Gulper

Gulper are an evolutionary line of long-tongued plents. They all descended from the saggulper, a moderately-sized species of plent with atrophied wings and forelegs.

All living gulpers are descended from the woollycoat. As such, living species are active bipedal endotherms which usually have fuzzy integument.

Breathing and Blood
Gulpers breathe through a posterior ventilation shaft located near their rear lovingly referred to as a "butt-nostril", which filters out carbon dioxide which they breathe in. Gulper blood is green from chlorophyll that exists within it.

Diet & Energy
Early gulpers were almost strictly carnivorous, with only a few deviations from this rule. These few-and-far-between species include the razor-tongue gulper and the  wrecking-ball gulper, both which evolved a strictly herbivorous habit. Due to the size of some species, they are classified as insectivorous as opposed to carnivorous, although this process still requires the consumption of meat. Many later gulpers evolved into omnivores, including the ankephalo gulper. The scavenger gulper is the only case of a gulper evolving specifically into a scavenger role to provide it with its main dietary needs.

Locomotion
Gulpers move about bipedally, suspended on their hind legs, while their front legs have atrophied, in most species entirely. Most evolved "wooden bones" to support their leg structure, allowing them quick movement that allowed them to become the dominant group of gulpers to have existed on Sagan IV.

Reproduction
Being plents, gulpers reproduce sexually, copulating and giving live birth through their mouths.

Types of Gulpers

 * Star-Tongues: Star-tongues are the group of gulpers that lead to all other groups of the species, having evolved directly from Saggulper, itself. They utilize a star-ended tongue to grab prey to consume.
 * Armored Gulpers: Armored gulpers are like walking tanks, covered in an armored shell that protects their back. All but one species, the  polacanthu gulper, wield a large clubbed tail which they use to bash their intended targets.
 * Hoofed Gulpers: Hoofed gulpers evolved hooves on their toes to provide stability on rockier, more uneven terrain. They also evolved spikes that grew out of the back of their domed skullcaps, and were chiefly herbivorous in dietary habits.
 * Horn Gulpers: Horn gulpers evolved to use their domed skull cap as the base of a horn core, giving them a dastardly tool to wield. They have become a burrowing group, and are one of the only groups to have survived the devastating gamma ray burst.
 * Tasertongues: Tasertongues utilize a mild shocking agent in their tongues to stun prey. Once stunned, they will kill their victims with a set of prehensile fangs.  They are one of the only groups to have survived the devastating gamma ray burst.
 * Cottoncoats have fiberous cellulose-based integument and represent the only living gulpers, as they were the only ones to survive the snowball event.