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Description
Deep within the interior of the Ludenian jungles, a most striking creature can be found. About the size of a house cat, covered in magnificent colors and patterns, yet also deceptively deadly. Meet the resplendent viperret.

A relatively derived member of the viperret group to which it lends it's name to, it can be found in the understory and canopy reaches of the colossal trees that it call it's home. There it stays motionless for hours at a time, for it is an ectotherm and an ambush predator. Prey is dispatched by a swift bite that delivers a potent venom that digests the hapless animal from within.

Despite it's status as a predator, it is itself prey to many larger animals, even other larger viperrets. To combat this, they've evolved nine pairs of hollow spikes along the sides of their torso, each one attached to a venom gland. With the purpose of predator repulsion, this venom has evolved to inflict as much pain as possible as to warn a predator to never touch a viperret again. Their highly elaborate patterns and bright aposematic colors serve as an early warning, as to conserve as much of this expensive venom as possible.

Both male and female resplendent viperrets share this brilliant appearance, with the only mark of sexual dimorphism being the female's greater size and mass, sometimes doubling that of the male. A single female may hold a harem of a dozen males and a territory as vast as a single tree, which may well be 200 ft tall at least. Her males overlap their smaller territories with hers, and guard a clutch of eggs that she has laid within their nests. Each clutch can contain a maximum of 70 eggs. A massive energetic investment, thus furthering the selection for larger and more aggressive females that can better hold the largest and most prey dense territories. Most of these eggs would never survive to adulthood, but those that do rarely face mortality once they develop their colors, as every predators in the jungle knows of the potency of their venom.

The genus Chromaterpeton is, to put it lightly, a veritable taxonomic nightmare. Each species significantly more different than the last, both in appearance, behavior, and size. The smallest species can barely surpass 4 inches in total length, while the largest species can max out at a colossal 37 feet. Such an extreme size discrepancy is rarely seen in any other Paradoxian vertebrate.

Description
Deep within the interior of the Ludenian jungles, a most striking creature can be found. About the size of a house cat, covered in magnificent colors and patterns, yet also deceptively deadly. Meet the resplendent viperret.

A relatively derived member of the viperret group to which it lends it's name to, it can be found in the understory and canopy reaches of the colossal trees that it call it's home. There it stays motionless for hours at a time, for it is an ectotherm and an ambush predator. Prey is dispatched by a swift bite that delivers a potent venom that digests the hapless animal from within.

Despite it's status as a predator, it is itself prey to many larger animals, even other larger viperrets. To combat this, they've evolved nine pairs of hollow spikes along the sides of their torso, each one attached to a venom gland. With the purpose of predator repulsion, this venom has evolved to inflict as much pain as possible as to warn a predator to never touch a viperret again. Their highly elaborate patterns and bright aposematic colors serve as an early warning, as to conserve as much of this expensive venom as possible.

Both male and female resplendent viperrets share this brilliant appearance, with the only mark of sexual dimorphism being the female's greater size and mass, sometimes doubling that of the male. A single female may hold a harem of a dozen males and a territory as vast as a single tree, which may well be 200 ft tall at least. Her males overlap their smaller territories with hers, and guard a clutch of eggs that she has laid within their nests. Each clutch can contain a maximum of 70 eggs. A massive energetic investment, thus furthering the selection for larger and more aggressive females that can better hold the largest and most prey dense territories. Most of these eggs would never survive to adulthood, but those that do rarely face mortality once they develop their colors, as every predators in the jungle knows of the potency of their venom.

The genus Chromaterpeton is, to put it lightly, a veritable taxonomic nightmare. Each species significantly more different than the last, both in appearance, behavior, and size. The smallest species can barely surpass 4 inches in total length, while the largest species can max out at a colossal 37 feet. Such an extreme size discrepancy is rarely seen in any other Paradoxian vertebrate.