Stegomizer

As Stowaway Harmbless ended up on the Driftwood Islands, predators were still infrequent and restricted to the beaches which presented them an opportunity to thrive and diversify. This would lead to them rapidly growing in size and giving rise to the Stegomizer. To avoid competition with the local shrews, the Stegomizer feeds almost exclusively on low-growing vegetation.

To help manipulate their food, the Stegomizer has turned the lobed lip of their ancestor into 8 distinct tentacles which are highly flexible. The cheek pouches have increased in size to store larger amounts of food, allowing them to stuff more food into their mouths before they need to stop gathering food to chew up what they have collected. They spend much of their time through the day either looking for food or eating said food.

Despite their relatively care-free lifestyle, they do have to worry about potential threats such as curious Quillmow or Seashrogs. Because of this, the species has developed larger amounts of armor covering their back and flanks and thus acting as a decent defense. If a potential threat does not go away, however, the 3 pairs of large spikes on the end of their tail can be swung towards them to cause damage.

When they occasionally leave their island to get to a new one, their exposed underbelly leaves them vulnerable to predators. To make these trips safer, they often travel alongside migrating Adorned Tamow. These large herbivores use their large size and thick armor to deter threats, which the Stegomizer’s use to their full advantage. Stegomizers will also occasionally go onto the rafts of Seashrogs and Marine Tamows, their thick armor meaning they can take the spears and teeth of the inhabitants while they rest and sometimes eat a little bit of the raft before continuing their migration to another island.