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Name: Sprinting Bubbleskin (Choriobullae velox)
Ancestor: Drake Bubbleskin (Choriobullae drakeus)
Habitat: Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake High Desert, Drake High Grassland
Size: 100 cm long
Diet: Hemophagus, Carnivore (Genteel Tuskent(Juveniles), Shortface Sauceback, Shaggy Glasseater(Juveniles), Grazing Gossalizard, Desert Gossalizard, Shaggycoat, Tuskcoat, Rosybeak Phyler, Pinyuk, Strider Fuzzcoat(Juveniles), Dwarf Pinyuk, Loafpick, Lipped Sauceback(Juveniles))
Reproduction: Sexual, Live Birth, Two Genders, Pouch




The Sprinting Bubbleskin evolved from Drake Bubbleskins that began to rely more on speed and agility to hunt their prey. While they got smaller to avoid competition from their ancestor, they still hunt prey of decent size. Much like their ancestor, the Sprinting Bubbleskin feeds on the blood of plents, glasseaters and saucebacks though it has also expanded its diet to take the soft parts of a carcass as well such as internal organs. They are still social animals, hunting in packs of 3-5 individuals. The pack continues to sleep in a “dogpile” to keep warm, as several individuals are better at keeping warm than a single individual.

Much like their ancestors and relatives, their skin is covered in air-filled bubbles which trap air to help insulate them from the cold environment. Much like their close kin, the ears are within the skin. Similarly to the Drake Bubbleskin, the Sprinting Bubbleskin sees in color from red to ultraviolet from their main eye while the frontmost eye can see the bio-electrical signals of their prey and the furthest back eye can see in infrared(meaning they can see heat). The tongue also has the same “sandpapery texture” of their ancestor, due to the small bristles located on it.

They hunt primarily at night, when they have the advantage over their prey as they’re usually sleeping or not fully aware of their surroundings and have the cover of darkness which aids in sneaking up to the animals. As they chase their targets, they select the individual with the weakest bio-electric signals. Once the victim is decided upon, the Sprinting Bubbleskins communicate with one another with high frequency chirps(which are often out of the frequency their prey can hear) and move in on the target. The pack will single out this individual and isolate it from the group it's in before moving in to take it down. Much like their ancestors, they use their fangs and clawed forelimbs to kill their prey with the claw on their forelimbs have developed serrations to cause more damage allowing the victim to bleed to death much more quickly.

The Sprinting Bubbleskins will lick up blood that has fallen on the ground, while additionally gutting the carcass to feed on the soft internal organs. While the blood and organs can be frozen, their stomachs are adapted to deal with this. The species does not need to drink water, as they get all their moisture from the blood and internal organs they consume. While their warm blooded metabolism means they need to hunt regularly, their adaptions to consuming internal organs provides more nutrients compared to blood alone so it's not as frequent as their obligate-hemophagus relatives.

The social hierarchy is very similar to their ancestor, with the pack being led by a single alpha male who holds strict breeding rights over the females. The male will mate with the females every fall with the females which then give birth to 1 or 2 pups in the spring, after which the young are kept in the pouch until summer arrives on Drake when they become too large to carry comfortably. These pups lack the fangs, claws, and tongue bristles when born which helps to not damage the mother while in the pouch. The pack regularly feeds them regurgitated blood until they are old enough to join them on hunts. At a certain point, the males of the pack will be driven away by the alpha male.


Hello! This is my first submission! I may be a bit clunky with it but I have to start somewhere! Also this was transferred from the joining forum.

Feral Tuskent (Legnail feralis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Genteel Tuskent
Habitat: Drake Polar Beach, Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake High Desert, Drake Rocky, Mae Volcanic
Size: 70 cm long
Diet: Omnivore (Cryobowls, Glaalgaes, Polar Cellulosebane, Grubnub, Burncumference, Hornsniffer, Tileback, Cryocanon, Polar Ukback, Pudgy Ketter, Thornshell, Segmented Carnofern, Dome Crystal, Crested King Limbless, Ringtailed Ketter, Squat Limbless, Purple Phlock, Pudglyn, Shortface Sauceback, Twinecoat, Bashercoat, Glasscanon, Flippskima, Sproutstalk, Grazing Gossalizard, Loafpick, Teacup Saucebacks, Rosybeak Phlyer, Fuzzcoat, Hopping Ketter, Desert Gossalizard, Wutuu, Scarlet Phlyer, Golden Phlyer, Azure Phlyer, Lizalagarto, Indigo Wutuu, Dwarf Pinyuk, Luroot, Tuskcoat, Gutsy Phlyer, juvenile Killcoat, juvenile Leaping Killcoat, juvenile Drake Bubbleskin, juvenile Sprinting Bubbleskin), Scavenger
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth)

Millions of years ago, the Tripodician domesticated the Genteel Tuskent. Ultimately, the Tripodician was doomed by the extinction event at the end of the Bloodian period, and most of the Genteel Tuskents died as well. However, the Genteel Tuskent had been subjected to selective breeding, which included the creation of smaller breeds. They outlasted their owners, but in the face of a changing world and with their low genetic variation they became obscure, eventually becoming restricted to a single elusive population. The Feral Tuskent replaces its ancestor, however, finally expanding its range once more. It has taken on a white coloration well-suited to blending in with snow.

The Feral Tuskent shows very little signs of once having been domesticated, as its wild instincts have returned. Perhaps one notable holdover is that it is far more timid than the ancient Imperial Leathershelled Tuskent. It retains the enhanced pack mentality, but this comes mainly in the form of social bonds and protection, rather than pack hunting. It retains the higher intelligence its ancestor gained, but instead of using it for group tactics it uses it to outsmart potential predators and prey and to help identify what’s edible or not. Its cellulase bite can be used like venom to assist in killing plent prey, and it can be used as a defense against killcoats which inevitably attack it when it kills their babies.

Similar to its ancestors, as a consequence of spending time as marine creatures, the Feral Tuskent lacks any form of external ear. However, it can still sense vibrations using the wooden “bones” inside its head. Though it has a pair of crests in adulthood that resemble ears, they do not serve any hearing function. Another consequence of its aquatic ancestry is visible in its limbs. Each limb has six dewclaws running all the way up to its “elbows” and “knees”. Indeed, its “elbows” are actually wrists and its “knees” are actually ankles, its real elbows and knees being fused and completely immobile. The excessive dewclaws keep the hand- and foot-derived forearms and lower leg segments stable during locomotion and can deter potential predators or rivals from biting them.

Feral Tuskent social groups are matriarchal, though their female to male ratio has shifted back down to 1:1. They are monogamous and a female may have several pups at a time. The Feral Tuskent reaches sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age and can live for up to 20 years in ideal conditions.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Mar 5 2021, 06:38 PM

Sayront (Vexillaphore ovismimis)
Ancestor: Blubber Flapper
Creator: Coolsteph
Habitat: Fermi Temperate Beach, Fermi Polar Beach
Size: 1.2 m
Diet: Herbivore (Fermi Tuffdras, Baebulas, Crowngeas, Pelagic Puffgrass, Raft-building Cone Puffgrass)
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Frog-like Eggs Laid into Pool Chamber Organ

Sayronts are covered in scales, giving them an overall pine-cone-like shape. They are giganototherms roughly the size of small sheep, who live in herds of six to eight individuals.

Due to the intense competition for blackflora such as sunstalks, it avoids that entirely by specializing in less-abundant but largely unexploited resources of purple flora, most notably Fermi Tuffdras that wash ashore. They are most common outside of Mangrovecrystal groves, for Mangrovecrystals make poor habitat for them and their grey-and-black bodies are awfully conspicuous against yellow-and-green Mangrovecrystals. Still, they occasionally venture into the Mangrovecrystal groves to eat purpleflora. They do not typically swim.

Their “scales” are tiny, former wings (modified shoulder-clubs) that consist of spongy keratinous tissue, blubber, and some skin. The scales on its upper flanks, roughly near its shoulders, retain significant mobility, while in others, the scales can be moved just a little. They can expose the underlying skin as a form of thermoregulation, either to heat up or cool down. The scales around the rear only develop in adult Sayronts. Their primary function is clasping onto the other’s hip-scales while mating, although it can be folded over the rear during very cold weather to protect against frostbite.

Reproduction

Sayronts make three to four young a year: more than than would be expected for something of its size and metabolism. It’s a holdover from an ancestor, the Leaping Flapper, with its very high death rate borne of flying accidents and poor suitability to a polar clime. Sayronts mature faster than its ancestor, with a short generation time. They migrate along beaches not because it can’t withstand the cold of its habitats, but because females require a lot of food to generate so much young.

Along with the Snapjaw Sandcrock and Quadracroc, they are the only Fermisaurs (at the time of its evolution) to use internal fertilization. It was a very useful trait to evolve, as the female lays her eggs directly into her pond chamber organ and does not secrete them outside her body. Much like a tailed frog (Ascaphus), male Sayronts fertilize the eggs using extensions of the cloaca that resemble a small tail. As the Sayronts’ environment is often cold and they are technically ectothermic, with limited ability to heat up their own, the structure is retractable and typically kept inside the body. Sayronts mate while standing rear to rear.

Predators

Although too large and well-armored for some predators, they are appealing prey for others, especially Seashrogs. They have rich, flavorful meat that tastes of the sea, and their protective scales are no match for Seashrogs’ formidable spears. Seashrogs often kill them by stabbing them in their unarmored faces.

The color brown makes them nervous, for it is a rare color on Fermi, found mostly on Seashrogs: one of their chief predators. In temperate areas, they are most active in the morning and evenings, just to avoid the diurnal Seashrogs.

Other Details

A rare mutation can color Sayront’s internal organs blue, similarly to its eyes. This is normally impossible to tell in a live Sayront, until one sees blue-tinted cloacal extensions of the male.

A Sayront is surprisingly agile if there are obstacles in its path; it can still jump if needed.

This post has been edited by Coolsteph: Mar 15 2021, 07:14 AM

Name: Polyprong Orbush (Propagnum arbuscula)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Maineiac Orbion (Propagnum minorvispando)
Habitat: Maineiac Temperate Riparian, Maineiac Alpine, Maineiac Temperate Woodland, Maineiac Boreal
Size: 80 centimeters tall
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Passive (stomata)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Very Resistant Spores), Asexual (Budding Prongs)


As the continent of Maineiac began to become more and more populated, asexual reproduction alone began to be disadvantageous so this would drive some populations of Maineiac Orbion to adapt. These populations would redevelop their ability to produce spores from their prongs, allowing them to increase genetic diversity compared to their cloning-only counterparts and would eventually give rise to the Polyprong Orbush.

To adapt to living in a more competitive environment, the Polyprong Orbush has become larger and thus gains more access to light compared to its relatives. This does mean, however, that it takes longer for them to grow and mature. Their many prongs, about 18 of them, not only produce the spores but can also fall off and grow into new individuals. The increased amount of prongs helps increase the amount of spores an individual can make while more prongs can then fall off and produce clones. While some individuals will fall prey to species like the Maineiac Uktank or the Giant Spiny Wrigum, their extremely high reproductive rates means the Polyprong Orbush still thrives despite the predation, often covering many parts of the areas they inhabit.

My first producer! Its probably a bit clunky, but opinions are appreciated!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Mar 30 2021, 06:25 PM

Name: Steppe Lizalope (Alloarietes currenstilios)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Grazing Gossalizard (Warfin pascor)
Habitat: Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake High Grassland
Size: 50 centimeters long
Diet: Herbivore (Sproutstalk, Sunstalks, Tepoflora, Larands, Snow Puff, Xidhorchia, Windbulb, Tundra Orbibom, Glassleaf, Glountain), Scavenger
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: ?
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodites, Lays Brood of Eggs in mounds

As time progressed and new kinds of predators evolved on the scene, the Grazing Gossalizard would experience more intense selective pressures. One population would begin to become better adapted for speed to flee from threats, rather than relying on their ancestral bulk. This would lead to the Steppe Lizalope, a species that would quickly begin to thrive and spread into many areas of Drake.

The Steppe Lizalope’s spend most of their time grazing on a wide variety of flora. The species now naturally travels in small groups, though they have no social bonds and only travel together due to the fact that traveling with others decreases the chance a predator is going to select any one individual. They are always on the move, staying in one area until food becomes hard to find before moving on to other feeding grounds. They often feed on the abundant vegetation in the Drake Tundra until it becomes too cold during the winter months, moving south into the Polar Scrub and High Grasslands of Drake until it warms up once more although some populations stay in the Drake High Grasslands all-year-long.

Since they are primarily herbivores, never hunting and only scavenging if vegetation becomes scarce, their ancestral silk glands have been completely lost. Due to their longer legs which help with running also giving them extra height, it becomes more awkward to lean down to dig with their fangs to uproot nutritious tubers from things like sproutstalks and so they rely on their forelimbs to dig instead while the fangs have reduced in size.

Due to their more active lifestyle and more limited digging ability, the Steppe Lizalope no longer digs a burrow for them to lay their eggs. Instead they dig a mound for the eggs, where they add vegetation to keep the eggs warm as the collected flora decomposes. After the eggs have been laid in the mound, the mother will then abandon them to their fate. Once the young hatch they eat their way out of the casing and dig their way out of the mound, although this can take around 10 minutes or so due to their more limited digging abilities compared to their close kin.

I think the description is a bit messy possibly due to the way its ancestor was written, but what do you guys think?

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Mar 30 2021, 06:26 PM

Methanovore (Methanovori spp.)

Creator: MNIDJM
Ancestor: Methanovore (Methanovori barathrum)
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4); Full aquatic
Size: 30-40 um
Diet: Chemosynthesis (Methane)
Respiration: Anaerobic (Passive Diffusion)
Thermoregulation: Ectothermic
Reproduction: Binary Fission

The '''methanovores''' are a collection of anaerobic methanotroph species found in all of the deep sea environments of Sagan 4. Unlike their distant ancestor the [[Methanophagus]] they are free living, collecting methane from the water. They are no longer generally stationary, but are atrichous and lack any defining surface cillia. To compensate, they rely instead on gliding across the surfaces of the substrate or other objects in their ecosystem. They do so by using motor proteins on the surface of their cells to propel themselves forward in an undulating movement.

Though found in all marine environments, they are at their most diverse in benthic environments, acting in conjunction with methanotrophic and sulfate-reducing species to form the basis of the energy pyramids of their environments. They use sulfates as a driving force for the reaction, typically in the following method:
CH4 + SO42− → HCO3− + HS− + H2O
This reaction is facilitated in a mitochondria-analog referred to as a "methanochondria" which shares its shape with that of their immediate ancestor, suggesting they are the result of an endosymbiosis event between two or more methanophagus.


===Integrated specie===
* [[Methanovore]]

Whiskrugg (Kruggectia whiskus)

Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Grub Krugg
Habitat: Darwin Tropical Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Rainforest, Javen Temperate Rainforest, Vivus Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Tropical Woodland, Darwin Temperate Woodland, Darwin Tropical Scrub, Darwin Chaparral
Size: 25 mm Long
Diet: Herbivore (Marbleflora, Pioneeroots, Orangemosses, Tepoflora), Detritivore, Scavenger
Reproduction: Sexual, Many Snail-like Eggs

The Whiskrugg split from its ancestor the Grub Krugg. Like its ancestor it has a primitive body plan and leather-like chitin exoskeleton. Its strategy is to lay many snail-like eggs under the soil so predators cannot find them. While they live amongst other krugg species, most have filled other niches and feed on larger flora. It has gotten smaller in size which helps it hide under the leaf litter. Its signature feature are now whiskers that grow out of its mandibles. These whiskers help it feel around when forward while they can be pulled back when feeding. Since they don't have the greatest vision in the dark the whiskers help in the shadows or at night. It uses its front legs to clean them if they get dirty. It has also expanded its range to Vivus now that it is connected.

This post has been edited by Hydromancerx: Mar 9 2021, 10:19 PM

Stink Shrew (Sorex foetidus)

Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Opportunity Shrew
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal, Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Dixon Savanna, Dixon Tropical Scrub, Dixon Tropical Woodland, Javen Tropical Woodland, Javen Tropical Scrub, Darwin Savanna, North Darwin Tropical Scrub, North Darwin Tropical Woodland
Size: 60 cm Long
Diet: Carnivore (Argusraptor Complex eggs and larva, Shepherd Harnessback eggs and larvae, Hearthead eggs and larvae, Brighteyes eggs and larvae, High Grassland Ukback eggs and larvae, Snoronk eggs and larvae, Goliath Flunejaw eggs and larvae, Long-Tailed Flunejaw eggs and larvae, Fluneinzee eggs and larvae, Grassland Lizatokage eggs and larvae, Ramchin eggs and babies, Xatazelle eggs and babies, Xatagolin eggs and babies, Xatadeega eggs and babies, Gracilxata eggs and babies, Grabnub eggs and babies, Minikruggs, Sapworms, Xenobees), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (Live Birth, Male and Female, Pouch and Milk)

The Stink Shrew split from its ancestor the Opportunity Shrew. Like its ancestor its nose is great for picking up scent and ears for listening. This is important since its main food source are the eggs of apex predators like the Argusraptor Complex. The success of Argusraptor lead to the abundance of clutches of eggs just waiting to be fed upon. However to get to it was hard.

Like it's ancestor it can hear the sounds of saucebacks echolocating, and it uses this in combination with its good sense of smell to intentionally seek out sauceback nests to devour eggs and young--as well as to avoid confrontation with the parents. However if it encounters them it has a new adaptation in its arsenal; anal scent glands that can be used as a defensive weapon.

Like Earth skunks this duel scent glands are found on either side of the anus. These glands produce the stink shrew's spray, which is a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals such as thiols (traditionally called mercaptans), which have an offensive odor. A stink shrew's spray is powerful enough to ward off Argusraptor and other potential attackers. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with a high degree of accuracy, as far as 3 meters. The spray can also cause irritation and even temporary blindness, especially in the Argusraptor's who have "eye-nostrils". Its coloration of yellow stripes are an aposematism to warn against its smelly stink. This helps it not even need to spray in the first place.

Like its ancestor, the Stink Shrew is a burrower. It resides mainly in burrows it made itself, though it may also steal burrows from other species of Shrew, and it may also live inside hollowed logs and other natural cavities. As its diet specifications put it in regular contact with saucebacks, the Stink Shrew is relatively hardy so that it may survive inevitable attacks; for example, it has dense fur and the skin around its neck is thickened, making it more difficult to bite to death. It is generally solitary, but it may also sometimes be found in mated pairs. Like its ancestor, it gives live birth and carries its offspring around in a pouch. There, they are nourished with milk until they are old enough to leave the pouch and go out on their own.

This post has been edited by Hydromancerx: Apr 8 2021, 11:48 PM

Sowshrog (Lutrasorex fructus)
Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Seashrog
Habitat: Soma Temperate Beach, Drake Temperate Woodland, Drake Chaparral
Size: 2.5 m Long
Diet: Frugivore (Qupe Tree fruit, Fuzzweed berries, Carnosprawl fruit, Mainland Fuzzpalm berries, Fuzzpile berries, Brickbark Ferine berries, Wafflebark Ferine berres, Syrup Ferine berries), Scavenger
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth, Pouch and Milk)

The Sowshog split from its ancestor the Seashrog. It has moved to a life on land in Drake. Like their ancestors they build complex nests made of wood and leaves. However instead of floating rafts these are dome-shaped shelters. They use their "tail-axes" to fell trees for wood. However they don't just deforest the land; they also replenish the forest.

This new behavior came about when they would store extra food in their dwellings and forget about it. Wanting to keep their nest clean they would bury the rotten matter using their sticks as makeshift hoes. As a result they accidentally became farmers. This tradition was passed on and became wide spread amongst all Sowshrogs. They types of fruit they plant varies from group to group. Not just planning their favorite local trees or bushes but also spread them to new biomes. Despite all this improvement this "farming" is a step up from caching food, much as a dog buring a bone. Like getting rewarded for doing a trick, they have developed a compulsion to bury seeds.

They are a little longer than their ancestors and will sit on their hind legs in an "S" pose. This not only allows them to look around but also frees up their hands for manipulation. For instance collecting seeds for planting or holding their "digging-stick" for making holes. These sticks are the same shape but used in a different way. Unlike their ancestor they don't actively hunt for meat but will instead scavenge for carrion instead when fruit isn't available.

Drake is a dangerous place and they mainly defend themselves with their sticks by wacking, poking or waving the sticks at predators. The fact they live in groups also helps deter predators. They are a lot more social than their ancestors since they have to be; alone Sowshog could easily get killed. As a result small "villages" of huts will spring up in an area where their planted groves are fruiting. When the fruiting season is finished they will move on and build new nests elsewhere.

Like their ancestors they have limited vocalizations. However they have developed a different call for different fruit or berries, such as "kokokoko" means Fuzzpile berries. Reproduction and mating is similar to their ancestor, with the exception that males will impress females with the ripest, most unbruised fruit or berries. Thus their mating is usually linked to the fruiting of their chosen flora.

Their intelligence is improved in some areas but diminished in others. Their more social nature helps them retain traditions like planting seeds. Not hunting at first would seem like a waste of their intelligence but stealing from other predators takes as much skill and thinking. Working in packs to distract the predator from its kill and then snatching some for themselves or even sometimes just group intimidation from their vocalizations or waving sticks or tail-axes.

While not the best climbers they are better climbers than their ancestor. This helps them climb up to get fruit or even escape predators.Their front limbs are longer and stronger. This helps them grip the trunk or branches of trees. Their long flexible spine also is useful getting in better positions.

This post has been edited by Hydromancerx: Mar 20 2021, 12:40 AM

Double-Lipped Sauceback (Secretorostrum bilabrum)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Lipped Sauceback
Habitat: Drake Boreal, Drake Rocky, Drake Chaparral, Yokto Temperate Riparian, Drake Temperate Woodland
Size: 4 meters long
Diet: Herbivore (Vesuvianite Tree)
Respiration: Active (Microlungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Feathers)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs)

The Double-Lipped Sauceback split from its ancestor. Being the largest herbivore in most of its range and having no competition for the niche of browser, it was able to grow significantly larger immediately. It has established itself as one of the largest herbivores in Drake, feeding from the newly-evolved crystal trees in its range. Its "sauce" segment is elongated to house a larger gut, as its entire digestive system apart from its mouth and esophagus is contained within that segment.

The Double-Lipped Sauceback is named for the fact that its lip-trunk has split into two very long prehensile lips. These are used to grasp and manipulate branches while feeding, a behaviour similar to some long-nosed mammals on Earth. It mashes up the branches and crystals with its sideways beak-like jaws. It retains pinhole eyestrils and detects danger mainly using its sense of hearing. It does not echolocate at all, unlike its ancestor, and it can only be found awake during the day.

Unlike its ancestor, the Double-Lipped Sauceback’s offspring hatch with their legs already developed. The feathered hatchlings can run minutes after birth and will follow their mother around. Juveniles are much faster than adults and can sprint away from danger, while adults rely mostly on size and strength to fight off predators. The Double-Lipped Sauceback does not move in herds, but it will sometimes be found in groups for social reasons. Similar to its ancestor, it lays and incubates clutches of 3-8 soft-shelled eggs. While the eggs are incubating the parents take turns sitting on them, but after they hatch the father leaves.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Mar 19 2021, 05:12 PM

Bannertail (Vexillarca amicitia)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Rainbowtail
Habitat: Drake Boreal, Drake Rocky, Drake Chaparral, Yokto Temperate Riparian, Drake Temperate Woodland
Size: 2.5 meters long
Diet: Adults: Carnivore (Lipped Sauceback, Double-Lipped Sauceback, Desert Gossalizard, Pinyuk, Tree Pinyuk, Dwarf Pinyuk, Loafpick, Loafshell, Lizalagarto, Plains Uktank, Sailmail, Uklunk, Sowshrog); Juveniles: Omnivore (Cloudswarmer larvae, Cryobowl fruit), Planktivore
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Mesotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Frog-like Eggs Laid In Spawning Pools)

The Bannertail replaced its ancestor and, with its previously developed intelligence and social lifestyle, became a prominent social predator comparable to a rather oversized wolf. Though it does not fill its ancestor’s entire range, its ancestor could not live on the beach or plains alone--in fact, at the time of evolution just a single plains population of Rainbowtail still exists, but it will soon go extinct due to there not being enough rain for consistent reproduction. Though smart, the Bannertail is notably not self-aware; it has knowledge and can have cultural ideas, but it doesn’t actually know that it knows or what that means. Its intelligence and cultural development, to the degree that the latter exists, can be thought of as a long game of follow-the-leader, as it struggles to actually invent new things on purpose like a more self-aware creature could. It is named for its unusual fin-like tail, which is banner-like and can produce color patterns of far greater complexity. A flap of skin, called the “shade”, is used to help with visibility by casting a shadow over the bioluminescent banner; this is similar to a strategy used by Terran traffic lights to improve visibility in bright sunlight.

As the unrelated Drakeshrog moved inland, the Bannertail encountered and co-evolved with it, as the Drakeshrog could learn to understand some of the Bannertail’s color-based language and imitate its warning signal. As an intelligent social creature, even though it was the less intelligent of the two, the Bannertail recognized a Drakeshrog’s value to the pack and eventually welcomed it in. As such, the Bannertail and the Drakeshrog are in a symbiotic relationship where a Drakeshrog acts as the Bannertail pack’s ears and architect in exchange for food and protection. Nearly every pack has at least one shrog, as those without one are at a serious disadvantage. Especially large packs may have as many as 3 shrogs. The Drakeshrog’s ability to build insulated and watertight structures proved vital in the Bannertail’s spread into colder montane climates.

One of the main aspects of the relationship with the Drakeshrog that allowed the Bannertail to expand its range was that the nests built by the Drakeshrog held in heat better, preventing spawning pools from freezing in the chillier parts of the mountains. However, the Bannertail still cannot live at especially high elevations due to its lack of insulating integument and because the cold would eventually win out and freeze the spawning pools overnight. The spawning pools are made of adobe. In a rare case of inter-species cultural exchange, the ability to construct adobe was also spread to the Drakeshrog, and was combined with the Drakeshrog’s existing flora-based nest-building techniques to invent earthen plaster, which is very effective at insulating and water-proofing.

Similar to its ancestor, the Bannertail forms packs consisting of a few mating pairs and their young. Sometimes, groups may have even more mating pairs, as many as 15, though such groups are prone to eventual fission. The Bannertail constructs spawning pools of abode and earthen plaster, sometimes with assistance from the more dexterous Drakeshrog. These pools are roughly two meters wide and half a meter deep. Water from rain, snow, and nearby bodies of water is transported to the spawning pools using hollowed cryobowls. Spawning occurs in the spring, when rain and snowmelt provide a good source of water. The aquatic babies feed on microbes, cloudswarmer larvae, cryobowl fruit, and parts of large kills brought to them by the adults. Juveniles gain terrestrial adaptations by summer, and they will stay with the pack and help them hunt until they reach full size. Sometimes adult offspring will stay with the pack, but most will disperse late the following spring.

New packs of Bannertails may be formed by fission, where a large pack with multiple shrogs splits apart, or by dispersers. In instances of dispersal, a young Bannertail will need to seek out a mate (a fellow disperser of the opposite sex) and a dispersal Drakeshrog. A few other young breeding pairs may join the group, creating a founding population already capable of taking on large prey, but only one Drakeshrog will be included in the initial pack. In the mountainous part of its range, sufficient nests must be constructed before winter or else the young pack will freeze to death. There will usually be a single main first-year nest which the whole pack sleeps in, and as time goes on more nests and more spawning pools will be constructed. These can resemble villages, complete with dirt paths leading between different nests worn down by the footsteps of many Bannertails.

Hilariously, the symbiosis between the Drakeshrog and the Bannertail created an aesthetic so convincingly tribe-like that it fooled the Nauceans, the alien beings which seeded Sagan IV with life. The Nauceans abducted a Bannertail, but as they tried to communicate with it they swiftly learned that it was not even self-aware, let alone sapient. Still, the Bannertail's language was complex enough that the Nauceans were able to ask it questions, from which they learned of the Drakeshrog--which they had previously dismissed as a domesticated pet. They proceeded to abduct a Drakeshrog, which they found to be self-aware, but they struggled to communicate until the Nauceans realized the Drakeshrog did not have a language. Realizing they had been fooled, the Nauceans quietly returned the abducted creatures to their pack and left them alone from then on.

----

I checked with Hydro back in like April and the Naucean part is okay.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Mar 19 2021, 09:33 PM

Drakeshrog (Lutrasorex drakensis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Seashrog
Habitat: Drake Boreal, Drake Rocky, Drake Chaparral, Yokto Temperate Riparian, Drake Temperate Woodland
Size: 2 meters long
Diet: Carnivore (Lipped Sauceback, Double-Lipped Sauceback, Desert Gossalizard, Pinyuk, Tree Pinyuk, Dwarf Pinyuk, Loafpick, Loafshell, Lizalagarto, Plains Uktank, Sailmail, Uklunk, Sowshrog), Scavenger, Kleptoparasitic Frugivore (Sowshrog food stores)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Placental, Pouch and Milk)

The Drakeshrog split from its ancestor and moved inland into Drake. There, it encountered and co-evolved with the Bannertail--a social predator without ears. Bannertails initially saw the Drakeshrog as a potential competitor and would combat it as such, but the Drakeshrog’s high intelligence allowed it to gain some rudimentary understanding of Bannertail language and respond to it--something the Bannertails also took notice of. Though the Drakeshrog cannot speak and could not even begin to communicate in the same manner as the deaf bioluminescent Bannertails, their mutual high intelligence allowed some level of understanding to develop between the two species--particularly because one Drakeshrog figured out that its white underbelly reminded the Bannertails of their own warning “call”, leading to it warning them of danger they could not hear by rolling over in exchange for food and defense. The relationship soon developed further, and before long Drakeshrogs were regarded as packmates by the Bannertails and used their superior senses to assist in hunts. The Drakeshrog has also shared its architectural capabilities, assisting the Bannertail in conquering cold montane habitats by constructing insulated nests for the pack. Like its ancestor, the Drakeshrog hunts with spears, these being made from the chitin-wood which supports the native crystal flora; unlike cellulose wood, chitin-wood is stiff and not prone to snapping, making it very useful for taking down large prey.

Compared to its ancestor, the Drakeshrog’s nests are upside-down--instead of half-sphere boats with a deck, they are dome-shaped huts with wooden floors. The entrance is on the side rather than on top, but a hole in the middle of the floor is still present. The middle of the hole has a tall tree trunk placed in it which serves as a central support beam for the roof. In nests the Drakeshrog constructed for itself, the hole is only big enough to fit the central support beam, but in nests it built for the Bannertail pack it lives with the hole is 2 meters wide, half a meter deep, and filled with water--forming a perfectly sized spawning pool for the Bannertails. This portion is built by the Bannertails beforehand, and the Drakeshrog constructs the nest for them around it.

Without any fuzzpalms inland, the Drakeshrog constructs nest walls using crystal flora such as the Towering Grovecrystal, the Baseejie, and the Vesuvianite Tree instead. It does not use ferines due to their trunks being too thick and rough to cut through easily, nor ‘lures because the ones with tall trunks have too unwieldy shapes for construction. The nests are held together and sometimes even completely coated in earthen plaster, which was invented through combining Bannertail adobe construction with Shrog nest-making techniques in a rare example of interspecies cultural exchange. Sometimes the floors of the nests will even have adobe slabs or earthen plaster in place of wood. In forests, branches from flora are sometimes used to disguise or visually break up the shape of the nest. The nests are still kept clean by Cleaner Borverids, which have been spread to the Drakeshrog's entire range. Interactions with the Bannertail have exposed the Drakeshrog to the concept of cleanliness, and as a result waste and rotting food don't build up enough to support a new species of shailnitor to follow the Drakeshrog inland.

The Drakeshrog is even less social than its ancestor, at least when it comes to interactions with its own species. However, it is highly social with the Bannertail. Beyond assisting in hunts and building nests, it will engage in play and social grooming, as well as “babysit” juvenile bannertails. Though its instincts tell it to mate with other shrogs, like in many instances of mixed-species social groups on Earth, it isn’t unheard of for some individual Drakeshrogs to instead be attracted to Bannertails. This can result in odd attempts at interspecies mating, though these generally fail due to their wildly incompatible anatomy, and hybrid offspring cannot be produced due to them being about as closely related as a rat and a frog. Due to having little need to communicate with its own kind and the Bannertail lacking ears to hear it anyway, the Drakeshrog is very quiet and rarely makes a sound except when interacting with its own offspring.

When the Drakeshrog does try to mate with another of its kind, it does so during the fall. It will wander from its Bannertail pack into neutral territory and let out loud mating calls--rather deep and long cries compared to those of its ancestor, allowing it to find potential mates over long distances. Should multiple males encounter the same female, they will wrestle using the spikes on their heads, though the female may still pick the loser if he appears healthier. If a male encounters multiple females, he will attempt to mate with all of them. The process of mating itself, done belly-to-belly to avoid risk of injury from the Drakeshrog’s spikes, is a quick and quiet affair due to the risk of attack from other creatures. The father does not participate in raising his own offspring, but this is not an issue as the mother’s Bannertail pack will assist in raising them instead. Pregnancy lasts longer than it did in its ancestor, at 6 months, though the offspring are still born helpless and mostly naked. Hardly resembling a marsupial joey anymore, baby Drakeshrogs are instead called pups. There are usually 3-6 pups per litter. They only stay inside the pouch for two weeks, rapidly becoming far too large to fit inside. Having a somewhat larger brain than its ancestor, the Drakeshrog takes longer to grow up, reaching full size at 8 years. However, juveniles leave to find a new Bannertail pack to join at the age of 4. Such dispersal Drakeshrogs will find and team up with pairs of young dispersal Bannertails, being integral to the formation of a new pack. Others may join Bannertail packs which have recently lost their shrog or that have grown so large that they need additional shrogs to keep up. Sometimes, one juvenile will stay in their home pack until adulthood and will replace their mother in the Bannertail pack if she dies in the meantime. Cultural ideas such as the construction of tools are spread from mother to offspring, but ideas can also spread indirectly via the Bannertail; the Bannertail is “talkative” and can describe something it saw a Drakeshrog in another pack do, which the Drakeshrog in its own pack will then replicate.

The Drakeshrog has been known to steal food from Sowshrogs, and in fact it will even hunt and eat Sowshrogs themselves with its Bannertail pack despite them both being Shrogs. Some Drakeshrogs have also been known to attempt to mate with Sowshrogs if they cannot find a fellow Drakeshrog to mate with. This is rarely successful, as the Sowshrog will actively try to avoid the Drakeshrog and even attack it. However, unlike aforementioned mating attempts with Bannertails, successful matings between Drakeshrogs and Sowshrogs can and do happen and even produce viable hybrid offspring. Such hybrids typically die of malnutrition, however, due to the parent species having different dietary requirements, and those that don’t may be eaten by predators because they struggle to socialize and may find themselves out alone in the wilderness.

Notably, the Drakeshrog and the related Sowshrog are the first furred shrews to be endemic only to Drake since the Biglian period. Though a Terran mammal could never make such a trip, these shrogs’ respective arrivals here without becoming pelagic swimmers was the inevitable culmination of their ancestors’ advances to the already-advanced boat-nest construction ability which first evolved in the Marine Tamow; this remarkable event was inevitable, and there will likely be others, as there is potential for the arrival of other shrogs or even more basal tamows in the future.

Hilariously, the symbiosis between the Drakeshrog and the Bannertail created an aesthetic so convincingly tribe-like that it fooled the Nauceans, the alien beings which seeded Sagan IV with life. The Nauceans abducted a Bannertail, but as they tried to communicate with it they swiftly learned that it was not even self-aware, let alone sapient. Still, the Bannertail's language was complex enough that the Nauceans were able to ask it questions, from which they learned of the Drakeshrog--which they had previously dismissed as a domesticated pet. They proceeded to abduct a Drakeshrog, which they found to be self-aware, but they struggled to communicate until the Nauceans realized the Drakeshrog did not have a language. Realizing they had been fooled, the Nauceans quietly returned the abducted creatures to their pack and left them alone from then on.

----

I checked with Hydro back in April, the Naucean part is okay

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Mar 19 2021, 05:11 PM

Skewer Shrog (Lutrasorex shishkebab)

Creator: TheBigDeepCheatsy
Ancestor: Seashrog
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Desert, Dixon-Darwin High Desert, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Darwin Plains, Darwin Chapparal, Vivus High Desert, Vivus High Grassland, Vivus Rocky
Size: 1.30 m Long
Diet: Omnivore (Bristlepile berries, Strangleroot, Fibreflora, Hengende, Yuccagave, Snow Windbulb root, Robust Arid Ferine berries, Fuzzpile berries, Tubeplage berries and leaves, Boreal Tubeplage berries, Scrubland Tubeplage berries, Sandy Orbibom berries, Quaxaca stems, Fuzzyplate stems, Desert Carnofern berries, Crowned Kingrush projections, Gecoba Tree fruit, Quone nuts, Inda, Prongoli, Marblemelon, Bloodsap Melontree fruits, Pikashrew, Grovecrystal Krugg, Bloodback, High Grassland Ukback, Scrambled Shrew, Tasermane, Gryphler, Dusty Spelunkhoe, Phouka, Vivusian Barkback, Lizatokage, Thin Lizatokage, Fat Lizatokage, Egg Lizatokage, Grassland Lizatokage, Varant, Handlicker Dundi, Sitting Dundi, Binsnoo, Snoofloo, Rosybeak Phlyer, Robynsnapper, Plehexapod, Neoshrew, Desert Ukjaw, Sabulyn, Gulperskunik, Oviaudiator, Kehaida, Xatakpa, Xatazelle, Xatagolin, Ziraber, Stride Sauceback, Snoronk, Robust Rainforest Ukjaw, Ramchin, Brighteyes, Leafplate, Dualtrunk, Briarback, Hedgimal, Glyndrax young, Harnessback young, Shepherd Harnessback young, Hearthead young, Striped Phlock young, Shroom Herder young, Desert Tilecorn young, Mothhead young, Frilled Greenscale young, Scrubland Hornface young, Giant Hornface young, Pickaxe Tamow young)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual, Live Birth, Male and Female, Placental, Pouch and Milk

When the seashrogs arrived on the southern regions of the Dixon-Darwin super-continent, some populations found themselves following the sweet scent of bristlepile berries growing. However, at a cost to their quest for delectable fruits, they ended up in a more arid climate and had to adapt promptly into skewer shrogs.

Heat and Aridity

To better manage the heat, skewer shrogs are not only smaller than their ancestors, but their fur, spines, and tail-saw have become lighter in color and density. By having these heat adaptations, it also allows for the skewer shrog to be able to run faster than its ancestor. The skewer shrog’s ears are also less hairy and wider than its ancestor’s, which provides a larger surface area for better heat loss.

Along with those heat adaptations, the skewer shrog has adapted to go without water for so long that they could even lose approximately 20 to 25 percent of their weight in water and recover quickly after 5 minutes of drinking water. Another adaptation that protects it from its arid environment is that its urine is more heavily concentrated than its ancestor, allowing it to further retain water. Lastly, it also seeks out plants that store water in them to further rehydrate them in the event they cannot find viable water sources soon enough.

Anatomy

Along with the aforementioned smaller size, light-colored and thinner fur, light-colored and smaller axe-tail, and larger ears, the shrog has evolved dark circle marks around their eyes that cut down the glare from intense sunlight, which especially comes in handy for shrogs living in the Dixon-Darwin Desert. The skewer shrog also has fewer, but longer spikes to ease the weight just a little more while keeping attractiveness needed to get potential mates. Skewer Shrogs are all born with varying sets of black stripes on their shoulders that help them recognize family from foe.

One major difference between the skewer shrog and the seashrog’s appearances is that the skewer shrog has a body type more like that of a Terran pine marten with a slightly shorter torso and longer legs. This build improves its running capabilities and even allows the skewer shrog to live a semi-arboreal lifestyle.

Behavior

Much like its ancestor, the skewer shrog lives alone or in mated pairs. While they are normally not hostile towards other creatures that are not predators, mated pairs of shrogs can be aggressive towards male strangers. To deal with predators, they either use their large wooden skewers in a similar manner as their ancestors or, if close to a large enough tree, they run and climb up it to avoid being attacked. In order for the skewer shrog to protect its young, it either carries them up to the trees or stab their skewers at the enemy or even resort to swinging their axe-tails at the enemy. To deal with male strangers, the mated male will send a warning call to keep them away. If that fails, both the mated male and male stranger jab their skewers in the ground then the mated male smacks the ground three times with each hand in a drumming pattern in an attempt to scare off the male stranger. If this fails, the mated male will charge at the male stranger and they will fight each other by scratching and biting one another, and they do this until one of them surrenders. If the male stranger surrenders, it flees and the mated couple return to their lives; if the mated male surrenders, the male stranger kills the formerly mated female’s kits and mates with her, making them a newly mated pair.

Vocalization

Similar to its ancestor, the skewer shrog makes different vocalizations that are sometimes started by a short bark, although at a higher pitch than its ancestor and more varied. The majority of its vocalizations are shorter than its ancestors to reduce dry mouth and thus reduce water loss.

Those that are followed by the barks are as follows: A gruff-sounding “Rreff” (“This is mine/Not yours”), a swift-paced “Or-or” (“Come here”), a quick and shrill cry of “Hahgaaa” (“I’m in danger/Watch out”), an attention-grabbing shriek of “Eek-eek” (“Help me”/”I need assistance”), and a gurgling snarl of “Hurr-gool” (“Back off”/”Go away”).

Those without the barks are as follows: A whiny and short “Hurum” (“Too much”/”Too heavy”), a cocky yip of “Hekeey” (“Too light”/”Too little”), a coo of “Hurgle” (“I want more”), a short grumble of “Herir” (“I want less”), a quirky hoot of “Oop-oop” (“Funny”/”That was fun”), and a gurgling whine indicating pain.

The skewer shrog’s mating call is considerably shorter than its ancestor’s and comes in the form of a gurgling howl of “Brrrago”, which is repeated twice. For those without mates, it means “I’m looking for a mate”, while for those with a mate, it means “I want to mate”. Not only having to worry about water loss, but also more predators, their mating is significantly quieter and typically occurs on higher ground or in the trees.

Skewering and Diet

The skewer shrog gets its name from the large wooden skewers it carves from purple wood, primarily from the branches of ferines or bristlepiles. It stabs its food through these skewers to make it easier to carry food and travel without having to worry about its next meal too often. To further keep the food stuck to its skewer, it uses bristlepile berries in between each piece of food as a sort of glue and even doubling as a flavor-enhancer.

Much like its ancestor, the skewer shrog is an omnivore, though it now has more specific methods of consuming prey of differing sizes. Prey that are smaller than 30 centimeters do not get skewered as they are merely snacks to ease their appetite, those that are within a size range of 30 to 50 centimeters are skewered whole, and prey that are larger than 50 centimeters and smaller than 1 meter are torn to pieces that get skewered.

When it comes to hunting, single skewer shrogs hunt by themselves while mated pairs without children are able to work together to help take down larger prey. However, for mated pairs with kits, one parent stays in the tree-house while the other goes out to hunt and for each hunt, they swap between roles of caretaker and hunter. The hunter typically hunts during the evening and night, providing an advantage against its prey. They keep some extra flora-loaded skewers to store for later consumption and sometimes manage to keep sun-dried meat skewers as well.

To hunt for meat, it hides in the trees or behind rocks, eyeing its prey before impaling it with the skewer, using the skewer as a type of spear. Right after stabbing its prey, if it still struggles or is able to run, it leaps for its prey and bites and claws into its prey until it manages to kill it.

After the kits are fully weaned, the parents take some time to teach their young how to properly set up skewers and eventually how to hunt. During the training, they sometimes find an odd way of having fun while learning through making skewers of assorted colors and posing the bits of food in different angles.

Nest

Unlike its ancestor, the skewer shrog makes a somewhat less complex nest by making circular tree-houses out of purple wood, a cement made from bristlepile berries, mud, and its own saliva, and leaves for roofing. It prefers to build these tree-houses in ferines and bristlepiles as they have strong enough branches to handle their tree-houses. These are smaller than its ancestor’s impressive wooden boats, but they suit the purpose of housing a family and keeping them safe from harm.

Reproduction

Much like its ancestor, the skewer shrog males will compete for mating rights, but do so through the previously mentioned drumming patterns, biting, and scratching. However, unlike when they deal with stranger males stealing mates, when males fighting for mating rights lose, they may find themselves winning the female regardless due to the female seeking healthy males. Just like with other shrogs, they they mate belly-to-belly to avoid poking each other with their spines.

If either one already has a tree-house they will move into it, usually the one which is in better condition if they both already have their own tree-houses, transferring supplies stored in the other. If neither already has a nest, they will build one together. In a near-reversal of the seashrog’s lifestyle, kits have a somewhat reduced chance of surviving to adulthood compared to its ancestor, but they manage to have a higher chance at finding mates due to their tighter range on land. However, they still lack a fully-defined breeding season and mate frequently, although less than the seashrog and they prefer to mate during cooler and wetter times.

Skewer Shrogs tend to have kits that are helpless, but more developed than the joeys of a Terran marsupial; resembling more of Terran puppies born with their fuzz, but unable to see. Despite this, the growth rate of a skewer shrog kit is still about as slow as that of a seashrog joey, to help with their brain development. It takes about 7 years for its brain to develop and it becomes independent at the age of 4 years old. Skewer Shrogs live about 25 years due to their more intense lifestyle, but some lucky individuals can still live up to 40 years. Males also lack a pouch, while females still have their pouch.

As with the seashrog, homosexuality does occur with skewer shrogs and male/male couplings are still more common with older males, while female/female couplings can not only serve as a reproductive outlet for solitary males, but sometimes, they will manage to adopt orphaned shrog kits they manage to come across or can occasionally form from female shrogs that refused to mate with victorious male strangers and escaped.

Relationships with Other Species

Unlike with the seashrog, the skewer shrog only has relationships with the beneficial cleaner borovermid and the parasitic false cleaner borovermid, and has helped spread their range, especially in the Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Darwin Plains, Darwin Chapparal, and Vivus High Grassland.

This post has been edited by TheBigDeepCheatsy: Mar 30 2021, 05:53 PM

Name: Lumbering Pasakerd (Divisabosaurus geluavagor)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Grazing Gossalizard (Warfin pascor)
Habitat: Drake Tundra, Drake Polar Scrub
Size: 160 centimeters long
Diet: Herbivore (Sproutstalk, Sunstalks, Tepoflora, Larands, Snow Puff, Xidhorchia, Windbulb, Tundra Orbibom, Glassleaf, Glountain), Scavenger
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: ?
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodites, Lays Brood of Eggs in Burrow

As time progressed and new kinds of predators evolved on the scene, the Grazing Gossalizard would experience more intense selective pressures. One population would begin to become bigger and bigger, relying on their sheer mass and bulk to fend off attackers. This would lead to the Lumbering Pasakerd, who quickly became a common sight in the northern parts of Drake.

The Lumbering Pasakerds spend most of their time feeding, devouring all kinds of vegetation in an area until food becomes scarce which then marks the time they move to a different location to continue feeding. Their forelimbs have become adapted as gigantic shovels that help uproot vegetation for them to eat. Much like their ancestors, the Lumbering Pasakerds are not naturally gregarious, usually only congregating together when there is an abundance of food in a small area though they tend to stick together when they move as their numbers can sometimes deter predators.

Much like their ancestors, the Lumbering Pasakerds often migrate between the Drake Tundra and the Drake Polar Steppe depending on food availability, though they are also known to tough out the harsh winter months in the Drake Tundra on occasion and survive through relying on their bulky and dense coats to keep warm. When vegetation becomes scarce, the Lumber Pasakerds will often supplement their diet with carrion and usually seek out bones since they’re often rich in nutrients.

Since they are primarily herbivores, the silk glands once present on their ancestors have been completely lost since they serve no real purpose.

When it comes to reproduction, the Lumbering Pasakerds breed similarly to their ancestors but taken to a greater extreme. They generally produce around a hundred eggs in a single batch, which they deposit within a burrow dug out of the dirt by their forelimbs and faces. After the batch is deposited, the mother will seal up the burrow and abandon the clutch to their fate. The young will dig their way out of the burrow once they hatch and begin their tough lives. While adults can use their sheer bulk and massive heads to fend off predators, juvenile Lumber Pasakerds lack the sufficient size to effectively use this defense and so often fall prey to the many predators of the tundra such as Sprinting Bubbleskins or Feral Tuskents. Their best defense is to stick with congregations of adults, though the lack of social bonds means adults may trample them without giving a second thought or even smack them away from bits of food. Despite growing at a faster rate compared to their ancestors (taking about 4 months to grow into adults), only about one or two individuals from every hundred or so eggs will typically reach sexual maturity under normal circumstances.


Tada! Another descendant of the Grazing Gossalizard! Thoughts on it everyone?

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Mar 30 2021, 06:26 PM

Cochliabite (Krakowmaineus campus)

Creator: MNIDJM
Ancestor: Dry Shrubite (Krakowlimus terrius)
Habitat: Maineiac Chaparral, Maineiac Polar Scrub, Maineiac Rocky, Maineiac Volcanic, Maineiac High Grassland
Size: 45 cm Tall
Diet: Microbivore (Chitjorns, Testudiatoms, Hexpouruses, Redmosses, Orangemosses), Detritus
Respiration: Passive
Thermoregulation: Ectothermic
Reproduction: Asexual (Budding, Stolons), Sexual

The cochliabite replaced their ancestor and moved towards the schrublands of Maineiac. They are destiguished by their ancestors by their smaller size and slightly rounder shape.

They reach full size after an average of ten to fifteen years, but are capable of reproducing after about five years of growth. Their lives are comparatively short when held next to their ancestor, living on average for about fifty to sixty years. However, a mild climate, lack of predation and other contributing factors have allowed certain individual cochliabites to survive for centuries, with the oldest documented specimen reaching the age of 376.

Like their ancestors, they reproduce by releasing small clouds of fluffy reproductive material contain microscopic individuals. When they begin to exhaust the directly available nutrient they produce long stolon-like outgrowths which spread under the soil. These act in a number of functions similar to roots, and provide connections between individuals.