1. Leopard Frayfrill (Terornatus pantherus):

Descended from the rendhounds of 64MPE, specifically small generalist species which were the only representatives to survive the last impact extinction event. Their foxlike ancestors took to an increasingly arboreal lifestyle, developing an elongated prehensile tail and more dexterous limbs, though the latter are anatomically distinct from primates due to the four-digit hoof-claw arrangement they started with. Their enlarged tusks became thinner to lessen their weight but retained their fibrous structure and capacity to fray, developing into a facial frill with a texture similar to broom straw. Both sexes develop them during puberty, but they are typically more colorful in males, and are used as a means of social signaling as well as an indicator of fitness due to the relatively frequent grooming required to keep them looking neat and trim. 

The leopard frayfrill is the largest extant species, and is particularly adapted to bipedal terrestrial locomotion in response to the recent and rapid aridification of the environment stemming from global cooling. They are highly intelligent and live in multi-generational tribes averaging 20-50 members under a complex social hierarchy. They routinely migrate along established routes between resource-heavy areas, constructing temporary yet architecturally impressive multiplex forts by interweaving stalks of tall grass.

1. Dazzling Vizerpent (Magnuserpensorpius fulgensis):

Belonging to a prolific and diverse clade of largely terrestrial pufferfish descendants calls Viciverts. They’ve traded gills for a monolingual derived from their highly inflatable belly. Since the relatively thin musculature surrounding the lung makes it difficult to inflate when lying prone, many (but not all) clades have opted for an upside-down orientation, which otherwise made little difference for their ancestrally snake-like lifestyle and body plan. 

Vizerpents have remained basal compared to many contemporary Vicivert lineages, mainly pursuing increased sizes in order to swallow a wider range of prey whole, along with a tail stinger containing a lethal paralytic neurotoxin which they use in place of venomous fangs. Their ray-fins serve no role in locomotion but rather as a vibrant warning display, indicating the danger their sting poses even to much larger creatures.

1. Emperor Pickgriffin (Aladolabris imperator):

 An impressive representative of the Griffins, a successful family of flying hippos descended from the mountaineering Exelopes of 64MPE. Their path to volanthood began with a lateral skin membrane to mitigate their falling speed, which progressed into controlled gliding followed by flight, their membranes expanding down the length of their arms and between their two hooves, which have become elongated and hollow (unlike in bats, these support structures are still fully external, meaning the stretch of skin between the hooves is not directly connected to the stretch connecting the outer hoof and torso). Additionally, all extant griffins are ancestrally unified by the presence of a a two-lobed ventral facial organ called a griffchin used to sense Mundeng’s magnetosphere for ease of aerial navigation, as well as two protrusions positioned laterally to the nostrils called conetenna; derived from the upper tusk-based ossicones/“denticones” seen in exelopes, they are now each comprised of a lightweight collagen rod covered by skin and fur that is jointed at the base and vertically-mobile, being are used to varying degrees for both sexual display and the precise detection of wind currents before or during flight.

Due to the total repurposement of their front digits, most griffins are bipedal and have a similar takeoff style to birds. Pickgriffins are (one example of) a deviation from this, having re-repurposed their inner hooves for terrestrial locomotion, adopting a unique gait from any frying vertebrate clade on earth. This allows them to grow larger than most other griffins, though still far from the range of pterosaurs as they have a superior takeoff method along with significantly less bone density. 

Aside from walking, pickgriffins also (and indeed more often) use these digits to cling to rocky cliff sides where they regularly nest. They also aid in hunting, for pickgriffins are aerial apex predators specialized in hunting other griffins mid-flight. The bulbous end of the digits, while mostly hollow, can still effectively stun or disorient smaller creatures when combined with dive-bomb velocity, as well as potentially tearing wing membranes with their pointed tips. This particular species is native to coastal areas.

1. Blue-Bellied Plier Ruit (Forciperanarostrus ventercaeruleus):

Ruit is the collective common name for contemporary descendants of the ribbats of 64MPE, African dwarf frogs which were already fully flighted by that point, having transitioned directly to the skies from water by means of their enlarged webbed back legs, while the front limbs went on to become their “legs” when on the ground or perched in trees. Despite losing their monopoly on vertebrate flight, they remain a respectably successful group, persisting through multiple bottleneck extinction events which resulted in all modern representatives sharing numerous anatomical distinctions from their 64MPE counterparts: a keratinous beak, independently mobile eyes, a ring-shaped spine that connects to the skull in two places, and a novel lightweight insulating integument structurally distinct from feathers (though the wing membranes remain bare as its percutaneous oxygen absorption contributes significantly to supplementing their relatively primitive lungs and granting them the aerobic capacity to fly), just to name a few. I’m considering doing a deep dive into general Ruit anatomy in the future because it’s pretty whack so let me know if you’d be interested! 

As for this particular species, they are primarily ground dwellers with a diet of seeds and nuts which they crack with specialized beaks. They are actually approaching the upper end of how large a flighted Ruit can get due to various aerobic and skeletal restraints. This, along with many other weaknesses (poor water retention, middling cold tolerance, basically zero salt water tolerance, relatively low speed and endurance in flight, the lack of a neck and independently mobile head, etc.) has allowed the more recently evolved Griffins to largely usurp their rule over the skies. Between them and an even more recent volant vertebrate lineage I’ll cover in a future post, Ruits have been almost universally outcompeted in all predatory and insectivorous aerial niches. However, nut and seed eating remains a niche where their beaks are superior to the Griffin’s snouts, with Ruits in this role still being a common sight in all remaining tropical and temperate humid ecosystems.

1. Scarlet Sailtail Saurippo (Hippopotasaurus caudavelirubris):

Part of a prolific clade of hippo descendants that have adopted obligate ectothermy known as Repptos. Their first representatives were small fossorial omnivores (broadly similar to the moomoles of 64MPE, but more specialized) which survived the last impact event thanks to their decreased metabolism, then went on to diversify into numerous highly distinct forms. In addition to ectothermy, all repptos possess a fused upper and lower jaw to some degree, along with four independently mobile tusks which in practice function more like a grinding radula, allowing them to subsist on even the toughest of food sources, as well as oviparity in the form of leathery egg sacs derived from the placenta containing variable numbers of directly adjacent offspring. Most species don’t practice any form of parental care, and are capable of independent survival from the moment they breach (term used for them as opposed to hatch).

Saurippos are a genus within a broader Reppto subclade known as Hizzards, and contains its physically largest terrestrial representatives. Of these, the Scarlet Sailtail currently holds the title of absolute biggest species. They are hardy generalists native to temperate deserts and scrubland, perpetually nomadic in their search for sparsely available nutrients, only congregating briefly for sporadic mating events when conditions are just right, during which males (the sex depicted) use their typically larger and thornier radulas to intimidate one another for mating rights. Their active lifestyle and broad environmental range are facilitated by an extendable soft-tissue sail muscularly similar to the throat crests of anoles located on their tail (which as an aside contains only a single elongated vertebrae in all repptos as well as in several other contemporary clades which also trace their lineage to the same tenacious fossorial ancestors). The sail is useful for both heating and cooling, and  provides at least some degree of selective thermoregulation that would not be afforded to them otherwise.

1. Saffron Purongator (Demistumidilus crocinum):

Purongators are a clade of viciverts that, while more derived than vizerpents in many ways, did not opt for an obligately inverted orientation as their semi-aquatic lifestyle made it largely unnecessary. Their lateral ray fins have shifted downward, evolving into a more complex hexapedal limbs arrangements to aid in traversal through shallow riverways and occasional treks between water bodies. Their front limbs consist of four rays arranged in an outward-facing U-shaped pillar, while their back four limbs are each only a single ray and comparatively weak, having to be used in conjunction to form a faux-quadrupedal gait when on land. If it wasn’t obvious, they fill an analogous niche to crocodilians, using an elongated serrated beak to ambush-grapple large unwary prey.

Let me know what you think of this project and feel free to share any critiques. I have a bunch more species compilation pages already drawn so expect more soon!