There are places in this universe that are very different from the planet you and I inhabit. Take, for example, the planet Pijay in NGC 5194 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). Every species on the planet is capable of mimicking the appearance of anything it sees. So what looks like a tree one day could look and behave like an animal the next day. But individuals are never satisfied with one form for very long; they quickly grow bored and try something else. But because everything is constantly changing its form, there is a surprising stability at the level of ecosystems because the numbers of individuals that adopt a given form is quite steady.
Despite this fluidity of form, species are quite distinct on Pijay. But unlike most macroscopic species that depend on having compatible forms, the creatures on Pijay recognize each other as the same species and suitable for mating based entirely on olfactory cues.
These illustrations were drawn using Stable Diffusion 2.1.
