Southern Scrambler
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The southern scrambler replaces its ancestor where their ranges overlap. It lives in much of the southern part of the Wallace supercontinent, though its range stops above the subpolar line. Similar to its ancestor, it is a generalist as well as a potential food source for medium-sized predators. It varies in color across its range, either matching soil color or having broad vertical stripes like depicted here to blend in with dry puffgrasses.
Much like its ancestor, the southern scrambler is capable of remarkable regeneration. Notably, its skin tears easily and its tail is more prone to breaking off, which allows it to escape even if it's been grabbed. It stops bleeding very quickly and can, with time, fully regrow any lost body parts. Regeneration is not limited to skin and appendages; it can regrow eyes, internal organs, and even parts of its brain. Much like its ancestor, it is capable of acquiring duplicate body parts if one only partially detaches, and it will sometimes have accessory organs, including functional accessory lungs.
The southern scrambler is capable of infesting shrog nests and making them uninhabitable by eating all the food stores and breeding too quickly to be controlled. Though generally solitary, it may work as a mob to attack the nest's owner when threatened, fully claiming it as their own. This behavior has resulted in one shrog, the twineshrog, becoming extinct within its range, as it's far too dependent on its nests and uses far too much energy with its survival strategies to recover consistently after an infestation.
The southern scrambler is generally solitary. Like its ancestor, it has marsupial-like reproduction. It breeds 6 times a year and gives birth to 5-12 joeys at a time. Newborns are helpless and spend the first few weeks of their lives in a pouch.
Through consumption of seeds and berries, the southern scrambler has spread the following:
- Bangsticks to Raptor Plains, Central Wallace Veldt, and Wallace Plains
- Coniflor to Central Wallace Veldt
- Robust Arid Ferine to Raptor Plains, Central Wallace Veldt, and Wallace Plains (and likewise the Treedundi also spread, expanding its range to include South Darwin Highvelt, Wallace Plains, Verserus Highvelt, West Wallace Veldt, Central Wallace Veldt, Raptor Plains, Raptor Veldt, and Raptor Highvelt)
- Bristlepile to Raptor Plains, Central Wallace Veldt, Wallace Plains, Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, and Wallace Volcanic
- Fuzzpile to Wallace Chaparral and Wallace Bush
- Cliff Bristler to Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, and Wallace Volcanic
- Scrubland Quhft to Raptor Plains, Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, Wallace Volcanic, Central Wallace Veldt, and Wallace Plains