Gathols and Megalonyxas

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Having seen a picture of the gathol species introduced in The Liberation of Locus-1, and reading its description, along with those of the megalonyxa species from The Threefold Conspiracy I gotta ask: are they BOTH meant to be based on prehistoric ground sloths?

If that's the case, was that intentional or a case of different writers coming up with a similar idea?

[FormerFiend]

Gathols look to me a bit more like pangolins on steroids.

[Kishmo]

I assume it's just a case of convergent evolution finding a perfect solution multiple times on multiple planets. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Kishmo wrote:

I assume it's just a case of convergent evolution finding a perfect solution multiple times on multiple planets. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

That's how I headcanon it myself, I was just wondering if the devs had the same thought process.

Besides, there's enough differences between them that you could tell them apart (the most notable being that MEGAlonyxas live up to their name and are actual Large size while Gathols are only Medium).

[Xenocrat]

Imagine being a gathol and trying to take humans, elves, orcs, and lashunta seriously when they claim they're separate species.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Okay, someone else I asked about this revealed something that, while it supports the convergent evolution headcanon I've got, raises MORE questions!

They told me that, to them,, megalonyxas more closely resemble Chalicotherium, a different prehistoric ungulate that resembled but was distinct from the ground sloths. And I can DEFINITELY see the resemblance there, more so than the Megalonyx they're ostensibly named after. So why WERE they named that way? Was there some kind of miscommunication between the writers and illustrators or something?

[Metaphysician]

Like I've said elsewhere, blame the gods. Its a lot easier to use procedural generation and a finite ( if large ) seed chart than to actually create an infinite number of unique life forms. ;)

( There's actually an outsider-type in one of the AAs that pretty much is exactly that, a sentient tool used for creating he universe. Don't remember the name offhand, though. )

[Leon Aquilla]

I thought Gathols looked like Armadillos. But the art on page 58 looks like a polar bear.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Leon Aquilla wrote:

I thought Gathols looked like Armadillos. But the art on page 58 looks like a polar bear.

what sprung to mind for me on seeing them was Megatherium. Which is why the confusion sprung up because megalonyxas are clearly named after the Megalonyx genus of ground sloths, but resemble Megatheriums more closely, especially in the face.