History Website / SpecWorld

* KingOfTheDinosaurs: ZigZagged. Spec does have tyrannosaurs, which are implied to be descended from ''T. rex'' itself, but most of them are small creatures that fill niches akin to hyenas. However, the project couldn't shy away from having some awesome giant tyrannosaurs too, especially the sabre-tyrants, massive arctic predators with huge fangs like sabre-toothed cats. This is exaggerated with the imperial sabre-tyrant, whose name declares it to be even ''greater than a king.''

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: They're the main focus of the site (including birds), with other, less spectacular groups like mammals being ignored in their favour.

* StockDinosaurs: ZigZagged. Obviously, none of the stock species themselves show up, but many familiar groups do, including [[KingOfTheDinosaurs tyrannosaurs]], [[RaptorAttack dromaeosaurs]], hadrosaurs, sauropods, ceratopsians, and ankylosaurs. The subversion is that the "modern" members of these groups aren't necessarily descended from the most famous extinct species--for example, Spec's ceratopsians are descended from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptoceratopsidae leptoceratopsids]] rather than true ceratopsids.

* TurtlePower: Including a lineage of turtles with breathing organs growing out of their butts and some colossal club-tailed ones.

* ShownTheirWork: And how!

** There's a type of [[UpToEleven venomous tree!]]

The project has [[DeadFic stalled out since 2008]] (mostly due to unexpected discoveries in paleontology that made many of the concepts outdated) and there are many lost illustrations and broken links. But the imagination, wonderful creature designs, good biology (hallelujah!) and offbeat humor more than make up for it.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In the earlier stages of the project it was full of this; there are still quite a few that are being fixed.

%%* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Loads and Loads of Hypothetical Creatures.

* [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters Loads And Loads Of Hypothetical Creatures]]

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: You got your pretty normal lorises, galagos, and lemurs; and... you got your pokemuses, chillas, and tree foxes.

* InSpiteOfANail: In the Spec Earth, there are numerous taxa which would not have existed during the Late Cretaceous, but still evolved during the Cenozoic and survived to the present day down familiar lines in spite of the massive difference in global ecology, designated as parallel species (or just P-, for short). This may vary from order level (primates, several bird groups) all the way down to parallel ''species'' (such as P-''Crocodylus niloticus'').

* InSpiteOfANail: In the Spec Earth, there are numerous taxa which would not have existed during the Late Cretaceous, but still evolved during the Cenozoic and survived to the present day down familiar lines in spite of the massive difference in global ecology, designated as parallel species (or just P-, for short). This may vary from order level (several bird groups) all the way down to parallel ''species'' (such as P-''Crocodylus niloticus'').

* KingOfTheDinosaurs: While most modern tyrannosaurs are actually rather small, dog or hyena-like animals, the project couldn't shy away from having some awesome giant tyrannosaurs too, with the sabre-tyrants, massive arctic predators with huge fangs like sabre-toothed cats. This is exaggerated with the imperial sabre-tyrant, the name announcing it as even greater than king.

* DeadFic: An archive of the project is currently maintained on the Speculative Biology Wiki.

* RaptorAttack: Averted. While raptors are abundant, they are all correctly depicted with feathers, and most (though not all) of them are not pack hunters. The Cain, Madagascar's top predator, does look the part of a Hollywood-style scaly "raptor", but it is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noasauridae noasaur]] rather than a dromaeosaur.

** Also, a giant whale-like platypus relative, called the Moby Duck.

* ToiletHumor: A fair bit, most of it courtesy of contributor Brian Choo.

* ZergRush: Cityfinches do this.

The project isn't entirely dead, as the [[http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DinosaurMailingList-KilledThreads Yahoo club]] shows. Also, some DA pictures from the staff like [[http://pristichampsus.deviantart.com/art/Terrorsaur-139874737 this]] suggest that, [[LeftHanging once the main site is updated, things will get very interesting...]] (A summary including some of the new ideas can be found [[http://speculativebiology.wikia.com/wiki/The_Speculative_Dinosaur_Project here]].)

* DeadFic: Not entirely though; the [[http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DinosaurMailingList-KilledThreads Yahoo club]] is still functional. Its activity fluctuates. An archive of the project is currently maintained on the Speculative Biology Wiki.

* StockDinosaurs: ZigZagged. Obviously, none of the stock species themselves show up, but many familiar groups do, including [[TyrannosaurusRex tyrannosaurs]], [[RaptorAttack dromaeosaurs]], hadrosaurs, sauropods, ceratopsians, and ankylosaurs. The subversion is that the "modern" members of these groups aren't necessarily descended from the most famous extinct species--for example, Spec's ceratopsians are descended from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptoceratopsidae leptoceratopsids]] rather than true ceratopsids.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Tyrannosaurs--implied to be descendants of T. rex itself--are the apex predators of North America and Eurasia.

* TakeThat: Not on the main website, but in the spinoff The Saga of the Caripoo, Brian Choo mentions that he'd "rather watch Highlander II than meet another caripoo."

* ShoutOut: There are many pop culture references intermingled in the creature names and descriptions, most obviously the Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (there's a bird literally called the ''Alfred's hitchcock'') and [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} a yellow mammal called the pikachilla from Spec-Japan.]]

* MixAndMatchCritters: Many creatures resemble these. Scowls, basically owls with raptor faces, are among the [[UglyCute cuter]] examples.

* ShoutOut: There are many pop culture references intermingled in the creature names and descriptions, most obviously the Alfred Hitchcock's Thebirds and [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} a yellow mammal called the pikachilla from Spec-Japan.]]

* GiantSquid: The Baleen Squids, which fill the niche of baleen whales in Spec's oceans.

* RaptorAttack: Averted. While raptors are abundant, they are all correctly depicted with feathers, and most (though not all) of them are not pack hunters.