Stiltstrider

The striltstrider replaced its ancestor the poultu. Due to predation and island gigantism it has grown to a huge size—so much so it towers over all other fauna, including predators. It has specialized in eating the spinetower which is the same size. Due to this huge size they must continually eat. They have learned how to "de-thorn" spinetowers so they can devour the entire trunk. They de-thorn either by plucking off the spines one by one with their mouth or by smacking their stilt-legs against the side and breaking them off. Their most noticeable adaptation is their modified "stilt-legs": While not real legs they act as front legs. When walking they have a long striding gait. Their back limbs are much smaller and now have hooves to help when running. Their real front legs are now used mainly to hold the single egg they lay. Unlike their ancestor they now lay hard shelled eggs which can keep in the moisture and can be carried with the parent. When laid the male will pick up the egg in its mouth and hand it to the female. These large eggs allow the embryo to mature more, growing past the larva stage before it hatches. When the baby hatches they are like miniature adults and can tag along with the herd. They must grow extremely fast or risk getting picked off by predators. However once grown to around 3 meters tall they can fend off most predators. Their eyes have also undergone a new adaption: Rather than fixed protrusions from the skull they now form movable ear-like stalks each with a single eye on it. Around the eye are chromophore pigments much like other carpozoa have. Rather than signaling with a dewlap they now signal with their eye stalks. Each can change colors independently and even swivel or cover up against the skull. This not only allows them to communicate in a much more complex language but also can protect their eyes from sand during sandstorms. Since the eyes can swivel they can face them in all directions to look out for predators. This is especially important when they are juveniles. Their hides are also a bit thicker, especially on their backs. This helps them lose less water and survive bites and scratches from predators better. If predators get too close they can use their stilts to kick them. However after a certain size they are too intimidating to most predators. They are vulnerable if they fall over and most of the time need help from the herd to get back up. Some extremely large members never make it back up after they fall over.