The Island of Bizarre, Nose-Walking Rodents | Rhinogradentia

The Snouters: one of the least-known and whimsical forms of speculative zoology in the entire 20th century. In today's video, we'll take a look at just what rhinogradentia is, and why these creatures' legacy has impacted an entire field of scientific study.
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Links:
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Wiki entry: tinyurl.com/c2a3nyba
Online text: www.sivatherium.narod.ru/libra...

[@coolsupercoolmario]

yooo new rodent just dropped, this patch note is epic

[@ThoughtPotato]

I’ve always found these patches give a sense of pride and accomplishment

[@PeppersnGlowworms]

@@ThoughtPotato Okay I'm gonna be "that guy"... But ACTUALLY the snouters are not rodents, they are most likely derived from shrew-like insectivores, as you even mentioned at: 0:47

[@quirinoguy8665]

Man, the outside meta is getting wild! More variety, but hopefully they rebalanced it.

[@Bob_the_awoken_one]

damn can't wait for tier zoo to make a tier list on this

[@do_you_see_banana_man]

Patch *nose

[@MixerDixer96]

Damn.. the game devs really made a new character and deleted it immediately.

[@kayagorzan]

Probably was just a test character

[@Rose-yx6jq]

It would have been my main.

[@kayagorzan]

@@Rose-yx6jq Yea I’d love to try it out too, seems like it would shake up the normal playstyle

[@crazydave9735]

Most likely a place holder

[@spandanganguli6903]

@@kayagorzan There were balance issues.

[@magencrisis1682]

My uptight zoology teachers might not appreciate it, but I *need* to get my hands on a physical copy of that book. It reminds me of those "dragonology" or "monsterology" books I used to read when I was a kid, but with more care put into building the biology of the creatures.

[@benthomason3307]

Oh man, I read those as well. Did you also think they were real?

[@magencrisis1682]

@@benthomason3307 when I was really young, yeah. I still have "Dragons: a learning manual", it has really cool and detailed drawings. I also had a similar one about "legendary creatures" from latin america, and it was a similar biology-oriented (very liberally speaking) take on things like the Chupacabra, Lobison/luison, Jaguar-men, the "Evil Lights" (a light that sometimes appears to float above bare fields or in the hills. It has an actual scientific explanation tho) and the basilisk, which is a toad with a single eye that visits homes with ill people in them and hides behind furniture, under mattresses, in old cabinets, etc to kill them. I was terrified of that mf for longer that I'd like to admit.

[@PRGME7]

@@magencrisis1682 link now. Me want.

[@cyber_dragon_123]

Field Guide to Dragons was the best book of my childhood. I had two of them.

[@Sara3346]

@@magencrisis1682 if you ever remember the name of the second book could you please let the rest of us on the internet know about it? Please it would be a very much appreciated thing I think.

[@melodysmusicaladventures596]

Gotta give credit to the guy who made the creature to begin with it takes a lot of creativity to not only make a creature but also come up with so much detailed backstory and lore

[@maepicnic2460]

Creativity demands action. I don’t credit humanity for it because we are compelled to create aren’t we 😵‍💫

[@PeppersnGlowworms]

I like how the book implies, that (at least some) flat worms are actually highly derived snouters...

[@ThoughtPotato]

At around 1:40, I refer to the lost islands as "planets." To address some confusion: this is because in the original Latin, the word for "island" is "planetae," which is where we get the English word "planet." Planets appear to float in space, much like islands seem to float on the water. So, technically, I was correct (due to my vast knowledge of ancient languages)---it's DEFINITELY NOT because I somehow read the wrong word from my script. /s

[@dstinnettmusic]

I thought this was serious until I got to the end….cause planet means “wanderer” because of the retrograde motion planets seem to do a cross the sky.

[@originaluseername]

“DEFINTIELY NOT” “*nervous laughter*” uh ok “/s” i’m fucking cringing

[@ThoughtPotato]

@@originaluseername lol I may have gone a little overboard

[@heavensophia9382]

Now you just need a cover for this made up etymology of the word planet

[@stevenandersen6989]

@@ThoughtPotato nah the joke was good

[@ursowrongwrongisaid]

When I was a kid, I really thought they were real. They're like Santa Claus to me.

[@nataliekennedy4646]

Well Santa was actually based off a real person that lived in Turkey 400 years ago and he became a Saint because he was a Priest

[@anonymousmyvern8927]

@@nataliekennedy4646 not 400 years ago, he lived in the 3rd to 4th century AD, and was also famous because he used to punch heretics in their faces.

[@commenturthegreat2915]

@@anonymousmyvern8927 Christianity hasn't changed that much ey?

[@anonymousmyvern8927]

@@commenturthegreat2915 I guess so, but in this case it's pretty badass

[@cyberdiver7076]

Yeah I also really liked hearing my friends talked about those "secret wars" type books. I remembered one had zombies in it and it was epic but sadly I have never read it cuz I hated reading at the time.

[@alfeovalencia2054]

I've close to never heard of the Rhinogrades until now. I guess other than being a very famous hoax, its also a good source of spec evo if I do say so, being these are mammals that use theur schnozz to move about. They somewhat remind me of Serina's elefinches and further descentants like the Trolls, the Trunkos, and other fleshy billed birds.

[@AnnieC.1993]

These things seem interesting, and I'll be sure to look them up. You mean "speculative evolution" though, right?

[@him1517]

@@AnnieC.1993 yes he does

[@saturn6784]

Me and the boys having nose fights

[@alfeovalencia2054]

Schnozz battles

[@julienceaser4018]

@@alfeovalencia2054 snoot wars.

[@Shadow__X]

@@julienceaser4018 the empire sniffs back

[@dracodracarys2339]

someone should do a speculative evolution project about cetaceans re-conquering the land after a mass extinction. how would that work? would they be bipeds walking on their forelimbs? would they re-evolve atavistic hind legs? maybe even turn their tails into a third leg like the tribbetheres from Serina?

[@ThoughtPotato]

That would be VERY interesting

[@LimeyLassen]

Maybe they'd develop pseudopods, like caterpillars

[@Sara3346]

Maybe all three could happen if they started coming on shore on different landmasses?

[@Sinnocturnal]

This is so so interesting, and your voice is super duper relaxing to listen to as well!!

[@ThoughtPotato]

Isn’t it?? Thanks so much edit: I meant "isn't it interesting?" haha

[@Shadow__X]

@@ThoughtPotato they had us in the first half, not gonna lie

[@thatundergroundflavorrareo3194]

And to think, my love of speculative biology began with being a Pokémon fan. This is really cool stuff.

[@thegooseking1]

Speculative evolution is one of my favorite literary genre, its insane that how creative humans can be mostly biologically accurate, that is very impressive and you are my favorite channel to learn about these sort of thing and all i want to say is this channel is a hidden gem, god damn i was lucky enough to find this, keep up amazing work mate

[@SakuraAsranArt]

This has to be one of the most wholesome hoaxes ever perpetrated ❤

[@stardust6984]

All the noses: A chronicle of the myriad noses of rodents

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Can't wait for the *NÖSEMEN*

[@jonnyjynxer8315]

some early speculative evolution neat!

[@alfeovalencia2054]

Demn right, this one being way before Dixon, Barlowe, Serina, CM Koseman and others

[@ben-ty9jo]

I had a really stressful day and turned this on to relax. Your channel genuinely helps me when im stressed. Thank you again for your content king and I hope your channel keeps growing

[@ThoughtPotato]

Hey man, that seriously means a lot. I really appreciate your support!

[@TsarFrancisDrake]

There's actually a Rhinogradentia character in the Seton Academy manga, which is where I first heard of the hoax.

[@zmudilago]

I'm really thankful to have stumbled upon this channel. This was just delightful. Thank you thought potato!

[@ThoughtPotato]

Thanks so much! Very glad to have you here

[@MigWith]

Agree!

[@shan3622]

Just imagine being scared of rats and see this one walking on it's nose you would literally get a heart attack

[@alfeovalencia2054]

Now I imagine you reviewing both the Dragons of Wales books being the North and South, reviewing all creatures there

[@ThoughtPotato]

I’ve never heard of that! But I’ll definitely research it

[@AquaticFlapper125]

I remember these spec bois

[@alandgomez5905]

Heeeeeeey, I remember this. But for some reason I remembered a whole plethora of animals large and small, just walking around on their noses. I guess my imagination (and memory) took it a step further lol.

[@ThoughtPotato]

Crazy how that works, isn't it? But with all the spec evo projects going on, it sure would be cool to see an expanded Rhinograde universe!

[@alandgomez5905]

@@ThoughtPotato Yeah, the brain's a funny thing lol. Really enjoyed your vid 👍🏽.

[@emmettbattle5728]

i feel like its been done in speculative zoology (science fiction genre) since so maybe youve seen other things similar!

[@koi1333]

Snouters > any other spec evo creatures

[@ThoughtPotato]

Just one look at the Snuffling Sniffler makes it impossible to disagree

[@michaelgru5959]

The Rhinogradentia even made it into a manga , called Murenase! Seton Gakuen

[@shadymcnasty5920]

Cringe

[@Sara3346]

@@shadymcnasty5920 Why do you get annoyed with people for enjoying things that you don't enjoy?

[@peterbernhardt4429]

Used the book's illustrations when I taught Evolution and we looked at speciation and adaptive radiation within a lineage. It's as useful as a visual tool as showing photos of the flowers of an estimated 20,000 species of orchids or hundreds of thousands of beetles. Don't remember the undergrads as delighted by the book's artwork as much as I was. Still think they are glorious illustrations (complete with dissections).

[@JessHull]

thank you for covering the Snouters! I love teh snouters! I've even made up a few of my own and have drawings and notes. I had intended on making a few faux taxidermy snouters but never got around to it

[@ThoughtPotato]

That's awesome! I wouldn't mind seeing them

[@johannesclips1685]

its kinda interesting to think about, if its possible to walk on noses i wonder how many other ways there are to walk that we havent thought about, like some aliens could have totally different ways of walking

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

Imagine a tentacle curled up like a tape measure that unrolls and re-rolls at high speeds to launch the creature forwards

[@Duplicitousthoughtformentity]

I see your nose-walkers and raise you the tongue-sprinters. Your move!

[@redeye4516]

The one that walks on its noses via hydraulics is actually exactly how some arthropods like spiders move about. This is why their legs curl up on death, their limbs are naturally curled inward and they flex them out to move in what's basically a hydraulic process as they're too small to have musculature in there. So as odd as it is, that one is a lot closer to home than you'd think. Aliens might have totally different ways of moving though. Maybe one system where they use a series of collapsible "sail" membranes similar to bat wings to catch air currents and roll across the land in a ball structure like a tumbleweed. Or perhaps some may achieve buoyancy by producing a lighter-than-air gas within their bodies and releasing it in controlled spurts to move about. I'm fairly certain neither of these are used by earth-dwelling creatures that we know of.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

@@redeye4516 ooooh that's a neat one, i like it. Two more rollers that I think could work is: A ball type of thing that moves by sticking out rods/plates further from eachother and causing it to fall forwards, not too different in premise from your wind roller. A ball type of creature that moves by shifting weights inside itself forwards making it roll towards the new center if gravity. This could be hydraulically. As for more movement variations, i think sails in general could work in the tight environment like shallow seas with a lot of biomass (this is very directly inspired by a species in All Tommorows in the example given) There's also the option of mechanical legs of biological origins, and using wind, fluid, or other things to drive them not unlike Strandbeests. Combustion chambers (think the Skewers (i think that's the name) from Darwin IV use gaseous combustion as a propulsion method and have wings for steering and a little bit for gliding Balloons. used a lot in speculative alien life, can be propelled either by expelling gas, sails, traditional wings, combustion, etc. Maybe even "tether walking" (biological grapple-hook) that'd be interesting Water and air jetting these are used a lot underwater but it'd be interesting to see these on land Electrostatic flight in thick enough atmospheres acheived through thick fuzz and steered either electrically or by some other means Magnetic levitation (very very exotic) Electromagnetically (exotic in terms of biological life, pretty mundane for our machinery) Using water salination and gradients to move. It's possible just very taxing compared to muscular movement. Moving via biological tethers and winches (think a chamelion tongue and a woodpecker tongue) Moving via vibrating, use a weight to steer. Probably only works on flatter ground though unless the goal is to bury oneself in the sand. Moving via sound is an interesting concept but it'd be pretty slow and require a very thick atmosphere compared to our own i think. But who knows it might be doable. Life in space as exotic as that is might move using solarsails and lazers or just light in general. Any others ye can think of?

[@redeye4516]

+Ww Ww Well yeah, but like an animal. It would probably need to be a very windy place to be successful though. Maybe an armadillo or pangolin type creature with wings adapted for speeding across the land in a ball form, but they can otherwise walk around when there's no wind. Just throwing out ideas really.

[@lazynihilanth1899]

I find these things terrifying. I know they're super small but imagine seeing a rat scurry across your floor using four noses to walk, I'd have a heart attack.

[@Sara3346]

I mean I hope you never meet any hopping rats or giant rats then if that's the standard.

[@KateeAngel]

This whole story is bizarre from the beginning to the end, from the question of why a Swede was in a Japanese camp if Sweden was neutral, the islands' names to why suddenly the whole archipelago just sunk into the ocean due to earthquake

[@gearmachine_4885]

I found out about these creatures when I saw a taxidermied specimen in a museum in Salzburg. Fascinating animals.

[@mattm2451]

Was hoping you'd talk about this, great video as always

[@Silly_ehggy]

Yoo this stuff is so interesting

[@Jimmy0649]

here before this blows up! saw this in my recommended will totally blow up no doubt

[@raccoonja5905]

If you can read German (or find a good English translation) Christian Morgensterns poems are worth a read they feature alot of fantastical creatures, satire, wordplay and surrealism and hold up very well. I'm currently working on a game based on some of his poems and they never get old, no matter how often I've read them.

[@FirstLastFirstLast]

Theres no way this channel isnt going to blow up

[@ThoughtPotato]

Fingers crossed! I really appreciate that

[@CrimsonAkato]

it came to my algorithm today I think it's starting now

[@LorreKeeper]

1:41 Woah, those nukes destroyed entire planets!? But no, fr tho, this always struck me as a curious & fun dive into the field that would become SpecEvo.

[@motive-li1do]

Was just learning about these on your iceberg videos when they all disappeared :[ don't know what happened but hope they'll return soon, they were a great gateway into some cracks and crannies of spec bio! Plus I didn't finish smh. All aside, great work, keep it up! Your channel is a wonderful treasure trove for my new obsession!

[@ThoughtPotato]

Thanks so much! And don’t worry, the series will be back tomorrow! (Technical difficulties)

[@motive-li1do]

@@ThoughtPotato phew, thank you!

[@michaljanovsky8966]

AAAAA rhinogrades! lets watch

[@Ness_Dreemurr]

The thumbnail reminded me of all tomorrows

[@ThoughtPotato]

I can definitely see why

[@Ness_Dreemurr]

@@ThoughtPotato yeah, I can image the Qu seeing this and be all like "write that down write that down!"

[@alfeovalencia2054]

The tentacles reminded all of the Qu

[@purplehaze2358]

Ah, the fictional animals with the most boopable snootables.

[@bobsterclause342]

My throat is making weird noises, I wonder why. Oh, it's the nose walkers. I love shinanigans.

[@jismeraiverhoeven]

I mean using their nose for stuff isnt that far fetched actually. I mean elephants use their nose to grab stuff and wash themselves. I guess locomotion is just the next step there XD

[@benlee7565]

1:44 “new and diverse life one those planets” Just a heads up on this minor error

[@ThoughtPotato]

Whoops! Funny how that made it through scripting, editing, and uploading 😆

[@fkv1ncecuh145]

Steiner: Oh ja we really messed the masses good Mason who is hallucinating and finds out that the snouters are fake: My name is Viktor Reznov and I will have my revenge

[@squirrel_killer-]

In high school I convinced a teacher to let me do a presentation on these as a research project to show we were capable of independently locating primary scientific research. I joked that I should do something speculative zoology related, and she stated if I could find something scientific enough I'd be free to do so, and then I showed up with the snouters book and she grinned and told me to go nuts. I had to present on primary research I found on three fields, I did my other two on an at the time fairly newly discovered element and its synthesis, and the other was on some cutting edge paleontology relating to pterosaurs, which were at the time both interests of mine. I remember nothing of that project, being as it was over a decade ago, but I remember falling in love with these things then.

[@sheer_coolness]

Very cool, just earned a sub.

[@bongobongo3661]

Your voice is so relaxing

[@him1517]

Dude was the biggest troll in history… respect

[@xiuxiu60]

more of this please, super super enjoyable

[@ThoughtPotato]

Thanks so much! More on the way :)

[@torblixa7760]

i bought this book...in the early 80's

[@prism182]

these look like things you'd find in pikmin

[@Twinklethefox9022]

I tried to look this up today and for some reason putting "mouse that walks on nose" led to disgusting videos about maggots being in horrible areas..... I have no idea how KZbin thought that is what I wanted and now I have horrible images stuck in my mind. Thanks broken search results

[@eugenesy1807]

Even though these animals are a fictional and taxonomical joke, the rhinogrades remind me of squid and how they'd walk on land using their tentacles.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

This was sweet

[@ThoughtPotato]

YOU’RE sweet

[@chronicallyconflictedwalru3661]

The REAL joke is that he was joking about it being a joke

[@johnwalters1341]

Enjoyed the poem you cited; the one in the (English-language) book is a different translation.

[@stinkymoe3635]

Very epic

[@kameleon2354]

I agree

[@kweebecnode8463]

This should get more views

[@alfeovalencia2054]

Make the shnozz rats get more recognition in the new age

[@ItThunderbolt]

Your voice is soothing

[@xenasBS]

I like to think there was once a mouse-species which, for some reason, developed such a fine nose that it would tip them over, and that was the start of the nosarium species. If it's fiction, we get to write prequals 😊

[@humanguyalsoperson7987]

someone should make an entire universe around these

[@spacecase13]

The zoological equivalent of the Turbo Encabulator engineering spoof.

[@hagfish4998]

Can you talk about the Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy? It's about a race of sapient Tyrannosauroids that evolved on a terraformed moon.

[@ThoughtPotato]

I will 100% look into this. I love it when people bring up things like this. Thank you!

[@NamelessAidan]

Feels like the account of someone who got lost in the Feywild for a minute

[@Tomeroche]

oddly enough I first learned about this from a manga about animal girls where they're existence was some weird mystery since the MC was well aware that they are supposed to be fake.

[@the_blue_jay_raptor]

A cursed thought I've had is that rhinograde furries are somewhere on the internet.

[@Fuchswinter]

Sad that they’re not real tbh. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing nature came up with so far, and they’re quite cute :D

[@Orion-ih5xl]

This takes world writing to the extreme

[@KBP2023]

i wish i had a time machine so I could go back in time and stop the nukes

[@gutsleftarm]

Another banger

[@kidflashII]

gotta catch em all

[@Nymp-xt8jh]

What if before the snouters archipelago was destroyed some of them were telaported to kimere?

[@axjagfilms]

Imagine just finding out a cute creature exists and it’s already extinct

[@FallenAngel7538]

Take a closer look at that snout!

[@SirWeeWahTheThird]

I’m so glad these are not real. Things with weird long noses have always scared me for some reason.

[@isleofdead1337]

Is Pinocchio your worst nightmare?

[@SirWeeWahTheThird]

@@isleofdead1337 surprisingly no but the idea has the potential to be. But no ones made a version of Pinocchio that scares me because of the nose. There are, however, some that are scary for other reasons lol.

[@pandamaster8306]

Guys the island just... you know, sunk

[@viniciuspaiva3578]

They may be a hoax and we can laugh at this idea of creatures who walk on their noses, but it’s actually an interesting concept of speculative zoology, if we think about it

[@redactedallvegemight8415]

Cant play with my heartstrings like the

[@mashu_sukotto]

I first Learned about this when I read the seton academy manga

[@Fayanora]

Plot twist: those islands were magical, and the "hoax" was just a cover for the magic that hid the islands from mundanes.

[@ThoughtPotato]

This is now the reality I chose to believe

[@stickpersonproductions6941]

in all honesty the idea of an island filled with rodents with nose tentacles could probably be the least weirdest thing mother nature can come up with.

[@yourlocaltoad5102]

4:45 is the guy she told you not to worry about

[@mrwoodchuck94]

I have see pictures of thoes years ago but i can't remember where

[@TheLegend2T]

Ok but when are we getting snouter furries?

[@samueltheil4032]

Moles: they might not put their weight on their faces and do head stands, but they put it down in the dirt of their tunnels to use all their hypersensitive feelers to excavate their path - and the saying goes: put your best foot forward.

[@wannabewyvern]

I remember when my dad dug a mole out of the ground and put it in a bucket. I looked at it up close and was absolutely amazed. the amount of specializations the moles have to live underground is incredible.

[@SalreixVonOtsuu]

1:44 "on those planets"

[@mathieuleader8601]

this order should be made into pokemon

[@plant5741]

Cats gonna be confused af

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

This is some of the most German humor I've ever seen.

[@corvuscorax9028]

virgin walk with leg vs chad walk with nose

[@clarsach29]

this would have made an excellent April Fool's joke

[@xenobeatsxeno8719]

Technically it is an April Fools tradition to add more information about the snouters, like making up new species, finding and describing fossil remains and etc.

[@mep1243]

"all the unique and diverse life on those PLANETS?" not trying to be mean but still

[@christmassnow3465]

An elaborate hoax is a hoax made so well that it may appear so true and reliable, often hard to crack down even by tough critics. Definitely a great deal of thought was poured into what will be called years later as speculative biology/evolution.

[@MrTwostring]

Did you actually call the islands "planets"?

[@EzekielDeMille]

1:43 narrator says "planets" when he should say "islands"

[@glennjamieson7695]

why did earth delete these like fr, these could have been OP

[@AkiraIsMissing]

I think it's kinda crazy how we are just gonna ignore how the U.S sink multiple islands????

[@ryanfinn1875]

U should do cryptid iceberg videos

[@ThoughtPotato]

Funny you should mention that, I may be working on that very thing

[@cha0sxiii63]

By this logic, wouldn't an elephant's trunk be considered a nasarium? If so, does that mean that somewhere way, way, way down the line that might conect them to proboscidea family of animals? 🤔