#actual ancient aliens

[alphynix]

Typhloesus wellsi has been a mystery for a long time.

First discovered in the early 1970s, in the mid-Carboniferous Bear Gulch Limestone deposits (~324 million years ago) of Montana, USA, it was initially mistaken for the long-sought-after "conodont animal" due to the presence of numerous conodont teeth inside its body. But just a few years later well-preserved eel-like conodont animals were found elsewhere, and it became apparent that the conodont teeth inside Typhloesus had actually just been part of its last meal.

But if it wasn't a conodont… then what was it?

Up to about 10cm long (4"), Typhloesus had a streamlined body with a vertical tail fin and paired "keels" along its sides. It had a mouth and a gut cavity, but no apparent anus, and it also didn't seem to have any eyes or other sensory structures. And in the middle of its body there was something very weird – a pair of "ferrodiscus" organs, disc-shaped structures which contained high concentrations of iron but whose function was completely unknown.

This anatomy just didn't match any other known animals, so much so that it gained the nickname of "alien goldfish".

For the next few decades it remained a bizarre enigma, at best tentatively considered to represent an unknown lineage of some sort of metazoan that left almost no other fossil record due to being entirely soft-bodied.

But now, 50 years after its initial discovery, we might just finally have a clue about Typhloesus' true identity.

Recently something new was discovered in some Typhloesus specimens – a radula-like feeding structure that was probably part of an eversible proboscis. This would mean that Typhloesus was a mollusc, possibly a gastropod that convergently evolved a swimming predatory lifestyle similar to modern pterotracheoids.

It's not a definite identification yet, and even if it was a mollusc it was an incredibly strange one, with features like the ferrodiscus still lacking any explanation. But this discovery at least shows that there are still new details waiting to be found in the "alien goldfish" fossils, and gives us a start towards bringing its classification back down to earth.

———

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#science illustration #paleontology #paleoart #palaeoblr #typhloesus #gastropod #mollusc #invertebrate #maybe #incertae sedis #alien goldfish #ferrodiscus #actual ancient aliens #art

[kizzer55555]

DP x DC: The Most Dangerous Card Game

Ok so Danny has essentially claimed earth as his. And he is fully aware that there are constant threats to the planet. Now he can’t stop a threat that originates on earth (that’s something he’ll leave to the Justice league) but he can do something about outside threats. Doing some research on ancient spells, rituals, and artifacts, he cast a world wide barrier on the planet to protect it from hostile threats so they cannot enter. This will prevent another Pariah Dark incident. However, barriers like this come at a price. You see, there are two ways to make a barrier. Either make one powered up by your own energy and power (which would be constantly draining) or set up a barrier with rules. The way magic works is that nothing can be absolutely indestructible. It must have a weakness. The most powerful barriers weren’t the ones reinforced with layer after layer of protective charms and buffed up with power. Those could eventually be destroyed either by being overpowered, wearing them down, or by cutting off the original power source. No, the most powerful barriers were the ones with a deliberate weakness. A barrier indestructible except for one spot. A cage that can only be opened from the outside. Or that can only be passed with a key or by solving a riddle. So Danny chooses this type of barrier and does the necessary ritual and pours in enough power to make it. And he adds his condition for anyone to enter. 

Now the Justice league? Find out about the barrier when Trigon attempts to attack, they were preparing after he threatened what he would do once he got to earth. How he would destroy them. The Justice league tried to take the fight to him first but were utterly destroyed, so they retreated home to tend to their injuries, and fortify earth for one. Last. Stand. Only when Trigon makes his big entrance…he’s stopped.

The Justice league watch in awe as this thin see-through barrier with beautiful green swirls and speckled white lights like stars apears blocking Trigon and his army’s advance. The barrier looks so thin and fragile yet no matter how hard the warlord hits, none of his attacks can get through and neither can he damage said barrier. That’s when Constantine and Zatanna recognizes what this barrier is. Something only a powerful entity could create. For a moment, the league is filled with hope that Trigon can’t get through yet Constantine also explains that it’s not impenetrable. And clearly Trigon knows this too for he calls out a challenge. 

And that’s when, in a flash of light, a tiny glowing teenager appears. He looked absolutly minuscule compared to Trigon and yet practically glowed with power (this isn’t a King Danny AU though).

And that is when the conditions for passing the barrier are revealed. And the Justice realize that the only thing stopping Trigon and his army from decimating earth. The only way he can get through….is by beating this glowing teenager in a card game. 

Not just any card game though. The most convoluted game Sam, Danny, and Tucker invented themselves. It’s like the infinite realms version of magic the gathering, combined with Pokémon, and chess. And Danny is the master. So sit down Trigon and let’s play.

(The most intense card game of the Justice league’s life).

After Danny wins, this happens a few more times with outer word beings and possibly even demons attempting to invade earth, yet none have been able to beat the mysterious teenager in a card game. Constantine might even take a crack at it and try to figure out how to play. He’s really bad though. Every time this happens, the Justice league worry that this might be the time the teenager looses. Yet every time, he wins (even if only barely). 

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam, and Tucker have gotten addicted to the game and play it almost daily. Some teachers might seem them playing the game are are like ‘awww how cute’ not realizing this game is literally saving the world. Jazz is just happy they aren’t spending as much time on their screens playing Doomed.

#DPxDC #dcxdp #Danny makes a card game to save the world. #Technically he worded the ritual so that they had to ‘beat’ him as those are the most powerful barriers and most reliable. #keys can just get lost or stolen (like the one to Pariah’s Coffin) #A riddle would be useless once someone figured out the answer. Like how no one takes the sphynx seriously anymore. #(Sorry Tuck. But it’s true). #And there is NO WAY Danny is just leaving a hole open for anyone to pass through. No thank you! #So…beating him. But it’s not like Danny wanted to fight so…he edited the ritual a TINY bit. Card games are good. Much less painful too. #Danny Tucker and Sam made the most complicated card game they could imagine. #It’s based on their strategies for fighting ghosts. Capturing them in thermoses. And MUCH based on a on field battle strategy. #It often requires spontaneous thinking on the spot. So Danny? In his ELEMNT. It doubles as practice for his actual ghost battles too. #They had SO much fun making this. #Sam added an entire series of plant cards that act as traps and healing ointments and duds that just take up the field. #Tucker added legitimate hyroglyphics combined with Latin as well as English and ghost speak. #Yes. You actually have to speak that language to play. With proper pronunciation. (Amity Parker’s think the three are talking gibberish.) #I headcanon Sam and Tucker are fluent in Ghost. #Constantine WILL figure this game out SO HELP HIM! #Some of the cards also have combinations related to constellations either in name or placement on the board. #By the way the board is based on a Hexagonal summoning circle with Rhunes along the edges #And the placement of the cards on the board and on what rhune MATTERS. #Also the cards move disintegrate and have certain abilities. Think of Harry Potter Wizard Chess. #But they are normal when Danny plays at school. This is just for ✨effect✨ Against invaders. #Danny faces multiple opponents. He also halts alien invasions. #While Danny COULD stop crime on earth he’s not sure how to fight a normal human and hold back so he sticks to ghosts. #The Justice league are going crazy trying to figure out who this entity is and after deep research are convinced this is some sort of #Ancient being who has protected earth for millenia. They have paintings on ruins and everything. #Danny is not aware they think this. #Raven starts praying to Danny as if he is a god and wrangles the other Teen Titans into doing so as well. Danny is still unaware of this. #Danny is not a King or an ancient. Just a very VERY strong ghost.

[wolfofcelestia]

MC forcing zayne to watch ancient aliens with her just to see how long he can keep a straight face

#love and deepspace #zayne love and deepspace #headcanons #I would definitely force him to watch every episode with me #Two sources of entertainment for the price of one #im actually watching ancient aliens right now and it’s fucking hilarious #❄️ dawnfrost reverie

[greekmythcomix]

It occurred to me yesterday in class, not for the first time, that Ancient Greeks looking back at Mycenaean era walls and saying ‘The Cyclopes must have made them’ is rather like certain modern people looking at the Pyramids and saying

#they probably did t actually say that it was probably ancient propaganda to make themselves look good that the Cyclopes had helped them but #it helps my students realise how dumb the ancient aliens theory is #ancient aliens #cyclopean walls #greek mythology #greek myth

[bananonbinary]

its wild to me when people debate how problematic a show is with this or that odd implication, when im out here watching corny scifi comedy eureka, which is bald-faced eugenics. sometimes a thing can be enjoyable and have loveable characters and fun family friendly plots and also be deeply deeply offensive.

#i have a lot to say about eureka like goddamn did the later seasons get REALLY REALLY OFFENSIVE #and when your STARTING PREMISE is eugenics thats actually pretty impressive #see also: my big comfort show stargate sg1 #which is based in the INCREDIBLY racist and insulting ancient aliens conspiracy #and the implicit idea that the united states military is the best equipped to solve random sovreign nations' problems #(altho to be fair its actually a LOT less military propaganda than you'd think) #stargate isnt near as bad as eureka tho if only because it seems fairly aware of the pitfalls its created #even if it doesnt always succeed it at least pays lip service #eureka super duper does not do that

[worstloki]

i actually love the concept of thor and loki being aliens that have lived a thousand years of various experiences yes but also being considered young because they're *only* a thousand and haven't experienced a lot of things and have regular relationship problems

#clint pointing at thor enjoying coffee and going ''he's just like me fr'' and tony giving loki head pats to the latter's confusion #like bro they're very old but they're also like 25 max please go easy on them #no the complex relationships you have with family won't go away when you're ancient yes you're still going to find new things to experience #sometimes you've got wisdom through experience and sometimes you don't #sometimes you go through something multiple times and DON'T get the hang of it actually #thor and loki being the go-to for alien knowledge magic otherworldly ancient information but also fumbling and dropping a drink #etc. #so old but so young they could be around for the next 4000 years easily or they could have died yesterday

[elbiotipo]

>implying anyone even knows what the Angels wanted in Evangelion

#there's a whole bunch of lore about it actually #involving ANCIENT ALIENS #but it's more fun to imagine they were just fucked up eldritch beings that wanted to fuck up stuff #and Gendo & Co. wanted to take advantage of it #in fact... that's basically canon anyways #cosas mias #nge

[lemon-wedges]

i have no odea what mgs is about but im living for your art. oh my god i have fallen hard for otacon.

CAUGHT ANOTHER ONE BOYS

#but also i do love him so much #he built an indestructible war machine but made sure to add destructible parts so it could have 'character flaws' #he thinks paris from the trojan war is talking about paris the place #he thinks ancient chinese know about aliens and made a proverb about abducting cows #he [explodes] #anyways #mgs is about the military 👍 #and if ur not planning to actually get into mgs then thats the only thing u need to know for ur peace of mind

[starlitsilver]

also - I was looking through Netflix's documentary section last night (not for anything in particular, actually, i just wanted to watch something informational) and i came across a doc called Children of Gaza - it's about the effects of the 2014 war, and it focuses on a few children talking about what happened to them, and what life is like in a warzone, and how you keep going despite everything. it's bleak, obviously, but if you need a more personal view into the situation, i think it's a good resource, and I would imagine that it mirrors what's happening right now pretty well

#palestine #children of gaza #there's some kind of graphic scenes in there because. i mean. they're filming in a war zone #but i think it's good to be able to see what life under military suppression is like #i'm gonna try to document some informational resources like this as i go through them. we'll see how far i get with that #i dont actually like netflix's documentary section much considering that it hosts things like ancient fucking aliens #and ancient apocalypse. alongside actual journalism. but it's not all bad ig #and i should say. it's not all bleak. it's depressing #but these kids are still just trying to live their lives. i did not end the documentary feeling like things were hopeless

[fantimati]

Random thoughts about Ancients, Chao, And Sonic

!!!!!

Sonic frontiers spoilers

!!!!!

Not supposed to be a well thought out theory or anything. Just some ideas I have. So if it jumps around or doesn't make sense that's why.

The ancients look way too much like chaos to be a coincidence. Well guess what, IT'S NOT

The ancients evolved into Chaos

CHAOS is a mutated chao. So by extension CHAO are evolved Ancients. Chao are basically aliens.

They also planned on taking the chaos emeralds to the master emerald, which assumably did happen considering the tribe of Chao that lived around the emerald. The "Radiation" was most likely whatever energy that the Master Emerald has.

Weird that the Chao that was the ME's guardian looked the most like an ancient.

Speaking of Chao, you what's weird?

The fact that there are Chao that look EXACTLY like Sonic and Shadow.

neutral Run/Run Chao look extremely like Sonic. Dark Run/Run look like Shadow. These are the ONLY character Chao that are canon (Nights has one but they're not a sonic character so...). All other character Chao are event or promotion only( aka not canon)

So why the heck do these ones look like Shadow and Sonic?

Well, Shadow is lab made and part alien. I wouldn't be surprised if Gerald based him off of a creature that has a built in connection with the master emerald. That or shadow was created from a dark Run/run chao's dna.

Sonic on the other hand? He was (presumably) born normally? I mean unless he was a mutated Chao...

I mean, the ONLY OTHER Chao that looks like a character is someone who is lab made. That and the fact that it is already possible for chao to mutate into a humanoid shape. (After coming into contact with Chaos energy, which sonic does a lot of)

IF sonic and shadow are mutated Chao then what does that say about silver, the only other character who (canonically) has a super form.

Food for thought.

#sonic is an alien #technically #more like sonic is a mutated chaod #WAIT #all thoes chao in space posters.. #damn #sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers spoilers #sth #lmao #that would make amy the only actual headgehog #(which would explain why tf she looks so different from the rest) #wonder if the ancients had any connection with black doom

[winepresswrath]

this is my semi-annual People of Earth recommendation! it ends on a heartbreaking cliffhanger but it is so good and so funny and the second season is legitimately excellent television.

#i like ofmd but i LOVE people of earth #they are actually not particularly similar but i think people of earth actually has better pacing/fleshing out #of the background cast #there is not a big romance in the same way but i do think it's the djenks take on the human/ancient being who's been obsessed with them #since childhood trope. which is both a warning and an enticement tbh i don't know if i'd have watched it if i'd known it going in but i #absolutely do not regret it #and it's not canon! like it's very easy to interpret as platonic as of when the show was tragically cancelled #and there are gay aliens and they're excellent

[semi-sketchy]

Wait a minute...

OH MY GOD THEY BORROWED FROM XENOBLADE AGAIN

#this is a joke by the way #i feel i need to add that so no one thinks i'm actually accusing anyone of plagiarism #if anyone is wondering what the first instance was #the ancient's homeworld was destroyed in Frontiers by an alien force #so was earth in xenoblade x #the ancients were dragged down to Sonic's planet #Xenoblade X's ship crash landed on mira #Sonic fights the alien force that destroyed their planet to save everyone #in xenoblade x you fight the alien force that destroyed earth to save everyone #watching everything unfold in Frontiers as the only xenoblade x fan was funny #now they're using the same multiverse explanation Xenoblade does to say everything is canon #it's so ironic to me #tails tube #sth #xenoblade #xenoblade chronicles 2 #it's also funny because I made a post about this EXACT thing like two months ago

[neverendingford]

.

#tag talk #an hour into space odyssey and it finally gets good cause they introduce Hal #ten minutes after the person I was watching with gave up and went to bed. #Kubrick please this first hour was fucking boring as hell #I heard so much about how the cut between the apes to modern times is so good but genuinely I paused it and rewound five times while laughin #like... this? this is the scene transition I've heard people fan over? #anyway. I muted the movie audio and put Nyan cat and ancient aliens and stayin alive over different scenes and it was great #gonna hang on to the rest of the movie because Hal just murdered someone so maybe it's good enough to watch with someone #ngl this is why I sometimes prefer watching movies alone. I can watch a bad movie with no fear of what my companion thinks #I don't have to hold room for “oh no what if they're not enjoying it? what if they wish we were watching something else” #it always comes down to that damn social anxiety doesn't it #like. I'm not interested in watching cats 2019 really. though I've gotten part way through it with various people #but I genuinely think I could watch the whole thing if I were alone. I don't care enough to. but I think I could #because watching the cats movie with someone sparks that secondhand embarrassment and cringe #anyway go watch that contrapoints video on cringe and shame and social behavior policing it's pretty good #all this to say. 2001 a space odyssey is very very boring #like. it's slow but not in the way Jaws is slow. that one actually succeeds with the anticipation and suspense. space odyssey doesn't #maybe it's partly because I've read the book? (Arthur C Clarke sci-fi is mid that's my hot take) but I don't feel like that's it #there's just no suspense where there obviously is supposed to be. the grand symphonic music in the background feels paper thin veneer #it's a grandiose front to a hollow scene. #also the flight stewardesses supposed to be walking in zero g with velcro shoes are doing such a bad job of it. #literally the first scene we see the shoes they zoom in and we explicitly see her rebalance catch her weight #CATCH HER WEIGHT - IN ZERO GRAVITY????? #anyway. I'm mad about that

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

i think it would be a lot easier to examine the morality and effectiveness of setrákus' cause (spoiler alert: It's Bad), and the irl worldviews/rhetoric it's critiquing, if the books came out and acknowledged that the entity:

a) is working from the exact same fundamental principles, just glowier and prettier and has Nicer Neighborhoods about it, and ultimately gets away with it, and

b) in its own right is just plain fucking evil

#lorien legacies #setrákus ra #LL entity #there is a MAJOR running theme in this series of poisonous 'help' being offered by people who position themselves as Selflessly Benevolent #and wanting nothing more than to pile you with generous gifts out of the goodness of their hearts #too-good-to-be-true offers when you need them most #they just need one little thing from you. they just need you to do the work of spreading their Help for them. #whether through direct violent subjugation (hi loric history!); or cutting off their options so they get more and more desperate #until they have no option but to give in. until they have no choice but to suffer and die or Choose Peace #or through just y'know terraforming the entire fcking planet and changing the biology of its sapient inhabitants to make them Better #without asking a single person on it first let alone any of the humans #it shows up with setrákus; it shows up with what five goes through; it shows up with mogpro; and it shows up with the entity #but the entity and the loric acting in its name are The Actually Benevolent Ones This Time You Guys #and they don't even show ANY harmful effects from past instances of garde pulling ancient-aliens shit to ~help advance human cultures~ #the moral of the story should have followed through on 'power does not make you a god' #and taken the next step to 'if any objectively sapient being with the agency to tangibly affect the world; in a way you cannot opt out of' #'tries to position themself as a god because they are powerful; or should be powerful' #'tie on a bib and eat them' #i have a lot of words in me about this and it really sank in when i realized the way sandor talks about life on lorien under the entity #and the culture around it sound E E R I L Y like how five talks about ethan and the mogs when he's being groomed and indoctrinated #lorien was some warren of the shining snares shit back in the day and it's both fascinating and absolutely chilling #your neighborhood isn't less racist because it has breweries and brick pizza ovens etc etc #ANYWAY #LL tag #LL crit tag #the crit files

[undertheknightwing]

I didn't get to hear the beginning of the previous episode originally because the CW was silent but now hearing Lois say "I have enough aliens in my life" talking about Clark and the boys feels like such a win. A tiny win BUT I LIVE FOR ANYTIME THE SHOW ACKNOWLEDGES JON AS AN ALIEN

#hearing 'alien ancestors' was hilarious too bc the amount of ancient aliens jokes i've made with s&l #the boys fighting over a sweater was perfect too i love seeing them actually act like brothers #'idiot' 'dumbass' is the new 'bitch' 'jerk' #superman and lois

[thefinalvoid]

LMAO THE AUTHOR OF MY LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK SERIES TURNED OUT TO BE AN ANCIENT ALIENS TRUTHER AND A PUSHY VEGAN LMAO I FEEL SO VINDICATED

#vegans? totally fine and i have no problem with them #vegans who try to guilt me and others? SHUT THE FUCK UP LMAO #honestly she wrote a book about the atlanteans who actually left earth and came back to get more of us #and they all only ate synthetic meat except for the poor who still had to eat gross yuck real meat #like i wasnt going to call the ancient alien truther part but im not surprised #i did think she was probably a pushy vegan #aaaand i was riiiiiiight