Ratconey

The genus name Leptictidium comes from the Ancient Greek leptos ("small" or "graceful") and iktis ("weasel"). The species name auderiense refers to the Audery stream near the Messel Pit in Germany where it was discovered.

It was called by Germans in TROQA saga as Rötkäning or Ratconey (Low German: "Rött" and "Kanink", lit. "rat-bunny").

• Singular: ratconey

• Plural: ratconeys

Leptictidium auderiense is one of the most peculiar and fascinating mammals of the Eocene period. Its tiny forelimbs and proportionally long hind legs were its most noticeable characteristics. It traveled mostly on two legs, in contrast to the majority of animals of its era. For snuffling through leaf litter, it had an extended, lengthy, and extremely mobile snout that resembled a mini-trunk or the nose of an elephant shrew, or macroscelid. When it ran or hopped through the undergrowth, its long, stiff tail with more than 40 vertebrae served as an essential counterweight. Leptictidium auderiense was comparatively small, with a total length of 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in), including the tail.

Leptictidium is a transitional form that illustrates how, following the demise of the dinosaurs, tiny mammals diversified into several nutritional and locomotor niches. Due to convergent evolution, Leptictidium—once believed to be early relatives of elephant shrews or early placental mammals—is now regarded as a side branch of ancient placentals with no living descendants.

Leptictidium was probably able to sprint or hop quickly, have good hearing and smell, move in an agile zigzag pattern, dig for insects, use its tail to balance, and react quickly. Whether Leptictidium ran like an elephant shrew or hopped like a kangaroo is up for disputes among scientists. It was neither aquatic nor a proficient swimmer, according to direct fossil evidence. Leptictidium lived in a humid rainforest with lakes and streams, but its primary habitat was the forest floor. It was probably a sporadic swimmer, able to cross water to get away from predators or find new food sources. Its anatomy was more suited to foraging and hopping than swimming.

Leptictidium's long tail and flexible spine gave it stability when jumping. Leptictidium's sharp teeth and movable snout made it perfect for capturing insects, worms, and small vertebrates. Additionally, there is evidence that it was omnivorous, opportunistically consuming fruit or seeds. Leptictidium's whiskered snout aided in searching for food beneath, and its keen sense of smell and hearing made them perfect for spotting prey in leaf litter. Leptictidium could avoid predators and maneuver through thick foliage thanks to its excellent reflexes.

Perfectly preserved fossils of three different species of Leptictidium have been found in the Messel pit in Germany. Leptictidium auderiense occasionally consumes fruits or leaves in addition to insects, worms, lizards, frogs, and small animals. Like contemporary elephant shrews, it filled a niche. Early owls, snakes, crocodilians, carnivorous mammals, and other animals were among their primary potential predators. Its primary defenses were likely its speed and agility. Even though Gastornis was a herbivore, Leptictidium and the terror bird-like fowl were engaged in combat.

Reproduction

As a placental mammal, Leptictidium gave birth to relatively well-developed young. Because of its bipedal nature, mothers likely had to be highly mobile even when carrying or guarding a nest. No direct fossil evidence of Leptictidium exists for reproduction, but scientists infer:

• Live birth

• Small litters

• Furred young

• Parental care similar to small mammals today

• The young may have hidden in burrows or dense undergrowth

Leptictidium auderiense was probably diurnal (active during the day), vigilant and nervous, territorial, fast-moving, and social only during the breeding season. It was most likely very territorial and lonely. They are depicted in some reconstructions as sending out warning signs by tapping their feet or tails. According to a Spanish account, they hunted primarily in the morning and afternoon.

Leptictidium auderiense would likely act like a timid wallaby-sized insectivore or an inquisitive elephant shrew if it were still living today. It would probably be shy, smart, quick, and hard to catch when it comes to people, but it may form bonds with patient caregivers. Unless you were surrounded, it generally wouldn't be risky.

Likes

• Warm forests

• Insects

• Soft soil

• Shaded riverbanks

• Quiet nesting places

• Dense vegetation

Dislikes

• Open plains

• Loud predators

• Drought

• Extreme cold

• Habitat destruction

• Predators and enemies

• Limnic eruption

About 35 million years ago, as the climate cooled and the ecology changed, the genus disappeared. They suffered from limnic eruption and global cold. The planet changed from a "greenhouse" to a "icehouse" toward the end of the Eocene, with wide woodlands and plains taking the place of the deep European rainforests, where their specialized bipedal forest-running was no longer advantageous.

Their main causes likely included:

• Shrinking tropical forests

• Spread of open grasslands

• Competition with newer mammals

• Limnic eruption

• Inability to adapt to drier climates

The species' name alludes to the Roman Empire's town of Auderia, also known as Dieburg, in the Deustchland region, which was once a wet woodland with a lake formed by volcanic eruptions in the middle of the Eocene period.

• Movement Pattern: Migrant

• Individual Type: Nomadic

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 

  • Earth: 0

  • Berbania: 40–80

  • Reinachos: 5000–7200

  • Sawintir: 50–350

• Locomotion: Terrestrial

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Mountain.

• Earth: 

  • Extinct: Czechia; France; Germany; Nederlands

• Berbania: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): Dinojerulla; Thirenha; Zowhringe

  • Extinct & Introduced: Inorthia

• Reinachos: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): Ascunsia

• Thatrollwa: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): TBA

• Everrealm/Sawintir: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): Norberg

Rapunzel's world

The leptictida can be tamed using plants, eggs, or worms if it isn't already tamed.

Our world

Even if Leptictidium were extinct, it would not be appropriate to keep it as a pet. Leptictidium requires a lot of forest space to hop and forage because it is shy, insectivorous, and extremely active. It would act less like a household pet and more like a jerboa or wild shrew.

The region that is today Germany was in a volcanically active zone during the Eocene. It is thought that the Messel pit could have been the old location of a volcanic lake saturated with CO2. The lake would periodically release the gas it contained, creating a lethal cloud that would asphyxiate any animal in its path caused by a mysterious limnic eruption. This would explain the great number of non-aquatic species that have been found in the old lakebed of the Messel pit.

Although they were widespread throughout Europe, they became extinct around thirty-five million years ago with no descendants, probably because they were adapted to live in forest ecosystems and were unable to adapt to the open plains of the Oligocene.

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See also: none

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptictidium#Leptictidium_auderiense

• https://www.trvst.world/biodiversity/rabbit-quotes/

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q477725

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Leptictidium

• https://eol.org/pages/4528449

• http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=40267

• https://www.gbif.org/species/4834535

• https://www.irmng.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1211788

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Leptictidium-auderiense-979795977