Printable Creatures 3 Ecology Reference
by Lis Morris
Each of the four sections below has a table that lists all species living in that area. Here is a quick guide to how the table works:
Name: The name of the species, as if you couldn't guess.
Norn's Word: What a Norn would call it.
Latin Name: The scientific and normally unpronounceable name of the species. The names vary in seriousness.
Edible: Whether it can be eaten by Norns, Grendels and Ettins or not. This does not guarantee, of course, that it'll be good for the creatures...
Niche: Niche is a term used by ecologist to mean what the plant or creature needs to survive. For instance, a plant's niche may be high light and fairly dry soil; an animal's niche might be as an insect eater.
The ecosystem of the Norn terrarium is based on a temperate earth climate very similar to that of the United Kingdom. Presumably the Shee, as well as the Creatures Labs programmers, spent much of their lives in such a climate.
The number of species of creatures in the Terrarium is greater than in any of the other four areas of the ship, and there is a large bias towards insect eaters of various kinds. In particular, many species eat a general diet of bugs and pests, which is why I've grouped these together in the food web below.
NB: Dragonfly nymphs also come into the bugs and pests category, and the luckless ones are eaten as such. This is not included on the food web above for simplicity's sake.
Animals
and Plants of the Terrarium
Name | Norn's Word | Latin Name | Edible | Niche |
Pumperspikel | Seed | Pumpica spikelum | Yes | Grows only on the Terrarium pumperspikel tree |
Apples | Fruit | Malus albia | Yes | Grows only on the Terrarium apple tree |
Waterplant | Plant, Leaf | Yucca aquatiform | Leaves only | Three plants grow in the pond |
Grass | Seed, Leaf | Poa verdanata | Yes | Needs at least a small amount of heat, moisture and light |
Foxglove | Seed, Plant, Leaf, Flower | Digitalis bensimpsus | Seeds and leaves only. | Needs a moderate amount of heat, moisture and light |
Pinky Plant | Plant | Dianthus statiphytes | No | Immortal- five placed randomly on world creation |
BlueFlower | Plant | Cyanoflora morrisii | No | Immortal- 20 placed randomly on world creation |
Grazer | Critter | Scatus harmenius | No | Lives entirely on a grass diet |
Grasshopper | Animal Egg, Bug | Idealius roberticum | Bugs only | Eats leaves |
Bee | Pest | Bombillius lisasillius | Yes | Drinks nectar from flowers |
Butterfly | Animal Egg, Bug | Papillio haywardian | Bugs only | Caterpillars eat and climb on plants, adults drink nectar from flowers |
Ant | Pest | Formica saunterous albia | Yes | A detritivore- it eats any dead stuff that it might find about the place |
Snail | Bug | Barrus osullivus | Yes | Another detritivore |
Hummingbird | Animal Egg, Critter | Tristaniana bussia | Critters only | Drinks nectar from flowers |
Gosh Hawk | Beast | Assipter stewardian | No | Catches and eats grazers, leaving their bones for ants |
Dragonfly | Animal Egg, Bug, Critter | Flitus bhomicus | Critters and Bugs only | Adults eat bugs and pests, theoretically including their own offspring! Nymphs eat leaves in the pond |
Wood Pigeon | Critter | Columba cantellia | Yes | Eats a wide diet of bugs, pests, fruit and seeds |
Hedgehog | Critter | Erinaceus albia | Yes | Eats bugs and pests |
Stickletrout | Animal Egg, Critter | Salar stikus | Critters only | Eats bugs and pests-presumably anything that falls in! |
Robin | Animal Egg, Critter | Charltonian albia | Animal Eggs only | Eats bugs and pests |
Kingfisher | Critter | Alcedo makious cristoph | Yes | Eats stickletrout |
The
Grendel Jungle: Dank and Dangerous
The Grendel jungle is the most inhospitable of the four ecosystems on the spaceship as far as your creatures are concerned. There are biting insects, bacteria, and of course, Grendels. Although there are fewer species than in the Norn terrarium, it is perhaps the most complicated ecosystem, with many complex interrelationships. There are no leaf producing plants or bug species, except for dragonfly nymphs. Interestingly, dragonfly nymphs need leaves, both as food and to leave the piranha pool, which could explain why mine always die...
However, a creature with a sturdy immune system could live happily in the jungle indefinitely- there is plenty of fruit and seeds to eat, and Grendels can happily be incarcerated their whole life in there, if you don't like getting rid of your Grendels in more unpleasant ways. Even though is isn't the most pleasant place to live, the jungle does have a certain charm -- it's always full of life, buzzing about on its own business. Incidentally, did you know that most piranha species are vegetarian on Earth? Strange but true.
One big difference between the jungle and the Norn terrarium is that the Norns, Ettins and Grendels take a far more active role in the ecosystem, mostly as prey species. For that reason, I have included them on the food web below. Male Grendels are separate to other creatures in the food web, because gnats feed only on them, not on Norns, Ettins or females Grendels. Poor Grendels!
Name | Norn's Name | Latin Name | Edible | Niche |
Tendril | Seed, Weed | Coeloformis albia | Seeds only | Needs some nutrients, but can grow in total darkness or in cold conditions |
Fungi | Seed, Fruit | Amanita albia | Yes | Identical requirements to the tendril plant |
Purbana | Weed | Coleus purpureum | No | Immortal- five are randomly placed on world creation. Takes no active role in the ecosystem |
Wasp | Pest | Netelia davidum | Yes | Fruit eating insect |
Rhino Beetle | Pest | Tuffus burchiium maximus | Yes | Detritivore |
Gnat | Animal Egg, Pest | Strawcium gigantus | No | Specialises in eating male Grendels |
Dragonfly | Animal Egg, Bug, Critter | Flitus bhomicus | Only as critters and bugs | Eats leaves as a nymph, and bugs and pests as an adult. Theoretically, this means nymphs can be eaten by adult dragonflies, and also by rocklice, but in practise if they tried this, the piranhas would get them! |
Rocklice | Animal Egg, Beast | Jonti praticilium | Yes | Burrowing bug and pest eater |
Creatures | Norn, Grendel, Ettin | Cyberlifogenis species cutis, vicious, kleptomania | No! | Very much generalists, will eat a whole range of species. Staple diet is fruit and seeds |
Kobold | Beast | Baldium mysterious | No | Eats fruit, bugs and pests. Will also eat food items such as cheese brought into the jungle by creatures |
Bacteria | Invisible to Creatures | Bhowmicoccus Nornovora | No | Parasites that drift in the air in a dormant state until they attach to a passing creature, causing various illnesses |
Mosquito | Animal Egg, Pest | Mossee darmicus | No | Will sting any creature that hits, pushes or tries to eat it |
Piranha | Animal Egg, Beast | Viscious fiscious | No | Vicious carnivores that eat creatures, beasts and critters |
The
Ettin Desert: Hot and Sparse
The Ettin desert is the simplest ecology on the ship, with only a small
number of species. One of the oddest features is the lack of detritivores. Everything
in the desert presumably decays on its own without help. Most of the desert
species are specialists- eating only one or two other animals on the ship. No
general bug and pest eaters here!
As you might have guessed, there isn't much food in the desert for a hungry Norn, Ettin, or Grendel. There are plenty of seeds for the short term, but your creatures will probably wander off looking for other sustenance after a while.
Since the Ettin desert is quite empty, it's a great place to experiment with building your own ecosystem. Try placing a random selection of creatures from other parts of the ship. It's really fun!
Animals and Plants
of the Desert
Name | Norn 's Word | Latin Name | Edible | Niche |
Cacbana | Seed, Weed, Flower | Burbania barnabicia | Only as Seed | Needs quite high heat |
Desert Grass | Seed, Leaf | Festuca xerophilus | Yes | Needs at least some light, heat, and nutrients |
Balloon Bug | Animal Egg, Bug | Apterus claudinio | No | Eats flowers |
Gnarler | Animal Egg, Critter | Hungarius oscari | No | Eats volcano rocks, once they have cooled down |
Meerk | Critter | Sciurus harmanii | No | Eats balloon bugs |
Uglee | Beast | Grendomorphis vulgaris | No | Eats gnarler eggs |
The Aquarium:
Underwater Wonderland
Perhaps the most
beautiful area on the ship, the aquarium is filled with many different life
forms -- not just fish, but sponges, sea slugs and plants, too.
However, the Aquarium is most definitely dominated by fish. The four fish species- Angel, Clown, Handlefish, and Neon, all eat similar foods, and are in turn eaten by another fish species, the Rainbow Sharkling. The other striking feature is the new food source available only in the area of the ship -- filter feeding. Many of the organisms in the aquarium live by filtering nutrients out of the sea water, and thus don't actually eat any other animal at all.
There is plenty for your Norns to eat in the aquarium, if they can find it -- the fish eggs and the fish themselves are all edible. However, Norns have no instincts to eat critters or animal eggs, so this is something they'll have to learn. Before they drown, of course.
Incidentally, never put piranhas in the aquarium. You'll regret it!
Animals
and Plants of the Aquarium
Name | Norn's Word | Latin Name | Edible | Niche |
Opal Sponge | Seed, Plant | Porifera opalite | No | Needs salt water to grow |
Orange Sponge | Seed, Plant | Porifera orangeboom | No | Needs salt water to grow |
Gumin Grass | Seed, Plant | Poa guminum | No | Needs salt water to grow, and will only grow when not close to an adult gumin grass or orange sponge |
Aquamites | Bug | Aquatophagoides albia | No | Filter feeders |
Wysts | Animal Egg, Critter | Cluelesseus officiusous | Yes | Filter feeders |
Cuttlefish | Critter | Sushi hazardous | No | Filter feeders |
Angel Fish | Animal Egg, Critter | Gillium gillium | Yes | Eats the seeds of orange sponges, opal sponges, gumin grass, and also aquamites |
Clown Fish | Animal Egg, Critter | Premnas hilariousis | Yes | Eats the seeds of orange sponges, opal sponges, gumin grass, and also aquamites |
Handlefish | Animal Egg, Critter | Ficious tobiniuos aquatonicus | Yes | Eats the seeds of orange sponges, opal sponges, gumin grass, and also aquamites |
Neon Fish | Animal Egg, Critter | Hyphessobrycon creaturelabiani | Yes | Eats the seeds of orange sponges, opal sponges, gumin grass, and also aquamites |
Nudibranch | Critter | Rockinium silveria | No | Eats Aquamites, Wysts, and Gumin Grass seeds |
Rainbow Sharkling | Beast | Odontaspis spectrumian | No | Eats all fish species |
Man-O-War | Animal Egg, Critter | Medusa chappie ferociousia | Only as Critter. | Eats all critter species- and therefore, is capable of cannabalism! |