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#sail #sailback #nodosaurid #clashofthetalons #ammonite #kraken #nyctosaurus #seaturtle #skimmer #spinosauridae
Published: 2019-06-02 07:05:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 2130; Favourites: 34; Downloads: 1
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The coastal plains of Agrinia have been heavily mined and drilled by the Steelquills for millennia in order to fuel their technological wonders. Surprisingly, despite how much environmental damage they have caused throughout their history, many Steelquill scientists and philanthropists have made efforts to save the native species from total annihilation by keeping them in zoos or menageries. Because of this, many of the creatures of Agrinia are simply extinct in the wild. Unfortunately, some creatures were either too large or otherwise didn't do well in captivity, thus sealing their fate. Five such species include:Fingerless Skimmer (Pterosaur on Yop Left): The last known species of nyctosaurid on Konureth, the Fingerless Skimmer (Rynchopomimus litus) was unique among pterosaurs by its unique ability to rely on skim feeding (a feat that would break the jaws or necks of most other pterosaurs). Due to a lack of fingers (besides the one wing finger), Fingerless Skimmers are forced to nest on the soft sands of beaches during nesting season since the rocky surfaces preferred by other pterosaurs are incredibly uncomfortable for them. The populations of Fingerless Skimmers and other pterosaurs declined in Agrinia due to a combination of construction on their preferred nesting grounds and the Robot War. The invention and reverse-engineering of the Flapjet was what finished them off as the skies were taken over by the flying automatons. Right after the end of the Robot War (97 years ago), the last few pterosaur colonies, including the last 25 Skimmers, were killed in what many on Earth would call a "dogfight" with all 100 remaining Flapjets. Despite the Flapjets' deadly laser beams, these 125 pterosaurs managed to take the robots down with them. The fact that this "Flight of the Soarers" was filmed allowed it to not only astonish contemporary Steelquills but also inspire works of art and music to this day.
Mast-Back (Spinosaurid on Upper Middle): During the "Sailing Age", Steelquill and Bronzeflayer (as well as Lapisripper pirates) ships sailed the western seas and competed with each other for the various islands and resources that they came across. One hazard that was known to the sailors were large, marine spinosaurids called Mast-Backs (Iratunavis linteudorsum). Mast-Backs often harassed ships initially due to being of similar size but later as a potential food supplementing their diet of schools of small fish and cephalopods. Like Earth's humpback whales, Mast-Backs use their large throat pouch to capture entire schools of small fish simply by swimming through their minuscule prey. Unique in possibly the entire animal kingdom, the Mast-Back has a set of "sails" made of thick but flexible skin that allow the animal to take advantage of the ocean's changing winds to move around without wasting energy swimming. Due to their highly reduced hindlimbs, Mast-Backs have to give birth to litters of around five "saillings" which stay with their mother until they grow large enough to take care of themselves. As if these large swimming theropods weren't terrifying enough, some individuals allow Lapisripper pirates to ride on their backs and use them as vessels for their attacks on ships. One such individual, known as 'Island Killa' was said to have sunk 73 ships before disappearing to parts unknown. By the end of the Sailing Age, the ships were much larger than the Mast-Backs could handle and were equipped with all kinds of weapons that allowed the beasts to be subdued to extinction. The skeletal remains of the last known individual "The Retro-Booshun of Carrion" can still be found on the shore of a lagoon almost at the border to the Barrier Mountains.
Bishop Turtle (Sea Turtle on Middle Right): For millions of years, the subtropical waters of southern Agrinia have been home to many different species of sea turtles. While some do nest on the sandy shores of the mainland, one species preferred the many islands that dotted the coast: The Bishop Turtle (Episocopuchelys isulaphilis). Named after the folds on their neck, similar to those on a Goldfeather Bishop's robe, Bishop Turtles mostly fed on sea plants and, unlike most sea turtles, spend regular amounts of time resting on land. This, unfortunately, left them vulnerable to overhunting for meat and shells. Later, during the Pebble War, many of the islands that the Bishop Turtles preferred were being used as testing areas for various bombs and other weaponry, destroying the islands (and by extension the turtles) in the process.
Metalback (Nodosaurid on Lower Middle): Many creatures in Agrinia, perhaps due to the mineral rich nature of the land, have developed the ability to grow structures made of stone, metal, or even gems on their bodies. The Metalback (Ferrustegos oleum) took this trend to the extreme by having osteoderms made of varying types of metal (iron being the most common, though some had osteoderms made of other metals such as copper, tin, silver, gold, or platinum) and having body fat that made a decent substitute for machine oil in a pinch. In addition to this hard exterior, the hides and blood contained toxic levels of cobalt (possibly as a defense against Metal-Tearers). These characteristics were taken advantage of by Ironbarb and early Steelquill tribes who rode around on the Metalbacks as mobile villages. Unfortunately, the advent of sedentary living and the switch to creating machines resulted in the Steelquills seeing the Metalbacks more as creatures to hunt and loot rather than as guardians to worry about the welfare of. When the Steelquill realized that Metalback numbers were plummeting at alarming rates, many settlements tried to keep beasts in farms so they could still be used for their metal and oil. Unfortunately, too many Steelquills got greedy and slaughtered their stock right when they reached physical maturity instead of letting them breed first. At one point, when a tribe of Kaybuds traveled to Agrinia during the exodus from their homeland of what is now Erbica, they were drawn to the Metalbacks and seemed to be immune to toxic effects of the beasts' cobalt hide, even prizing their scales as jewelry. The last known Metalback, posthumously named Stonewall Kustor, was spotted shortly after the beginning of the Robot War fighting off a force of 50 robots before sucumbing to its wounds. The location of this battle, known as Stonewall Kustor's Last Stand, is considered hallowed ground to the otherwise secular Steelquills. Legend says that on every half-moon, the ghost of Stonewall Kustor will appear during the night to browse on the shrubs planted throughout the area.
Storm Kark (Giant Ammonite on Bottom): The storms of the western seas were not only quite strong for Steelquill and Bronzeflayer ships to handle, but they seem to allow a certain monster to attack with devastating force. Storm Karks (Fulgurcrusta naviphagos) were giant ammonites that seemed to only be found during stormy weather. Whether the creatures followed the storms or outright created the storms is unknown, though about half of all individual Storm Karks carry an extra tentacle that shoot lightning attacks at targets too far out of the water for the main grabbing tentacles to reach. Sailors used to observe vicious battles between Storm Karks and Mast-Backs, even taking bets on which beast would win the fight. Some believe that the reason that Storm Karks may have attacked ships was due to the resemblance to that natural enemy. Many aspects of Storm Kark life have remained a mystery, including how they even went extinct in the first place. Even when the ships got too big and resulted in the extinction of the Mast-Backs, Storm Karks still had little trouble with their attacks so it could not be that. One theory posits that the decline of Storm Kark numbers may have to do with the incorporation of the Lapisripper pirate superstition of smashing a bottle of liquor on a ship during its maiden voyage to prevent the ship from ever sinking.
I'm disappointed by how the "Neon Yellow" Prang pencil I used for the Storm Kark didn't come out as bright when scanned as I expected.
The Mast-Back was created as a parody on how the structures on spinosaurid backs are called "sails" as well as Donald Henderson's idea that Spinosaurus probably couldn't dive.
The Bishop Turtle's neck folds and name are based on monk seals.
The Metalback is partially based on Scott Hartman's skeletal for Edmontonia with some influences from Saurian's Denversaurus as well as an attempt to add Gastonia-esque tail plates and Sauropelta-like shoulder spikes.
The fascination of Kaybuds with Metalback cobalt is a reference to the association between cobalt and the kobolds of German myth.
Stonewall Kustor is named after both Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson and George Armstrong Custer with the area he died being named after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand. The use of these names do not reflect any opinions on either historical figure. I just thought the combined name was cool.
The Fingerless Skimmer's coloration is based on that of the Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger).
The "Flight of the Soarers" is loosely named after "Ride of the Valkyries" from Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen". The idea of it came from hearing about an alternate ending for Jurassic Park 3 which involved the rescue helicopters being attacked by a group of Pteranodon. Klayton Fioriti has a video about this alternate ending: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcd168…
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Comments: 6
TrilobiteCannibal [2020-02-19 10:10:09 +0000 UTC]
I-is the electrical tentacle of the storm kark a hectocotylus?
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Oaglor In reply to TrilobiteCannibal [2020-02-19 18:09:25 +0000 UTC]
The Chromaraptors didn't know, but yes.
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TrilobiteCannibal In reply to Oaglor [2020-02-20 11:22:01 +0000 UTC]
Ah that makes sense. Mollusk genitals are rife for weaponization, never thought I'd see an electric hectocotylus though.
I love the chromaraptor world btw, a cool blend of fantasy and spec evo.
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Oaglor In reply to TrilobiteCannibal [2020-02-20 11:57:45 +0000 UTC]
Thanks. I am fixing to scan some belated Inktober drawings (all of which take place in the Clash of the Talons setting).
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