What kind of environment would a proto-human have to be in to evolve into the following type of species?

Let's say that around 4-5 million years ago, members of the earliest proto-humans, maybe Australopithecus, get whisked away to another habitable planet/parallel dimension - doesn't matter how at this point but let's say they got there.

I want these Australo-dudes to take a divergent evolutionary path than the one that led to the Homo species (as far as I understand). Furthermore, I want them to develop the following characteristics/physiology:

• I'd prefer that they keep their humanoid shape, but they don't have to - I'm leaning towards an almost squid-like body type but with some form of quadraped locomotion maybe 12-15 feet long
• They lose their fur and develop a smooth exoskeleton and a kind of crest on the head - think kind of like the xenomorph from Alien
• They develop four tentacles that they can use as additional limbs and as weapons
• They are mostly blind but have some sort of extrasensory perception - perhaps echolocation or the ability to detect vibration from moving bodies
• They are sensitive to sunlight and prefer the dark
• They can move fast, reaching top speeds of 40-50 km/h

What kind of environment/atmosphere/catalyst would lead a primitive humanoid to evolve into the creature I'm proposing?

posted over 4 years ago

Faz‭

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