Harmblesses
| Harmblesses | ||
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| (Obesuserpens spp.) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Nergali Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/168 | |
| Habitat | Barlowe, Lamarck | |
| Size | 10 to 20 cm Long | |
| Primary Mobility | Limbless, Stomach Muscles, Rectilinear Method | |
| Support | Endoskeleton (Bone) | |
| Diet | Herbivore (general grazers of various flora such as Marbleflora, Snotflora, Pioneeroots, and Twinkiiros), Frugivore (fallen fruit and berries of larger flora such as those of the various species of Fuzzpalms) | |
| Respiration | Active (Lungs) | |
| Thermoregulation | Mesotherm | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, Two Sexes, Viviparous | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Phylum Superclass Clade Class Order Superfamily Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Carpozoa Spondylozoa Anisoscelida Tetrapodes Saganophidia Turrinares Stegochordoidea Stegochordidae Obesuserpens Obesuserpens spp. | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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Harmblesses are a group of limblesses notable for their fairly small size and their distinct, highly specialized lips. While the genus originated in interior forests of Barlowe, their success quickly led to them spreading throughout the continent, occupying small niches where they grazed on the low-growing flora, as well as consuming various fallen leaves, fruits and berries. Their actions help to recycle nutrients back into the soil, as well as to open up space for flora to grow and compete as the otherwise more quickly growing marbleflora and pioneeroots are kept in check. Adjacent islands served as steppingstones for their eventual spread into the nearby continent of Lamarck. While this island hopping and colonization are in part due to storms carrying debris (and hitchhiking harmblesses) between nearby shores, these limblesses nonetheless are capable swimmers, though they're nowhere near as efficient at it as their distant seaswimmer cousins are.
With rich, bountiful of fruit and flora to be found on both Barlowe and Lamarck, harmbless diversity is quite high, with a few hundred species currently known. Many of these tend to specialize on certain flora, and in doing so tend to mimic their coloration in order to provide themselves with a bit of protection from potential predators. Others, meanwhile, are more generalists in regard to their diets and tend to take on colors more reminiscent of the sand or soil they crawl upon. Small armor plates and thagomizers provide them with additional defenses, though some species have evolved additional spikes in order to make themselves even less palatable. Even rarer, some species are poisonous to consume, though these poisons are not of their own making, but acquired from the toxins of the flora they consume.
The specialized multilobed lips of the harmblesses, though nowhere near as complex or mobile as those of their close kin the stegomizer, aid them greatly when it comes to acquiring food. Capable of gripping, harmblesses utilize them when it comes to manipulating food into their mouths, whereupon flat, grinding molars break down tough vegetation and seeds. While the majority of this food is often consumed outright, another advantage of this genus can come into use. Harmblesses, unique amongst the limblesses, are capable of storing and even transporting food within their prominent cheek pouches. This adaptation allows them to carry food with them, a trait that is especially useful when they need to return to their den or burrow, wherein many littler hungry mouths often lie. Harmblesses, unlike many other limblesses, are quite dotting and nurturing parents.
While they harmblesses become sexually mature at around two to three months, the size and number of their progeny reflect their own age. Older females, often around four or five years of age, can produce as many as a dozen offspring at a time, and often produce four or five broods a year. Younger females tend to only produce half as many young in comparison, but all are dedicated to nurturing their young. Incapable of producing milk as shrews and such can, harmblesses instead gather food inside their pouches and return it to their nests. Flora and fruit are then ground into thick paste and regurgitated, whereupon the young will consume it readily. In the majority of the species within this genus, both parents contribute to the success of their progeny, with mates taking turns to both gather food and to protect their nest from predators. Within a month's time, the young will be both large and strong enough to survive on their own and will leave the nest at this time. Should they manage to survive the threats of predation, disease, and weather, they can live upwards towards seven years of age, depending on the species.