Ekandra - Aquatic Lizards

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Called Lizard-Dolphins, Lizard-Fish or Ichthyosaurs by humans, Ekandra are aquatic reptiles that inhabit almost every body of water on Collena. While they greatly resemble fish, you can tell them apart by the placement of their fins. Ekandra have either one or two sets of paired fins with one always located on the belly just behind the head. The other paired fins, if they have them, are located on the belly near the tail. These fins are actually devolved limbs and in a few ways they can still function on land. There are various support fins that may make them look like a fish, but the other major way to tell are the presence of large teeth and the lack of gills. Ekandra do have to come to the surface for air and all of them have visible teeth when their mouths are open.

Evolution

Around a hundred million years ago, a series of mass extinctions overtook Collena. All large lizards on land completely died out and all that was left were very small. These small lizards evolved into two distinct groups in the years after. One group, the Yoradkira, evolved one or more sets of wings. The other, Ekandra, became great swimmers and stayed in the water. The ecological void left behind by the disappearance of nearly all of the world's amphibians millions of years ago helped reptiles to fill in these areas as they evolved. They first evolved into gigantic terrors of the deep, and while some of them are still around to this day, most got much smaller and stick to fresh water, filling out similar ecological roles to many different types of fish and amphibians like salamanders and frogs.

As millions of years passed and evolution played out, there was somewhat of an evolutionary tug of war between the Ekandra and the Fish (Called Agi on Collena). In modern times, some continents entirely lack species of fish in their bodies of water while other continents entirely lack species of ekandra in theirs. The Kenerif continent and the oceans around Collena are the only places where species of both can be found.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Ekandra

Common Name(s):

Ekandra(Vevari, Common)

Lizard-Dolphins(Human)

Lizard-Fish(Human)

Ichthyosaurs(Human)

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Geographic distribution

Found everywhere the water isn't frozen year round. Green Color indicates distribution of ekandra on land. Cyan Color indicated distribution of ekandra across the oceans.

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Size comparisons

((Author's Note - Size comparisons here are in reference to Elya Sarai, a Regalti that stands 1.77 meters tall.))

Giant

Ekandra that are over 6 meters long:

1) Rokadno

2) Legorno

3) Tekado

4) Thoron

5) Lessian

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Large

Ekandra that are over 2 meters but less than 6 meters long:

1) Lessian

2) Agaran

3) Serek

4) Kelgaran

5) Shorakan

6) Lekaran

7) Togno

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Medium

Ekandra that are over half a meter but less than 2 meters long:

1) Togno

2) Imladek

3) Stilandra

4) Forsiek

5) Firek

6) Sinaran

7) Adkur Andra

8) Selekan

9) Tulyan

10) Hadrian

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Small

Ekandra that are less than half a meter long all the way down to microscopic sizes:

1) Hadrian

2) Aguso

3) Sefinan

4) Noregno

5) Gentakan

6) Irekado

7) Agigan

8) Neverik

9) Teli Andra

10) Lionako

11) Senkido

12) Adakdra

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Types of Ekandra

Egg Layers and Live Birth

As ekandra evolved to various ecological roles, their bodies, while superficially similar, evolved so much that they are no longer similar to each other. Being reptiles, these animals started as egg layers and when they first swam the oceans, they would crawl onto Collena's many beaches every year to lay eggs, bury them, then go back into the ocean. Freshwater varietes would hide their eggs inside logs or, if they could climb, stick them to the undersides of trees.

Today, around half of all varieties stil crawl onto land to lay eggs, with one species laying their eggs in the water instead. These eggs are all roughly the same oval shape though the texture varies considerable between smooth and leathery. Some of the eggs are brittle and will crack with the slightest pressure, while others have softer shells that can deform slightly.

As time went on and some Ekandra grew massive in size or evolved streamlined bodies that resemble fish, it became impossible to crawl onto land. Some would crush themselves under their massive weight. Instead these evolved the ability to carry their young longer and give live birth instead. Currently most Ekandra that give live birth will give birth to well developed young. Many smaller varieties aren't able to have their young develop fully in the womb so instead give birth to a larval form that still has gills, similar a tadpole. Most of these quickly lose the ability to breathe in water within a few weeks.

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A collection of various Ekandra eggs. The largest egg in this image is roughly the size of a human fist.

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Number of Limbs and Types

As Ekandra evolved over the millions of years, their limbs also changed. The largest and smallest Ekandra lost their rear set of fins, replaced with only a single small fin or in some cases nothing at all. They maneuver through the water with only their well developed tails and their front limbs.

Then there are Ekandra that still have both sets of fins. In some cases these fins can still be classified as limbs with functioning hands, feet, and claws, though that is rarer.

There are also some varieties of Ekandra with three sets of limbs. Two normal sets, then a long, whip-like limb extending from behind the head. This limb baffled scientists for quite some time until they realized that this appendage is in the same location as the Dorsal Tails on birds and mammals, including most Regalti. This was enough evidence to prove that reptiles, birds, and mammals on Collena had a similar origin and strengthened theories of evolution on that world.

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A comparison of the three main body types for Ekandra. These three animals have vastly different sizes so they evolved for different lifestyles in different bodies of water.

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Body Temperature and Intelligence

Unlike the Yoradkira which are all cold blooded ectotherms that require extended periods of basking in the sun, the ekandra vary. Some of them are warm blooded homeotherms, mostly the large and giant species. Their body temperature is constant and never changing. Several smaller species are also warm blooded, but in order to maintain their body temperature in the cool water, they are voracious eaters, devouring their own weight in food each day. Due to this higher body heat, metabolism and increased energy, larger brains are able to be maintained. Some Ekandra have evolved to be quite intelligent, though they are behind the Rokofa in terms of animal intelligence on Collena.

The majority of medium and small ekandra are cold blooded. Some will bask in the sun, climbing out of the water and laying on a warm rock. The ones that can't do this are known to turn upside down near the water's surface, spreading their fins out to increase their surface area. These Ekandra move slow and don't eat often. Due to their lower energy and metabolism, these animals have very small brains and lack the intelligence of their warm blooded relatives.

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Some Ekandra like these plankton-lizards are tiny in size and unable to swim against water currents. Their metabolism is virtually nonexistent and their brains provide only the most basic of functions.