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Published: 2022-03-25 21:55:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 5837; Favourites: 26; Downloads: 1
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The last post of this week will look at a couple of "Gorgaian Monkeys" known collectively as Goblinids (Kobalidae), descended from the Hamadryas Baboon.With many niches open and little competition for them, the simian primates introduced on Gorgaias radiated into many forms, each occupying niches that wouldn't be available to them on present Earth. Some forms diverged rather radically in appearance (such as the Ghoul and Satyr ). Yet the basic monkey form is a very successful form and in the 15-20 million years or so since vertebrates were first seeded onto the planet, there still exist many species that still look the same as monkeys of today. On the continents of Azazel (and more recently Gehinom), one family of monkey descendants known as Goblinids became the most successful, radiating into several genera and a total of at least 50 species. The ancestral Hamadryas Baboon to which they evolved from had to deal with harsher arid conditions on the continent of Azazel. With smaller forest areas, spending time on the ground and being very generalist was a major advantage and when climatic disruption occurred during the merging of Azazel with Gehinom, it was the Goblinids that did better than other "monkey" groups and within the last 5-7 million years have spread far and wide and rapidly evolved into new species.
The basic Goblin (genus Kobalus - on the left) fills a niche similar to the macaque of Earth. It spends a good chunk of the time on the ground (even the majority of time), and climbs trees as well. With the typical Goblin about as big as a raccoon, they live in large groups, called hordes, which can number over 100 individuals. This helps deter predators and competitors. Goblins are omnivorous and will feed on everything from fruits and nuts to insects and lizards. They are highly intelligent and have been seen using rocks to smash open nuts, sticks to poke and prod predators, and the husks of certain hard-shelled fruit to collect water. They also seem to have a distinct "language", with various screeches and growls used to convey different emotions between horde members.
Hobgoblins (on the right) are another type of Goblinid that is mostly arboreal. With males capable of weighing over 18 kg (40 lbs), they are among the largest arboreal member of their family. This species has an attractive coat and are notable for the males rough forehead phalanges, which are a bright green color and used for dominance and sexual display. They also have a thick red beard surrounding their neck. The smaller females almost entirely lack these distinctive features, and their faces are gray. Hobgoblins feed mostly on fruits and live in fission-fusion societies usually consisting of a small group of a single gender, which can readily change depending on circumstances.