Megapodus miserastrix is the oldest known species of megapod, a clade of megafaunal latapod, to be found on in Dome 4. They probably diverged from the rest of their clade very early on, when the presence of exclusively small predators drove evolutionary pressure to grow bigger and bigger, until they reached a size unobtainable for arthropods. These animals grazed exclusively on canopies, having developed a large gut for leaf fermentation. Owing to their ancestral lack of necks, as their cephalic and thoracic armours were fused, as in all antiarchs, they instead elongated their bodies. Much like eusthenopods, megapods were likely only vulnerable from predation as juveniles, a reason why many species might have evolved parental care. Though megapods likely still survive to this day on the lost micro-continent, they have been warped into unrecognisable pillar-like tripodal forms. Still, it is a better fate than extinction.
Comments
Post a Comment