Hearthead

The Hearthead split from its ancestor and became an omnivore. The Hearthead is named for its distinctive heart-shaped head—its tusks are modified into a more powerful, triangular sideways beak, creating the point, and its head is full of powerful muscles so that it may crush bone and hard flora, creating distinct bulges on either side of its head.

The Hearthead is a good sprinter, capable of chasing down small prey which it can quickly kill with its powerful beak not unlike a Terran cheetah. It will use its beak to break open the bones of its prey, giving it access to the marrow inside. Its beak also proves useful in eating crystal flora, breaking through the hard shell to access the fungal core. The inside of its mouth is lined with chitinous, troodontid-like teeth. The complex plumage on its tail and legs help to improve its running ability by allowing it to make quick turns, and it additionally uses its leg plumage to help it incubate its eggs and larvae.

In the presence of the Opportunity Shrew, which abuses sauceback echolocation to find nests to raid, the Hearthead has developed adaptations that allow it to get away with using echolocation less often while around its communal nesting grounds. The insides of its nostrils are lined with dark light-sensitive pigment, which allow it to detect light and shadow; in combination with the 3d shape of its nostrils and how many nostrils it has, this allows it to detect a blurry monochrome image so that it may navigate around obstacles and locate its babies without echolocating, as long as it is in daylight. Because of this, it is forced to be diurnal to reduce the chances of it potentially having to give away its nest location. Its nostrils have taken on keyhole shapes, which improves the detail it can see while also improving its sense of smell—not unlike a Terran dog, though simultaneously completely unlike one due to it being powered by the pressure of its jaw muscles, it can push air out the sides of its nostrils by tensing its jaw muscles so that it does not smell outdated air when it scents. It still uses echolocation while on the hunt, as the “image” it “sees” with it is much crisper than its eyesight.

Unlike its ancestor, the Hearthead is not usually a pack hunter, though individuals may group together and attempt to take down larger prey in desperate times. Still, it is a social creature, making use of communal nesting grounds with others of its social group. Its larvae are helpless, naked, and legless and must be fed regurgitated food early in their lives.