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Description
The Seliphid

Height: An Seliphid stands, at the secondary shoulder, at about 3.5 feet. This places it at approximately the size of a white-tailed deer. At the head, it is a little less than twice that size. The largest recorded Seliphid was 4.2 feet, placing it more at the height, at the shoulder, of a caribou.
Weight: They are have been recorded as being between 220 and 423 pounds.
Lifespan: It is quite common to see seliphid living into their mid-30's, while some have been seen to live into their 40's.
Diet: Seliphid are herbivores, eating leaves, twigs, branches, buds, shoots, berries, fruits and aquatic plants.
Discovered/Created by: Akedi Handon

Origin of Name/Discovery:
Seliphid were first found on a waterlogged planet near the edge of the Gafalti system by Akedi Handon, a researcher dedicated to the discovery of new and strange species. He spent years on this planet with the Seliphid, studying them and sending his findings back to a satellite research station. He named them Seliphid. phi for Slyph for the fact that when he first saw them he thought he had imagined them, and Seli for selictar, having seen them first attacking one another and finding them quite frightening.

Appearance and Personality:
While generally peaceful, they do experience a rutting season as do most creatures. During this time, they are quite violent, often using their front legs like spears to attack each-other. This is what Handon first saw when he came upon them. When not rutting, they are often curious and show an astounding level of intelligence. Handon reported having seen them use their back feet like hands, using them to move things, create tools, and gather food from low level water so that they don't have to dunk their heads. They are heavily nocturnal, and their pupil-less eyes are well adapted to seeing in the dark. Instead of normal eyelids, seliphid have nictitating membrane, which are a thin layer of tissue that closes diagonally across the eye, from the inside to the outside. The nictitating membrane appears to be thicker than that of most earth creatures that have it, likely a result of their lack of standard eyelids.
While they have few natural enemies, at least according to Handon's logs, it is clear that 'something' hunts them, as he reports lost young and, given their intelligence, even as young, it is unlikely that they simply wander away. He hypothesizes that it is some sort of aquatic creature, as he has only seen them dissapear when in water, and they seem more alert when they are in more than a foot of water. They keep to the edge of watery areas, despite this danger, as they feed primarily on kelp-like foliage that clings to submerged stones. It can be dangerous there, however, as the rivers are very prone to flash-flooding, this event sometimes occuring multiple times in the same day. To this end, they seem to have developed the floatation devides around their backs and collars, which keeps them level and above the surface of the water until it returns to its normal state.

Language:
While seliphid do not have a language as humans understand it, they have a complex system of cries, chirps, and bugles that sound very similar to an Earth elk, though they are capable of producing these sounds at a more rapid rate than elk can by manipulating the airflow from the collar pouches.

Intelligence and Emotional Capacity:
In attempting to compare their intelligence to human terms, Handon refers to them as having intelligence on the same level as a dolphin. They seem to possess empathy, though Handon claims not to have tested this on a personal level. They seem very protective of each-other, though they do not appear to mourn over lost young, which is perplexing.

Reproduction and young:
Seliphid do not mate for life, instead living in small family groups among which there are generally between one and three males and 5 females. During the coldest months of the planet's cycle, which are still quite temperate, the males enter into their rutting season. Its first attempt at attracting a mate is always peaceful, the white tuft on the male's ears glowing and swinging, bright enough to leave a glowing trail in their wake. If there is a dispute after this display, it escalates quickly. The hard front legs of the seliphid become weapons in a brutal battle to the death. It is common for only one male to survive to pass on his genetic code to the females. After aproximately 3 months, the female's gestation period ends, and 3 baby seliphid are born. Each one is less than 10 inches in height from the shoulder, about the size of a domestic house cat, and unable to walk. The pod, for lack of a better word, remains in place for a week, during which time the young doubles in size, and learns quickly. After the week, the young seliphid is capable of walking, but must still remain far from the water's edge, as they are still small enough that the rapidly rising water level is too much for their natural life jackets to keep them afloat. During this time, the father is fiercely protective, and Handon reports that if he had tried to get closer to them, he was confident he would not have survived. Despite this, it is still common for young seliphid to be lost. Six months after a seliphid's birth, it reaches sexual maturity.

Health:
Seliphid have tough skin, resistant to damage and rough like stone to the touch (as Handon reports after getting close to a losing male when the pod moved on.) It appears that they are not susceptable to many types of diseases, as he has never witnessed one getting anything like a cold or cancer. They do, however, have a problem with a particular disease he calls 'permeable sac syndrome', which is where the rubbery skin of their expanding sacs gets thin and water works its way inside. This causes obvious problems with the creature's breathing, floatation, and its ability to regulate body temperature. Handon has not been able to record any parasitic infections as of yet, though he has seen a strange fungal infection persist in some seliphid. It does not appear to harm them directly, but the bioluminescent fungus can cause them to glow, and appears to spread from the white tufts on their ears. As such, it is rare for females to get the fungal infection. The only way a female has been seen to contract it is through contact with an infected male. As it is not harmful to them directly, they do not take action against the infected podmates, though they are more wary to step into moving water, perhaps because this infection can attract water-borne predators?

Extra:
Selipid are quick runners, but only for short distances. They do not swim very well, thanks to their narrow limbs, and it is to be noted that of their back feet, only the two frontward facing toes have claws. The back-facing toe does not, and instead seems to be overall stiffer than the other two.

New Species Bio Template © blueberry-poptart (with alterations for relevance)
Seliphid © CSEmber

Description
The Seliphid

Height: An Seliphid stands, at the secondary shoulder, at about 3.5 feet. This places it at approximately the size of a white-tailed deer. At the head, it is a little less than twice that size. The largest recorded Seliphid was 4.2 feet, placing it more at the height, at the shoulder, of a caribou.
Weight: They are have been recorded as being between 220 and 423 pounds.
Lifespan: It is quite common to see seliphid living into their mid-30's, while some have been seen to live into their 40's.
Diet: Seliphid are herbivores, eating leaves, twigs, branches, buds, shoots, berries, fruits and aquatic plants.
Discovered/Created by: Akedi Handon

Origin of Name/Discovery:
Seliphid were first found on a waterlogged planet near the edge of the Gafalti system by Akedi Handon, a researcher dedicated to the discovery of new and strange species. He spent years on this planet with the Seliphid, studying them and sending his findings back to a satellite research station. He named them Seliphid. phi for Slyph for the fact that when he first saw them he thought he had imagined them, and Seli for selictar, having seen them first attacking one another and finding them quite frightening.

Appearance and Personality:
While generally peaceful, they do experience a rutting season as do most creatures. During this time, they are quite violent, often using their front legs like spears to attack each-other. This is what Handon first saw when he came upon them. When not rutting, they are often curious and show an astounding level of intelligence. Handon reported having seen them use their back feet like hands, using them to move things, create tools, and gather food from low level water so that they don't have to dunk their heads. They are heavily nocturnal, and their pupil-less eyes are well adapted to seeing in the dark. Instead of normal eyelids, seliphid have nictitating membrane, which are a thin layer of tissue that closes diagonally across the eye, from the inside to the outside. The nictitating membrane appears to be thicker than that of most earth creatures that have it, likely a result of their lack of standard eyelids.
While they have few natural enemies, at least according to Handon's logs, it is clear that 'something' hunts them, as he reports lost young and, given their intelligence, even as young, it is unlikely that they simply wander away. He hypothesizes that it is some sort of aquatic creature, as he has only seen them dissapear when in water, and they seem more alert when they are in more than a foot of water. They keep to the edge of watery areas, despite this danger, as they feed primarily on kelp-like foliage that clings to submerged stones. It can be dangerous there, however, as the rivers are very prone to flash-flooding, this event sometimes occuring multiple times in the same day. To this end, they seem to have developed the floatation devides around their backs and collars, which keeps them level and above the surface of the water until it returns to its normal state.

Language:
While seliphid do not have a language as humans understand it, they have a complex system of cries, chirps, and bugles that sound very similar to an Earth elk, though they are capable of producing these sounds at a more rapid rate than elk can by manipulating the airflow from the collar pouches.

Intelligence and Emotional Capacity:
In attempting to compare their intelligence to human terms, Handon refers to them as having intelligence on the same level as a dolphin. They seem to possess empathy, though Handon claims not to have tested this on a personal level. They seem very protective of each-other, though they do not appear to mourn over lost young, which is perplexing.

Reproduction and young:
Seliphid do not mate for life, instead living in small family groups among which there are generally between one and three males and 5 females. During the coldest months of the planet's cycle, which are still quite temperate, the males enter into their rutting season. Its first attempt at attracting a mate is always peaceful, the white tuft on the male's ears glowing and swinging, bright enough to leave a glowing trail in their wake. If there is a dispute after this display, it escalates quickly. The hard front legs of the seliphid become weapons in a brutal battle to the death. It is common for only one male to survive to pass on his genetic code to the females. After aproximately 3 months, the female's gestation period ends, and 3 baby seliphid are born. Each one is less than 10 inches in height from the shoulder, about the size of a domestic house cat, and unable to walk. The pod, for lack of a better word, remains in place for a week, during which time the young doubles in size, and learns quickly. After the week, the young seliphid is capable of walking, but must still remain far from the water's edge, as they are still small enough that the rapidly rising water level is too much for their natural life jackets to keep them afloat. During this time, the father is fiercely protective, and Handon reports that if he had tried to get closer to them, he was confident he would not have survived. Despite this, it is still common for young seliphid to be lost. Six months after a seliphid's birth, it reaches sexual maturity.

Health:
Seliphid have tough skin, resistant to damage and rough like stone to the touch (as Handon reports after getting close to a losing male when the pod moved on.) It appears that they are not susceptable to many types of diseases, as he has never witnessed one getting anything like a cold or cancer. They do, however, have a problem with a particular disease he calls 'permeable sac syndrome', which is where the rubbery skin of their expanding sacs gets thin and water works its way inside. This causes obvious problems with the creature's breathing, floatation, and its ability to regulate body temperature. Handon has not been able to record any parasitic infections as of yet, though he has seen a strange fungal infection persist in some seliphid. It does not appear to harm them directly, but the bioluminescent fungus can cause them to glow, and appears to spread from the white tufts on their ears. As such, it is rare for females to get the fungal infection. The only way a female has been seen to contract it is through contact with an infected male. As it is not harmful to them directly, they do not take action against the infected podmates, though they are more wary to step into moving water, perhaps because this infection can attract water-borne predators?

Extra:
Selipid are quick runners, but only for short distances. They do not swim very well, thanks to their narrow limbs, and it is to be noted that of their back feet, only the two frontward facing toes have claws. The back-facing toe does not, and instead seems to be overall stiffer than the other two.

New Species Bio Template © blueberry-poptart (with alterations for relevance)
Seliphid © CSEmber