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Description
Here we see a special example of the clade Bichordatae, for this species has been extinct for over 460 million years. This species is also special because it was the very first sapient life form that was an excellent tool user on Hades. It is also a prime example of how diverse and dominant the Bichordatae were, and how the current diversity they have tells us nothing about their triumphs. The small picture to the side of the image shows a basic representative of what’s left of the Bichordatae clade. Yes, there are several hundred species that inhabit a wide variety of aquatic environments, but compared the tens of thousands of species that used to exist, their current biodiversity is laughable. Fossils of these once great animals are found on almost every single corner of Hades, when liquid water was an abundant resource. One of the most numerous representatives was the Xenophant, the herbivorous sapient species introduced here.
At first, the Xenophant was thought to be simply a diverse species of animal that was generalized enough that it could survive a wide variety of environments. But even then, there were inconsistencies. Many of the continents where they were located were separated from each other by thousands of miles of ocean. And while Xenophants might’ve been decent swimmers, they most certainly could not traverse that far. Also, the fossil record shows an odd change in distribution of many species of bichordatae, all of which occurred in a blink of an eye in geological terms. There were also massive deposits of various types of metals that would not have likely formed there by natural means and a thin change in the rock composition where large amounts of Carbonate were present. While these issues were puzzling, no one bothered tying them together as a single cause up until a single artifact was found.
In the Great Badlands, a 460 million year old structure was discovered deep underground in moderate condition for that age, partially preserved by the well-designed architecture and a rapid submerging of the structure. When humans first found the structure, they quickly had excavated into it, first expecting it to be an example of a Hadean Men of War civilization-at this time, they had not done a carbon-dating of the structure. For the most part, the structure was in terrible shape. All but one hallway was even enterable, and in this one hallway, only one highly faded image showed a Xenophant wearing what could have been a ceremonial garb, or a simple peasant outfit, as illustrated above. What this structure could have been is not known. Xenoarcheologists believe that this civilization was at the technological level of the Egyptians and does not and cannot represent the technological level the Xenophants have reached in order to mirror the oddities of that time. It is currently believed that the Xenophants had reached a technological level analogous to what humans had reached in the 19th or 20th century.
But what exactly happened to this species had puzzled Exoarcheologists for years; some thought that disease had wiped out their population; others thought that they had died shortly after overpopulating the planet. There were many theories, but only one turned out to have been correct. It was later discovered that a thin layer of iridium was discovered across the world after the excess amount of carbonate, and coupled with this was a massive crater left by a 9 km wide asteroid. It is currently believed that the Xenophants quickly met their end when the asteroid smashed into Hades and blocked the sun for what could have been close to 1,000 years. And unfortunately, the vast majority of their legacy did not make it either, whether that is the cities they had built (which seemed have been scorched), or the biological redistributions they had done during their prime (which seem to have died out either in this mass extinction or the next one). Finally, it is a testament on the luck we humans have had, when we could have easily gone the way of the Xenophant.

Also, for a size comparison, please look at the silhouetted man wave near the depiction of the Xenophant art. The figure wasn't that large, but the Xenophant was. And for the current representative, it is scarcely larger than a goldfish.

Description
Here we see a special example of the clade Bichordatae, for this species has been extinct for over 460 million years. This species is also special because it was the very first sapient life form that was an excellent tool user on Hades. It is also a prime example of how diverse and dominant the Bichordatae were, and how the current diversity they have tells us nothing about their triumphs. The small picture to the side of the image shows a basic representative of what’s left of the Bichordatae clade. Yes, there are several hundred species that inhabit a wide variety of aquatic environments, but compared the tens of thousands of species that used to exist, their current biodiversity is laughable. Fossils of these once great animals are found on almost every single corner of Hades, when liquid water was an abundant resource. One of the most numerous representatives was the Xenophant, the herbivorous sapient species introduced here.
At first, the Xenophant was thought to be simply a diverse species of animal that was generalized enough that it could survive a wide variety of environments. But even then, there were inconsistencies. Many of the continents where they were located were separated from each other by thousands of miles of ocean. And while Xenophants might’ve been decent swimmers, they most certainly could not traverse that far. Also, the fossil record shows an odd change in distribution of many species of bichordatae, all of which occurred in a blink of an eye in geological terms. There were also massive deposits of various types of metals that would not have likely formed there by natural means and a thin change in the rock composition where large amounts of Carbonate were present. While these issues were puzzling, no one bothered tying them together as a single cause up until a single artifact was found.
In the Great Badlands, a 460 million year old structure was discovered deep underground in moderate condition for that age, partially preserved by the well-designed architecture and a rapid submerging of the structure. When humans first found the structure, they quickly had excavated into it, first expecting it to be an example of a Hadean Men of War civilization-at this time, they had not done a carbon-dating of the structure. For the most part, the structure was in terrible shape. All but one hallway was even enterable, and in this one hallway, only one highly faded image showed a Xenophant wearing what could have been a ceremonial garb, or a simple peasant outfit, as illustrated above. What this structure could have been is not known. Xenoarcheologists believe that this civilization was at the technological level of the Egyptians and does not and cannot represent the technological level the Xenophants have reached in order to mirror the oddities of that time. It is currently believed that the Xenophants had reached a technological level analogous to what humans had reached in the 19th or 20th century.
But what exactly happened to this species had puzzled Exoarcheologists for years; some thought that disease had wiped out their population; others thought that they had died shortly after overpopulating the planet. There were many theories, but only one turned out to have been correct. It was later discovered that a thin layer of iridium was discovered across the world after the excess amount of carbonate, and coupled with this was a massive crater left by a 9 km wide asteroid. It is currently believed that the Xenophants quickly met their end when the asteroid smashed into Hades and blocked the sun for what could have been close to 1,000 years. And unfortunately, the vast majority of their legacy did not make it either, whether that is the cities they had built (which seemed have been scorched), or the biological redistributions they had done during their prime (which seem to have died out either in this mass extinction or the next one). Finally, it is a testament on the luck we humans have had, when we could have easily gone the way of the Xenophant.

Also, for a size comparison, please look at the silhouetted man wave near the depiction of the Xenophant art. The figure wasn't that large, but the Xenophant was. And for the current representative, it is scarcely larger than a goldfish.