Fuzzy Rainbowtail
| Fuzzy Rainbowtail | ||
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| (Testudoraptor villosus) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | OviraptorFan Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | Drake Steppe, Drake Prairie, Drake Highvelt, Drake Rocky | |
| Size | 2.5 meters long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Endoskeleton (Bone) | |
| Diet | Carnivore (Steppe Lizalope, Turquoise-Helmed Lizalope, Dracalope, Lumbering Pasakerd, Marmokerd, Russet-Ridged Pasakerd juveniles and subadults, Lipped Sauceback, Running Secretmaw, Double-Lipped Sauceback juveniles and subadults, Loafpick, Pinyuk, Dwarf Pinyuk, Tree Pinyuk, Shaggy Glasseater, Quilled Pinyuk, Strider Fuzzcoat, Tuskcoat, Fuzzcoat, Taserflame, Blowtongue, Tolatongue, Fuscious Rombler, Gutsy Phlyer, Clattered Oothecae, Lizalagarto, Sowshrog (lone individuals), Sprinting Bubbleskin, Spotted Drakeflune, Feral Tuskent, Ringtail Loafshell, Killcoat, Drake Bubbleskin (occasionally), Purotora (occasionally), Chupamusaraña (juveniles and unhealthy adults occasionally), Bannertail (lone individuals occasionally), Drakeshrog (lone individuals occasionally), Polar Baron (juveniles occasionally), Wolvershrog (cubs and unhealthy adults occasionally), Immense Flunejaw (juveniles occasionally)), Scavenger | |
| Respiration | Active (Lungs) | |
| Thermoregulation | Endotherm (Threadbare Scales) | |
| Reproduction | Sexual (Two Sexes, Ovoviviparous) | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Phylum Superclass Clade Class Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Carpozoa Spondylozoa Anisoscelida Tetrapodes Saurochelones (info) Refulgisauria Pharocaudidae Testudoraptor Testudoraptor villosus | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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As the continent of Drake got cooler and cooler, open country became more widespread. This general change better suited some taxa more than others, with a notable group with great success being the herbivorous lizardworms. With a high abundance of prey, more open territory, and a need to deal with the cold, the racing rainbowtail would respond to the changes by evolving into the fuzzy rainbowtail which in turn replaced their ancestor.
The greatest difference between the fuzzy rainbowtail and their direct ancestor is in their integument, as most of the scales covering the body have become frayed, fibery edges called threadbare scales. These filaments help trap air against the body, helping to keep the snappers warm and thus allowing them to remain active year-round, coinciding with the species becoming fully endothermic. The species has also grown slightly larger than their ancestor, allowing the fuzzy rainbowtail to both better retain heat and to also tackle a wider range of game. Indeed, the bulk of a fuzzy rainbowtail's diet consists of lizardworms, saucebacks, and dwellers who are all pretty prominent groups in these habitats.
Fuzzy rainbowtails are still social creatures and work together to hunt prey, having diversified their tactics to hunt a wider range of game. For fast running prey, they rely on the old tactic of either running prey into exhaustion or some individuals chasing targets into other members of the pack lying in wait. The long legs continue to help with this by providing a larger stride, and the armor on their back has reduced even further to weigh them down less during a chase. When it comes to tackling larger prey or game that prefers to stand their ground and fight, however, the pack does something different. For this kind of prey, fuzzy rainbowtails will try to separate a target from whatever social group it might be in if it's in one, before then surrounding it at all sides. From there, individuals will try to get the attention of the target, doing fake lunges to lure it into trying to strike back, giving other members of the pack the opportunity to nip or scratch at the legs and hindquarters before retreating. These kinds of fights can be quite long and brutal, with the victim eventually collapsing from exhaustion and blood loss while the pack begins to feast. A minor variation of this tactic is the pack trying to take a youngster being protected by an aggressive parent, trying to lure the parent into lunging at one individual so others can try to get the baby.
This particular tactic is often employed against fellow predators, as fuzzy rainbowtails will confront competitors quite aggressively and try to eliminate them when they can. Indeed, it was this aggressive way of dealing with competition combined with the competitor being poorly suited for the generally cooling climate that led to the fuzzy rainbowtail outcompeting the fluneriga in any places the two species overlapped.
While the fuzzy rainbowtail is very aggressive to competitors and pretty brutal to prey, this is absolutely not the case for intraspecific interactions. Much like their ancestors, fuzzy rainbowtails are highly social creatures with pack life additionally being a critical part of rearing the young. These packs still typically consist of three mating pairs and their young, though they can be larger depending on food availability. This social life comes into play once a female breeds, as like their ancestor she retains the eggs inside her for about 2 months which limits her hunting prowess. Due to living in these fairly large packs, a pregnant female can rely upon her mate and other members of the pack assisting with prey capture, with the group often shifting their focus on less dangerous prey to reduce the risk of the female getting injured.
Once it's time, the mother will give birth to 4-6 baby fuzzy rainbowtails who look almost identical to the young of their ancestors except being covered in a coat of threadbare scales. They still process various features like a blunter beak, under-developed armor, and small teeth which all make the birthing process less painful for the mother. Since this still means they can't hunt prey and survive on their own, one pair of adults will guard the young while the rest of the pack will hunt more prey than normal to feed the youngsters. If prey is plentiful, all juveniles in the pack are cared for, but during times of hardship, the dominant pair will kill the offspring of the other mated pairs in the pack before feeding them to their own young to make sure at least they get enough food to survive. In the same vein, they are highly territorial during times when food is scarce, with competition between both other fuzzy rainbowtail packs and other kinds of carnivores spiking during this time. Once the young grow in their teeth and the hook on their beak becomes larger, the pack can begin to take them on hunts, though they will primarily hunt small game early on to minimize the risk of the young being killed.
Just like their ancestors, the fuzzy rainbowtail uses their tail lights for communication and have specific meanings for each color they can use, utilizing the same exact system as well. Each of their colors is described below.
- Red=aggression
- Blue=submission
- Green=greetings
- Purple=affection
- Yellow=guidance(mainly used for youngsters to follow their mothers)
- Orange=dominance/intimidation
- White=alarm signal
- Rapidly flashing all colors at once one after the other=mating display
Once the youngsters reach sexual maturity, they are old enough to fend for themselves and are kicked out of the pack to live on their own. Females often go alone for a while until they find a mate while a group of male fuzzy rainbowtails that come from the same pack will stick together until they pair off with unrelated females. On certain occasions, however, fuzzy rainbowtails that are brothers form a strong enough bond that they may stick together, even when one of them pairs up with a female. In these circumstances, the brother(s) will assist the mated pair with the care of the pair's offspring as if they were their own.