Ophan Scimitar
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The Ophan Scimitar has split from its ancestor, simultaneously adapting to the presence of their cousins in the Argusraptor Complex with whom they share much of their habitats as threats, rivals and models of mimicry.Their plating has expanded along the vertebrae of the proboscises and have grown sharper edges, making them a very painful meal prone to injure any would be attacker. They have grown in both size and relative weight, with a more rounded and thicker physique, inspiring their rounded name. They are not as fast as their ancestors, but what they lack in speed they add in brawn. Their size and intimidating form allowed them to specialize as scavengers for the larger part of their diet, taking over the area around a treasured carcass and scaring away most of the competition, often including the very same predator who made the kill. No less vital, internally their immune system has evolved to handle the rot and risk of infection.
They continually grow teeth in their oral ring past the growth of the skull, compensating for constantly breaking their teeth on bones and other hard tissues in a carcass. They developed a higher density of teeth sockets in a back and forth wave like pattern that allows them to grow more teeth without losing tooth density, ensuring that at any time there will likely be enough healthy teeth while other teeth are healing. As a consequence, the additional eyestrills allow them to find the scent of carcasses from far away. To protect their eyestrils from blood, sand, and dust. They are lined up with a type of fatty tear duct, releasing soapy bubbles that clean them out.
Their tail feathers aid in intimidation and defense due to their mimicry of the eyes of Argusraptors. When they lower their front to eat, the sight of their backside rocking up and down creates the animated appearance of a running Argusraptor. The illusion works so well to discourage others from getting close to the area, that rocking back and forth has being adapted as a nervous response.
On the flip side of the very same motion, rocking back and forth towards each other has become a display of affection and takes part in their mating ritual, as the potential mates will rock back and forth towards each other while circulating closer and closer, eventually touching and scratching their tusks along each other's armor plates if they like each other, or going for a bite if they don't. Once mated, the pair of Ophan Scimitars - known as a bike - will nest together and take turns defending the larva while the other returns with mouthfuls of food to regurgitate, preferring to defend themselves from opportunity shrews by spreading thin and wide, minimizing a chance encounter.