Great Ruddy Pinyuk
| Great Ruddy Pinyuk | ||
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| (Tympaniyakus rhodopellis) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | OviraptorFan Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | Fermi Marsh, Fermi Mudflat, Fermi Temperate Woodlands | |
| Size | 1.4 meters long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Endoskeleton (Hollow Bone) | |
| Diet | Herbivore (Crowned Baebula, Fermi Fuzzweed, Tetracone Puffgrass, Papisjorn fruit, Pioneeroots, Marbleflora, Sunstalks, Sapshrooms, Supershrooms, Yanisflora) | |
| Respiration | Active (Lungs) | |
| Thermoregulation | Endotherm (Feathers) | |
| Reproduction | Sexual (Male and Female, Hard-Shelled Eggs) | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Phylum Superclass Clade Class Subclass Order Suborder Family Subfamily Genus Species | Eukaryota Carpozoa Spondylozoa Anisoscelida Pentapodes Caudapodia Eucaudapodia Lophocula Aurocula Pennigeribovidae Tympanoyakinae Tympaniyakus Tympaniyakus rhodopellis | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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When hang-gliding pinyuks ended up along the north eastern coasts of Fermi, some of them would begin to move inland. In this part of the continent, the ecosystems were noticeably underdeveloped, with the only notable herbivore present being the fairly small kanecevtak. With so little competition in the area and no predators at all, these vagrant groups of pinyuk would rapidly grow in size until they split off into their own unique taxon.
Known as the great ruddy pinyuk, this species of dweller has grown to be quadruple the size of their ancestor, which despite their hollow bones made them too heavy to soar like their ancestors. As such, the once gigantic flank feathers used to catch the wind have shrunk down so they do not get in the way as the herbivores forage for food. The larger size came with a few benefits despite this one drawback, with one of these being that a larger size meant more room for a larger gut. The larger gut in turn allows the great ruddy pinyuk to better extract energy from the leaves and stems from the various varieties of flora it eats. The larger size also made the great ruddy pinyuk way too big for the teacup saucebacks, the largest local predators that hunt terrestrial prey, to ever dream of attacking. These saucebacks do provide a threat to the young, however, so the great ruddy pinyuk still possesses camouflage patterns with local flora to avoid being spotted when young that are then simply retained through adulthood. As they grow, however, male great ruddy pinyuks will grow in bright yellow streaks along their face and a vibrant orange mohawk as a sign of fitness.
Much like their ancestor, the great ruddy pinyuk has their hind limbs present on their midsection rather than at their very rear. While ancestrally useful for soaring high up in the air, it now more helps with distributing its overall weight which in turn helps with the dweller's larger size. Similarly to their ancestors, great ruddy pinyuks can occasionally have the "hexapod" mutation, where the tail limb branches at the base and not be automatically crippled. Additionally, the lack of larger predators and the fact the species does not really climb trees anymore in the area means that a fairly decent portion of these mutants do survive to adulthood, though it only makes up about as much as 5% of the whole population at one time.
Another couple adaptations retained from their ancestor was the ears being fully disconnected from their eyes and the absence of cartilage "ribbing" which crossed the tympanum. This gives the species a great sense of hearing, which is primarily utilized for communication since the species does still travel in small groups of 10-20 individuals. Communication among the species is often exhibited through various kinds of snorts, grumbles and honks.
The vibrant patterns as well as the whole mohawk seen exclusively in the males are present entirely for their ritualistic displays. Specifically, males gather together in decently sized leks around late winter to show off their mohawks and cheek streaks in somewhat elegant dances, though they will also fight amongst one another using their lower tusks to bite each other. The males who can fight off their opponents while also providing the most dazzling displays will get the chance to mate with multiple females at once since great ruddy pinyuks are still polygamous. Males will still mate with the females diagonally while resting a hindlimb on her back so it doesn't get in his way. After that, the female will depart and begin to make a small ditch to lay her 16-24 eggs in.
Females will often nest in mono-sex groups distinct from the mixed herds they normally travel in, since males take no part in rearing the young and in turn form their own mono-sex herds during this time frame. The communal nesting is because when a female goes off to forage for food, other females can keep watch for nest raiders like teacup saucebacks and minikruggs and actively defend them, with the expectation that the female whose eggs they are guarding will guard their own eggs when they must forage for food themselves. Like their ancestors, female great ruddy pinyuks still sit on their nests and use their feathers to help keep them warm. Though some of the eggs do usually get eaten, the fact the females heavily care for them ensures a good portion of them make it to hatching. Even after this the young are still vulnerable to attack from teacup saucebacks, so they are still actively cared for by their mother for a couple months. If her young are attacked, the mother will defend them by either biting the shrewback or kicking it with her hoofed limbs. After several months have passed, male great ruddy pinyuks will leave the herd to join other herds while females will remain in the herd.