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Name: Marduk (Mardukhaber sagiru)
Creator: HethrJarrod
Ancestor: Feluk
Habitat: Ramul Chaparral, Ramul Subtropical Woodland, Ramul Subtropical Beach, Ramul Subtropical Woodland Archipelago
Size: 5 cm long
Support: Muscular Hydrostat, Protoendoskeleton (Keratin Fibers)
Diet: Carnivore (Minizap, Mikuks, Aphluks, Vermees; smaller species of Minikruggs, Mistswarmers, Silkruggs, Cloudswarmers; smaller Marduks), Scavenger
Respiration: Passive Diffusion
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs in Water)

Reaching Ramul via the seashrog and marine tamow nests, the small feluk grew, and split into the marduk. They developed a brilliant blue pigmentation as a means of sexual display.

The most notable feature that sets it apart from its ancestor is the development of a thin membrane that stretches between the two upper limbs and the tail. This membrane allows the marduk the opportunity to glide from tree to tree, or to pounce on its prey from above. This membrane is held taut with the use of the beginnings of a endoskeleton. This protoendoskeleton is made of keratin, the same material that makes up its claws. This skeleton continually grows and must be routinely ground down.

Its head has elongated slightly and its eyes have moved closer to its mouth. In early marduks, their eyes were awkwardly placed in such a way that the membrane that had developed was covering their eyes, so ones that had eyes further forward were better suited for survival.

Supplemental Side View:



Other than that, it is like its ancestor.

This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: May 29 2023, 07:37 PM

This seems a tad too rotund to glide.

I like the art and name , though I feel it mitgh need proportions better suited for gliding like bigger wings and a less rotund body, though not much drastic change sicne it kinda reminds me of a manta ray but I would like to heard others though on this
also I wonder if it may need some sort of proto lung system for its active lifestyle or skin respiration would be enough( I assume that is what passive difusion means)
I would like to heard other people thoughs on it

Fixed artwork.

Marduk

Image:
There are a few minor artistic flaws of lines that aren’t fully colored in, but, other than the color straying outside the lines for one wing, it’s not really noticeable.

Template:
“2 cm ion”: 2 cm long?
Unless it’s a genus group with an absurdly big range and diet, it’s best to fill out its diet instead of leaving things unsaid.
“larger species may eat smaller ones” Is this a single species or a genus group? The fact there’s only one image suggests it’s a single species.
“Chapparal” is a typo.

Description:
“The Seashrog and Marine Tamow nest”: This should be in the plural.
Could you briefly specify the usefulness of the blue pigmentation?
Its forelimbs look thick and relatively heavy, and it looks rotund. I don’t think it could glide, and at its size, it might not need heat dissipation help in the subtropics, particularly since it’s small enough that it would surely be easy to find shade and shelter.

The description is a little too small. Can you add more information?

Misc:
This is very cute.

Fixed rotundedness by extending the head forward.

Fixed other things in the description.

& thanks.

But why is it blue?
Although you’ve made it less rotund, there are reasons other than rotundness that it doesn’t look suitable for gliding: namely, the limbs. I recommend making a checklist for feedback to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything. When you respond with a message indicating you’ve responded to feedback, but upon checking approvers realized you forgot several important things, it slows down the process.


The world’s smallest gliding mammal, the feathertail glider, is 6.5-8 cm long. I use the feathertail glider as an example and not a bug of some sort because this fauna’s means of gliding seems to be a skin membrane between the limbs and body, similarly to a feathertail glider. Gliding spiders glide with their wide, flat bodies, while gliding ants (or, at least, one species in that category) steer with their legs. This doesn’t seem as if it could glide like a gliding spider or a gliding ant, because of its body shape.

Hypothetically, bending its lower legs outward, like a human child pretending to be a plane, with its upper legs similarly outward and right over the lower legs, could allow it to be reasonably aerodynamic. It would probably limit the angles it could glide from, though, unless it has some way of locking its lower limbs in place while gliding, which it probably doesn’t. Even if it did, it might need to move its legs fast to land, unless it always lands onto soft leaf litter or other similar substrates. (Not necessarily water: water behaves as if it’s thicker for animals at smaller sizes, though the effects are likely subtle at merely 2 cm)

How bad would the effects be of the membrane covering the eyes? Mere awkwardness isn’t always sufficient for developing to something “better”.
“So one’s that had eyes”: “so one that had eyes”.

Elaborated on a basic keratin support.