Beachburrow
Beachburrow (Atopotripus choffyami) | |
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22/140, Habitat Loss (Snowball) | |
Creator | Elerd Other |
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Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Subclass Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Mancerxa Chloropodia Phyllauria Xylodonta Monopoditheres Unipedidae Atopotripus Atopotripus choffyami |
Week/Generation | 20/134 |
Habitat | Elerd Temperate Beach, Chum Tropical Beach |
Size | 50 cm Long |
Primary Mobility | Unknown |
Support | Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood) |
Diet | Herbivore (Glintdagger, Crastcumber) |
Respiration | Active (Lungs) |
Thermoregulation | Endotherm |
Reproduction | Sexual, Two Sexes |
Descendant of | Ancestor of |
The beachburrow split from its ancestor, the monofoot, and moved to Elerd Temperate Beach. From there it spread to Chum Tropical Beach. Its ancestor only ate fruits and leaves, so the beachburrow had to adapt to the leafless and non-fruit-bearing flora of the beaches.
To be able to eat the crastcumber, which is very abundant in these beaches, it had to develop stronger mouth muscles and teeth. These also help it to grasp and rip the glintdagger's blades. The crastcumber is indeed so abundant that to be able to camouflage itself from predators, the beachburrow now has patterns of green and gold, mimicking the beaches' soil and flora.
It is active during the day and sleeps during the night under the sand. It has developed a retractable breathing apparatus (butt nostril) which is erected during sleep to be able to breathe through the sand. In hard years, with droughts or famine, it will use this retractable nostril to breathe while hunting in the nearby Elerd Temperate Coast and Chum Tropical Bay. It cannot stay in the water too long because it is a weak swimmer and an easy prey to catch.
It no longer hops on one foot, like its ancestor, because it takes too much energy and resources. Instead, it will "crawl" on all-three and eat what it can before nightfall. Males of the species have a crest on their mouth's tip, and will flaunt at females for the duration of the mating season. They live in small herds of 20 to 40 individuals.