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Probosignathid

Probosignathids are a sister group to the infirmignathans. They hunt essentially anything that they can get their jaws around, using a combination of vision and tactile sensation to find prey. They skim the seafloor looking for disturbances in the sand, and then swoop close to try and force the burrowing prey out with it's adapted fore-paddles. It's highly active, requiring constant efficient gas exchange, which it why it has come to utilize a fringe of gills known as it's "frills" around each tagma. This particular species is a derived member of probosignatha, as the maw-proboscises are adapted for structural soundness, meaning they have lost the ability to act as proper proboscises. Probosignathids lived about 470 million years ago.
[creature design by Erika Gutsick Gibbon]

Basic Information

Anatomy

The proboscises that line the maw are rigid and jointed at the mid-section, allowing for captured prey to be drawn to the waiting maw. The closing motion for closing around it's meal is rapid and works somewhat like a modern hymenopteran's mechanism for flight. This makes the reopening somewhat taxing, so it must be certain it wants to expend energy closing the trio.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Probosignathans' eyes sit on stalks which allow it to scan for prey in multiple directions. Similar to the infirmignathans, probosignathans have three "eyes" made up of three opsin clusters. They are capable of distinguishing light from dark and spotting movement.

EXTINCT

Genetic Ancestor(s)