Before reading any further, please be aware that you must ask me personally before having a character of this species, I would like to know if your character follows the standards and traditions as well, I will currently be very accepting with allowing people have characters of this species, but as I said, please ask before having a character of the species, and remember that I have copyrighted the species as it's a part of one of my own groups, which has been copyrighted since july 2016. Any unique parts of the species to be completely mine and must be given permission by me personally to use in your own species, I have the right to ask you to change or remove parts of your species that have been created since August of 2016 as of when I first posted the species on a copyrighted site of my own, however some features I will be fine with as many people use them, i'm more worried about the more unique features of this species, such as the retractable claws and squirrel-like tail, if you have any questions please ask me. If you get permission to use anything, please credit me unless I otherwise ask you not to for some reason or another. I would like to be informed if someone is using my own ideas in their species and doesn't seem to have permission.
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Updates:
first update: Changed size of both genders and added a feature to the eyes allowing these characters to see in more color than regular wolves would.
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Chrysós wolves are of greek origin, coming from the Vermio mountain range originally, however have recently spread to many different areas, thus their existence in feral-heart.
Males of this species have long manes around their neck, similar to that of a lion's. They stand around 51 inches at the shoulder, and 71 inches from head to the base of the tail. A male's tail length will be around 35 inches from base to tip. The average male of this species usually weighs around 135 pounds, however some will weigh more or less in extreme conditions, why they weigh so much is due to size and muscle, rather than eating habits. Males are very muscular and quite strong when it comes to hunting and fighting, however they greatly lack in speed and agility due to this. Males have sharp retractable claws on their hind legs only, used for defense and tearing into flesh.
Females of the species have tufts of fur at their ears, very similar to a lynx's ears, as well as tufts of fur on their forearms and back legs from the foot/paw to ankle/elbow. Females are usually smaller than males, 48 inches at the shoulder, 68 inches from head to base of tail, tail length around 33 inches from base to tip. Females generally weigh around 105 pounds, however can weigh more or less during extreme conditions. Females are usually very thin, not muscular like a male would be, they lack in strength but have great speed and agility, endurance. Females in a pack will usually be the ones to hunt, as they have claws which would be retractable, as a cat's would be, and are very sharp. Females usually use their front claws to hunt and tear things apart, and back claws for defense. Females can have up to 6 litters in a lifetime, with around 8 to 15 pups in a litter, usually only 2-8 pups will live to be an adult, though.
All wolves of the species have similar tails to a squirrel, the tail will be straight when a wolf stands, however when they sit or lay down, the tail will curl up towards their back in the shape of a squirrel's tail, and will flick in the same motion every once and awhile. When a Chrysós wolf is in any sort of battle, fight, or exciting moment such as running or feeling exciting emotions, the same will happen with their tail, whether they are sitting or not. All wolves of this species will have large ears, muzzles, and eyes. This gives great eyesight and fighting abilities, as their teeth will also be larger, as it is extremely common for these wolves to be born deaf, the few that aren't also have great hearing abilities. The canine teeth/fangs can reach up to 7 inches in length, all other teeth about 4 inches longer than that of a regular wolf's. A Chrysós wolf can live up to 28 years if kept healthy enough, however most die in between the ages of 8 and 14, and begin to get weaker as an elder at 10, where they would usually retire if in a pack. Chrysós wolves are generally very social, and will mostly live in packs of containing mostly females, pups, and one male to rule over. Due to a female's front claws, they're usually the only ones that hunt, however males will join in on occasion if there's anyone keeping watch over the pups.
One wolf in a pack would usually be chosen to watch up to 5 pups at once while others hunt. When it comes to packs, it's very rare to find a Chrysós wolf by themselves as a loner or in a pack containing more species/subspecies than Chrysós wolves, it's also rare to find these wolves in packs that contain more than one adult male. Chrysós wolves can see any color that a human might see, as regular wolves or dogs may only see shades of blue, violet, yellow, and only a few shades of grey.
During summer, the wolves will shed their fur to have a very thin coat, they will gradually gain more fur as the seasons pass by until winter arrives. During winter, the fur will fluff out and have a "poofy" look to it, which it will then stop growing.
Pups are usually born during winter, born with white coats and pink noses, they will all look alike except for in size. Pups aren't named until they're around 2-3 months old, which is when their pelt will begin to show their actual colors. Colors can vary greatly, however it's impossible to find a bright or neon Chrysós wolf, as they have mostly dark or medium shades of color. All Chrysós wolves have some form of heterochromia, meaning one eye might be a different color than the other or both eyes have more than one color, etc.
It's common to find melanism, albinism, dwarfism, blind, or deaf Chrysós wolves as well as wolves with hip dysplasia or missing limbs upon birth, however a majority of pups born will still be completely healthy, aside from the fact that most are born deaf.
-ahh sorry for such a long post;-; it must be a pain to read through and grasp it all at once-
