Genome
Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β πΊπππππππ π²πππππππ
Project Pompeii
Vesuvius
Caeliphoneus malignis
βMalicious God Slayerβ
Part β Force of Anarchy
(Remember to read tab 2!)
βThe walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love, grey clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from aboveβ -Dan Smith
βPeople never believe in volcanoes until the lava actually overtakes them.β -George Santanaya
"Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently" -Exodus 19:18:
"A black and dreadful cloud, broken with rapid, zigzag flashes, revealed behind it long, fantastic flames, like flashes of lightning magnified.β -Pliny the Younger, witness of the eruption of Vesuvian.
Successor to Incuphaganax dominator, Solaris, Basilomachus carnifex, Deimos, and Thanatophaganax crudelis, Lucifer, SaggitariusΒ and Andromeda.
1. Gorgosaurus:
2. Plateosaurus:
3. Polypterus sp. Dabola:
4. Meraxes gigas:
5. Black Jacobin Hummingbird:
Β
6. Purussaurus:
7. Mapusaurus:
8. Pronghorn Antelope:
9. African Gray Parrot:
10. Zebra Bullhead Shark
11. Majungasaurus:
12. Common Ostrich:
13. Machairodus:
Β 14. Opisthocoelicaudia:
15. White Bellbird:
16. Megalancosaurus
17. Red Tegu:
(This just overall makes the bite stronger, not a complex upgrade)
Stats
Basic stats
Bite force
Bite force: 100,000 Newtons for smaller ones, 115,000 for larger ones.
Speed
Speed: 37 km/ph for smaller ones, 26 km/ph for larger ones.
Weight
Weight: 13 tons for the smaller ones, 18 tons for larger ones.
Agility
Because the tail is shorter, less of its mass is sitting far away from the hips. This means Vesuvius doesn't have to fight as much rotational inertia when trying to turn its body. The tail is also extremely muscular near the base, where the caudofemoralis is concentrated, giving the hips a massive amount of control over the movement of the body.
But the tail isn't just a stiff balancing pole. The Megalancosaurus influence allows it to move laterally when needed, so Vesuvius can stiffen it for stability or swing it to help control a sharp turn. The hips do most of the actual work, while the tail helps control how much the body rotates and stops Vesuvius from just throwing itself off balance.
The nervous system is also doing a lot here. The Machairodus contributions improve energy availability and motor control, while the modified medullary system filters out some of the noise caused by Vesuvius's own movement. This lets the mechanoreceptors focus more on changes in the terrain instead of getting overwhelmed by the creature stomping around.
The legs aren't literally solid beams either. They still need some flexibility or they'd just break under 13β18 tonnes. The goal is to reduce unnecessary flexing and energy loss while keeping enough elasticity to absorb impacts. The fibrocartilaginous ankle pads, massive gastrocnemius tendon and reinforced lower-leg structure help with this.
Strategy
Skull Swatting
Vesuvius employs a strategy that exploits cranial cancellous bone, cranial trabeculae and temporal femstrae.
A devastating lateral strike targeting the skull's weakest structural axis.
Woodpecker cranial cancellous bone is weak to this.Β Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49765494_A_mechanical_analysis_of_woodpecker_drumming_and_its_application_to_shock-absorbing_systemsΒ
Bighorn Ram too. Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11352153/Β
(Well, these studies don't really show this but I have one that SHOULD tie this all together (don't quote me on this) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3462285/)
Doing some calcs!
Variables
X = The force needed to break the skull from a frontal impact
Y = force needed to break the skull from a lateral impact
Y = 0.44 X
That means a lateral strike only needs 44% of a frontal strike to break the skull.
This isn't factoring in other modifications to the skull like pachyostosis and whatever
Dermal denticles are placed on the entire body, including the palms. These are reinforced by a Fluorapatite weaving structure running through the dermal denticles and teeth.
This arm plating allows V to smack its opponents with a reinforced palm to avoid being damaged by their armoring (e.g. spikes, osteoderms, keratin plates.)
Energy
Cori Cycle:
In Vesuvius, the Cori cycle is used as a last resort desperate boost of energy.
The lactic acid is stored, then using the hummingbird genome quickly turned into ATP, fusing the hummingbird metabolic pathways with the Razanandrongobe genome enables specialized cellular containment of lactic acid. Upon triggering, this reserve undergoes hyper-accelerated recycling back into ATP, providing a brief, catastrophic surge of burst energy at the cost of profound subsequent exhaustion.β.
The puru genome allows Vesuvian to store its lactic acid to be recycled for ATP when required.
Armor
Layer 1: Pseudo Ganoine (osteodermine)
Basically ganoine but reptilian.
Layer 2. Ganoine
hybrid ganoine structure (P.lapradei has dense, long, hydrodynamic scales, while P.endlicheri has wide, heavy, flattening plates) so it's fused to be extremely hard yet crack resistant.
Layer 3: Dermal Denticles
These dermal denticles (as mentioned before) have a fluorapatite weaving system running through them, making them extremely hard. Used to reinforce the ganoine.
Layer 4: Scales
Standard theropod scales.
Layer 5: Keratinized Skin
The skin is heavily keratinized (Razanandrongobe) and is infused with Beta keratin and Alpha keratin.
Layer 6: Osteoderms
These osteoderms are derived from the Glyptosaurus genome.
(Tab 3 for ecology)
Ecology
Ecology
C.malignisβ ecology is extremely well documented. The documentation of C.malignisβ pack is closely monitored by drones controlled by the Mount Branch in Sector 4.
Reproduction:
Oblivion Genetics specifically created a chromosome dubbed CR4CM, named for
C (Chromosome)
R (Reproduction)
4 (Sector 4)
CM (Caeliphoneus malignis, species name)
This is called a synthetic karyotype or an artificial reproductive bridge.
Island and Habitat:
Isle Saint Eyre is located where the Pacific Plate, Philippine Sea Plate, Eurasian Plate (often represented by the Amur or Okhotsk microplates), and the North American Plate interact closely. This complex tectonic setup creates intense seismic and volcanic activity, including the Boso triple junction just off the coast.
The island is around 175,000 square kilometers in size, around 30% larger than Greece.
There is a dormant volcano at the heart of the island, measuring around 4,500 to 5,200 meters above sea level, called Mount Vilxanoct.