Edurusconchoidea

**Edurusconchoideans** are a clade of ambulospeculids that are alive today.

## Evolution and taxonomy

Edurusconchoideans are a pretty unique and diverse group of ambulospeculids. They are part of the wider Edurulealia group, which is sister to the Silvoidea clade. Silvoideans, despite being more basal than edurusconchoideans, have more derived features, such as the abbility of basally laying hard-shelled eggs and having no worries in breathing atmospherical air as fully terrestrial creatures, when they hatch out from the egg. Edurusconchoideans, in contrast, are an example of a group of ambulospeculids that has extraordinarily evolved to adapt itself to a life on water. Adults still breath atmospherical air, such as their young, though, basally, edurusconchoidean adults had to lay their eggs in shallow waters, so that the necessary water exchange, during the egg stage, could be favourable for the development of the embryo. Edurusconchoidean young are born as air-breathers, however. Edurusconchoideans are the basalmost edurulealians. Edurulealians are part of the wider Antecaptoria clade, that originated 285 million years ago, with an amphibious air-breathing ambulospeculid. Antecaptorians quickly developed into two different lineages. One of them lead to silvoideans, which originated 282 million years ago, having developed hard-shelled eggs extremelly fast, as one of the primary adaptations for terrestriality. Edurulealians remained basal, having evolved 280 million years ago. Edurulealians split into two groups, one is the edurusconchoideans and the other is the desererpedeans. Desererpedeans are much more terrestrial, having evolved in the late Tenerian, 249 million years ago, probably still as largely beach-dwelling wanderers. Edurusconchoideans are notable for a series of them having evolved around water, but several lineages evolved terrestrial habits independently. Edurusconchoideans first evolved 275 million years ago. Edurusconchia is the basalmost but it is filled with derive features that does not make it a good analog for the basalmost form of the group, such as the abbility of laying hard-shelled eggs and the preference for terrestrial habits. The major clade of edurusconchoideans are the ambulopatellians, that originated 270 million years ago. Macca is the basalmost member of this group. Patellasuspicaminians originated shortly after 265 million years ago, with Patella retro densissima being the basalmost extant member of the group. After the Tenerian-Accomodatian extinction event, however, the remaining edurusconchoideans that survived were part of a super aquatic lineage, the harenaesuspicaminians, which originated 212 million years ago in the late Accomodatian. The sandhopper tripercute is the basalmost member of thid group. Eventually, in the Scelusian, 159 million years ago, the flagellictans originated, these started to re-explore more terrestrial locomotions, with more developed limbs to wander around the beach in search of food. That clade split into two clades. The gerenspecusians originated in the Compsogene, 79 million years ago, as amphibious coastal edurusconchoideans that inhabited the Micha-Archa complex. Those gave rise to a few aberrant and derived insular forms, like the terrestrial Aamai oodu or the highly water-dependant paddle cattle. The other clade of flagellictans are the dolabroideans, which originated in the late Variagene, 106 million years ago, which were crescently terrestrial. These still required to lay their eggs in water, however. Dolabrians, originating 53 million years ago, in the late Compsogene, are one of the most terrestrial dolabroideans, having generated very large terrestrial forms, despite being restricted to laying their eggs on water. Dolabra cuda is a gigantic armored herbivore and the spiral hopper, a leopard-like large arboreal predator. Another group evolved terrestriality independently, and in fact, extremelly fast. Also evolving firstly around the same time, 53 million years ago, the flagellumians were initially beach dwellers, like the Flagellum cortice, laying their eggs on tidepools, scavenging on the shores. However, in the Recensgene, the faunal vacuities in Auth, caused by the Compsogene-Recensgene extinction event, promoted an extremelly fast evolution of terrestrial flagellumians to the point that they looked rather unrecognizable to their ancestors nearly 50 million years prior. The ictus are rather dinosaur or dragon-like predators, already among the largest predators of the continent, and possibly one of the most derived of the group at all.

Edurulealia (280-0)

* Edurusconchoidea (275-0)
	+ Edurusconchia insectumcaptor
	+ Ambulopatellia (270-0)
		- Macca
		- Patellasuspicaminia (265-0)
			* Patella retro densissima
			* Harenaesuspicaminia (212-0)
				+ Sandhopper tripercute
				+ Flagellicta (159-0)
					- Gerenspecusia (79-0)
						* Aamai oodu
						* Paddle cattle
					- Dolabroidea (106-0)
						* Dolabria (53-0)
							+ Dolabra cuda
							+ Spiral hopper
						* Flagellumia (53-0)
							+ Flagellum cortice
							+ Ictus
* Desererpedea (249-0)

## Characteristics

   Edurusconchoideans are a bizarre and diverse group of ambulospeculids that have adopted a myriad of different physical characteristics that make them a pretty relevant clade. We can start by taking a look at their mouth apparatus, and the forms they take across the clade. Edurusconchia is the basalmost but it has a derived mouth morphology. Its lateral proboscis are huge, long and soft, with sticky ends. These are held above in the air, ready to catch any flying ambulospeculids, like small aerotherians, that get in the way, so that it can eat them, dragging the food towards the central proboscis. These lateral proboscis can be retracted, though not fully, when not being used. The central proboscis is reduced and works as the only proboscis that feeds the creature, being also able to sense chemicals around the area. Because Edurusconchia has no teeth, it has modified the frontal pair of limbs to work as makeshift jaws to break and proccess hard food material. Macca have three long orange proboscis of simillar size, and all feed the dispeculate in question, a characteristic typical of the first edurusconchoideans and first ambulospeculids as a whole. Edurusconchia is just derived enough to not inherit this characteristic. Macca have no teeth, like most edurusconchoideans, and therefore resort to using their frontal arms to proccess food, such as bone trees, breaking the hard exterior to feed on the soft exterior. Maccas have semi-retractable proboscis, like most edurusconchoideans. Patella also feeds through the three proboscis. While feeding it engages in a pretty peculiar rhythmic feeding method, always with two proboscis exposed for foraging and feeding, while one of them is held inside for protection. This way, the Patella always has one proboscis protected. Like every edurusconchoidean, it is the central proboscis the only proboscis that can detect scent particles, sticking it out when it needs to use it. The sandhopper tripercute have an interesting fleshy chamber that the sandhopper uses to house its proboscis. They are one of the few edurusconchoideans that don't have full retractability in their proboscis, that's because they require the muscular rigidity to attack prey. Therefore the proboscis coil inside a fleshy hole, forming three fleshy rows at the front of the head, when the proboscis are not being used. When being used these reveal small proboscis, each with a retractable fang that injects venom. This is an important characteristic that defines the harenaesuspicaminians, which basally have evolved these bony structures with venom glands attached at them, presumably for defense. These eventually were reevolved into teeth or bucal blades. The sandhopper uses these to inject venom into prey, paralysing them. Males have bright red proboscis, while females have white-pink proboscis, which implies their usage in sexual display. Gerenspecusians, which include the Aamai oodu and the paddle cattle, have a specific mouth morphology. The fleshy chamber that the first harenaesuspicaminians had was eventually repurposed and derived in gerenspecusians and became a more flowery like chamber, to hide the proboscis inside. The proboscis are retractable and all can come out to feed on polyspeculates, but in the case of the paddle cattle, sometimes also dispeculate material. The paddle cattle holds the benefit of having a large fleshy and lobed mouth edge that sticks to the ground, allowing for the proboscis to feast in peace, although still being able to extend outwards to catch food beyond the mouths reach. Gerenspecusians, like all flagellictans, have teeth, derived from the simple fangs of their ancestors. These have branched into three small teeth in each proboscis that proccess the food. The dolabroideans took the toothed proboscis further with their two distinct lineages. The dolabrians evolved independent muscular attachments to their teeth so that they can proccess and crush food more easily. Though this independent musculature is exclusive to the central proboscis, which eventually lead them to only use that proboscis to feed. Dolabra cuda has the two lateral proboscis has retractable and fleshy, with small teeth to grab onto food. These lead the food towards the main proboscis, which is very short and does not retract, staying close to the head. The central proboscis holds six large plates that proccess the hard polyspeculate material with precision and efficiency, before being consumed. The spiral hopper has, however, pretty small retractable lateral proboscis, that serve virtually no purpose. Instead it has a very developed central proboscis that is retractable and ends in three fleshy muscular branches, each holding a serrated and venomous blade. These serve the purpose of both injecting venom into the prey's flesh, and also to saw the meat into smaller more manageable chunks, as it has to swallow them without mastication. Flagellumians have derived their mouths in a more radical way. Unlike dolabroideans, which only feed through the central proboscis, the flagellumians feed through all of them, using the teeth to proccess food. Most importantly, all three proboscis are held inside the body, with each opening being held closely to a common mouth opening with three orifices. Each proboscis tube is internalized in a three-tubed network that digests the food efficiently before going to the main digestive system. Additionally, they have evolved makeshift jaws, derived from a pair of front limbs. These are held as simple and small articulated arthropod-like legs that proccess small chunks of food in Flagellum cortice. However, Ictus retains a basal characteristic of a retractable central proboscis. These have multiple sharp barbs to both proccess food and to stick into the prey's skin. Additionally a small venomous barb is held at the tip of this central proboscis that injects the venom. The food is consume from this proboscis, though it is also driven to the other proboscis as it retracts back. Its jaws are derived from stiffened frontal legs, that give the creature the appearance of a tetrapod-like jaw. These stiffened arms are fused through flesh and skin as a result. Olfactory pits in edurusconchoideans are comparatively under-developed but pretty present. Many edurusconchoideans use their central proboscis has a form of detecting scent particles around. This is specially true for Edurusconchia, Patella, the sandhopper and the Flagellum, which have reduced olfactory pits. However, other forms use their olfactory pits more commonly, like the macca, the gerenspecusians, the dolabrians and the Ictus. They don't exactly have an advanced sense of hearing, and because they don't communicate commonly through sounds they make, they don't require that form of detection. Edurusconchoidean eyes also have some interesting features. Edurusconchia has advanced eyes with focalized lenses. These are pointed upwards to see what is above them, as their head is so close to the ground. Macca's eyes are more simple and primitive, composed of large compound eyes, just like Patella retro densissima and the sandhopper. Gerenspecusians also have simple compound eyes, as evidenced by the paddle cattle. However, the Aamai oodu has each individual eye from its compound eye separated in a large circular ocular area. The reason or the effectiveness of this structure is unknown, but might be to better have a sense of direction when taking a look at something, such as in the approach of a potential predator. Apparently this compound eye splitting, however, has been inherited by a few relatives of the gerenspecusians. Dolabrians, like Dolabra cuda and the spiral hopper, have split their compound eyes into three functional sections, presumably for the same effect. Flagellumians, however, do not have split eyes, though they have, independently to Edurusconchia, evolved more focalized lenses in their singular eyes. Ictus has somewhat of a more primitive compound eye condition however, but Flagellum cortice displays one of the most advanced eyes in that particular aspect. The internal anatomy of edurusconchoideans respects that of the typical antecaptorians. They have a brain located in their head, with a proper olfactory bulb positioned at the front. A spinal cord runs down the length of the dispeculate, protected by a proper vertebral column, their only proper ossified endoskeletal structure, with their legs being instead supported by cartilaginous and semi-ossified, highly pneumatized, ligaments. The lungs (usually antecaptorian lungs are merged into one communal branching sac, that gives the appearance of a singular lung) are positioned right behind the head and above the stomach. The intestines runs below the stomach. The heart is positioned below the intestines. The kidney, the liver and the reproductive organs are positioned at the back of the body, behind the lungs and the stomach and above the intestines. The kidney is in front of the liver, and the liver in front of the reproductive organs. ;Many edurusconchoidean's respiratory systems are largely basal. Some don't work properly with the required humidity, for example, specially when young. And this leads many species of residing as semi-aquatic creatures. They do however have an intense respiratory network inside their bodies that facilitates oxygen distribution the best they can, and also helped many species to retain large sizes while maintaining heavily armored bodies, though the limitations of their spiracles leads to some limitations in some groups. Edurusconchia has a very derived respiratoru system, that allows it to perfectly breath air in dry land. It has three pairs respiratory slits located under the eyes, in front of the lateral proboscis and behind the first pair of limbs that serve as input for the air it breathes, while three pairs of respiratory spiracles below the neck and behind the proboscis serve as output for the air it exhales. Ambulopatellians have more primitive respiratory systems, with many species still requiring some form of moisture to allow their young to breath or, in some species, even allow adults to breath properly. They are all, in adult form, though, essentially air-breathers. Macca has six pairs of spiracles with proper lids to retain some moisture, with three being located between the third and fourth pair of limbs, while the other three are located behind the fourth pair. Patella has four pairs of spiracles located at the base of the neck, between the head and the first pair of limbs, two pairs of spiracles between the first and second pair of limbs, and two pairs of spiracles between the second and third pair of limbs. This spiracle arrangement is basal to patellasuspicaminians. Patella breaths atmospherical air on land, just fine, but young require moisture from the water for their filament-based breathing to properly work. The sandhopper tripercute has lost the row of spiracles of the neck, and fused the two pairs of spiracles between the first and second pair of limbs and the two pairs of spiracles between the second and third pair of limbs, each into one singular chamber, where two holes are located at the end of that communal orifice. This gives the appearance that it has two pairs of spiracles, each between different limbs. These dispeculates hold their breath underwater for a long period of time, hidden under the ocean floor, hoping to get a meal, only to go back into the surface to breath. Flagellictans eventually lost the spiracles between the first and second pair of limbs, and retained the ones in the neck and between the second and third pair of limbs. Aamai oodu and the paddle cattle share the same spiracle arrangement, just between the shell and their limited space between the legs, with four pairs of spiracles in the neck, and two pairs between the second and third pair of limbs. The paddle cattle is unique for having frail filamentous openings of their spiracles that prevent them from breathing properly when in dryland. They can't breath underwater, but they need to keep their spiracles moist to properly breath atmospherical air, a constraint not common in most other edurusconchoideans, implying its advanced adaptations to ocean life. Dolabrians retain the same spiracle arrangement as gerenspecusians. Dolabra has spiracles located in the same localities around the belly. The spiral hopper is unique for having spiracles located above the legs. Flagellumians have lost the spiracles of their neck, and only retain the spiracles between their second and third pair of limbs, with two simple orifices providing the necessary breathing. Edurusconchoideans basally have eight limbs. No edurusconchoidean lost any pair of limbs, but the level of divergence and morphological potential of these changed a lot. Edurusconchia, for instance, has evolved limb morphologies that are derived though very convergent with flagellumians. The first pair of limbs was retained as small articulated jaws to proccess the food. Meanwhile the remaining three pairs were left to work as paddle-like limbs to shovel through the dirt and crawl on land. Macca have eight articulated limbs, with the three last pairs being used for underwater and terrestrial walking, while the first pair ends in very tough spiked clubs that are used to break through hard bone tree bark. Patella retro densissima has eight legs, all being used to walk on the ground with a similar amount of relevance. The sandhopper tripercute has eight limbs ending in sharp claws. The first two pairs are smaller and cling to the ground, while the last two pairs have larger claws that are bent towards the ground, and spring like grasshopper's legs. These allow the sandhopper to propel itself more effectively in the sand, both underwater or on the beach. Aamai oodu, unike most edurusconchoideans, has lost most of the armor that gives it its articulated functions, and instead as large fat blubber-filled and inflatable tentacle-like limbs. These can extend outside of the shell to help it drag itself on the ground, and be tucked inside the shell, like a turtle, to avoid being properly nibbled by a predator. The paddle cattle has more traditional limbs. These are small and weak for both underwater and terrestrial locomotion, so in both mediums, they are very slow dispeculates. The front legs are more paddle or saw-like to help dig or drag the creature forwards, while the remanining ones are thinner and only fill a complementary role in that. Dolabrians share the characteristic of having more paw-like front limbs. Dolabra cuda has the first pair of limbs holding huge paws with titanic claws to dig deep burrows and dig out roots. The last three pair of limbs have huge pads to support its weight and walk effectively in the ground. The spiral hopper, just like Dolabra cuda, has played legs. It uses its last three pairs of limbs to cling itself to trees or walk on the ground. Its large front legs, however, are large prehensile paws with claws, used to help grab itself to branches and grab itself to prey as well. One common characteristics of dolabrians is that their three last pairs of limbs have bases that are very close to each other, attached to highly flexible basal joints, to allow for rigidity and mobility of their limbs at the base. Flagellumians have found other strategies for their limbs. The second pair of limbs is the one that engages in prehensile activities, involving the presence of two to three digits. In Flagellum they are organized as crab-like pincers for defense and handling of food, and Ictus hold these above the ground, manipulating food, for example, like a theropod dinosaur. In both, the first pair of limbs has evolved into pseudo-jaws. In Flagellum, these are small and articulated, similar to Edurusconchia, but Ictus has elongated them, fused them with skin, stiffened them and evolved teeth in it forming a tetrapod-esque jaw. In Flagellum, the last two pairs of limbs are stubby and armored, engaging in little relevance, except for rudimentary walking. On land they are pretty slow. In a stark contrast, though, the last two pairs of limbs in Ictus have evolved to dramatic new functions. The third pair of limbs is organized as the sole pair for locomotion, similar to a theropod dinosaur, as it is bipedal. The last pair of limbs has branched into two huge digits at the base of it, and now support large colorful flags for display. The integument of edurusconchoideans is largely consistent across all members, having all smooth, fleshy skin. Ictus is unique for having portions of the body covered in large bristle-like hairs for display, defense and possibly even insulation. Edurusconchoideans are also well known for having extensive external armor, although there are a few exceptions, like the Ictus, which has its external armor plates totally internalized under the skin. The Edurusconchia has an enormous unified shell on its back, like a turtle, to protect itself from predators. This shell is thick but filled with a structure that allows the growth of light-emitting polyspeculates, which are an important part of Edurusconchia's unique lifestyle. It also has a plastron, convergent with turtles, for defense in case it gets attacked from below. Macca has a very basal ambulospeculid like bauplan, even in terms of armor plates. The head plate is large, bulbous and extensive, protecting its enormous head, and even sporting some spikes at the front. Behind the head plate, two large armored segments cover the dorso. Patella has extensive bony armor on its back, as well as a plastron-like armored belly, with the sides being armorless for the growth of limbs (though those are armored and segmented). Even the tail is encased in a inflexible spur. The head, however, is encased in a large tough head plate. Females have a rounder end, while males have a downward hook like tip. This heavy head is attached to very powerful neck muscles, that nod the head at speeds and strengths capable of breaking hard materials, like shells of other creatures, including other Patella, as well as other tough objects. Overall, its a great tool against predators too. The sandhopper, is not as armored. Its exterior is largely fleshy and armorless, but it does possess several irregular dense armored fragments on its dorso. This allows the sandhopper to camouflage as rocks, when under the ocean sand, as only its rock-like armored fragments are exposed. The lack of proper armor on the rest of the body might have gave a response to their burrowing ambush hunting, which is also perfect for avoiding predatory attention. Gerenspecusians share similar armored characteristics. The head is encased in a dense head plate, and one singular segment covers the entire dorso, like a turtle. These, however, lack a plastron. Aamai oodu has the abbility and the flexibility of hiding its head and even long fat tentacles under the shell. Unlike the paddle cattle, it has a very, very small tail. The paddle cattle also has a large head plate, though it possesses a large three-pronged horn protruding at the tip. These are suspected to be used in territorial disputes. The enormous bulbous shell is much larger than Aamai to promote the formation of a larger internal air-sack network, to help this creature float in the ocean. Without a plastron, these use their long armored and segmented tail to cover their belly from possible underwater attacks. Dolabra takes its armor even further. Although Dolabra is not a gerenspecusian, it has evolved similar armored strategies, such as solidifying its head plate, favouring extensive armor around its body, and also having a segmented tail. Dolabra also convergently evolved segmented arms, like with Edurusconchia, Patella and Flagellum. Dolabra is, overall, the most armored out of all edurusconchoideans, if not the most armored of any dispeculate, though that is up for debate. Every part of its body is covered in some form of hard exterior, except the eyes, the proboscis and the foot pads. Its enormous tail is segmented and its simillar to a pickaxe in usage, used to dig soil and even have limited attack. Across several portions of its armored body, spikes protrude that makes this creature virtually impervious to any predatory attack. The spiral hopper has more reduced external armor, with a good portion being internalized or exposed in irregular bits. It does preserve a head plate and a concise segment behind it. On the rest of the body and legs, the armor is just presented in irregular osteoderms of varying shape, to allow for better flexibility, while still maintaining some armor. Its tail is totally armorless and is used for balance. Some spikes are positioned, here and there, for casual protection. Flagellum has semi-armored exteriors. Its head has dual plates, one on the left and the other at the right of the head, though these are largely internalized. Its legs are also organized in articulated armored exteriors, but these are largely covered in skin, in the second pair. The body is covered in five large and dense segments of armor for protection. However the tail is armorless and very muscular. These edurusconchoideans use the large muscular tail to defend against their predators. Ictus lacks external armor entirely, though it still retains rows of internalized scutes, whose presence can be inferred by the patterns it does to the skin, with some sharp scute-like edges going through most of the creature's dorso. As mentioned earlier, it is unique for having large rows of quill-like filaments across a large portion of the body.

Edurusconchoideans have large variations in size, some being considerably small, and others reaching large sizes. Macca is one of the smallest, at 50 cm long. Patella retro densissima measures one meter in length. The paddle cattle measures 1,7 meters in length. Edurusconchia insectumcaptor measures 2 meters in length. Sandhoppers range from 1 to 2 meters in length. Flagellum cortice reaches 2,2 meters in length. The spiral hopper is a larger terrestrial predator reaching 4,5 meters in length. Dolabra cuda is the largest edurusconchoidean overall, reaching 6 to 8 meters in length. In terms of length alone, the largest Ictus species are the largest edurusconchoideans and largest Auth terrestrial carnivores as a whole, in fact. Ictus species vary from just 83 cm in length to up to 11 meters long.

## Distribution and habitat

Edurusconchoideans are traditionally believed to have been semi-aquatic ambulospeculids at their inception. When they first originated the world was still under a supercontinental arrangement. Eventually, the continent split in half, with ambulopatellians having originated in freshwater and/or brackish waterways in the western continent. There they started to transition to shore-like lifestyles, as evidenced by the evolution of patellasuspicaminians, shortly after. The ancestors of harenasuspicaminians, however, became marine-dwellers after that, and migrated to the eastern part, where the conditions were favourable for the evolution of actual harenasuspicaminians in what is now Cheru, back in the late Accomodatian. These edurusconchoideans were starting to slowly conquer the oceans. It is believed this expansion was a result of a subsequent warming up of the world's oceans, after the Accomodatian, which was also interestingly responsible for the decline of the recently evolved oculian celernantids. Due to their current distribution, it is wise to assume that oceanic edurusconchoideans have some aversion to cold environments, and prefer tropical and subtropical oceanic conditions. Eventually, the Archa-Micha microcontinent separated from Cheru. In the shores of this island continent its believed that the flagellictans first evolved, by the late Scelusian. It is believed one group split to explore the shores of the microcontinent (lineage leading to gerenspecusians), while another group went to explore and diversify in the shores of Occidentis, Tenebris and Cheru (lineage leading to dolabroideans). When gerenspecusians originated Micha and Archa were almost about to split from each other allowing for two distinct lineages to form in each archipelago. The earliest dolabroideans seem to have inhabited the coasts of Cheru, during the late Variagene (which by then was very close to Tenebris). This allowed the lineage leading to dolabrians to stay in Cheru, and the lineage leading to flagellumians to reside in the coasts of Tenebris. By the late Compsogene, dolabrians first evolved in Cheru as fully terrestrial creatures. The lineage leading to the spiral hopper must have rafted to Tenebris to its present location. Similarly, flagellumians evolved around the same time, though back then they were still beach-dwellers, around the regions of Occidentis and Tenebris. With the increasingly colder conditions around Tenebris, the beach-dwelling flagellumians went extinct, leaving just the ones that evolved terrestriality independently, leading to the rapid evolution of the hyper-predatory terrestrial Ictus, as a response to the guild vacuities that were left behind after the Compsogene-Recensgene extinction event in Auth. The habitats thar edurusconchoideans inhabit are very variable. Edurusconchia is a terrestrial edurusconchoidean that inhabits temperate forests in Auth. Macca lives in freshwater courses of Occidentis. Patella retro densissima lives in the beaches of southern Occidentis. The sandhopper tripercute lives in beaches and in shallow seas of Vadum Mare, around Micha and Media Insula. Aamai oodu lives in Micha. The paddle cattle lives in coastal waters and beaches of Archa. Dolabra cuda lives in tropical savannas and monsoon lands of Media Insula. The spiral hopper lives in forests of Virtu, as one of the apex forest-dwelling predators. Flagellum lives in coasts of Occidentis. Ictus lives in several different habitats across Auth, as one of the apex predators of the continent.

## Diet

Edurusconchoideans share a wide variety of different diets, ranging from carnivory to herbivory, passing through omnivory too. It is believed that edurusconchoideans actually started out as slow shore-dwelling ambush hunters, though that is up to debate. Edurusconchia is a carnivore with a very weird hunting strategy. It has a shell covered in light-emitting polyspeculates that attract flying dispeculates, that it then catches with its elongated lateral proboscis, that end in sticky ends to grab prey. The types of dispeculates it procures are usually no larger than 75 cm in length, like viditdontians, ornithosmilians, small dracolodontidians (very rarely), septevolans and aerotheres. Maccas are herbivores, using their mace-like front legs to hatchet out the bone tree bark and feed on its soft interior. Patella are omnivorous necrophagists. Specialized beach combers, they procure any carcasses of dead dispeculates or dead polyspeculates and procceed to feast on them. They use their head, at times, to smash hardier food items that they can consume afterwards. Sandhoppers are ambush hunters. They hide under the sand, either it be on the beach, or under the shallow sea, camouflaging until a prey comes close. When one does, it procceeds to spring towards the prey and inject powerful venom through its proboscis to paralyse the prey so that it can be feasted upon. Gerenspecusians are omnivorous grazers, though they have more preference for polyspeculate matter. Given their slow mode of locomotion, they spend a lot of their time grazing on land or on water (in the case of the paddle cattle). Dolabra cuda is a specialized herbivore, having evolved various mechanisms to deal with the hardy polyspeculate matter on land, such as extremelly strong teeth, large paws and a tail to dig under the ground for food, and also large foot pads to stick itself to the ground for better stabilization when taking down considerably sized bone trees. The related spiral hopper, however, is a specialized carnivore. It has lots of mechanisms adapted for terrestrial hunting, jumping over prey and restraining them with its strong arms and muscular tail. It uses its proboscis to inject venom into prey and uses its sharp serrated proboscis tips to saw the meat and ease down the eating proccess. Flagellum is a slow-moving beach combing omnivore, feeding on carcasses, sessile polyspeculates and even dispeculate eggs, that are exposed, washed ashore or completely burried, to which the Flagellum uses its large second pair of limbs to dig for them. Ictus are fast-dwelling carnivorous hunters, where many species usually hunt in groups. They utilize agility to pursue their prey, but they lack extremelly strong bites or extremelly effective hands to take down prey, instead relying on exhaustion and wounding the prey for best effect. They also inject a powerful neurotoxin via their central proboscis to paralyse the prey. Some Ictus are piscivores or lonely hunters however. Piscivores, like the velvet ictus use their back fan-like legs to create shade that attracts fish-like creatures close to it.

## Behaviour and sociality

Edurusconchoideans are generally "simple-brained" creatures and don't tend to engage in complex social lifestyles, even though exceptions exist. Edurusconchia is solitary through most of the year, except during the mating season. They move very little, only doing so to move to new hunting grounds, digging itself to retain maximum protection and camouflage. During the day, it may move to new locations, as the sunlight prevents hunting from being effective. Though, during the night, their shell glows as a result of their polyspeculate shell gardens, attracting aerial dispeculates that are then catched by the ambulospeculid. They can live very long, thanks to their slow metabolism, reaching up to 150 wallacian years. Macca are solitary dispeculates as well. Patella are also solitary, except during mating season, where males engage in ferocious fights. Usually adult males have cracks and scratches across its armor as a result of these fights. The sandhopper is also solitary, except during mating season. It camouflages under the sand with its armored plates camouflaging as rocks, waiting for prey and avoid being detected by predators. They have venomous fangs in their proboscis to attack prey and potential threats as well. Gerenspecusians are also solitary, however, they do defend their territory very well, using their shells to protect themselves against territorial disputes. Aamai oodu is able to retract its head and its fleshy limbs inside its shell. They can stay stationary in this position for an incredibly long time, thanks to their slow metabolism, with the record for the longest time hidden under the shell, uninterrupted, was a couple of months. Paddle cattles are more mobile, wandering in the beaches in search of food. They tend to defend a portion of their territory however they can and simple territorial battles can occur between two different foraging individuals. Their shells, having initially evolved to defend against predators, are now too much of a perk, as most of the terrestrial predators of their environment wouldn't be able to take down an adult paddle cattle either way. Dolabra cuda is also a solitary creature. It uses its very large paws to dig huge burrows in the soil, sometimes they can make burrows large enough for one full grown Dolabra to fit under. These are done for the sake of reaching to their underground food. Their extensive armor makes them virtually impervious to any predatorial attack. The spiral hopper is also a solitary creature. This predator can walk and sprint on the ground, but is usually outrunned in that field, so it prefers to take refuge in the ambushing potential of the trees. Flagellum cortice is also a solitary creature. It is a very slow beach comber that is heavily armored to avoid predation, though it retains a fleshy tail that can be bent and whipped quickly against curious predators. Ictus are a variable group of fast-dwelling terrestrial predators. Some species are solitary, while others live in small groups or even stratificated packs. They are usually startled by anything, with the exception of the calmer velvet ictus. Depending on the species and their hunting strategies, Ictus can be diurnal or nocturnal hunters.

## Reproduction

Edurusconchoideans are oviparous, like most ambulospeculids. They retain primitive features on their egg structure and development. Apart from Edurusconchia (which has evolved land-based hard-shelled eggs separately), most other edurusconchoideans retains the basal condition of soft-shelled eggs that must be laid in or around water sources or in moist places. This is tied to their simple respiratory system, at birth, which requires proper moisture to work efficiently. Edurusconchoideans still breath air at birth, but many require water to keep their filament-based breathing apparatus working properly, and as a result, basally, edurusconchoideans are born as water-based creatures. This, as a result, prevented most edurusconchoideans from attaining a adamant parental care, something that didn't stopped other terrestrial dispeculates, with similar constraints (like several celernantids) from adopting parental care, however. A few have found ways to apply this strategy however, but in general, the eggs are abandoned to their fate. Curiously, as well, edurusconchoidean females tend to be larger than males, even though its usually the male the one who takes the work of seducing and fighting for the female. Edurusconchia mate during a specific mating season, which coincides with that of its polyspeculate symbiotes. The ambulospeculids in question gather around during spring months, in groups of up to 50 individuals, creating spectacles of nocturnal light in the open fields. The sexual selection is based both on the most prominent "shell branches" (present in males) and the most vivid lighting produced by the polyspeculates. These males will breed with more females as a result. Just like every edurusconchoidean, the fertilization occurs internally. After mating, the female digs a hole and lays four to six eggs with a calcareous hard shell, and 15 cm in diameter. After 25 to 30 Wallacian days of incubation, the eggs are ready to hatch. The Edurusconchia hatchlings are guarded by the mother for a while, where spores from the polyspeculates are passed onto their, for now soft, bodies, up until they grow to more hardier adults, and the polyspeculates will grow alongside these. Macca males use their proboscis to attract mates, alongside using their tough head armor to headbutt against mating rivals. Macca, just like the basal edurusconchoidean, lays small soft-shelled eggs in burrows laid in shallow water, where the young will be born as very small aquatic larvae, with just three millimeters long. These stay in the surface of the water, breathing atmospherical air before they grow into more terrestrially capable forms. Patella males use their proboscis to attract mates too, and also present a hook in front of their head, which distinguishes them from the hookless females. Patella have very strong muscles that allows them to whip their heads and create devastating blows, to which the males use for mating struggles against rival males. They lay very small eggs in burrows under shallow water, like in tidepools, where the young are born as six millimeter long surface-dwelling air-breathing larvae, until they grow to terrestrial forms. The sandhopper male is smaller than the female and is known to use its bright red proboscis to attract females, which have paler proboscis. The usage of bright proboscis for sexual display serves itself as a very common sexual display feature of several dispeculates after all. Like every harenaesuspicaminians, male and female mate for life. After mating, the eggs are laid in burrows under shallow water and hatch out as 1,2 centimeter long surface dwelling air-breathing independent young. Aamai oodu and the paddle cattle usually utilize their head protuberances to attract mates. They lay their eggs in depressions dug in shallow water, sometimes covered in stones and shells of other organisms. These hatch out as 1 centimeter long surface dwelling and air-breathing grazers, coloquially known as zoea. Dolabroideans lay eggs, typically, in water as well, though they already come out as air-breathing youngsters once they hatch out of the water however, an adaptation that accelerated their conquest to land. Dolabrians, like Dolabra cuda and the spiral hopper, utilize their back legs to stomp around, raising and lowering their knee spikes for display. After mating occurs, the eggs are naturally laid in small pools. Due to the small size of the eggs, they tend to hatch fairly quickly, and due to their controlled supervision, they can take care of the young for a year in their development, after they hatch as 2,7 to 4,8 cm long young (respectively in the case of the spiral hopper and the Dolabra cuda). The Flagellum cortice utilizes its tail, shaking it around to attract mates. After mating, the Flagellum lays its eggs in tidepools, where the eggs will develop. They will hatch out as 1,3 cm long hatchlings that crawl out of the water and slowly follow their parents up until they reach a year old and are ready to live for themselves. Ictus are much more social creatures. However a few are solitary, a good portion is also group living and social. Ictus attract their mates with their fourth pair of fin-like legs that attract females with their beuatiful patterns. Solitary species may compete for mating rights, unlike social ones. Male and female tend to mate for life. Ictus have developed a unique strategy to overcome dependance in water bodies to lay their eggs however. Being predators, they lay their eggs in the general moisture of a fresh kill. The young will hatch out and, depending on the species, they can range from 5 millimeters to 6,6 cm in length. These receive protection from their parents from one year to up to eight years.