Mehen

On the small island of Fermi, numerous species of limblesses have managed to maintain a foothold within the polar confines of its southernmost beaches. With so much competition, both from kin and the native thornbacks, confined to such a limited region, it was inevitable that some limblesses would either have to adapt to the changing world around them or risk being driven extinct. The mehens are an example of a success story in this regard, though one that has arisen due to the exploitation of one of their cousins. Having split from their ancestors, the mehens have grown quite large due to conditions responsible for island gigantothermy. This has helped them deal with the bone-chilling cold of the polar regions, but has also given them an advantage when it comes to exploiting larger food sources found within the more temperate regions of their island home. When fully grown, a mehen has few natural predators, outside the rare confrontation with a starving shantak, due in part to their great size compared to most other species on the island, but also due to their thick skin. Young mehens, however, lack these traits entirely and thus are quite vulnerable to predation. To get around this, they have evolved to mimic the coloration and, to an extent, the shape of their smaller cousin, the lotans. Newborn mehens lack the pronounced, bony domes that adorn their heads, instead bearing naught but smooth flesh and breathing tubes in its place. To further add to the illusion, the front fangs of the mehens have also lost their already limited dimorphism in order to better resemble the jaws of lotans. While this mimicry is far from perfect, it is enough to confuse most predators at a glance, something that often gives the newborn mehens time to escape or bury themselves into the sand, thus increasing their chances of survival. As a mehen matures, it undergoes several growth spurts fueled by a diet rich in proteins. This carnivorous nature gradually fades away as they grow, as their large size makes them sluggish and thus ineffective predators. While they will still gorge on carrion, they do develop a preference for the various flora that grow upon Fermi, and their large size and powerful jaws make devouring the local purplery and such quite simple. Their equally large guts, however, are not the most efficient at breaking down flora, thus adults can be rather "gassy" as they slowly digest the food in their stomachs. The sign of adulthood in a mehen is the growth of numerous lumpy domes upon their head. These bony projections are quite dense, and serve to protect their skulls from potential head wounds. They also serve a role in their mating displays. Just like in their ancestors, they will bang their heads against solid objects in order to create a drumming beat in order to define their territories and potentially attract a mate. Should they be successful when it comes to the latter, after the resulting mating both mehens will go their separate ways. The females will eventually give birth to several dozen newborns that are little more than 10 cm long in length. These offspring are afforded no parental care, and must quickly learn to survive on their own. While few will survive into adulthood, those that do will fear little on the island, and will live generally peaceful lives.