Building a Lost World

[PT12]

Ever since Arthur Conan Doyle published his iconic novel The Lost World. We've been fascinated by the concept of a Lost World, a land untouched by the modern world and where prehistoric creatures of Earth's primeval past still roam. Having been brought to life on the big screen in the form of Skull Island with the iconic King Kong or more recently Jurassic Park's "artificial" Lost World's Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar.

Now some things would have have to be taken into consideration when building a Lost World.

1. It would most likely have to be an island or possibly an archipelago. In order preserve the ecosystem from outside world preserving it from invasive species from the wider world and vice versa, outside of the occasional drifting reptile or bird.
2. This island would have to large enough to be able to sustain a diverse ecosystem of megafauna. So in general think of the range of Hispaniola or Sumatra to Cuba or Madagascar.
3. Eventually humans will show up. By the Age of Sail humanity had already migrated to and settled every major landmass outside of Antarctica. So it only makes sense that sooner or later humans would arrive and settle on this Lost World long before Western explorers arrive.
4. While dinosaurs are a must (and NO I'm not talking about birds) its important to remember that they wouldn't be any species we'd be familiar with. Thanks 65+million years of evolution and adaptation to their reduced habitat and changed environment. Though that isn't to say much with crocodilians that some couldn't be barely changed at all.
5. There'd most likely also be birds and reptiles existing alongside the dinosaurs. Possibly even Sebecidaes, pseudo Terror Birds (do to parallel evolution) and more!

Peter Jackson's Kong actually did a pretty good job exploring this concept.

View: https://youtu.be/h9hEV2HdU68

Now which would be a better location for a lost world, the Indian or Pacific Ocean?

 

[Arkalest]

Now which would be a better location for a lost world, the Indian or Pacific Ocean?

Click to shrink...

The Hollow Earth.

So you can have Tarzan in it.

I'm not even remotely sarcastic or memeing here.

 

[PT12]

Personally I think an island would work best. Since it would least keep it "somewhat" plausible.

Though Dinosaurs adapting to the lack of sunlight in a geothermal fueled ecosystem does sound interesting.

 

[Arkalest]

Hollow Earth or g t f o.

Anyway, more seriously, if you want to have ape-men and shtuff like that, you could always say it's a remnant population of some gigantopitecus-related species and handwave genetic bottlenecking by saying that there's smaller but interbreeding populations in North America and Tibet (Yeti and Sasquatch). Which would probably make sense if you have a second island- A colder one- Around where the Kurils/Aleutine islands are IRL. That's how mankind colonized North America, so it stands to reason apemen could do the same.

 

[PT12]

I am starting to wonder if instead Frazetta Men would work better for a Lost World over Ape Men. Though I still love the idea of there being Kong styled giant apes running around.

 

[PT12]

This is what I'd imagine the local "Frazzeta Men" to look like.
r/SpeculativeEvolution - This gal is a descendant of Neanderthals and denisovans from a timeline where Homo sapiens died out for some unknown reason.