Thornback

The thornback split from its ancestor and colonized the beaches of Fermi. They have developed a symbiotic relationship with a species of cryobowl in which they lay their eggs. The bowls provide a habitat in which the young can grow in safety and in return they are not eaten by the adults. Although the diet is primarily herbivorous cloudswarmer larva are often eaten by mistake while they are grazing on cryobowls. The young feed mostly on epiphytes living within their host bowl though consumption of cloudswarmer larva is not unheard of. The elaborate protection of the tileback is gone, being no longer needed in an environment without predators. The vestigial shoulder horns give the species its name and are used in sexual display. The wattle is gone, replaced by a skin patch in order to reduce heat loss.