Post by Sher on Aug 9, 2011 0:48:24 GMT -5
((Final paragraph of text with missing info is saved on the Team WTF plot board.))
Please don't take this concept elsewhere without permission.
These creatures are distantly related to crawlers, but much larger, generally reaching around five feet long and two feet tall. They run in family packs (hence the name, though the forward-facing pouch on the lower abdomen may be partially responsible) of up to ten adults and three to nine youngsters, and no more than two adult males. The pack-lizard, socially, is reminiscent of a wolf, with a similarly dynamic rank structure. As opportunistic omnivores, they occasionally scavenge rubbish heaps and consume things humans have thrown out: scraps of leather, used soup bones, and the like. During times of hardship they will even strip leaves from trees that most creatures would not consider edible. Their hunting is usually done by coordinated ambush, but they only hunt once per week or so; they need no more protein than that.
Looking at one of these for the first time, many would incorrectly guess that these are crawlers grown to insanely atypical proportions, but a closer inspection will reveal other important differences. The mid-legs are very flexible, capable of reaching behind them to reach into their pouches, with feet almost like hands that have stubby opposable thumbs. When running, the mid-feet curl up like fists and the pack-lizard puts its weight on the thickly padded knuckles with each pace. Usually during running the mid-legs will hit the ground outside the span of the forelegs, before the forefeet have left the ground; while the forelegs are reaching for the next step, the hind legs push off from the ground. It is a powerful stride, but eats up a lot of energy. Perhaps this is why the pack-lizard evolved the natural tendency to conserve energy and work together.
Packs are typically led by males, since they are far less common than females and mating season revolves around their times of fertility rather than the females. In the two weeks leading up to the mating season, hormonal changes cause the skin between the first two limbs to grow down into a stretchy flap. This can be used for brief glides when the male announces his readiness to mate with a subsonic call that is inaudible to the human ear. In addition to this physical change, females become edgy and irritable, locating and hoarding oddly shaped rocks or anything shiny that catches their eye into their abdominal pouches.
The mating ritual begins with interested females half-circling the male, once he has sounded. They show him the offerings they have gathered, and the male coyly leads them on a chase, climbing to execute short glides, sprinting in reckless bursts, generally testing them until they manage to corner him. When most of the females have given in to exhaustion or injury, those remaining again exhibit their offerings. Typically, the male then chooses an object and mates with the female it belongs to; more rarely, the male will lead them off again to further narrow his choices.
The lucky female is guarded by the ladies that were previously her competitors until she is ready to lay her eggs, as few as three or as many as nine at a time. The eggs harden within two days, during which the nonbreeding females and the clutchfather bring food to the mother. When the eggs are hard enough, the eggs are distributed to the entire pack to carry in their pouches, and be incubated. This lasts for fourteen to twenty days.
When the young emerge from the egg into the pouch itself, they imprint on whichever individual was carrying them at the time, though they instinctively know which is their biological mother and which is their biological father from the pheromones. They are born capable of eating anything the adults can eat, but for the first two weeks, they rarely leave the safety of the pouches. The real test of survival comes when they have gained fair mobility and permanently leave the pouch. Sadly, the fatality rate is high; young pack-lizards fall to predation most often, but sometimes are victims of their own rabid curiosity. If they manage to survive the first six months and reach adolescence, they are then much more likely to reach adulthood.
The colors of their hides do not determine rank or sex, but the gender does seem to influence size, with females being considerably smaller and more nimble, while the males are larger and have more endurance. They can be any shade of green, brown, or yellow, but generally speaking are colored according to the terrain their bloodline evolved from: a desert pack-lizard would most likely be sand-colored, while one from a forested area could be tree-trunk brown, and one from the open plains would probably be green.
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Please don't take this concept elsewhere without permission.
Pack-Lizard
These creatures are distantly related to crawlers, but much larger, generally reaching around five feet long and two feet tall. They run in family packs (hence the name, though the forward-facing pouch on the lower abdomen may be partially responsible) of up to ten adults and three to nine youngsters, and no more than two adult males. The pack-lizard, socially, is reminiscent of a wolf, with a similarly dynamic rank structure. As opportunistic omnivores, they occasionally scavenge rubbish heaps and consume things humans have thrown out: scraps of leather, used soup bones, and the like. During times of hardship they will even strip leaves from trees that most creatures would not consider edible. Their hunting is usually done by coordinated ambush, but they only hunt once per week or so; they need no more protein than that.
Looking at one of these for the first time, many would incorrectly guess that these are crawlers grown to insanely atypical proportions, but a closer inspection will reveal other important differences. The mid-legs are very flexible, capable of reaching behind them to reach into their pouches, with feet almost like hands that have stubby opposable thumbs. When running, the mid-feet curl up like fists and the pack-lizard puts its weight on the thickly padded knuckles with each pace. Usually during running the mid-legs will hit the ground outside the span of the forelegs, before the forefeet have left the ground; while the forelegs are reaching for the next step, the hind legs push off from the ground. It is a powerful stride, but eats up a lot of energy. Perhaps this is why the pack-lizard evolved the natural tendency to conserve energy and work together.
Packs are typically led by males, since they are far less common than females and mating season revolves around their times of fertility rather than the females. In the two weeks leading up to the mating season, hormonal changes cause the skin between the first two limbs to grow down into a stretchy flap. This can be used for brief glides when the male announces his readiness to mate with a subsonic call that is inaudible to the human ear. In addition to this physical change, females become edgy and irritable, locating and hoarding oddly shaped rocks or anything shiny that catches their eye into their abdominal pouches.
The mating ritual begins with interested females half-circling the male, once he has sounded. They show him the offerings they have gathered, and the male coyly leads them on a chase, climbing to execute short glides, sprinting in reckless bursts, generally testing them until they manage to corner him. When most of the females have given in to exhaustion or injury, those remaining again exhibit their offerings. Typically, the male then chooses an object and mates with the female it belongs to; more rarely, the male will lead them off again to further narrow his choices.
The lucky female is guarded by the ladies that were previously her competitors until she is ready to lay her eggs, as few as three or as many as nine at a time. The eggs harden within two days, during which the nonbreeding females and the clutchfather bring food to the mother. When the eggs are hard enough, the eggs are distributed to the entire pack to carry in their pouches, and be incubated. This lasts for fourteen to twenty days.
When the young emerge from the egg into the pouch itself, they imprint on whichever individual was carrying them at the time, though they instinctively know which is their biological mother and which is their biological father from the pheromones. They are born capable of eating anything the adults can eat, but for the first two weeks, they rarely leave the safety of the pouches. The real test of survival comes when they have gained fair mobility and permanently leave the pouch. Sadly, the fatality rate is high; young pack-lizards fall to predation most often, but sometimes are victims of their own rabid curiosity. If they manage to survive the first six months and reach adolescence, they are then much more likely to reach adulthood.
The colors of their hides do not determine rank or sex, but the gender does seem to influence size, with females being considerably smaller and more nimble, while the males are larger and have more endurance. They can be any shade of green, brown, or yellow, but generally speaking are colored according to the terrain their bloodline evolved from: a desert pack-lizard would most likely be sand-colored, while one from a forested area could be tree-trunk brown, and one from the open plains would probably be green.
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