The thread was inspired by Klivve Cussler's thread for plant speciation. Here's the link if you want to check it out:

Vegetation Speciation: Procedural Generation of Alien Plants

Using the same system Cussler suggested, animals in the game can be possible. They can be generated with these attributes:

1). Type of Animal (mammal, reptile, bird, fish, and insect)
2). Skin Texture (scales, fur, feathers, etc.)
3). Animal Kinds (deer, rodents, cattle, etc.)
4). Size (from the size a child's fist to the size of a tall building)
5). Body Structure (hoofs, claws, etc.)
6). Color

Using this system, we could see sharks with fur (if we ever get to fight underwater) or brightly-colored deer-like reptiles with feathers. As Cussler also suggested, the system can be modified by biome. For example, on a planet covered with ice and snow, only wildlife that is adapted to this environment will be rendered.

Having animals could also be a gameplay mechanic that players could use in a battle. Imagine being in the middle of a firefight with cattle-like creatures some distance away. A player could try to spook them and cause a stampede, distracting the enemy and possibly incapacitating them.

This system, in addition to plants, can make each planet unique and won't need much attention from CCP except for fixing bugs and editing appearances. Any feedback on this would be appreciated and I will edit this post based on them.

What type of planet would be suitable for sharks with fur?

As cool as this would be, its too much work (developing AIs on top of the generation), and wouldn't effect gameplay enough to justify it. Since they would just die from 1 shot from our superheated-plasma or railgun bullets, and they wouldn't be able to hurt us in our high tech shielded armor, it makes their effect on gameplay pretty insignificant.

I did want wild animals populated on the planets before, but I realize having a wide variety of drone types in all shapes and sizes would make for better for battle. Here is my thread about variety in rogue drone types https://forums.dust514.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=64048&find=unread

And I would add more factors to the generation, like number of limbs, number of eyes, length variables for various body parts, presence of other parts (like eye-stalks, crest, ), type of legs (slender like a cheetah's, wide like an elephant, bird legs), body types, patterns, bioluminescence (yes or no), body transparency, if it has a shell, patterns and markings.

Eventually I would like this, like in 2 years, but it wouldn't add to the game nearly as much as the vegetation generation would.

+1 for dinosaurs!

Is it a bit much that I hope for giant wasps that lay eggs in logibros with devouring larvae that explode out and eat people nearby?

Killed by wildlife...

Any thoughts/opinions?