Aphaneramma

*Aphaneramma* (pronounced **a-fan-e-ramma**) is a small, primitive amphibian from the Early Triassic Period and therefore can be found from Triassic fossils. Not much is known about this exctinct species, but they are hypothesised to be fish eaters from their long, slim jaws. Their original habitat would have most likely been almost entirely aquatic and so while they are fast swimmers, they are sluggish on land and will attempt to find water whenever possible. It is one of two planned piscivores for the 1.0.0 release and will be the second largest of the six aquatic species introduced for this release.

## Basic Information

* **Scientific Name:** *Aphaneramma rostratum*
* **Personality:** Neutral
* **Health Points Range:** 10-14 (5-7 hearts)
* **Food Points:** 50 (25 food shanks)
* **Attack Damage Range:** 6-10 (3-5 hearts)
* **Modeller:** Bee
* **Update Introduced:** 1.0.0

## Genetics

The Aphaneramma has a genetic code length of 18 and this code influences their appearance, speed, size, attack damage and health.

### Appearance

The Aphaneramma is a small, quadrepedal tetrapod. The females are approximately 0.5 blocks tall and a little over 2 blocks long, while the males are slightly smaller and the babies are a quarter of the size of the females.

The Aphaneramma's appearance is based on their genetics and therefore they can have a whole myriad of colour combinations. Their different colour regions are their base colour, their underside, and their pattern. Males and females have slightly different patterns but the same colours. They also have two other morphs, albino and melanistic, which will take precidence over their other appearance genetics. The babies of this species are always a lighter colour than the adults and do not exhibit a visible pattern until they grow older.

## Behaviour

The Aphaneramma will hunt all schooling fish preferably, although if it is hungry and there are none nearby it will turn to squid as a second choice. It will also attempt to attack and eat the Guiyu, although due to its small size, it will prioritise regular fish first. However, as it is a piscivore, it will not hunt terrestrial creatures. The Aphaneramma is diurnal, which means it is only active during the day. It was not considered to be a cannibal and therefore it is safe to house several Aphaneramma together in the same enclosure. However, they have a max pack limit of 4 within its species and six in total when mixed with other species. Aphaneramma, from the moment they are hatched, take five in game days to grow to adulthood. The Aphaneramma will set it's home nest location once it has slept on a nest for the first time. Once this is set, the Aphaneramma will only roam a certain radius away from the nest depending on its sex and age. Males roam 32 blocks, females 24, juveniles 16, children 8 and babies 2.

### Feeding

The Aphaneramma, as a piscivore, will eat all kinds of fish meat and can also be fed through live prey such as fish or squid. They will eat certain prehistoric quatic creatures from the mod, including the Guiyu. They will also eat from a ground feeder that is nearby and has fish meat in it.

### Taming

In order to safely interact with a Aphaneramma, you're going to want to tame it. It won't outright try to attack you on sight, but may attempt to if it is hungry and untamed. The babies, on the other hand, are inherently shy and non-aggressive and will run away from the player when approached. Currently the method of taming is still WIP and taming mechanics may not be implemented in the initial 1.0.0 release.

### Breeding

As long as two Aphaneramma of opposite genders are close enough together, then breeding can start to occur. A female Aphaneramma will lay Aphaneramma Spawn, which can then be placed on water to be hatched. The hatching can take anywhere from five to ten minutes and will result in anywhere between 1-4 offspring. The offsprings' genes will be mixtures of the parents, unless a rare mutation occurs.

## Real Life

*Aphaneramma* is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian. Although not much is known about this creature, its fossils have been found in Mianwali Formation of Pakistan, Madagascar, the Zhitkov Formation in Russia, and the Kongressfjellet Formation in Svalbard (Norway).

Aphaneramma is believed to have grown up to 2 metres long, with a 23 centimetre long skull. Aphaneramma's jaws were incredibly long, with small, razor sharp teeth. The overall skull shape was similar to a gharial's, which suggested that they preyed on fish and lived in an aquatic habitat. Finally, the Aphaneramma was proven to be closely related to *Cosgriffius* from North America.

### References

* Scheyer, Torsten M.; Romano, Carlo; Jenks, Jim; Bucher, Hugo (19 March 2014). "Early Triassic Marine Biotic Recovery: The Predators' Perspective". *PLOS ONE*. **9** (3): e88987.
* Maisch, Michael W. (31 March 2020). "*Aphaneramma kokeni* (von Huene, 1920), a lonchorhynchine trematosaurid (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Lower Triassic of Pakistan". *Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen*. **295** (3): 211–241.
* Fortuny, Josep; Gastou, Stéphanie; Esquillié, François; Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa; Steyer, Sébastien (29 June 2017). "A new extreme longirostrine temnospondyl from the Triassic of Madagascar: phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographical implications for trematosaurids". *Journal of Systematic Palaeontology*. **16** (8): 675–688.
* Zhitkov Formation at Fossilworks.org
* A. S. Woodward. 1904. On two new labyrinthodont skulls of the genera *Capitosaurus* and *Aphaneramma*. *Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London* 1904:170-176
* Scheyer, Torsten M.; Romano, Carlo; Jenks, Jim; Bucher, Hugo (19 March 2014). "Early Triassic Marine Biotic Recovery: The Predators' Perspective". *PLOS ONE*. **9** (3): e88987.

Written by **Kangalia**