* EnsembleDarkhorse: The [[BatOutOfHell Night Stalker]] is no doubt the most famous creature in the book, thanks to its unique and [[NightmareFuel scary]] design. This is a probable contributing factor to it being one of the only two animals which had a redesign in the 2015 reprint (the other being the one on the original cover, the reedstilt).
* FirstInstallmentWins: Out of Dixon's speculative evolution trilogy, ''After Man'' is still the most successful and fondly remembered of the books. It's got the most emblematic creatures, served as the basis of ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'', enjoys a particularly strong following in Japan and has overall become fairly iconic. ''Literature/TheNewDinosaursAnAlternativeEvolution'', while still successful, didn't achieve the same degree of praise as this book, but it did get a Japanese manga. ''Literature/ManAfterManAnAnthropologyOfTheFuture'', on the other hand, isn't as liked for its drastic change in narrative and its exceedingly [[NightmareFuel horrifying imagery]]. It still does have its fans, though and has spawned several internet memes.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Just like ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'', Japan loves it. A Japanese ''After Man'' [[https://twitter.com/taremesaurus/status/1483045346578415617 museum exhibit]] even gave an exclusive extra creature, [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJT7QENakAUB8z5?format=jpg&name=large a gorilla-like descendant]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJT7QENagAEQ-ox?format=jpg&name=large of the Japanese macaque]]. They also made a documentary using stop-motion and animatronics to bring the various creatures to life.
* HarsherInHindsight: Some of the hypothetical future animals are no longer plausible because of their modern day ancestors being now endangered, like the clatta (a future descendant of lorises, which are, however, likely to go extinct in a few decades).
* HilariousInHindsight:
** The broadbeak is a large predatory bird that evolved from starlings, much like [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Staraptor]] twenty years later.
** The Bardelot shares its name with [[https://www.cellartracker.com/producer.asp?iProducer=103954 a brand of champagne.]]
** The Truteal also shares its name with [[https://www.apollo.io/companies/TruTeal/556d46bf73696411f466da00?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=f48aae4b05c7117c9e4a7f3d8c8ed74ec0b37667-1583944908-0-Aax5FnYbAdF8gb92623RgpbbyE6xKwLMPL0nIO5grQPjcj-NjFSzj6vMo9C60lSLM_TZgNImwvO4dnZbMoHhtWF786iYHeLZ4lH6DxMCDCV82K2rSl7-G0YaDdq54kpA_aJ2JnK-K__2i5wD9uP4tYzLKEzTewTl13Spx-LEo9u4cGOeFKEAcacFHYZ7zGyZYlEnyu1qAIH2SqhT7qPUZwb3x1sX57nUoaQqPRnKyN3c8fPqwYN-ptfyQ1tKvjLKbFdbECC2a2LJCzjJpsVFi7RmgGEDunyN-CzOw4a0x9VK-znA7VikEGimNrS6aRqc89n9Ukdrj-yXxgVDTbJf1LTA90qOjnoo3qp2pm1-m_pD2SyCZB9Nwt1wGqIpzi48i-26tg_xjw-Mu2MmHWUNqms a staffing and recruiting company in Phoenix, Arizona.]]
* NightmareFuel:
** The [[BatOutOfHell Night Stalker]] qualifies, with its EyelessFace, MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily, CreepyLongFingers and bizarre anatomy (walking on its wings while using its hind legs as hands).
** The [[ManiacMonkeys predator primates]], [[AbsurdlySharpClaws the Horranes]] and the [[TRexpy Raboons.]] First off their primate facial features gives them an oddly [[UncannyValley human-like appearance]], secondly the way they're shown in the Japanese Adaptation, with the Horranes behavior being straight up [[RaptorAttack like that of a stereotypical Dromaeosaurus]] and the Raboon being an ominous mix of [[KillerGorilla Gorilla]],[[TerrifyingTyrannosaur T-Rex]] and [[KingOfBeasts Lion.]] Special mention goes to the creepy music that plays when the Raboon first appears.
** How about that puppet show they made in Japan?
* OlderThanTheyThink: While this book helped to impulse SpeculativeBiology as a whole, the very first work of Speculative Evolution on animals is likely ''Literature/TheSnoutersFormAndLifeOfTheRhinogrades'', a 1957 book written by German zoologist Gerolf Steiner dealing with the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinogradentia Rhinogradentia]]'', a fictitious order of mammals created by Steiner himself.
* OnceOriginalNowCommon: This was the book that practically pioneered the SpeculativeBiology genre. Thanks to a mixture of many projects on the internet with a similar premise and ScienceMarchesOn, the book doesn't stand out as much.
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