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Description
A highly derived bat descendant for a spec evo competition: s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_E…

The Crested Sea Wolf, also known as the Crested Wolf Seal or just Wolf Seal/Sea Wolf, is a highly derived species of bat that is native to the waters around what was once the Caribbean, 100 million years into the future. Descended from animals similar to the Greater Bulldog bat, these animals are the dominant predators of their environment. Sea wolves have large, powerful heads and jaws that are filled with large teeth designed to grab and tear. The external ears have fused into a single, rigid cartilaginous structure that acts as a fin, helping the sea wolf move through the water. this iconic 'crest' is where the sea wolf gets its name, along with their wolf like head and marine lifestyle. The wings have become short, powerful flippers that steer the sea wolf through the water, with the fingers becoming short and thick to help support the muscles. They are propelled by a fluked tail, formed from the legs and tail of their aerial ancestors. As the sea wolf's ancestors became more and more aquatic, the need for functioning legs lessened. Eventually, the legs and tail would just become dead weight so they evolved an entirely new function. Unlike whales, who lost their hind legs completely, sea wolves' legs became very long and very thin. The toes fused into a single strip of bone that only serves the purpose of supporting the fluke, whilst the tail acts as a central support. The fluke itself is formed from the uropatagium between a bat's tail and legs. This has become thicker and evolved into a strong tail end that is used in the same way as that of a dolphin's. The fluke is still supported by the legs but not so much by the tail and there is evidence to suggest that the tail is receding and soon the fluke will be supported by the legs alone, at which point it will evolve to be stronger as there is no central support.

Sea wolves hunt large fish and other marine tetrapods. They are opportunistic predators that will eat anything that they can catch. Their teeth are specially designed to catch and tear large animals and they have small serrations on them, just like a tyrannosaur, to help rip and tear. There are some cases where these predators have been recorded tearing flesh from the side of the giant filter-feeding squamates that rule the seas but only on occasion. They are solitary animals that only meet one another to mate, a short and unromantic process, and they are very vicious to one another. Males will fight to the death in the breeding season for the right to females and, although they lack territories, sea wolves will chase each other away from 'their' patch of sea. Sea wolf females come into season during the Spring when there is plenty of food for them to fatten up and support their pup. All of the courting and mating is done in the water as these animals never leave the sea and the pups, of which there is usually only one, are also born in the sea. The females will care for the pups on their own, giving birth in the Spring about a year after mating in order to provide their young with food.

The ancestors of the Sea Wolf were small, piscivorous bats similar to modern day Bulldog bats. Gradually, they began to dip further and further into the water, evolving an osprey-like form of hunting. In order to escape the water, the muscles in their arms became more powerful and their wing bones became denser and stronger. This limited their flight capabilities but when your food source lives in water, flying isn't overly important. In order to move more efficiently in the water without damaging their bodies, the bats grew larger and more muscly. Over millions of years, the wings of these bats became shorter and they evolved a puffin-esque lifestyle, diving into water for food and using their strong wings to swim. The external ears became smaller and more rigid to prevent drag, gradually fusing together into the iconic crest of the modern day sea wolf. The legs and tail became long and thin and evolved into the sea wolf's fluke. After 10s of millions of years, the bats became fully aquatic and evolved a longer, more streamlined body to move more efficiently in the water. Most species remained medium sized fish hunters but the sea wolf's ancestors evolved to hunt the other large marine tetrapods, such as the aquatic squamates and birds, gradually evolving into the modern day species.

Description
A highly derived bat descendant for a spec evo competition: s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_E…

The Crested Sea Wolf, also known as the Crested Wolf Seal or just Wolf Seal/Sea Wolf, is a highly derived species of bat that is native to the waters around what was once the Caribbean, 100 million years into the future. Descended from animals similar to the Greater Bulldog bat, these animals are the dominant predators of their environment. Sea wolves have large, powerful heads and jaws that are filled with large teeth designed to grab and tear. The external ears have fused into a single, rigid cartilaginous structure that acts as a fin, helping the sea wolf move through the water. this iconic 'crest' is where the sea wolf gets its name, along with their wolf like head and marine lifestyle. The wings have become short, powerful flippers that steer the sea wolf through the water, with the fingers becoming short and thick to help support the muscles. They are propelled by a fluked tail, formed from the legs and tail of their aerial ancestors. As the sea wolf's ancestors became more and more aquatic, the need for functioning legs lessened. Eventually, the legs and tail would just become dead weight so they evolved an entirely new function. Unlike whales, who lost their hind legs completely, sea wolves' legs became very long and very thin. The toes fused into a single strip of bone that only serves the purpose of supporting the fluke, whilst the tail acts as a central support. The fluke itself is formed from the uropatagium between a bat's tail and legs. This has become thicker and evolved into a strong tail end that is used in the same way as that of a dolphin's. The fluke is still supported by the legs but not so much by the tail and there is evidence to suggest that the tail is receding and soon the fluke will be supported by the legs alone, at which point it will evolve to be stronger as there is no central support.

Sea wolves hunt large fish and other marine tetrapods. They are opportunistic predators that will eat anything that they can catch. Their teeth are specially designed to catch and tear large animals and they have small serrations on them, just like a tyrannosaur, to help rip and tear. There are some cases where these predators have been recorded tearing flesh from the side of the giant filter-feeding squamates that rule the seas but only on occasion. They are solitary animals that only meet one another to mate, a short and unromantic process, and they are very vicious to one another. Males will fight to the death in the breeding season for the right to females and, although they lack territories, sea wolves will chase each other away from 'their' patch of sea. Sea wolf females come into season during the Spring when there is plenty of food for them to fatten up and support their pup. All of the courting and mating is done in the water as these animals never leave the sea and the pups, of which there is usually only one, are also born in the sea. The females will care for the pups on their own, giving birth in the Spring about a year after mating in order to provide their young with food.

The ancestors of the Sea Wolf were small, piscivorous bats similar to modern day Bulldog bats. Gradually, they began to dip further and further into the water, evolving an osprey-like form of hunting. In order to escape the water, the muscles in their arms became more powerful and their wing bones became denser and stronger. This limited their flight capabilities but when your food source lives in water, flying isn't overly important. In order to move more efficiently in the water without damaging their bodies, the bats grew larger and more muscly. Over millions of years, the wings of these bats became shorter and they evolved a puffin-esque lifestyle, diving into water for food and using their strong wings to swim. The external ears became smaller and more rigid to prevent drag, gradually fusing together into the iconic crest of the modern day sea wolf. The legs and tail became long and thin and evolved into the sea wolf's fluke. After 10s of millions of years, the bats became fully aquatic and evolved a longer, more streamlined body to move more efficiently in the water. Most species remained medium sized fish hunters but the sea wolf's ancestors evolved to hunt the other large marine tetrapods, such as the aquatic squamates and birds, gradually evolving into the modern day species.