Phylogeny of Vermovillosids

Vermovillosids

Eight-legged hairy grubs – The name vermovillosa, literally “wooly worm,” originally referred only to the hairy grubs common in Ilion’s soil. This group closely resembles the ancestor of all hairy grubs and furred megafauna.
Legless grubs – Legless grubs fill many ecological roles, but decomposer is by far the most common of those. Like their limbed relatives, their kind are found across the planet.

From here on, females no longer give birth through the mouth as did their ancestors. Instead, the young develop on the neck and break through the skin when ready to face the world. This process is not fatal to the mother. In a way it is safer, as the mother no longer risks choking during parturition.

Tarantula grubs – Tarantula grubs have eight legs but that is not the reason for the name. The hair of many species is fitted with microscopic, mildly venomous barbs. Some grubs will rear back when threatened and fling their hair at attackers, a behavior also seen in tarantulas.

Bottlenecks – The palps have fused into a quadripartite beak and a single olfactory appendage. Most bottlenecks are small, nimble predators that pluck prey animals out of holes and crevices.

From here on, all species reproduce by ooecdysis. When the infant is shed from the neck, the skin comes with it along with a complex array of life support organs derived from the baby’s twin. The “egg” is capable of generating its own heat, reducing the need for intensive maternal care in cold climates.

Spithogs – The group is defined by a pair of sacs at the base of the mouth, but the scientific name sacculaphora didn’t catch on to the general public. They are known colloquially as "spithogs" due to the ability of some species to forcefully eject venom from their sacs. The venom is produced by symbiotic blue mold. In most species the venom acts as a tranquilizer, inducing a state of torpor in prey animals, allowing them to be stored for later consumption. While most are resistant to their own toxin, some terminator inhabitants use the drug to hibernate through periods of food scarcity.

Starruses – The two rear leg pairs have fused into a fluke. Ancestral starruses possess electrical sensors and six ears on their palps. The lower pair of palps have hardened into tusks. Starruses take on a variety of forms large and small, and have adapted well to all habitable climates. Some are hairless.

Zoom out: Red plant derivatives
Zoom in: Starruses
Zoom in: Bottlenecks

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