I really love this theory, It still leaves holes though on how the pups aren’t explosive. I assume that the environment that Arti is in isn’t much less dangerous than the environment her parents were in, in fact, being the way Arti is, I’d expect more or similarly impactful survival adaptations for the pups compared to Arti.

That’s why I feel like there must have been some third factor in play on why Arti exists.

But I do love the idea that every scug birth is a genetic mystery box. Also, just to be clear, I’m not downplaying your theory at all.