Species 3

Morphology: Species 3 also exhibits sexual dimorphism, though not as extreme as species 2. Females are about 30 cm tall and 75 cm long. Males are about 20 cm tall and 65 cm long. Females live twice as long as males. Individuals of species 3 have the same respective reproductive organs as species 2. Besides reproductive organs, size, and lifespan, there aren't many differences between male and female individuals. They have an elongated head with 3 small eyes towards the back. Like species 2, they have no auditory sense, and they breathe and smell through tiny holes in their shells. Their eyesight isn't very good, so they primarily use their sense of smell. Species 2 has a 4-plated shell that makes up the majority of their body. They have 3 thin legs on each side of their body that can be used to hook onto prey. They also have an organ that produces venom at the end of their body. This organ is much larger for females. They use this organ to slow down their prey so they can feed on it. They insert a proboscis-like organ into their weakened prey, extracting blood and tissue. This process is shown in figure 4. They also use this organ to expel waste, like species 2. 

Behavior: Species 3 is a fast-moving (relative to other species on Kepler-442 b) carnivore that lives in packs of 10-15. Typically, a pack consists of 1 female that leads the pack, with the rest being males and infants. Its primary prey is female individuals of species 2. They will latch on to the soft underside tissue of species 2, using their stingers to paralyze it for consumption. 

Reproduction: Mating season occurs once a Kepler-442 b year. Similar to species 2, males in the pack will take turns mating with the 1 lead female (in the same way as species 1). The females will then lay 4 armored reproductive bodies per male, similar to species 2. They are laid and hatch within the same time frame as species 2. Each litter has around 0-1 females and 3-4 males, a similar ratio to species 2. 

Development: All males will stay with the pack their entire life. Females will stay with the pack until sexual maturity, then they will fight for leadership. The victor will be the next leader once the current one dies. Males reach sexual maturity after 1 month, while females reach sexual maturity after 4 months. The males will only mate once in their life, while females will mate twice in their life. 

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