Pescidonts

Pescidonts are near-cousins of the fabled Kahydroniformes. The
primary difference between these two clades is not, as one might think, the
bipedal gaits of the Pescidonts. In fact, some Pescidonts do have quadrupedal
gaits, and bipedal true Kahydrons are known from fossil remains. The main
difference between Kahydroniformes and the Pescidonts is actually the presence
of a well-developed hydraulic bite on the Kahydrons’ first-head jaws.
Pescidonts, on the other hand, have conventional muscles in this region and
their hydraulics do not extend beyond their necks.

The lack of this adaptation seems to have excluded the
Pescidonts from large-predator niches. Instead, these creatures prosper in a
dazzling variety as small hunters, “snake eaters,” scavengers and even
herbivores.

Species: Pescidon insignai
Common Names: Pescidon (This is
the only Pescidont that is generally known as such.)
Size: 3 meters, but
usually less.
Habitat: All of Vesterna north of the Divider Alps, also
abundant in North-Western parts of Isterna.

This is a typical Pescidont, if anything can be considered
“typical” in this diverse and hugely varied family. It runs on two extended hind
legs, its front legs have spade-like claws used for digging and grasping, and
its jaws are thin and elongated, able to snap up suddenly on fast-moving small
prey. Its second head is extensible and quite long for a creature this size, yet
still small compared to those of some other Pescidont groups. With these
adaptations, it hunts for creatures as small as Trikes and as large as
Chopsticks. (Lygodectes sp.) Very rarely, vicious “berserker”
individuals have been observed trying to attack larger herbivores such as
Pneumagazelles and Rollpigs (Xenosus sp.) Like many other Pescidonts,
they also take fruits and plants as a dietary supplement.

These creatures are among the most social large animals on
Snaiad, usually living in clearly defined family groups or “tribes.” Individuals
often stroke and groom each other with their elongated second heads. This action
seems to give them pleasure and strengthen social bonds. They are curious and
investigative by nature and this extends well into their relations with human
beings, whom they are not afraid of. They never attack people unless provoked,
and settlers usually offer them food and water around their homes. In return,
the Pescidons alert the human residents of potential danger and even fight
against intruding large predators. This mutualistic cooperation saved a lot of
lives during the infamous “Arbophobe Wars,” making the Pescidons the favorite
indigenous pets of the Snaiadi people.

Species: Ancyrania thaumadira
Common Names: Spearneck,
Desert Loper.
Size: More than 5 meters long.
Habitat: The Great Ankyranian
Desert.

Like a surreal mirage walking across the sand dunes, this close
relative of the common Pescidon is one of the largest animals that can tolerate
the extreme conditions found in the Great Ankyranian Desert. It has numerous
special adaptations to live there, such as a fat storing tail, long,
heat-regulating flaps on its neck and back and sand-proofing flaps in its eyes
and two heads. The purpose of the long, rattling spikes on its neck remains a
mystery; they could work somehow to condense water from the morning dew, serve
as protection against predators such as Dune Fuckers (Ammofututor
harkoneeana,) or work as inter-sexual display devices.

Unlike many of its Pescidont cousins, this animal is more of an
herbivore, subsisting mainly on the thorny desert shrubs or the root-like
growths it digs from under the sand.

Species: Vermiphilia langia
Common Name: Sprog-Prober.

Size: 1.5 meters long.
Habitat: Sprogland across Vesterna.

The hole-riddled, mat-like layers of sprog are a form of
vegetation unique to Snaiad. A staggering variety of small-to-medium sized,
usually serpentine creatures dwell among the spongy interior of these abundant
growths, forming a potentially rich food source for any creature that can catch
them. On the mainland continents of Snaiad, small Vermidont Pescidonts such as
Vermiphilia have tapped into this resource by evolving long first-head
beaks, with which they “probe” the sprog for the animals inside. Their second
heads are also extremely elongated and snake-like, able to dive into sprog for
further pursuit of their serpentine prey. If all measures fail, these Vermidonts
can also use their hook-like claws to rip apart the obscuring layers of sprog.
Their hips have specialized joints and their bodies and tails form a distinct,
seesaw-like balance that makes “dipping” easier and more energy-efficient.

There are more than a hundred species of these interesting
creatures on Snaiad, each usually confined to a very specific region. On the
isolated island of Thalassia, the Monoanticheran Snake-Eaters have also evolved
to look and act like Sprog-Probers, although they hail from a completely
unrelated lineage.

Species: Sifteria rotundus
Common Names: Spotted Topaki,
Golden Ball, Triggerback.
Size: 60-70 centimeters tall.
Habitat: Western
Neomediterranean shores, extending into the Great Western Pinnacle Range.

These spherical creatures have been classified in their own
group for a long time, but they are actually Pescidonts, albeit highly derived
ones. With first-head faces mashed directly into their bodies, they exhibit
Primary Acephaly; a common condition on Snaiad where large land animals have two
heads but no brains or vital organs in either of them. Primary Acephaly usually
affects “freak” individuals only, but for some reason it has taken root in the
Bumboiforme Pescidonts.

These animals feed on anything they can find, including smaller
animals, trikes, plants and even bits of carrion. Their second heads are hugely
extended, with jaw-like flaps and sensitive whiskers on their ends. They
sometimes venture into water to escape predators, and this is how Snaiadi
zoologists think their amusing descendants, the marine Blumbomeniformes,
initially evolved.

Species: Bumbo maximus
Common Name: Tank Topaki.
Size:
2-3 meters long.
Habitat: South-Eastern Istenra except the Ankyranian
Desert, also present in Oroland.

A giant among the Bumboiforme Pescidonts, this hulking, heavy
beast is essentially a scaled-up version of its smaller cousins. It browses in
the plains, scrublands, pinnacle-range galleries and sprog-plains, looking for
anything it can eat. It has a long, spear-like beak emerging from what is left
of its first head, used not only for self-defense but also as a “sprog prober”
like the beaks of its Vermidont cousins. The males regularly grow and shed
antler-like hand-claws that are almost as long as their beaks.

Out of the numerous Bumboiforme species, B. maximus is
the first discovered and only domesticated one. Snaiadi settlers used them as
draught animals in the initial years of colonization, but with the widespread
availability of cars and nanorail, only hobbyists and zoos breed them these
days. Human-derived breeds include the famous Smyrniote Giant Pumpkin, as well
as the dwarf Tomato Jousters.

Species: Dextraglossos minimus
Common Name: Golden Kahydron,
Aarite Kahydron.
Size: 75- 90 centimeters.
Habitat: The island of
Aar.

These animals’ common name as “Kahydrons” reveals their
mistaken origins at their initial discovery. Honestly, it is difficult to blame
the early explorers since with their tiny hoof-and-claw forefeet and quadrupedal
gaits, Dextraglossos’ perfectly resemble Kahydroniformes, albeit very
small ones. Only later, when dead specimens were dissected did their true
origins as derived Pescidonts emerge. These creatures, although superficially
Kahydron-like, lack the signature hydraulic jaws of the Kahydroniformes. Their
origins on the isolated island of Aar are also a mystery, debate rages on about
whether, they were already present on Aar when it broke apart from Isterna, or
whether they rafted over from the mainland later.

Oblivious to the mysteries surrounding them, these dwarfed
creatures live as generalist predators on Aar. One remarkable characteristic
they have is their amazingly dexterous second heads, with which they can grasp
and carry objects, groom and tickle each other and even make primitive tools.
Individuals have been observed using sticks to probe burrows and sprog and using
stones to break open land clams.

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associated with this project belong to Nemo Ramjet, unless otherwise stated.