Maiadorsa

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

## Evolution and taxonomy

Maiadorsans are a major and influential clade of ambulospeculids. They have evolved various advanced features, but they are actually part of the basalmost split, being a sister clade to cetathalassans, in the Epestredutchiia clade. Epestredutchiians originted in the late Tenerian, 259 million years ago, and diversified greatly, in the aftermath of the Tenerian-Accomodatian extinction event, which was followed by a great decrease in global temperature, which favoured warm-blooded creatures with hair-like integument. This was the case with stem-maiadorsans. True maiadorsans evolved 222 million years ago in the Accomodatian. The most advanced clade of maiadorsans, characterized for a much more accentuated presence of hair-like integument, is the Echinatabestia, which has originated in the Scelusian, 185 million years ago. That clade eventually separated into two clades, each first appearing in the aftermath of the Scelusian-Variagene extinction event, in the wake of new vacant niches. One of those clades is the Makrodorsa clade, which originated in the Variagene, 124 million years ago, characterized by primitive features, and for being largely native to Media Insula. The modern makrodorsans are largely scarse survivors of an earlier domain. One group of makrodorsans is the makrolaimans, which originated in the Compsogene, 63 million years ago, tied to habitats filled with trees. The echinatabestian clade is the Cristunguia clade, which is much more abundant, having being particularly spread in Occidentis and Tenebris. The first cristunguians evolved 148 million years ago, just after the Scelusian-Variagene extinction event, a million years prior, having waited nothing to diversify. The largest clade of cristunguians is characterized for laying hard-shelled eggs: the caudagigantians. Caudagigantians evolved in the Variagene, 111 million years ago, and have split into two clades. One of those clades is composed of very alien-looking predators, the letisoricians, which originated in the late Compsogene, 55 million years ago. The other clade is the Arenibovia clade is much more well successful, having evolved 74 million years ago, in the Compsogene, and characterized for a largely muscular lower jaw, as well as many species having the skin covered in hair. One arenibovian clade is the Caudia clade, which are characterized for their preference with desert and arid regions, but also for having a lower jaw supported largely by muscle, which might, or not, have the complement of a split head plate to aid in rigidness of the jaw. The other clade of arenibovians is the Ignavupelta clade, characterized for having muscular jaws, supported by a hyoid jaw, and having its second pair of legs engulfed in fur and skin, to make authentic pouches for the protection of their eggs.

Due to the basality of maiadorsans anatomy and morphology, early scientists believed they were part of the Gomphiobia clade, up until more rigorous morphological, genetic and molecular analysis confirmed their ambulospeculid nature. Their relationships with another basal ambulospeculid clade, Alcyoneuvermia, has been largely misunderstood for years, since their ambulospeculid nature was revealed, but currently they are placed in different phylogenetic positions, deeming their simillarities just a result of convergent evolution.

Epestredutchiia (259-0)

* Cetathalassa (220-0)
* Maiadorsa (222-0)
	+ Lumbercow
	+ Echinatabestia (185-0)
		- Makrodorsa (124-0)
			* Echinatadorsum
			* Makrolaima (63-0)
				+ Loricarumeversor simia
				+ Makrolaimos stomacheiri
		- Cristunguia (148-0)
			* Cristunguis bestia
			* Caudagigantia (111-0)
				+ Letisoricia (55-0)
					- Letitrabus portenderenturus
					- The bullet shrew
				+ Arenibovia (74-0)
					- Caudia (37-0)
						* Arenicolus-nanos
						* Cauda apidem bovis
					- Ignavupelta (37-0)
						* Ignavus gigas
						* Maiapeltidae

## Characteristics

Maiadorsans are a very diverse group of land-dwelling ambulospeculids, that have developed various adaptations for their lifestyles. Starting with how their mouth is organized. Basally, maiadorsans fed with all the three proboscis, though many eventually lost the feeding potential of some. The lumbercow, for instance, has two long proboscis that it uses to grab its food and draw it to the central proboscis, which has shrinked and now only works as a small orifice to let food in. Echinatadorsum has also lost feeding capabilities in the lateral proboscis, which hold a bony spur to attack prey, while the main proboscis has the job of feeding the creature. The related makrolaimans feed through all the three proboscis, which are long, and have all the same length. In the case of Makrolaimos, they are non-retractable and end in toothed lipped ends to chew the food, being held very close to each other. The related Loricarumeversor, however, has fused all three proboscis into one large tube, that ends with sharp teeth. This unified proboscis is retractable and protected by three lips at the front of the snout. Cristunguis has evolved a novel way for the generation of their mouths. While they feed through all of their tentacle-like proboscis, its jaws are composed in an interesting way, with its frontal pair of limbs working as a make shift lower jaw, being connected by a sheet of skin, to avoid food from falling off its mouth. The upper jaw is the robust rostrum, filled with olfactory pits. Letisoricians have evolved unique forms of feeding. Letitrabus, feeds with the lateral proboscis, vomiting to the prey, to melt the flesh, and then feeding with two tongues that stick out from the lateral proboscis. The bullet shrew feeds from the central proboscis, which comes out from what once was a respiratory orifice, which is now protected by a piece of armor. It is believed the central proboscis has retracted and joined the respiratory system only to be expelled by the available orifice around, a unified frontal respiratory orifice, that the bullet shrew now uses to consume the flesh of its prey. Caudians are characterized for having their mouths organized with their central proboscis loosing any capabilities for feeding. The lateral proboscis tend to capture food, leading it directly to the main oral orifice, at the end of their mouth. Arenicolus has two lateral proboscis, with claws at the end, to grab prey and food, and push it inside the mouth. The central proboscis is found in the bottom of the mouth, where it manifests as a thin snake-like tongue, that can sense smell particles around. The related Cauda has a central proboscis that comes out from the top of the skull and is instead a muscular organ that helps in amplifying its sounds, while its long lateral proboscis draw the food to the main oral orifice, at the end of the mouth. The mouth of the caudians is characterized for a muscular lower jaw. Although ancestrally supported by a lower part of the head plate that split off from the upper part, supporting a jaw, as seen in Arenicolus, it has eventually been dissolved in Cauda, and now it only has a muscular lower jaw in its place, that serves little purpose in chewing, and only serves as a mild protection for its proboscis. Arenicolus retains teeth in its more stiffened jaws, to allow for food proccessing. Ignavupeltans muscular lower jaw has, however, taken another turn, being supported by strong hyoid jaws. The teeth that derived from their mouths come from the bone, which means they won't be regrowing as much as the typical teeth of the proboscis, and might suffer from the effects of wearing. Their central proboscis has shrunk to fit in the end of the mouth as the main feeding proboscis, while the lateral proboscis are lobed, shaggy and muscular covering the sides and the top of the mouth, while still giving it the appearance of a tetrapod mouth. They also end on venomous ends, that can be used for varying functions. Maiadorsan olfactory orifices have taken many shapes and arrangements but were kept in the region of the snout most of the times, also having evolved into a hearing hole, like in cetathalassans, indicating a basal characteristic in epestredutchiians as a whole. The eyes of maiadorsans are basally simple compound eyes but they have evolved into focalized lens independently across the clade. Lumbercows and Cristunguis retain a plausible hybrid between the compound eye and full camera eyes, having evolved these independently. Letisoricians retain compound eyes, though each eye has been split into two. The bullet shrew has two small eyes above the much bigger principal eyes. This eye splitting has been evolved at a much more extreme extent in Letitrabus, which has evolved a pair of eyestalks for one pair of eyes pointing up, and another pair of eyestalks for the other pair of eyes pointing downwards, making it a four-eyed creature. Arenibovians do not have this eye splitting, or are not known to have evolved it and if so, the other pair of eyes was lost either way. The eyes of the arenibovians have transitioned fully to a one lens eye, or "camera eyes", that helps focalizing the image of their surroundings. To protect their eyes, the arenbovians have evolved eyelids and nictitating membranes to keep the eye moistered, clean and protected of the hazards of the exterior. Maiapeltids, however, have eventually evolved a poor eyesight and some burrowing species are even fully blind, so their main forms of detecting the surroundings are through smelling, hearing, etc. The position of the respiratory organs is also variable. Maiadorsans possess a lung, and breath through the typical respiratory orifices, like their ambulospeculid ancestors. Lumbercows have all the respiratory orifices between the second and third pair of limbs, a basal condition. Makrodorsans have migrated the row of respiratory orifices to their necks. Cristunguis retains a row of respiratory orifices between the second and third pair of legs, and they are located in small outward protuberances. The respiratory orifices in letisoricians are represented by two pairs in the dorso, between the second and first pair of limbs, while one unified orifice exists in the chest/neck area. In the bullet shrew, this orifice is connected to the digestive system, allowing for the proboscis to come out from that region. Arenibovians retain respiratory orifices between the second and third pair of limbs, except for Cauda, which has huge orifices just in front of the front pair of limbs, filled with airs, to filter the air from the sandy atmosphere. Maiadorsans, basally, have eight limbs, and the way their limbs have been organized, both in number, position and functions, are super variable. The lumbercow likely shows the simplest and most basal limb configuration, with eight column-like limbs to support its heavy body on the ground. Makrodorsans are basally hexapodal, using the second, third and fourth pair of limbs to walk on land, while the first pair was held off the ground. Echinatadorsum completely lost its first pair of limbs, using its clawed and hoofed 2nd to 4th limbs to walk and run on the ground. Loricarumeversor, simillarly, has a reduced first pair of limbs, just under the second pair, useless for daily activities. The second pair of limbs helps it swing in the trees, while the third and fourth pair has fused with flesh and skin. Makrolaimos more approaches the basal makrodorsan in that particular aspect, though it has some derived traits. Its first pair of limbs is held off the ground but clawed and used to grab onto tree trunks to reach the food it desires. Meanwhile its second pair of limbs helps it support the front part of the body on the ground, but its still clawed and used to hang in the base of trees. The third and fourth pair support the rear part of the body on the ground. Cristunguis shares a pretty unique and unusual limb configuration. Its frontal pair of limbs has evolved to work as lower jaws. The second pair is covered in colorful membranes and ends in claws, used to climb trees and display. The three and fourth pair support the creature on the ground, and end in claws used to help running and climbing. Letisoricians, simillar to makrodorsans, basally have an atrophied first pair of limbs. In bullet shrews these are represented by small lumps, but Letitrabus has lost them altogether. The bullet shrew is hexapodal, having the second and third pair of limbs fused by powerful muscles, and the fourth pair being separated and supporting the rear of the creature. The muscles on the legs of the bullet shrew conserve a huge amount of energy, that it can use to rapidly bolt towards prey at fantastical speeds, when ambushing. Letitrabus walks with the second and third pair of limbs, which are not fused. The fourth pair is held off the ground and display huge transparent lens that are able to converge sunlight into one concentrated point that burns the skin of prey. The heat generated can be super painful for the prey, exhausting them. These can also be used for intraspecific combat, sometimes. Arenibovians basally have eight limbs. Arenicolus walks with the second and third pair of limbs, which end in thick padding to protect it from the scorching sand. The first pair of limbs ends in clawed shovel-like limbs to dig burrows. The fourth pair of limbs ends in cartilaginous fins that are filled with the typical blue blood of maiadorsans, which are used for display and temperature control. The related Cauda, just like the Arenicolus, is quadrupedal, but it walks with its first and third pair of limbs instead, with the second pair being atrophied and useless for walking. The fourth pair of limbs is a fin that is also used to flush blood for display and regulate temperature. Ignavupeltans have an interesting limb configuration as well. They are quadrupedal, moving with their third and fourth pair of limbs, while the second pair of limbs is encased in fur and skin, hardly seen from the exterior and serves as a pouch to guard its eggs. The first pair of limbs, in maiapeltids, is represented by an armoured small pair. Ignavus has lost its frontal pair of limbs altogether, however. The integument of maiadorsans is variable, though they tend to share the presence of hair. The hair seems to have evolved from keratinized hairy strings derived from the external armor of dispeculates, though it is unclear whether that is a homologous characteristic in all dispeculates or if it evolved independently in multiple lineages. Echinatadorsum is known for having a pelt of simple hair on their back, but their relatives are largely naked. Cristunguis has quill-like structures in the dorso, derived from the external armor. Letisoricians have a few dense hairs, more noticeable in Letitrabus, with dense hair in its neck, to make a sort of beard, presumably a tool to help protect the chest respiratory orifice. Arenibovians, however, have a body largely covered in hair, to protect them from the surrounding hazards. Cauda has a naked skin, however, but still retains plenty of hairs, such as in the respiratory orifices, to protect it from sand. Ignavupeltans are very shaggy in appearance, filled with hair in most of the body. External armor is found in many maiadorsans. They usually tend to have concentrations of external armor in the head, as evidenced in the lumbercow, Echinatadorsum, Loricarumeversor and maiapeltids. However, many others have lost them, in favour of better dynamic movement. Makrolaimos has primitive armored segments spread across its back, as well as many maiapeltids. The endoskeleton of maiadorsans is also pretty unique. Although ancestrally cartilaginous, several basal maiadorsans display some levels of subtle ossification, mainly in the skull, some portions of the spine and the second and third pair of limbs (which might be why these are used frequently in locomotion). Cartilaginous or not, the maiadorsan skeleton is composed of a skull, verebrae (likely derived from the ancestral external bony armor), ribs, shoulder and pelvic girdles for each limb. The girdle of the fourth pair of limbs is derived directly from vertebrae or from an external bony armor plate, rather than deriving from proccesses of the base articulations of the limbs, as seen in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pairs. They have cartilaginous skeletons, with some subtle levels of ossification, though ossification starts becoming more adamant in caudagigantians. Letisoricians have heavy ossification in most of the skull, selected parts of the vertebral column, to help in flexibility, and, in the case of the bullet shrew, in the second and third pair of limbs, with Letitrabus having just slight ossification in those limbs. They have also evolved a long internal bony plating from the shoulder to the hip, that seems to have derived from an external bony armor plate that was internalized. This feature is unique to letisoricians. Arenibovians have, however, evolved a fully ossified skeleton. Caudians have evolved a chest area, formed by the fusion of the ribs in that area, and also evolved dermal bones. The third limb girdle has expanded to encompass the fourth limb, which is only manifested by a poorly articulated fin. Ignavupeltans lack dermal bones and a chest area altogether, and their vertebral girdle in the fourth limb is retained.

Maiadorsans are variable in size and plenty of species reach behemoth sizes at times. Arenicolus is one of the smallest, measuring just 50 cm in length. Loricarumeversor measures from 60 to 80 cm long. The bullet shrew is a small sprinting predator measuring 1,12 meters tall. Ignavus gigas measures 1,5 to 2,3 meters long. Cauda is 4 meters long. Cristunguis is 4,2 meters long. Echinatadorsum is 5 to 6 meters long. The lumbercow is 5,8 to 6,9 meters long. Maiapeltids vary in size, with the smallest species measuring 50 cm long, and the largest measuring 7 meters long. Letitrabus measures 5 to 9 meters long (depending on what appendages do you count for the length).

## Distribution and habitat

   Maiadorsans once had a very big geographical distribution. They have originated 220 million years ago, in the early Accomodatian, in the Occidentis+Thron+Terra Septentrionis continental complex. Despite their mammalian like physiology, they are actually not properly suited to cold climates, and that is why they are currently absent in Terra Septentrionis and Virtu, which have suffered severe glacial periods. Around 175 million years ago, the two lineages of modern makrodorsans have migrated to Cheru through a short lived land bridge between Cheru and Thron (back then still a part of Occidentis). This allowed the evolution of the Echinatadorsum and the Loricarumeversor, the only Media Insulan maiadorsans. It is believed they weren't as successful as in other continents, due to competition with several other species of dispeculates. It is also not fully aware why more species haven't managed to reach Cheru after Thron split from Occidentis 125-75 million years ago, though it is believed, that maiadorsans weren't as relevant as they were back in the Variagene-Compsogene as much as they are now, in the Recensgene, which allowed them to suffer more heavily from the faunal interchanges. Instead, it is believed that the Recensgene has been a moment of diversity for the several lineages of maiadorsans that have evolved since. Currently they are found almost in every biome in Occidentis and Auth, occupying prey and predator guilds. The basalmost lumbercow is found in the northern regions of Occidentis. The savanna-dwelling Makrolaimos is actually a very unique creature, related to Loricarumeversor, which is only found in the Gabre archipelago; while the latter is likely absent from the mainland due to severe climatic changes that dried up most of the southern parts of the continent, the Makrolaimos is much more well adapted and found in Occidentis. It is believed the Makrolaimos arboreal ancestors island-hopped to Tenebris and reached Occidentis through a land bridge. They are currently only found there. The other Media Insulan maiadorsan is Echinatadorsum, which is a predator found only close to the mountainous regions, to avoid competition from other predators down below. The Cristunguia clade is exclusive to Occidentis and Auth. The basalmost is the predatorial Cristunguis only found in the tropical jungles of Occidentis. The Letitrabus is found in deserts of Occidentis, and its relatives were spread all across Tenebris as well, but currently, only the bullet shrew remains... a predator found in the temperate regions of Auth. Also spread all across the Occidentis-Tenebris complex, were the arenibovians. Two clades of arenibovians are known, with caudians being desert-specialists. The small Arenicolus is exclusive to the Occidentian deserts, while Cauda is found in Auth deserts. Caudians seem to have originated somewhere in Occidentis and then island hopped to Auth, from Virtu. Ignavupeltans, on the other hand, seem to have originated in Auth and are native there. Ignavus is native to the temperate forests of the continent, while maiapeltids include several different species spread all across the continent, inhabiting various different biomes.

## Diet

Maiadorsan diet is very variable, with herbivores, omnivores and carnivores existing. The lumbercows are herbivores, feeding on the fresh photosynthetic organs of bone trees. Due to having eight column-like legs, they are able to spread their weight confortably with less than four pairs, and they can even lift their front body to take down bone trees, and feed on the fallen vegetation. Echinatadorsum is a carnivore, targeting other alpine-dwelling dispeculates that it can kill with its sharp lateral proboscis. Loricarumeversor are herbivores, using their proboscis and their arms that are specialized to break bone tree armor so to feed on their "flesh". Makrolaimos is an herbivore that hugs small bone trees and extends its toothy proboscis to chew and feed on the soft bone tree leaves. Cristunguis are carnivores and pack hunters, having a physique simillar to felids, as they jump to their prey and bite with their jaws, which are actually composed of the first frontal limb pair. Letitrabus must have one of the most unique hunting strategies, as they use the last pair of legs, that end in focalized lens that can narrow down the sunlight and deliver nasty burns on the prey, to the point of exhaustion if not death. These creatures will then slowly walk towards the kill and vomit over it, to aid in digestion and allow the consumption of the melted meat, as they are incapable of feeding on large chunks of flesh. They store fat and water from long fleshy protuberances below the neck. The bullet shrew is also an amazing hunter. It stands still for hours (or even days) waiting for a prey to pass by, and when it does, it will release the energy that has accumulated in its leg muscles and accelerate at immense speeds to the prey, piercing their prey with their snout and effecively mauling the prey. The digestion occurs externally, just like its Occidentian relative, and the digestion will take a very long time, so this creature can survive with food still in its stomach for up to almost three weeks. The Arenicolus is an opportunistic nocturnal omnivore, with eyesight adapted to see their prey in the dark, while its central proboscis is used to sense scent particles in the air. They hunt small dispeculates in the desert and munch on some celestiphytes. Their sharp lateral proboscis trap the prey and keep it stuck in the mouth. Back teeth grind their food if needed. Cauda is largely herbivore. It feeds on celestiphytes and has a long bone rostrum adapted to dig the ground in search of underground food, like roots and even insect-like dispeculates that hide under the sand. The Ignavus is a herbivore, that actually evolved a symbiotic relationship with a polyspeculate that grows on its hairy back. The polyspeculates deliver nutrients to the Ignavus, while the Ignavus allows protection, privileged spots of sunlight and spreading of the species across the areas where the dispeculate passes through. Maiapeltids have a variable diet, but many are herbivores, omnivores, sibodosivores and even carnivores. Polyaspis is a grazer; Platyaspis are generalistic omnivores, feeding mostly on polyspeculates, but sometimes going after small dispeculates, carcasses and running sidobosians; Gigantodendranops browses on treetops; Rhinacheirus feed on underground dispeculates, as they dig undergound, like moles.

## Behaviour and sociality

Maiadorsans display varying degrees of sociality. Lumbercows live, for example, in herds of 20-30 individuals, with immature individuals making up one third of the herd's total population. When surrounded by predators, the herd uses its numbers to its benefit, and usually form a perimeter around their young, exposing their hardened rostrums to ram any predators that may want to get too close. When alone, lumbercows will openly charge and ram any threats if needed. Echinatadorsum hunt solitarily or in mating pairs. They mark their territory with wastes released from their cloaca. Loricarumeversor and Makrolaimos live in family groups of up to 10 individuals. They are characterized for having display features like crests or sails, whose shapes are actually unique between each individual. They communicate via low-frequency sounds. Cristunguis live in small packs, hunting prey together. They dig burrows where they take refuge to protect their eggs and rest away from outside disturbance. They may climb trees as well. Letitrabus seems to be a solitary creature, wandering around in the desert, but once it gets a mate, they mate for life. Sometimes, polyspeculates grow on the Letitrabus back, which sometimes take nutrients from its skin, though for the Letitrabus benefit, this flora might attract life that may be seen as prey for the Letitrabus. Bullet shrews are fully solitary their entire lives, however. Arenicolus demonstrate very complex social structures. They live in family groups based around a gallery of burrows where they can hide, store food, water and their young. The dominant male is the patriarch, the leader of the group, with adult females staying just below the dominant male, in terms of hierarchy, followed by youngsters, and then other adult males. Adult males are the ones that are the last to eat and perform important tasks in the group, unable to mate with the females of the group as well, and some are forced to leave the group in search of new females to lay down its own family. Individuals take turns in finding food and water for the group, storing it in inflatable cheeks. Water is distributed to the whole group, which can have around 15 individuals. Cauda have a simillar hierarchy, with a dominant male ruling and mating in a medium-sized herd across the desert, with the remaining males not mating with any of the females. Sometimes members of the herd leave it to find food or water and return to the herd to inform them on their discovery. Ignavus and maiapeltids are social and live in groups. Ignavus groups only serve a role in mutual protection, as they show no hierarchy whatsoever, only eventually interacting for mating. Maiapeltids simillarly live in groups. While most species don't display any solid hierarchy, only using the herds for mutual protection, the Platyaspis genus is, however, much more social, with packs and pairs forming for the sake of sharing their territory, but are versatile enough to choose which indviduals to hate, and can be very aggressive, fighting others through headbutts, for mating and/or for carcasses.

## Reproduction

All maiadorsans reproduce through oviparous means, i.e., they lay eggs. They have to lay their eggs on land, and the embryos are surrounded by some sort of amniotic sac, which allows the young to be properly prepared to hatch out from the egg and live their life as free-living creatures. Most maiadorsans are born precocial, but there are exceptions. Most of them do take care of their clutch, whether it be up to the point the eggs hatch, or after the young reach maturity, though at least one species abandons their eggs all together. The lumbercow is the basalmost maiadorsan. They usually do not display any form of complicated display feature, with only the male presenting itself to the female before performing the coitus. Like every maiadorsan, the fertilization is internal, a characteristic also shared by cetathalassans. The female will eventually lay a clutch of softshell leathery bumpy eggs on the ground. The number of eggs in maiadorsans is never over 8-10 eggs, so maiadorsans tend to lay a comparatively small clutch of hatchlings. Lumbercows take care of the eggs, and as they hatch, the young will follow the herd around. A herd of 20-30 adults might have 6-10 youngsters. These will eventually abandon the herd once they reach maturity, so to find a new herd to live. The makrodorsans share behavioural simillarities with lumbercows too. They also lay softshelled leathery bumpy eggs on the ground, and take care of the eggs and the babies until they mature and leave their parents protection. Echinatadorsum form long lasting mating pairs, with each individual excreting an oily substance from their cloaca, whose odor attracts potential mates. Once they mate, they form a mating bond, as they take care of their eggs and young. They will hunt together to give subsistence to their young. Once the young reach maturity, they will leave their parents, and the mating pair will dissolve as a result. Loricarumeversor and Makrolaimos share a lifestyle based on group-living. Their mating display is based on their sails and head structures. Each sail actually has a unique shape that allows for distinction of individuals. They lay their eggs on the ground and take care of the young before they reach maturity. Once the sails of the young makrolaimans start to gain vibrant colors, it is a sign they reached sexual maturity and they will then leave the group to form their own family in another group. Cristunguis, despite being at the base of the Cristunguia clade (otherwise known for laying hard-shelled eggs), still retains the primitive soft-shelled leathery bumpy egg structure. Cristunguis are known for living in packs, digging burrows to allow for them to sleep undisturbed. Males use their head crest and the second pair of limbs, supporting bright green membranes, to impress females. Once the mating occurs, the female will go through a two week long gestation period, and once its over, it will lay 2-3 reddish 15 cm long eggs on a burrow, which she will incubate with her own body, for three weeks. Their babies are precocial, but unlike the lumbercow and the makrodorsans, the babies are born completely independent of their parents survival, and will hunt on their own. The Caudagigantia clade has eventually evolved hard-shelled eggs, however, reasons for which are still to be properly understood. Letitrabus is a solitary creature but mates for life. The mating season occurs in the rain season. Males may sometimes fight against each other, slapping their necks like a giraffe, but when given the chance, they may even use their lens to direct burning rays of sunlight to their rival to inflict damage. The winner wins the right to mate and stays with the female for life. They lay one to three small hard-shelled eggs in a polyspeculate bush. Once they hatch, the young will follow their parents up until they are old enough to live on their own. The bullet shrew is unique among maiadorsans for not displaying any parental care. Males and females join together only to mate, with the male mounting the female (typical copulation method of Maiadorsa). The female will then lay 3 to 5 flattened spheroid hardshelled eggs under a nearby bush and abandons the eggs altogether. To break the shell, the babies position themselves to kick the shell violently, and then they run out of the nest to latch themselves to a dispeculate and pursue a parasitic life before becoming mature. It is believed the superprecocial lifestyle of the bullet shrews arrived with the very unique lifestyles it adopted. Unlike letisorician flattened spheroid eggs, the arenibovians lay completely spherical eggs, an adaptation that forced them to construct sophisticated "nests" to protect them and improve their parental caring abbilities. Arenicolus start their mating rituals with males showing off their back legs that hold large fins, that are flushed with their bluish blood. Males are very aggressive towards each other, and only tolerate each other once only one has made clear he is the right one to mate with the surrounding females. Males will compete for mating with frequency, and the winner will make sure it dominates over the surrounding females. A group with multiple females will construct an individual chamber for each female that has eggs to take care of. They lay 6 to 8 eggs on a subterranean chamber, and will incubate them with their body heat. The babies are born precocial but will stick with their parents and their group for food and water. The protection of the young is shared among different individuals of the group, while other individuals leave the group to find resources. Once they reach maturity, the young may either stick to the same group and help with the protection of the next generation, or leave the group. Young males will typically leave the group to find new mates. Cauda has a simillar hierarchy. There's a dominant male, who uses its fin-like back legs to impress mates and will attack any males that dare to challenge him. The females will make a depression in the ground and will lay the eggs in a position so that they can sit around and engulf them to incubate them. The babies will hatch and will be protected by the herd, and once they reach maturity, some members will decide to stay or leave the herd. Unlike caudians, however, the ignavupeltans have altricial babies, which made it problematic for them to lay their eggs on the ground and have their babies wander around with little protection on their end from predators. As a result ignavupeltans evolved a hairy pouch, supported by their original second pair of limbs, where they incubate their eggs, which have a thick, yet porous shell, to allow for better air exchange. The babies hatch and stay in the pouch before being able to fully move on their own with their mother. For sexual display, ignavupeltans usually use ornamentations of their head, like horns or antlers, to impress their mates (in the case of Rhinacheirus, their poor eyesight prevents them from using visual displays and they instead use territorial fights against males to dictate the ones that have the right to mate). The horns may be useful for intraspecific combat as well.