Antarctic Life

I haven't really paid much attention to whole categories of antarctic life.

Are there amphibians or reptiles? I could see hyper-seasonal frogs, perhaps freezing solid like the arctic char, or perhaps reproducing in the fall, the eggs frozen through the winter, thawing and the whole population growing through the summer. Possibly some salamanders. Possibly some lizards and turtles survive. Those critters actually make it pretty high up in Canada. On the other hand, crocs and gators, and big turtles and tortoises are strictly southern warm water crits.

The Gaint Salamander loves icy water. I don't know if they existed in the soutern hemisphere though. As for reptiles, there are many examples of hybrinating snakes and such.

What about birds? I've assumed given the circumpolar winds and currents and distances that migratory birds don't travel to and from Antarctica to any other continent. But I've also assumed, without discussing it, that there's a reasonable complement of bird species. On the other hand, they've got to survive the winter nights, so there may not be that large or remarkable a complement of bird species. We may see some interesting social or eusocial adaptations to survive the winter. And there's the possibility of a big rattite, like a Cassowary or Emu or Rhea. There's even a remote possibility of a 'terror bird', as found in both Australia and South American history, although I tend to the view that the Sicaripods have probably driven them into extinction.

sounds good to me.

As for invertebrates, annelids, mollusks, insects and whatnot, I've assumed that they're there, but for the most part have only given consideration to the domesticated forms - glow worms, meatworms, and termites.

We can assume that there are biting flies in Antarctica, leaf eaters, and other insect or human pests. There's probably mosquitos. In Yag, there's a water parasite which has managed to shift from the Astropotheres to humans. There's also a Shaghui flea which has made the cross species leap. Insects form a vector for disease transmission, but at this point, its not particularly remarkable.

Thinking it over, I don't know that the Antarcticans have honey. Honey was cultivated in both Mesoamerica and the Old World, so that's at least two independent inventions. So I'd say it's better than 50/50 that the Tsalal, exploiting every food resource in their environment, and domesticating other insects probably had honey.

It's not like there isn't even a precedent for polar cultures exploiting honey. The tundra dwelling Inuit would dig for Arctic Bumble Bee hives in the winter, when they hibernated, and when they stung the least.