Leptictidium

***Leptictidium*** is a small mammal with an unusual method of reproduction, found commonly in the Arctic Sector.

## Biology

*Leptictidium* are a bizarre, poorly understood animal on FMM UV-32. The genus is so bizarrely distant from any other surviving mammal, and no extinct relatives have been found. *Leptictidium* is one of the only alien mammals which lay eggs. Despite the process of finding any near relatives of the creatures being difficult, expensive, and ongoing, what is known about these animals is that, in the territories that they inhabit, they exist everywhere. Brooding pairs have been found with up to 27 hatchlings, and the incubation period of the eggs is a mere 23 days, allowing for tens of litters to be born per year to each pair of *Leptictidium*. In this short time of development, the babies arrive into the world surprisingly precocial, although groups of *Leptictidium* still do gather in order to raise such quantities of offspring, as one mating pair alone could not feasibly handle hundreds of young at a time.

Unfortunately due to the high quantities of *Leptictidium* born, the number is just slightly less for those who die just shortly after hatching. *Leptictidium* parents are not able to fend especially well from anything that is bigger than them, and being a *Leptictidium*, many things are much bigger than them. Among the top predators of baby and adult *Leptictidium* alike are the ubiquitous lungfish *Ceratodus*, the crafty *Chriacus* and cunning *Amphicyon*. All predators of the Far North have indulged in the midnight meal of a *Leptictidium* clutch, but because of the high predation rate, only the craftiest and fittest *Leptictidium* young survive. Each successive generation has been theorized and arguably observed to be more cautious breeders and brooders, choosing only the fittest mates and hiding their broods and young in hard to spot or reach places. Sexually selective traits are believed to play an important role in *Leptictidium* mating rituals, and it is believed that the trunks of the animals are a bizarre biproduct of this selection. Females will often even mate with males with unusual physical characteristics, but will steer very clear of flashy or loud males, as they are very rare for a reason. Males that lay low and whose patterns match its environment best are almost paradoxically the most likely to pass on their genes. For *Leptictidium*, playing hard to get seems to work well.

It has even been theorized that the high reproduction rate and rather fastidious caution in picking a mate is the reason itself for *Leptictidium's* unsurprising distance from any other mammal on the planet. The high reproduction rate of the animals means plenty of random mutation chance, which much of the time just makes it easier for any small predator to catch a negatively effected hatchling, but over the course of time and many, many generations, will unequivocally lead to a very competitive and varied gene pool, quickly distancing itself from ancestors or relatives and re-evolving traits such as egg laying, without losing parental instinct or the mammalian craftiness which won the Arctic Sector millions of years ago for the small fluffy ancestors of all alien mammals.

## If Encountered (DinoHunt Field Guide)

*Leptictidium* are a Class 0 animal encountered on almost every area of the Far North Tour. If and when encountered, a *Leptictidium* will usually mind its own business, leaping to catch flying insects or digging around for roots or grubs. *Leptictidium* are very timid and will sprint away if a human gets too close. If shot with a Class 0 weapon, it will award a measly 5 credits, and other classes of weapon will award 0, as anything more than a Class 0 would most likely destroy the evidence of any *Leptictidium* having ever existed.