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Description
The Great Sand Ocean of Allun, despite it's inhospitable conditions, still supports a robustly diverse cast of flora and fauna all adapted to whatever the desert throws at them. Indeed as it's name would suggest, the Great Sand Ocean is almost marine-like so to speak. The central basin that holds the incredibly vast volume of sand is nearly a quarter of a kilometer deep, and is divided into separate tiers depending on what animals reside in said tiers, as well as how specialized they are to their environment.

The sandsharks are a very specialized inhabitant of this strange biome. Superficially piscine in appearance, though this is mostly due to the fact that a fossorial lifestyle has similar challenges and pressures as an aquatic one, sandsharks are very widespread and successful in this basin. Able to live their entire four decade long lives without even a sip of water, and possessing fat stores on their backs and around their tails.

This particular species, the southern one (defined by it's lighter colouration and larger size), is the type species of it's genus, measuring at 12 feet long and weighing 400 lbs. Like all other sandsharks, they live and travel in a fusion-fission lifestyle, breaking up and meeting with other members of the extended pack every once in a while on a regular basis. These packs consist of individuals of all sexes and ages, though freshly hatched juveniles are congregated in a creche guarded by elder adults.

They prefer sand areas that are at least six feet deep, enough for the adults to fully submerge themselves in, while the juveniles can tolerate a much shallower two feet. As they are terrestrial, there is no risk in them 'breaching' themselves outside of deep sand, and they do make occasional visits outside of the basin shores to scavenge or forage, but they do prefer to stick to their familiar element. There is no hierarchical system to their packs, each individual has an equal standing with one another, and pair bonds rarely last between males and females.

Dispersal in sandsharks is a year round occurrence, and the same animal may find itself moving between up to a dozen packs throughout it's entire life. This wander lust of theirs however does create one question. How does the genus remain from becoming monotypical? Surely with how far and often they travel, intermixing between species will occur, and the lines of genetic isolation start to fade. And yet, Haerenaspectros remains in the present day with two distinct species, with very little admixture.

Description
The Great Sand Ocean of Allun, despite it's inhospitable conditions, still supports a robustly diverse cast of flora and fauna all adapted to whatever the desert throws at them. Indeed as it's name would suggest, the Great Sand Ocean is almost marine-like so to speak. The central basin that holds the incredibly vast volume of sand is nearly a quarter of a kilometer deep, and is divided into separate tiers depending on what animals reside in said tiers, as well as how specialized they are to their environment.

The sandsharks are a very specialized inhabitant of this strange biome. Superficially piscine in appearance, though this is mostly due to the fact that a fossorial lifestyle has similar challenges and pressures as an aquatic one, sandsharks are very widespread and successful in this basin. Able to live their entire four decade long lives without even a sip of water, and possessing fat stores on their backs and around their tails.

This particular species, the southern one (defined by it's lighter colouration and larger size), is the type species of it's genus, measuring at 12 feet long and weighing 400 lbs. Like all other sandsharks, they live and travel in a fusion-fission lifestyle, breaking up and meeting with other members of the extended pack every once in a while on a regular basis. These packs consist of individuals of all sexes and ages, though freshly hatched juveniles are congregated in a creche guarded by elder adults.

They prefer sand areas that are at least six feet deep, enough for the adults to fully submerge themselves in, while the juveniles can tolerate a much shallower two feet. As they are terrestrial, there is no risk in them 'breaching' themselves outside of deep sand, and they do make occasional visits outside of the basin shores to scavenge or forage, but they do prefer to stick to their familiar element. There is no hierarchical system to their packs, each individual has an equal standing with one another, and pair bonds rarely last between males and females.

Dispersal in sandsharks is a year round occurrence, and the same animal may find itself moving between up to a dozen packs throughout it's entire life. This wander lust of theirs however does create one question. How does the genus remain from becoming monotypical? Surely with how far and often they travel, intermixing between species will occur, and the lines of genetic isolation start to fade. And yet, Haerenaspectros remains in the present day with two distinct species, with very little admixture.