Saurohound

The saurohound split from its ancestor. It differs from its ancestor in that it no longer lives on beaches. However, it can still breathe air quite well with its gill-pouch, and is not afraid to swim into shallow water. Like its ancestor, it migrates to maximize the amount of prey it can consume. Unlike its ancestor, it is limited to the continent of Darwin. The saurohound also differs in hunting strategy. Rather than lying in wait on the seafloor and ambushing any prey that comes by, it will chase after schools or groups of prey and pick them off. However, it still uses the element of surprise if it can. Adults reach reproductive maturity in seven years. They mate all months of the year, with a gestation period of nine months. After reaching reproductive maturity, they are able to sire or birth offspring for the remaining eleven years of their (average) lifespan. Saurohounds are divided into two breeding populations. One gives birth in the Rabid Sandstone Sea Caves, and the other in the Ferret Limestone Sea Caves. They are otherwise practically identical, and there is overlap in their feeding territories. The caves are ideal in that they are utterly devoid of predators and have little variation in temperature. (The pups are small, so they cool down faster than the adults. While not entirely endothermic, they grow faster when the water temperature isn't too cold.) Saurohounds give birth to twins and occasionally triplets. They do not exhibit parental care, but don't mind if a pup stays close for protection from predators. If the pup is nearby and a predator comes close, the adult won't act specifically to protect the pup but act only to protect itself. Rather, the pup will benefit only from its proximity to the adult.

A saurohound pup. At birth, the spines are short, blunt, and held against the body with a "net" of membrane. This lessens the likelihood of harming the mother. Pups are about 97.5 cm long at birth. At this point, they hunt frabukis, larvabacks, scuttlers, krillpedes and cavepedes in the cave. Their diet changes to progressively bigger prey as they grow. Their eyes aren't particularly useful in the caves, so it relies on its sensory tentacles. Once they reach 1.1 m, they leave the caves on brief hunting forays. (The pups from the Rabid Limestone Sea Caves hunt in the Chum Tropical Coast, while the pups from the Ferret Limestone Sea Caves hunt in the King Tropical Coast.) During these forays, saurohound pups from both breeding populations eat diamond pumpgills, onamors, floating pumpgills, and twinkiiro gilltails. Upon reaching 1.5 m, the saurohounds leave the caves permanently. Saurohound pups in the 1.1-1.5 m range may be eaten by slender scylarians. They may be eaten by slender scylarians when bigger, too, but it's less likely, and the chance drops significantly when they reach 2 m in length. Even then they may be hunted by slaesosleekuses and blueback scylarians. If a saurohound can't avoid predators entirely by sensing where they are with the sensory tentacles on its chin, it will use its great speed and ability to heat up when active in an attempt to escape. Despite the superficially ear-like fins on the head, saurohounds cannot hear. Its first pair of spines, which serves to protect it from predators when young, simply doesn't grow in proportion to the rest of the saurohound's body, so an adult saurohound has proportionally smaller "ear fins" than the young. Adults' snouts and teeth are adapted to eating fast, slippery prey, but they will also take prey that do not fit the description. They favor gregarious fauna.