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Description
This tree of life features the most well known major clades native to Cinder; it primarily shows the female forms of each clade.

Cinderan life's most recognizable feature is the extreme sexual dimorphism displayed by most of its inhabitants. On Cinder, males take the form of plant-like creatures that live sessile lives and produce fruit, which are eaten by animal-like females to fertilize their eggs.

From left to right, the clades are as follows;

Acid breathers: An invisible but all important group of life on Cinder that primarily takes the form of aquatic microbes, but sometimes grows as various types of creeping slime in rare moist areas on Cinder. This family keeps the cycle of nitrogen based acidic compounds (such as NO2 and Nitric acid) going, which all other forms of life on Cinder have adapted to thrive in.

Bachelors: Originally named the bachelors for their seeming absence of having animal-females, the bachelors have a somewhat different system of spreading their species. Rather than having advanced females that function as their own creatures, bachelors asexually reproduce by sending out non-trophic but mobile seeds; they have the ability to move by primitive means (such as tumbling and rolling) but have no method of eating. Once their biological 'battery' runs out, they stop where they lie and begin to sprout.

Quadrites: A quadrilateral family of complex multicellular species. Their females come in three different broad categories;
Lungestars: The creature pictured in the tree of life is a lungestar; they can be as small as a human hand to as wide as a car. They are ambush predators that hide in grass and rocks waiting for prey to wander by, which they then frantically tumble after before wrapping their four tentacles around their bodies and constricting them to death. Some lungestars are aquatic and live their lives swimming through the Cinderan seas and lakes.
Spinners: Small flying creatures that resemble fly fishing lures. Their four wings, arranged radially around their body, make them rotate when in flight, giving them their name.
Rollerworms: Segmented worms with legs arranged in a spiral pattern down their body that roll sideways like a log rather than moving forward like a caterpillar. They are known to have symbiotic relationships with some tongue-eater males.

Desiccates: The next major clade pictured. They have moist, squishy bodies and are the only clade on Cinder to use calcium carbonate bone structures (most creatures use keratin on Cinder, as the lower gravity does not require as rigid of bones to support larger bodies). Desiccates get their name from their unique ability to dry up and wither away as a form of stasis, when water is scarce. A desiccate can recede fully into its shell, reduced to only a handful of dried up, preserved cells. Once contact with water is made, their body will rapidly grow back into its full potential and continue about its life; undisturbed by predators, desiccates are immortal. Many desiccate species are aquatic, but a fair amount dwells on land.

Brittleskins: An extremely old, diverse clade of microfauna that fill similar roles to Earth insects. They range from the size of ants to the size of housecats, and are known for their bizarre life cycle. Female brittleskins have internal seeds inside their bodies with no way to be planted; once a female finds a fertile male to drink sap from, the eggs become fertile and her body becomes a time bomb- but instead of an explosion at the end of her timer, the birth of her young. Once fertile, a female brittleskin will seek out a safe, moist place to partially bury herself alive. Once this happens, she will lay in place and her body functions will cease, and her internal seeds will begin to grow. Some brittleskins will only sprout a handful of young, and some will grow hundreds of children from their carcasses. Brittleskins have dry, crinkly, papery skin supported by an internal lattice matrix of stiff, hair-like strands that spans their bodies from side to side.

Pumpjets: Pumpjets are the most ubiquitous undersea family on Cinder, making up the bulk of the aquatic macrofauna. They move with a mixture of undulating movements like Earth fish, and through the use of pump jets that suck up water and spew it out of posterior jets to propel themselves forward. Some species use their propulsion system as a way to filter feed as well, but some live a more aggressively carnivorous lifestyle.

Tongue Eaters: The family with the most complex nervous systems as well as cardiovascular systems; they have two sets of incredibly efficient organs that function as both hearts and lungs, and the two sets exhale and inhale on opposite intervals, so there is always air entering the body. Their nervous systems are modular and spread throughout the body, giving each section plenty of room to grow and specialize as they evolve to their environments. Tongue Eaters, while incredibly efficient at saving what precious water and food they can find in the barren Cinderan landscape, have to take extra precautions to save energy because of their relatively hungry metabolisms. While they are the most active Cinderan clade, they still spend up to 90% of their lives in a state of torpor; a light hibernation that they are semi-conscious during. Some predators use torpor to hunt, lying in wait in ambush positions for days or even weeks at a time, living life on a nearly completely frozen metabolism, just waiting for prey to amble by. Tongue Eaters have flat, flexible bones composed of keratin.

Description
This tree of life features the most well known major clades native to Cinder; it primarily shows the female forms of each clade.

Cinderan life's most recognizable feature is the extreme sexual dimorphism displayed by most of its inhabitants. On Cinder, males take the form of plant-like creatures that live sessile lives and produce fruit, which are eaten by animal-like females to fertilize their eggs.

From left to right, the clades are as follows;

Acid breathers: An invisible but all important group of life on Cinder that primarily takes the form of aquatic microbes, but sometimes grows as various types of creeping slime in rare moist areas on Cinder. This family keeps the cycle of nitrogen based acidic compounds (such as NO2 and Nitric acid) going, which all other forms of life on Cinder have adapted to thrive in.

Bachelors: Originally named the bachelors for their seeming absence of having animal-females, the bachelors have a somewhat different system of spreading their species. Rather than having advanced females that function as their own creatures, bachelors asexually reproduce by sending out non-trophic but mobile seeds; they have the ability to move by primitive means (such as tumbling and rolling) but have no method of eating. Once their biological 'battery' runs out, they stop where they lie and begin to sprout.

Quadrites: A quadrilateral family of complex multicellular species. Their females come in three different broad categories;
Lungestars: The creature pictured in the tree of life is a lungestar; they can be as small as a human hand to as wide as a car. They are ambush predators that hide in grass and rocks waiting for prey to wander by, which they then frantically tumble after before wrapping their four tentacles around their bodies and constricting them to death. Some lungestars are aquatic and live their lives swimming through the Cinderan seas and lakes.
Spinners: Small flying creatures that resemble fly fishing lures. Their four wings, arranged radially around their body, make them rotate when in flight, giving them their name.
Rollerworms: Segmented worms with legs arranged in a spiral pattern down their body that roll sideways like a log rather than moving forward like a caterpillar. They are known to have symbiotic relationships with some tongue-eater males.

Desiccates: The next major clade pictured. They have moist, squishy bodies and are the only clade on Cinder to use calcium carbonate bone structures (most creatures use keratin on Cinder, as the lower gravity does not require as rigid of bones to support larger bodies). Desiccates get their name from their unique ability to dry up and wither away as a form of stasis, when water is scarce. A desiccate can recede fully into its shell, reduced to only a handful of dried up, preserved cells. Once contact with water is made, their body will rapidly grow back into its full potential and continue about its life; undisturbed by predators, desiccates are immortal. Many desiccate species are aquatic, but a fair amount dwells on land.

Brittleskins: An extremely old, diverse clade of microfauna that fill similar roles to Earth insects. They range from the size of ants to the size of housecats, and are known for their bizarre life cycle. Female brittleskins have internal seeds inside their bodies with no way to be planted; once a female finds a fertile male to drink sap from, the eggs become fertile and her body becomes a time bomb- but instead of an explosion at the end of her timer, the birth of her young. Once fertile, a female brittleskin will seek out a safe, moist place to partially bury herself alive. Once this happens, she will lay in place and her body functions will cease, and her internal seeds will begin to grow. Some brittleskins will only sprout a handful of young, and some will grow hundreds of children from their carcasses. Brittleskins have dry, crinkly, papery skin supported by an internal lattice matrix of stiff, hair-like strands that spans their bodies from side to side.

Pumpjets: Pumpjets are the most ubiquitous undersea family on Cinder, making up the bulk of the aquatic macrofauna. They move with a mixture of undulating movements like Earth fish, and through the use of pump jets that suck up water and spew it out of posterior jets to propel themselves forward. Some species use their propulsion system as a way to filter feed as well, but some live a more aggressively carnivorous lifestyle.

Tongue Eaters: The family with the most complex nervous systems as well as cardiovascular systems; they have two sets of incredibly efficient organs that function as both hearts and lungs, and the two sets exhale and inhale on opposite intervals, so there is always air entering the body. Their nervous systems are modular and spread throughout the body, giving each section plenty of room to grow and specialize as they evolve to their environments. Tongue Eaters, while incredibly efficient at saving what precious water and food they can find in the barren Cinderan landscape, have to take extra precautions to save energy because of their relatively hungry metabolisms. While they are the most active Cinderan clade, they still spend up to 90% of their lives in a state of torpor; a light hibernation that they are semi-conscious during. Some predators use torpor to hunt, lying in wait in ambush positions for days or even weeks at a time, living life on a nearly completely frozen metabolism, just waiting for prey to amble by. Tongue Eaters have flat, flexible bones composed of keratin.