Boreal Tailhopper

The boreal tailhopper split from its ancestor, the tailhopping sawclaw. It has moved to the Boreal region where there were no detivores yet. It has gotten even smaller and scavenges around eating anything from dead flora to dead fauna. It now has darker colorings to blend in with the black flora. Like its ancestor it communicates with small chirps it can hear with its "ear-nostrils". It can make small clicks and see in the dark of night. While the backplates are no longer used for communication they can still changed colors in order to blend in with its environment or flash colors to scare predators when they try to attack them. Their jaws and neck muscles are incredibly strong. This helps when biting bones or tough flora fibers. In order to protect their young they dig their nests under the ground and lay their eggs there. During the winter they hibernate in these sleeping nests since they cannot survive outside in the cold. When the eggs hatch they will protect and raise the chicks. Females stay with the herd while feeding but aside from the alpha male the males will go off and live a solitary life. Each spring males challenge the alpha male for his "harem" of females. They will fight using their teeth and claws; this can sometimes be fatal since their claws and teeth are so sharp. The winner gets the females. Males are typically larger and have larger claws and teeth for fighting. Both have the same colorings.