Tripodian

Splitting from its ancestor, the tripodian has become less specialized than what its ancestor was. With a body better suited for this change in life style, it now lives in small groups of eight to twelve individuals that work together in order to survive. Young are cared for by the group, and when they reach sexual maturity they head out into the world in order to find mates and other groups to join only if their own group is too large. Some modifications to its body plan include the flexibility of its trio of legs, as well as the evolution of prehensile toes on the front pair. This allows them greater movement capabilities such as the ability to climb various surfaces as well as swim should they somehow find themselves in water. As for their arms, two have shortened slightly and are now more often used for communication, aided by the formation of a third finger and tinted palms, while the third one has become more developed and has evolved grooves in its fingers in order to aid it in both holding and manipulation objects of various sizes. Finally their eye stalk now has a groove below it in the forehead, allowing them to "rest" there when not being used to search for potential predators. Despite their rather bulbous appearance, they are rather light in weight and are capable of bursts of speed. Their brains have increased in size as well, aiding their group behavior and social interaction. This includes using tools such as rocks or ice and using them to bludgeon smaller organisms so that they can eat them or to throw at predators to discourage them from attacking. Different groups tend to use different tools and will pass on the knowledge to their offspring. In order to use these tools effectively despite its lack of depth in its vision, it swerves its eye stalk back in forth in an almost rhythmic pattern until it has assured itself of where its target is. Groups are led by an alpha male and female. While the male defends the group from other rivals as well as fight for his right to lead and mate, the female tends to watch over all of the offspring and teach them as well as reproduce the most often. If a member of the group should die, individuals appear to morn their passing. They are naturally curious, which is useful in a species that tends to be an opportunistic feeder. They will occasionally venture to beaches and rivers in order to hunt species that live near them, as well as scavenge dead ones that can be found their. Because of movements like this territories can be miles in diameter, though conflicts between groups is not unheard of. Communication between group members usually revolves around hand gestures with the pair of shorter arms with modified fingers. They also use scents that they produce from a gland located on the bottom of their back leg to both communicate emotions and mark territories. They can "smell" this by tasting the air, a newfound evolutionary feature in the species. This newfound communication skill helps to keep group members close together.