I'd have thought the Mudokons, Glukkons, and Sligs' ancestors were all colony type species, considering such an extreme shift in the whole of the species' behaviour would be very slow, mentally and physically. Perhaps they even all had a common ancestor...? (or their ancestors had a common ancestor) A minimum of three vertebrate species all having evolved a similar queen breeding system, in the same period of history would be a very large convergal coincedence. This may suggests the group Scrabs and Paramites belong to (and other vertebrates with 'ordinary' breeding behaviour) split off from those species very long ago, perhaps right near the primordial soup/early vertebrate history.
Scrabs and Paramites, with their similar leg structure and blindness are the closest two related. Meeches a step away due to different limbs, but they also use (presumably) the same 'visual' system. The Elum is a complete step away, having eyes and ordinary limbs.
Perhaps that suggests sighted vertebrates split from those which developed another system before the queen system came into effect? Though obviously that must have been a very early evolutionary split, considering the huge differences between Mudokons, Glukkons and Sligs.
But assuming Oktigi, whilst related to Glukkons, do not operate for, or from a queen, then perhaps they lineage evolved away from that whilst retaining a number of similarities? Assuming they're related, which is odd considering they appear to be invertabrates, like the octopus, whilst Glukkons do have an endoskeleton.
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