Rosy Cornizope

While the first herbivores to settle the inland areas of Fermi were the ancestors of the Fermi Giant Leafkutter, it would not be long before larger creatures would take advantage of the abundant resources. This took the form of some Curazzopes adapting to live in these areas and splitting off into a new taxon of their own right. Known as the Rosy Cornizope, this new species has quickly taken up the mantle of fairly large herbivores within the inland areas of Fermi.

Their ancestor’s adaptations to feed upon Greyblades translated well into the Rosy Cornizopes feeding on the equally spiny Fermiblades alongside other kinds of foliage in the area. Their mouths have a sharpened edge, which makes them well suited for snipping off foliage which then gets ground into a mushy pulp by the back teeth. The mouths are still tough and relatively insensitive to pain, helping them deal with the sharp edges seen in some species of flora they consume. The relationship with microplaques is still present within Rosy Cornizopes, breaking down bits of leaves that get stuck in the thornback’s mouth and covered in saliva. The act of decomposition makes the leaves softer, making them easier to process.

The Rosy Cornizope still has adaptations for a cursorial lifestyle, with large lungs to take in as much air as possible, and long legs with two hoof-like toes that are designed for covering large amounts of ground in a single stride. These adaptations help the Rosy Cornizopes with covering large amounts of ground, as they are always on the move and certain populations are migratory. It also allows them to flee from wildfires, since they occur fairly frequently in the summer months on Fermi.

Although its ancestors already had sexual dimorphism, Rosy Cornizopes take this to a whole different level. Females have underdeveloped crests and shoulder spikes as well as relatively dull coloration, a feature that is also shared with immature males. The only visible defining difference early on between the two sexes is the flap of skin on the male’s underbelly, though this changes as they reach sexual maturity. At that stage in their lives, their crests and shoulder spikes grow in size and bright colors appear on the face and neck. These bright colors indicate a male’s fitness to potential mates, with mature males forming large leks around late spring to early summer and showing off their impressive colors while also using their large throat sacs to create various sounds. Ranging from croaks to peeps to even full bellows, these sounds are not directly heard by female Rosy Cornizopes due to the fact the species lacks ears, but instead they detect the vibrations through the ground. The stronger the vibrations and the more colorful the displays, the more likely a female will mate with the specific male. Both sexes also create various low frequency sounds outside of the breeding season to keep in touch with other members of the herd.

Unlike their ancestors, female Rosy Cornizopes do not lay frog-like eggs into Meltbowls as this limited the development of the young and left them vulnerable to predation from things like Teacup Saucebacks. Instead, Rosy Cornizopes will retain the eggs within their bodies and have the young develop internally. This does mean they can only have two or three young at a time, but the young can be born well developed with no tadpole stage at all. Since these young are still vulnerable to Teacup Saucebacks early on and Rosy Cornizopes do not have as much offspring at one time compared to their ancestors, female Rosy Cornizopes will actively care for their young. Granted, it's only fending off attackers for the first two to three weeks and nothing more, but this change in behavior further increases the chance that the young will live long enough to where they can fend for themselves.