River Shoveltail

The river shoveltail split from its ancestor the shoveltail. It has developed an amphibious lifestyle. It now feeds solely on the riverundi which live in colony dams in the river, marsh and lakes of Flisch. Their scooped claws now work as fins and its shovel tail as a tail fluke. This is not much of a stretch since they normally "swim" through the soil.

Their eyes and nostrils have moved up to the top of their heads so they can breathe when surfacing. Their nostrils close up watertight while their eyes are now better adapted to see underwater. The nostrils and eyes can close up when in digging mode, and thus it must take breaks to breathe before it continues.

Its nose is longer so it can reach far into the colony to pick out riverundi. They must be careful of the soldiers' sharp trunks. They have also developed a sticky tongue in which will shoot out and grab the prey from its pincer teeth. They will use their digging skills to dig into the colony dam, which can sometimes break the whole dam apart and open up the river again. However, they can get overwhelmed from their prey's sharp trunks and must retreat before getting too injured.

River shoveltail have evolved sexual dimorphism: females are slightly larger than males. They have very poor eyesight and must communicate through touch and vibration. They will use their shovel-tail to thump the ground or splash the surface of the water. Since they are deaf they cannot hear the thumps but feel the vibrations on their bodies. They sometimes use the shovel-tail for digging backwards but this proves very difficult and is mainly used for communication. Males with the louder thumps get the most females to mate with.

They will lay their eggs in home burrows which are on the river banks. Females will stay with the eggs and tend to them while the male gets food for his family. When they hatch they will raise them as well. After full grown they will join the colony digging holes and catching riverundi. There is no single leader of the colony.