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Mortusyte (Mortuplenti pressi)

Creator: MNIDJM
Ancestor: Mortuprey (Mortuplenti preydus)
Habitat: Barlowe (Midnight Floor), Maineiac (Midnight Floor), Jujubee Ocean (Midnight Zone), Barlowe (Midnight Slope), Maineiac (Midnight Slope), Abello Midnight Sea Mount, Ethos Midnight Sea Mount, Ittiz Midnight Sea Mount, Ovi Midnight Sea Mount, Penumbra Midnight Sea Mount, Putspooza Midnight Sea Mount, Russ Midnight Sea Mount, Solpimr Midnight Sea Mount, Sparks Midnight Sea Mount, Time Midnight Sea Mount, Truteal Midnight Sea Mount, Xeno Midnight Sea Mount, Barlowe (Twilight Floor), Maineiac (Twilight Floor), Jujubee Ocean (Twilight Zone), Barlowe (Twilight Slope), Maineiac (Twilight Slope), Abello Twilight Sea Mount, Ittiz Twilight Sea Mount, Nemo Twilight Sea Mount, Ovi Twilight Sea Mount, Penumbra Twilight Sea Mount, Putspooza Twilight Sea Mount, Russ Twilight Sea Mount, Solpimr Twilight Sea Mount, Sparks Twilight Sea Mount, Time Twilight Sea Mount, Drake (Midnight Floor), Dixon-Darwin (Midnight Floor), North LadyM Ocean (Midnight Zone), South LadyM Ocean (Midnight Zone), Drake (Midnight Slope), Dixon-Darwin (Midnight Slope), Fermi Midnight Sea Mount, Dixon-Darwin (Twilight Floor), Drake (Twilight Floor), North LadyM Ocean (Twilight Zone), South LadyM Ocean (Twilight Zone), Dixon-Darwin (Twilight Slope), Drake (Twilight Slope), Fermi Twilight Sea Mount, Flisch Twilight Sea Mount, Krakow Twilight Sea Mount
Size: 50 cm Long
Diet: Lepidophagy (Midnight Filtersquid, Lurking Lyngbakr, Muckamor, Deep Crimson Phantomsquid, Outtablue Scylarian), Hemophagy (Midnight Filtersquid, Lurking Lyngbakr, Muckamor, Deep Crimson Phantomsquid, Outtablue Scylarian),
Carnivore (Gillaysheaia, Hallucigillia, Anomalogill, Muckamor, Shoalrorm, Deep Ribbon Gilltail, Fan Bloister, Bloister, Metamorph Spinderorm, Cerulean Gillfin, Delving Lyngbakr, Greater Wolley, Oilicle, Gulperpump, South Polar Shardgill, Southern Gillfin, Rojoko, Purioister, Reaplarian, Slither Longtail, Rojula, Stegosnaper)
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Ectothermic
Reproduction: Sexual, Spawning, 2 Genders

The mortusyte replaced their ancestor in the midnight zones and have begun to spread upward, following their prey. Like their ancestor, they sneak up on prey by detecting them through vibrations in the water by using microscopic hair-like filaments that cover its body. They have become more parasitic, using their mouths to latch onto the bodies of larger organisms. These act as both a good source of food and a means of transportation. To accommodate this, their mouths have become slightly more flexible, and allow them the mobility to point them downward, making grasping onto hosts easier. When they come across small prey, they are usually swallowed whole or torn to pieces, which the mortusyte swallows one by one. They are still capable of swimming on their own, in an undulating eel-like method, but they are not particularly efficient at it, and prefer to rely on their hosts when they can.

Sausophrey (Falcotherium ferox)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Interbiat
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Raptor Volcanic, Darwin Chaparral, Darwin Plains, Vivus Rocky, Vivus High Grassland, Vivus Volcanic
Size: 80 cm long
Support: Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Carnivore (Barkback, Teacup Saucebacks, Thin Lizatokage, Rosybeak Phlyer, Tasermane, High Grassland Ukback, Handlicker Dundi, Sitting Dundi, Grassland Lizatokage, Dundigger, Phouka, Pikashrew, Vivusian Barkback, Lizatokage, Egg Lizatokage, Scrub Barkback, Robynsnapper, Scrambled Shrew, Dusty Spelunkhoe, Neoshrew, Cragagon, juvenile Ramchin, Gryphler, juvenile Oviaudiator, juvenile Binsnoo, juvenile Ziraber, Argusraptor chicks, juvenile Stink Shrew, juvenile Brighteyes, juvenile Spinebutt Plexo, Shepherd Harnessback larvae, juvenile Hedgimal, juvenile Snoronk, juvenile Varant, juvenile Fat Lizatokage, juvenile Gulperskunik, juvenile Xatazelle, juvenile Gracilxata, juvenile Xatagolin)
Respiration: Active (Unidirectional Macrolungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs)

The Sausophrey split from its ancestor and became a carnivore. In order to resolve its tail length issue and to allow it to respire better at high altitudes, it has fused its four pairs of microlungs into a single pair of unidirectional macrolungs, which are much more efficient and take up less space. The single-direction pumping of air is powered not just by the macrolungs themselves, but also by air sacs developmentally related to single microlungs. Not needing a large number of spiracles anymore, it now only has two pairs of them. The front pair inhales while the back pair exhales, but if the front pair is blocked it can reverse flow direction to cough or sneeze out of it. The inhaling and exhaling are not constant; the front spiracles inhale, then pause for the back to exhale before inhaling again. Due to its shorter tail and better respiratory system, it is a much better flyer than its ancestor and can fly both high and over long distances.

Having integumentary wings allowed the sausophrey to evolve slotted wings, something which membranes are far too heavy to accomplish. This allows it to soar with shorter wings than a membrane-winged creature could, a valuable boon given the fact that it must also walk on them, and it doesn’t need to rely on favorable winds. It takes advantage of thermals to fly high into the air with little energy. Its tail spike has been modified into a crest-like rudder, similar to the vertical tail of an airplane, and it is brightly colored for communication. The “tail-crest” also has ultraviolet markings which are not visible to the naked eye, but which glow pink under a blacklight. While on the ground the sausophrey covers its “tail-crest” with its tail feathers and walks primarily on its inner toe like its flightless Argusraptor sp. cousins, with its outer toe bent back to prevent its primary flight feathers from dragging.

The sausophrey primarily consumes small ground fauna such as shrews, nodents, lizatokages, spelunkhoes, and small saucebacks, but it is also not impartial to snatching up sluggish phlyers which have not fully warmed up for flight and young or grounded skysnappers. It essentially sees any small fauna that isn’t in flight as a potential meal. Without talons, it catches and kills its prey entirely with its mandibles, doing so by swooping down and snatching in a manner similar to the extinct notooth snapper. Its mandibles bypass wood armor and short spikes. It cannot taste garlic and is tolerant of the taste of ammonia (which is present on the skin of most plents anyway), so it is therefore largely unaffected by the strong flavor of certain nodents.

The sausophrey can be a major threat to the shepherd harnessback, as it sees its larvae as food and will snatch them right off the backs of their hosts. As the sausophrey soars high in the sky where wind interferes with echolocation, the shepherds don’t “see” it until it’s too late, and many larvae are lost to predation. This has begun to place pressure on the shepherd harnessback.

The sausophrey is less social than its ancestor. It still nests in groups, as it nests on the ground and depends on group protection to ensure its eggs are not stolen by predators. However, outside of breeding season, it is solitary and even territorial. Nesting occurs mostly in the cover of shrubs, and it will use its leg feathers to assist in incubating its hard-shelled eggs. Like many Terran ground birds, sausophrey chicks hatch covered in down feathers and can flee from predators on foot soon after birth, though they cannot yet fly.

Name: Kuraimingaku (Scanderora inconcinnus)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Gnarblunter (Skitterus alpinus)
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal
Size: 70 centimeters long
Diet: Omnivore (Gnarbolonk, Pioneer Quillball, Hikahoe, Neoshrew, Barkback, Berry Arbourshroom, Shrubrattus, Thornmole, Boreal Tubeplage berries, Feroak berries, Phouka, Regal Sphinx, Cragmyr berries, Dartirs, Xenobees, Vermees, Pioneeroots, Teacup Saucebacks, Xenowasps, Sapworms), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Microlungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual, Hard-Shelled Eggs, Two Genders

When the argusraptor complex evolved, they proved to be a powerful force, being extremely efficient and adaptable predators. This led to many species of predatory saucebacks to go extinct in areas where the argusraptor complex lived. For the gnarblunter, their range shrank to just two isolated populations in the alpine regions of the Dixon mountain range. While they are able to make a living in these habitats, any attempts of them descending into the Dixon-Darwin Boreal region resulted in them getting pushed back up by competition. To successfully recolonize their ancestral home, the ancestors of the kuraimingaku had to make some pretty major changes in both behavior and their anatomy. This eventually led to them splitting off and becoming a unique taxon.

Several adaptations distinct from their ancestor that the kuraimingaku possess are all related to climbing. These include the hoof like claws becoming akin to cleats which dig into bark to help hold on. Climbing is certainly no easy feat for a sauceback, since they lack any arms to hold on, so the kuraimingaku has had to make do with its mandibles. The kuraimingaku’s mandibles have become highly flexible, gaining the ability to rotate in a similar manner to the distantly related pirate waxface. Using their mandibles to climb means, however, that they can’t be used for feeding while in the trees. To make up for this, the teeth of the kuraimingaku are able to extend out of the mouth before being pulled back in. This feeding strategy is also seen in the argusraptor complex, though it is much more relied upon for the kuraimingaku with its lifestyle. The kuraimingaku’s tail spine has also become larger and hooked, with the whole tail being more flexible than its ancestor. This gives them the ability to use their tail to assist with holding onto a tree trunk or branch.

The reason why the kuraimingaku have developed this wide range of adaptations for climbing are due to the species being semi-arboreal. Though they primarily hunt subterranean prey in a similar manner to their ancestors, where they press an ear to burrows and listen to activity before using their claws to dig out a victim, they will also pursue prey such as hikahoe up trees. While going after their prey in areas where most saucebacks such as the argusraptor complex can’t go does give them advantage, it was not the primary reason the kuraimingaku can climb. Indeed, its arboreal adaptations are more to avoid it falling prey to things such as the argusraptor complex.

While they still echolocate to an extent, the kuraimingaku prefers not to use it since it acts much like a dinner bell to any hungry argusraptors. To help navigate while not using sound, the kuraimingaku has become the fifth lineage of sauceback to develop vision of some kind. In a similar manner to the lipped sauceback, the kuraimingaku evolved pinhole eyes from four of its scent pits. The spherical shapes of the eyes are supported by chitin. It is able to see a blurry greyscale image of its surroundings, at the cost of the eyes losing their chemoreceptive capabilities. The two pairs of eyes are in different positions, allowing them to see potential danger both at ground level and from the air. This is very helpful for detecting predators and not giving away its position while foraging, but are rendered effectively useless at night. Due to its night vision being pretty much non-existent, the kuraimingaku has to rely upon echolocation to navigate which is extremely dangerous. As a result, this species of sauceback will climb up a tree as it approaches dusk to rest, staying out of reach of the vast majority of their threats until the sun returns. Even with the sun beginning to rise up, the kuraimingaku will wait until late morning before finally descending, as its vision is still relatively poor at dawn.

Since there is a high abundance of carnivores, the kuraimingaku has shifted its diet towards omnivory, using their climbing abilities to access berries and fruit from several different species of trees. To help with grabbing food while in the trees, the kuraimingaku has developed an elongated, highly mobile tongue to aid with bringing food within reach of their extendable teeth. The species has also become solitary for the most part, as hunting in groups does not really suit their lifestyle. They do still however gather together during the night, cuddling with one another to share body warmth. The group will also build communal nests of a sort, though the eggs must be laid on the ground which puts the individuals at risk. As such, they will often dig several fake dens to help avoid predators discovering the real one. Once the larvae are born, they are taken out of the dens and brought into the safety of the trees. The young are effectively helpless for the first few weeks, so the kuraimingaku will take turns guarding the group’s young in the tree while the rest forage. To make sure they do not fall out, the adult puts the young on their back, which also keeps them warm. By the end of the day when the rest of the group returns, the other adults will feed the larvae regurgitated food from the meals they acquired throughout the day. Once the young grow in their legs and feathers, they can descend from the safety of the trees and join an adult in foraging.


A kuraimingaku with an open mouth with the tongue and teeth fully extended. Mandibles removed for clarity.

Alright bois! My first Sauceback submission! It is also my first submission for gen 164! Do give your thoughts on it!

Turns out my boi ended up being second.

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: May 11 2021, 05:07 PM

Marmokerd (Marmotasaura marmota)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Lumbering Pasakerd
Habitat: Drake Rocky, Drake Boreal, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Polar Woodland
Size: 80 cm long
Support: Exoskeleton (Chitin), Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Herbivore ([[Sunstalks]], [[Pioneeroots]], [[Marbleflora]], [[Orangemosses]], [[Hair Nimbuses]], [[Larlands]], [[Cryobowls|Cryobowl]] fruit, [[Greater Lahn]] leaves, [[Lurcreeper]] leaves and roots, [[Forest Venomerald]] roots, [[Arid Ferine]] roots, [[Pagoda Crystal]] roots, [[Vesuvianite Tree]] roots, [[Lurspire]] roots, [[Towering Grovecrystal]] roots, [[Glountain]] roots, [[Crystalfir]] roots, [[Pandocrystal]] roots, [[Thorny Hedgelog]], [[Poison Purple Shrub]], [[Xidhorchia]], [[Toxplage]], [[Snow Puff]], [[Windbulb]], [[Sapshrooms]], [[Supershrooms]])
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Setae)
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodites, Lays Brood of Eggs in Burrow

The marmokerd split from its ancestor and shrank in size, allowing it to exploit different food sources and live in different biomes. It is a warm-blooded burrowing herbivore which can be likened in many ways to a Terran marmot. It has thicker, shaggier pelage, a brownish coloration matching the local soil, and large digging forelimbs. It mostly consumes leaves, roots, berries, and shrooms, and it contributes to spreading flora which utilize berries for distribution. It has gained additional setae on its carapace which contribute to keeping it warm, and its back toes now point out and diagonally forwards for better stability.

The marmokerd lives in burrows dug out with its forelimbs and tusks, often among rocks, where it hibernates over winter. It is more social than its ancestor, though not nearly to the same degree as the Terran marmot which it otherwise resembles behaviorally. It is more tolerant of others of its kind feeding from the same food source and won’t smack away juveniles. It communicates mostly using visual cues, and the sight of an especially frantic marmokerd will make other marmokerds uneasy, causing them to flee to their burrows. This behavior increases the chances that any one of them will survive an attack from a predator.

The marmokerd’s reproduction is similar to that of its ancestor. It lays eggs underground during the summer, though its litters are smaller, only about 50 per clutch. This is because juveniles are more likely to survive to adulthood than they would be living in the tundra due to the conditions being less harsh and there being more cover, though many will still be eaten by predators. The mother offers no parental care, instead sealing up the burrow and abandoning the clutch. The juveniles dig to the surface upon hatching and scatter. They reach maturity in one year and will breed multiple times over the course of a single summer.

During its evolution, the marmokerd’s transitional ancestors caused the spread of several flora into Drake Polar Scrub and beyond. Its ancestor was immune to the poisonous xidhorchia, so it stands to reason that it was also immune to the poison of its close relatives. As a result, during evolution it spread the xidhorchia, the purple poison shrub, and the toxplage, along with the non-poisonous snow puff and windbulb through spores and seeds being consumed incidentally. The marmokerd has effectively taken over the role of the long-extinct notox in spreading the toxic flora and has gone on to cause these instances of species spreading to habitats similar to the ones they lived in prior to the ice age:

* Xidhorchia to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Boreal
* Mini-Flower Ketter to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Boreal (via following its partner species)
* Poison Purple Shrub to Drake Polar Scrub and Drake Rocky
* Snow Puff to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Rocky, Drake Boreal, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Taiga (via spores passing through digestive tract)
* Toxplage to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, Drake Boreal, and Drake Rocky
* Toxplage Ketter to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Taiga, Drake Polar Woodland, Drake Boreal, and Drake Rocky (via following its partner species)
* Windbulb to Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Boreal, Drake Polar Woodland, and Drake Taiga

--

On the growth rate: It doesn’t match the ancestor because the ancestor was approved with an implausibly fast growth rate, which is hopefully being fixed.

Name: Sklithraderm (Critinimancerxia alpinaiecur)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Snowplower (Plentceros ludormimus)
Habitat: North Dixon Alpine, South Dixon Alpine, Verserus Alpine, Dixon-Darwin Boreal
Size: 1 meter long
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Herbivore (Pioneer Quillball, Sunstalks, Supershrooms, Crystal Swordgrass, Alpfrond, Chitjornacle, Olshkra, Osziza, Dixon Olshkra, Twin-Tail Orbibom, Crystal Brambley, Berry Arbourshroom), Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Woody Filaments)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Live Birth

When the argusraptor complex evolved, they were superbly effective predators that effectively caused a minor local extinction event. For the snowplowers, these new predators would lead to their rapid decline, being pushed out of the Dixon-Darwin Boreal biome and into Alpine areas. While some responded by becoming semiaquatic, leading to the mudplower, another lineage of snowplowers would respond to these new predators by developing more dramatic adaptations. This included the development of a fuzzy coat, which among other features led to these populations splitting off and evolving into the sklithraderm.

The sklithraderm’s fuzzy coat is derived from the wooden spines that ring around the butt nostril of their ancestor. The woody filaments that cover its body have a basic branching structure, causing them to interlock with one another and trap air next to their skin. Because of their woody filaments, the sklithraderm is able to live in the cold alpine regions despite being much smaller than its ancestors. The underbelly remains bare of woody filaments, however, since the sklithraderm still urinates through the skin like other plents. The sklithraderm still retains an enlarged ring of spines around its butt-nostril to protect it from things trying to bite it.

The smaller size of the sklithraderm means they require less food to survive, while their woody filaments means they can have less blubber and become slimmer. This allows the sklithraderm to adapt to running away from danger such as the short-necked shrew or montemsnappers. The carotenoids present in their skin and plates give the sklithraderm a yellowish coloration, allowing them to blend in with the golden soil in the alpine regions they call home for most of the year. Their beaks, claws, hooves, and butt-nostril spines have a modified form of lignin within them that makes them stiffer and stronger than normal wood. This has resulted in its beak being as hard as chitin, similarly to the gryphler, allowing the sklithraderm to expand its diet on the kinds of flora it can feed upon. They will use their snowplow-shaped beak to push away snow and uproot roots and tubers, but will also use their beak to feed on lower growing flora such as crystal swordgrass. While they primarily get their energy from eating flora, the sklithraderm’s plates are still full of chlorophyll that still use sunlight for photosynthesis.

The large amounts of snow and the intense cold of the winters means sklithraderms will head down the slopes and out of the alpine biomes they typically live in before entering the Dixon-Darwin Boreal habitat. Here, their patterns help them partially blend in by resembling large rocks found in the area, but they still are easier to spot than in the alpine biomes. This puts them at a higher risk of predation from things such as the argusraptor complex. Out in the open areas of the alpine biomes, few things would kill a sklithraderm because their sharp senses usually meant the potential predator would be spotted way before it could actually attack. In the dense obsidoak forests, however, predators have the advantage. Because of the higher risk of attack, the herding behavior of sklithraderms means more pairs of eyes and ears to detect predators before it is too late to escape. If an individual is cornered, they can use the redeveloped horns on their beak to gore an attacker. Despite their best attempts to watch each other's backs, the winter months are when the mortality rates of sklithraderms skyrockets.

To counter this, the sklithraderm breeds much more frequently than their ancestor. The males use their beaks in shoving contests as a test of strength. The herd’s still consist of either a single alpha male and a bunch of females or bachelor herds with males in those bachelor herds challenging the alpha male in typical herds for breeding rights. They only do this in the alpine regions during the summer, however, as such a contest down in the boreal biome would alert predators of their presence. Meanwhile, males will breed with the females in their herd while they are in the boreal area, so that females will give birth to around 4-6 young once they head back up the slopes as summer returns. Females will dig conical dirt nests to give birth to the young, which then take 2-3 months to develop. After 2-3 months, they are strong enough to leave the nests behind and follow the mother which also allows them to flee from potential danger and thus stand a chance of survival once the species travels back down into the boreal habitat during the winter months..


A sklithraderm with its beak point down towards the ground, likely to shove snow aside to feed on flora.


A. The cross-section of a single woody filament.
B. A cluster of filaments.

Alright guys! Have this rather bizzare oddity! I think I may have structured this very weirdly so give your thoughts on it!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Jul 4 2021, 07:08 PM

Swap with OviraptorFan.

Chupamusaraña (Somnusisucco ferrumnocte)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Press-Toothed Bubbleskin
Habitat: Drake Temperate Woodland, Drake Rocky, Drake Boreal, Drake High Grassland, Drake Plains, Drake Chaparral
Size: 2.7 m long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Adults: Hemophagous (Sowshrog, Drakeshrog, Wolvershrog, Bannertail, Signaltail, Racing Rainbowtail, Swordtail, Baron Signaltail young, Double-Lipped Sauceback young, Lipped Sauceback, Killcoat), Osteophagy; Juveniles: Hemophagous (Rosybeak Phyler, Scarlet Phlyer, Golden Phlyer, Azure Phlyer, Indigo Wutuu)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Bubble-Wrap Scales)
Reproduction: Sexual, 2 Genders, Live Birth, Milk, Pouch

On the small continent of Drake, various species of bubbleskin have evolved in relative isolation from the rest of their kin over the course of countless generations. As one might expect, they have diversified and spread throughout the landmass, each species tending to specialize on gorging themselves upon the blood of their own particular prey. In general, this has typically consisted of the various plent species that flourish upon the island, as well as the offspring of some of the smaller signaltail species. However, rather recently on the evolutionary timescale, a distant family of shrews have come to call the island home, and already their impact on the local ecosystems can be felt throughout the continent. Descendants of the globally spanning seashrogs, these shrogs possess greater intelligence, high adaptability, and a penchant for rapidly diversifying, shaping and dominating every habitat they encounter. And unlike the bubble-wrapped scales of the blood shrew descendants known as bubbleskins, the fur of these shrews allows them to better handle the cooler climes and colder winters of Drake with a much greater efficiency. It would seem that, outside of the solitary giants like the polar baron and its kin, these shrew newcomers would displace the hemophagous bubbleskins as some of the top predators, or at least so it had seemed up until relatively recently.


Anatomy
Having split from its ancestor over the course of several thousand years, the chupamusaraña has, in comparison to most of its kin, evolved a larger, more robust form in response to the various large shrogs now native throughout Drake. Their foreclaws have become larger, and their forelimbs have become thicker and muscular in order to provide greater force when the claws are used to pierce into the hides of their prey. Their rear legs have become stockier which supports their weight, while the bubble scales that adorn them have shrunken in size in order to provide greater flexibility in the toes. The heads also possess this reduced size in scales, though to a much greater extent, as an evolutionary adaptation to their messy diets - smaller, smoother scales are easier to keep clean than larger, bulker ones, especially given how bloody their meals are.

The numerous bubble-wrapped scales that adorn the skin of this species are slightly iridescent. This occurs due to, while under the right light conditions, the minute amounts of oil that coat these bubble-wrapped scales causing them to take on a wide hue of colors. Because the concentrations of these oils and the size of the bubble-wrapped scales differ between individuals, no two chupamusarañas may bear the same pattern. In addition, the bubble-wrapped "feathers", which are larger, more specialized types of bubble-wrapped scales, tend to have the most vibrant colors due to greater presence of oils on them due to the glands that secrete them being found in greater numbers near their "roots". The primary function of this oil is to keep the scales of all kind clean as well as make it more difficult for parasites to attach themselves.

While newborns and juveniles possess relatively smooth, if still somewhat bumpy, domes upon their heads, it is the adults, who upon reaching sexual maturity, come to bear an impressive pair of bony crests. Serving as attachment points for several powerful jaw muscles, the primary purpose of this structure is for both communication and as a form of sexual display. Numerous blood vessels located just below the skin can be expanded as excess blood is pumped into them, causing the skin to turn a deep crimson and, more importantly, become a hotspot for the infrared vision that all bubbleskins possess. As most non-bubbleskins are incapable of detecting this, it serves as an effective means of communication, especially when it comes to attracting a mate - healthy individuals can afford to expend this excess heat, while sicklier ones cannot.

Of interest is the reemergence of a nipple-like structure - though more akin to a patch of skin - within the pouches of females. While not directly related to those their distant ancestors, having in this case evolved from a modified oil gland found within the lining of the pouch, it produces a rich, if fatty, milk-like substance that their young can lap from. It will keep them nourished for the first month of their life, after which they will begin to turn to blood-based meals. Typically large enough to allow up to three offspring to feed from, any more than that would be unsustainable, and in such cases one of the offspring will likely be bullied off and eventually die starvation or exposure if pushed out of the pouch.

Unlike other bubbleskins, the chupamusaraña have evolved ocular structures not unlike the tapeta lucida of many carnivorous earth vertebrates. As a retroreflector, these surfaces are quite capable at reflecting light, giving this species eyeshine at night as well as significantly improved low-light vision, a useful adaptation to hunting at either dusk or dawn.

Vision
The eyesight of the chupamusaraña is, like that of all bubbleskins, quite a remarkable thing. Besides the typical color vision that they share with most other shrews - now enhanced by the presence of tapeta lucida-like retroreflectors - they also possess two pairs of more specialized, sensitive eyes capable of seeing what others cannot. This is most apparent with the first pair of specialized eyes, which are capable of detecting infrared. This capacity to detect thermal energy has been refined over countless generations, and is sensitive enough to detect the body heat produced by most fauna, though it has some difficulty detecting small ectothermic life. As long as there is not too much in the way to interfere, such as dense foliage, a chupamusaraña can see nearly as far away at night as it can during the day. This is especially effective when hunting on the night of a full moon, a time when the light of Mason isn't present and thus even normal low-light vision cannot effectively function, especially if it is during the dead of night.

The second set of specialized eyes, however, do not detect infrared, but something else entirely. While it is said that the original bubbleskins could detect bioelectric signals and even see the nervous system of their prey if close enough, this is nowhere near as refined or as potent within this lineage. Instead, they are able to detect very faint electric fields, and even make out the faint patterns produced by all life. While this is not sufficient for hunting, it can, on occasion, help them find prey hidden from normal sight, such as something buried under loose soil. This however only works if they are within a meter or less of them. It would seem that this form of vision may be on its way out, though evolutionary there are no major pressures being placed upon it.

Diet
Unlike the rest of their kin, the chupamusaraña have evolved a taste for shrew blood, preferring it to that of plents. This does not mean they have abandoned the latter prey entirely, as juveniles will still hunt small phlyers much as their ancestors did. It is only now that, once they are fully grown, they instead prefer larger prey, with shrogs in particular being a common target. They have not developed a taste for other bubbleskins, but have also begun to include other large prey items besides shrogs, such as various species of signaltails and saucebacks. While they primarily feed on just the blood of larger organisms, the vice-like pressure of their jaws is more than capable of liquidating the internal organs of smaller prey. While they have some difficulty digesting more solid foods, this "organ juice" is more than palatable to them, and serves to provide them with essential vitamins and minerals that blood alone cannot provide.

In addition to the typical hemophagous diet which it shares with other members of its group, this species of bubbleskin in particular will also engage in the gnawing and even the outright consumption of the smaller bones of other shrews. They do this in order to acquire the precious calcium within them, a substance that is necessary for supporting their internal bone structures and such. Pregnant females in particular are known for engaging in this behavior as they need the extra calcium for their developing offspring.

Hunting Strategy
Chupamusarañas are nocturnal predators, though distinct populations are also active during the times of early dawn and late dusk. While under the cover of darkness, they are unmatched in their role as predators, with their advanced vision allowing them to stalk prey items that would normally be seen as too large for species of their size. This includes the various shrogs, saucebacks, and other such prey species of Drake upon which these bubbleskins hunt as they, for the most part, are diurnal by nature. As such, at night they are quite vulnerable to predation. Moving slowly and steadily, they can sneak up upon them and then, with a sudden strike, puncture their foreclaws deep into the flesh of their prey as they aim for major blood vessels. Should their aim be true, most prey will bleed out within seconds, making for an easy kill. Should they miss, however, they can also rely upon their vice-like jaws to finish them off. While the enlarged fangs are mostly just a sexual display now, their powerful jaw muscles allow them to crush the bones of shrogs quite efficiently, meaning that should they manage to wrap their jaws around the throat of one, it will not last long at all.

Many shrogs have evolved tool use, such as spears, for both hunting and defense. For most predatory species, this can prove a dangerous proposition to consider hunting them, but not for chupamusarañas. While they would normally hunt them while they sleep, should they come across an awake one, they are more than capable of standing their ground. The wooden spears of most shrogs, sharpened to the point where they can pierce unguarded flesh, have found their foil in the hides of these bubbleskins. A completely unintentional evolutionary defense, but the bubble-wrapped scales, being hard due to their keratinized structure and possessing a smooth, rounded shape, are quite capable at deflecting weaker pokes and instead turning them into glancing blows, though typically at the cost of the scales themselves. Should a shrog or some other clawed species attempt to dig its nails into their hides instead, they will find an excellent grip, though perhaps too much of one. If their claws should penetrate the bubble-wrapped scales, their tough yet flexible nature makes it difficult to free oneself from them. It is not unheard for individual chupamusarañas to be seen bearing the withered, desiccated husk of a forelimb stuck onto their sides, its owner having long since died and rotted off but the limb too well stuck to have become detached on its own. Such events though will come to an end when those scales are inevitably shed so that new ones underneath can grow in.

Mating & Reproduction
The mating process for the chupamusaraña begins with a male specimen building up nests, typically composed of numerous fallen branches and small trees such as those of ferines, arranged into several spires. The materials utilized have been placed tightly against one another, and are subsequently held in place by having been carefully bitten - and thus crushed - until they have been partially pulped and stuck together against one another. These nests can be over three to four meters in height, and are adorned with various bones of shrogs and similarly sized species, with the most prized ones containing the bones of adult baron signaltails or, on very rare occasions, those of very lost polar barons. While rarely are all these bones the results of kills the male has made, they do serve to indicate a capable hunter, since not only is it able to build, guard, and maintain a sizeable nest, but also continue to hunt as well. If a female approaches the nest, the male will begin a mating display involving stomping in place, raising its forelimbs above its head, spinning in place, and flushing its crests with blood. While seemingly a silent affair, in truth a cacophony of low-frequency sounds are present, which primarily only bubbleskins can detect. Should the female be interested, she will replicate his movements, after which the mating will occur over the course of several hours. Following this, both individuals will go their separate ways, with the male in particular returning to his nest so as to attract further mates.

After a gestation period of roughly two months, the females will give birth to one or two underdeveloped offspring. Blind, pink, and with only a thin coating of bubble-wrapped scales, they are essentially helpless and must crawl there ways into the mother's pouch. They will lap from the nipple-patch, growing strong and putting on weight at a rapid pace. The milk is not nearly as nutritious as that of other shrews, primarily due to the mother's primarily sanguineous diet, but it provides a much needed boost for the growing newborns and also helps them develop strong bones from an early age. Within little over a month, they will begin to resemble smaller, leaner versions of the adults, though they are lacking in crests and still retain a pinkish hue. They will begin to leave the pouch at this point for brief periods of time, and will be nourished now by partially digested blood which the mother will regurgitate for them. Within a year the young will have developed a darker coloration and be large enough to go off on their own, and within two or three more they will be large enough to begin mating on their own.

This post has been edited by Nergali: Jul 1 2021, 02:38 PM

Name: Shrogger (Aequorsorex somarinoaii)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Sparkleshrog (Stellasorex canis)
Habitat: Driftwood Islands Tropical Shallows, Driftwood Islands Temperate Shallows, Driftwood Islands Tropical Bank, Driftwood Islands Temperate Bank, Jujubee Tropical Ocean (Sunlight Zone), South Jujubee Temperate Ocean (Sunlight Zone)
Size: 2.5 meters long
Diet: Carnivore (Spiny Roj, Scuttleball Gillfin, Royal Scylarian, Diamond Pumpgill, Caraclaw juveniles, Greater Wolley, Floating Pumpgill, Bigmouth Strainerbeak, Metamorph Spinderorm, Diamond Pumpgill, Ceryco, Eastward Landlubber, Gulperpump, Munchicanth, Tethyssie juveniles, Bargeskin, Colonial Filtersquid, Fused-Shell Roj, Cerulean Gillfin, Torpcoat, Tilepillar, South Polar Shardgill, Southern Strainerbeak, Southern Gillfin, Ocean Scorpodile juveniles, Tamwodjir, Marine Tamow, Stegomizer, Quillmow, Sparkleshrog pups, Driftwood Dasher juveniles, Shorelance, Hockel, Kakonat), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Placental, Pouch, and Milk)

As sparkleshrogs thrived in the Driftwood Islands, interspecific competition began to become a problem as their populations grew. This led to some populations traveling to the banks of their drifting islands to pursue prey in the water. To successfully make a living with such a lifestyle, however, they would have to make several different changes in their body plan which eventually lead to them diverging into a distinct species.
The shrogger is a very interesting species of shrew, as they spend a lot of their time in the water rather than on land. Because the mainland fuzzpalm and fuzzpile berries don’t work well as glue underwater like they could on land, artificial camouflage is not an option. As a direct result, the shroggers have lost the majority of their flashy colors, though they partially retain it through their bluish grey facial spines and their red nose. Their dog-like snout is still used to help with biting and killing prey, but they no longer use the tail for killing prey at all and only use it on land for making nests.

As they adapted for swimming underwater, the shrogger had to make several changes to their anatomy, especially in the hindquarters region. Firstly, the spines on their heads have become wider and compressed at an angle, making them more hydrodynamic and thus not cause drag while swimming. The hindlimbs have become elongated, with the back feet being larger and developing extensive webbing between the digits. These limbs are what the shrogger primarily uses for swimming, beating them up and down for a relatively decent cruising speed while the forelimbs are tucked up against the chest. The tail of the shrogger underwent the most dramatic changes, with the tail saw being significantly smaller in size than that of other shrogs. The vertebrae at the base of the tail remain unfused, much like that of other shrogs but the last couple before the tail saw have increased in length. Meanwhile, the tail saw itself has become much more narrow and has developed a ridge on their dorsal and ventral surface to help with stability. With all of these adaptations to the tail, the shrogger can use their tails for quick bursts of speed by swinging them from side to side, in a similar fashion to the long-extinct shrotters. This can only be done in short bursts, however, as they tire quickly when using the tail.

Unlike their ancestors, the shrogger does not have an established hunting ground, since they have a very different hunting style. This way of hunting involves them following adorned tamow as they make their treks from one island to another. Their large size and many spines protect them from the majority of the ocean’s predators as they make their crossings, and a variety of species tag along to use the adorned tamow as a deterrent to those very same predators as they too make their treks. When the shrogger spots prey, like a tamwodjir or a stegomizer, they will swim deeper in the water column before attacking the prey from below. Shroggers also go after aquatic prey when they can, and will actively seek out rojes such as the fused-shell roj. When they catch a roj, they will hold the prey with their hands until they head to either the shore or onto a raft, where they will proceed to beat the roj against the ground until they break open. After eating the contents inside, they keep the shell shards for later use. This is because they use the shell shards to help butcher their prey once it is caught, allowing them to get the bits of meat they desire before other predators show up on the scene.

Since the shroggers rely heavily upon the adorned tamow to travel from island to island and as cover, they do not prey on them at all. Indeed, they will even help protect young adorned tamows from smaller marine predators, as a higher number of adorned tamow reaching adulthood means more chances for the shrogger to hunt their prey. In the few instances where a shrogger swims in the ocean without any adorned tamow, they are incredibly skittish and do not hunt anything since they are focused on not becoming prey themselves. Shroggers will often use marine tamow rafts as places to rest, while also eating the marine tamow on said raft. This does mean they sometimes have encounters with the pirate waxface. In these rare circumstances, the shrogger will make a retreat back into the water.

Unlike their ancestor, the shrogger has a specific breeding season, which begins at around late spring. When this happens, the shroggers will head towards land, gathering on the many driftwood islands with females then seeking males to breed with. As the chances of finding another female may be slim, male shroggers will battle each other for mating rights, though their fights consist of pressing their foreheads together and shoving each other until one falls over or gives up. Once the victor breeds with the female, they will depart to search for other females, as they are not monogamous shrews. Once the breeding season ends in late summer, the males will head back out to sea, along with any females who failed to mate that year. Pregnant females, however, will instead stay on the driftwood islands they bred on and begin to make a rudimentary den.This is done by gathering sticks and leaning them against other sticks for support in a radial shape, before using dirt to act as a glue to hold the whole thing together, resulting in a tent-like structure. These dens are nowhere near as complicated as some structures built by their ancestors or distant cousins, but it serves its purpose well enough. Shrogger females will proceed to patrol the periphery of the island they have settled for sparkleshrogs or dritwood dashers. If they spot either one, they will try to force them away if possible, and will kill and eat the young of either species, as the other species of shrew and plent compete for the same kinds of prey. The diet of pregnant females and females rearing young is very different from that of males or females without young, as they will tackle a wide variety of terrestrial and semi-aquatic prey ranging from small kakonats to the 2 meter long tamwodjir. Gestation lasts about four months, with the mother then rearing the pups on the island for about 1 and a half years when possible. After that period of time, the youngsters are big and strong enough to follow their mother out to sea, where they spend another 2-3 years under her protection as they learn the skills necessary to live on their own. The shrogger will reach sexual maturity at around 5 years old, which is around the time the mother forces them to live on their own if they had not already left her by that point. Shroggers will reach their full size at around their 7th birthday and can live to be 30 years old, though they typically only live to be 15 or 20 before they receive a fatal injury from hunting prey, get lost out at sea and eventually drown, or fall prey to the ocean’s leviathans such as the terrorfang hafgufa.


Tada! Here is the species I did for my swap with Disgustedorite, it was the only shrog option I was willing to work with, and I think it resulted in something that is quite interesting! The description of the species ended up being very long, so give your thoughts on it!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: May 20 2021, 01:22 PM

Chameleon Obsidishank (Chameleumbra canitia)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Broad-Trunk Obsiditree
Habitat: Darwin Chaparral, Darwin Plains, Darwin Rocky, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Vivus Rocky, Vivus High Grassland
Size: 5 meters tall
Support: Cell Wall (Cellulose), Woody Trunk
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Passive (Stomata)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual, Airborne Cylindrical Spores

The chameleon obsidishank split from its ancestor and adapted for drier conditions, ironically losing its broad trunk in the process. It is neotenous, better resembling a juvenile tree with its skinny trunk. It has also outcompeted the Obsidoak in its range, as the larger tree struggled to reach full size in biomes prone to fire, and as a result the Treehook Tamow has also become locally extinct. It has a branching trunk and multiple spore pods. In order to keep itself cool, it has evolved camoplasts convergent with those of greyscale algae which allow it to change color; when leaves overheat, they turn grey and then white, but once they have cooled off enough they will darken again. On average, excluding the night, the leaves are at their darkest in the mornings and evenings and lightest around midday. Its spore pods are longish rather than round.

The chameleon obsidishank is somewhat resistant to fire, though not immune. It can recover and regrow after going up in flames. Its leaves are skinny and resist desiccation better than the broader leaves on its ancestor. It is evergreen, or perhaps more accurately evergrey, and rarely sheds its leaves, unlike its ancestor. It uses tubers to store water and nutrients for use in surviving dry seasons and regrowing after fire.

The chameleon obsidishank produces many airborne spores from its spore chambers. Their shape allows wind to pass through rather than around them more easily, blowing the spores away. The production of spores is triggered by an increase in humidity and the release by intense wind, so that they will be distributed sufficiently to germinate during the local wet season or spring rain. The spores are so abundant that they can create an orange haze, and many are lost to the wind, becoming a rather abundant form of aeroplankton high in the sky along with the spores of many other kinds of black flora. Saplings can reach 30 cm in height within their first month in ideal conditions. The amount of time it takes to reach full size varies depending on local conditions over time, but they grow significantly faster than their ancestor did, usually in only 10-15 years.

Darth Shroom Herder (Chimeraflora darthensis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Shroom Herder
Habitat: Darwin Temperate Woodland, Vivus Boreal; Farms Only (no permanent residence): Darth Lava Tube Caves
Size: 1.5 meters tall
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Herbivore (Sapshrooms, Supershrooms, Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms), Scavenger, Weak Photosynthesis
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: ?
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth)

The Darth shroom herder split from its ancestor. It primarily consumes farmed shrooms, no longer feeding from its stockpiles at all. With its instinctive habit of farming shrooms using detritus and carcasses came a drive to find bigger, better sources, leading this large beaked nodent to move northward into the woodlands which were full of logs and leaf litter. There it also discovered the Darth Lava Tube Caves, within which conditions were stable year-round and there was lots of dark space unobstructed by competing flora to grow large fields of shrooms. Though not all populations of the species use these caves, the ones that do have become the species’ namesake because their massive harvests resulted in them having an exceptionally high population density. It has taken on a dark coloration using anthocyanins, which do not block light for photosynthesis; however, living in a dark environment, photosynthesis has hardly any use for the species and is ultimately vestigial.

Darth shroom herder shroom farms are more conspicuous than those of its ancestor. To maximize growing space for shrooms, they will instinctively lean tree branches together in a manner resembling the framework of conical tents such as teepees. To encourage more shroom growth, the Darth shroom herder will defecate into the shroom farms, as its dung contains the spores from its last meal. Shroom mycelium will climb the dead branches and produce fruiting bodies all over them, as well as all over whatever else the herders placed in their farm. The Darth shroom herder will then consume the shrooms once their berries are ripe. The shrooms sometimes attract small creatures which eat shrooms, such as gamergate gundis, which the Darth shroom herders will stomp on when they see them to defend their farms. As the shroom farms provide a significant amount of food compared to the amount of effort needed to obtain and eat it, Darth shroom herders have a lot of free time, which is mostly spent on social activity.

Darth shroom herders live in groups, like their ancestor. Their instinctive agriculture and large amount of resources allows them to form very large herds, sometimes surpassing two thousand members. Their territories overlap far more than their ancestor’s, simply due to their sheer numbers and resource availability, and they only particularly defend the farms from outsiders. Indeed, only the farms are actually marked as territory at all, as it would be impossible to maintain scent marks for the entire section of land they inhabit. This has its disadvantages of course; members of other herds can encroach very deep into their territory and steal from their farms without being noticed until the last possible moment. Intraspecific conflict can still be quite deadly, as their vicious defense of their farms still involves a clashing of fangs.

The Darth shroom herder’s spikes are longer and are now present on the tail, and they serve to break up its shape and make it look bigger than it actually is. The spikes don’t actually have much direct defensive use and break easily. The species is also sexually dimorphic, as the males are slightly larger and have green striping on their throats and the females are slightly smaller and lack the green markings. Males may fight over mates, though this is far less violent and more ritual as to not tear apart the herd. They breed in the winter and give birth to one offspring at a time in the spring. Like most plents, they mate and give birth through their mouths, which they can open unexpectedly wide for this purpose.

Image caption: Female

Frigid Vesuvianite (Vesuviana arcticus)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Vesuvianite Tree
Habitat: Drake Taiga, Drake Boreal, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Rocky, Drake Polar Woodland
Size: 28 meters tall
Support: Cell Wall (Chitin), Chitinous "Wood" Trunk
Diet: Photosynthesis, Detritivore
Respiration: Passive (Stomata)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Airborne Spores), Asexual (Budding)

The frigid vesuvianite split from its ancestor. It is better-suited to surviving exposure to snow and ice, allowing it to colonize the taiga and polar scrub. Though smaller than its ancestor, it can grow in colder conditions, allowing it to successfully reach full size in polar habitats and higher in the mountains, even encroaching on subalpine altitudes. It competes very successfully with the Pandocrystal, but has not outcompeted it.

The frigid vesuvianite has even greater branching of its trunk than its ancestor did. In fact, it would appear almost like it has a single erect trunk completely covered in branches, but this “trunk” is simply a series of upright branches itself. Its other branches slope downwards, allowing snow to slide off. It can grow slightly faster than its ancestor, especially in the polar scrub, due to greater availability of nitrogen. Otherwise, however, it is similar; it takes decades to reach full size but can live for centuries, it reproduces using airborne spores released from dedicated crystals, and it can use detritus as a food source before it reaches full size (the latter also allowing it to grow even in dark polar winters).

Woodyshroom (Fungilignum obumbratio)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Supershrooms
Habitat: Vivus Boreal, Vivus Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Woodland, Darwin Temperate Rainforest, Dixon-Darwin Boreal, Huggs Temperate Riparian, Bone Temperate Riparian, Irinya Temperate Riparian
Size: 1 meter wide
Support: Cell Wall (Cellulose)
Diet: Detritivore (Decaying wood of black flora)
Respiration: Passive
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Asexual (Asexual Spore Achenes, Budding), Sexual (Periodic Spore Fusion)

The woodyshroom split from its ancestor and grew significantly in size due to a lack of competition, becoming a prominent decomposer of black flora. It differs from sapshrooms, which also grow as “shelves” on wood, in that it does not consume sap at all and is not parasitic. It has traded its ancestral fruit for clusters of woody achenes which each contain only a single spore. As its name suggests, the woodyshroom’s fruiting body is lignified, which makes it difficult to eat, digest, or dislodge from the decaying log it feeds on. It is strong enough to support the weight of medium-sized fauna standing on it. Unlike the chitinous “wood” of shelf fungi on Earth, the woodyshroom’s wood is actually genuine cellulose-based wood.

The woodyshroom has gained sexual reproduction; as its achenes contain multiple spores, not all of them germinate. These dormant spores are periodically transported by rain, and when they meet they sometimes fused. Having never had sexual reproduction in its ancestry, the woodyshroom's ancestors were naturally haploid; the first fused spores, meanwhile, were diploid. However, it did not gain the ability to undergo meiosis until several iterations later, resulting in the modern woodyshroom being highly polyploid, possessing a monstrous genome 32 times the size of its ancestor's. Fertilized and unfertilized spores can grow into fully functional and morphologically identical woodyshrooms, the former (sporophyte) with 32 complete sets of chromosomes (dotriacontaploid) and the latter (gametophyte) with 16 (hexadecaploid); the sporophyte uses meiosis to produce hexadecaploid spores. The large genome will likely not shrink considerably in the future, rather the redundant chromosome pairs will gradually transform into new kinds of chromosomes with their own genes and purposes, taking full advantage of all the newly-added genetic "space".

Image caption: Achene


The woodyshroom’s achenes, which are just one millimeter wide, function like seeds and have hooks on them, which causes them to become stuck in fur, feathers, trichomes, plent cotton, and other forms of fibrous integument present on fauna. They depend on luck to successfully land on logs, as the achenes have no food stores apart from the wood making up the casing. This is not much of a problem, however, as the forests are filled with wood, and the main body is perennial--they can live as long as 80 years, growing bigger all the while and producing new spores.

The woodyshroom can sometimes grow on living trees, feeding on their deceased heartwood. When it does this to a towering rainforest tree such as the gargantuan obsiditree, this can be actively harmful, as the trunk becomes more fragile and will eventually be toppled by strong winds. However, shorter, wider black flora such as obsidoaks actually benefit from this, as being hollow makes them lighter and better-able to support their own weight, which in turn allows them to live longer and grow larger.

Like its smaller ancestors and cousins, the woodyshroom is highly resistant to disease and parasites. It readily bounces back from plagues without ever even becoming endangered.

Name: Running Secretmaw (Secretorostrum violacursor)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Lipped Sauceback (Secretorostrum labrum)
Habitat: Drake Chaparral, Drake Rocky, Drake Plains
Size: 2 meters long
Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Herbivore (Baseejie saplings, Bangsticks, Qudokus, Forest Quone, Forest Venomerald, Pagoda Crystal, Vesuvianite Tree saplings, female Greater Lahn leaves, Glaalgaes, Cryobowls)
Respiration: Active (Microlungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs)

As the lipped sauceback grew in numbers, some populations would spread to more open habitats as interspecific competition began to be a problem in their typical forested habitats. Out in the open, lipped saucebacks would not have as much cover to protect them from predators, and so they would have to develop several different adaptations to make a living. This would result in these populations splitting off from their lipped sauceback and evolving into the running secretmaw.

The running secretmaw looks and acts like its ancestor in a variety of ways, such as their two pin-hole eyestrils that are supported by chitin adapted to see the environment around them in a blurry grayscale image. The mouth remains relatively the same with only a couple minor changes. The mandibles remain inside the mouth surrounded to an extendable lip that acts similarly to a proboscis. They also retain the smaller ears of their ancestor, since echolocation is not their primary way of sensing the environment and larger ears would only put them at risk of frostbite. The mandibles have, however, become wider and more stout which helps them better crush and grind up the flora they typically eat.

The diet of the running secretmaw primarily consists of crystal and glass flora with them also occasionally feeding on quones and related species of purple flora, with their mandibles being able to pulverize the vegetation they consume. Since they do not have a larger gut like the double-lipped sauceback, the running secretmaw has to consume a much larger amount of vegetation to get a similar amount of nutrients. Running secretmaws will also feed upon the leaves of female greater lahn when their other sources of food are scarce due to its high abundance.

Living out in the open does leave the running secretmaw devoid of much cover, leaving them vulnerable to attack from species such as snappers and shrogs, thus the ancestors of the species evolved several adaptations to survive. The first major change is patterns and colors to blend in among the abundant greater lahn, giving them the chance to possibly not be spotted by potential predators. More often than not, however, the running secretmaw has to live up to its name by fleeing from predators, with longer legs and powerful thigh muscles allowing them to both sprint at high speeds for short distances and run for longer distances at a moderate pace.

Much like their ancestor, the running secretmaw still retains closable slit-shaped scent pits, a bottlebrush-like layer of fluff on their tails, and camel-like feet though the feet have developed slightly narrower hooves to better grip the substrate when making sharp turns when being pursued. Running secretmaws also live in small herds in a similar fashion to their early ancestor the mae sauceback, which redeveloped due to food being relatively abundant and the herd providing the running secretmaws some protection against their predators. The average herd consists of several females and their young along with a single mature male, though there are also bachelor herds of mature males both young and old.

In a similar fashion to the double-lipped sauceback, running secretmaws will lay and then incubate clutches of 3-8 soft-shelled eggs, which both the male and females incubate by taking turns sitting on them. The difference is that the herd will have the females make their nests close together, relying on the sheer number of eggs to ensure some of them will survive. The mature male will help all the females with incubating eggs, but he will tend to assist females that he prefers more often over other females. The females who have the male assist in incubating their eggs more often typically have higher success rates of their eggs living long enough to hatch.

Once the young hatch, they already have their legs grown in and can run with their mothers within minutes. They stay within the safety of the herd for around 1 and a half years, after which they depart from the herd. Female running secretmaws will join other herds of running secretmaws when reaching sexual maturity while males will search for other herds and challenge the alpha male for breeding rights. These fights are very ritualized, with the two males walking beside one another and smacking their necks together before retreating a certain distance and then going at it again. This cycle continues until one of them gives up and leaves, with the loser often wandering on his own or joining bachelor herds.


A Running Secretmaw's face seen from above when the lips are relaxed.


The side view of a Running Secretmaw's face.


Alright guys! Have another Sauceback, do give your thoughts on the species!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Jun 30 2021, 01:10 PM

Disasterxata (Magnacaprasaura clades)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Gracilxata
Habitat: Dixon Savanna, Dixon Tropical Scrub, Dixon Tropical Woodland, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland
Size: 3.2 meters long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Herbivore (Pinprong, Quaxaca, Thistle Puffgrass, Sprawling Quillball, Fuzzyfan, Yuccagave, Snow Windbulb, Puffgrass, Arid Puffgrass, Inda, Fuzzpile saplings, Coniflor saplings, Cragmyr saplings, Mainland Fuzzpalm saplings, Tropical Gecoba Tree saplings, Carnossamer saplings)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs)

Following the attack of the argusraptors, some biomes were left completely devoid of any large herbivores, as they had all been eaten to extinction. The disasterxata replaced its ancestor and quadrupled in size, becoming a large herbivore in a very short amount of time due to a complete lack of competition in a significant portion of its range. The still-extant xatazelle remains in the niche it left behind. It has become bulky once more and has a large gut which helps in digesting all kinds of small flora. It can even eat spiny flora because it has thick saliva to protect its mouth and tongue. For protection against predators, its armor is more extensive. However, it is slower as a result. Its chin spike and upper incisors come together as a bizarre mismatched beak for clipping flora.

The disasterxata has very poor hearing, mostly because its ancestral eye-hearing method is very ineffective at actually picking up sound. It mainly detects predators by sight instead, and its ear crests have been modified into a pair of antler-like structures. The “antleyears” are somewhat longer and more elaborate in males than females. Its main predators are argusraptors, but unlike the woody armor of plents, the disasterxata’s armor contains mineral bone, which is far more difficult for argusraptors to bite through.

Though it lacks any kind of fiberous integument, the disasterxata is nonetheless an endotherm capable of regulating its own body temperature. Its large size keeps it warm in the cooler parts of its range. Disasterxatas move in herds for protection and nest communally. To avoid crushing their eggs, and so that they may walk away to eat, they use decaying flora piled on top to incubate them rather than sitting on them directly. Though small, hatchlings are precocial and can run soon after hatching, though they largely depend on their parents to bring them food. Adults may employ older juveniles as “babysitters” for younger ones while they leave to find food, similar to the Terran Psittacosaurus. They reach full size in 3 years and can live for around 25.

Through incidental consumption of spores which passed through the disasterxata’s gut unharmed, the puffgrass has been spread to Dixon Savanna and Dixon Tropical Scrub.

--

Wasn’t gonna replace this originally...then I noticed it was a recent victim of spondylozoan knee-becomes-heel syndrome. Its ancestor’s ancestor is in the same niche anyway :^P

Barkbuck (Cervolepus planilanx)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Scrub Barkback
Habitat: Javen Tropical Woodland, Javen Tropical Scrub, Darwin Savanna, North Darwin Tropical Scrub, North Darwin Tropical Woodland
Size: 1.2 meters long (excluding tail)
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Herbivore (Crystample, Woodland Grovecrystal, Tropical Crystamboo, Caprystal, Signpost Crystamboo, Rifamboo, Crystamboo, Fruiting Grovecrystal)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Mesotherm (Bark)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth)

Following the attack of the argusraptors, some regions were left completely devoid of large herbivores, as they had all been eaten to extinction. One such region was Javen. The barkbuck split from its ancestor, left the trees, and quadrupled in size to fill this void, losing its prehensile tail in the process. Despite its beak and teeth being made of wood, it is very effective at consuming crystals, as all it needs to do to eat them is create enough force to crush them--it doesn’t need to chew--and wood is strong enough to do so. Despite its bark being useless to protect it from predators, it is retained as insulation, as its structure blocks excess heat from entering its body and traps the heat that it has already produced fairly well. Its legs remain naked, as it still needs some bare skin in order to urinate due to plents like itself doing so through pores in their skin. This also has the effect of removing excess heat as needed.

In an arms race with the argusraptor complex, which completely bypasses any form of woody protection with its sclerotised jaws, the barkbuck rapidly evolved cursorial adaptations to flee instead. Because it evolved its long legs so quickly, being selected for over a short period of time rather than appearing gradually and being optimized along the way, all of its toes are intact and clawed, even though it only walks on two of them per foot. Its thumbs are still opposable, allowing it to use them to grasp and manipulate flora as needed.

Barkbuck’s bark, instead of forming thick brown splintering scales, is fairly thin and smooth and, like a surprisingly large number of Terran trees, actually contains pigmentation. It can be difficult to distinguish from the bare skin of its face and legs without close examination. There was actually no biological reason for it to be colored distinctly in its ancestor, and the reason why basal barkbacks have such strangely-colored bark will likely remain a mystery.

The barkbuck has smaller and more numerous babies than one might expect from a creature of its size and niche. This is because of a major constraint of plent reproduction--their offspring, at birth, must be able to squeeze out through the mouth. Further, having a single large baby would restrict neck flexibility during pregnancy, which is not great for an herbivore. So, barkbuck still has litters of 3-4 small babies like its ancestor instead of investing in one large baby. It is also beneficial to have more babies because it doesn’t live in herds and cannot depend on group defense behaviors, so many of its babies are lost to predators.

The barkbuck is yellowish in the more open parts of its range, but populations in the woodlands have darker coloration to blend in with the dark trees.