Krakowpedes

Krakowpedes
First Appearance	1/8
Progenitor	Krakowhydra Velox
Community and Production Information

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Krakowpedes are a group of superficially annelid-like fauna characterized by having multiple pairs of legs and a usually worm-like shape. An outgroup of the purple flora, as all krakowpedes descended from a species of purple algae that incorporated Protokrakocia pentaflagellis as heterotrophic endosymbionts, allowing them to forgo photosynthesis in favor of deriving energy from other organisms. Krakowpedes are also referred to as "pedes" or "segmentocaudans", and sometimes in common vernacular "anipedes", however this term is only truly appropriate for the members of Class Anipeda.

Anatomy

Most krakowpedes are ancestrally blind, typically tasting or feeling the environment, but a few clades later developed eyes.

Breathing and Blood

They have blue copper blood.

Reproduction

Embryo Development

Basal krakowpedes produce unicellular waterborne spores from a series of openings on the underside of each body segment, each with the potential to develop into an embryo. The earliest stages of the krakowpedian embryos are inverted from typical fauna embryo development. Instead of dividing into a morula and then shaping into a fetus, a single krakowpede cell grows into a unicellular "fetus" first and then undergoes a unique internal division process where it becomes a number of distinct cells in a chain, each corresponding to a single segment in fully developed krakowpedes, with the number of segments dependent on the lineage. The chain is formed one cell at a time from front to back. At this point the chained embryo, formally called a halusiblast, becomes a functional, motile, soft-bodied organism which crawls on the sediment and mostly feeds on cells and microscopic debris using a cell mouth. The halusiblast undergoes more internal division and tissue specialization as it grows, eventually becoming more properly multicellular and gaining its primarily collagen-based exoskeleton.

This developmental process does means that while krakowpedes by default have determinate cleavage, the halusiblast fetus stage leaves them more prone to developmental errors when compared to other fauna. While often fatal, some lineages of krakowpedes have developed defining characteristics that first arose from from initial errors. For example, the characteristic triradial symmetry of basal Trirhaches was achieved their through an error in their unicellular phase)

Most other krakowpedes opted to turn the spore into a sort of gamete stage. However, the lamarpedes exchanges genes during the halusiblast stage. Under environmental stress, the independent halusiblasts will halt their development and seek out other halusiblasts. They pair up side to side and undergo cellular mating, producing 6 zygotes which undergo meiosis into 4 spores each—resulting in 24 total spores produced. These spores then grow into new embryos with new genes, and provided the stress is relieved, they will eventually become adults. Because of the embryonic meiosis, lamarpedes are haploid.

Types of Krakowpedes

Extant

Centifins are an ancient group of krakowpedes. While the earliest species could be recognized by their multiple limbs, long and slender forms, as well as the precursor exoskeleton. Many modern centifins have further evolved this exoskeleton and now possess three ocular organs as well. These descendants take on a variety of roles such small scavengers as well as larger mesopredators, and possess clear body segmentation - such as a distinct head region - and reduced number of limbs. Others maintain are more serpentine body plan much like their distant ancestors, though possess complex jaws for snaring prey and lack limbs for locomotion entirely. While the group was originally aquatic, most of the group's living descendants are terrestrial, having managed to adapt to dry land via earlier colonization in moist, warm regions such as rainforests.

Centiworms are a lineage of terrestrial centifins that have managed to adapt to dry land via earlier colonization in moist, warm regions such as rainforests. They have internalized their limbs for

Trappers arose back in the Ovian Period, splitting from the lineages that would become the anipedes and centifins. The trappers are a relatively obscure group of exclusively marine worm-like fauna with multipartite jaws.

Jetters are active pursuit predators, complete with jet propulsion organs and two sets of jaws: the main ancestral jaws, and a unique jaw-tipped trunk.

Anipedes are superficially crustacean-like fauna possessing beak-like jaws and multiple pairs of specialized limbs - from walking legs, to antennae, to pincers, to paddling pleopods. In some clades however, the walking legs are reduced. Most true anipedes are small in size, and take up niches as plankton or in the benthos, however a select few taxa have achieved larger sizes, and have even left the waters behind.

Extinct

Trigons

Islepedes