Imperial Leathershelled Tuskent

Replacing its ancestor, the imperial leathershelled tuskent has come to be the alpha predator of the Drake region. An impressibly armed and armored beast, it possesses a thick, leather-based shell on its back and head to protect it, thick skin, a layer of blubber, as well as an assortment of sharp nails, fangs, tusks, and spikes. When fully grown very few, if any, predators will dare to attempt to take down one of these majestic creatures, though while young, this is a rather different matter and has thus made these fauna highly protective parents.

Besides the obvious physical evolutionary features, they have evolved a few "unseen" ones as well. This includes the production of an enzyme in their flesh and blood that neutralizes the effects of many plent-based microbial diseases by poisoning the microbes involved, and this came about when several of its ancestors came in contact with the deadly no-snarf and managed to survive it. Another evolutionary adaption involves an enzyme that not only allows it to eat and digest the cellulosebanes more efficiently, but be able to use the toxins it has and secrete a modified version from glands located in its fang-studded jaws. Besides these, they have evolved a more efficient gut for digestion as well as a slightly larger brain.

The ratio of females to male is now 2-1, and the breeding season comes about every three years. After the males and females mate, the females will have a pregnancy of nearly fourteen months, after which they give birth to one or two infants that lack the tusks, nails, and spikes as they would otherwise cause complications in childbirth. The young stay with their mother until they are about five months old. By this time they are nearly half a meter in length and are capable of surviving on their own. Three years after that they will reach sexual maturity and be ready to mate, and will continue to live until they reach old age after about two dozen more years.

Despite their cumbersome appearance, they are capable of bursts of speed and have high traction on most surfaces due to their strong nails which constantly grow throughout their lives and are also constantly worn down. They are capable of swimming due to the lightness of their shell and ancestry, though this is not their true element and they only go into the water to hunt. Their coloration helps them to keep warm as well as making them harder to see while they hunt. A small sub-population is nocturnal, only going out at night to feed and sleeping in dens they find.

While fierce predators in life, while very young they can be quite tame and if separated from their mothers, such as them being killed, they can be quite tame. This has led to them occasionally traveling with tripodians, despite the fact that normally raised individuals would view them as prey instead of viewing them as a family pack. They will scavenge on meals with them and even protect them. While these individuals do poorer out in the wild due to lacking the skill their mothers would teach them, this unique partnership can in fact lead to them living longer lives, even if they are a bit more docile.