Eutitanotheres

A clade of sauropod-like sauromimians, these mighty diordoscapulids are the largest terrestrial animals on Elonios. The largest member being the behemoth, at 55 meters (or 180 feet) long and weighing 750 metric tons. Smaller species are preyed upon by predators but the larger species have very few or no predators at all. They can be found on all landmasses besides the Topowa Archipelago, Aliuloco and Australius.

Taxonomy: As mentioned before, eutitanotheres are sauromimians, a clade of dinosaur-like archotherians, archotherians are pseudoreptiles with erect limbs. This clade also includes kuraccaosaurs and ungulatheres, the bull-like saurotaurids are their closest modern relatives.

Anatomy: Being diordoscapulids, their second pair of limbs are placed higher on the ribcage than the first, as well as being closely packed together unlike basal sauromimians which have their first and second pair of limbs farther apart. Eutitanotheres lack any kind of keratinous covering on their feet, hence why they are sometimes called "nailless titanotheres", Verticalan eutitanotheres lack digits on all of their limbs while Kuraccaonian species only have digits on their hindlimbs. Like all pseudoreptiles and brachiodonts, females have an ovipositor on the tip of their tail, however instead of it being similar to a insect's, sharp and pointed, it's more like that of a sea turtle's, a tube. This trait can also be seen the sister taxon too, saurotaurids. Like all archotherians, they have complex mammalian/avian eyes with pupils as opposed to simple black eyes like seen in synbrachiosaurs or eloniosaurs. Sexual dimorphism is quite common in eutitanotheres with the males being more vivid and possessing dewlaps.

Ethology: Behavior varies between species but generally, they are neutral animals, only being aggressive when attacked by animals that can pose a threat to them. Not by small creatures as they only see those as nuisance. During mating season, males behave like overgrown peacocks or birds-of-paradise, using their dewlaps, quills and other epidermal organs to impress females. Most species live in harem-based herds lead by a male although some are lead by females. Nearly all species are diurnal.

Ecology: About what you would expect from large herbivores, although it varies due to size differences and some species being more specialized than others. Multiple species can exist in the same ecosystem due to niche partitioning. In Verticala, Capstone, Ardent and Mudragassi, they are preyed by sicklehands, while in Kuraccao, Litany and Misum, they are preyed by psofidiabolids.