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"Since the front pair of limbs are used to either dig up nutritious roots or to dig out nests,"
They don't use their limbs to pull up small flora like Sunstalks? I assumed they would, because they seem to have very small necks, if they have any neck at all. Do they only eat Sunstalks' tubers? If so, that would be useful to specify in the diet template.

"changing their sex if" Her sex if.
"determine that they would be a far better choice" She.
How would she determine this? Is it an automatic response to pheromones emitted by the leader declining over time? Or do female-hermaphrodite Dracalopes have conscious control of this, at least under certain conditions?

"to if an intruding male": "to that of an intruding male who has challenged him"

"will treat as" Will treat the.

It's pronounced "DRACK-uh-lope", right? I assumed it was a Dracula reference, not a "drake" (dragon) reference.

How big are the young when they emerge from the nests? This could be a useful detail for potential predatory fauna submissions.


Botryrophises should be extinct: they are obligate parasites, and their only listed host, the Tinsel Quillball, is listed as extinct on the wiki.

Nonessential Details

This is a nonessential detail, but I wonder if they have preferences for which flora would be best for compost-heap nests? As a general rule, compost heaps heat up more from high-nitrogen materials, such as grass clippings or fresh weeds. It's possible they would prefer certain species for this task, or breed when the nitrogen levels of flora are highest. (Which is probably spring.)
A compost heap needs to get pretty big to generate heat, though the fact it's in a mound (assuming fairly tall walls) would probably help retain heat. Depending on the compost heap size, it might need relatively-tough leaves, twigs, or bark fragments to create air pockets to ensure decomposition doesn't slow down, which would reduce its heat. Air pockets would be particularly useful if the eggs don't have an in-built air supply. The easiest solution that doesn't require intelligence, monitoring, or particularly well-crafted instinct might be making a nest of sticks at the bottom, laying eggs in the interior on top of the nest, and then piling up a mixture of heat-generating and air pocket-preserving biomass on top.

Thorny Hedgelogs might do for providing twigs, although they are also thorny, and so might puncture the eggs. Purple Poison Shrub flower stalks might be better. (I did a quick check based on things in its diet; there may be things in its habitat it could use that are more suitable.)
Since these don't monitor the nest, unlike the Australian brushturkey (a famous example of compost-heap incubation), these would either need to have eggs very resilient to temperature and oxygen fluctuations, craft a very good nest the first time around, or just have quick-developing, fairly-resilient eggs which hatch before composting conditions become sub-par due to poor construction.

On an unrelated note...Purple Poison Shrubs are still around?! What?!

This is a nonessential detail, but I'm still curious: what causes the color of the fangs? Iron content, like in beaver teeth? Pheomelanin, like what makes hair red? Dietary components, such as pseudopurpurin or carotenoids? The natural color of dentin, in combination with some other factor of different material thicknesses in the fangs? Erythropoietic porphyria, which makes bones reddish? (Erythropoietic porphyria seems unlikely, since it's typically associated with sunlight sensitivity, and this lives in sunny environments. It also has significant areas of bare skin.)

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Aug 21 2022, 02:38 PM)

"Since the front pair of limbs are used to either dig up nutritious roots or to dig out nests," They don't use their limbs to pull up small flora like Sunstalks? I assumed they would, because they seem to have very small necks, if they have any neck at all. Do they only eat Sunstalks' tubers? If so, that would be useful to specify in the diet template. "changing their sex if" Her sex if. "determine that they would be a far better choice" She. How would she determine this? Is it an automatic response to pheromones emitted by the leader declining over time? Or do female-hermaphrodite Dracalopes have conscious control of this, at least under certain conditions? "to if an intruding male": "to that of an intruding male who has challenged him" "will treat as" Will treat the. It's pronounced "DRACK-uh-lope", right? I assumed it was a Dracula reference, not a "drake" (dragon) reference. How big are the young when they emerge from the nests? This could be a useful detail for potential predatory fauna submissions. Botryrophises should be extinct: they are obligate parasites, and their only listed host, the Tinsel Quillball, is listed as extinct on the wiki. Nonessential Details This is a nonessential detail, but I wonder if they have preferences for which flora would be best for compost-heap nests? As a general rule, compost heaps heat up more from high-nitrogen materials, such as grass clippings or fresh weeds. It's possible they would prefer certain species for this task, or breed when the nitrogen levels of flora are highest. (Which is probably spring.) A compost heap needs to get pretty big to generate heat, though the fact it's in a mound (assuming fairly tall walls) would probably help retain heat. Depending on the compost heap size, it might need relatively-tough leaves, twigs, or bark fragments to create air pockets to ensure decomposition doesn't slow down, which would reduce its heat. Air pockets would be particularly useful if the eggs don't have an in-built air supply. The easiest solution that doesn't require intelligence, monitoring, or particularly well-crafted instinct might be making a nest of sticks at the bottom, laying eggs in the interior on top of the nest, and then piling up a mixture of heat-generating and air pocket-preserving biomass on top. Thorny Hedgelogs might do for providing twigs, although they are also thorny, and so might puncture the eggs. Purple Poison Shrub flower stalks might be better. (I did a quick check based on things in its diet; there may be things in its habitat it could use that are more suitable.) Since these don't monitor the nest, unlike the Australian brushturkey (a famous example of compost-heap incubation), these would either need to have eggs very resilient to temperature and oxygen fluctuations, craft a very good nest the first time around, or just have quick-developing, fairly-resilient eggs which hatch before composting conditions become sub-par due to poor construction. On an unrelated note...Purple Poison Shrubs are still around?! What?! This is a nonessential detail, but I'm still curious: what causes the color of the fangs? Iron content, like in beaver teeth? Pheomelanin, like what makes hair red? Dietary components, such as pseudopurpurin or carotenoids? The natural color of dentin, in combination with some other factor of different material thicknesses in the fangs? Erythropoietic porphyria, which makes bones reddish? (Erythropoietic porphyria seems unlikely, since it's typically associated with sunlight sensitivity, and this lives in sunny environments. It also has significant areas of bare skin.)

Made the grammatical edits you suggested.

Dracalopes (which are indeed pronounced as "DRACK-uh-lope") are like other lizalopes as well as the pasakerds in that they are pretty generalistic on what parts of a flora they will eat. When it comes to a sunstalk they will likely just snap up the whole thing. While they most likely don't have a defined neck, their legs can bend so the Dracalope can lean downwards to grab bits of food to consume. Its not like they are as stiff as a statue and can't bend down at all.

For how females determine if they would be a better breeder than a male, it mostly comes off through observation where if they notice the male has trouble seeing off rival males and if their displays are subpar.

Hm, this is something that was never discussed among lizardworms in general, what would be the size of the grazing gossalizards when they first hatch?

I think i'll keep the Botryrophis on the diet list, incase there is a justification made that they should be still around. If they are confirmed to be 100% extinct though, i will remove it from the diet list.

Nonessential Details
I have not though that hard about how they would form mounds, but a likely component would be the sunstalks which would naturally provide more heat than things like purpleflora.

yep, Purple Poison Shrubs are still around, makes me wonder if you want to make a descendant of it.

As both the endoskeleton and exoskeleton are made of chitin, its quite likely the teeth may be made out of chitin as well, though i've not thought about the exact chemical composition of those teeth.

Thoughts on this species as a whole btw?

Please don't use textspeak.
Broadly, it's good. The coloration, texturing, pattern, and pose is interesting.
I'm not sure what a "lowboreal" is supposed to be (a quick check revealed nothing useful), and so I cannot evaluate whether it's suited for the habitat.

Theoretically, depending on the exact size of the food, having to substantially bend their legs to reach the ground and graze would make them more vulnerable to predators, like giraffes bending down to drink, if to a lesser extent. (I presume the legs bend backwards at the "knees") However, since giraffes can have such a very vulnerable position and still not go extinct, this is not a plausibility issue. It's just something useful to note if someone plans to make a predator of them.

The angle of the toe-claws (tarsi?) and joints makes the outer legs (closer to the viewer) look like they are spread outward, rather than forward and back: more like a seal's flippers than a cardinal's toes, if that helps. It should be a quick fix, though.

If these eat tough cellulosic material (e.g., most likely Thorny Hedgelogs, judging from what you say), it could be useful to have tough teeth. That's assuming they don't eat like goats and use their tongues or lips (these don't seem to have lips) to selectively eat tender pieces of a thorny bush. Alternatively, they could have ever-growing teeth, very long-rooted teeth, grow replacement teeth, or just use gastroliths. For tough teeth, calcium reinforcement is an obvious option (e.g., in crab shells), but zinc and iron could also work.

Botryrophis have only one host, and are obligate parasites. Its host is substantially different enough from its ancestor than Botryophises would probably not be able to parasitize the Tinsel Quillball's ancestor instead. Botryrophises aren't (for example) connected to a wood-wide-web of fungi that could feed them or serve as awkward substitute-hosts long enough to make a better-adapted descendant. Logically, they should be extinct.

Yes, sunstalks make sense as a component. They would probably be abundant. Using sunstalks as nesting material in addition to food might be additional pressure on them to make a locally-adapted descendant.

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Aug 21 2022, 11:03 PM)

Please don't use textspeak. Broadly, it's good. The coloration, texturing, pattern, and pose is interesting. I'm not sure what a "lowboreal" is supposed to be (a quick check revealed nothing useful), and so I cannot evaluate whether it's suited for the habitat. Theoretically, depending on the exact size of the food, having to substantially bend their legs to reach the ground and graze would make them more vulnerable to predators, like giraffes bending down to drink, if to a lesser extent. (I presume the legs bend backwards at the "knees") However, since giraffes can have such a very vulnerable position and still not go extinct, this is not a plausibility issue. It's just something useful to note if someone plans to make a predator of them. The angle of the toe-claws (tarsi?) and joints makes the outer legs (closer to the viewer) look like they are spread outward, rather than forward and back: more like a seal's flippers than a cardinal's toes, if that helps. It should be a quick fix, though. If these eat tough cellulosic material (e.g., most likely Thorny Hedgelogs, judging from what you say), it could be useful to have tough teeth. That's assuming they don't eat like goats and use their tongues or lips (these don't seem to have lips) to selectively eat tender pieces of a thorny bush. Alternatively, they could have ever-growing teeth, very long-rooted teeth, grow replacement teeth, or just use gastroliths. For tough teeth, calcium reinforcement is an obvious option (e.g., in crab shells), but zinc and iron could also work. Botryrophis have only one host, and are obligate parasites. Its host is substantially different enough from its ancestor than Botryophises would probably not be able to parasitize the Tinsel Quillball's ancestor instead. Botryrophises aren't (for example) connected to a wood-wide-web of fungi that could feed them or serve as awkward substitute-hosts long enough to make a better-adapted descendant. Logically, they should be extinct. Yes, sunstalks make sense as a component. They would probably be abundant. Using sunstalks as nesting material in addition to food might be additional pressure on them to make a locally-adapted descendant.

"Please don't use textspeak." Huh? I've not used textspeak at all though, I don't even know what that is...

Considering pretty much all herbivorous gossalizards from this clade are generalistic feeders, i imagine they would all likely have very tough to deal with the various kinds of foliage in their diet.

Oh actually, the tarsi of this species are supposed to point outwards, likely developing as they grew larger and larger in size but kept their cursorial adaptations(unlike pasakerds who are not really adapted to be fast).

I still think Ima keep the Botryophis in for now, in case there is a relevation as to why its still around. Like i said before though, I will remove it if there is no doubt that it's extinct and is made as such on the wiki.

Textspeak is an archaic term for abbreviations used in text messages back when letters were assigned to numbers in groups of 3 or 4 on cell phone number pads, which made typing take a very long time, thus necessitating the evolution of language to produce useful shorthand such as "lol", "btw", "ttyl", and others. (Surprisingly, some, such as "omg", are considerably older, having appeared in hand-written letters over a century ago). Many of these stuck around even after their original use was lost, becoming true words in the written English language which are generally considered acceptable to use in informal conversation.

Coolsteph doesn't like them.

I have to wonder about this species and similar ones: can those "hands" actually move, or are they each just a static piece used like a shovel or hook? If they can move, why aren't they segmented like the toes (or vice versa, why would the toes have segments?)

QUOTE (Cube67 @ Aug 23 2022, 10:25 AM)

I have to wonder about this species and similar ones: can those "hands" actually move, or are they each just a static piece used like a shovel or hook? If they can move, why aren't they segmented like the toes (or vice versa, why would the toes have segments?)

I always imagined the "digits" on the arms are immobile, likely having evolved to help with digging.

Approval Checklist:
Art:
Art Present?: y
Art clear?:y
Gen number?:y
All limbs shown?:y
Reasonably Comparable to Ancestor?:y
Realistic additions?:y

Name:
Binomial Taxonomic Name?:y
Creator?:y

Ancestor:
Listed?:y
What changes?: bigger,slower, tighter herding behaviors, harem formation, fangs shrunk on females enlarged on males only used for display, colorful fangs on males, sequential hermaphroditism with females becoming male based on hierarchal status
External?: y
Internal?: y
Behavioral/Mental?:y
Are Changes Realistic?:y
New Genus Needed?: yes, sequential hermaphroditism

Habitat:
Type?:2
Flavor?:3
Connected?:y
Wildcard?:n

Size:
Same as Ancestor?:n
Within range?:y
Exception?:n/a

Support:
Same as Ancestor?: n
Does It Fit Habitat?:y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: y
Other?: elaborated

Diet:
Same as Ancestor?: n
Transition Rule?: y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: y, no longer scavenger

Respiration:
Same as Ancestor?: y
Does It Fit Habitat?: n/a
Reasonable changes (if any)?:
Other?:

Thermoregulation:
Same as Ancestor?: n
Does It Fit Habitat?:y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: y
Other?: elaborated

Reproduction:
Same as Ancestor?: n
Does It Fit Habitat?: y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: y, sequential hermaphroditism
Other?:

Description:
Length?: good
Capitalized correctly?: y
Replace/Split from ancestor?: split
Other?:

Opinion: Approved

Approved