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Darwin IV Factfile

The Fourth planet in the darwin system Darwin IV is ( in fiction ) the only planet known to support life. Darwin IV is somewhat darker in the daytime because it's star is higher. it is aslo one of the only planets in the system to be in the habitable zone.

Darwin IV Facts
(At time of departure)
Gravity: 0.6 Earth
Solar energy at top of atmosphere: 79% that of Earth
Atmospheric density: 200% that of Earth (est.)
Microscopic life present: Some indication
Macroscopic life present: Unknown

Darwin IV was once a planet much like earth and did infact have oceans. but Darwin's oceans evaporated millions of years ago leaving nothing but a small blue sea and the ice caps, lakes, ponds and rivers that remained on the planet. continents became large mountains while the ocean floor became savanna and deserts.

Senses

The animal species on Darwin Have all evolved sonar. echo-locating using pings, clicks,  high pitched squeals,  and more, since they have evolved to the point where their eyes no longer exist or are atrophying. Many have complicated cephalons to aid in this sense. The majority have also evolved biolights; but rather than communicating information in the visable light spectrum, biolights on Darwin IV function in the infrared range, as all Darwinian animals are quite sensitive to that spectrum. It is important to note that their sensory organs to detect light in the infrared spectrum are more comparable to thermoreceptors found in pit vipers or rattlesnakes. The Rimerunner still has one bizarre, retractable, atrophying eye, a remnant from a time when sight-based organisms still had a place on Darwin IV. Also, most species are hermaphrodites.

Animals

Amoebic sea- When the oceans faded on darwin the amoebic sea was all that was left so a few specialized mirco organisims grouped up and contained the last of the ocean's water to survive.  Though it may look peaceful the sea has predatory properties, one of its 2 ft long tenticles can snatch an Sea strider nyph in mid flight!

Arctic sedge slider- A ten-meter-tall biped, the Arctic Sedge Slider is perfectly adapted for life in the cold. The Arctic Sedge Slider's name comes from the furrows it leaves in its wake. This creature has an ingenious adaptation for the cold. When temperatures drop low, or when a fierce Arctic storm approaches, the Arctic Sedge Slider has the ability to retract its head deep into its warm body cavity. When conditions are favorable again, its head reemerges again and it resumes its activities. The Arctic Sedge Slider has what may be the biggest sonar bulge of any animal on Darwin IV. This massive organ produces sonar pings in, not one, but multiple frequencies. Since the bulge is located on the Arctic Sedge Slider's back, it gives the animal the ability to "see" in 360 degrees. This makes it much more difficult for a predator to catch an Arctic Sedge Slider by surprise.  

Arrowtongue - Averaging about eight feet (2.4 meters) tall, an Arrowtongue impales its prey with a 26-foot-long, serrated, arrow-tipped proboscis. Like many spiders on Earth (and like most predators on Darwin IV), Arrowtongues are liquivores, injecting digestive juices into their prey and then sucking out the liquefied food. They are fierce, solitary hunters found across the planet. Like most of Darwin IV's animals, their pointed, spade-like heads contain no true jaws. They use sonar in order to find other species and food, and possesses 3 tail-like appendages, one under its main tail and two on its back, in addition to it long balancing tail. The Arrowtongue's body and legs vaguely resemble the bipedal predatory dinosaurs during Earth's Cretaceous Era, such as the T. rex.

Beach Loper - The Beach Loper is a biped with a trunk vaguely reminiscent of an elephant's. It is a distant peripheral cousin of the immense Emperor Sea Strider. 

Beach Quill - Beach Quills are short-range attack hunters and are some of the smallest creatures on Darwin IV. They attack in colonies and kill their prey with a neurotoxin. In Alien Planet a large colony kills a Groveback. They can propel themselves by means of a folded muscular "foot". The beach quills in expedition were one meter in length as opposed to the 3 inch long beach quills in alien planet.

Beach Loper - The Beach Loper is a biped with a trunk vaguely reminiscent of an elephant's. It is a distant peripheral cousin of the immense Emperor Sea Strider. 

Beach Quill- Beach Quills are short-range attack hunters and are some of the smallest creatures on Darwin IV. They attack in colonies and kill their prey with a neurotoxin. In Alien Planet a large colony kills a Groveback. They can propel themselves by means of a folded muscular "foot". The beach quills in expedition were one meter in length as opposed to the 3 inch long beach quills in alien planet.

Belly-Thrower - A monopedal (single-footed) animal which has an eating habit similar to that of a starfish on Earth; it inverts its stomach outside the body and catches prey in it.

Bladderhorn - This creature is a bright blue, rather comical-looking bipedal animal, with two "antlers" extending out of the sides of its head, which are actually sacs designed to inflate and make it look much larger than it truly is. Bladderhorns make bellowing sounds by deflating the air sacs. The Bladderhorn uses its "antlers" for communication, which, in Alien Planet, causes Leo to conclude it's a good candidate for communication. Leo shows the Bladderhorn a symbol puzzle, but the Bladderhorn becomes apparently agitated, bellowing at him, and then runs away. Ike sees the same Bladderhorn near the conclusion of the exploration. Bladderhorns fight with their bladders like antlers, using bioluminescent light shows and their bladders to scare away predators and rivals.

Bolt-tongue - Though it resembles a small Arrowtongue, the Bolt-tongue has some key features that distinguish it from its larger relative. Its skull is longer and narrower than the Arrowtongue's, and it lacks the small fleshy spines of its savanna counterpart. Its sonar bulge is in the form of an arc running down the front top of its head. Its back lacks biolights and has a large patch of gray running from the tip of its skull to the end of its tail. The Bolt-tongue inhabits sub-polar regions of the northern icecap, where it preys upon several species of Arctic herbivores. Its tongue has a larger and more pronounced serrated arrowhead tip than its cousin.

Butchertree - Many species prey on the numerous, fast breeding Prismalope, but the Butchertree is the only species that actually lures the Prismalope instead of chasing it. Dotting the plains of the northern hemisphere, the Butchertree kills just about anything unfortunate enough to come within range of its four branch-daggers. They have a bizarre relationship with an unnamed flying organism, which is the primary food source of Prismalopes. The Butchertree grows underground tentacles that heavily resemble these flyers, allowing the "tree" to lure Prismalopes close enough to try to capture and eat them. It is unknown just how this species reproduces. One possibility is that the small flyer it associates with transfers eggs and sperm between individuals. Another possibility is that the flyer itself is the second gender of the species, an extreme form of sexual dimorphism. Either way, young Butchertrees are found close to their "parent", and are connected to them through an umbilical cord similar to that of the "growths" that mimic the flyers. The cord disappears once the young are capable of nourishing themselves. In Alien Planet the Butchertree is one of only two species shown to prey on Skewers.

Daggerwrist - The Daggerwrist is a human-sized tree-dwelling carnivore. It glides from tree to tree with the assistance of thin membranes, or patagia, similar to those of a flying squirrel. Its forelimbs are large daggers designed for clinging to plaque-bark trees and killing prey, mainly Trunk-suckers. Unlike most of Darwin IV's predators, the Daggerwrist has what could looks like a jaw. But the lower "jaw" is actually part of the skull that detaches to stab its prey and inject the needed digestive enzymes. Daggerwrists are also some of the most social, hunting in groups of three or two.

Diskflyer - Diskflyers live around the Amoebic Sea and operate within very distinct four square kilometer territories. It is not known whether young Diskflyers stay within the territories in which they were born or if they leave to establish new territories of their own. Diskflyers are hermaphroditic, like most of Darwin IV's fauna, and mating impregnates both partners. It is not known whether diskflyers give birth to live young or eggs, but it is probably the latter.

Ebony Blister-wing - An immense flyer, the Ebony Blister-wing can sometimes attain wingspans in excess of 1,000 feet. 

 Emperor Sea-strider* - The Emperor Sea-strider is the one of the largest known creatures on Darwin IV. In Alien Planet, the Emperor Sea-strider is 70 feet tall, but it is much more massive in the book Expedition. Though their exact size is unknown, if Mr. Barlowe's account is correct, they would be 620.1 feet tall. Emperor Sea-striders walk on the surface of the Amoebic Sea with their two massive feet. Emperor Sea-striders are found only on the Amoebic Sea for the reason that the sea is the only source of food in numbers large enough to support such creatures, much like krill is for baleen whales on Earth. When Emperor Sea-striders are born they are capable of flight, but as adults they are bipedal. They have a bizarre way of feeding; their mouths are located on their feet, so it basically eats the organisms by stepping on them. The identifying traits they have are a mouthless crested head, two very large orange biolights (which are cavities in the book), two large tails (which is actually a tail and a phallus according to the book), and smaller blue biolights accenting their crests and tails.

Eosapien - Eosapiens are the sentient natives of Darwin IV in both Alien Planet and Expedition. The Eosapiens appear to be highly mobile, airborne, and semi-sentient. They possess limbs with tentacle-like fingers, navigate with organic rudders, and use large sacs of methane to provide lift. Eosapiens have rudimentary intelligence roughly equivalent to that of our own early ancestors like Homo erectus. They carry spears for hunting. Their name means "Dawn Thinker" in Latin. In Alien Planet they were one of only two species able to prey on Skewers. Leo was assaulted by an Eosapiens shortly after trying to communicate with a Bladderhorn. A group of Eosapiens apparently interpreted a camera disk launched by Ike as a threat; the last image from the camera disk showed the Eosapiens flying away, carrying a limp Ike. The floating balloon probe resembles the floating Eosapiens, and the launch of the video disc was probably interpreted as throwing a weapon. This species differs in appearance in the book compared to Alien Planet. In Alien Planet, the Eosapiens fingers were made more tentacle-like and longer, and they increased the size of its bladders, had spears instead of clubs, their skin color and hunting strategies also differ from what is found in the book.In the book, a group of eosapiens with drop there clubs around there prey, trapping the animal before lifting the helpless creature in to the air and ripping off the head, tail and limbs.

here is an image of darwin iv

Fin Leg - Small, silver, barrel-shaped herbivores with two fin-like limbs, hence the name. Even though it only has two fins, it walks on four points, two on each fin. They feed of the semi-liquid membrane of the jelly-bladder plants.

Finned Snapper - A carnivore with 2 front legs and an airfoil like hind quarters that lifts it when it runs. They feed on Jetdarters by flicking their agile and dexterous hunting arm located on the head. They are very light weight and have very delicate bones. The individual encountered by barlowe was injured when the hovercones engine tossed the animal, where it was later assulted by jetdarters.

Flipstick - Flipsticks are tall, cylindrical creatures. The Flipstick's signature form of locomotion involves leaping into the air and flipping 180° to land on its opposite end. These 60-meter-tall creatures feed on microflyers by jamming their sonar with an oscillating tone, then scoop them up in feeding scoops.  

Follow-wing - Small violet flyers that usually follow Skewers to scavenge from their kills. They are related to the Skewer, but they are only 2 meters long.