Headed for a certain city...

[beingthecreature]

Oh man, that report on the new elasmosaur species is amazing! How it's got the longest known neck-and-total-body length among similar plesiosaurs, heck even among other vertebrate mammals, period! And did you SEE where the report mentioned they could actually tell it had been scavenged after death? This is an incredible discovery!

Hmm? Oh, right. [Chuckles.]

I gotta say mun, I kinda like this idea you've got in mind. It'd be good to go somewhere, especially if it's with my bro. I get the feeling you're not telling me everything, but I guess I'll find out when I get there! And don't worry about the app, you'll do fine. I know ya will!

((OOC: Canon is Wild Kratts.))

Comments

[1s331nb4d4ss]

SC4V3NG3D??
YOU M34N TH4T SOM3TH1NG 3LS3 H4D B33N CH3W1NG ON 1T?
TH4TS NOT SO UNR34L
JUST LOOK FOR TOOTHM4RKS

[beingthecreature]

Yeah, and that's what they found! The incredible part is that it was on a fossil; just think, these were teeth marks that were preserved for millions of years!

[1s331nb4d4ss]

[Bliiink.]
M1LL1ONS OF Y34RS
BUT
TH4TS OLD3R TH4N TH3 WORLD

[Sorry, 1920s education.]

[beingthecreature]

[Gentle chuckle.] Not quite. But it is older than anything human.

[1s331nb4d4ss]

BUT
M1LL1ONS 4R3 B1GG3R TH4N THOUS4NDS
...
R1GHT

[Troubled expression. Then she shrugs.]

J33G3RS
TH1S SC13NC3 HOO3Y 1S FUTZ1NG H4RD

[beingthecreature]

I guess; it's definitely not for everybody. Just imagine this though, and don't worry about the timeline: think of it like a different world entirely. In the depths of the ocean are creatures like no one has ever seen, and among them is a plesiosaur-- [Projecting a screen from the little device in his glove's wrist now, showing said creature.] --with the longest neck ever known. THAT is what they discovered.

[1s331nb4d4ss]

[She cocks her head to one side, not looking anywhere near the projection--or at anything in particular, really.]

SO 1TS L1K3 4 S34GO1NG ...WH4T 4R3 TH3Y C4LL3D... G1R4FF3??
1 GU3SS TH4TS K1ND OF KEEN
WHY D1D 1T H4V3 SUCH 4 LONG N3CK
COULDNT 1T JUST SW1M UP TO WH4T3V3R W4S OUT OF 1TS R34CH

[beingthecreature]

[He watches her, killing the projection, then he smiles.]

That's the thing. Because these creatures lived SO long ago, we're still figuring stuff out about them. But yeah, picture a crossbreed between a giraffe and a whale, with a little bit of seal, and you've kinda got it.

[1s331nb4d4ss]

4ND 4 WH4L3???
1T W4S B1G L1K3 TH4T?
N1FTY

[beingthecreature]

At least yeah! Albertonectes vanderveldi, the scientific name of the discovery, looked to have been around 40 feet in length. That's about the size of a humpback whale, definitely one of more impressively sized species.

[1s331nb4d4ss]

FORTY F33T
DAMN
TH4TS B1GG3R TH4N OUR HOUS3 W4S T4LL 1 TH1NK
TH4TS R34LLY N1FTY
SH4M3 4BOUT TH3 N4M3

I'm minorly proud at myself that I remembered this name off the top of my head because of past RP..

[beingthecreature]

It's bigger than a lot of houses. And that's just the scientific name, a way it's identified to other scientists. Soon enough it oughta have a normal name, like any other plant or animal. Take Dasypus novemcinctus for example, or to most people, the nine-banded armadillo.

:O that is pretty awesome actually

[1s331nb4d4ss]

4H
Y43H, TH4TLL B3 B3TT3R
G1V3 1T 4 N4M3 MOR3 P3OPL3 C4N 4CTU4LLY S4Y

1 K1ND OF L1K3 D4SYPUS B3TT3R TH4N 4RM4D1LLO THOUGH

WHY DO SC13NT1STS G1V3 4N1M4LS SUCH LONG SCREWY N4M3S??

Heh, thanks |D

[beingthecreature]

Ah yeah, Dasypus does sound pretty cool.

It's for identification purposes, mostly. The name can tell you where the creature or plant was first discovered or who discovered it, as well as its relationship with other organisms. It can also help a scientist tell the difference between subspecies, something that can be difficult with their simpler names that are often changed based on culture or experience.

[1s331nb4d4ss]

TH4T
...
1 TH1NK 1 UND3RSTOOD TWO 4ND 4 H4LF S3NT3NC3S OUT OF WH4T YOU S41D
4R3 YOU US1NG MOR3 SC13NT1ST WORDS

[beingthecreature]

A few yeah, sorry. It's kinda the way I'm used to talking.

But the long, complicated names are, at their heart, identification for other scientists.