Oilyback

The oilyback replaced its ancestor the flameback in severe competition with banevermins over krakow cellulosebanes. While oilybacks also eat fat korystals and dome crystals, they need to eat the fungal part of a krakow cellulosebane to acquire enough protein for their eggs. Since oilybacks who ate less krakow cellulosebanes had less eggs, it was advantageous for oilybacks to adapt in a way that lessened interspecies competition for krakow cellulosebanes.

Oilybacks have two adaptations for acquiring more krakow cellulosebanes. The first is the most obvious one: their oil. The oil is still flammable, but now it is primarily used to "contaminate" any krakow cellulosebanes an oilyback finds. The oil contains grapefruit mercaptan, or thioterpineol. The fresh oil smells exactly like grapefruit to human noses, but as it decomposes, it becomes much less pleasant. Banvermins dislike this oil, regardless of freshness. It's almost impossible to make banevermins eat something covered in grapefruit mercaptan, for their senses or taste/smell first have to be genetically removed or severely dampened through chemical treatment.

Banevermins that are made to eat grapefruit mercaptan tend to develop cancer. On rare occasions, they may even have heart attacks. It's possible banevermins dislike grapefruit mercaptan because it gives them cancer or merely because it's bitter-tasting. While banevermins dislike grapefruit mercaptan, they do not dislike all components of grapefruit juice equally---which is to be expected, since the banevermin never naturally encounters grapefruit.

The ridges of an oilyback's shell are specially adapted to funnel the leaking oil off its body and onto any krakow cellulosebanes it is standing next to. The oilyback does not set its back on fire as often as its ancestor did. This may be because it is adapted to leak oil, rather than letting it burn within the shell.

Note: Skeletal Images Are Deprecated, and No Longer Canon



The second adaptation for acquiring more krakow cellulosebanes is its superior running ability compared to its ancestor. As one can see in the images provided, its skeleton has some similarities to that of a deer or horse. Though it technically runs on its toes, it has an elastic pad of fat below its feet that supports its weight and gives it a flat-footed appearance. This makes its foot structure similar to that of an elephant. It would be faster if not for its inflexible spine, but the spine's inflexibility is necessary to support the shell. Banevermins do not move very quickly, so there is no need for it to have greyhound-like speed. It only needs to be faster than the banvermins, so it can run ahead of them, contaminate some krakow cellulosebanes, and thus leave enough krakow cellulosebanes for it to eat.

It is good at kicking from its hind legs. It may kick behind it to stun a banevermin so it has enough time to contaminate a krakow cellulosebane.

(Trivia: The bone between its scapulae (shoulder bones) is called "the ghost bone." I [Coolsteph] don't know what it does. I merely put it there because the space between its scapulae looked like it needed something there.)