Xatadeega
| Xatadeega | ||
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| (Elephaculescens gensdena) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Coolsteph Other | |
| Week/Generation | 25/157 | |
| Habitat | Dixon Tropical Woodland | |
| Size | 65 cm Long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Herbivore (young Carnossamer leaves and stems, Hanging Olshkra) | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Unknown | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, Two Sexes, Hard-shelled Eggs | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Genus Species | Eukaryota Elephaculescens Elephaculescens gensdena | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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The xatadeega eats mainly hanging olshkras off obsidiroot leaves, as it has no competition in that area. Its small trunk expands its feeding range, but it's still limited to hanging olshkra growing on younger, shorter obsidiroots. With hanging olshkra being 40 cm long and xatadeega being 65 cm long, it's not quite like plucking apples off a tree. Rather, it's more like very large, oddly shaped watermelons/Christmas tree ornaments being batted around by the trunks of tiny elephants until they fall. If the obsidiroot sapling is thin enough, xatadeegas may push them over to bring the leaves and hanging olshkras closer to the ground. Once the hanging olshkra is on the ground, xatadeegas cut them into manageable pieces with their chin-spikes, now elongated chin-tusks. Using the two fingers on their trunks, they grip bite-size pieces and stuff the pieces into their narrow mouths. Their long guts produce large amounts of chitinase, an enzyme that breaks down chitin.
Xatadeegas' tendency to eat the parasites of obsidiroots, as well as the leaves and stems of the carnossamer competition, make them advantageous to obsidiroot populations. (despite occasionally pushing over obsidiroot saplings) This is in contrast to their distant relative, the grabnub, which opens up space for carnossamers by gnawing down obsidiroots.
Author's Notes
Notes: The taxonomic name should roughly translate to, "Like a small elephant with a chin-tooth."
The xatadeega and the grabnub's common ancestor is the river tailhopper. Unexpectedly, the grabnub isn't a "xata", which one would expect based on its orange color and eye-ears.