Cardicracker

When the argusraptor complex first appeared, their evolution led to the local extinction of several different species, with the Dixon Tropical Scrub and Savannah being hit hard in particular. In that region, all herbivores over a meter long were eaten into extinction, which left behind an open vacuum for species. While the ancestors of the disasterxata filled the ecological role of grazers, the role of larger browsers remained vacant. When some heartheads wandered into the region, they would fill in that particular niche since the role of predator was already taken by other species such as the argusraptors. This would lead to them rapidly increasing in size and eventually splitting off into a distinct taxon.

The cardicracker is a specialized browser, having grown over 4 times the size of its ancestor due to a lack of competition. At close to 5 meters long, the cardicracker is the largest descendant of the spotted sauceback by the late Bonoian. The much more stocky and muscular legs and the larger toe pads on each of its toes help the cardicracker support its massive size. The elongated tail serves as a good counter balance, as the cardicracker would otherwise topple over and fall flat on its face.

Their mandibles are short and blunt with minor serrations which are adapted to clip off bits of vegetation, acting similarly to a beak or the mandibles of a grasshopper. Their iguanodontid-like teeth located within their mouths help with processing the food they consume by chewing. Cardicrackers are very generalistic in what kinds of flora they consume, eating any parts of purple flora, crystal flora, and glass flora such as branches, leaves, and seeds. Being obligate herbivores, cardicrackers have an elongated "sauce" segment that contains a large gut, similarly to the double-lipped saucebacks of drake.

The cardicracker retains the same adaptations for sight as its ancestor, with the insides of its nostrils being lined with dark light-sensitive pigment, which detect light and shadow. The nostrils still remain in a keyhole shape, to improve the detail of what it can see while also improving its sense of smell compared to many other saucebacks. It still uses echolocation to navigate at night, since their large size means they’re relatively safe from the majority of their natural predators while the “image” it “sees” with it is much crisper than its eyesight in low-light environments. The feathers on their chest have increased in size and developed distinctive markings, allowing cardicrackers to identify other members of the same species as they wander around the landscape.

Cardicrackers are not very social creatures for a vast majority of the time, rarely interacting with one another as they forage though they are not territorial. The one major exception is when it comes to reproduction, where multiple cardicrackers in one area gather together to make one communal nest. Once the eggs are laid, one cardicracker will stay by the nest while the rest forage, with one returning to take the spot every 3-4 hours during the day. Due to their large size, they can’t directly lay on the nest so they simply lay beside it, adding more dirt or removing excess dirt to regulate the nest’s temperature. When night approaches, the cardicrackers stop switching, as their echolocation used to navigate the landscape at night could alert opportunity shrews of the nest’s location. The larvae of the cardicracker are helpless, naked, and legless and must be fed regurgitated food early in their lives.

While the cardicracker originally evolved in the Dixon Savanna and Dixon Tropical Scrub, they would also establish populations in the Dixon-Darwin Rocky biome due to the abundant vegetation. The species also helps spread some species of flora around through defecating their seeds. This has resulted in the cardicracker expanding the range of two flora species into new areas.


 * Robust Arid Ferine is spread into the Dixon Tropical Scrub and Dixon Savanna
 * Fruiting Grovecrystal is spread into the Dixon Tropical Scrub

In the Dixon-Darwin Rocky, however, the cardicracker is subject to bludbugs being a common pest. To try to relieve themselves of these little kruggs, cardicrackers will often rub against chameleon obsidishanks and employ the help of cleaner ukneuks.