GRASSLANDS ON A PLANET OF WEASELS? - Project Mustelon Ep. 3 (Speculative Evolution Seed World)

Episode 3 is here! This is the longest episode so far, and I think it definitely has the most creatures of the series so far. I'm trying to get as much work done on this project as I can before the fall semester starts up and it's back to college for me. I'll still be working on it in the background, however.
Help me turn Mustelon into a book! Support me on Pateon for all kinds of rewards here: patreon.com/artofryancox
And see more of my animal art here: / ryancoxwildlifeart

[@skeepodoop5197]

A mostly mammal seed world where the reptiles achieve powered flight first? Huh, that's really something!

[@ryancoxart]

I try to do at least a few things that are unexpected ;)

[@Snowbat656]

​@@ryancoxart i love it

[@That_OneRandomGuy]

​@@ryancoxart Was I the first to speculate they would evolve powered flight to have written such predictions in the first videk?

[@luckyahmadtawakkal7130]

I can already predict that these flying anoles would evolved into dragon/wyvern-like creatures!

[@savharris5702]

They beat mammals to flight, on earth, as well

[@dilekpiral9581]

Sud make a spec evo

[@ProjectRejectus]

I feel like the anoles will find the most success in oceans and in the skies while there land dwelling cousins have some struggles along the way

[@vornamenachname989]

Reptiles can only occupy niches that aren't occupied by mammals, so I agree. However, I think especially the oceans might not stay their kingdom forever, since mammalian sea creatures would probably be able to push them out of their niche or at least evolve to ko-exist, just like we saw the first whales like ambulocetis to evolve into a niche that was already occupied by crocodilians at the time. And especially in marine environments, where pack hunting seems to be the most successful strategy ever (considering some baleen whales and even walks use kind of a pack hunting strategy), the mammalian intelligence would probably beat the advantage of low food requirements of reptilian sea creatures.

[@ProjectRejectus]

@@vornamenachname989 true could be a temporary thing for the oceans the intelligence is crucial so first couple of million years could be the anole era in the ocean but as time goes on they get replaced

[@vornamenachname989]

@@ProjectRejectus Sounds reasonable. Reptilians also seem to be able to be better suited for size so they can possibly get bigger in less time

[@BrownOwl2036]

I love the addition of the symbiotic relationship! You rarely see that in spec evo projects!

[@____________838]

Or you see them too heavily leaned on, left to wonder “how did this relationship start?”

[@ianperez4884]

5:45 is that big ounce?!

[@alexroy9912]

I could see some otter species evolving into a crocodile niche, waiting along the water edge for unsuspecting animals along the water edge and red salmon evolving in many different forms in the ocean as they are the only fish in Mustelon that can survive in salt water (at least that I known of) ranging from small schoolers like Mackerel or tuna to large predators akin to sharks and barracuda

[@Elleum]

I would think the otters become something like the Enhydriodon omoensis.

[@Jdhsbdgdhdbdhd]

My dogs name was bruiser! He even had the same coloration of the megalomarmota bruiser!

[@magnolia1253]

I'm so excited! It's amazing that anole lizards have beaten squirrels and almost achieved powered flight before any other vertebrate! I'm looking forward to seeing entire flocks of dragons on this planet!

[@davidfiore4677]

You know, seeing the Bruiser evolved from the Prairie Hog, who evolved from prairie dog, kinda reminds me of how in The Future is Wild, marmots evolved into Shagrats to thrive and live in the European tundra. As well as living and migrating in herds for protection against predators like the Snowstalker.

[@Xob_Driesestig]

Your art style is just so wonderfully reminiscent of childhood picture books. I can't wait for an illustration of a predator eating a prey to shatter that image.

[@planetaxolotl4398]

these names you come up with are fantastic

[@kurigaru]

Hell yeah, there may be dragons

[@cheshirecat882]

I will admit the entire time I was watching the video I was singing the heffalumps and woozles song in my head.

[@ryancoxart]

Great, now it's in my head too XD

[@PteranodonLongicepsGen1]

The gliding green angle that you made in the last episode would be perfect for my reptile seed world

[@samanthabronder9861]

well funny enoguth one youtber is doing a anole seedwolrd and another called madlly emszoric is doing bearded dragon seedwolrd

[@PteranodonLongicepsGen1]

@samanthabronder9861 many of the reptiles are taken from land of scales project that was abandoned

[@TheForgottenArtist10]

I don't want to make any assumptions but, are we going to get dragon/wyverns in a future video, and if so, I'm all for it! (I love all rhe other designs too)

[@aaronkinganimations9495]

THEIR TURNING THE MOUSES THEROPOB DINOSAURS

[@billymorrison5637]

Only 3 more hours!!!

[@Elleum]

It would be interesting to see the otter to become something like the Enhydriodon omoensis then take similar evolutionary steps to the Pakicetus! From otter to dolphin/whale!

[@D1nosaur_dude]

WHALE OTTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@D1nosaur_dude]

GOD DAMNIT!! I OLAY MINECRAFT FOR A FEW HOURS AND A NEW VIDEO IS OUT

[@Citrobyte]

Great job! I like the simplicity of the core animals and how they evolved forward

[@simonpitt4632]

what do you mean ONLY three more hours

[@Deathwings800]

7:57 yay you made pterasour😊

[@magnolia1253]

It's not a pterosaur yet. But it looks like that's where it's going

[@Deathwings800]

You know maybe in the future i will make seed world project😊

[@LordCrate-du8zm]

The Varanole? Is that a reference to Varan The Unbelievable?

[@justaguyontheinternet3893]

Im guessing the Varanoles will fill the niche of crocodilians in places where otters cannot survive and possibly even in the oceans (we might see mosasaurs appearing in a world of weasels).My only complaint would be that some of the evos have very little fur compared to their ancestors (like the panther glutton practically lost all of its fur), this is acceptable if their planet is warmer than earth but to my information it doesnt seem so. You should really establish some different climates & where these things evolved, besides that this has a lot of potential and I hope to see more!

[@mehemmedmemmedov4937]

Are there going to be flying mustelids?

[@savageroyal4327]

I honestly think that this is impressive!

[@ryancoxart]

@@savageroyal4327 Thank you!

[@Dylan-Hooton]

Cool! I can't wait for the next episode. :)

[@matthewbromm7552]

joseph carter the mink man would love this

[@ML20-gt2vh]

I really enjoy your illustrations in these videos. They have this cozy-polish that I love.

[@zacharyolerich7521]

The Reptiles shall rise again!

[@MurisTheWorldofMice]

Phenomenal Work! Love this project

[@ryancoxart]

Thank you so much! :)

[@MurisTheWorldofMice]

@@ryancoxart You should make a crested wackal relative that flashes their crests to stun the mice, as the mice's fear response is freeze.

[@ryancoxart]

@@MurisTheWorldofMice Not a bad idea! I just might have to expand on that 👀

[@NoxCatalyst]

Judging by silhouette. An isolated bruiser would be perfect prey for a Robustus. Fitting nicely in the x0.5-x15.0 weight range.

[@cassie5248]

It's interesting how much the Bruisers look like capybaras!

[@CiaranEldrett-vp8yz]

Awesome video, the wings of the grassland Glider kinda look like a blend of basal Pterosaur ( such as Preondactylus ) and gliding Scansoriopterygid ( such as Ambopteryx) wing morphology.

[@That_OneRandomGuy]

Varanid-like anoles? Are we doing mosasaurs all over again? Or maybe snake-like anoles? Am I doing another prediction about anoles that will come true? Who knows! Only time could tell!

[@thegreatgoldfilms6311]

*WEAS 3*

[@oskaralley9309]

The runaroos remind me of the hypsilophodontid dinosaurs like dryosaurus

[@jameskillops4314]

Maybe the stink hound then further converges on the Wolves social structure to halp in hunting more or just bigger pray as the mothers do have somewhat of coordinated hunting with the kids

[@lukemichael451]

Great job, I love the takes you have made for this seed world. They are quite reasonable and are very interesting. It would be interesting to see if the different species of flying or gliding anoles acheive niches very similar to bats or pterasaururs? Scavengers that fly long distances, or swarms of small batlike anoles who could take a niche of some birds who will feed off of large grazzers while they are still alive.

[@Chareddragon]

Could anoles become snake-like, or become burrowers? Actually a chameleon like anole is also interesting. Are there other large herbivorous clades?

[@RedSquidz]

I need to see more things unique to musteloids cuz right now they just feel like generic seed mammal that will turn into anything. What makes them unique? What are they especially good at and how does this effect evolutionary pathways? Fully expecting an otter whale at some point but it'd be nice when we got there to still see something that is discernibly otter. Rn it's like they're turning into cats and abandoning all things musty at the drop of a hat In any case I'm liking the series a lot, great illustrations!

[@Acornhat]

I have a feeling in the future the anoles could develop some kind of painful venom from ants they eat possibly/or ants could possibly start to grow to the size of dragonflies

[@kyrerymmukk7446]

I like these but you need some 3/4 views of the animals and to draw some lifestyle scenes.

[@ryancoxart]

I do plan on doing more of that, it's just that these profile drawings make it easier for me to get episodes out a little quicker. I especially plan on having the book version have more diversity in the illustrations!

[@kyrerymmukk7446]

@@ryancoxart that's great! Look forward to seeing more of your work, keep it up!

[@Cranberrie123]

Well made spec Evo is like crack to me. It could be about any animal tbh.

[@Cranberrie123]

The Beardger reminds me of Don't Starve, nice.

[@Cranberrie123]

The anoles are exciting given the lack of birds on this seed world. It'll be interesting to see how they occupy those open niches.

[@miguellilly8859]

great video, can't wait to see what the otters are doing also you thing the anole will develop some kind of plumage?

[@Zanuth-001]

Would a bruiser's snout-plating wear down over their lives, or regrow?

[@smitty1647]

Ant Beardger sound like it was named by Coach Z

[@WilliamHer-t1j]

i feel like you should do more with the bugs if a predator that big can only feed on bugs and ants then you should do an update on the prey on the ant badger also ticks and fleas even though those are boring

[@godzilla6461]

I want a species of ant beardger that eats honey and is called something like honeydrew.

[@hehehehaw21]

Please decrease the background music volume

[@yenguyandfriends]

i can see a future in those little dragons, maybe some aerial predators filling the eagle niece (maybe call them wyvanols or dracolons)

[@JamesVersluis]

You could also do aquatic habitats with otters and mink if you want to

[@fartman2165]

loving tha series bro

[@Slapbattler666]

I like the symbiotic relationship

[@ethancole1584]

Wait a minute! Isn't arctodonta meaning "bear-tooth?" So Musk Fox is really a Musk Bear.

[@ryancoxart]

@@ethancole1584 Good point 👀

[@Coelacanth_yes]

My project is mostly about anoles

[@Medaloupe]

I bet those weasels would 1v1 a human

[@margchannel7430]

Yeah another lovely episode, good job mate, my favorite animals are the Ant Beardger, the Grassland Glider and the Runaroos.

[@ryancoxart]

Thank you! :)

[@TooFarGone-g5c]

The Runaroo is odd and awesome!

[@ryancoxart]

My favorite combination!

[@davidfiore4677]

@@ryancoxart You know it’s amazing how when you look at the Runaroo, it almost looks like a mammalian version of a bipedal dinosaur.

[@sytrosianoverlord3150]

I wonder what lives in the water?

[@kennyholmes5196]

Otters up next? Exciting!

[@homebrewhouse]

This is pne of my favorite spec evo project. I really love how slow you take this series and not rush it. Do you believe there will be sapient life in this series ? I always think its interesting to explore how a culture of another species would evolve.

[@ryancoxart]

Don't worry, I've got plans for sapient life further down the road. Every good spec evo needs at least one good sophont species ;)

[@MicrowaveMan-gy9nu]

you havent covered any of the aquatic or semi-aquatic animals yet, and that just makes me curious.

[@ryancoxart]

Next episode ;)

[@DomiK-im3su]

perhaps the varanole will get a small population on a island, with other prairie hogs and thus it could maybeevolve a niche similar to a komodo dragon , due to island rule

[@Coelacanth_yes]

Just to note taht komodo dragons got to flores and the komodo islands when they were already large from australianand possibly actually shrunk a bit on the islands they might seem to be a case of island gigantism but like 50,000 you could find them like most islands and qest of the wallace line and offcourse australia

[@SpecEvoGuy]

I honestly think this series is getting really cool, and one question: the fish (the ones you mentioned and even drew in the first episode) will also evolve?

[@ryancoxart]

Thank you! And yes, the fish are absolutely going to evolve! I have plenty of plans for them ;)

[@thenerdbeast7375]

This is an amazing spec evo project so far! My only concern is a lack of addressing how much time has passed, as it creates a little confusion with when a video takes place.

[@ryancoxart]

Glad you're enjoying it! And yeah, that's something I'm gonna have to address later on. But for the context of this I imagine most of these species arise relatively quickly within the first 6-7 million years, and as we reach the later stages of the Inceptocene a lot of species are getting bigger like the ones in this video

[@lorcanmcloughlin3686]

We got tiny dragons :D

[@Zekeriyasenturk6513]

Youre Awesome!!! 😊😊😊😊

[@Nate-No-Dip]

Best seed world tbh, even my bias to my seed world barely compares.

[@ryancoxart]

@@Nate-No-Dip I'm glad you like it so much! I hope I can continue making it interesting and fun for everyone :)

[@Nate-No-Dip]

@@ryancoxart Oh thanks for replying so fast! I think you’re one of the best spec content creators! Feels like I can’t find any videos or good ones at that, but this, this is art.

[@ryancoxart]

@@Nate-No-Dip Thank you so much for the kind words! I never expected so many people to enjoy this series. It's honestly a little surreal!

[@Nate-No-Dip]

@@ryancoxart you deserve it 😁 Gave me inspiration to start my project which I’m working on a video for currently. Have a great day

[@ryancoxart]

@@Nate-No-Dip You too!

[@Sungod340]

Keep it coming man

[@simonpitt4632]

19 minutes late

[@KiraiKatsuji]

As always amazing Fur texturing and the way you design the body shape and posture it always makes me feel properly from what animal it evolved which is amazing for clarity in a seed world with more than one main seed species. But i have a minimal ask would be be able to at the end of the episode instead of the white background for Patreon could you give a visualisation of all the species in this episode up to scale because it would be really cool to show visualisation of what being a patron helps you create. Also cannot wait for next episode i really wonder into what Fishes evolved into, and i wonder what niched Otters will occupy i really hope there will come out one specialized into a lion like body niche while retaining it's swimming ability.

[@ryancoxart]

Actually that's not a bad idea for an end card! I'll have to remember that for next episode :)

[@KiraiKatsuji]

@@ryancoxart Ohh thank you i thought about it as i was watching the episode, that it would be cool if animals displayed in the episode were shown to scale and then i noticed the empty background at the end and it clicked, and i don't think it would be that much additional work as you have everything already

[@OceanWilks]

nice video

[@katherinemontoya8639]

cool

[@davidfiore4677]

Doesn’t it seem somewhat coincidental that the Grassland Glider kinda looks like a little wyvern dragon in appearance? Another thing, you know how the Bruiser is a large herbivore with a nasal boss like a Pachyrhinosaurus? Wouldn’t it be interesting or possible if there were other Bruiser subspecies with horns similar to a rhino or even a Brontothere like Megacerops? If it were possible I mean.

[@ryancoxart]

@@davidfiore4677 Oh the wyvern resemblance is no coincidence. And I've got big plans for the bruiser family ;)

[@davidfiore4677]

@@ryancoxart 😁Oh boy, oh boy! And you know, I bet if the Varanole evolved in a futuristic earth, you think it would also develop a taste for bird and reptile eggs and hatchlings, like monitor lizards do?

[@ryancoxart]

@@davidfiore4677 If it evolved on Earth? Absolutely! Its descendants on Mustelon will develop some fairly different tastes though

[@jelianabean3716]

This episode was so great! There were so many interesting species. The Grassland Gliders were my favorite, I loved the symbiotic relationship they had. I just imagine a documentary filming a huge herd of grazers with these little anoles jumping and gliding between the creatures. I can hardly wait to see what you do with the aquatic life in the next one. Take care Ryan!

[@Citrobyte]

Also i have an idea for a animal: make one a skunk descendant that is like the size if a baby hippo, that had like poisonous flesh, that would be fairly wide.

[@alexrice4339]

Is their an episode for the polar regions or life on the forest floor in the future?

[@ryancoxart]

They're in the works! :)

[@alexrice4339]

@@ryancoxart can’t wait and I’ll try to buy your book.

[@Chordus_Gaius]

Everyone is a gansta until the Mouse starts jumping

[@Mrboogieman10]

awesome project bro I love it I would love you to make much more

[@crazycatboysolomon7006]

algorithm

[@Blackgrandma420]

10/10 episode can’t wait for more!

[@DarthJarJar25]

I've seen so many Spec Evo projects poping up on youtube and have been wanting to start my own but don't know how. I was wondering if you could make a video explaning the basic on starting a seed world and would be immensely grateful if you did. I'm sure that there are others that would also benefit from this content and that it wouldn't just be me. Love your videos and keep up the great work

[@Coelacanth_yes]

I can help you with that

[@Coelacanth_yes]

But not the video making part only the spec part

[@DarthJarJar25]

@@Coelacanth_yes ok that would be great

[@Coelacanth_yes]

@@DarthJarJar25 do you have a discord

[@DarthJarJar25]

@@Coelacanth_yes no, sorry

[@SpecEvoDude]

What about the otters ? 😢😢😢😢

[@ryancoxart]

@@SpecEvoDude Don't worry, they're in the next episode!

[@SpecEvoDude]

😊😊😊

[@davidfiore4677]

So if I were to create my own seed world, would there have to be a limit to how many animals I’d want to put in it? Just out of curiosity.

[@ryancoxart]

I've heard a lot of people say the fewer, the better. That way you're really forced to get creative with how the species will evolve and radiate out. But I've seen projects that do well with multiple species too. It really comes down to what kind of world you want to make and what kind of story you want that world to tell. I took a bit of a risk putting as many species as I did in my world, but I've been having fun with it, which is the most important part of any spec evo project

[@davidfiore4677]

@@ryancoxart I see. Well I can definitely say the designs for these evolved creatures in your project look really stunning and incredible. How did you do it?

[@ryancoxart]

@@davidfiore4677 Thank you! Honestly a lot of it is just looking at trends in evolution and looking at real world animals and seeing what kind of niches they inhabit and what kind of body plans they evolve to fill those niches. Also take into consideration the features that your chosen species already have and try to expand on those, especially early on. For example: Wolverines in real life are excellent climbers despite their bulk, and are known to leap down on large prey to get better access to their necks. So I decided to take that a step further and have some wolverines evolve into a cougar/leopard-like predator that does most of its hunting from the trees. And you'll find too that sometimes just doodling and coming up with something on the fly works too, as long as you out some thought into it so that it makes sense. But evolution is about more than just functional features. Plenty of animals have strange body parts that don't really serve a survival purpose, but are used for display like elaborate feathers on male birds. That was my inspiration for the crests on the crested wackals. I hope that helps a bit! Sorry for the long-winded response 😅

[@davidfiore4677]

@@ryancoxart Honestly, turning a wolverine into an evolved super predator reminds me of the Snowstalker from The Future is Wild, a wolverine descendant with long saber-teeth to kill its prey.

[@ryancoxart]

@@davidfiore4677 I do plan to eventually have a saber-toothed predator appear on Mustelon eventually!

[@alfieingrouille1528]

I love all these spec evo vids

[@Kenneth-dh5fq]

This one is a good one we're going to have tiny dragons the lizards are growing for the Otters they're just going to be a crocodile or some other type of crocodilian but I am excited to see the next episode and yes I think this should be a book I hope everybody here has a great rest of their day next time goodbye

[@Cranberrie123]

I do find the idea of a Mammalian Crocodyliform kinda fascinating

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

@@Cranberrie123 ambulocetus existed and is probably fairly close to that

[@texasyellow3563]

Man I am so happy this dropped, you my friend have made my day 😁

[@ryancoxart]

I'm glad to hear it! :)

[@texasyellow3563]

@@ryancoxart yo I had an idea, proto ravens?

[@aaronkinganimations9495]

Best episode so far

[@ryancoxart]

Thank you! :)

[@rythianlonghammer5263]

With anoles evolving to start filling the niche of monitor lizards, I'm hoping one of them evolves in one of the later eras to be an anole-megalania.

[@Rogue_Smile]

New Mustelon video dropped, time to lose some sleep