Modern Anisospondyls can be placed into one of three major categories. There are the Brachiostomata, a group which was apparently very diverse in Eryobis' her past but is now only represented by a handful of species. There are the Trapezostomata, the Anisospondyls that evolved an enlarged bone below their jaws that effectively acts as a table to keep food from falling out of their mouths.
And then there are the Cryptognatha, the Anisospondyls that evolved a second set of jaws derived from their palate- and tongue bones and the group that by far the most modern Anispondyls fall into.
Cryptognaths as a clade are quite old and fossils like those from the Frouren Formation shows that they were already around by the middle of the Bobossic period 145 million years ago. Curiously enough, this actually makes Cryptognaths the youngest clade among the surviving Anisospondyls, as Trapezostomes are estimated to have evolved over 12 million years before the first Cryptognaths appeared.
Yet despite-, or perhaps because of their later appearance on the world's stage, Cryptognaths are the most successful, numerous and diverse terrestrial vertebrates Eryobis has ever seen. One major reason for this is the fact that genetic evidence points to at least 4 different lineages of Cryptognaths surviving through the devastating cataclysm known as the World Scarring, making them the effective inheritors of Eryobis.
When biologists first touched down on Eryobis, they classified the Cryptognath Anisospondyls in 2 major groups: The Paleodactylae and the Symmetrodactylae. As the name may infer, this distinction was made based on the anatomy of their feet. Specifically, the amount of digits on the front limbs.
Cryptognaths are no exception. Biologists quickly noticed that that certain Cryptognaths had asymmetrical toes and this, combined with the knowledge that this asymmetry is a primitive trait, led to these Cryptognaths being labeled as "Paleodactyls". While this term has partially held up despite it becoming clear that "Paleodactyls" are almost definitely polyphyletic , its counter part, the term "Symmetrodactyls", most certainly has not held up.
Symmetrodactyls were grouped based on the fact that the toes on the lacrimal and neural limbs were equal in number and thus symmetrical.
That however, is where the relationship between "Symmetrodactyls" ended. Genetic testing and studies of their embryonic development revealed that the so called "Symmetrodactyls" were actually 3 distinct, largely unrelated clades. These were subsequently named: Eusymmetrodactylae, Parasymmetrodactylae and Effingodactylae.
While the digits of Eusymmetrodactyls and Parasymmetrodactyls look superficially very similar, being three toed on all front limbs, the Effingodactyls are clearly different, possessing four toes on all front limbs. Other Anisospondyl groups have achieved front-limb-digit-symmetry by reducing digits like the other "Symmetrodactyl" Cryptognaths did or by fusing digits as Brachiostomes and Liomedactyl Trapezostomes have done.
Effingodactyls are different.
Instead, Effingodactyls appear to have grown a new digit on their neural front limbs. Studies on the embryonic development of their front limbs have shown that this extra digit is the result of a "domesticated" form of polydactyly whereby the third digit of the neural limbs duplicates to form a new "fourth" digit. While birth defects like this usually tend to get weeded out over time, it is theorized that this particular case of polydactyly was so advantageous to early Effingodactyls that it gave those with it an evolutionary edge over those without, ensuring that the condition became anchored in the gene pool.
Genetic evidence and the molecular clock point to modern Effingodactyls having appeared and differentiated between 110 and 90 million years ago, during the Recrescian stage of the Anaktisian period. Fragmentary fossils from this period in time suggests that these early Effingodactyls were small and often arboreal creatures. Yet, the most basal members of the group that still live to this day are neither. The Perucatheriidae is a family of a handful of species of quite primitive Effingodactyls native exclusively to the tropical island of Boncorm, west of Miesjeta. Rather odd looking creatures, most agree that Perucatheriids were already present in Borncorm before it became an island, where it became a refuge for them while their kin died out elsewhere as time went on. They are easily recognizable by their often extravagant and vividly coloured crests made of fleshy and inflatable tissue. These structures grow from the visendal spiracle and are much more developed in males than in females.
Another family of very basal Effingodactyls is the Gnathoglossidae. Similarly to the Perucatheriids, Gnathoglossids appear to be relics left alive only because of isolation. The island continent of Hatèmica has been largely isolated for an estimated 70 to 50 million years, which makes it a last stronghold for many lifeforms that have gone extinct elsewhere, so it should be little surprise that it is here where Gnathoglossids can be found. These creatures bear some resemblance to echidnas and anteaters from Earth and in similar fashion, Gnathoglossids have been recorded feeding predominantly on eusocial, often colony building, arthropods. These creatures permanently keep their visendal front limbs off the ground. This is likely done to protect the large claws of these limbs from becoming dull. They use these claws for intraspecific combat, defense and most importantly for breaking into colonies and tree bark to access their food. The "tongue" that Gnathoglossids possess is in actuality an extremely long and extendable pharynx, for at the end of the tongue there is a tiny set of jaws, which are of course the linguo-palatal jaws that Cryptognaths are known for. How exactly Gnathoglossids feed has yet to be properly studied, but most agree that they use their pharynx akin to how an anteater would use its tongue, sticking it into a hole where it would lap up arthropods with adhesive saliva before retreating it back into the mouth. It is likely that Gnathoglossids filter their prey from their pharynx with insides of their lips so they can be lined up for the small mouth to swallow.
In addition to large claws, Gnathoglossids are also quite well armored, possessing multiple rows of large osteoderms all over their body which, combined with their sometimes surprisingly large sizes, makes them formidable foes for anything that dares to tackle them.
With the exception of the two aforementioned families, almost all other living Effingodactyls fall into the supergroup called Gharibotheria. The members of this group are typically seen as the most mammal-like of all Eryobian creatures. They are all endothermic, viviparous, are covered in filament that can best be described as fur and possess pinnae on their shoulder-ears made of flesh, cartilage and muscle, much like those of mammals. At the very base of Gharibotheria, or perhaps even outside it, are the Archaeojanoridae. A family of generally small and shrew like creatures, Archaeojanorids differ from all other Gharibotheres in the anatomy of their inner ears, underdeveloped ear pinnae, lower metabolism, sprawling hind limbs and the fact that they seem to be ovoviviparous, still developing eggs but hatching them while still inside the body.
They can be found all over Guralta, with a handful of species also being found in Lachoba and Tlèëa. They are typically nocturnal and mostly feed on small invertebrates. Some species of Archaeojanorids possess long caniniform teeth lined with deep grooves, leading some biologists to suspect they might be venomous. No studies have been conducted to confirm this however.
Similarly to how it is the last refuge of the Gnathoglossids, the island continent of Hatèmica is home to another basal family of Gharibotheres called the Glossolatiriidae. These odd Gharibotheres have long been the subject of debate among biologists. A combination of primitive and derived traits has made their placement on the Effingodactyl phylogenetic tree rather difficult, though most seem to agree that they form their own branch and aren't particularly related to any other current Gharibotheres.
Glossolatiriids tend to be omnivores that fill niches we would associate with raccoons, opossums and mustelids on Earth, being opportunistic and highly adaptable to their environments. They can be found in almost every habitat in Hatèmica and some species can even be found on the continent of Lachoba, likely been brought there after heavy storms dragged them out to sea where they would have clung to rafts of driftwood.
Thylacophora
The other Gharibotheres can be placed into one of two major branches. Arguably the most diverse of these branches leads to the Thylacophora, the "pouch bearers". As their name might suggest, these Gharibotheres possess a pouch made of skin and muscle, very much like those of the marsupials from Earth. The likeness to mammals is even more strengthened by the fact that Thylacophorans possess what are essentially mammary glands within their pouches.
An interesting anatomical trait that sets Thylacophorans apart almost all other living Anisospondyls is the shape and configuration of their pectoro-pelvic girdles, which are angled "in reverse", as this placement puts their visendal front limbs anterior to their caecal front limbs. While there are a couple of other groups that also have this trait, such as Machairoplatid and Pseudokadrid Trapezostomes as well as the extinct Syrinchotids, the vast majority of Anisospondyls possess the reverse girdle arrangement; with the caecal front limbs anterior to the visendal front limbs. A side effect of this arrangement is that it caused their external ears to migrate to a position in front of the limbs, instead of between them as is typically the case in Cryptognaths, which likely happened to avoid the pinnae getting in the way of the moving limbs, or vice versa. Because this makes it seem as if the ears sprout from the back of the head, this adaptation contributes even more to the Thylacophorans' likeness to mammals.
Some of the most basal Thylacophorans are the Phascolictoidea, a superfamily of generally small, omnivorous creatures that can be found all over Miesjeta. Many explorers call them rabbits, possums or roos for their superficial similarity to these Earth animals.
In a curious case of evolution having no regard for our laws of convention, the family of the largest Thylacophorans is most closely related to some of the smallest. The Brachiorhinidae are large herbivores that bear a striking resemblance to elephants. Their fleshy spiracular nose has developed into a prehensile trunk and they often possess large ears to dissipate heat, although this last trait is something seen in a number of unrelated large Gharibotheres. While Brachiorhinids may not have tusks, they do keep their visendal front limbs permanently off the ground. These limbs are tipped by large claws are most often used for digging, scratching bark off trees, pulling branches down to feed and for combat. They typically weigh in between 400 kilograms and 5 tons, yet they still carry their young in a pouch. These pouches face backwards and the young tend to leave these pouches while still being quite small so as to not put too much strain on the mother.
The closest relatives of the Brachiorhinids are the Atsidatheroidea, which also have backwards facing pouches. These creatures are typically rodent like in appearance and often fill the niches of small, nocturnal herbivores. Many of them are also fossorial, which would explain why their pouches face backwards, as this prevents dirt from getting in the pouch. It is as of yet unknown how Atsidatheroids avoid competition with Triprotodont Trapezostomes, as both of these groups associated with rodent like niches.
Despite not being particularly related to the previous two groups, another family that shares the backwards facing pouches is the Telomechrhinidae. This is a family of badger or hog like, typically omnivorous, nocturnal creatures native to Tlèëa and northern Guralta. In a curious case of convergent evolution, these creatures evolved an elongated bone above their jaws, something only seen in the extinct Ceratanodirids. The similarity is only superficial however, as the purpose of these bony growths is for completely different between these unrelated groups. In Ceratanodirids it served for combat, in Telomechrhinids it forms a support for the nose, which is extended all the way to the front of the jaws. While this gives Telomechrhinids a superior olfactory sense, it also prevents them from using their jaws to an extent, as they cannot properly hold food as other Anisospondyls can. For this reason, many Telomechrhinids have larger teeth on the caecal side of their jaws than on the visendal side.
Aiodyparxii
Genetic testing has revealed that Telomechrhinids are most closely related to the largest group within the Thylacophora: the Aiodyparxii.
The members of this group can be highly divergent in morphology and lifestyle, but there are a couple of characteristics that almost all share. A majority of their members are at least partially arboreal and it is likely that this has always been the case because it seems that an ancestral trait is the digits on their front limbs being heterodactyl, meaning that the inner two digits are opposable to the outer two. This actually disregards the actual embryonic number of the toes, as it means that the visendal front limbs will have their 1st and 2nd digits opposable while on the caecal limbs it will be the 3rd and 4th digits.
Another ancestral trait that they all have is a specialized and highly complex vocal organ that allows them to make sounds that can match those of Earths songbirds in acoustic complexity.
Considered by many biologists to be the most basal Aiodyparxians are the Trogailurids, a family of vaguely cat or quoll like, often arboreal carnivores that live in Lachoba and southern Guralta. These creatures are most often solitary, but like the cats of Earth, are also often held as pets by native populations.
It is assumed that it was from Trogailurid like creatures that the most diverse Aiodyparxians of all, and actually Effingodactyls as a whole, evolved: the Chalacheiroptera. When Eryobian explorers are asked about the "birds of this world", chances are they are thinking of a Chalacheiropteran. These flying creatures are some of the most widespread animals on Eryobis, existing from pole to pole and every landscape in between. Many explorers call them "sharos", a likely nod to the fact that many of them fly with their hindlimbs like the Triassic reptile from Earth called Sharovipteryx. Their limb configuration is indeed quite odd, as many of them walk bipedally on their caecal front limbs, while their hind limbs have been turned into large wings for powered flight and with their visendal front limbs being smaller wings used mainly for steering.
While this is the case for the vast majority of Chalacheiropterans, there are a small number of basal members that instead have it reversed; flying mostly with their visendal front limbs while the hindlimbs are used to steer. Curiously, the Chalacheiropterans with this configuration also tend to have heavily reduced caecal front limbs, as the way the muscles of these creatures work apparently cannot empower one without drawing from the other. This phenomenon has also been observed with the other flying Anisospondyls, the Stauropterygia, where instead of just one pair, both pairs of front limbs were turned into wings for powered flight, which apparently is possible with Anisospondyl anatomy. The Chalacheiropterans that fly with their front limbs are often terrible at walking on the ground due to their caecal limbs being reduced and the others being wings.
Another major group within the Aiodyparxii is the Thylacopithecoidea. As their name might suggest, these creatures bear a great resemblance to primates, being very intelligent, often arboreal animals with forward facing eyes. Quite unlike primates however, these creatures tend to have large, movable ears and sport claws on their digits. Almost all members of this group live in tropical and subtropical regions around Miesjeta, most in notably rain- and monsoon forests. There are of course exceptions to this, with certain species living in the savannas or high in the mountains while others live in some colder climates. But the most notable exceptions are a number of members of the Sammelkidae family. While Sammelkids are often the most arboreal of all Thylacopithecoids, with some members never voluntarily touching the ground, this family also contains the most terrestrial of them all. Due to the strange anatomy of Sammelkids, the terrestrial species have evolved to walk bipedally on their visendal front limbs while permanently holding their caecal- and hind limbs off the ground. It is these strange terrestrial Sammelkids that the native sapient species belongs to.
Schistorhinaria
Besides the Thylacophora, there is another major branch of Gharibotheres. The members of this branch are often quite easily distinguishable from other Effingodactyls because of one physical trait: their fleshy spiracle nose splits into two tubes that go in front of the eyes onto the jaw halves. It is this trait where the names of the group derives from: Schistorhinaria.
Not all of them appear to have these split nostrils though. Recent DNA tests have determined that the family called Stachyopsidae are more closely related to Schistorhinarians than to any other Gharibotheres. These hippopotamus like creatures that grow "antlers" from their cheeks have a typical single opening spiracle like most Effingodactyls. Autopsies have shown however, that there is a septum within the nostril, which is not present in any non-Schitorhinarian Effingodactyls.
Within Schistorhinaria proper, there are several branches. One of the branches most unrelated to any others is the one that leads to the Barropecidae and Imbricatopoda.
Barropecids are a family of large sized herbivores native exclusively to Hatèmica. Where Brachiorhinids got the trunks, the Barropecids got the tusks that make them superficially similar to elephants. That however, is where the similarity ends. Barropecids are known for their bright facial colors in males, four large tusks with two on each side and caecal limbs held off the ground which it uses for digging and combat.
Their closest relatives, the Imbricatopods, look nothing like them. Imbricatopods are often significantly smaller, more slender and tend to be carnivorous. They are widespread all across Miesjeta, with the majority of their species existing in the subcontinents of Azchèda and Lotharca, which indicates that they seem to prefer more temperate climates over tropical ones. There are a number of families within Imbricatopoda, of which some members are held as pets by native populations.
Imbricatopoda are not the only large group of mainly carnivorous Schistorhinarians. In fact, they are outdone in diversity, range and success by the Eryobiferae. This clade encompasses the majority of carnivorous Gharibotheres, as well as some herbivorous species. Eryobiferae appear to be quite an old clade as they can be found on all the landmasses that once made up the paleocontinent of Kwispuul, namely Guralta, Lachoba, Hatèmica, Bloëca, Azchèda and parts of Tlèëa. Members of Eryobiferae can be quite divergent between these landmasses, but one trait that they all share is their nostrils having moved all the way to the tip of their jaws, which is not seen in any other Schistorhinarians.
Phytojanorida
The clade most closely related to Eryobiferae is is the Phytojanorida. Contrarily to the mainly carnivorous Eryobiferans, the Phytojanoridans are almost exclusively herbivores. Most basal to this clade is the Privojanoridae. This family of small nocturnal creatures are the least herbivorous of the larger branch, often incorporating arthropods, annelids, fish and even carrion in their diet.
The most primitive Phytojanoridans, and a likely what their common ancestors looked like, are the Xenohyracoidea. These creatures are often quite small and can best be compared to large rodents or small ungulates in terms of the niches they fill. Over time, it seems Xenohyracoids have given rise to a number of families of larger herbivores. While not exactly Xenohyracoids, the Parakadridae likely arose in such a way. Parakadrids are, as their name might suggest, quite similar to Kadriomorphs in the sense that they tend to be long legged slender herbivores. The most striking difference between Parakadrids and true Kadrians is the fact that Parakadrids use all six legs for locomotion, while true Kadrians only use four. Generally speaking, Parakadrids get overshadowed by true Kadrians and thus often live in more extreme habitats like mountains and deserts, although most of their species can actually be found in Lotharca, where Kadrians are not well established.
The largest number of Phytojanoridan families are part of the Chipoda.
This group gets its name from their peculiar front feet, which for some reason are zygodactyl ungulate, with four hooves making an "X" shape. This means that their feet have quite efficient weight distribution, which allows them to attain quite large sizes. Indeed, it is the Chipoda to which some of the largest living terrestrial Anisospondyls belong to, with some species reaching upwards of 25 metric tons in weight.
While not nearly all Chipodans get this large, the median size across their clade is around 300 kilograms, with many of them being comparable to the rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses of Earth, although some more slender and long legged forms also exist.
When one observes the distribution of Effingodactyls across Eryobis, it becomes clear that they are a very "western" group, as none of their purely terrestrial members can be found in Rubiëra in the east.
This points to Effingodactyls having evolved in the ancient supercontinent of Kwispuul and rather than spreading across oceans, merely drifted to new locations as tectonics pulled Kwispuul apart. That said, there are a number of Gharibotherian families that have members across different continents, despite genetic research showing they only came to be long after Kwispuul likely broke up. This means that Effingodactyls, seemingly more than any other terrestrial group of Anisospondyls, are very prone to- and capable of surviving ocean voyages on rafts of vegetation.
Why exactly this seems to happen to Effingodactyls more than most creatures is as of yet a mystery. One theory is that they are inherently more tolerant to salt and able to preserve water better than most creatures, but no one has been able to confirm this.
Regardless of how some of them are able to spread across oceans without boats, there is one kind of Effingodactyl that does make boats. And it is for this reason that Effingodactyls are often seen by humans as the most important creatures on Eryobis. Their very mammalian appearance also makes them feel more familiar to us.
It should therefore be no surprise that of all animals that get smuggled off Eryobis for the illegal pet trade, Effingodactyls are most common victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment