Little Manjack

The little manjack split from its ancestor and adapted for a more open environment. Standing upright on its long hind legs, it is able to see over the ground cover to scan its surroundings for predator and prey alike. Continuing its ancestor’s existing bipedal adaptations, in fact, it is almost completely bipedal, staying standing much of the time and even chasing down prey on two legs. With the short length of its tail, it assumes an upright stance by default, causing it to take on a humanoid shape. From a distance, it might look like a little man, hence its name.

The little manjack, though still mostly a generalist, uses its speed and height to chase and catch wingworms and other small winged creatures, which might be more successful at eluding its more quadrupedal ancestor. In addition to catching food in its mouth, it is also able to leap into the air after prey that has flown too high and clap it with its forepaws. Though a great leaper, it is not well-suited to prolonged hopping due to its upright stature. To support the shift to a more cursorial mode of life and to better adapt for burrowing, it has lost many of its spikes, apart from some around its neck, shoulders, and tail, though they are largely hidden in fur. It will still eat smaller flightless prey such as vermees when available.

The little manjack’s burrow suits its unique body shape. The entrance is vertical and deeper than the creature is tall. When fleeting from a predator, the little manjack leaps directly into its burrow feet-first, vanishing underground almost cartoonishly. It then quickly scuttles backwards into a side tunnel, ensuring that the predator cannot just reach in and pull it out. The interior of the burrow is relatively tall and narrow, better resembling a corridor or a mineshaft particularly with all the twigs, cut with its small blade-like tail, which are bent into arches along the walls and ceiling that fortify it against collapse. Clearly, the little manjack still retains some of the nest-making instincts of its seafaring ancestors, though with its small brain its lineage will likely never build a boat again.

Much like its ancestor, the little manjack is placental and gives birth to relatively developed young, unlike most shrews which have small, fetal pouch young. It gestates for about 50 days and the newborns are naked, blind, and helpless. The little manjack’s teats are on its belly and hidden by what remains of its ancestral pouch when not in use. To feed its babies, it crouches over them and retracts the pouch, exposing its teats so that they may nurse. In a matter of weeks, the babies are weaned and learn how to walk upright on their long legs. They follow their mother around while she is out foraging and learn to hunt for wingworms and other small flying creatures. They reach maturity in about 4 months. The little manjack has no breeding season, and a single female may give birth to many litters with different fathers throughout the year.