Slurpabill

The slurpabill split from their ancestor when some billdeka groups tried to live within the Fermi Desert, avoiding competition from species like the whiskerback by becoming giants. This left them more vulnerable to predators, so they ended up evolving a variety of defenses to survive.

The slurpabill spends its time digging up the roots of flora such as purple flora and melanophytes with its horny bill. The lower jaw has also developed a hornlike tip to help the upper jaw grind up its food while the teeth in the back do relatively minimal chewing. The upper bill is still constantly growing as it experiences a lot of wear and tear from digging. While the roots of flora do make up a large portion of their diet, the populations of slurpabill on the Fermi Temperate Beach will also supplement their diet with fruits and berries when the opportunity presents itself. While phytids are still irritating for the slurpabill, their large size means they can usually take the spores long enough to rip out a piece and retreat to eat said piece from a safe distance.

The ancestral thorns of the billdeka have become large osteoderms all over the slurpabill’s body, which give it good protection against attackers. If something like a shantak or a snapperky persists, the slurpabill will use its mace-like tail to smack the threat. The large, sharp osteoderms on the tail deal a lot of blunt-force damage and puncture the skin and thus can be quite painful for whatever gets smacked by it. While the beak of the slurpabill is primarily used for digging and feeding, it can also be used as an offensive weapon and deal a rather nasty bite. With all of these defensive adaptations, slurpabills are often pretty safe from threats when fully grown. While the color-changing skin patches on their cheeks are usually green, the slurpabill can change them to more vibrant colors like red or pink as a visual warning to threats.

Unlike their ancestors, the slurpabill no longer spawns and instead lays soft-shelled eggs. While this meant the eggs don’t need to be laid into water or cryobowls, they would still desiccate within the desert heat. Because of this, slurpabills will dig out a burrow to lay their eggs. Then, the female will seal herself within the burrow and go into a state of torpor. By sealing the eggs in, they are kept cool and moist which allows them to develop. Once the eggs hatch and the young begin to crawl about, the mother will wake up and dig her way out of the burrow with the youngsters following her. If, for some reason, the mother does not dig herself out the youngsters are capable of digging themselves out but the chances of them suffocating become higher. Once the young are out in the world, they are on their own.