Switch Theme:

The Role of Primates in 40k  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

So beyond the supreme primate that is man, are there other primate type xenos that have risen up in the galaxy?

And what of the great apes? are they still around in the grimdark?

This is something I have zero knowledge on, but really curious to know. I would hate to find out they became servitors, or shock troops (unless they wanted to be)

I'm wondering if there is any lore on earthly species being taken/seeded on other worlds.

Thanks!


   
Made in de
Servoarm Flailing Magos




Germany

There is a race of literal Orang-Utans that are weird tech-savants and renowned constructors of miniature weaponry and gadgets called the Jokaero. Sometimes they can be found in inquisitorial retinues, but they are fickle, bordering on non-sapient and don't like being confined or trapped, and due to their techno-savantry are quite hard to contain.
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

It is rumored that some of their genetics were incorporated into the Alpha Legion and Ravenguard. Both are masters of gorilla warfare and throwing monkey wrenches into their opponents’ plans…

JK, I have no idea, but can’t resist a good dad-joke.

   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

Ah yes I have heard that name, but hadn't realized what they were.

   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

 Adeptekon wrote:

And what of the great apes? are they still around in the grimdark?


We're struggling to keep them alive now. After 38,000 years when earth is a dry rock built over with grimdark architecture, I'd say they'd be long since toast.

I'm wondering if there is any lore on earthly species being taken/seeded on other worlds.


Horses...?



I seem to remember one of Dan Abnett's Inquisitor novels took a trip to an abbatoir world where some kind of ox was culturally significant, but I'd need to check if that was actually the case.

I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Horses aren’t primates? Mammals, yes. But not primates.

Though we don’t know much about Eldar physiology, they too may be the descendants of primate analogous ancestors.

Can we even apply the same clade and that to Xenos species, given they’re not part of earth’s ecosystem, and therefore evolutionary tree?

   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Horses aren’t primates? Mammals, yes. But not primates.


Yes, but still an earthly species.

Or are they?

I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in gb
Moustache-twirling Princeps




United Kingdom

They were all extinct long before the HH. Arkhan Land attempted to recreate one:

Sapien was a Psyber-Monkey, or Artificimian, built by Arkhan Land on the basis of historical ledgers. It often rode on Land's shoulders when it accompanied him.[1a]

Land opted not to give it any method of binaric cant or human communication as this would have been a diversion from the descriptions of monkeys provided by the ledgers (although he did build picters into its eyes[1b]). Several scholars argued against the veracity of the archives used by Land, one in particular claiming that monkeys could hang from trees by their tails. Land deemed this ridiculous, Sapien's scorpion-like tail the result of his own theory that monkeys used their tails as lashes and puncturing weapons for delivering venom.[1a]
   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

Ah shame, was thinking there'd be a planet of the apes out there other than Terra.

I figured horses were out there due to the Krieg, been thinking about the Age of Technology and what might have been brought forth into the galaxy during colonization.

Also later in Old Night when things dissolved, what might have come about with techno-barbs running wild.

Eldar seem to be primate like, we could apply it to them. Also what are the Chaos entities? They're essentially mutated primates, unlike the old ones who are reptilian?

The C'tan are primate like elementals?

The Necrons were once primate-like?

Seems like the primacy of the primates.


Edit: but then again I once heard a documentary some time ago say some scientist were thinking about calling Elephants primates.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/03/12 01:56:36


   
Made in gb
Calculating Commissar





The Shire(s)

In terms of other non-primate Terran critters, I am pretty sure rats have survived. Necromunda has rats, for example, and these are probably based on Terran rats not some alien critter suspiciously similar to rats.

Likewise for dogs and eagles, as we see versions of these.

 ChargerIIC wrote:
If algae farm paste with a little bit of your grandfather in it isn't Grimdark I don't know what is.
 
   
Made in de
Servoarm Flailing Magos




Germany

 Haighus wrote:
In terms of other non-primate Terran critters, I am pretty sure rats have survived. Necromunda has rats, for example, and these are probably based on Terran rats not some alien critter suspiciously similar to rats.

Likewise for dogs and eagles, as we see versions of these.


Also ravens on Fenris, but i think most avians we see are actually constructs or cloned.
   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

I guess I better dial-back primates to just us great apes and our descendants in the 41st and those things equivalent or it's gonna get too broad.

*Hominidae

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/03/13 18:57:08


   
Made in us
Rogue Daemonhunter fueled by Chaos






Toledo, OH

So, my knowledge of the initial spread of humanity through the galaxy is pretty limited, but there's actually a better chance you'd think of a wide range of animals surviving into the stars, including primates. Two words: animal testing.

A wide variety of animals are already kept in laboratories for various purposes, including huge, stable populations of primates, 100,000 or more in the US alone. https://www.science.org/content/article/record-number-monkeys-being-used-us-research Chimps were used up to ten years ago, and I'd wager continue to be used in other countries. https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-end-all-support-chimpanzee-research?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1678739536

Assuming we stocked the labs of colonies with the tools they needed for research, they would almost certainly exist in some form, along with mice, rats, fruit flies, rabbits, etc.
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





 Adeptekon wrote:

Eldar seem to be primate like, we could apply it to them. Also what are the Chaos entities? They're essentially mutated primates, unlike the old ones who are reptilian?

The C'tan are primate like elementals?

The Necrons were once primate-like?

Seems like the primacy of the primates.


The chaos gods and their daemons aren't really primates. The gods themselves don't really have physical forms. They don't look like apes because they don't look like anything. Daemons' forms are generally shaped by the thoughts of mortals. Lots of daemons are humanoid because lots of sapient creatures are humanoid.

Lots of sapient species in 40k are humanoid, but it's implied that this is due to Old Ones seeding life all over the place (thus why the galaxy has so much life in the setting) and/or convergent evolution.

C'tan "bodies" are just necrodermises created by the necronstyr. So they look humanoid because the necrontyr were humanoid.


As for all the species in the setting that are similar to but different from Earth species, that's convergent evolution again, plus some species being carried to various worlds. Dinosaurs are surprisingly widespread because eldar like them and took them with when creating maiden worlds. Humanity is implied to have brought genetic material from various species with them when they spread out across the stars (thus the weird "there are no wolves on Fenris" thing). Etc.


ATTENTION
. Psychic tests are unfluffy. Your longing for AV is understandable but misguided. Your chapter doesn't need a separate codex. Doctrines should go away. Being a "troop" means nothing. This has been a cranky service announcement. You may now resume your regularly scheduled arguing.
 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







 Polonius wrote:
So, my knowledge of the initial spread of humanity through the galaxy is pretty limited, but there's actually a better chance you'd think of a wide range of animals surviving into the stars, including primates. Two words: animal testing.

A wide variety of animals are already kept in laboratories for various purposes, including huge, stable populations of primates, 100,000 or more in the US alone. https://www.science.org/content/article/record-number-monkeys-being-used-us-research Chimps were used up to ten years ago, and I'd wager continue to be used in other countries. https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-end-all-support-chimpanzee-research?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1678739536

Assuming we stocked the labs of colonies with the tools they needed for research, they would almost certainly exist in some form, along with mice, rats, fruit flies, rabbits, etc.


This is vaguely relevant to the conversation, and also a good grimdark read

https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/

Also now I just want to pronounce primates in the same way as primaris

So prim ah teeez it is

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/03/14 15:52:53


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in us
Rogue Daemonhunter fueled by Chaos






Toledo, OH

Yeah, I realized after I posted it that it went dark. I even wondered if the response would be "well, they'd simply use humans for that kind of testing in 40k" which I suppose might be true, but I sitll think colonies would use primates, who can breed quickly and cost less.

Overall, i think that while the overwhelming majority of earth's species would go extinct, many of the animals that are domesticated or or at least both useful and breedable in captivity would survive.

If you want a real hot take, the animal that seems super common in iconography and myth but is unlikely to survive are eagles and other birds.
   
Made in de
Servoarm Flailing Magos




Germany

 Polonius wrote:
Yeah, I realized after I posted it that it went dark. I even wondered if the response would be "well, they'd simply use humans for that kind of testing in 40k" which I suppose might be true, but I sitll think colonies would use primates, who can breed quickly and cost less.

Overall, i think that while the overwhelming majority of earth's species would go extinct, many of the animals that are domesticated or or at least both useful and breedable in captivity would survive.

If you want a real hot take, the animal that seems super common in iconography and myth but is unlikely to survive are eagles and other birds.


Stuff that would definitely survive are either vermin like rats, cockroaches, house flys and their various parasites and symbiotes, or commercially viable animals like pigs, cows, donkeys, horses, sheep and especially goats, as well as easy-to-keep protein producers: chicken, tilapia, probably some sort of mussel or clam. If you look at island ecosystems today, you have to go to considerable lengths to avoid contamination especially with rodents, but goats and pigs are also hyper-adaptive an can raze whole ecosystems in a very short amount of time if there are no or few natural predators present. In space colonization, sufficiently ruthless colonists would do what the e.g. British or French did in the Carribean: let some of these animals lose on suitable islands to 'seed' them with a self-replenishing source of fresh food for passing ships.
   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

 Flinty wrote:


Also now I just want to pronounce primates in the same way as primaris

So prim ah teeez it is



and Auh-STAR-Teez, is this Auspex Tactics vibes? or am I thinking of someone else who really draws that out

   
Made in gb
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

May need to add Tyranids to the list.



   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

 Adeptekon wrote:
 Flinty wrote:


Also now I just want to pronounce primates in the same way as primaris

So prim ah teeez it is



and Auh-STAR-Teez, is this Auspex Tactics vibes? or am I thinking of someone else who really draws that out



*Correction, as I was back on youtube the other day, not AT, but "40k Theories" is who I was thinking of, and I do prefer the -teez over tez

Anyway I got to thinking about Bullgryns, would their evolution have been rather different than going from rodent like, squirrelish, monkey, ape, and then hominid-like, modern human, then heavy version of a modern human?

This is a bit problematic to imagine on a heavy gravity world, where muscle and bone structure must play a bigger and must require more energy consumption however they're getting it. This would involve the same environment factors that lead an ancestor into the trees (problematic) and then back down again to the savanna as the environment changed. All the while evolving upright which might be problematic as well.

Now if we assume this would could produce a Gorilla then that makes more sense to me than a Bullgryn, but I think we'd be looking at stocky dwarves having backwards folding kees with strong hips and thighs would we not?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/04/16 22:10:46


   
Made in gb
Calculating Commissar





The Shire(s)

It is unclear whether Ogryn evolved naturally on high-gravity worlds, or were selectively bred/genetically modified. Given they have become an ideal labourer subspecies in most cases (strong, tough, loyal, and unquestioning of orders) it is likely their evolution was guided by human intervention. Having them able to carry objects and operate tools in the same manner as bipedal humans would be an advantage that would probably be desirable traits to the group overseeing breeding.

 ChargerIIC wrote:
If algae farm paste with a little bit of your grandfather in it isn't Grimdark I don't know what is.
 
   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

That's interesting to consider. I suppose the Gorilla lucked out in that regard.

I really think 40k is basically just a fight for Terran Great Ape Galactic Supremacy. We being the warrior apes of Terra.

The lore is strongly anthropomorphic, and when it's less so you have evil hive minded crustaceans, ready to eat everyone.

It does make me question how viable mammalian primates in the galaxy might be when we're but a drop in the bucket of earth's history.

Granted things must play out in wonderous ways else where so maybe we're a thing?

   
Made in us
The Conquerer






Waiting for my shill money from Spiral Arm Studios

It is likely that there are primates out there on many worlds that were terraformed using Terran fauna, though they would have been changed by both humanity deliberately tinkering and via natural forces.

While Terra's biosphere is long since destroyed, it was still viable when humanity colonized the stars and they would have brought animals with them. Not just domesticated or ones useful in testing and such, they would have brought everything to create functioning biospheres. Primates would most certainly have been included in these terraforming efforts.

So really it is likely that a bit of everything that lives today on Terra survives somewhere in the galaxy. Of course, the humans of 40k won't necessarily care or even be able to tell what originates on Terra and what animals were picked up by humans on alien worlds. It has been 38 thousand years since humans left Earth, multiple dark ages, and civilizations have come and gone.

Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines

Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.

MURICA!!! IN SPESS!!! 
   
Made in us
Perfect Shot Black Templar Predator Pilot





The Dark Imperium

That's great, that there might be gardens of Eden unscathed by the 41st.

Might be too soon for drastic evolutionary changes, but perhaps in some places, and definitely with any genetic engineering on the part of past colonists.

I'm not looking to field an army of King Kong's ...or am I?

   
 
Forum Index » 40K Background
Go to: