u/Mountain_Body_3897

Description
-Discovery and natural history:

For hundreds of years, Europe and Western Asia were filled with myths of giant, two winged, fire breathing reptilian creatures. Dragons were always part of the collective imagination of many cultures, particularly those originating in the Mediterranean basin. Over time, these tales and legends eventually vanished or became nothing more than stories. It was not until 1861 that the carcass of a 3 meter long organism with a reptilian appearance and two large sails on the sides of its body was discovered in the Balkan Republic, in what is now modern day Croatia. For several years, it was believed that this unidentified species was the remains of some large mammal that had been scavenged by a predator or that it exhibited a malformation on the sides of its body, given that its advanced state of decomposition made precise identification extremely difficult. In 1873, an adult specimen of D. mediterraneus, known today as the Mediterranean dragon, was discovered in northern Italy, an event that quickly became global news for zoologists and biologists worldwide. This specimen was named Fiammeta, and its skeletal remains are still preserved in the Museo Civico di Zoologia in Rome. Following the discovery of this species, additional dragons were discovered in other parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and even in the Amazon, establishing that they belong to a subfamily containing 21 genera and 57 species with a nearly global distribution. Originally classified as a family closely related to chameleons, it was determined in 1933, seven years after the formal description of Coelurosauravus elivensis, that these reptiles were actually avicephalans belonging to the family Weigeltisauridae, forming their own subfamily, the Epipleotselinidae. This group of diapsids is characterized by the presence of pseudogastralia, bones relatively similar to the gastralia found in many other reptiles such as crocodilians, which provide enhanced muscle attachment for their wings and structural protection for their abdomen. Fossil studies have demonstrated that this group survived through the Mesozoic, adapting to tropical environments, primarily islands. By the Cretaceous period, the group was already widely distributed across present day Europe, Asia, and North America. Following the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event, only the Asian species survived, taking refuge mainly in coastal areas or islands. This is how they spread throughout the entire Indian Ocean, where the majority of species are concentrated, later expanding into the Pacific around 44 million years ago, interior Asia 23 million years ago, and finally reaching Europe approximately 17 million years ago, where the tribe Megalodraconi eventually emerged, to which all giant dragons belong.

-Ecology of D. mediterraneus:

Dispinosuchus mediterraneus, also known as the Mediterranean dragon or Common European dragon, is the most widely recognized and distributed species among the giant dragons. They range from the Iberian Peninsula through France, Switzerland, Italy, and most of the Balkans, where they inhabit temperate forests or mountainous regions with abundant vegetation. The primary characteristic of this species is that, like other giant dragons, females lose the ability to fly upon reaching adulthood. During their youth, offspring remain with their mother, typically in a cave or an abandoned burrow stolen from another animal. Here, the juveniles depend entirely on their mother, who brings them food remains, usually hunted prey, as the young are not yet adapted to feed on carrion. Once they grow large enough, males begin living in trees, becoming major raptorial predators of rodents, small birds, and occasionally insects, while females transition to a terrestrial lifestyle, as their bodies become too heavy to climb. Females hunt medium sized prey, such as rabbits, wild boar piglets, fawns, large birds, or scavenge carrion, which they carry back to their lair to feed, leaving remains like bones to mark their territory and signal to other females that the area is occupied. Nevertheless, territorial disputes occasionally occur between them, during which both females raise their wing membranes to intimidate each other. If neither backs down, a physical fight ensues, which can last for hours and often ends fatally for one of the individuals. In females, the wings serve not only for mutual intimidation, but also to make them appear larger to competitors such as bears or wolves, and to increase surface area to absorb heat during the coldest winter days. Social interaction between males and females is virtually non existent outside of courtship, and interactions among females are rare and highly aggressive due to their intense territoriality. However, males not only exhibit an extensive social life, but entire communities of them have been observed living together. These male groups are more common in areas with abundant resources that result in low competition. They gather primarily to protect each other from predators and engage in mutual grooming, though several studies have shown that they can form homosexual pair bonds. Cases have been documented of male pairs caring for lost or rejected offspring as if they were their own. The origin of these behaviors in male Mediterranean dragons remains an unsolved mystery. Nevertheless, the prevailing theory suggests that, like other dragons, these animals are monogamous and highly social by nature, maintaining lifelong pair bonds, leading researchers to believe that the lack of interaction between males and females has redirected these social behaviors exclusively among males.

Around 3490, humanity arrived at Occasus, an orange dwarf 14 light years from Earth, after detecting that its second planet, Occasus B, currently known as Gehenum, presented complex organic molecules and biological byproducts throughout its atmosphere. This initiated an expedition that continues to the present day, following the recent arrival of humans to the system.

Gehenum is a rocky planet slightly smaller than Earth, characterized by the presence of an extremely dense atmosphere, approximately 83 times that of Earth. This vast quantity of heavy gases in its atmosphere is because of the planet's immense volcanic activity, which, despite being older than Earth, is estimated to be relatively more active. The planet releases hight amounts of particulate matter and greenhouse gases. Furthermore, this atmospheric density is also attributed to the scarce water bodies on the planet, with only one that can be considered large, similar in size to Australia.

Unlike Venus, Gehenum has a much more regulated temperature due to the lower amount of light and heat it receives and its distance from its star, reaching maximums of 70°C in the deepest zones of the planet, while in upper layers the temperature hovers around 25°C. This has allowed life to survive and create complex ecosystems adapted to their planet despite Gehenum's extreme conditions.

The majority of its biodiversity is located in its mesosphere, where immense quantities of flying autotrophic organisms form floating forests and clouds of aeroplankton that have established the foundations of numerous ecosystems. Moreover, upon dying, these organisms generate large amounts of biosnow that falls toward the bottom, creating a constant supply of organic matter for the living beings inhabiting lower layers.

Apart from the mesosphere, Gehenum's stratosphere represents another of the most widespread ecosystems on the planet, though likely one of the most dangerous and extreme. Here, the amount of light is minimal, with an abundance of immense clouds composed of aerosols, particles, and highly acidic compounds carried by powerful updrafts and downdrafts. These clouds behave almost like liquid masses, which, upon rubbing against other clouds or particles, generate static electricity that ultimately discharges in a nearly constant electrical storm, fatal to most living beings. Even so, extremophiles and unusual predators have managed to adapt and survive under these conditions.

Finally, the lowest layer harboring life on Gehenum is the troposphere. This layer receives the majority of the pressure, causing the gas to behave almost like a fluid. The winds are calmer, making this zone far more similar to abyssal floors than to the surface of a typical planet. Here, there is no light, temperatures usually exceed 50 degrees, water is virtually absent, and the vast majority of the air consists of heavy gases and particles. While this would make life here seem impossible, the massive amount of organic matter falling from upper layers, along with the abundance of autotrophic organisms, has given rise to some of the strangest ecosystems and organisms humanity has ever witnessed

In a distant future, where the Earth has worn away almost completely, the surviving biota has undergone radical processes of adaptation. The planetary surface is predominantly covered by vast deserts of extreme temperatures, which has forced the scarce remaining lineages to inhabit polar zones, coastal ecosystems, or directly marine environments. The most critical extinction event recorded in this period occurred approximately 220 million years into the future, when the impact of radiation emitted by a nearby supernova eradicated nearly 99% of the planet's organisms. This cataclysm reduced macrofauna to tiny creatures, with maximum lengths barely reaching 10 centimeters, mostly restricted to cave systems and abyssal trenches. This severe decline in taxonomic richness formed the biological foundation that had to recolonize a desolate and hostile planet, resulting in extreme anatomical modifications in all of its descendants.
The phylum Arthropoda represented the group with the greatest capacity for resilience and subsequent diversification. Despite suffering a drastic loss of species, the clade achieved a rapid functional recovery, filling vacant ecological niches in a highly efficient manner.

Among the few survivors of the subphylum Chelicerata, the order Sfinctirapleura stands out, consisting of descendants of mites that evolved toward an asymmetrical and dorsally flattened body plan. Their ocular system underwent a lateralized migration, such that one of the eyes provides a continuous 360 degree field of view while the front eye optimizes depth perception. In the mouthparts, the jaw absorbed the chelicerae through the fusion of a plate arranged over the primary structure that operates functionally as a lip. The locomotory appendages experienced the clade's most drastic transformation, evolving into highly muscularized elastic structures equipped with internal valves, giving them an appearance convergent with that of the extinct lobopodians. These appendages display a clear functional asymmetry in the anterior and posterior regions. The front limbs perform specialized tasks independently, with one appendage commonly devoted to prey capture and the opposite one used for display, object manipulation, digging, or climbing. In the rear pair, the left limb has been modified exclusively as a gonopod in most species, exhibiting a reduction in segment count and a flattened, spatula-like physiognomy.

The order Sagonipoda derives from a lineage of highly transformed neotenic beetles whose mouthparts hypertrophied into locomotion appendages of high complexity. These structures feature a terminal pad associated with a pseudopedipalp and are supported by a biomechanical adaptation unprecedented in arthropods, consisting of the development of soft structures analogous to the tube feet of echinoderms. These appendages, composed almost entirely of muscle tissue, actively participate in larval locomotion and food manipulation. Given the predominantly bipedal condition of adults, the group has developed an extremely elongated and hard ovipositor that functions as a structural support appendage to prevent loss of balance.

For their part, the Anemistirapods constitute one of the most diverse clades of the period, deriving from springtails. This lineage transformed its first pair of legs into chelicera-like structures, while the second pair was modified into respiratory fans that act as external lungs. Terrestrial locomotion relies exclusively on the rear pair of legs and the furca. Nevertheless, most of its representatives have functionally integrated into the aeroplankton, inhabiting atmospheric currents above the vast continental deserts to avoid direct contact with the hyperthermic substrate.

Finally, among the most derived forms, the Pseudoacolicas stand out as close relatives of the Sagonipods that deepened their neotenic processes to consolidate vermiform morphologies. This group suffered the total loss of true legs, retaining only fleshy pseudopods along the body. Likewise, they present a highly specialized, fleshy proboscis exhibiting various trophic adaptations, primarily oriented toward ambush predation and obligate parasitism

330 million years into the future, the vast majority of vertebrates have ended up extinct at the hands of a nearby supernova explosion approximately 78 million years ago. Although they remain relevant, they have not maintained the absolute superiority they previously held, in both terrestrial and aquatic niches. One of the groups that most confronted and competed with them were the kelyphopods, a group of mollusks derived from cephalopods that internalized their shell and eventually became creatures with an internally calcified skeleton. Following the extinction, they exploded in biodiversity, and currently, the main groups are mostly aerial predators. The largest family is the ankathipters, immense, highly derived carnivores that can exceed the size of a human. Around North America, we find the common vulture, the most widely distributed and successful species. Unlike other groups, their eyes are located at the top of a neck-like structure that affords them a nearly 360° view of their entire surroundings. Inside this structure lies a pseudo-skull housing a secondary brain responsible for directly processing information from the eyes and rhinophores. The true brain is located within an internal rib cage in front of the lungs, which are notably large and connected to air sacs filled with hydrogen. Together with the patagium present on their front tentacles, these air sacs enable the animals to glide slowly. This serves them well when hunting, as they are predators specialized in ambush attacks from above, spreading their tentacles and inflating their lungs to descend slowly toward prey, which is then seized by the animal's appendages. The wings feature modified suckers with internal spines that function as fingers, helping them when climbing.

Males are known for crafting decorative facial ornaments, similar to masks, which they wear during displays to females to demonstrate their material handling skills and high intelligence. Following mating, the larvae are deposited in low-lying areas within underground nests that are frequently stolen from other species. They will feed on detritus and carrion until their bones and lungs are fully developed, at which point they emerge to the surface and begin their lives as active hunters. The larvae are known to emit ultrasonic sounds via beak vibrations to call any vulture that happens to be nearby. This type of mutualistic relationship between larva and adult provides defense for the young and food for the adult. Nevertheless, since in most cases the larva is not actually the offspring of the specimen responding to its rescue call, the adults usually consume them if they fail to catch the targeted prey, leading the larvae to adapt to only calling them in critical moments

The floating islands harbor on their surface some of the most unique microecosystems in Molaria, constituting an extremely diverse source of resources that has favored the colonization, evolution, and rapid adaptive radiation of various clades, whose current representatives show extreme morphological divergences from their basal patterns.

Probably the most divergent taxon inhabiting these environments is that of the slugfish. These organisms with morphology analogous to that of gastropods derived phylogenetically from the skin muncher, transforming the ancestral ventral sucker into a locomotory foot. Inside this appendage, simple skeletal elements developed that act exclusively as points of muscle insertion. Although they retain the ability to adhere to smooth surfaces such as the algae on which they feed, they usually move actively over the mucous layer of the host fish.

The emperor flateel represents the largest predator within this ecosystem. It presents an extremely elongated and horizontally compressed body reminiscent of a ribbon, moving through undulations through the algae. It plays the role of trophic regulator by controlling herbivore populations that could potentially constitute pests. Its jaw presents scissor-like modifications with enough power to pierce through an adult man's hand from side to side, causing lethal damage to its prey. The reproductive dynamics of this species are poorly documented because the population density is usually limited to a single individual per floating island. It is believed that reproduction occurs exclusively when two islands exchange their biota in social interactions, although this hypothesis requires more evidence.

The icangararas integrate a genus of armored fish that has specialized in inhabiting the periphery of the floating islands. They move in the vicinity of the host, feeding on both the algal culture and small ectoparasites. These fish exercise a mutualistic protective role, alerting the giant fish to the presence of macropredators and using a pigmented substance analogous to cephalopod ink to deter or distract threats, even coming to block the gills of attackers.
For their part, the mower fish constitute larger herbivorous descendants derived from the mole fish. Their lower tooth presents continuous growth and an extremely sharp edge to cut algae with precision, while their lower fin has transformed into a subtly articulated structure with horizontal orientation that acts as a maneuvering caudal fin at ground level. In juvenile stages, no consumption of plant material is observed, as they inhabit the lower areas of the floating island feeding on hard-shelled organisms to synthesize the calcium required during dental calcification.

The feather teeth are organisms whose adult morphology is practically unrecognizable among vertebrates. The larvae show an asymmetrical and elongated fonsiognomy typical of a flat Ranzania, but upon reaching the mature stage they semi-bury themselves in the mucosa of the island. In this process, the lower gill hypertrophies, deploying filamentous structures specialized in both gas exchange and capturing suspended particles. Remaining semi-buried in the mucosa, only the cranial region and the anal opening are exposed to the outside, adopting a strictly sessile lifestyle. This condition has led to severe anatomical regression, characterized by the loss of multiple organs, extreme reduction of the brain in favor of spinal control, atrophy of the internal skeleton with the exception of the ossified skull, and total reabsorption of structures such as the eyes. This genus is not exclusive to floating islands, being also recorded in estuarine environments, swamps, and shallow coastal areas with soft sediments.

The boomerang fish integrate another genus of flattened molaids that has undergone rapid adaptive radiation in benthic niches. This taxon stands out for presenting articulated bony protuberances provided with independent mobility on the margins of its fins, which function as grasping appendages. These structures allow them to anchor and climb through the macroalgae network. Despite this locomotory adaptation, it is an active hunter of echinoderms and small fish, which it pursues through the vegetation until capturing them with an extremely powerful retractable jaw apparatus.

Among the smallest vertebrates on the planet are the mite fish, small relatives of the mole fish that inhabit the interior of the mucous tissue of floating islands, feeding on the host's epidermis. They build complex networks of colonial galleries that can extend across the entire body surface of the animal. The clade's reproductive system is functional hermaphroditic with role differentiation. Most individuals barely reach a centimeter in length and play the female reproductive role by presenting atrophiated male gonads. The colony has a single dominant individual of larger size, close to 3 centimeters, which develops the male reproductive system and acts as the primary breeder. Upon the death of the dominant individual, the smallest specimen usually undergoes a hormonal transition that triggers the development of male organs and rapid somatic growth. Occasionally, large female-role specimens may alter their hormones to challenge the dominant breeder if they perceive a decline in its reproductive performance.

Finally, the gill-piercers constitute a genus of highly derived neotenic Ranzanias that have consolidated a niche based on hematophagy and micropredation. They present small dimensions and habitually inhabit the gill cavities of large megafauna. They extract blood from the gill filaments through highly specialized and keratinized labial structures simulating a beak, having completely lost their dentition due to neotenic processes. The species denominated tiger gill-piercer, specifically adapted to floating islands, shows greater longevity than other parasites because its biological cycle is synchronized with the reproductive period of the host to guarantee the infestation of the offspring. These organisms are capable of modifying the host's reproductive cycle through the secretion of hormones directly into the bloodstream. During courtship, males employ display sacs located on the sides of the stomach that inflate with water, projecting the ventral region with an intense scarlet coloration produced by the blood stored inside

55.8 million years P.E., among the emerging megafauna of Molaria, the species commonly referred to as floating islands stands out. Despite their colloquial designation, these organisms actually constitute gigantic Ranzania that reach lengths of up to 8 meters, derived from the garden fish.

Following the stabilization of ecosystems, the increase in the availability of trophic resources, and the attenuation of meteorological disturbances, this lineage managed to undergo a drastic increase in its size. Floating islands have consolidated as a frequent species in shallow and coastal environments of equatorial latitudes, regions characterized by constant light and temperature. This environmental factor is critical for the organism's survival, given that, homologous to their ancestors, these individuals harbor massive communities of symbiotic algae that proliferate along their body surface. The key evolutionary divergence lies in the fact that the majority fraction of the fish's nutrients comes directly from the plant cultures on its dorsal region. This algal cover is extraordinarily dense and has structured a complex microecosystem on the host, which generates a constant flow of organic matter that reciprocally benefits the floating island. The algae dont absorb nutrients directly from the dermis or the mucous secretions of the fish, which allows the integrity of a healthy epidermal barrier to be maintained, optimizing biological defense against ectoparasites and predators.

In the absence of obligate mutualistic symbionts to perform the maintenance of the algal cultures, the offspring require cohabiting with the mother for a period of several months, interacting through direct physical contact to progressively acquire their mother's flora and fauna. Likewise, it is common to observe social interactions where two adult individuals reciprocally exchange surface organisms, a behavior aimed at preserving the stability of the dermal ecosystem and ensuring a constant flow of microenvironmental food webs between both specimens.

50.2 million years post establishment, the dynamics of the continuous advance and retreat of glacial masses have generated intense erosion on the substrate, simultaneously causing the evaporation of considerable volumes of water into the atmosphere. This phenomenon has culminated in the proliferation of numerous freshwater bodies across the continents of Molaria, increasing the flow of river networks to unprecedented levels. As a direct consequence, biodiversity in these continental aquatic ecosystems has been notably boosted, registering a taxonomic richness estimated to be close to triple that documented just 5 million years ago.

In the marshy areas of Papatuanuku and the coastal wetlands of the Aputa Sea, one of the largest and most unique predators of these ecosystems is distributed. The Nihotamis is a formidable hunter that has transformed its fins into marginal membranes extending along most of its body, allowing it to execute an efficient anguilliform displacement in shallow waters with dense vegetation. Its trophic strategy is based on ambush, a behavior convergent with that of other fish sharing a similar ecological niche, although its individual morphological adaptations are exceptional. Its upper tooth is articulated by an independent bone, a biomechanical specialization that allows it to retract the tooth to drive it deeply into the tissues of its prey, while, when the jaw is occluded, this structure projects forward, simulating a beak that males actively use during intraspecific combat. Despite its closer phylogenetic proximity to the eaglefish, this taxon exhibits gills morphologically analogous to those of several benthic Ranzania, equipped with a soft tissue that operates as a siphon designed to easily expel sedimentary particles from the medium.

For their part, the mistletoe fish constitute small filtering organisms that move in low density schools. Their sharp and singular morphology provides an effective defense against most predators, retaining elongated bony projections in the adult stage that emerge from the caudal region and the fins. Their anatomy also presents a marked lateral compression, which enables them to move among vegetation, mimicking the it environment. This species stands out for its advanced cognitive development, manifested in the ability to permanently recognize other individuals and previously visited locations, as well as establishing complex social interactions through courtship patterns and dances involving the undulation of their fins and the rotation of the body.

The Shuck fish are undisputedly one of the most extravagant creatures in Molaria. Their uniqueness lies not only in the persistence of a fully functional tail, a trait shared with other relatives due to their neotenic origin, but in the fact that their entire skin is lined with a dermal layer reinforced with calcium, a structural condition reminiscent of the exoskeleton of arthropods. This armor fulfills a protective function and provides the necessary structural support given the deficient calcification of its internal skeleton, which is almost entirely made of cartilaginous tissue. Because this pseudo-exoskeleton significantly restricts the organism's mobility, the lineage has developed a transverse segmentation along the tail to preserve the necessary flexibility and propulsive power.

Finally, occupying the niche of primary consumers subsisting at the expense of riverbed flora, is the ram fish, one of the few descendants of the Ranzania that has consolidated a strictly herbivorous diet. Its body is robust and rounded, characterized by a voluminous stomach system and flattened teeth that optimize the intake of large masses of vegetation with each bite. It is common for these animals to ingest gastroliths to facilitate the mechanical fragmentation and digestion of plant tissues within the digestive tract given the impossibility of true mastication, a mechanism analogous to that observed in various Earth vertebrates, such as birds or reptiles. The prominent structure located in the cranial region is a secondary sexual characteristic exclusive to males, who use it both in visual courtship displays and in direct agonistic interactions to deter competitors

For several million years, the evolutionary record of Molaria's marine systems has documented the emergence and rapid adaptive radiation of a specialized Ranzania lineage stimulated by the new global environmental conditions. This clade, commonly referred to as sabertooth fish, constitutes a group of predators highly divergent from their basal morphological pattern that have drastically reconfigured their anatomy to exclusively occupy apex predator niches.

Among their main anatomical modifications, the near absolute loss of jaw protrusion stands out, a skeletal regression compensated for by the development of a significantly more robust musculature aimed at optimizing gripping force during the capture of prey, into which the organism drives its highly specialized teeth. Due to their strict preference for pelagic habitats, their fins have undergone a process of anatomical fusion with the tail, giving rise to a propulsive structure homologous to a caudal fin that serves to reach high acceleration speeds and execute tight turns in the midst of hunting incursions.

Additionally, the lineage has developed a notable osteological specialization related to its adaptation to low-temperature polar ecosystems, as one of the bones of the anal fin has dissociated from the rest of the assembly, developing an independent and subtly articulated anchorage base that lacks a membrane due to the complete loss of its locomotory function. This modified structure operates exclusively as a specialized gonopodium that channels the transfer and direct injection of sperm into the female's genital tract. After internal fertilization is consummated, the embryos hatch intrauterinely, at which point a process of intrauterine cannibalism is triggered where the first individuals to be born consume the smaller specimens or the eggs, a reproductive strategy that severely restricts the numerical success of the litter and reduces the effective offspring to a single specimen per pregnancy in most cases.

Likewise, the proliferation of cold and stable water masses, derived from the generalized thermal decline throughout Molaria, has favored the presence of this lineage in northern latitudes, where the golden saber-toothed fish is distributed, cataloged as the largest representative within the taxon. This species preys primarily on large-volume organisms such as the frostskin mola, relying on a jaw apparatus biomechanically adapted to pierce the non-Newtonian fluid tissue armor characteristic of its prey, through attacks systematically directed toward the ventral region to generate immediate and lethal lacerations.

48 million years P.E., the climate of Molaria documents the beginning of a marked global temperature drop, a phenomenon that led to the consolidation of ice masses in the polar regions and resulted in the stabilization of the adjacent marine ecosystems. In the northern hemisphere of the planet, the combination of low but stable temperatures along with a high concentration of nutrients and dissolved oxygen facilitated the appearance of a new megafauna, overcoming the limitations of the previous geological period where environmental instability restricted the largest organisms to lengths no greater than 5 meters and to highly localized geographical distributions. Following the regulation of these ecological dynamics, large-scale species underwent a rapid adaptive radiation, outstanding among them the Frostskin mola, a gigantic fish that reaches 11 meters in length and an estimated weight of 33 tons.

This filter feeder exhibits predominantly solitary habits and employs a continuous filtration feeding strategy, sweeping massive schools of dropskippers in a single ingestion, so that these echinoderms come to constitute up to 40% of its total diet due to their extraordinary abundance at the poles. Individuals of this species only abandon their solitary behavior during the reproductive period, at which point they congregate in large groups in coastal areas. In this phase, males use their lower fin as a transfer channel to deposit a spermatophore directly into the genital tract of the females, thus consummating a process of internal fertilization. Females manage a gestation period harboring between 30 and 45 internally-hatching eggs, giving birth to offspring that present an average length of 30 centimeters at birth and experience an accelerated growth rate of nearly a whole meter during their first month of life. These juvenile stages adopt a benthopelagic niche, meaning they spend their first months of development on the seabed subsisting mainly on their fat reserves and complement their nutrition by consuming small prey and carrion

46.3 million years P.E., the megacontinent of Rapanounia would split in two, and its southern part would collide with Tuaruia. These two would form Ranguinui, also known as the southern continent, and Papatuanuku, known as the northern continent. Due to the volcanic eruptions caused by this plate movement, large amounts of gases would rise into the atmosphere, creating a sort of small perpetual winter for several years where ash and other gases almost completely block sunlight. Along with this, the new Hongere Sea would entirely change marine currents, giving rise to an area of constant migration for many species and filled with underwater seagrass meadows and sand plains. All this modification of the planet would have led to the extinction of many less resilient species. Despite this, most organisms inhabiting Molaria were already pre-adapted to such harsh conditions, so there have been no major clades that have been completely lost.

Now that the first period of Molaria has ended, here is a phylogenetic tree with all the species recorded to date. But now, its time to go to the next period, the Trelaic!1!!!!1

Although I don't want to spoil too much, maybe in the future I'll create a Discord server where we can talk, you can give me ideas, or even where there will be events! But this is only an idea

Anyway, see y’all soon in the next period!

45.3 million years P.E., toward the end of the initial era of Molaria, the evolutionary record documents a drastic change in certain Ranzania lineages toward the niche of strict parasitism, an unusual ecological strategy within vertebrates.

Among the new species of this adaptive radiation we find the Skin muncher, a taxon phylogenetically close to the flap fish that possesses a body length reduced to barely a few centimeters and has specialized in developing an obligate ectoparasitic life cycle, subsisting at the expense of the skin, flesh, and blood of its hosts. To eliminate the risk of predation, this organism exhibits the ability to modify its skin, which allows it to accurately mimic the coloration, pattern, and texture of the victim's epidermis. Likewise, its ventral attachment apparatus has experienced a severe muscular hypertrophy that endows the structures distributed along the soft tissue with an exceptional suction force, a biomechanical specialization designed both to resist the mechanical detachment efforts exerted by third parties and to enable the controlled displacement of the parasite toward new regions of the host once the previous lesions have initiated their healing process.

In an even higher degree of parasitic specialization is the Tapeworm fish, an obligate endoparasite that has undergone an extreme physiological regression, simplifying most of its structures, developing a weakened cartilaginous skeletal system, and reducing its size to dimensions that barely reach a centimeter. This severe morphological change has resulted in the complete loss of the functionality of its mouth, forcing these creatures to use a highly derived branchial apparatus for the direct absorption of nutrients and dissolved oxygen within the digestive tract of the animal. In parallel, its fins have developed high-resistance keratinized protuberances that act as mechanical anchors in the intestinal wall. It is frequent for large fish to harbor multiple individuals simultaneously, promoting the succession of generations within a single specimen. However, the standard mechanism of normal dispersal involves the release of gametes into the aquatic environment for subsequent external fertilization, ensuring the continuity of the life cycle through the accidental ingestion of the eggs by new hosts.

40.1 million years P.E., Molaria documents the adaptive radiation of the dropskippers toward new ecological niches, an evolutionary process that gave way to the development of large sizes for the clade, such as for example the deepths crawlers. This family of abyssal echinoderms is strictly distributed in deep regions below 1500 meters, exhibiting a notable variability in their body dimensions, where the oral tentacle ranges from a few centimeters in certain species to reaching almost a meter in length in the most derived specimens. This maxillary structure has a complex functional specialization, its external section has developed modified tube feet for the filtration and active capture of suspended organic matter, such as marine snow, as well as small organisms, while an internal row is responsible for directing the food in a coordinated manner toward the buccal opening. Biomechanically, this tentacle possesses high flexibility thanks to an organization of really thin calcareous plates that functionally converge with a spine to provide structural support to the animal. Additionally, as a defensive adaptation, most members of this family possess bioluminescence capability, which they employ in a mimetic way to accurately replicate the shape, color and behavior pattern of highly poisonous siphonophores, achieving an aposematic mimicry strategy that immediately deters predation attempts by the carnivores of the environment

38.8 million years P.E., Molaria documents the diversification of several highly specialized lineages adapted to benthic and benthopelagic ecological niches reached by a new group of fish, flat Ranzanias.

In the littoral and coastal systems adjacent to the supercontinent, characterized by extensive sandy plains and a high density of macroinvertebrates, the Rug fish is found, a genus that stands out as one of the most flexible representatives within the Ranzania clade by exhibiting a serpentiform-type locomotion during its hunting incursions, taking advantage of the extremely flattened morphology of its body to generate continuous lateral undulations that facilitate its hydrodynamic displacement flush with the ground. Its rear fins have undergone a transition toward wide structures of reduced mobility that operate analogously to a caudal fin to stabilize its heading, while the pectoral fins, despite manifesting a notable anatomical reduction, exert a critical propulsive function when the specimen requires detaching itself abruptly from the seabed. Although the adults of this species primarily predate upon other fish, a facultative consumption of small invertebrates with hardened exoskeletons is recorded, a durophagous behavior that is significantly more pronounced in the early stages of its development, a phase in which these invertebrates constitute the base of its diet due to the physical limitation of the juveniles to capture large-scale prey.

On the other hand, in more northern latitudes, specifically in the Panga islands, coral reef ecosystems of warm waters and high biological productivity proliferate, where the Toad mola is distributed, another of the flat Ranzania species strictly adapted to benthic life. This taxon is a highly perceptive predator whose jaw apparatus is densely endowed with high-sensitivity mechanoreceptive microstructures capable of detecting the subtlest fluctuations and pressure impulses in the periphery of the organism, additionally possessing lobed fins that have morphologically converged with tetrapod limbs to allow it to propel itself abruptly or crawl clumsily over the ground, along with a notable capacity for rapid color change for camouflage purposes which they also employ intraspecífically to generate striated monochromatic patterns, similar to those of a zebra, oriented toward courtship and sexual selection.

Finally, the Flap fish represents one of the most aberrant and unusual anatomical derivations within this radiation of flat Ranzanias, characterized by the presence of a highly specialized adhesion structure on its underside that is analogus in functionality to the discoidal structure of terrestrial remora fish, which they employ to attach themselves to large fish for prolonged periods. The primary function of this mechanism is transport commensalism, mitigating the limited locomotory efficiency of its fins, which present a thickened morphology primarily adapted to displacement over the substrate. Given its generalist nature, access to food does not constitute a limiting factor. However, deviations from its behavior have been documented where individuals can act either as cleaning symbionts by removing dead tissue and ectoparasites from the host, or manifest a strict parasitism through the opening of lesions to consume muscle tissue and blood, a conduct that is not ubiquitous but rather manifests selectively in populations subjected to intense competitive pressure. It is thanks to this notable adhesive adaptation and its high dietary flexibility that this genus has managed to disperse globally throughout the entire world, a factor that has ultimately consolidated the Flap fish as an invasive species with a high potential for disruption in many ecosystems.

Having already pasased 35 million years since the introduction of organisms in Molaria, we can see in the littoral ecosystems the adaptive radiation of a lineage derived from the eagle fish, which has experienced a severe anatomical specialization oriented toward durophagy: the tooth fairy fish. The dietary spectrum of this genus is primarily constituted by benthic invertebrates with calcified exoskeletons or shells, such as mollusks and echinoderms, additionally including in their diet the opportunistic consumption of carrion and skeletons. This notable dietary plasticity is what has facilitated their global biogeographical dispersal, allowing them to successfully colonize a vast diversity of coastal ecosystems in practically the entire planet. The most relevant evolutionary innovation of this taxon lies in the structural configuration of its mouth, which, in addition to possessing great pressure force, has developed multiple overlapping rows of teeth that optimize the fracturing of dense mineral structures without difficulty. In evolutionary convergence with terrestrial species such as parrotfish, the dental pieces of this organism experience a process of continuous and unlimited growth, which makes the animal metabolically dependent on a hard diet, given that the absence of wear derived from a soft diet would cause a severe dental hypertrophy that would result in the fracturing of the pieces or the loss of the ability to ingest. For other part, the internal region of the jaw differs significantly from the basal pattern of its close relatives by being exclusively specialized in the chewing and mechanical processing of the soft tissues of the prey, although it is common for the digestive system to allow the transit of calcareous fragments that provide calcium to the organism.

35 million years P.E., the record of the littoral and coastal zones adjacent to the supercontinent of Molaria evidences the presence of the Falconclaw fish (Pterygionychia diastictus), a voracious carnivore that reaches up to 30 cm in length and that consolidates itself as one of the most efficient and formidable benthic predators of its ecosystem despite its small size. From a phylogenetic perspective, this taxon shares a close common ancestor with the flag molas, but it has radically transformed the elongated and rigid lower fin that the original lineage passively used to perch on the seabed into a highly effective hunting appendage. This limb features a base endowed with powerful muscles and has completely segregated itself from the rest of the ventral fin, developing its own independent joint that grants it a wide range of mobility. On the other hand, at its end it houses a structure analogous to a retractable claw with which the organism is capable of gripping small prey, stirring the sediment, or unearthing endobenthic organisms from their subsurface burrows if it becomes necessary. Parallel to its mechanical gripping function, the tip of this modified limb possesses mechanoreceptors distributed along several dermal pads, which enables the fish to detect tactile stimuli under the sand and turns this appendage into one of the most complex, plastic, and derived anatomical structures recorded to date in the entire evolutionary history of Molaria.

35 million years P.E., the record of the epipelagic zone in the southern hemisphere of Molaria evidences the presence of the Heinous Brutetooth (Poliramfus rex), a genus of eaglefish characterized by its diez that exceeds 3 meters in length and that consolidates itself as one of the dominant macro-predators of its ecosystem. The individuals of this species manifest a moderate gregarious behavior, organizing themselves into small coordinated schools to optimize efficiency during hunting campaigns, focusing their predatory niche primarily on the pursuit of dense schools of smaller fish. However, they exhibit a marked trophic opportunism that leads them to manifest harassing behaviors directed toward the large Garden fish, as well as scavenging habits through the exploitation of floating carcasses if the opportunity presents. Due to the rigorous and fluctuating environmental conditions of the planet, the brutetooths are forced to maintain a regime of continuous migration. During winter, the populations move toward the equatorial strip, a sector that offers a high density of small prey but is characterized by great meteorological instability, forcing the schools to constantly track the sun to evade the powerful hurricanes and storms that occur on the boundary between the night and day zone of the planet. With the advent of summer, they descend toward the latitudes of the temperate zone, an atmospherically much more controlled and stable strip despite the fact that temperatures continue to register extreme values; this seasonal stay forces the species to adapt to the cycles of day and night, which demands a complete metabolic reorganization of their entire method and strategies of hunting.

After an extended period since the introduction of organisms to the planet, at 35 million years P.E., the polar and subpolar regions of the northern hemisphere of Molaria host the Dismal Soulsnatcher (Friquiasticodonta umbricus), a species of carnivorous Ranzania with extreme adaptations for survival in cryogenic environments. This taxon presents severe cranial anatomical modifications oriented toward macro-predation, ruling itself by an immense seasonal variation in its behavior and metabolism conditioned by the fluctuations of its boreal habitat.
During the long summer of this area, the increase in water temperature triggers a massive bloom of phytoplankton and macroalgae that attracts multiple migratory species coming from the south. In this phase of high productivity, the fish manifests continuous foraging activity during almost the entire day, inspecting crevices to capture prey that it swallows whole. Despite possessing a standard body length that reaches one meter long, it features a maxillary apparatus capable of unhinging itself and a highly elastic stomach which it can expand until equaling the volume of its own body, being capable of processing and digesting prey of exceptional dimensions.
With the arrival of winter, the massive death of the algae and the total freezing of the first superficial meters of the water column cause the migration or hibernation of most of the local fauna. In the face of this severe shortage of resources, a large-scale predator cannot subsist solely on its reserves, which is why the organism enters a state of false cryptobiosis or induced metabolic torpor. In this phase, its heart rate slows down drastically and the specimen remains in absolute immobility, without moving a single centimeter for entire days, until a potential prey passes within its radius. At that instant, its body reactivates immediately, executing the capture and suction of the animal in a span of less than a second. Due to the risk of freezing derived from the extremely low temperatures of the medium and the prolonged periods of inactivity, the species has developed a mechanism of facultative regional endotermy. Upon the pick-up of any stimulus or signal in the water that betrays the proximity of food, the fish initiates a process of localized temperature increase, concentrating the generation of heat around its central nervous system and the muscles of its rear fin, optimizing the thermal preparation of its tissues to guarantee an explosive and precise response at the moment of the hunt.

Approximately 32 million years P.E., the shallow waters of Molaria host dense communities of small organisms that do not exceed 3 cm in length and that actively move by useing two lateral appendages. Despite their aberrant morphology, these crratures are actually echinoderms belonging to a clade of highly derived neotenic brittle stars that compose the family formally known as the Dropskipper (family Paracampteistagoneidae). This group emerged during the first millions of years of the immense adaptive radiation subsequent to the implantation of life on the planet, but it has been only recently that it has experienced an explosion in its biodiversity, going from a basal record of about 7 species to reaching more than 80 in a span of barely two million years. Their locomotion presents a notable evolutionary convergence with that of terrestrial copepod crustaceans, since they synchronously beat their two front arms like fins to propel themselves, while the rear arms and the central appendage are used both to direct food particles toward the oral cavity and for gas exchange, taking advantage of the dense villi of said appendages to capture dissolved oxygen in the water. Parallel to these larval-character traits, they retain structures typical of adult brittle stars such as the hard calcareous plates that cover and encapsulate their body, which, although they partially limit their flexibility, grant them critical protection against exogenous threats and provide a rigid support for the anchoring and support of the muscle bundles of their limbs.
Despite these notable mechanical adaptations, the most unusual characteristic of the dropskippers lies in their reproductive system, which is not based on the direct release of free gametes into the water column common in other taxa, but rather these organisms are hermaphrodites, being capable of producing gametes of both sexes simultaneously in order to self-fertilize. After this, the fertilized egg is subjected to large amounts of hormones that alter it so that it does not develop like a conventional zygote, but rather like a specialized structure similar to a gas bag that shelters inside the rest of the parent's gametes. The collective expulsion of these reproductive drones is carried out in a strictly synchronous manner at the population level, coordinated through the emission of chemical signals dissolved in the aquatic medium. In an extremely singular behavior which has only been seen in extreme cases, if after release it is detected that a drone has not carried out the dispersal of its gametes or remains intact, the parental organism is capable of reabsorbing it, introducing it back into its body cavity and reconnecting it to its vascular system to supply it with nutrients and recover the energy investment invested in the process.

The appearance of the Dwarf Ghost Mola (Gyalinodermichthya kymatistis), dated approximately at 32 million years P.E., represents one of the most singular evolutionary events within the Ranzania clade due to the drastic reconfiguration of its basal body plan, which establishes the basis for the development of future, even more derived descendants.

The evolutionary success of this genus lies in a process of neoteny, through which individuals reach sexual maturity while retaining in their adult stage the vast majority of the morphological characteristics typical of larval stages. Among these paedomorphic traits, a markedly reduced size stands out, alongside the presence of spiky protuberances covering its body, a soft skeletal structure consisting mainly of cartilaginous tissue, and, fundamentally, the retention of a true tail. Although its dimensions are reduced and its musculature is low, the persistence of this caudal fin grants them an immediate locomotive advantage and endows the lineage with a high potential for diversification for future evolutionary ramifications.

Along with these body modifications, the genus Gyalinodermichthya presents the development of branched external gills similar in appearance to those of Earth's axolotls. These structures originated as an anomaly of embryonic development which, thanks to the conditions of high purity and optimal concentration of dissolved oxygen in the oceans of Molaria, did not turn out to be detrimental to the survival of the animal, consolidating in the most derived species of the genus even though the most basal taxons of the group lack them.

Regarding their ecology, these fish act as opportunists and scavengers, adopting a commensal lifestyle by swimming in close association with larger marine organisms (as evidenced by its scale contrast against a large Garden fish) to feed on suspended debris, dead skin, or floating food scraps. This foraging behavior exerts a biological cleaning function that benefits the host by removing algae and ectoparasites, a behavior that has also been facultatively observed toward other living beings, such as coral colonies and various species of mollusks.