Ferntails (order Brachnocauda) are a group of cold-adapted thelocauds with a unique and advantageous adaptation: true thermoregulation. Descendant from semicursorial thelocauds of Dome 4, they were evicted from their niches when nimbler dromaeopods took over. As a result, they may have moved into the lower decks and from there migrated into the cooler environment of Dome 5. In this more demanding habitat, their ancestral filaments spread across the body to form a furry covering, and their old regional thermoregulation was expanded to complete thermoregulation. Ferntails often group with each other for warmth. To aid this, the end of their tails were lengthened and erected for better visibility. The specimen depicted is a small insectivore, feeding primarily on terrestrial hibbertopterids.
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