Lotan

On the island of Fermi, various species of limblesses have managed to maintain footholds within the chilling confines of its polar beaches. With so much competition located within such a limited region, combined with the harsh climate of the area, it was inevitable that some limblesses would either have to adapt or risk going extinct. The lotans are an example of a success story in this regard. Having split from their ancestors, not only have they managed to carve out a new niche for themselves upon the polar shores of their island home, but they have gone so far to spread further beyond their ancient territories and have even gained ground within the interior of the landmass. Compared to their ancestors, lotans bear a darker color scheme to not only better blend in with the black sand and soil of the regions they inhabit, but also to help them to stay warm as their coloration is better at absorbing heat. They still maintain splashes of color and various patterns upon their hides, which helps to warn would-be predators that the lotans possess a second defense beyond the thin, easily broken-off spines that adorn their skin, their nasty bite, or a threatening swing of their thagomizers. Lotan flesh is toxic, though they themselves do not naturally produce it, and in fact young lotans lack it entirely. They gain their toxins from their diet, as juveniles will gorge themselves on a diet rich with toxin-laden minikruggs who, in turn, gained their toxins from their own diets of toxin-laden flora such as the various species of toxiglobes and the like. This chain of poison helps to protect the adult lotans, as the toxins that lace their flesh and spines make them nearly inedible to most other species, and will last them for the rest of their lives, which are typically in-between three and four years should they not succumb to injury or starvation. The fangs of the lotan have lost the dimorphic nature of their ancestors, wherein one was notably larger than the other, even if it was already limited within ringtail limblesses. This came about due to a lack of selection for the trait, as well as due to their change in diets. With a gradual switch from larger prey to smaller species, as well as the inclusion of much more fruit in their diets, smaller fangs were selected for and thus became the norm within the species, much like it once was countless generations before. Reproduction is not that different from other limblesses, though some changes in parenting has occurred. Two individuals will meet up, and should conditions be right - both adults are healthy, well-fed, etc... - they will go on to copulate. Once mating is done, they will work together to dig out a burrow so that they can raise their young within it. With up to three dozen young born at only around 3 to 4 cm in length, both parents will work to protect them, with each partner taking turns to hunt and gather food for both themselves and one another. Once the young are large enough, at around 10 cm at around 1 month, the parents will go their separate ways and leave them to fend for themselves. While not all will survive into adulthood, those that do will have no natural predators to threaten them.