Thumbwalker

The thumbwalker has split from its ancestor and now lives exclusively within the colony stalk colonies. Inside the colony they clean potentially harmful parasites and grazers off the stalks. Their forelimbs have been modified to grasp the stalks, allowing them to partially climb and reach pray near the top. In order to deal with he irritants released by the defense phytids they have evolved nostril sphincters to keep their airways clear and translucent eyelids so they can see, albeit poorly, with their eyes closed (as pictured). The advantage of living in the colony stalk colonies is that, while not perfectly safe, they are not easy prey for Shantaks.

The heavily modified hand deserve special mention. The outer toe has rotated almost 90 degrees and now closes inwards to grasp flora stalks. Meanwhile the inner toe has evolved into a hoof that can be folded upwards while the outer toe is grasping. This odd arrangement gives them equal proficiency at walking and climbing.