Pterygiodaktylou

**Pterygiodaktylou** (**Pterygiodaktylou** meaning finger fin in Greek) is a Genus of the Family Arpaktikoaltidae, and are distinguished as their own genus by the fact that they have hands, other genera such as Manustrapdoora for example also have hands, but they are distinguished enough from **Pterygiodaktylou** to be their own genus, plus Manustrapdoora evolved from **Pterygiodaktylou**. Today there is only one species left, Pterygiodaktylou pterygiodaktylou, but researchers think that the genus is not going extinct, because the only surviving species is already showing signs of diversification, so not too much longer before it splits into multiple species. It already has three subspecies and is diversing into more, and each of those three subspecies have at least three races with in each of them, one of those races even being split up into two sub-races. This last surviving species is spreading throughout the supercontinent of Omnisterra, and as it does so it is estimated that due to Rapid evolution it might diversify it into several new species in somewhere between 20 years to 100 years.

## Evolution

They evolved around 353mya, and their point of origin is somewhere in South Primaterra. They evolved from the now extinct genus Colaprensil, when **Pterygiodaktylou** evolved they slowly began to out-compete Colaprensil, until there was only one species of them left which ended up going extinct in The End Of Times Mass Extinction Event. The thing that distinguishes them from Colaprensil is their hands, Colaprensil had a prehensile tail, its purpose was to help hold onto rocks in fast-moving Rapids, but when **Pterygiodaktylou** evolved they had hands which helped them do this a lot better than Colaprensil could, hence why they eventually got out competed. Earlier species had three fingers on all the hands, but as they adapted and evolved eventually every species had five fingers on each hand, two of which being thumbs. This genus would eventually go on to give rise to other Genera, families, orders, and even a few classes, although they will only be one species classes, and most of them will be extinct today. One species would give rise to the Clade Neopterygiodaktylou, which would lead up to the only surviving species today, Pterygiodaktylou pterygiodaktylous, which is now the beginning of a new clade called Neoneopterygiodaktylou.

## Anatomy

### Head

Their head region is where the brain, the eyes, the mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, and the whisacles are kept. Their brain is a bit bigger than the average Earth fish, it controls the whole body. Its eyes are on stalks like a snail, and have the ability to be retracted just like a snail, or should we say extended, because of the environment it lives in it works the opposite of every other Genera in this family, because it lives in fast flowing rapid water it's eyes are default retracted, and because of this fast flowing murky water it has lost the decent eyesight of it's ancestors, instead going for eyesight that can barely make out shapes, it mostly relies on its sense of smell and hearing. It's mouth is where it breathes and eats food. It has razor sharp teeth for eating meat. It's tongue is mostly used as a swallow assist, but does have the five tastes that we do, but they are primitive versions. They use their ear stones to both hear and maintain balance. Their whisacles are not as long as they are in other Genera, but are also not shortened to the point of being vestigial, because of their poor eyesight the only thing they have to rely on is their sense of smell, so they cannot completely get rid of their whisacles, but the typical whisacles create drag, so they have shortened them down halfway finding the perfect balance. They have two gill slits on either side of the neck, they pump water into their mouth, absorbing oxygen using their gills, and then send the water out the gill slits.

### Body

#### External

Their body consist of scales all over the whole body, six leg like fins with "hands" on the ends of them, one fin on the back instead of the usual three fins, and a prehensile tail with no fin. The scales are speculated to be a muddy Brown to maybe a muddy yellow color, considering that fast-flowing Rapids are usually muddy. It has two sets of pectoral fins and one set of pelvic fins, and at the end of each fin is a "webbed five-fingered hand", hand is in quotations because unlike our hands the fingers on this hand aren't as jointed, they evolved from rays just like the digits of tetrapods on Earth and Septempollicems on Hume III, but didn't evolve exactly like those instead evolving more like the sea robin's legs on Earth, and the Hume III's armored sea robin's legs on Hume III. This species and every species that evolved after it has five digits on its fin, every species before this had five on the front, four in the middle, and three on the back. These hands and fingers are used to hold onto rocks at the bottom of the river bank, so that the fast-moving rapids don't carrie the wish away. It has lost most of the fins on its back, but has retained one for an unknown reason. The tail is prehensile and is used (just like the hands) to help it grip onto rocks, but it's also to use for balance.

#### Internal

Their bones are made of calcium. They have a closed circulatory system and a central nervous system. Their blood is red. They have a brain. They have two hearts, one of them being reduced. A set of lungs. As well as stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, all that good stuff. They do not have a penis instead they have a cloaca, they mate by putting the cloaca together.

## Habitat

They can be found all over Omnisterra, all throughout the ocean, except for the parts that are too deep, and even on a few Islands. But their point of origin is South Primaterra. The places that they are most suited to is fast-moving rapid Rivers, but can also be found in normal Rivers. As well as lakes, ponds, creeks, and any body of water.

## Diet

Unlike most Genera in this family, this genus are complete omnivores, with 50% of their diet is plant and the other 50% is meat. The reason for this is because it's easier to catch plants in fast-moving Rapids then it is to catch other animals.

## Breeding

Unlike most other Genera in this family, this genus does not do the whole female lays down pheromones and then the males fight over who gets to mate thing, that style does not work in the environment they live in. Whenever a male happens upon a female they will use their hands to latch onto the female and hold on for dear life, then the male will not let go until the female has laid her eggs. The process of fertilization is achieved by placing one's cloaca upon the others cloaca. After the eggs have been fertilized internally she will find a not so rapid area to lay her eggs in typically in between rocks or in some kind of Nook or cranny, but sometimes she will use her hands to dig a nice hole to leave them in. Once they hatch they're on their own.

## Adaptations

Their adaptations can vary wildly from species to species, but the most notable adaptation that exist in all species is the fact that they have hands on all six of their main fins, two sets of pectoral fins, and one set of pelvic fins, and all of them have hands on the end of them. Earlier species had three fingers on all the hands, but as they adapted and evolved eventually every species had five fingers on each hand, two of which being thumbs. One adaptation that appears to have evolved help them survive The End Of Times Mass Extinction Event, that adaptation being able to go into a form of stasis, similar to that of the naked mole rat or the water bear, where most or all of your vital functions either slow down or shutdown for a period of time in order to wait out times of hardship, such as a lack of oxygen.

## Threats

Their threats can vary depending on where they are, but they can be hunted by land predators doing the same strategy as the Bears on Earth and catching wish, bigger wish, other big predators in the water, venomous and poisonous creatures that they cannot eat, Aununa wishermen, as well as the other intelligent species on the planet, diseases and natural disasters.

## Taxonomy

Domain: Exogiinosefkaryotis

Kingdom: Animalisaliena

Subkingdom: Enmetazoae

Phylum: Xenochordata

Subphylum: Psariaskoulikion

Megaclass: Epithymia

Superclass: Skoulikionpsaria

Class: Ostikiepithymia

Subclass: Efchimelovo

Order: Psithyrismenoprosopoiformes

Suborder: Programmataanichnefsiskatoidei

Clade: **Idiotamcaptionemviventem**

Subclade: Ourapterygio

Section: Mobileidiotamcaptionem

Family: Arpaktikoaltidae

Tribe: Arpaktikoaltini

Clade: Arpachtisvrachon

Genus: ****Pterygiodaktylou****

\*\*Extant Species under **Pterygiodaktylou**\*\*

Species: Pterygiodaktylou pterygiodaktylou

Add your own species here.

\*\*Extinct Species under **Pterygiodaktylou**\*\*

Species: Pterygiodaktylou prima

Add your own species here.

\*\*Clades under **Pterygiodaktylou**\*\*

Clade: Neopterygiodaktylou

Clade: Neoneopterygiodaktylou

Add your own clades here.