me here today, watching this excellent channel with all of you!

[@purplehaze2358]

From your description of _The Time Machine,_ it sounds less like speculative evolution and more like Lovecraftian horror.

[@randombadchannel8700]

Ikr right. PS mr bright how many rules have you broke today

[@higgsbonbon]

Ohhhhh no! A giant tentacle! I am insane now!

[@primus6677]

It might be a mix of both

[@jimmmount3287]

Should something that predates Lovecraft's first published works by almost 20 years really be considered Lovecraftian?

[@purplehaze2358]

@@jimmmount3287 No, which is why I said it _sounded like_ it.

[@noahcreutziger7690]

Happy 1 channel year aniversary! I started watching this channel after I saw a video about Serina, an art project I was a fan of and was instantly hooked, not only because of one of my favourite artists, but also because of you. I since am addicted to this channel and watch many of your videos over and over. I want to thank you for providing so many of us with this educational entertainment and introducing us to so many areas we had no knowledeg of before!

[@takenname8053]

Happy 1 year Anniversary! I remember looking at your earlier videos thinking it was clickbait, until I saw some of the first spec evo works I recognized I'm so glad I stayed and watched you grow! HERE'S TO MORE YEARS WITH YOU !!!!!!

[@niftyfish]

So I'm a big fan of the horror genre and after watching this I realized that most of the horror movies, comics, games, etc. that are my favorites are ones that feature memorable monster/creature designs. Take the Xenomorph from Alien and the Jotun from The Ritual for example: they both have such interesting and unique designs you can't help but appreciate. A Quiet Place's aliens were also interesting to me because they were explained to be blind and possessing superior hearing specifically because they evolved from a environment with little to no light. I think horror, specifically creature features and the like, have deep roots in speculative evolution/biology because they both fundamentally rely on the unknown and unexplored, but also the possiblity of these imagined creatures existing. Do the Xenomorphs actually exist? No, not on our planet, but something like them could potentially exist on another planet billions of light years away, and that's where the concepts of fiction and nonfiction come together, much like speculative evolution. Great video by the way!

[@Orimthekeyacolite]

Randomly stumbled upon "The Future is Wild" browsing for something to play in the background while crafting armor in the workshop. Decades later it's still one of the movies I come back to when in desperate need of some "good old days" vibe to lift the spirit

[@Copyright_Infringement]

I grew up reading a little-known book called "Inherit the Stars", which I think contains one of the most interesting speculative ecologies: a noncompetitive one. Obviously, there were evolutionary pressures that made herbivores compete for food, but with a simple change that makes predation no longer viable, the course of evolution becomes almost unrecognizable from a Terran perspective. I recommend reading it if you ever get the chance

[@comradevodka4848]

I remember when my biology teacher tried to prank us with the snouters. Like how they lived on an secluded group of tropical islands and accidentaly got wiped out by nuclear weapon tests.

[@dionettaeon]

One thing I love about speculative biology/evolution is that, when applied properly, it's a bit of fantasy that's grounded in scientific principles (i.e. the science _must_ take priority over the fantasy). "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real" has a lot of scientific inaccuracies, I realize, but it was the first to convince me that certain mythological creatures could be biologically feasible, though not in the forms we commonly imagine for them nor even necessarily possible for any Earth lineage, and "Mermaids: The Body Found" furthered that notion. I think the genre is endearing _because_ of that leash that helps keep it grounded to reality; it's easier to picture these things actually existing in reality under the right circumstances.

[@probablyaxenomorph5375]

Congrats on one whole year of this channel! I'm so excited to see how the next year will go :) Fantastic job as always, CA!

[@alexanderberryhill7377]

I've always loved the speculative evolution of Kanata no Astra. They travel from planet to planet and there are a whole ton of awesome planets with thought out ecosystems.

[@rougnashi]

It's fascinating, both how long this genre has been around in comparision to a human lifespan, and in effect for how short a time of our species' history. The technological advances we've made in the last few decades alone which have further informed the genre are also astounding. I'm excited to see where speculative biology, and this channel, explores next.

[@koriw1701]

I've been wanting you to do a project like this since you put out your first video. I can't thank you enough for this, the last year of excitement and wonder, having accidentally (and most felicitous) find I've had on KZbin. You are the best, and I'll be here as long as you want to keep making these videos.

[@wasuptime]

my favorite speculative biology project is Jay Eaton’s Runaway to the Stars, which is being published next year!! it covers xenobiology, the future evolution of humans through gene modification, planetary terraforming, and life in space! They work has really inspired me. I only recently became obsessed with All Tomorrows, i LOVE it so much. (im currently writing a sci-fi novel and speculative biology is a huge reference for my aliens)

[@gloomyallo1830]

Currently doing writing work for my own spec project, video dropped at just the right time.

[@rosalynredwood4542]

So glad I found this channel 😌👌

[@alexlik4197]

Wow! You've only had this channel for one year!? I was sure it had been longer than that. You've done so much in so little time.

[@hollowshield2315]

congrats on the anniversary! I discovered this channel a while back and am so happy i did; speculative biology is one of the most interesting things I have ever found on the interenet.

[@keenankozak7978]

happy anniversary 🥳 I hope we find more surreal but believable speculative evolution!

[@trademarkshelton]

Congrats on the anniversary dude! Your channel has been a pleasure to watch and a creative inspiration. May it continue to evolve into ever more weird and successful content.

[@SollowP]

Gotta love C.M Kosemen and seeing how his work has gotten new light in recent years. You can often see his comments on All Tomorrows videos how he loves what the person has done.

[@Josuh]

he even gave the approval of the breedability tier list, a legend

[@jonathancurran5366]

That Mars and beyond animation looks amazing.

[@ericcartman1660]

Congrats man, found this channel about 8 or 9 months ago and ever since I have always let my mind wander and think about potential aliens and how they would work (as well as do quite a hefty amount of reading and drawing). Keep going and very soon you'll be I inspiring generations. Love ya

[@Nazrigar]

Congrats on your success mate. You do a service by highlighting such wonderful worlds, from published media to independent work online, you introduced so many to delightful projects!

[@nartsadiku8249]

Happy anniversary man you are my favorite KZbinr ever i love this channel so so MUCH 🥳💙💙💙

[@losersandwich3712]

I've been watching you since your first video on the channel, and I think its really great that such high quality content has been consistently produced for its entire lifespan so far. Very happy its been as big a success as it has been, and I hope more success is yet to come.

[@Direblade11]

I never knew this channel was so young! Thank you for sharing your passion in Spec Bio, it's lit an interest in me I never knew I had. Can't wait to see you start your own Spec Bio, or provide your ideas to other artists :)

[@elli_senfsaat]

I love speculative evolution because it combines biology and fantasy, two things I really like to think and read about. It fascinates me since my childhood, and now as an adult I'm so happy this channel exists :D

[@spikeweed420]

Happy 1 year anniversary! I’m excited to see what you have planned for us in the future! Have a good one.

[@Replicaate]

The martian species in that Disney animated short are some of the most wonderfully creative and bizarre aliens I've ever seen, rivalling even some designs made now. It's one of my favorite 'old' SpecEvo works.

[@markoristo]

1 year! Congratulations, it’s awesome to have been along for the ride this past year, keep up the great content!

[@CB-eo6xo]

I love Speculative Biology/Evolution. So much potential and endless possibilities over the concept of evolution and biology all created in our imaginations and can be brought to life with the power of technology and internet. I do hope you bring in lesser known known Spec evolution projects like Hamster's Paradise which follows a similar trend of Serina along with other lesser known examples like Planet Cat and Aloutta; The Planet of Howlers. There's also another speculative project called Antartica Chronicles that focuses on the gradual change of Antartica turning from it's familiar artic biome into a unique ecosystem supporting a unique ray fauna that are mostly descended from birds that eventually reach megafauna sizes and all kinds of biodiversity. Also, there's also an upcoming Disney Movie called Strange Worlds which it seems to showcase a rather alien world of strange creatures where even the landscape itself is alive and moves.

[@MrTriangleWorld]

Your videos are always a delight. Congratulations on your one year anniversary! Here’s to many more 🍻

[@oscargustavoarcosruiz8793]

Congratulations on the anniversary. This means that I have been watching your videos for almost a year, and so far they have not disappointed me. Long live to the beings who have never been but could have been

[@pedrobrunodeandrade]

Congrats on the channel's anniversary! Every single entry is uniquely mindblowing. Keep it up!

[@localhearthian2387]

Been here since the Serina series and this has really helped my own attempts at creating alien life. Thanks dude.

[@hacim42]

Big shoutout to South Scrimshaw and Biblaridion!

[@Livlafkll7]

This video just got me into speculative drawings thank you 🙏

[@nagatwodog9171]

your videos are so easy to watch and so engaging at the same time. i really appreciate how clearly you speak as well as the fact that you always include subtitles! you're doing great work

[@DragongodZenos]

I did not know you were a new channel when i started following. thank you very much for all the interesting topics you've covered thus far.

[@markoristo]

At this point I’m confident that Alex Ries and Curious Archive are best friends

[@ReluctantLion]

The Pokemon franchise is quite effective as an introduction to speculative evolution

[@samuelbrock]

Happy Anniversary!! I love this channel and how it's brought so many of us speculative biologists together! Thanks for the good times

[@La_Tem_Nya]

Se me hace interesante todo eso de la evolución especulativa y como los organismos cambian para llenar los espacios ecológicos de otros o como se adaptan a un medio, y sigue con tus vídeos saludos desde México y que traigas más vídeos sobre esto es muy interesante.

[@johnkieley8994]

Another set of aliens that Wayne Barlowe created: the kaiju in Pacific Rim. I would also slightly consider the spiderwick chronicles a form of speculative evolution.

[@Stardrone01]

First of all happy anniversary! Wasn't a day one follower; I discovered you thanks to youtube reccomending your "draconology explained" video. Secondly, I must say that your channel actually made me discover speculative biology and a lot of interesting stuff I would have never be aware of. Thanks. Lastly, after the discovery of your channel, I decided to start a little speculative biology project myself. It's not much but it's a little bit different from the usual: it's a tabletop game I made as a game design homework. It probably won't be made as a sellable product but I'm proud of it.

[@MrPoop23432841]

Happy one year anniversary! I’ve been hooked on your content for a while now and can’t wait to see what you showcase in the future!

[@TheZapan99]

Curious Archive should really look into the work of Jay Eaton and his series Runaway to the Stars. He is one of the contributors to Almost Real: a Speculative Biology Zine, and created several space-age alien species, cohabiting to various degrees with a gene-spliced humanity.

[@jaythecappy]

Jay's speculative biology zines are what got me into the genre, they're incredibly interesting and fill the same role for me that those old educational books about dinosaurs did as a child

[@homogobius]

Happy 1st anniversary! I watch your videos from Japan. I don't understand English well but I can always sense that the videos are great. I look forward to more great contents in the future! (using translater)

[@mohawk4759]

Nice mudskipper

[@Lyarrah]

wait, this channel's ONLY been around for a year?! what?! you've had such wild growth! I think the "artifacts out of place" video was the first one I saw, recommended off a video I was watching about the Inca's desert lines in the Andes (which I learned about from Civ 6 and wanted to find out more about lol) Weird cuz that specific kind of video isn't normally up my alley, I was just on a tangent - but the rest of this channel is exactly what I love, so I'm glad I chanced into it. I'm guessing the algorithm would have sent me your way eventually tho lol. Thank you for this wonderful recap of the genre!

[@Your_Future_Overlord]

I've always wanted to make my own speculative evolution series. Having grown up with games like Spore and specials like The Future is Wild (including the Discovery Kids animated spin-off series) I've always been mesmerized by the idea of seeing and creating foreign creatures both from and apart from Earth. Seeing each one of these videos has further deepened my love and appreciation for things both fantastic and realistic.

[@astick5249]

I think doing a video on the game "Rain World" would be a great idea. As the interactions and movement of all the creatures in the game are so cool!

[@cadenlikespigs]

What do you call the change of glasses over time? Speculative Evolution. ok ill stop.

[@vickyger254]

Thank you for talking about Alien Planet. I remember watching it as a kid, but only once and I was the only one in my family that did. I've described it to so many people and no one believed me that it was a thing. After a while I thought it was just something I made up. Thank you for the validation that I'm not crazy.

[@mits02galant]

I can't tell you how much I love your channel and all your videos including this one. Happy 1 year! So glad I found this channel.

[@zydelixir6606]

When history has a history with a history that histories around from histories to histories (chain)

[@mysterioussoup3393]

Your channel is the best

[@davidfjelstad2495]

Great video! I remember finding and reading Dixons books back in the early nineties at the local library. I was both fascinated and a bit horrified by the creatures within it. Keep up the great work!

[@jennieivins]

Happy Birthday to Curious Archive! :D