Ratconey

Leptictidium is a special animal because of the way its anatomy combines quite primitive elements with elements that prove a high degree of specialization. It had small forelegs and large hind legs, especially at the distal side (that is, further from the body). The lateral phalanges of its forelegs (fingers I and V) were very short and weak; finger III was longer; and fingers II and IV were roughly equal in size and slightly shorter than finger III. The tips of the phalanges were elongated and tapered.

The ankles and the sacroiliac joint were quite loosely fixed, while the pelvis had a flexible joint with only one coccygeal vertebra. The anteorbital muscle fenestrae in their crania suggest they probably had a long and mobile snout, similar to that of elephant shrews.

Leptictidium had wide diastemata in the antemolar row; its upper molar teeth were more transverse than those of the North American leptictids; and its fourth premolars were molariform. Leptictidium's C1 canines were incisiviform. Its dentition was quite small in comparison to the size of the mandible and of the animal as a whole.

Abilities

Elephant shrews, on the other hand, are able to move on two legs in order to escape a predator; they typically walk on four legs. Research on the skeletal system of Leptictidium has produced conflicting results. While its long feet were clearly designed for leaping rather than running, its leg articulations seem too weak to have sustained the shock of repeated leaps.

Ecology

Perfectly preserved fossils of three different species of Leptictidium have been found in the Messel pit in Germany. The marks on their fur have been preserved, as well as their stomach contents, which reveal Leptictidium were omnivores which fed on insects, lizards and small mammals. The holotype of Leptictidium tobieni also had pieces of leaves and notable amounts of sand in its abdomen, but it cannot be determined with certainty if the animal swallowed it.

They were omnivorous, their diet a combination of insects, lizards and small mammals. Leptictidium and other leptictids are not placentals, but are non-placental eutherians, although closely related. They appeared in the Lower Eocene, a time of warm temperatures and high humidity, roughly fifty million years ago.

Behavior

Generally speaking, leptictida do not pose much danger to humans, but a bite from a leptictida is unpleasant, and the venom is not typically lethal to humans.

Distribution and Habitat

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: none
Reinachos: none
Delphia: none
Sawintir: none
Agarathos: none

Tamed

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

Lore

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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