Haglox

The haglox split from its ancestor and grew to immense proportions thanks to island gigantism; the haglox has also evolved in ways that make it quite different from its ancestor. One such way is that its carapace has evolved into a hump-like shape that can hold more muscle, which helps further support its body. The second feature it has evolved is an internal one, said feature is that its skeleton is now composed of a combination of chitin and calcium-carbonate, which supports the haglox's massive body even more. The third way it has evolved is that it has a long tongue that allows it to pull food into its mouth. The fourth feature that it has evolved are its padded feet that support its weight better than its ancestor's hooves did. The fifth feature that it has evolved is its unusual life cycle. It starts out as a larva that feeds off of carcasses and kills and eats its weaker siblings; after about 3 weeks of carnage, they become their juvenile forms, which look similar to their adult forms, except with smaller tusks and a smaller hump-shell. As they grow, they consume more plant material until they are full-fledged adults that are strictly herbivorous. However, its most unusual feature that it evolved is its primitive jaw that is capable of up-and-down movement. This jaw allows for breaking up food into smaller chunks that are easier to digest. However, the haglox's jaw is still primitive and lacks teeth, which means that it consumes stones to further grind up its food. The lower jaw also holds its tusks that are used during fights to claim mates. The haglox is a solitary creature that only gathers in groups to mate with one another. Fights are often brutal and can end up with some of the competitors dying from their wounds. After mating, the males leave to continue their mating rituals and the females lay their eggs near carcasses, often being those of loser hagloxes. Once the larvae hatch, they proceed with the vicious beginning of their life cycle until there is only one or two left to grow into juveniles. After some period of raising the young, the nearly full-grown haglox leaves its mother and fends for itself, continuing its life cycle. The haglox is also known for germinating the seeds of the gecoba tree and it is highly important for increasing the range of these plants. It does this by devouring the gecoba fruit, the seed ends up unharmed, then defecated out by traveling hagloxes, and finally sprouting from the fertilizing feces at a faster rate than a gecoba seed that was not swallowed by a haglox.