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Description
Here is an in-depth look at the merlings and their other marine relatives. They are in fact specialized and highly derived centauroids. They are in many ways Medea's analogs to Earth's cetaceans and pinnipeds. All members of the group are aquatic to some degree or another.

Pehiwetinome: Large, solitary aggressive carnivorous relatives of merlings. They have a derived, streamlined morphology.

Negullaomasa: Large, herbivorous, lake-dwelling relatives of merlings. They are docile and slow-swimming, with longer faces and dexterous lips.

Ambisiangulo: Close relatives of the Negullaomasa. They inhabit slow-moving rivers.

Bocarin: Related to both Negullaomasas and Ambisiangulos, they have lost the functionality of their forelimbs, with the digits being fused and the limbs foot-like.

Protobocarin: Fossil relatives of the Bocarin, they are also ancestral to the Negullaomasa and Ambisiangulo. They inhabited brackish waters, as opposed to their modern freshwater relatives.

Merrows: Deep-sea, maneless close relatives of merlings. They have webbed hands, large eyes and are largely carnivorous. They congregate to raise young and hunt in loose semi-permanent groups.

Tritones: Robust, open-ocean close relatives of merlings, but more closely related to Merrows. Tritones are less social and more nomadic, with patriarchal rather then matriarchal group-structures.

Nixies: Gracile, freshwater close relatives of merlings. They are also closely related to both Merrows and Tritones. They have small female-led family groups

Merlings: The prototypical members of the group. They congregate in large female-led family groups, based along matrilineal kinship ties, with daughters typically staying with their mother's pod, and males seeking out mates in different pods. They have a roughly humanoid torso, with a mane of hair. Males often have longer manes, and beards as well. The dominant female will also often grow a longer mane as well. They prefer shallower seas and reefs to the open ocean.

Sea-Monkeys: Small, semi-social relatives of merlings, they often travel in pairs.

Selkies: Shore-dwelling relatives of merlings. They are considered more closely related to sea-monkeys. They are covered in a pelt of fur which is shed seasonally, giving the impression that they shed their skin. They form large, mostly female, colonies in the breeding season, but spend the rest of the year solitary.

Chirotritones: Close relatives of merlings and selkies, they bear close resemblance to icthiocentaurs. They are considered the most primitive relatives of selkies, who they are more closely related to than Aphrosi or Bythosi Icthiocentaurs. They retain the articulated midlimbs similar to icthiocentaurs.

Aphrosi: Shore-dwelling Icthiocentaurs. Unlike merlings, their fore-body has an "upright" posture, that makes them resemble centaurs in posture. They resemble merlings, but have long midlimbs that they can use like legs, but more often to dig buried prey.

Bythosi: Deep-sea dwelling Icthiocentaurs. Their

Mesoicthiocentaurs: Extinct relatives of modern icthiocentaurs and merlings. They could no longer use their hindlimbs for terrestrial locomotion, and their mid-limbs became adapted for digging burrows.

Eoicthiocentaurs: Extinct ancestors of ichtiocentaurs and merllings. They spent most of their time in the water, and were much smaller then their modern relatives.

Protoicthiocentaurs: Earliest extinct ancestors of ichtiocentaurs and merllings. They had long flexible spines. Compared to modern members they had long muzzles.

Lyngbakur: The largest members of the entire group, and one of the largest marine organisms. They are our first example of Medea's "living islands". Large slow-swimming ecological cornerstone species who host symbiotic marine vegetation. Their other distinctive feature is their upward-facing eyes. They are docile, mostly solitary, filter feeders. They are one of the illhevli, cetacean analogues. Unlike terrestrial whales they have separate, semi-periscopic nostrils.

Skieliungur: Close relatives of the lyngbakur, they are smaller, but have armor-plated skin.

Sverdhvalur: Large predatory illhevli, they have a very tall keratin-reinforced dorsal fin. The males have taller fins used as display structures to attract females.

Taumhveli: Striking fairly large predatory illhevli. They are known for their black coloration and horizontal striping that resembles a bridle, that is white in females in immature males and pink in mature males. They are closely related to svedhvalur, and have a shorter dorsal fin.

Stokkull: Active, predatory illhevli. They are known for their leaping behavior. They are closely related to both the svedhvalur and tamhveli, and distinguished by their small eyes, gray coloration and having the shortest dorsal fins.

Trolwal: Large, tusked carnivorous illhevli. They are related to the baleen and finned illhevli.

Raudkembingur: Large, striking, predatory illhevli. They are known for the bright red coloration of their head. They are related to the trolwal and retain a bristly mane as a primitive feature.

Hrosshvalur: Medium-sized carnivorous illhevli. They have a more prominent mane they goes all the way down their back, lare eyes and an equine head.

Nauthveli: Large toothed illhevli, that have a completely reduced fluke that gives them a tail instead. They are known for their large forelimbs, and striking black on white spotted coloration.

Katthveli: Small, tailed illhevli, closely related to the nauthveli. They are known for their comparatively small size, prominent whiskers and brown coloration. They retain claws on their forelimbs as a primitive feature.

Mushveli: Medium, tailed illhevli, related to the nauthveli and katthveli. They have a distinctivly thin tail, compared to other tailed illhevli, and have visible, round ears.

Tailed Hippocampi: Smaller tailed illhevli, their tails are distinctively prehensile and prefer smaller sea-life and prey. They retain their manes as a primitive feature, but it is stiff, bristly and confined to the head and neck. They are somewhat closely related to the maneless tailed illhevli.

Brethmechin: Small tailed illhevli, with a mane running down the length of their body. They are considered primitive in comparison to the other tailed illhevli.

Paradolocampi: Smaller, maneless fluked illhevli with visible ears.

Leocampi: Closely related to paradolocampi, the males have a distinctive mane.

Bassilillhevi: Extinct relatives of modern illhevli. They had long flexible serpentine bodies, and likely retianed many features considered primitive, like a mane and visible ears.

Nessie-Kelpie: Large, long-necked kelpie. They prefer deep, cool lakes and rarely come ashore. Like most kelpie, they have an equine head, with distinctive knob-like extinctions that are sensory organs, two pairs of paddle-like fins and a tail fluke.

Greater Kelpie: Very large, short-necked kelpie. They are closely related to Nessie-kelpie.

Humped Kelpie: Long-bodied kelpie. They have multiple hump-like dorsal fins. They are related to both Nessie and greater kelpie.

Lake Kelpie: Also known as common kelpie, they are fairly typical. They are related to the other species of kelpie.

River Kelpie: Also known as lesser kelpie. They are smaller than other species and prefer fast-moving rivers. Their find are less like paddlesand more flexible,and they lakc the knob-organs of other kelpie.

Beischt Kiones: Shore-dwelling salt-water relatives of kelpies.

Bumourioche: Larger, heavy mourioche. They are hoofed, opportunistic, amphibious omnivores and equally at home on land and in the water. They are ambush predators that use their strong grasping forelimbs to drown terrestrial prey.

Tragomourioche: Small, gracile mourioche. Described as goat-like.

Sinueamourioche: Short-legged mourioche with a flexible procine snout.

Hippomourioche: The most primitive and least derived of the entire group. They have a lot in common with Centaurs, and are closely related to them. They resemble the true mourioche, but are not closely related to them.

We are finally in our first non-feathered group, and the first of the "mammal" analogues. It's also the first exclusively aquatic group, and soon we will be making our way to dragons.

Description
Here is an in-depth look at the merlings and their other marine relatives. They are in fact specialized and highly derived centauroids. They are in many ways Medea's analogs to Earth's cetaceans and pinnipeds. All members of the group are aquatic to some degree or another.

Pehiwetinome: Large, solitary aggressive carnivorous relatives of merlings. They have a derived, streamlined morphology.

Negullaomasa: Large, herbivorous, lake-dwelling relatives of merlings. They are docile and slow-swimming, with longer faces and dexterous lips.

Ambisiangulo: Close relatives of the Negullaomasa. They inhabit slow-moving rivers.

Bocarin: Related to both Negullaomasas and Ambisiangulos, they have lost the functionality of their forelimbs, with the digits being fused and the limbs foot-like.

Protobocarin: Fossil relatives of the Bocarin, they are also ancestral to the Negullaomasa and Ambisiangulo. They inhabited brackish waters, as opposed to their modern freshwater relatives.

Merrows: Deep-sea, maneless close relatives of merlings. They have webbed hands, large eyes and are largely carnivorous. They congregate to raise young and hunt in loose semi-permanent groups.

Tritones: Robust, open-ocean close relatives of merlings, but more closely related to Merrows. Tritones are less social and more nomadic, with patriarchal rather then matriarchal group-structures.

Nixies: Gracile, freshwater close relatives of merlings. They are also closely related to both Merrows and Tritones. They have small female-led family groups

Merlings: The prototypical members of the group. They congregate in large female-led family groups, based along matrilineal kinship ties, with daughters typically staying with their mother's pod, and males seeking out mates in different pods. They have a roughly humanoid torso, with a mane of hair. Males often have longer manes, and beards as well. The dominant female will also often grow a longer mane as well. They prefer shallower seas and reefs to the open ocean.

Sea-Monkeys: Small, semi-social relatives of merlings, they often travel in pairs.

Selkies: Shore-dwelling relatives of merlings. They are considered more closely related to sea-monkeys. They are covered in a pelt of fur which is shed seasonally, giving the impression that they shed their skin. They form large, mostly female, colonies in the breeding season, but spend the rest of the year solitary.

Chirotritones: Close relatives of merlings and selkies, they bear close resemblance to icthiocentaurs. They are considered the most primitive relatives of selkies, who they are more closely related to than Aphrosi or Bythosi Icthiocentaurs. They retain the articulated midlimbs similar to icthiocentaurs.

Aphrosi: Shore-dwelling Icthiocentaurs. Unlike merlings, their fore-body has an "upright" posture, that makes them resemble centaurs in posture. They resemble merlings, but have long midlimbs that they can use like legs, but more often to dig buried prey.

Bythosi: Deep-sea dwelling Icthiocentaurs. Their

Mesoicthiocentaurs: Extinct relatives of modern icthiocentaurs and merlings. They could no longer use their hindlimbs for terrestrial locomotion, and their mid-limbs became adapted for digging burrows.

Eoicthiocentaurs: Extinct ancestors of ichtiocentaurs and merllings. They spent most of their time in the water, and were much smaller then their modern relatives.

Protoicthiocentaurs: Earliest extinct ancestors of ichtiocentaurs and merllings. They had long flexible spines. Compared to modern members they had long muzzles.

Lyngbakur: The largest members of the entire group, and one of the largest marine organisms. They are our first example of Medea's "living islands". Large slow-swimming ecological cornerstone species who host symbiotic marine vegetation. Their other distinctive feature is their upward-facing eyes. They are docile, mostly solitary, filter feeders. They are one of the illhevli, cetacean analogues. Unlike terrestrial whales they have separate, semi-periscopic nostrils.

Skieliungur: Close relatives of the lyngbakur, they are smaller, but have armor-plated skin.

Sverdhvalur: Large predatory illhevli, they have a very tall keratin-reinforced dorsal fin. The males have taller fins used as display structures to attract females.

Taumhveli: Striking fairly large predatory illhevli. They are known for their black coloration and horizontal striping that resembles a bridle, that is white in females in immature males and pink in mature males. They are closely related to svedhvalur, and have a shorter dorsal fin.

Stokkull: Active, predatory illhevli. They are known for their leaping behavior. They are closely related to both the svedhvalur and tamhveli, and distinguished by their small eyes, gray coloration and having the shortest dorsal fins.

Trolwal: Large, tusked carnivorous illhevli. They are related to the baleen and finned illhevli.

Raudkembingur: Large, striking, predatory illhevli. They are known for the bright red coloration of their head. They are related to the trolwal and retain a bristly mane as a primitive feature.

Hrosshvalur: Medium-sized carnivorous illhevli. They have a more prominent mane they goes all the way down their back, lare eyes and an equine head.

Nauthveli: Large toothed illhevli, that have a completely reduced fluke that gives them a tail instead. They are known for their large forelimbs, and striking black on white spotted coloration.

Katthveli: Small, tailed illhevli, closely related to the nauthveli. They are known for their comparatively small size, prominent whiskers and brown coloration. They retain claws on their forelimbs as a primitive feature.

Mushveli: Medium, tailed illhevli, related to the nauthveli and katthveli. They have a distinctivly thin tail, compared to other tailed illhevli, and have visible, round ears.

Tailed Hippocampi: Smaller tailed illhevli, their tails are distinctively prehensile and prefer smaller sea-life and prey. They retain their manes as a primitive feature, but it is stiff, bristly and confined to the head and neck. They are somewhat closely related to the maneless tailed illhevli.

Brethmechin: Small tailed illhevli, with a mane running down the length of their body. They are considered primitive in comparison to the other tailed illhevli.

Paradolocampi: Smaller, maneless fluked illhevli with visible ears.

Leocampi: Closely related to paradolocampi, the males have a distinctive mane.

Bassilillhevi: Extinct relatives of modern illhevli. They had long flexible serpentine bodies, and likely retianed many features considered primitive, like a mane and visible ears.

Nessie-Kelpie: Large, long-necked kelpie. They prefer deep, cool lakes and rarely come ashore. Like most kelpie, they have an equine head, with distinctive knob-like extinctions that are sensory organs, two pairs of paddle-like fins and a tail fluke.

Greater Kelpie: Very large, short-necked kelpie. They are closely related to Nessie-kelpie.

Humped Kelpie: Long-bodied kelpie. They have multiple hump-like dorsal fins. They are related to both Nessie and greater kelpie.

Lake Kelpie: Also known as common kelpie, they are fairly typical. They are related to the other species of kelpie.

River Kelpie: Also known as lesser kelpie. They are smaller than other species and prefer fast-moving rivers. Their find are less like paddlesand more flexible,and they lakc the knob-organs of other kelpie.

Beischt Kiones: Shore-dwelling salt-water relatives of kelpies.

Bumourioche: Larger, heavy mourioche. They are hoofed, opportunistic, amphibious omnivores and equally at home on land and in the water. They are ambush predators that use their strong grasping forelimbs to drown terrestrial prey.

Tragomourioche: Small, gracile mourioche. Described as goat-like.

Sinueamourioche: Short-legged mourioche with a flexible procine snout.

Hippomourioche: The most primitive and least derived of the entire group. They have a lot in common with Centaurs, and are closely related to them. They resemble the true mourioche, but are not closely related to them.

We are finally in our first non-feathered group, and the first of the "mammal" analogues. It's also the first exclusively aquatic group, and soon we will be making our way to dragons.