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Curazzope: Difference between revisions
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The '''curazzope''' replaced its ancestor the [[curazzell]]. With two predators to contend with, the [[shantak]] and the [[snapperky]], the curazzell had to adapt. Larger lungs, longer legs, reduced number of toes, and hoof-like claws help curazzopes run quickly and for long distances. When running, only the toes and, in the hind feet, a little of the skin surrounding the toes is in contact with the ground, effectively lengthening the curazzope's stride.
The arrangement of bones in curazzope feet bear resemblance to the skeletal arrangement in pigs and deer. However, the curazzope leaves a unique footprint.
Curazzopes specialize in [[Greyblades|greyblade]] leaves. With their tough, scissor-like mouths, they will snip off the sharp tips of greyblade leaves and then break off the rest of the leaf. Even with the sharp tips removed, the leaves are prone to stabbing the inside of the curazzope's mouth. The curazzope is not bothered by this, as its mouth is tough and largely insensitive to pain. (Unfortunately, this insensitivity to pain means they are oblivious to any mouth injuries, so a few curazzopes die of sepsis when wounds inside their mouths become infected.) They will also eat [[Sunleaf|sunleaves]] and [[sunstalks]], but as sunleaves and sunstalks are in high demand among herbivores of the area, they have little opportunity to do so. While both the [[poultu]] and the curazzope eat greyblades, they do not compete with each other because the poultu eats the spore chamber and the curazzope eats the leaves.
The curazzope has a beneficial relationship with the [[microplaques]] that infest its mouth. It leaves a little saliva on the sharp leaf tips it snips off, and the detritivore microplaques in that saliva can then digest the leaf tip when it dies from lack of nutrients. If the curazzope is interrupted in its snipping, it leaves the leaf tip intact. The parasitic microplaques in the saliva can then travel down the leaf tip and through the whole leaf, living on its tissues. Incidentally, this softens the leaf, and curazzopes prefer soft leaves, encouraging them to spread more microplaques.
Curazzopes lay their eggs during the winter, provided there is snow. They will lay the eggs in the snow collected by
They emerge when they are about 20 cm or 30 cm in length, depending on how many larvae are in the meltbowl. Now capable of walking, they seek out a nearby herd of curazzopes by the social noises the herd makes.
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