Cryptic Hornface

One of the two big weaknesses of the Scrubland Hornface was their extremely long and thin “tail-nostril” which a predator could grab onto. The other was their green coloration, which had them stick out like a sore thumb in open habitats. This quickly led to the species declining rapidly once the Argusraptor Complex evolved and ate them into extinction within areas where they shared the same range. To survive, one lineage of Scrubland Hornfaces would begin to live in dense forests, where they do not stick out as much as they do in open habitats. Overtime, this lineage would adapt further to living in forests and eventually become the Cryptic Hornface.

The Cryptic Hornface is very distinct from its ancestor in several ways, such as being smaller to better move around the dense forests without getting stuck on foliage. They also have much better vision, allowing them to better navigate around in the habitats they inhabit which are usually very dark due to the several species of Obsiditree that make up the canopy in the region. In these dark conditions, they have developed cryptic patterns of browns, purples, and dark blues to better hide from predators. The purple and dark blue patterns are due to the presence of abundant amounts of anthocyanin in their skin.

The Cryptic Hornface is much less social than its ancestors or relatives, living typically in groups of 5 to 15 individuals and hardly ever honking with their “tail-nostril”. To keep track of one another while also watching out for predators, they instead rely on their sharp vision and good sense of hearing while foraging for food. Speak of foraging, the Cryptic Hornface is much more generalistic than its ancestor or relatives, feeding on a variety of fruit and low-growing vegetation within the rainforests and woodlands the species inhabits.

If an individual spots danger, they will let out a loud honking sound from their “tail-nostril” which then alerts the rest of the group. As their horns are not really adapted for defending themselves against predators combined with their smaller size, the herd’s instinct regarding predators is to flee and rely on their camouflage to lose their pursuer.

Much like their ancestor, juvenile Cryptic Hornfaces lack horns and thus need to rely on the herd for protection. Females also have relatively small horns, as they do not serve much of a purpose and are more a hindrance in the dense foliage than anything else. Males on the other hand have very large horns on the top of their head which are mostly for display. The herd consists of a single alpha male guarding several females and their offspring. Any males that want breeding rights over the herd will have to challenge him, which they do by dancing around each other while showing their horns until one individual backs down. It’s usually the males with the largest horns that get to mate with the females.

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Coloring by.