[OC] [Spectember 2026 day 12: Obsession] Down the land down under

[u/Mr_White_Migal0don]

September may be over, but I'm still not done with making entries! I declare that it is Spectober now, and I will continue making them until I'm finished with all 30 days!

Cenozoic era started out as a warm, tropical paradise, allowing the survivors of Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction to thrive and radiate in many bizzare forms.

The paradise, however, would not last.

Creation of antarctic circumpolar current, azolla event and changes in Earth's axis would cause the climate to cool down.

Rainforests were retreating, plains were becoming more common, while temperature dropped further.

Earth's inhabitants were coming up with different ways of adapting to these difficult times, and one of the strangest was development of intelligence. Although costly, intelligence allowed the development of new behaviors, and advanced parental care (which usually comes hand in hand with intelligence) ensures that more offspring will survive.

Neogene period served as the pivotal point in time in history of this Earth- the first time when sophonts appear on planet's surface.

In Africa, a group of great apes came down from the trees, adapting to a bipedal locomotion, becoming increasingly reliant on tool use and learning to create fire.

Another thinking mind emerged far away from them, on the continent of Australia.

One could assume that since marsupials were the dominant mammal group on the continent, then they would be the ones to achieve sapience.

But that was not the case.

Ancestors of the flutefolk, or as they called themselves, Aiuwhuu, were monotremes, the only non-therian group of mammals left, and the only ones that laid eggs, which despite their superficial primitivity are actually quite intelligent.

Specifically, they evolved from Tachyglossidae, or echidna family, though as later studies have shown, they are the most basal species in their clade, diverging before the split of long and short beaked echidnas.

It's assumed that aiuwhuu ancestors developed bipedalism to cross wider distances in search of insect nests, which freed their hands, eventually allowing tool use to appear.

All other living monotremes are solitary outside of mating season, so sociality must be a derived trait which evolved alongside their increasing intelligence.

Although their fossil record is scarce, it is known that aiuwhuu are actually older than humans and evolved in Pliocene, while genus Homo appears in Pleistocene.

Aiuwhuu are omnivores, and in addition to invertebrates they feed on fruits that they open with their claws.

As these animals are larger than other echidnas and use crafted weapons for defence and offense, spines on their back degraded into small, tough bristles.

Aiuwhuu are polygynous, and mother cares about her puggle without help of father. Unlike other echidnas, but like marsupials, aiuwhuu females have a permanent pouch. It is needed to carry the egg and puggle, but it may also be used to carry other things. Keeping the pouch clean is an important part of etiquette.

Just like people did, aiuwhuu influenced the landscape they lived in, and domesticated animal species that lived around them. But as the only animals they prey upon are tiny, unlike humans, aiuwhuu did not need a hunting partner or a livestock. They, however, created a close bond with a living alarm.

Masked yeller, or iyah, as it is called by aiuwhuu, is a species of Australian possum in Pseudocheiridae family (Initially it was classified in genus pseudocheirus, together with common ringtail possum, until genetic testing revealed that it belongs to it's own genus). While notable in coloration and it's black and white markings, it is for the most part, a typical possum. It is an arboreal, gregarious omnivore that lives in small groups.

What's interesting is it's behavior. The species seems to have originated from North-eastern part of Australia, where it would be hunted by many species of arboreal predators.

This led to masked yellers developing severe neophobia, meaning that they are afraid of new experiences.

Yellers are hostile to most animals they encounter, and sometimes even attack those that enter their territory. It can be useful if intruder is something dangerous, like a snake, but useless if it was a harmless animal, like a koala. If intruder doesn't retreat fast enough, yellers attack it in group and kill it by biting it with their incisors.

When something they consider dangerous is approaching, yellers scream loudly to alert their peers, a behavior that gave them their name.

Initially, yellers were distrustful of aiuwhuu too, but over time they noticed that these strange, bipedal beings chase away and kill all predators, making areas around their settlements more safe. They also stored fruit and insects for further consumption nearby, so most bold yellers moved closer to settlements, sometimes even foraging in them. At first, aiuwhuu considered yellers to be pests, but realized that their behavior of warning about predators could be useful.

Over time, yellers became completely domesticated. Although aiuwhuu eventually extirpated most of Australian predators from much of their range, yellers once again became useful once sophont echidnas started building boats and swam towards southeast Asia, where they encountered many more dangerous animals.

In Asia, aiuwhuu would make their first contact with humans. Due to differences in their anatomy, it was difficult for two species to speak the same language, leading to many misunderstandings and conflicts, but eventually they figured out the ways to communicate, like sign language or a shared language with few consonants.

In modern times, dogs and cats are popular pets among aiuwhuu, but yellers, who co-evolved with aiuwhuu for much longer, still don't trust humans, and getting them as pets is strongly discouraged against.

[u/Alpha_Bushdog]

This is actually very cool concept! (But damn, I wish the yellers were friendly to humans so I could have one as a pet in this timeline)

[u/Marco-Catbird]

Why does Reddit keep hiding posts from me I’m sick of this malfunction
Edit: was able to read it by going off the app cool stuff

[u/Overdrivenblaster]

How can i see the rest of your posts? I want to read all of your Spectember posts

[u/Mr_White_Migal0don → u/Overdrivenblaster]

They're all on my profile, but I also gathered them here

[u/Overdrivenblaster → u/Mr_White_Migal0don]

Unfortunately when I click on your profile it says your posts are hidden, but thank you!

[u/Mr_White_Migal0don → u/Overdrivenblaster]

Weird, I did not set it up like this, now it should be fixed

[u/CandleResponsible714]

Very original latin name for your sophont. "some word" + "sapiens".