Lystropoda

Lystropoda.liptis

Subphylum: Psariaskoulikion

Clade: Welachimorpha

Superclass: Karcharias

Class: Oikarcharieseinaioiidioi

Order: Dendrocharias

Group: Lystropodia

Thalassokoupidae

Pseudoechinozoidae

**Lystropodia** and or **Lystropods** (Shovel foot in Greek) are a group of trunked testudine like Oikarcharieseinaioiidioi (Weird Sharks) that diverged from the Dendrocharis order 250 million years ago. They contain a variety of terrestrial, subterranean and aquatic families including the stegomazidae, arpazonidae, thalassokoupidae, pseudoechinozoidae.

Lystropods are most well known for having an armoured Testudine like shell comprised of scaly osteoderms that completely cover the head, belly and back. Some families like the pseudoechinozoidae have turned the osteoderms on their shell into sharp back and head spines used for a more aggressive style of defence against predators, however this often limits what niches they inhabit. They also have similar armour on their beaks that are on the ends of their trunk like mouths that like their Dendrocharias ancestors can extend, retract and bend around with considerable flexibility. Many species use these to quickly grab prey such as Wishes, Humeopods and small Hume animals. Their feet are equipped with a large shovel like nail (which is their name sake) which is used depending on the species for either locomotion or digging or swimming.

They are commonly found on Secundoterra in many different biomes ranging from deserts to oceans. However any aquatic species have been spotted in many of Hume III's seas and oceans surrounding other continents. Though many species will remain in a single environment, many of the aquatic thalassokoupidae migrate around the oceans of Hume III following the Wish shoals. Unlike testudines lystropods give birth to live young and often raise them inside a burrow for protection, many females of this group have protective cavities in their shells to allow for their young to hide under them for protection from predators meaning many aquatic species do not need to shore up to create nests.

Fossil records from the ARF Team suggest they started near the deserts of ancient Secudoterra 250mya where in they started out as subterranean ambush hunters. Around 190mya the Lystropods diversified into many niches including most importantly, oceanic hunters named the thalassokoupidae, some of the largest fossil specimens of this group ranged around 10m in shell diameter and were reckoned to be active piscivores. However by 100mya many species went extinct due to an unknown extinction event which happened at a rapid rate in deep time (The ARF team have made multiple comparisons to the rate of extinction comparable to the rates of extinction of animals in the 21st century hypothesising the cause may have been down to the activities of an unknown sapient civilisation) most affected by this unknown event were the large aquatic thalassokoupidae. However the survivors immediately rebounded and they diversified once again and by 97.8mya had completely recovered in terms of biodiversity.

## Taxonomy

Add your own Families and Genuses here

Group: Lystropodia

* Clade: Stegomazida (Basal Group)
	+ Family: Stegomazidae
	+ Family: Lystropodia
		- Genus: Lystropoda
	+ Family: Pseudoechinozoidae
	+ Clade: Arpazon
		- Family: Arpazonidae
		- Family: Thalassokoupidae
		- Subfamily: Archeothalassokoupidae
		- Subfamily: Neothalassokoupidae