Mitchell Loughlin’s Reviews > Otherlands: A World in the Making > Status Update

Into the ocean. This super heated, mineral laden breath is the building block of life below. Organism’s have evolved to use these vents for food and heat and rely completely on them to sustain themselves. While some still rely on the “marine snow” which falls from the surface, these creatures have adapted to harsher masters

Deep in the ocean light ceases to exists. “A rainbow is consumed”. The assumptions we make on what is needed for life don’t apply. While on the surface we basc in the sun rays that is a luxury not afforded to the dwellers below. And yet they thrive. How? The answer is found in the incessant battle of destruction and creation of our Mother Earth. As plates collide cents of deep earth minerals are exhausted…

Fire from spreading to the seeds at the top of the tree and the leaves purposely burned quickly to not allow the fire time to grow.

We jump 100 million years back in time where almost no animals lived. The big predators were armored spiders. Plants are almost exclusive to water but fungus it taking a hold on land. They take about licean which uses a symbiotic relationship to balance out eachtihers strengths.

This book is interesting because it takes a trait of some plant or animal found in the focal record and uses it to tell a story of why it was evolved. It talks about threats, advantages and synergies developed in making it thrive and then what leads to its downfall

The coniferous period where 90% of the earths coal was laid down into the ground. This led to the carbon levels in the atmosphere dropping dramatically

This book is a hard read. Really not feeling motivated to get into it.

That being said it’s super interesting when you sort through all the imposing words

The Triassic was a period of experimentation for animals. Tons of new things were developed. Non-insects learned to fly (or glide to be more honest)
, the first mammal like creature was born. Everything was just a little weird after the previous extinction caused by acidity in the water

1 kg of the gloomy stuff could filter up 22,000 gallons of water a day which is more than the average shower faucet can output in the same period. When approaching other sponges the two colonies would conjoin formula internal rivers if nutrients to keep everyone fed. They would span over trenches and around outcroppings. Said to be the largest ever organism taking up the majority of the “Atlantic” sea floor

Jurassic period gets a lot of attention for its dinosaurs but possibly just as interesting is the life that supports the gigantic lizzards. In oceans where a particular interest to the author. There’s a new reef builder in town. Well perhaps an older one. The glass sponge is a pretty weird boy. The cells can function individually however they can also conjoin into a single mass as a colony.

Two quotes I liked
Evolution in its pig headed approximation of wisdom
In a world where enough attempts occur only one needs to succeed what is remarkable as how many times it appears to have been successful