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Description
Laying south-west of the south-western coast of Africa lies a peculiar geological formation, nicknamed the Walvis Bridge. Now sunken under the sea, it constituted as far as 35mya a genuine archipelago, the product of a volcanic hospot which would run under both sides of the mid-Atlantic ridge as South America and Africa would drift apart. Another formation, off the coast of Brazil, the Rio Grande Rise, mirrors Walvis and in fact was once part of it. Old islands would turn into atolls and sink as new one would form ahead, creating a complex realm not dissimilar to Hawaii where a diverse subtropical and tropical realm, intermediary between the African and South American paleofauna, undoubtedly once thrived.

As such, unless pending some massive, hypothetical prospective hunt for fossils under the seabed, whatever lived there will forever remain a mystery. But what if ? Let's explore what fauna could have existed in the understory of the upper, mountainous forests of the western part of the Archipelago, when Walvis and Rio Grande were but one formation and before it all sunk under the sea, under sandy, acidic, volcanic and overall poor soil, where hardy, mostly pine-like, needle-leaved and cone-bearing trees dominate. Casuarina trees - then extant on this side of the Atlantic ; and Terminalia as well as several Acacia relatives occupy this biome, between other species.

The Royal zobor, is one of the many representatives of a now all but forgotten group of massive Bucerotiforms which adopted zygodactyly, closely related to the current Bucorvidae family, the ground hornbill. It is a specialized seed-eater which ca, crack the massive, thick-shelled cones and seeds of some of the hardy tree species comprising the upper forests of the island. Oddly, it also possess small hand claws, similarly to the extant hoatzins (which representatives are also present on the archipelago under diverse, generalist forms), which help it navigate the maze of branchs from the lower canopy of the hill forest ; conversely, it remains a poor flier. The archipelago comprises a large species complex of the Zobor, with each sub-species and species harboring differently shaped and colored casks and bills, and occupying different areas of the tropical and mountainous understory.

The Green-cheeked eokwao are a typical representative of primitive stem-parrots which still retain characteristics of their common ancestors with raptors. They are zygodactyl, but lack the upward-hooked and flexible lower bill and possess a typical hard-seed and cone eating lifestyle similar to the current parrotbill birds.

The West-Walvis scimitarbill is a typical representative of the then extremely diverse and dominant group of the bucerotiform family, which the current hoopoes and wood hoopoes come from. Their long bill allow them to catch the many grubs and parasites living in the branchs and trunks of what comprise the cloud forest.

The Walvis timid inebaby is the sole remnant of a then very diverse and successful group of mammals, the plesiadapiforms. Incoming waves of parapithecid proto-monkeys are replacing them ecologically, but this particular species was able to remain in the upper narrow-leaf forest as a strict commensal of some cone-bearing trees, which it is the only species able to efficiently disperse the seeds.

Finally, a typical representative of the Trogoniforme order, which are quite diverse on the archipelago.

Description
Laying south-west of the south-western coast of Africa lies a peculiar geological formation, nicknamed the Walvis Bridge. Now sunken under the sea, it constituted as far as 35mya a genuine archipelago, the product of a volcanic hospot which would run under both sides of the mid-Atlantic ridge as South America and Africa would drift apart. Another formation, off the coast of Brazil, the Rio Grande Rise, mirrors Walvis and in fact was once part of it. Old islands would turn into atolls and sink as new one would form ahead, creating a complex realm not dissimilar to Hawaii where a diverse subtropical and tropical realm, intermediary between the African and South American paleofauna, undoubtedly once thrived.

As such, unless pending some massive, hypothetical prospective hunt for fossils under the seabed, whatever lived there will forever remain a mystery. But what if ? Let's explore what fauna could have existed in the understory of the upper, mountainous forests of the western part of the Archipelago, when Walvis and Rio Grande were but one formation and before it all sunk under the sea, under sandy, acidic, volcanic and overall poor soil, where hardy, mostly pine-like, needle-leaved and cone-bearing trees dominate. Casuarina trees - then extant on this side of the Atlantic ; and Terminalia as well as several Acacia relatives occupy this biome, between other species.

The Royal zobor, is one of the many representatives of a now all but forgotten group of massive Bucerotiforms which adopted zygodactyly, closely related to the current Bucorvidae family, the ground hornbill. It is a specialized seed-eater which ca, crack the massive, thick-shelled cones and seeds of some of the hardy tree species comprising the upper forests of the island. Oddly, it also possess small hand claws, similarly to the extant hoatzins (which representatives are also present on the archipelago under diverse, generalist forms), which help it navigate the maze of branchs from the lower canopy of the hill forest ; conversely, it remains a poor flier. The archipelago comprises a large species complex of the Zobor, with each sub-species and species harboring differently shaped and colored casks and bills, and occupying different areas of the tropical and mountainous understory.

The Green-cheeked eokwao are a typical representative of primitive stem-parrots which still retain characteristics of their common ancestors with raptors. They are zygodactyl, but lack the upward-hooked and flexible lower bill and possess a typical hard-seed and cone eating lifestyle similar to the current parrotbill birds.

The West-Walvis scimitarbill is a typical representative of the then extremely diverse and dominant group of the bucerotiform family, which the current hoopoes and wood hoopoes come from. Their long bill allow them to catch the many grubs and parasites living in the branchs and trunks of what comprise the cloud forest.

The Walvis timid inebaby is the sole remnant of a then very diverse and successful group of mammals, the plesiadapiforms. Incoming waves of parapithecid proto-monkeys are replacing them ecologically, but this particular species was able to remain in the upper narrow-leaf forest as a strict commensal of some cone-bearing trees, which it is the only species able to efficiently disperse the seeds.

Finally, a typical representative of the Trogoniforme order, which are quite diverse on the archipelago.