Poll: Who would win in a war between all the different animal phyla?

[JoJo]

So imagine it Escapists, somehow a war breaks out between all the different phyla of animal species found on this planet. Bears are fighting off ants, giant squid are tossing dolphins onto land, jellyfish are duelling with lobsters and sparrows are fending off particularly aggressive dragonflies. Who would win the fight for survival?

For a quick biology diversion, phyla (singular: phylum) are the largest divisions in the animal kingdom and there are estimated to be around 30 or so, I've listed five major ones below since the rest are fairly obscure and would have little chance of winning our hypothetical war:

[HEADING=3]Chordates[/HEADING]

Who they are: All mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish

Advantages: Largest animals in sea, on land and in the air, includes the most intelligent of all animals

Disadvantages: Relatively few in number, particularly the larger specimens, tend to be specialised for their particular environment (with a few exceptions, rats looking at you), need a large food supply


[HEADING=3]Arthropods[/HEADING]

Who they are: All insects, spiders, scorpions, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, barnacles and a variety of more obscure bugs


Advantages: Numerical advantage, both in number of species and popluation, can survive harsh environments, parasites are common

Disadvantages: Don't have as strong a marine or air presence as land, generally tiny

[HEADING=3]Molluscs[/HEADING]

Who they are: Octopus, squid, snails, slugs and similar

Advantages: Giant squid

Disadvantages: No air capacity, most of the remainder who aren't octopus or squid are snails and slugs

[HEADING=3]Cnidarians[/HEADING]

Who they are: Jellyfish, corals and sea anemones

Advantages: Many have poisonous stings, asexual reproduction is common

Disadvantages: Restricted to marine battlefields, generally do not have brains

[HEADING=3]Nematodes[/HEADING]

Who they are: Small worm-like creatures

Advantages: Are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, numerically outweigh even arthropods by sheer population, can cause disease in larger animals,

Disadvantages: Are generally too small to see with the human eye

So, who do you think would win the war? Before anyone asks, humans aren't getting involved, since we would be OP with all our atom bombs, flamethrowers etc.

 

[Rowan93]

Wild animals are basically all involved in what Hobbes called "the war of all against all". They already kill and eat each other whenever they get the opportunity. So this war wouldn't change anything, it's how animals are already living, so I don't think any one phylum would "win" because if they were going to they would have already.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

The phylum Bacteria, they are EVERYWHERE, the have limitless numbers, they are stupidly adaptable, and they can be extremely deadly.

 

[Redingold]

The phylum Bacteria, they are EVERYWHERE, the have limitless numbers, they are stupidly adaptable, and they can be extremely deadly.

That's not an animal phylum, it's a domain all to itself.

As for me, I don't reckon any one phylum would be able to wipe out all the others. Chordates probably stand the best chance, though.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well, humans are...oh, you've covered that.

Anyhoo...how would this work? How are they organised? How are creatures attacking each other when they live in different habitats?

 

[Heronblade]

Assuming that each "army" is able to one way or another organize, arthropods win the land war without a sweat. They don't just outnumber us, they outmass everything else on Earth as well, and can replenish their numbers within days rather than years.

Hell, restrict it to just the mites and they'd still win. Those little bastards are everywhere, are small enough to be effectively invisible, and if they ever switch from slowly eating dead skin cells and bacteria to swarming living creatures en masse, could easily and quickly bore a path to a major artery. Worst of all, we're already compromised. There are thousands of the things living on your skin right this very instant.

I'm not sure who will win dominion over the aquatic regions, but I think it may be a toss up between chordates and arthropods

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Assuming that they all share a similar amount of organization and intellect, Anthropods would win fairly easily. <a href=http://www.reddit.com/r/FutureWhatIf/comments/1gimyb/what_if_suddenly_every_insect_on_the_planet_made/caks2t8> There's a really good post on Reddit on what would happen if insects attacked humans, although you could posit that the other chordates would help out.

EDIT: Oh wait humans aren't getting involved? In which case anthropods win 1000000000000000%. No chance, no contest. I suppose the oceans would be (mostly) safe though.

 

[JoJo]

Wild animals are basically all involved in what Hobbes called "the war of all against all". They already kill and eat each other whenever they get the opportunity. So this war wouldn't change anything, it's how animals are already living, so I don't think any one phylum would "win" because if they were going to they would have already.

True, but the difference between the real world and the hypothetical war in this thread is that the species in each phylum are on the same side in this war. Maybe if all the various vertebrates, or insects and friends, put their differences aside they could be victorious?

Well, humans are...oh, you've covered that.

Anyhoo...how would this work? How are they organised? How are creatures attacking each other when they live in different habitats?

I'd presume that animals would only attack other animals in their own habitat or close enough that they can survive in, which yes would be a big disadvantage for phyla like cnidarians who are stuck in the oceans. How are they organised? That's for you to decide

 

[Vegosiux]

Guys, just go read and/or watch Phase Four. The movie is better, actually. It's also scary stuff.

But yes, I for one, welcome our insect overlords.

 

[DataSnake]

Depends on how the armies are being controlled. If there's some higher intelligence running each one, it's a matter of how much it can micromanage them. If it can use primates to operate the discarded human weapons, chordates stand an excellent chance. Sure, a swarm of flesh-eating bugs is damn near invincible when you're restricted to tooth and claw, but there's not much it can do against a gorilla with a flamethrower. And while a squad of tigers couldn't do much to assault a base protected by a cloud of killer bees and hornets, a white phosphorous mortar would be far more successful. Hell, if they'll accept a pyrrhic victory, they could just stuff some chimps in the space shuttle, launch it, and then use mankind's absurd supply of WMDs to exterminate all life on Earth, winning by default. For that matter, they could just freeze some chimp embroys (still technically "alive", but they don't need food, air or water and aren't getting any older), put them on a rocket heading out of the solar system, and win by default in about five billion years when the expanding sun roasts every living thing still on the planet. Barring that, arthropods are the next top contenders because most of the other species' naturally-occurring weapons are useless against extremely numerous, extremely small opponents.

 

[Rowan93]

True, but the difference between the real world and the hypothetical war in this thread is that the species in each phylum are on the same side in this war. Maybe if all the various vertebrates, or insects and friends, put their differences aside they could be victorious?

Well, that basically just means a world where a lot of carnivores can't hunt the prey they're adapted to hunt, and consequently go extinct. Then everything else continues as normal, except some of the herbivores no longer have any natural predators so a lot of ecosystems end up out of balance, but that's normal too in the long run.

 

[Laser Priest]

Werewolf Queen. It's always Werewolf Queen.

But seriously, it'd probably be the insects and such. Which is another reason why I think their utter destruction is absolutely necessary.

 

[Euryalus]

Wild animals are basically all involved in what Hobbes called "the war of all against all". They already kill and eat each other whenever they get the opportunity. So this war wouldn't change anything, it's how animals are already living, so I don't think any one phylum would "win" because if they were going to they would have already.

War was only used analogously in Hobbe's philosophy. It was a way to explain self interest as the sole motivation for actions... This is quite literally a war XD

OT: The chordates have platypuses, raccoons, and bears, therefore they're already the coolest.

As for who would win? Probably the molluscs or Cnidarians. The arthropods would eat all the land animals food supplies then die from lack of more food like the Rocky mountain Locusts did XD

Against the Cnidarians and Molluscs, no idea. Molluscs have some of the smartest animals among them while some cnidarians are biologically immortal.

 

[Scarim Coral]

You know, this sound like an interesting game idea.

Anyway quick question, despite being on the same team would they still hunt each other (e.g wolf hunt a deer despite both are on Chordates)?

Either way I'm still voting for Arthropods mainly due to not having much of a problem when it come to food (since their food supply is smaller compared to the larger animals).

 

[Ryotknife]

There is only one answer

Badassasauras Rex

Spoiler

He is the Henry IV of metal dinosaurs!

 

[Yopaz]

Chordates for sure.

Now squid and octopuses are amazing creatures, but they make up a very small portion of the molluscs. The phylum is dominated by snails. The giant squid only got one natural enemy which is the killer whale, a chordate. This can go either way, sometimes the squid kills the whale sometimes the squid is killed.

Cnidarians are actually quite scary, some of the species of jellyfish are deadly even to large animals and with the changing climate the ocean floor is disturbed and animals can't see as well as they should leaving the cnidarians with an advantage since they're simply floating around waiting for something to hit their tentacles. Scary stuff. However they don't have much of an ability to move willingly, strong waves throw them off course, they got limited nervous system. Scary creatures, but not a good opponent in the long term.

Nematodes are nasty and they really are everywhere. However they're not as deadly as anything else on the list. They're just really simple creatures where some are parasites and some work together with other species.

Arthropods are numerous, they can be deadly to larger animals and despite they size they actually outweigh any other phylum as far as we know. There's killer bees, deadly spiders, parasites and all that. However how many of the total amount are considered deadly for a bigger animal? Well, relatively few. They have an extremely simple nervous system which is why they can be targeted by the cordyceps fungi, their vision is poor due to compound eyes, their inefficient ability to circulate oxygen limits their size.

Chordates are numerous, they're varied, they exist almost everywhere. Fresh water, salt water, the sky, the land, mountains, valleys, forests, houses you get the point. There are animals with behaviour to prevent parasites, there are animals who groom each other and get rid of them, complex social behaviour, well evolved circulation system and movement system. A ton of chordates have evolved to specifically target any other phylum and how to avoid danger from those who are. With all the insect eaters in this phylum there's no way that insects would win.

 

[The White Hunter]

So imagine it Escapists, somehow a war breaks out between all the different phyla of animal species found on this planet. Bears are fighting off ants, giant squid are tossing dolphins onto land, jellyfish are duelling with lobsters and sparrows are fending off particularly aggressive dragonflies. Who would win the fight for survival?

For a quick biology diversion, phyla (singular: phylum) are the largest divisions in the animal kingdom and there are estimated to be around 30 or so, I've listed five major ones below since the rest are fairly obscure and would have little chance of winning our hypothetical war:

[HEADING=3]Chordates[/HEADING]

Who they are: All mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish

Advantages: Largest animals in sea, on land and in the air, includes the most intelligent of all animals

Disadvantages: Relatively few in number, particularly the larger specimens, tend to be specialised for their particular environment (with a few exceptions, rats looking at you), need a large food supply


[HEADING=3]Arthropods[/HEADING]

Who they are: All insects, spiders, scorpions, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, barnacles and a variety of more obscure bugs


Advantages: Numerical advantage, both in number of species and popluation, can survive harsh environments, parasites are common

Disadvantages: Don't have as strong a marine or air presence as land, generally tiny

[HEADING=3]Molluscs[/HEADING]

Who they are: Octopus, squid, snails, slugs and similar

Advantages: Giant squid

Disadvantages: No air capacity, most of the remainder who aren't octopus or squid are snails and slugs

[HEADING=3]Cnidarians[/HEADING]

Who they are: Jellyfish, corals and sea anemones

Advantages: Many have poisonous stings, asexual reproduction is common

Disadvantages: Restricted to marine battlefields, generally do not have brains

[HEADING=3]Nematodes[/HEADING]

Who they are: Small worm-like creatures

Advantages: Are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, numerically outweigh even arthropods by sheer population, can cause disease in larger animals,

Disadvantages: Are generally too small to see with the human eye

So, who do you think would win the war? Before anyone asks, humans aren't getting involved, since we would be OP with all our atom bombs, flamethrowers etc.

Arthropods because ants are overpowered as fuck man.

We need to harness them somehow!

WITH TINY CHARIOTS

 

[kurupt87]

We won, so Chordates.

 

[Frankster]

Assuming organized line battles, i'd give it to the Arthopods on land, they have both numbers and damage on their side and size of mammals and enemy creatures becomes a big weakness considering insects are small enough to go inside their enemies orifices to devour them inside out (in a sci fi book I read, it's how the ants succesfully exterminated the dinosaurs).

They would struggle at sea though, wouldn't be sure who wins here.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Of those, probably Arthropods. Numbers and diversity mean a lot.

Besides, Arthropods stop doing their jobs, everything dies. Win by default. Don't underestimate the value of insects in the ecosystem.