Curazzope

The curazzope replaced its ancestor the curazzell. With two predators to contend with, the shantak and the snapperky, the curazzell had to adapt. Larger lungs, longer legs, reduced number of toes, and hoof-like claws help curazzopes run quickly and for long distances. When running, only the toes and, in the hind feet, a little of the skin surrounding the toes is in contact with the ground, effectively lengthening the curazzope's stride. The arrangement of bones in curazzope feet bear resemblance to the skeletal arrangement in pigs and deer. However, the curazzope leaves a unique footprint. Curazzopes specialize in greyblade leaves. With their tough, scissor-like mouths, they will snip off the sharp tips of greyblade leaves and then break off the rest of the leaf. Even with the sharp tips removed, the leaves are prone to stabbing the inside of the curazzope's mouth. The curazzope is not bothered by this, as its mouth is tough and largely insensitive to pain. (Unfortunately, this insensitivity to pain means they are oblivious to any mouth injuries, so a few curazzopes die of sepsis when wounds inside their mouths become infected.) They will also eat sunleaves and sunstalks, but as sunleaves and sunstalks are in high demand among herbivores of the area, they have little opportunity to do so. While both the poultu and the curazzope eat greyblades, they do not compete with each other because the poultu eats the spore chamber and the curazzope eats the leaves. The curazzope has a beneficial relationship with the microplaques that infest its mouth. It leaves a little saliva on the sharp leaf tips it snips off, and the detritivore microplaques in that saliva can then digest the leaf tip when it dies from lack of nutrients. If the curazzope is interrupted in its snipping, it leaves the leaf tip intact. The parasitic microplaques in the saliva can then travel down the leaf tip and through the whole leaf, living on its tissues. Incidentally, this softens the leaf, and curazzopes prefer soft leaves, encouraging them to spread more microplaques. Curazzopes lay their eggs during the winter, provided there is snow. They will lay the eggs in the snow collected by meltbowls. When the meltbowl's seal regrows, its inner chamber is warmed by the sun and the snow melts. Once there is a significant amount of liquid water in the chamber, the eggs hatch. They feed on the roots inside the bowl, snipping them off with mouths similar to the adult's. Their long-term herbivory of a particular flora's tissues blurs the division between herbivore and parasite. They emerge when they are about 20 cm or 30 cm in length, depending on how many larvae are in the meltbowl. Now capable of walking, they seek out a nearby herd of curazzopes by the social noises the herd makes. This can be the most difficult phase of their lives, as they are too short to eat fully-grown greyblades and are not cared for by the other herd members. If they can't find sunleaves, sunstalks or greyblades that are short enough for them, they starve. Males are distinguished from females by the pinkish bony nodes on their faces and the pink flap of skin hanging from their underbellies. When the flap of skin is flushed with blood during courtship displays, the flap takes on a brighter shade of pink.