Thread:Mr.Robbo/@comment-5870856-20150126033221/@comment-5135903-20150210163220

I had to search for the show then; in the UK it was shown as Alien Worlds.

The 'sky whale' concept (and similar creations) is not original to the programme and has actually appeared a number of times before in science fiction; examples include Saturn Rukh by Robert Forward and 2010: Odyssey Two and A Meeting With Medusa by Arthur C. Clarke. I believe the idea first came from the highly imaginative Carl Sagan, who first applied it to Jupiter, imagining that the planet could evolve life in its vast atmosphere, with sky whales feasting on sky plankton. In fact, that's where I got the idea for the Kakranukh from (one of my many defunct creations in GC, they were an intelligent species who lived in the atmosphere of a gas giant, eventually establishing a spacefaring civilisation).

Anyway, the species was not, in fact, inspired by Alien Worlds, but a combination of the above. I first read about the concept in an article in the BBC Focus magazine called Our Future in Space by Stephen Baxter, who is a prominent science fiction author himself. To be exact, I read it on page 47 of issue 214 (April 2010). As I'm sure you can tell, I still have the edition with me, so I can quote the exact mention,

A flock of sky-whales in the distance climbs higher into the sky on rising thermals from the numerous volcanoes. This 'V' formation helps them save energy.

A mesh in the sky-whale's mouth filters plankton out of the sky. Large vents behind the eyes allow the filtered air back out.

The sky-whales soar slowly through the air on front wings that are long and narrow. They rely on the same aerodynamic principles of low-speed flight as gliders. The rear pair of wings is shorter and broader. They flap slowly to drive the whale forwards.

The sky whales described above rely on the fact that their planet has a very thick atmosphere, allowing it to support much larger creatures in flight. Quinoa's atmosphere, despite being twice as thick as Earth's, is still not thick enough to allow for such large flying creatures (though it would still be able to support fliers significantly bigger than those on Earth, they could be nowhere near the size of sky whales).

Instead, Quinoa's Aerocetaceans are based on the creatures dreamed up by Carl Sagan; they are less like aeroplanes and more like balloons; taking advantage of the fact that Quinoa's atmosphere is about 10% helium by secreting the gas in 'cells' along their bodies to provide floatation. They're living airships!

I have considered changing the taxonomic name to eliminate the association with sky whales. In fact, I've considered removing the taxonomic classifications altogether (in order to pay more attention to descriptions). What do you think?