User blog:Terranhawk/Subnautica Creature Evolution

Chart
A chart I made because I got bored in my Graphics Communications class.

If you somehow couldnt tell already, this blog contains spoilers



Key
Black- related. (Confirmed by the PDA) (Black lines pointing to red text are fan thories with solid proof)

Red = possible relation (fan theories).

Blue  = other (other reasons).

Common Ancestors- Theorised creatures (Black = stated by PDA, red = fan theorised relation

Important Notes

 * A meteor crashed into the Dunes at an unknown time. This may have caused a minor extinction event, similar to what has happened to Earth multiple times. (Due to the precursor cache in the place where the meteor struck not having a normal entrance and having a knocked over pillar it could be possible that it hit the planet less than 1000 years ago)


 * Due to the attack on the DRF and kharaa being released into the waters. Around 70% of the species on the planet went extinct.

Families and More
Segmented Exoskeleton/Double Eye Sockets Family - Sand Shark, Boneshark, Rockgrub, Biter, Blighter and Theta

These creatures evolved from a creature that had a segmented exoskeleton. The biter and blighter have lost the segmented  exoskeleton for greater speed and manoeuvrability whilst its relatives have retained it for defensive purposes. The Sand Shark and Rockgrub both have burrowing behaviour so it may be possible that the common ancestor of those two was also a burrower. The Boneshark is the only living member to lack a secondary pair of eyes, implying that its lineage split off prior to their development or it has lost them since diverging.

Eel Family- Ampeel, River Prowler, Ghost Leviathan

These creatures evolved from an older eel-like creature. The River Prowler has no electrical prongs so either it has lost them completely or split earlier than the Ampeel and Ghost Leviathan, which according to the PDA both possess the electrical prongs, though in the Ghost Leviathan's case they are covered by its membrane, favouring cave navigation.

Large-Eyed Creature Family - Peeper, Eyeye, Reginald, Oculus, Red Eyeye and Alpha Peeper

As the name suggests. These creatures all have very large eyes. The Alpha Peeper developed photosensitive skin on each side of its body capable of distinguishing between light and dark, potentially becoming the first creature to evolve vision. The photosensitive skin later became eyes which are prioritised in most members of the group. Sometime later it split into the Peeper, Eyeye and Reginald. The Reginald and Peeper appear closer to each other than the Eyeye due to their shared trait of two side-mounted eyes rather than the Eyeye's singular, frontal eye. A group of Peepers eventually adapted to the Jelly Shroom Cave, forming a new species; the Oculus. The origin of the Eyeye and Red Eyeye is unclear, as the PDA is uncertain on whether the Eyeye or Red Eyeye came first. Despite having one eye, the Spadefish is not said to be a member of this group, so likely evolved its singular large eye through convergent evolution.

Stalker Family - Stalker, Lava Lizard (possibly)

The Stalker is one of the oldest creatures on the planet. Hitting the sweet spot of both speed and size. It has no bioluminescence and has large, shiny teeth, so may have some distant relation to the Lava Lizard which has a similar tooth structure and also lacks bioluminescence.

Ray Family-  Jellyray, Rabbit Ray, Ghostray, Crimson Ray and the Alpha Ray

The Ray family is a family of the rays (duh). The Alpha Ray is the first in the family, It was a predator that hunted smaller animals. Over time it lost its predatory ways and became a bottom feeder. All members of the group possess toxic skin. The Jellyray, Rabbit Ray, Ghostray and Crimson Ray are the only living members of the group, of which, the Ghostray and Crimson Ray still retain forwards-mounted eye sockets from their predatory ancestors, whilst the Jellyray and Ghostray retained the transparent skin. The Ghostray and Jellyray are said to be the oldest members of the group whilst the Rabbit Ray and Crimson Ray are more recent evolutions.

Crabs- Cave Crawler, Blood Crawler and Crabsquid (possibly)

The members of this family are invertebrates, have multiple legs and can walk around on the sea floor. While Cave Crawlers often live above land they are amphibious, able live underwater if necessary (though they cannot swim). The Blood Crawler and Cave Crawler are closely related. While the crabsquid may be a more distant relation. The Crabsquid had evolve to have an EMP blast as a way to counter the rise of a fauna that had electrical attacks. The Crabsquid is a theorised member of this group due to the Cave Crawler having a gas exchange membrane which could be similar to the Crabsquid's inflated membrane. (as pointed out by Bippity)

Reefback Group - Reefback and Arctic Reefback (expansion)

The Reefbacks, along with the crab group are invertebrates, evolving a chitinous shell to protect their bodies from predators. Any predator capable of breaking the shell is most likely extinct. Reefbacks have very long lifespans and can live centuries. Reefbacks eat by releasing enzymes into the water. While the glands that hold the enzyme look similar to Gasopod's glands, they are not related. The Reefback and arctic reefback are very closely related. The only differences being colouraton and the Arctic Reefback's hump which allows it to resemble an iceberg. Due to the expansion not being out yet and things can change, an official placement for the Arctic Reefback can't be said until more information is available.

Forelimbs Family- Sea Dragon and Sea Emperor

The Sea Dragon and Sea Emperor, two giant creatures with many similarities. While one can fire magma and another can cure Kharaa. These two species most likely came from the same ancestor. The Sea Dragon has arms with large hands, perfect for slapping prey, while the Sea Emperor has paddle arms used for swimming and climbing. The Sea Dragon is one of the oldest creatures on the planet and is nearing extinction.

Holefish Family- Holefish and Titan Holefish (expansion)

The Holefish and Titan Holefish are two distance relatives. Both have evolved to have a giant hole in their body. the Holefish moves in the water by changing the size and shape of the hole, most likely the Titan Holefish does the same. The Titan Holefish is naitve to the Arctic Biome and is in a symbiotic relationship with tiny fauna called, Titan Holefish Symbiote (placeholder name). They lay their eggs on the Titan Holefish. This lets the eggs extract nutrients and oxygen to grow. In return, the Titan Holefish Symbiote protect the Titan Holefish from predators and eat parasites off the Titan's Holefish body. The Holefish does not have this kind of relationship.

Cuddlefish (Cutefish)

The friendly fish that follows you around and likes magic tricks, tickles and more. Its origin is unknown. Can understand commands like a dolphin.

Warper

A strange teleporting creature with robotic parts. Built by the precursors to kill anything with high levels of Kharaa. It was created from body parts of dozens of different creatures that were from different planets.

Amoeboid

The blue fauna that looks like flora but isn't. It is just a simple, non-sentient organism that feeds on matter in the ground.

Anomaly's Remake Progress
Anomaly has been taking their time to make a remake of this chart that looks a lot better.

One Eyed Creature Family 

Eel Family

Segemented Exoskeleton/Double Eye Sockets Family

Skyrays

Stalker

Progress on Anomaly's remake can be seen here

Credits
BippityBop (Helped fix info I got wrong . which happened to much, and gave other possible relations)

AnomalyDetected (Remaking this chart :D) (well I at least think they still are doing it)

All the pictues are from the Subnautica Wikia, so I don't own the images

The concept art of the expansion creatures are not mine. They belong to Alex Ries.

Changelog
The useless changelog for people who want to see how the chart has changed overtime

1.0: Chart made

1.1: moved gasopod, moved sandshark/biter family around, removed tree leach, made grave yard bigger with more fauna. Fixed typos.

1.2: moved crabsquid (idea came from bippity) added credits, added bloom plankton to graveyard

1.3: fixed overlapping issue, added trivia, added possible DLC creature off to the side, added something stupid

1.4: moved lava lizard and bladder fish around. Added more text.

1.4.1: fixed duplicate bladder fish

1.5: added arctic reefback, fixed a bunch of overlapping issues, made it easier to tell aprt from Fan Theories and PDA Theories

1.6: Chart overhaul, looks a bit nicer instead of looking something like a 1st grader made.

1.6.1: mistakes were made. Stalker tree fixed. Vertbrate > invertbrate

1.7: added missing thing. Compressed image a bit.

1.8: Arctic Creatures :D

Future Ideas
1. Add Membrain Tree ?

2. Add more Arctic Creatures if more are announced.

3. Maybe mention the unused concept art creatures for expansion if they stay unused forever.

4. Make more room for the Pinnicarid and the Penguin incase they are relatives.

5. Add Glow Whale when more room is made.