Spietsenwurm

After millions of years, the flying dart was out-competed and replaced in most of its range and 150 million years into its era, it had to adapt. Therefore, it evolved into the spietsenwurm, replacing its ancestor and spreading across half of Darwin. Its common name means "impaling worm" in Dutch, with its scientific name meaning "bad fly" in that same language.

The first major change is the spietsenwurm's armor, which has become much tougher while remaining flexible, so that not only can the spietsenwurm fend off predators but can also remain agile. Its wings have become more efficient, due to the wing muscles becoming much more powerful, allowing it to hover and fly at speeds up to 72 kph. It has developed primitive eyes, no more than light sensors, to sight predators and prey, and so it knows where it's going. Its tail is now flexible, able to straighten up or curl downwards. It has developed a spike the size of a small knife at the tip of its armor plated tail, which can stab its prey. The tail is straightened when flying at high speeds, and curled into attack position when it dive-bombs its prey.

Its mouth has split into two parts. The upper one is shaped like a double-sided bayonet with the hole the mouth that dissolves its prey with digestive enzymes. This mouth assists the tail spike in stabbing its prey. Its method of killing its prey has changed slightly. For instance, say a spietsenwurm were to find a phlyer on the ground, minding its own business. The spietsenwurm, hidden, would study its prey, using its eyes to find a good place to stab its victim. It would probably be faster and more agile than the phlyer if both were in the air. So it curls its tail into attack position and then dive-bombs and stabs its prey in a hit-and-run fashion. This is so it can avoid injury. It then follows its injured prey until it bleeds to death, then devours its remains. It may also scavenge if given the chance.

Like its ancestor its tail has a cloaca. When they mate it look like kissing. This spread the reproductive material inside each other. After a week or so, it lays one or two eggs into an abandoned burrow; they hatch shortly thereafter. The 5 cm long maggots are born with several simple legs to move around. The maggots are fed remains of its parent's kills. The parents must remember which nest its young are located in. As the maggots mature into adults, their legs harden until they become part of the shell, and can no longer be used nor function.