Deviation Actions
Description
Gnaviformia:
Diversity: 900
These unusual creatures are a dominant group of the quasignavids, found in large portions of the New World, as well as Africa, Madagascar, the Mediterranean and even Hawaii. They have been mostly driven from Eurasia by the arrival of arbrodires, an unrelated group that has spread throughout Eurasia, Africa and Madagascar, either wiping them out or driving them into unusual niches. Nevertheless, they come in a wide variety of forms. In these creatures, the 2nd pair of arms are much smaller and are used primarily to grab on during mating, while the other 3 are used for feeding. They take a primarily quadrapedal design, but will rear up forming a tripod with their muscular tails, similar to Ground Sloths. This gives them a very unusual, though nevertheless symmetrical appearance. South American forms tend to be more sluggish in their nature, though they are by far more diverse. In these regions, they are easily the dominant arboreal creatures, and also form a wide range of large terrestrial forms. One of their most extravagant forms may even be on the way to sapience. The smallest species is the introvertical, a tiny species no larger than a starling which hangs from branches upside down and waits for nearby pseudarthropods to fly by and catch them in its jaws. On the other extreme, the largest species is the magnid, where a fully grown female will measure 6.2m tall and weigh 9 tonnes, resembling a gigantic therozinosaur in design.
Species include:
A. Introvertical: a small African species feeding on pseudarthropods. Will flock in large numbers along bigger trees, though they will sociably communicate to avoid getting eaten by the Mokele Mmembe. Measures 25cm long and weighs 200g.
B. Squawker: living in the amazon, these brightly coloured species are some of the loudest animals around, making a very high pitched squawking sound to attract mates. Females measure about 90cm long including the tail and weigh about 6kg, while the brightly coloured males are 70cm and 3kg.
C. Lazers: extremely lethargic fauna, these occupy similar niches to sloths in the Amazon, being very slow, and with some species even utilising photosynthesis. Species range from 10-45kg in weight, and with similarly varying lengths.
D. Whiptongue: a very ‘insectivorous’ species living in Hawaii, resembling an anteater somewhat, though with the internal jaws held by extremely elongated muscles instead to feed off mounds. Females are 1.7m long and males 1.4m long.
E. Phallushead: a quadrapedal grazing species, this is a pink colour used for bright display, which it goes at a certain time of year. They don’t need to be camouflaged due to being quite fast animals and dealing with predators via their arm claws. Females are horse sized and males fallow sized, showing a significant contrast.
F. Forestback: a symbiotic creature in the jungles of Africa, it uses a unique photosynthetic relationship to gain a large portion of its energy, though is not weak by any means either. Females are 2.3m tall and weigh up to 300kg, while males are 1.8m tall and half the weight.
G. Swimming flasher: the flashers have long skin sails that are used for sexual display, similar to a peacock. This species specialises in swimming and eating ‘fruit’ that have fallen into the water, having webbed feet and a strong lung. They measure about 1.5m including the tail and weigh about 30kg.
H. Tearer: a very numerous creature across the Americas, this giant has a large browsing niche in open forests. Juveniles are a common prey item for predators, though their surprising intelligence means they have a strong herd hierarchy and good defensive positions. It is one of the least dimorphic of all the humans, with males just slightly smaller and with a dome on top of the head. They stand 4.5-5m tall and weigh 3-4 tonnes.
I. Magnid: an enormous creature of the Amazon, this beast resembles a therizinosaur in many ways,having large claws (though not as large as said group), and helping form openings in the forests, allowing for the presence of swampy environments as well. Females measure about 6.2m tall, about 11m long and weigh 9 tonnes, while males are 10m long, 5m tall and weigh 4 tonnes.
J. Bluediver: a fascinating Madagascan oddity. In face of competition from arbrotherids which arrived 20 million years ago, they evolved to become semi-aquatic creatures, very good at island hopping. They are also the most intelligent creatures on Tardigradus, and a strong candidate for future sapience. Female bluedivers reach 80cm tall, 1.4m long and weigh just under 8kg, while males are 70cm tall, 1.2m long and weigh just 6kg.
Predators: naturally, this group comes in a number of different sizes depending on where they exist and what kind of size they are. Smaller arboreal species living in South America and Africa are of course vulnerable to a number of small slugcats and anubids, as well as arbrotherids, predatory hexagnathids and even giant pseudarthropods depending on where they are. The larger species like the forestback have limited predators, mainly being large creatures such as tree lions or young battlecats, and the largest forms living in South America have no predators at all.