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Description
The Longiops (L. psuedosuchus) is perhaps one of the strangest genuses of caudate amphibian in South America, with eyes extending outward on bony protrusions much like a hammerhead shark. There are a multitude of evolutionary explanations for such an aberrant trait, such as improvements in field of vision, a display structure, or even aiding in turning between the many divets and bends in the waters of South America. It may have come up due to all these reasons, only one, or even none of them, but regardless, the head shape is useful in the longiops day to day life.

The entire rest of the body has evolved wholly suited to an aquatic environment, much like that of the Sacmander. Their body is smooth and streamlined, while retaining the semi-permeable skin of their ancestors. Their total length is approximately two meters, and the tail takes up over a third of that length. The limbs turned fins hang limply at the sides, with the front pair aiding in steering and general transport through the water, whereas the hind limbs only ever come to usage on occasion during mating.

Their coloration is a murky brown on the top, with a lighter, more tan underside. This helps them remain hidden in the water, blending in from both above and below. With that, the top is often adorned with a dark pattern of sort, which further helps them remain unseen undergoing their day to day activities. While the specific markings vary population to population, a significant portion have dark stripes perpendicular to the arch of their back, stretching down the length of their body.

They are found in any large body of freshwater around the Amazon, anywhere with a constant presence of rain and water. This includes, but isn’t limited to, swamps, wetlands, and slow-moving rivers. Due to their specialization into the aquatic lifestyle, they almost never venture out of the water, with their limbs being much more effective at pushing through water than dragging their body on land. However, in times of dire hardship, such as a pond or lake drying up, they can slowly carry themselves across land for just over a few minutes.

Longiops are obligate carnivores, feeding on a diet of fish, aquatic tetrapods, water-going invertebrates, as well as carrion. Their jaws hold within themselves many small, blade-like teeth to grasp and hold onto prey. They tear flesh from prey, one chunk at a time, as they have no ability to chew and swallow. Much like today’s salamanders and newts, they are ectotherms, having no need to change in the warm climate around them. Thus, the caudatid amphibians mostly concentrate their efforts on a few hunts within a week.

Longiops live a solitary lifestyle, with any contact with others of their kind usually ending rather violently. This is because, while they only engage in hunts every few days, they prefer not to have competition within their ‘territory’. To the aquatic beasts, their territory consists mostly of the immediate area that they have vantage. With that, it is possible to have multiple longiops within the same lake or river, so long as contact isn't frequent.

They have no defined breeding season, though most breeding occurs in what could be called the ‘wetter’ season in the region. A male and a female will copulate shortly, and they will part ways as quickly as they met up, with males being able to mate with multiple females in the season. Females will lay up to eighty eggs, little more than a centimeter in diameter. The female will keep watch over the clutch of eggs up until the first signs of the young hatching. From there, she leaves the young to defend themselves alone.

The tadpoles are roundish, worm-like creatures, lacking the crest of their parents. As they grow with age, their eyes gradually extend outwards until they reach the form seen in adults. With that, while young feed on plant matter supplemented by flesh, as they grow older, they ingest meat in higher and higher intakes until their diet is that of an obligate carnivore by adulthood.

Being one of the top predators in the waterways of South America, any predatory threats are near nonexistent. Due to this, alongside their ectothermy, certain individuals can live for well over sixty years.

Description
The Longiops (L. psuedosuchus) is perhaps one of the strangest genuses of caudate amphibian in South America, with eyes extending outward on bony protrusions much like a hammerhead shark. There are a multitude of evolutionary explanations for such an aberrant trait, such as improvements in field of vision, a display structure, or even aiding in turning between the many divets and bends in the waters of South America. It may have come up due to all these reasons, only one, or even none of them, but regardless, the head shape is useful in the longiops day to day life.

The entire rest of the body has evolved wholly suited to an aquatic environment, much like that of the Sacmander. Their body is smooth and streamlined, while retaining the semi-permeable skin of their ancestors. Their total length is approximately two meters, and the tail takes up over a third of that length. The limbs turned fins hang limply at the sides, with the front pair aiding in steering and general transport through the water, whereas the hind limbs only ever come to usage on occasion during mating.

Their coloration is a murky brown on the top, with a lighter, more tan underside. This helps them remain hidden in the water, blending in from both above and below. With that, the top is often adorned with a dark pattern of sort, which further helps them remain unseen undergoing their day to day activities. While the specific markings vary population to population, a significant portion have dark stripes perpendicular to the arch of their back, stretching down the length of their body.

They are found in any large body of freshwater around the Amazon, anywhere with a constant presence of rain and water. This includes, but isn’t limited to, swamps, wetlands, and slow-moving rivers. Due to their specialization into the aquatic lifestyle, they almost never venture out of the water, with their limbs being much more effective at pushing through water than dragging their body on land. However, in times of dire hardship, such as a pond or lake drying up, they can slowly carry themselves across land for just over a few minutes.

Longiops are obligate carnivores, feeding on a diet of fish, aquatic tetrapods, water-going invertebrates, as well as carrion. Their jaws hold within themselves many small, blade-like teeth to grasp and hold onto prey. They tear flesh from prey, one chunk at a time, as they have no ability to chew and swallow. Much like today’s salamanders and newts, they are ectotherms, having no need to change in the warm climate around them. Thus, the caudatid amphibians mostly concentrate their efforts on a few hunts within a week.

Longiops live a solitary lifestyle, with any contact with others of their kind usually ending rather violently. This is because, while they only engage in hunts every few days, they prefer not to have competition within their ‘territory’. To the aquatic beasts, their territory consists mostly of the immediate area that they have vantage. With that, it is possible to have multiple longiops within the same lake or river, so long as contact isn't frequent.

They have no defined breeding season, though most breeding occurs in what could be called the ‘wetter’ season in the region. A male and a female will copulate shortly, and they will part ways as quickly as they met up, with males being able to mate with multiple females in the season. Females will lay up to eighty eggs, little more than a centimeter in diameter. The female will keep watch over the clutch of eggs up until the first signs of the young hatching. From there, she leaves the young to defend themselves alone.

The tadpoles are roundish, worm-like creatures, lacking the crest of their parents. As they grow with age, their eyes gradually extend outwards until they reach the form seen in adults. With that, while young feed on plant matter supplemented by flesh, as they grow older, they ingest meat in higher and higher intakes until their diet is that of an obligate carnivore by adulthood.

Being one of the top predators in the waterways of South America, any predatory threats are near nonexistent. Due to this, alongside their ectothermy, certain individuals can live for well over sixty years.