| Future of The World |
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| This is a part of Future of The World: a collaborative project about our planet's future |
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| Area | 1.85 million km2 |
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| Demonym | Sundalandian |
| Ecoregions | Western Sunda rainforest, Philippine grasslands, Kinabulu cloud forest, Sunda Shelf reefs |
Sundaland is, during the Holocene, a submerged subcontinent, with the Sunda Shelf making up the bulk of the continent. In five million years time, however, much of the water has been locked up in ice caps, and sea levels have dropped, revealing Sundaland yet again.
Five Million Years Later[]
Outline map of Sundaland
The ice age has dramatically changed the water levels around the globe. Borneo, Philippines, and Indonesia fused together, opening up a land bridge between the islands and Southeast Asia, and thus form Sundaland.
Sundalandian Rainforest[]
The temperature change has made savannahs more frequent around the equator, as a result, most rainforests dried out, indeed Sundaland is one of the last rainforest covered places in the globe, which is why its biodiverse in comparison to a myriad of other areas.
Mammals[]
- Swamp lion, Prionailurus vulgaris -- Descended from the fishing cat, they resemble greatly resemble pumas, though are not related except by being in the same subfamily. They have more randomly placed spots to provide better camouflage. These spots are restricted to the front of the body. They have stronger jaw muscles and more robustly built legs than their ancestors, which are used for taking down a variety of prey. They have shorter legs in proportion to their ancestors and have a bulkier body. Juvenile swamp-lions are lean enough to climb trees and will often feed on painted ant-rats.
- Philippine hunting dog, Canis megistos hyle -- A descendant of feral dogs, the Philippine hunting dog forms packs that live in the shrublands, grasslands and rainforest, thought preferring semi-open and open areas. They are the top predator around their range and will see swamp lions as a minor threat as they are both similar in size. Despite this, encounters are rare as their prey are vastly different, this species larger, terrestrial prey while swamp lions prefer aquatic or semi-aquatic mammals. They will sometimes hunt by swiping their strong and muscular forearms to the legs of their prey, slowing them down.
- Sundalandian Wild Goat, Capra induces -- A descendant of feral goats, the Sundalandian goat weeds on shrubs and weeds growing on the rainforest bottom. They are the larger than their descendants, being about a meter and a half tall. It is the favored prey of many species. They live in small groups of a dozen or two individuals.
- Mud Sutty, Sus hyle -- The mud sutty is a descendent of wild boars that takes the niche left behind by then extinct rhinoceroses. They have colossal tusks, which is used for protection from predators. They are the prey that is most feared by predators, being rarely hunted as it is dangerous. They have large brains and are considerably more intelligent than a comparable sized rhino. They are mostly browsers, but can tolerate grass. Occasionally, they will drive swamp lions and smaller packs of Philippine hunting dogs to obtain protein from kills but by doing so have a chance to be killed and fed upon themselves.
- Painted ant-rat, Scuriformes bellus -- A species of rat that evolve to fill niches of an extinct species of pangolin, the painted ant-rat has brownish-yellowish fur and several black and white stripes that break up its outline. They also have large claws to break up ant and termite nests and provides minor protection from aboreal predators. They make a bulk of the diet of juvenile swamp lions, which will climb trees in order to feed on painted ant-rats.
- Rainforest Hedgehog, Hemiechinus hebenus -- A species of hedgehog, that evolved from the Long-eared Hedgehog. It was introduced to the Philippine islands during the Holocene as a means to getting rid of pests. They take advantage of the insects that the painted ant-rat can not eat.
- Twig Mouse, Scuriformes aborealis -- The twig-mouse evolved from the Philippine rat, and fills the niches of the declining primates. They compete with aboreal primate species across its range. Like their closest relatives, they have long tongues. A portion of its diet is made up of Eusocial insects though are significantly more generalized than their relatives.
- Greater False Camel, Cameloformes rex -- The false camel, Cameloformes impertator, reflects the past since it looks slightly like a Macrauchenia due to convergent evolution. It evolved from the modern pigs. They mostly resembles are short legged, stocky llama and has a small proboscis similar to that of a tapir.
- Forest Bristle-Boom, Corinatoceros viridis -- The forest bristle-boom is a forest relative of the larger, faster imperial bristle-boom (Corinatoceros rex).
- False Scarlet Fruit Bat, Pteropus rufus -- Scarlet fruit bats have adapted to store toxic alkaloids within their body, and extracts cyanidin to turn its fur and flesh a brilliant shade of red.
- Scarlet Fruit Bat, Pteropus stelio -- Like the scarlet fruit bat, the false scarlet fruit bat is bright red, but it doesn't contain any toxins within its body.
- The new Saber tooth cat, Neofelis nebulosa Smilodontini -- Is the first true felidae saber tooth sense the last ice age. unlike other cats it hunts during the day but its still a formidable ambush predator but it hunts similar to a modern leopard it has forelimbs with the lower half of these forelimbs lion-sized. It has large neck muscles designed to deliver a powerful shearing bite. The elongated upper canines are protected by flanges at the mandible. It is 72 centimeters (28 in) at the shoulder and weights in about 130–150 lbs. and has similar coat patterns to its ancestors but with a lighter coats with ones more south and heaver coats with ones in the North.
- Litoptapir, Acrocodia Litopternus -- This relative of the malayan tapir is named after a prehistoric animal with a trunk. It also has predators like the Swamp lion and the Philippines Hunting dog.
- Pygmy Fruit bat, Acerodon Pygmyus -- Also known as the Lesser Fruit bat this species of fruit bat is the relative of the biggest bat the golden-crowned flying fox, but why would it become more smaller than its cousin? That's maybe because to not get easily hunted by predators like the Swamp lion and philippine hunting dog, that because being small means that you can avoid predators more easily and survive a extinction. it is a little bigger than the biggest microbat but it its wingspan more smaller than the biggest microbat.
Birds[]
- Thunder-Bird, Brontoavis gigas -- The thunder bird is a large avian that lives in large flocks. It's a relative of the present day chicken, which grew to a much larger size on a few islands in the Pacific due to the lack (or recent extinction) of native ground birds. When sea levels dropped, the thunder-bird migrated across the new land bridges.
Fungi[]
- Blue batstools, Clitocybula vespertilio -- Blue batstools grow beneath scarlet fruit bat colonies, and can break down the alkaloids present in the bodies of dead bats.
Sundalandian Grasslands[]
As the ocean and air currents changed, it exterminated some of the rainforest such as the Amazon forest, turning them into dry, empty grassland. It might look barren and dry, but one of the most biodiverse regions in the world is this grassland. Most of the numerous animal species are large. Similar to the African Savannah, there is a distinct dry season and wet season. During the dry season, bush fire is common, ignited by lightning. During the wet season though, a dry water bed can overflow, sometimes turning the grassland to wetland though this will often only last for a few weeks.
Mammals[]
- Philippine Horse, Equus -- Similar to the extinct przewalski's horse or the extinct tarpan, they both are stocky and built and are much hardier than domestic horses. They are remarkably shorter and stouter than their ancestors, and can live in more harsh an drier environments. They are also heavier and bulkier than their ancestors, and see many predators in their range not a threat.
- Imperial Bristle-boom, Corinatoceros gigas -- The imperial bristle-boom is a more larger relative of the forest bristle-boom. Descended from the Philippine Sambar, these animals that were at a brink of extinction were domesticated and became common. They vary from colour, though the most common variety of coat is black. They have colossal antlers and they rival the extant reindeer in size.
- Whistle-Boom, Corinatoceros minimus -- The whistle-boom is very gracile, less stouter and bulkier than their relatives. To minimize drag, they lack antlers which are non-existent. They are similar to the antelopes of Africa in terms of size. Unlike their ancestors, a great portion of their diet consists of leaves, which means they are neither grazers or browsers.
- Grassland Bear-dog, Amphiursus philippensis -- A large canid with a size rivalling the smaller species of the family Ursidae. They are descended from the larger breeds of dogs and mostly resembles the chow-chow breed. Unlike many other predators around the area, they have a thick but coarse layer of hair around their skin. They split from their closest relatives, the Philippine hunting dog around two million years into the future.
- Sunda Puma, Prionailurus vulgaris campus -- A grassland subspecies of the swamp lion. Similar in external features as the extant puma, they lack the black tear-stripes that are present in pumas and their closest relatives, the cheetah. They have more stronger carnassials compared to their forest living relatives due to competition. They feed on bones of already killed prey occasionally. They can't tolerate each other for long periods of time, but multiple grassland lions can be found in kills.
- Grassland Philippine Hunting Dog, Canis megistos maximus -- Descended from the azkals of the Philippine streets, their ancestors were the most dominant variety of predator. After generations of isolation, island gigantism, and mixture of genes from interbreeding with medium size dog breeds, they became one of the largest canids and the top predator in numerous parts of its range. Unlike their ancestors, they are social and have an equal society, with no distinct leader except for an alpha pair.
- Groundshrews, Tupaia sp. -- The groundshrews are descended from the more terrestrial members of the genus Tupaia. While they haven't reached the same prevalence on the grasslands that members of Rodentia have, the groundshrews have several useful adaptations to life on the grasslands, including the ability to eat fermenting plant material without any behavioral effects. Some of the more common groundshrews include the golden groundshrew (Tupaia fulvus) and the drunken groundshrew (Tupaia vocatus).
- Grasstail Macaque, Simiachoeros aptercaudae -- Increasingly macaque like in many different aspects, they are also remarkably different. They have a female social structure, which means most males will leave and become solitary by the close of puberty. Unlike their ancestors, they have distinct spots similar to those of young fawns to provide beneficial camouflage from predators, which are significantly common in numerous parts of its range. Apart from their distinct coat, another feature that keeps them distinct from other simian species is a long flattened tail, used to communicate with other individuals within their species.
Reptiles[]
- Bearded river slider, Dogania barbata -- A descendant from the Malayan soft shell-turtle. They have evolved due to new paths that have been created from the creation of Sundaland, its ancestors were able to reach new territories and more larger varieties of prey.
- Giant Crocodile, Oxylania sundalandicus -- A descendant of the salt water crocodile that spends most of its time on land. It's slightly smaller than its mostly amphibious ancestor, as well as having longer and stronger legs, they use these to walk on the shore more freely.