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Description
To state that Asciatopsidia is a diverse clade is an understatement, as any zoologist knows. Evolving from a species that had adapted to a fully aquatic lifestyle, who used an interesting pump system involving the in and out pocks to act as a sort of propulsion system, most surviving families have returned to the land permanently. In doing so, various forms of locomotion have evolved, with the Red quarter becoming monopeds, using their bounding front leg as their singular method of movement, swinging their back legs facing backwards while in motion as to keep balance while hopping, and bringing them forward to act as manipulators and to gather plant matter to eat. On the other hand, the Violet quarter has returned to the commonplace running gait of most Tripeds. In fact, it is this line that gives the clade its name, "axe face". Suprisingly strong, they use these edged blades as predator deterrents.
The Green half is what makes this clade so hard to classify, as there are still water dwelling forms, as well as plenty of fully formed tetrapods within the group, including the Golden line, which some of the fastest land animals yet discovered. Speculation on whether natural selection will cause an uprising of four-legged animals in the far future is a popular subject of debate, because even though tripedal locomotion seems to be no hindrance to these creatures, tetrapods that enter niches unexpectedly seem to often chase the previous tenants out. Is it their ability to manipulate the environment slightly more efficiently, or the fact that they can adapt their extra pair of legs far differently than a tripedal creature? Most scientists believe that the Tripeds will hold out in the long run, but nobody can be sure.
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I thoroughly enjoyed drawing this clade, and right now might be one of my favorites. On the subject on why they returned to land, for now I think it's because there was a previous, prehistoric group that already had quite a grasp on ocean life, much as fish have held that title for most of vertebrate history here on Earth. I'm thinking that on this planet that role will be held by some "invertebrate" group, though I'm not sure yet. Won't be dealt with in the scheme of this current project, but if this is to be my planet of choice, I'll most likely try to scope out everything in the end.

Description
To state that Asciatopsidia is a diverse clade is an understatement, as any zoologist knows. Evolving from a species that had adapted to a fully aquatic lifestyle, who used an interesting pump system involving the in and out pocks to act as a sort of propulsion system, most surviving families have returned to the land permanently. In doing so, various forms of locomotion have evolved, with the Red quarter becoming monopeds, using their bounding front leg as their singular method of movement, swinging their back legs facing backwards while in motion as to keep balance while hopping, and bringing them forward to act as manipulators and to gather plant matter to eat. On the other hand, the Violet quarter has returned to the commonplace running gait of most Tripeds. In fact, it is this line that gives the clade its name, "axe face". Suprisingly strong, they use these edged blades as predator deterrents.
The Green half is what makes this clade so hard to classify, as there are still water dwelling forms, as well as plenty of fully formed tetrapods within the group, including the Golden line, which some of the fastest land animals yet discovered. Speculation on whether natural selection will cause an uprising of four-legged animals in the far future is a popular subject of debate, because even though tripedal locomotion seems to be no hindrance to these creatures, tetrapods that enter niches unexpectedly seem to often chase the previous tenants out. Is it their ability to manipulate the environment slightly more efficiently, or the fact that they can adapt their extra pair of legs far differently than a tripedal creature? Most scientists believe that the Tripeds will hold out in the long run, but nobody can be sure.
__________
I thoroughly enjoyed drawing this clade, and right now might be one of my favorites. On the subject on why they returned to land, for now I think it's because there was a previous, prehistoric group that already had quite a grasp on ocean life, much as fish have held that title for most of vertebrate history here on Earth. I'm thinking that on this planet that role will be held by some "invertebrate" group, though I'm not sure yet. Won't be dealt with in the scheme of this current project, but if this is to be my planet of choice, I'll most likely try to scope out everything in the end.