After Man

Cover.

After Man: A Zoology of the Future (1981) is a 1981 book by Dougal Dixon. He presents his hypothesis on how the fauna and geography will change 50 million years from now. Several other books have been released and internet sites created with this thought in mind. Paleontologist Peter Ward wrote another book on a different perspective on future evolution, one with humans intact as a species. This book is called Future Evolution. Dixon's later work Man After Man also includes man. In 2002, a program on Animal Planet called The Future Is Wild advances further using more precise studies of biomechanics and future geological phenomena based on the past.

Geography of the future

Dixon assumes that Europe and Africa would eventually fuse, closing up the Mediterranean Sea. Asia and North America would collide and close up the Bering Strait. South America would split off from Central America. Australia would collide with southern Asia, uplifting a mountain range. Finally, parts of eastern Africa would split off to form a new island which he called Lemuria. Other volcanic islands have been added, such as the Pacaus Archipelago and Batavia.

Animals of After Man: A Zoology of the Future

Temperate Woodlands and Grasslands

Angler Heron, Butorides piscatorius, a heron that creates a fish pond and baits it to attract fish.

Chirit, Tendesciurus rufus, an inchworm-like rodent descended from squirrels.

Falanx, Amphimorphodus cynomorphus, a wolf-like predator rat.

Janiset, Viverinus brevipes, a weasel-like predator rat.

Long-Necked Dipper, Apterocinclus longinuchus, an aquatic bird that flies when a juvenile, but becomes flightless as an adult. It spends much of its time around water.

Lutie, Microlagus mussops, a nocturnal mouse-like descendant of rabbits. However it is not the only animal in small mammal in the temperate forests, due to competition with surviving voles and rats.

Oakleaf Toad, Grima frondiforme, a toad covered in flaps of skin that resemble an oakleaf. During most of its life, the toad is naturally brown. But when a parasitic fluke within the toad matures, it turns green, revealing it to predators like the predatory rats. The oakleaf toad is a predator itself - hunting small animals and using its worm-like tongue as a lure.

Pfrit, Aquambulus hirsutus, an insectivorous mammal with a hollow lance-like mouth for eating mosquito larvae. It is the smallest mammal known, growing only two inches excluding its tail. It is so light it can even walk on water.

Purrip Bat, Caecopterus spp., a bat in which the eyes have vanished and its ears shifted to the front of the head, advancing its echolocation system.

Rabbuck, Ungulagus spp., a giant hoofed deer-like descendant of rabbits. It comes in two types: deer-like runners and primitive rabbit-like hoppers (Macrolagus spp.). Some tropical species like the strank and the watoo fill the niches of past herbivorous mammals, such as zebras and giraffes.

Rapide, Amphimorphodus longipes, a cheetah-like predator rat.

Ravene, Vulpemys ferox, a tiger-like predator rat. The temperate version preys on small mammals and birds.

Reedstilt, Harundopes virgatus, a large horse-like fish-eating mammal. It has an elongated neck, sharp teeth, and slender hair-covered legs.

Shrock, Melesuncus sylvatius, a burrowing insectivorous mammal that resembles a badger.

Testadon, Armatechinos impenetrabilis, an insectivorous mammal with a hinged shell that can form an impenetrable ball.

Tree Drummer, Proboscisuncus spp., an enigmatic arboreal mammal with chisel-like teeth, a barbed proboscis, and feet covered in fine fur. These hairs sense the movement of grubs beneath the wood. The tree drummer then bores a hole through the wood and spears the grub with its proboscis.

Tree Goose, or hanging bird, Pendavis bidactylus, an arboreal goose with only two toes, used for wrapping around a branch.

Truteal, Terebradens tubauris, a blind rabbit-like mammal descended from shrews with a bird-like beak made from outstretched incisors. It has large ears for detecting worms and it uses its teeth for grabbing its prey. The truteal is preyed upon by owl-eyed predatory birds.

Tusked Mole, Scalprodens talpiforme, a mole with tusks. These tusks aid in digging and catching insects.

Unnamed predatory bird with an owl-like face.

Coniferous Forests

Beaver, Castor spp., a surviving rodent species. Unlike our beaver, this new beaver has its legs fused with its tail, like current day pinnipeds.

Broadbeak, Pseudofraga spp., a giant predatory songbird descended from starlings.

Chiselhead, Tenebra vermiforme, an inchworm-like rodent with massive incisors for chiseling through live trees.

Common Pine Chuck, Paraloxus targa, a bird in which the two sexes look like different species. Males are red with massive beaks for eating pine cones. The female is green with a slender beak for snatching insects and carrion.

Hornhead, a massive moose-like relative of gigantelopes. It comes in three types. The common hornhead (Cornudens vulgaris) looks like a cross between a moose and an antelope with a larger lower jaw. The helmeted hornhead (Cornudens horridus) has axe-shaped horns. The water hornhead (Cornudens rastrostrius) has branched horns and a spade-shaped mouth for plucking water plants.

Pamthret, Vulpemustela acer, a puma-like descendant of weasels that hunt in packs. It inhabits conifer forests: one of the few places that carnivorous rats have yet to reach.

Spine-Tailed Squirrel, Humisciurus spinacaudatus, a striped squirrel with quills lining its tail. When threatened, it raises the tail and shields its body, spines outstretched.

Trevel, Scandemys longicaudata, a monkey-like rodent with slender fingers and a prehensile tail. It uses both to reach pine cones out of the reach for animals its size.

Unnamed starling descendant, Parops lepidorostrus, the closest living relative of the broadbeak.

Tundra and the Polar Regions

Bardelot , Smilomys atrox, a giant sabre-toothed predator rat. Only the females have the long sabre teeth.

Bootie Bird, Corvardea niger, a large hawk-like descendant of crows. Its name comes from the feathers that cover its legs in winter.

Distarterops, Scinderedens solungulus, a marine walrus-like rat with tusks and a claw on one of its limbs.

Flightless Auk, Nataralces maritimus, a penguin-like descendant of auks. It forms a chain of different linages that breed with one another (known as a cline). However, the races of auks at the ends of the chain are so different that they cannot interbreed.

Gandimot, Bustivapus septentreonalis, a crow-like bird that behaves and is descended from magpies (although it resembles a skua and lays eggs in the nests of other birds).

Groath, Hebecephalus montanus, a goat-like relative of hornheads. It comes in two types: males with plate-like horns and females with pyramid-shaped horns. These hoofed mammals live in herds.

Lesser Ptarmigan, Lagopa minutus, a small game bird that coexists with small meachings, and utilises abandoned meaching fortresses.

Meaching, Nixocricetus lemmomorphus, small lemming-like rodents that create intricate tunnel systems. They are food for polar ravenes, bootie birds, and gandimots. Their fortresses are made of dead vegetation because they can not tunnel through permafrost.

Parashrew, Pennatacaudus volitarius, a shrew-like mammal with an umbrella-like tail used like a parachute.

Pilofile, Phalorus phalorus, a bird species that adopts two distinct lifestyles. During the summer, this bird has a short beak surrounded by hair-like structures that work like a funnel for scooping up insects. During winter, it sheds that beak and grows a longer beak for probing.

Polar Ravene, Vulpemys albulus, a fox-like predator rat. This polar form is the main predator of meachings.

Porpin, Stenavis piscivora, a dolphin-like descendant of penguins.

Pytheron, Thalassomus piscivorus, a predatory seal-like rat.

Ruffle, Rupesaltor villupes, a mountain-dwelling descendant of rabbits. It has short ears, long fur-covered legs, and short teeth for chewing moss.

Shurrack, Oromustela altifera, a descendant of weasels that resembles a long-legged snow leopard. It hunts groaths in packs.

Skern, scientific name unknown, a flightless seal-like seabird.

Vortex, Balenornis vivipera, a whale-like descendant of penguins. Its massive beak is laced with slits for sifting ocean water for plankton. At 40 feet (12 m) long, it is the biggest animal on Earth (whales having gone extinct long before).

Woolly Gigantelope, Megalodorcas borealis, a polar species of gigantelope. In winter, it has a thick, shaggy coat; in summer, it has a much thinner coat with only patches of the winter coat remaining.

Deserts

Desert Leaper, Aquator adepsicautus, a large hopping rodent and the largest desert mammal on Earth. It can store so much fat in its body that it can lose half its body weight without any problems.

Desert Shark, Psammonarus spp., a bald sausage-shaped predatory descendant of shrew-like animals.

Desert Spickle, Fistulostium setosum, a nectar-eating spiny mammal that sips from desert flowers.

Fin Lizard, Velusaurus bipod, a two-legged lizard with enlarged skin flaps on its neck and tail, increasing its surface area. It can travel at speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour.

Grobbit, Ungulamys cerviforme, a hoofed rodent with flexible hands for pulling down branches. One metre of its body length may be composed entirely of tail.

Khilla, Carnosuncus pilopodus, a coyote-like descendant of shrews.

Kriskin, scientific name unknown, a common predatory bird in the desert areas. Its body is mostly black, with a white speckled chest.

Leaping Devil, Daemonops rotundus, a round short-faced insectivorous mammal with a long tail and long legs. It hunts desert reptiles and small mammals, like the spitting featherfoot.

Long-Legged Quail, Deserta catholica, a large predatory descendant of quails. Its eggs are laid in shaded desert sand.

Rootsucker, Palatops spp., a burrowing rodent with a shell made of compressed hair and a face plate. It burrows underground to feed on the roots of desert plants.

Sand Flapjack, Platycaudatus structor, a flat-tailed rodent that uses its tail to cool its body in its desert habitat. They build condensation traps, placing a pile of stones and twigs atop a burrow. It collects dew and drips into a trap beneath.

Spitting Featherfoot, Pennapus saltans, a hopping desert rodent that eats toxic plants. To excrete the toxins, the featherfoot spits at attackers, cooling itself off in the process.

Tropical Grasslands

Flightless Guinea Fowl, Pseudostruthio gularis, an ostrich-like guinea fowl with a large throat sac.

Gigantelope, Megalodorcas giganteus, an elephant-like descendant of antelopes and the largest listed land animal in the book, weighing 10 tons. It has massive plow-like horns used for digging up roots, a relic of its antelope ancestry.

Horrane, Phobocebus hamungulus, a lion-like primate that hunts massive gigantelopes. It uses its sharp teeth and curved claws to slaughter its prey. However, it eats only the soft flesh of a carcass.

Long-Necked Gigantelope, Grandidorcas roeselmivi, a seven-metre-tall gigantelope with small, pad-like horns.

Picktooth, Dolabrodon fossor, an unusual species of rabbuck that inhabits the tropical grasslands. Its most obvious distinguishing feature are its two pointed teeth that extend horizontally from his head.

Raboon, Carnopapio spp., carnivorous descendants of baboons. They evolved a gait like those of predatory dinosaurs. Different types inhabit the savannas, from small active predators six feet tall to monstrous scavengers over eight feet tall. There are three named species: C. longipes, C. vulgaris and C. grandis.

Rundihorn, Tetraceras africanus, a four-horned grazing gigantelope.

Strank, Ungulagus virgatus, a grassland rabbuck that has stripes like a zebra, and indeed fills the zebra's niche in the grassland environment.

Shovel-Horned Gigantelope, scientific name unknown, a gigantelope that apparently feeds on water plants. It is implied that it is recently extinct.

Watoo, Ungulagus cento, a grassland rabbuck with giraffe-like spots.

Tropical Forests

Anchorwhip, Flagellanguis viridis, a venomous rainforest tree snake that uses an anchor-like tail to snatch birds and small mammals.

Clatta, Testudicaudatus tardus, a sloth-like prosimian primate with an armored tail as protection against predators.

Chuckaboo, Thylapithecus rufus, a monkey-like marsupial.

Fatsnake, Pingophis viperaforme, a venomous viper-like snake with an enlarged tail, related to cobras.

Flunkey, Alesimia lapsus, a monkey that glides on patagia.

Giantala, Silfrangerus giganteus, a giant ground sloth-like kangaroo.

Giant Pitta, Gallopitta polygyna, a polygamous pitta with unusual social behaviour. The male is several times larger than the female and protects a harem of three to four females each breeding season.

Hawkbower, Dimorphoptilornis iniquitus, a predatory bowerbird of Australia. The male has a curved flesh-tearing beak and skewers its victim to a thorn to attract flies. A mated female captures the flies and feeds them to the male to ensure his attention. The fly larvae in the flesh of the victim are fed to the chicks.

Hiri-Hiri, Carnophilius ophicaudatus, a predatory marsupial with a snake-like tail for strangling its prey.

Khiffah, Armasenex aedificator, an ape-like primate that lives in huge groups.

Long-Armed Ziddah, Araneapithecus manucaudata, a slender-legged primate.

Mud-Gulper, Phocapotamus lutuphagus, a giant rodent that resembles a hippopotamus.

Posset, Thylasus virgatus, a marsupial pig that inhabits the forest floor of the Australian rainforests.

Slobber, Reteostium cortepellium, a marsupial sloth that attracts insects with drips of mucus.

Striger, Saevitia feliforme, a monkey-like descendant of the last cats. It evolved to hunt fast arboreal animals, like monkeys, leading arboreal wildlife to evolve to combat this new predator.

Swimming Anteater, Myrmevenarius amphibius, an aquatic anteater that feeds on water ants.

Swimming Monkey, Natopithecus ranapes, an amphibious frog-like monkey that hunts fish.

Termite Burrower, Neopardalotus subterrestris, a burrowing bird species. Unlike the spink from the series The Future Is Wild, it uses its feet to burrow and has lost its wings. It uses its sticky bristle-tipped tongue for gathering termites.

Toothed Kingfisher, Halcyonova aquatica, a swimming descendant of kingfishers.

Tree Duck, Dendrocygna volubaris, an arboreal duck that rarely swims.

Trovamp, Hirudatherium saltans, a parasitic mammal that clings to its host with barb-like fangs and claws.

Turmi, Formicederus paladens, an anteater-like pig.

Unnamed fish being chased by a swimming monkey.

Unnamed forest mammal which is being parasitised by trovamps.

Water Ant, scientific name unknown, a species of ant that builds its nest on calm areas of water.

Zarander, Procerosus elephanasus, a large elephant-like pig.

Islands and Island Continents

Cleft-Back Antelope, Castratragus grandiceros, a primitive-looking antelope from Lemuria. It has two ridges on its back, leaving a furrow along its spine. It is covered with warts that attract flies - and a species of tick bird. This tick bird feasts on these flies and it makes its nest in the furrow of the antelope's back.

Flooer, Florifacies mirabila, a flightless bat with a nose and ears that imitate the designs of native flowers.

Flower-Faced Potoo, Gryseonycta rostriflora, a strange descendant of South American potoos that spends most of its time on the ground. Its wide mouth imitates the patterns of the native flowers, attracting insects. These potoos migrate seasonally because the flowers it imitates do not come until after rainstorms.

Gurrath, Oncherpestes fodrhami, a jaguar-like descendant of mongooses. It inhabits South America after it fused with the Caribbean, where mongooses were introduced 50 million years ago.

Long-Necked Yippa, Altocephalus saddi, a long-necked descendant of antelope from Lemuria. It uses its long neck for reaching into tropical forest trees.

Matriarch Tinamou, Gynomorpha parasitica, a South American ground-dwelling bird. The female is a large ground-dwelling bird. The male is several times smaller than the female and rides on her back, sucking her blood and mating.

Nightglider, Hastatus volans, a predatory South American mammal related to weasels. It glides with folds of skin stretched between its arms, legs, and tail. Its chest is covered with quills for skewering prey. Its fur is colored to match the patterns of certain trees.

Night Stalker, Manambulus perhorridus, a flightless bat from Batavia. It supports its body on its arms, which are strong since they were once used for flight. It uses its legs for clutching its prey and slashing. The night stalker is blind and uses sonar to locate its prey. These five-foot tall monsters hunt in packs. Similar creatures to the Night Stalker appeared in Primeval.

Pacauan Bird Snake, Avanguis pacausus, a snake native to the Pacaus Archipelago. It hunts whistlers and is one of the few active predators on these islands.

Pacauan Whistler, Insulornis spp. a group of birds that colonized the islands of Pacaus. They are descended from golden whistlers and have become highly specialized types. One species (I. macrorhyncha) eats nuts and has a massive rounded beaks. Another (I. piciforma) has a pointed bill for extracting insects from beneath bark. One even has hooked beaks for tearing flesh (I. aviphaga).

Shalloth, Arboverspertilio apteryx, a sloth-like flightless bat from Batavia. It is omnivorous and sometimes kills small animals with its sharp thumb claw. Once wings, its hand has a single separate digit and its other fingers have fused together. It spends much of its life hanging upside-down.

Snorke, Lepidonasus lemurienses, a long-faced grazing antelope from Lemuria.

Strick, Cursomys longipes, a kangaroo-like rodent that runs on two legs. It evolved massive ears for hearing over the tall grass. It lives in South America.

Surfbat, Remala madipella, a seal-like bat from Batavia. The surfbat has a pointed snout, prominent eyes, and flippers made from degraded wings. In many respects, it is the mammalian equivalent of the penguin.

Tapimus, Tapimus maximus, a tusked rodent from South America.

Terratail, Ophicaudatus insulatus, a rodent and one of the few mammals that inhabit the Pacaus Archipelago. It avoids being hunted by predatory whistlers by evolving a patterned tail that imitates the Pacaus Bird Snake. By thrusting its tail forward and hissing behind a branch, it scares off most of its predators.

Tick Bird, Invigilator commensalis, a species of bird that nests in the cleft-back antelope's high neural spines.

Unnamed fish being pursued by a surfbat.

Unnamed forest mammal being savaged by three nightstalkers.

Unnamed mammal being hunted by a shalloth.

Valuphant, Valudorsum gravum, the largest ungulate on the island of Lemuria, growing 16 feet (4.9 m) long. It has a tall ridge over its spine for monitoring body temperature and two horns a meter each. It plays a vital role in its native Lemurian ecology like the elephants of the past, such as distributing the soil while feeding to simulate new plant growth.

Wakka, Anabracchium struthioforme, an ostrich-like South American rodent with two legs. Unlike the strick, the wakka has an elongated face, so it can see over the long grass.

See also

• Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future (1990)
• Future Evolution (2001)
• The Future Is Wild (2003)
• The World Without Us (2007)
• Life After People (2008)

External links

• This Russian website [1] contemplates a broader study of life.
• The future of human evolution is discussed on this website [2]
• Dougal Dixon discusses his inspiration for the book at this site [3]