The above is the relevant situation of exoskeletons in the "Cambrian" era, and the second exclusive component of "proostomes" in this era is to form "shells" by secreting chitin, which is another route to enhance armor.
If "exoskeleton" is the symbol of arthropods, then "shell", although not very representative, can also be regarded as a symbol of soft-bodied organisms.
"Shells" and "exoskeletons" have the same function, which is to increase the user's defense to resist various threats from nature.
Compared with "exoskeleton", the advantage of "shell" is that it is not fixed when it is formed, but can grow with the user's body, so it does not need to shed its skin regularly like arthropods.
But while enjoying the benefits, there are also disadvantages. The "shell" has only one advantage over the "exoskeleton", but it has several more flaws.
The first is the disadvantage of the benefits. Since it grows with the user's body, the user needs to continue to nurture the shells, otherwise the quality may decline over time.
Secondly, "shells" are not as hard as "exoskeletons", so "arthropods" can often use "exoskeletons" to arm their mouthparts, and then blast the "shells" of soft-bodied creatures to obtain food.
Another point has little to do with other creatures, but is caused by the involution of the "soft-bodied creatures" themselves, that is, the ownership rights of the "shells" can be snatched from each other.
This is not like whoever owns the "exoskeleton". It is difficult to kill someone while still keeping the other person's "exoskeleton" from being harmed.
Moreover, the adaptability of the exoskeleton is very poor. It is basically shaped according to the user's unique body, and it is basically impossible for other creatures to use it.
But "shells" don't have so many moths. As long as the size difference is not too big, you can occupy the opponent's "shell" after killing the original owner and modifying it a little.
The last flaw of the "shell" is that the user's movement speed will be slowed down. After all, as you can tell from the name "soft-bodied creature", the muscular system is not very developed at least in this era.
Of course, even though "shells" have so many flaws, there are still many "proostome" players who choose to evolve "shells" in the "Cambrian" era.
Because in the "Ordovician" era after the "Cambrian", "molluscs" represented by "cephalopods" will evolve powerful movement capabilities and replace "arthropods" to become the overlord of the biosphere.
Therefore, during the "Cambrian" period, "shells" had so many disadvantages, and players who took the "software route" had to endure it temporarily and wait until the next era to attack the top of the food chain.
The last component unique to "proostomes" is "segmentation", and this function is basically used most often by "arthropods".
For the so-called "segmentation", you can refer to ants. This kind of creature typically divides its body into three segments. Of course, the "segmentation" was not that advanced at first.
The reason why "arthropods" most commonly use "segments" is that their bodies are covered with "exoskeletons". Without "segments", the creatures would be unable to turn.
Therefore, it is necessary for the "exoskeleton" to be combined with "segmentation". The "exoskeleton" of each segment of the body is independent of each other, allowing "arthropods" to turn.
Of course, this will lead to another problem, that is, the gaps between the "sections" are not protected by the "exoskeleton" and will become a key target for the enemy's attack.
As for "soft-bodied creatures", although they are not "segmented" today, according to research by paleontologists, they also had "segments" in ancient times.
As for "deuterostomes", except for the extinct Archaea, no segmentation has been found in other categories.
"Segmentation" initially belongs to "segmentation of the same law", that is, each segment of the species' body forms a unit, and the organs in each unit are exactly the same.
In this way, if one unit is destroyed, the backup organs of other units can be used to carry out activities, thereby enhancing the user's survivability.
After all, as the era enters the "Cambrian", the fighting between creatures will become more fierce. In this case, it is beneficial to have more backups.
"Same-rhythm sections" can continue to evolve into "different-rhythm sections" in later eras, that is, each section will receive specialized responsibilities.
After all, all the organs in each segment of the body are the same. Although it can be effectively backed up, it is not completely necessary and will cause a huge waste of nutrients, especially as there are more and more segments in the later period.
Therefore, "arthropod" players will begin to merge segments so that each part of the body has its own responsibility, thereby improving the efficiency of the use of body organs.
For example, the front body segments merge into the head of the sensory center, the middle body segments retain muscles and appendages, and the rear body segments are the gathering place for internal organs and are responsible for functions such as respiration, digestion, excretion, and reproduction.
"Exoskeleton", "shell" and "segmentation" are the three exclusive parts of "proostomes" in the "Cambrian" era, and they can also use three common parts: eyes, appendages and ganglia. .
Therefore, the Cambrian period must be the era of protostomes, or more accurately, the era of arthropods. Segments, appendages, and exoskeletons gave birth to the first ferocious predator Anomalocaris in the history of the earth.
In the "Cambrian" era, "deuterostomes" also had a unique component that belonged to them, the "notochord". From the name, you can guess that it was the prototype of the future spine. Of course, it is still very primitive now.
In short, with the update of the "Cambrian" version, "The Epic of Life" has also entered a new "Era of Marine Biology" from the "Era of Multicellular Biology".
"Arthropods" were the first to exert force in this era. They secreted an astonishingly hard "exoskeleton" on their body surface as armor, strengthened their flexibility through segmentation, and also evolved ferocious appendages for hunting. .
This is the way to win the first ferocious predator Anomalocaris in the history of the earth. In "The Epic of Life", players directly copy the path of this successful person.
In terms of defense in this era, "soft-bodied creatures" can collide with "arthropods", but the problem is that "soft-bodied creatures" cannot run fast.
As for the "back-mouth creature" players who represent the future, they had a hard time in the "Cambrian" era, and could only hide in dark corners to avoid being hunted.
Therefore, their main direction of evolution is speed. As long as I escape fast enough, regardless of whether the hunter can catch up with me, I just need to run faster than other "deuterostomes".
In the process of chasing and escaping, the demand for neural reflexes increased, so perfect eyes and primitive brains evolved to help deuterostomes escape faster.
