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Description
"The mountain devils are actually not too much of a threat as far as giant aeroraptors go. Less people venture up into the mountains than to places other types are found. And the mountain devils are less prone to be attracted by shiny human items. Still, if you do fancy a hike in the mountains, be mindful of the sky above you."
-James Foster, 2152.
First head of Cerulea Frontier Corps.

A western mountain devil with its newly caught prey, a cliff climber.

The apex predators of Cerulea's non-marine ecosystems are the largest members of the aeroraptor group. Other types of giant aeroraptor have been covered earlier. Such as the voracians of the plains: Voracian on the hunt by Tarturus on DeviantArt and To impress a lady by Tarturus on DeviantArt And the largest aeroraptors of all, the cave demons: Tarturus - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt and Cave Demon fight by Tarturus on DeviantArt

A mountain devil averages around 2 m in length, making it just a bit smaller than a voracian or a cave demon. As with these, the females are slightly larger than the males. There are actually two recognised species of mountain devil. The western, found in Occidentalis, and the eastern, found in Orientalis. Some biologists have argued that this classification is an oversimplification, with each of the two supposed species actually being wastebasket taxa. Studies of aeroraptor phylogeny so far have focused mainly on things like voracians, cave demons, and the numerous known species of hawk bug, with mountain devils still remaining understudied.

Mountain devils tend to be found in regions of the mountain where potential prey are most abundant. However, they can thrive at even the highest altitudes. This is thanks to a combination of the haemocyanic blood found in pseudo-arthropods in general, and the unidirectional air sac respiratory system found in aeroraptors. These features allow mountain devils to stay well oxygenated in thin air. The highest recorded flight altitude for a mountain devil was one individual recorded flying 5080 m above sea level (compare this with the 4301 m height of Cerulea's highest mountain, Mt St Clair).

As with aeroraptors in general, mountain devils will hunt anything they can potentially bring down. This can even include prey as large and fearsome as striped spine backs. While an adult spine back is more massive than a mountain devil, the latter can still get an advantage from swooping down with enough speed and force to knock the former to the ground and inflict severe damage with its six clawed feet. With male spine backs, the attack is usually done from a diagonal angle, striking just next to the spines.

Mountain devils have even been known to attack the largest known mountain dwellers, the head butters. Considering head butters can get up to 500 kg in mass, actually managing to bring one down is an impressive feat. Incredibly though, it has occurred, though not often.

Unlike their cousins, the voracians and cave demons, male mountain devils are not known to collect shiny object to impress females, or to build nests for them. Instead, the females themselves build simple nests built atop peaks and crags, in spots hard to access for any potential egg eaters. The female cares for the eggs without any help from the male, but will leave as soon as the eggs hatch, leaving the young on their own.

Description
"The mountain devils are actually not too much of a threat as far as giant aeroraptors go. Less people venture up into the mountains than to places other types are found. And the mountain devils are less prone to be attracted by shiny human items. Still, if you do fancy a hike in the mountains, be mindful of the sky above you."
-James Foster, 2152.
First head of Cerulea Frontier Corps.

A western mountain devil with its newly caught prey, a cliff climber.

The apex predators of Cerulea's non-marine ecosystems are the largest members of the aeroraptor group. Other types of giant aeroraptor have been covered earlier. Such as the voracians of the plains: Voracian on the hunt by Tarturus on DeviantArt and To impress a lady by Tarturus on DeviantArt And the largest aeroraptors of all, the cave demons: Tarturus - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt and Cave Demon fight by Tarturus on DeviantArt

A mountain devil averages around 2 m in length, making it just a bit smaller than a voracian or a cave demon. As with these, the females are slightly larger than the males. There are actually two recognised species of mountain devil. The western, found in Occidentalis, and the eastern, found in Orientalis. Some biologists have argued that this classification is an oversimplification, with each of the two supposed species actually being wastebasket taxa. Studies of aeroraptor phylogeny so far have focused mainly on things like voracians, cave demons, and the numerous known species of hawk bug, with mountain devils still remaining understudied.

Mountain devils tend to be found in regions of the mountain where potential prey are most abundant. However, they can thrive at even the highest altitudes. This is thanks to a combination of the haemocyanic blood found in pseudo-arthropods in general, and the unidirectional air sac respiratory system found in aeroraptors. These features allow mountain devils to stay well oxygenated in thin air. The highest recorded flight altitude for a mountain devil was one individual recorded flying 5080 m above sea level (compare this with the 4301 m height of Cerulea's highest mountain, Mt St Clair).

As with aeroraptors in general, mountain devils will hunt anything they can potentially bring down. This can even include prey as large and fearsome as striped spine backs. While an adult spine back is more massive than a mountain devil, the latter can still get an advantage from swooping down with enough speed and force to knock the former to the ground and inflict severe damage with its six clawed feet. With male spine backs, the attack is usually done from a diagonal angle, striking just next to the spines.

Mountain devils have even been known to attack the largest known mountain dwellers, the head butters. Considering head butters can get up to 500 kg in mass, actually managing to bring one down is an impressive feat. Incredibly though, it has occurred, though not often.

Unlike their cousins, the voracians and cave demons, male mountain devils are not known to collect shiny object to impress females, or to build nests for them. Instead, the females themselves build simple nests built atop peaks and crags, in spots hard to access for any potential egg eaters. The female cares for the eggs without any help from the male, but will leave as soon as the eggs hatch, leaving the young on their own.