General Bestiary

[Moon]

Below is a template for anyone to use if they'd like to make their own animal species, rather than a race. If you do decide to make one, please post the entry below so that this thread will become a general bestiary for all the lands. When you post be sure to include what land the animal species is commonly found at the top of your post, via the tags listed below, so it is easier to tell the animals apart.

[div align="center"][font color="a7c8ee"][font size="5"][b][u]Species Name[/u][/b][/font]
[font size="2"]Scientific Name <optional>[/font]
[font size="5"][b][u]Origin/Evolution of Species[/u][/b][/font]
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[Include the land of origin and the region in which it developed. Where did these creatures come from? From what animal, Earthly or mythological, did they evolve? Did they live in previous regions before their current one? If they moved from one region to another, why is this? Are they related to any other species/Are there any subspecies that branched off from this species? Can they be domesticated/Are they already considered to be domestic animals and what type? (ie are they pets, work animals, or food supply)]

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[font size="5"][b][u]Physical Description[/u][/b][/font]
(What's the anatomy of the species like? How big can the adult animals get to be? Are there any physical differences between males and females? How attuned are the senses of these animals? What are the key traits that are specific to this species? If you can try to include a picture of one)
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[font size="4"][i]~General[/i][/font]
[Give a general description of what the species looks like as a whole]
[font size="4"][i]~Male[/i][/font]
[What the males look like]
[font size="4"][i]~Female[/i][/font]
[What the females look like]

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[font size="5"][b][u]Behaviors[/u][/b][/font]
[hr]
[i]~General[/i]
[Are these animals social or solitary? How do they interact with others of the same species? Do they have a system of ranks? (ie Alphas and Omegas in wolf packs) Do they have large territories?]
[i]~Reproduction[/i]
[how do they reproduce sexually or asexually? Are both parents involved with the care of offspring? If social does the whole group share the responsibility of raising the offspring? How are mates chosen? When do the offspring mature? How many can a pair of these animals produce in one cycle?
[i]~Communication[/i]
[How do these animals communicate with one another?]
[u][b][font size="5"]Ecology[/font][/b][/u]
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[i]~Diet[/i]
[what do they eat and how do they obtain their food]
[i]~Common Threats/Competitors[/i]
[what other animals do they have to compete with in order to survive? (ie bears are a threat to a wolf's meal)]

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[b][u][font size="5"]Habitat/Territory[/font][/u][/b]
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[Where has these species been known to reside? Are the animals spaced out among the general land or are they concentrated in one area?]

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Adalinda tag:
Adalinda
[font color="61b447"][font face="impact"][font size="5"]Adalinda[/font][/font][/font]

Calder tag:
Calder
[font size="5"][font face="impact"][font color="256bd8"]Calder[/font][/font][/font]

Eloria tag:
Eloria
[font color="edee9c"][font size="5"][font face="impact"]Eloria[/font][/font][/font]

Era tag:
Era
[font color="bceee6"][font size="5"][font face="impact"]Era[/font][/font][/font]

Letha tag:
Letha
[font size="5"][font face="impact"][font color="e23a3a"]Letha[/font][/font][/font]

[Moon]

Letha

Infernagis (Formally known as Engonmy)
Bestia Inferno
Origin/Evolution of Species

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These beasts originated from the land of Letha and have remained in Letha since their rise. The earliest recording of such a creature is a cave painting of one deep inside the temple of Letha. They are said to be the original protectors of Letha when she first came to the land in her mortal form. Since then they have been regarded as sacred animals that are not to harmed, least the hunter wishes to enact the wrath of Letha herself. Supposedly they are linked to the Fire Sprites and the Tokubon, however they are more related to the latter. Tokubon, at some point, branched off to become their own species, but they were once a part of the Infernagis line. It is unknown why the two species split apart, most suspect, however, that the close relations between the Fire Sprites and the Tokubon helped the two species to eventually split. Despite their wild origins they have evolved along side many humanoid species and are thus quite easily domesticated, which is a key trait that passed from them to the Tokubon. Infernagi that are domesticated tend to live much longer and are less susceptible illness, which is often to be expected of species that live alongside humanoids. Most often they are used as pets or for farm work, such as herding or plowing.

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Physical Description

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~General

Generally Infernagi appear to have a serpentine body with long beaked jaws. This unique jaw structure allows them to pass food from their mouths to their offspring more easily. Fur usually only appears around the head, tail, and parts of the leg. Some Infernagi have been known to develop a full coat of fur, but these cases rarely survive past adulthood as the brutal Letha summers can overheating of their systems. Their skin is very leathery and this helps them to keep their body temperatures high but not high enough for heat exhaustion to set in. Their skin comes in an array of earthy colors, with the more dominant colors being a brownish black or solid black. Normally the underlining of their belly, claws, and tail are all the same color.

This species relies heavy on their unique sense of sight. Infernagi 'see' in both heat signatures and in smell. They are able to tell each other apart from prey from both heat and smell. Because of this unique vision they do not see in detail or color, rather they see masses of heat and the smell depicts a living being from an inanimate object. Their hearing is very poor and thus they are not very responsive to noise. Because of this Infernagi do not frighten easily.
~Male
Male adults can grow up to 4 feet in height and average around 7ft 9in in length. Males tend to weigh heavier than their female counterparts; about 220lbs to be exact. Males of this species are very easy to tell apart from females because males possess a larger fuller mane that covers the entirety of the male's scruff and meets just below the chest area. The more area the mane takes up, the more dominant the male. Males also have three ear horns and have been known to sport beard-like fur along the underside of the chin.
~Female
Females do not possess a mane, but do have tufts of hair on their head. Their fur is sleeker and much more relaxed in appearance when compared to males. Females do not sport beard-like fur under the chin and only have two ear horns. Unlike the male snout, female snouts are more bird-like which always for easy distribution of food when feeding young.

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Behaviors

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~General
Infernagi are actually quite sociable in nature. They tend to live in small family packs, of up to eight adult members, where the parents of the pack are the Alphas. Other than pack leaders there are no other ranks. Rather, all members of the family pack share a common duty. The youngest of the pack care for the newborns while the oldest hunt for food. The middle-aged members serve as general guards or scouts for the pack's territory. As each member advances in age they move up through their roles. Once a member is mature that member, male or female, may fight for his place in the pack. Males fight males and females fight females. Should the younger member lose, that member is evicted by the pack and becomes a rogue. But if the older member is to lose, or deny the challenge, the member may stay. The elderly members are also cared for by the young. When a member dies the pack gathers around the body and participate in a vigil. After a few hours the body is lit on fire and left to smolder. However, it has been noted that packs who are particularly low on prey will kill and eat its oldest member in order to feed the young.

There are a few ways a new male may come into power. The eldest son may take over from his father. In this case, the son will reject the mother as Alpha and select a new mate from any of the surrounding rogues. Should a rogue, male or female, succeed in killing either of the alphas they will take the Alpha that is alive as a mate, and kill the offspring of the previous Alpha.


~Reproduction
Infernagi reproduce sexually and both parents contribute to the raising of the child because Infernagi offspring are so fragile. When in heat the female will begin to make advances toward the male. The male may return these advances with affectionate beak rubbing or tail taps. Copulation is quick and lasts for only a few minutes, however in order to ensure that the female is impregnated, the pair may copulate many times throughout courtship. (Courtship has been known to last anywhere from a day to a week.) Once the female is indeed impregnated, she finds a suitable den where she will lay her single egg. This egg must be strictly monitored by either of the parents (or by the younger members in the pack). The temperature of the egg is extremely important to the embryo's development. A healthy temperature for a single male egg would be two thousand four hundred seventy degrees Celsius (2470C) whereas a female is around two thousand nine hundred twenty degrees Celsius (2920C). Should the temperature fall below 2375C the embryo would be in danger of becoming stillborn. The constant monitoring of the eggs lasts for about three months, following the initial laying of the egg. A female usually carries her egg for about 6-8 months after conception.

Once the newborns hatch they are relatively independent and are able to eat solid food with a few weeks. For the first few weeks they strictly only eat regurgitated food from the parents. They are able to walk within a few hours of being hatched and enjoy rough-play with their older siblings or their parents. Unlike the adults, the newborns do not possess any kind of fur and only have one crest horn. Depending on the gender the appropriate amount of horns will grow in over time.

Newborns are unable to regulate their own body temperate so temperature related deaths are commonplace. In order to prevent deaths from lack of heat, newborns are not allowed out of the den and are continually forced back into the den whenever they try to stray. They must stay in the den for up to two months after they hatch. After this time, they are considered to be mature enough to hunt. However, they are still far from sexually developed and will not be until another year prior to their hatching.

~Communication
Infernagi communicate via a series of barked clicks. Depending on the situation, the clicks may be rapid if indicating danger or slow and repetitive if issuing a display of territorial dominance. If threatened or in a fight for dominance Infernagi have been known to emit a squealing snarl. The only body language they have been known to display is in their tail movements. Depending on the occasion, Infernagi's tail will display their mood. If threatened, along with the squeaks, their tails will whip back and forth, however if they are happy or content only the tips of their tails with move.
Ecology

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~Diet
They are apex predators that prey on any and all kinds of meat. They are opportunistic hunters and will not pass up the chance to hunt an easy kill. They are also known to eat berries and other fruits, using their beaks to 'peck' the fruit apart to get at the fruit's core. It is rare, but not uncommon for a pack of Infernagi to hunt and kill an unsuspecting traveler if they are not wary.
~Common Threats/Competitors
There aren't many animals that can compete with the Infernagi's speed and numbers, but animal that is larger then them can generally give them enough trouble. Poachers and trappers are their main threat since the species has a hard enough time repopulating because of its long maturation period.

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Habitat/Territory

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The Infernagi habitat is localized mostly in the western part of the land, specifically in the Ignatius Plains. Their territories can stretch for over 220sq miles and do not often overlap. Because most of them are in small family packs, it is rare to see a lone Infernagi roaming the fields. Some territories do extend into the mountains in the south, but the packs sparingly travel that far south, since they do not hunt the prey that live in the mountains.