Whoo, more species!
Mine are usually super lame plz ignore me. ouo
Okay, so, iaroths.
Very erotic very violent. Yee.
Let me go into description.
BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Iaroths are huge creatures, reaching peak sizes of 16m long and 4m tall, though smaller on average. They're best described as a large, theropod-dino-like scaled marsupial with a beak-like, avian head that at the same time resembles a crocodilian's. The neck is long and covered in extremely thick armor-scales, like the rest of the body. The tail is long and whip-like, used accordingly to stun prey, and they move, like kangaroos, by leaping from place to place on legs far more developed than their 'arms' are. The males have long triple ridges of hollow, light, but durable horns growing from the top of their 'nose-bridge' to the tip of their tail, whereas the females have no such feature. Both sexes have a moveable overdeveloped dewclaw or spur on their hind legs which assists in climbing cliff faces and attacking competitors. Both sexes develop neck frill buds and horn nubs in the egg, but these frills are much more elegant and impressive in the females, just like the nubs only grow into horn rows in males. The frills serve a purely aesthetic purpose and have few nerve endings, enabling motion but not much sensitivity.
Their arms are only basic graspers, with not much force in them at all, but they are long and a membrane is attached to them which assists the iaroth in gliding short distances. Their vision is extremely acute, though their hearing is only at a human level and their sense of taste is specialized in the same way as a cat's is. They have no 'powers', though they are notorious for being skilled ambush hunters with the same kind of extremely dangerous saliva as a Gila monster, and on account of their four hearts and greatly expanded pulmonary systems they have been known to sprint for hours on end in order to run down their prey. The blood is a sickly greenish color and has an extremely strong odor that humans and most other species with similar senses of smell find absolutely noxious.
An example of life cycle follows.
1. Egg stage. The eggs are laid in a nest hollowed out of a cliff face and guarded zealously by one or both parents, who remain close by clinging to the cliffs during this stage and survive essentially off of birds flying by and short hunting trips by one while the other watches the eggs. This stage is extremely vulnerable, as iaroth eggshells are not hard enough to withstand much pressure and snap very easily - the hatchling absorbs the calcium that would generally toughen its shell to toughen its scales so that it can hatch fully developed. The mother will generally build small mounds around each of her eggs to prevent them from moving or accidentally chipping on a rock or anything else that could damage the offspring.
2. Hatchling stage. Iaroths hatch fully developed, with the exception of their language center and spatial reasoning, both of which can only develop correctly if the creature is raised by iaroths or by a behavioral specialist. Hatchlings are often observed segregating by gender, with female hatchlings forming small social groups and male hatchlings being very 'territorial', defending parts of the nest against each other in mock-turf wars and enlisting their sisters to play with them as pretend flock members. Females are known to engage in hoarding behaviors and occasionally-aggressive displays of dancing and leaping, which are instinctive ways of preparing for courtship and motherhood later in life. Sibling bonds are extremely strong, even stronger than the bond with the parents and sometimes even with the partner or partners.
3. Nymph stage. An iaroth nymph is equivalent to a human teenager and acts much like a hatchling, but it is much larger and more hormonal. Around this time, they begin to aggress their parents and display territorial and self-oriented rather than group-based behavior, which is dealt with while they are taught more refined skills and prepared for adult life. Both sexes will begin to display interest in the preferred type of partner around the end of this stage, and the appropriate gender-specific attribute will start to grow in. As soon as they are ready, hatchlings leave the parents' territory and settle in their own as a group or disperse depending on their relationship at the time.
4. Adulthood. Generally, regardless of if it's a loner or lives with one or more siblings, an adult iaroth is a dangerous hunter and often at first has a prolific libido. Many have offspring that they do not care for that were hatched outside of their mateship or prior to it, though culturally an adult iaroth is expected by others to express a degree of poise, class, control and ability to rule others. They greatly prize dominance, and pair bonds are organized by a sort of submissive-dominant structure as opposed to a male-female one, meaning that it's not so much whether the partner is actually of the opposite gender but whether he or she acts like the appropriate archetype for the individual. Two dominants, two submissives or one of each can form a pair bond, and it's the kind of partner preferred that's equivalent to a sexual orientation, not the partner's sex. This is generally because abandoned hatchlings can be adopted or extramarital hatchlings can always be legitimized, as well as because hermaphrodites are fairly common.
5. Old age. They form groups in old age to provide each other with support if they have no partner, kind of like an old folks' home, though the large concentration of iaroths often dies off due to prey shortages. Generally, if the pair bond has endured thus far, it's unnecessary.
BEHAVIOR
Regarding territory -
Because of the amount of food required to sustain just one iaroth and its metabolism, they are extremely territorial and solitary creatures - not to say they can't make friends, it's just that they will not accept requests from others to form 'flocks' readily. They can and must live in groups in order to hunt effectively, but these groups maintain massive territories, are usually composed of only one to four individuals (either two mated pairs or a set or more of siblings) and reject strangers. They do not readily attack, but if threatened it is their first instinct as opposed to fleeing. Group membership is not constant and can fluctuate with mateships, number of offspring etc.
Regarding hatchlings -
Because of the problem with sustaining them all, one clutch of iaroth will usually contain only one to four eggs. Excess offspring are culled or abandoned to fend for themselves. Culturally speaking, iaroth deal with this guilt with the rationale that a hatchling's life does not really begin until his, her or their first month is ended. It is only then that they are named, spoken to and bonded with. The hatchlings of an unrelated pair, if stumbled over, will be carefully considered for adoption. If unwanted, though, the iaroth or iaroths that come across them can and will often attempt to kill or eat the young ones.
Regarding cohabiting species -
As long as they are not an apex predator and the population is relatively controlled, an iaroth has no problem with another group of carnivores living in its territory. It is, however, intelligent enough to understand the threat that humans pose to it, and will naturally shy away from them and any human developments. It prefers arid or tropical climates, and will become extremely aggressive to all other creatures if its location is too humid, too cold or too close to a noticeable threat for comfort.
Regarding taming -
They can be tamed, but it is an extremely difficult and delicate process. Generally they must be hand-reared or found after being abandoned by their parents; an adult iaroth does not feel any particular compulsion to stay with a human unless this human has done it some service or is considered a 'parent' figure. Even then it's a very rare situation to see them cohabiting with people successfully.
WELL, UH, that's all, folks? c'x
Oh, vocalizations! Growls, yips, chirps, squawks, bird noises. ouo
Hisses.
And...to make one!
Use the canine model, with a long, thin muzzle and any type of ears and eyes. It should be relatively large if it's an adult, though adolescents can get away with default and hatchlings can vary in size. Colors are usually black, brown, taupe or other dark shades depending on the individual, and markings should be understated and subtle and /useful/ if they're present. If not, just use the 'scales' MM marking. ; u ;
Oh, and if you do decide to make one of these thingies, please tell me here or in-game (Akatariel, Spottedclaw or Mark15022002). I'd love to know how many of these critters there are out there. < 3
