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Description
The Daggerthumb is the last living iguanodontid in Arcadia.

Found only in Astra, away from the hadrosaurs that displaced the rest of their relatives, the Daggerthumb stands as the second largest herbivore in the region, only dwarfed by the larger Thundertail, a relict diplodocid. Like most ornithopods, they are social animals, living in herds led by a bull and several females and their offspring.

They get their name from the spike like protrusions on their thumbs, which the Astrans often compare to daggers. These are formidable weapons, capable of inflicting deep puncture wounds, its because of the this, even the largest predators in Astra opt to go after easier prey. The males have inflatable hoods on their nasal areas, which they use to attract females or intimidate rival males. While often found in a quadrupedal stance, they are capable of switching to a bipedal stance, whenever they want to reach higher up food or move faster.

During the rutting season, young bulls would compete for the right to mate with harems of females, sometimes they will try and challenge the older bulls. If a young bull claims a harem after beating the previous leader, he will sometimes kill the previous male's offspring in order to get the females to become available again. Fights between bulls are brutal and could often lead to the death of the loser, so to avoid that, they inflate their hoods, displaying bright red colors as a means to display their strength, without direct violence. Females can lay 10-20 eggs in a single clutch, and place them on a nest dug from earth and kept warm by rotting vegetation. Their young are a bright light blue color to contrast to the green vegetation, this is a precaution for the adults to avoid accidentally stepping on them.

They have been known to be rather playful with the mammalian fauna in rather interesting ways. Hatchlings and juveniles are often seen in playing with young deer, llamas and wild asses. The adults and subadults would sometimes interact with the larger mammalian herbivores, such as the sloths and brontotheres, though this is mostly playful nipping. They will also allow smaller animals like lemurs, to ride atop their backs, sometimes allowing the small primates to pick off any parasites on their skin. They also display curiosity towards humans as a mammal that stands upright on two legs is considered strange to them.

While not without many setbacks, there have been attempts at domestication of these mighty beasts, by the people of Astra. Being social animals, they can work well with riders if trained from a young age. They prefer to be accompanied by other members of their kind to remain calm. The Astrans mainly use them as a form of transport especially across long distances where travelling by horse would be too dangerous especially with the predatory theropods lurking in the woods. Caravan Daggerthumbs usually travel in groups of three to five individuals, providing safe travels for passengers. They have also been employed in warfare, as their large size allows them to transport several soldiers or even mounted weaponry. Their size alone is an effective weapon on its own, able to take out platoons of soldiers, provided they were outfitted with decent armor to protect themselves from spears and arrow fire.

Scientific name: Iguanodon Astra - "Iguana Tooth of Astra"

Description
The Daggerthumb is the last living iguanodontid in Arcadia.

Found only in Astra, away from the hadrosaurs that displaced the rest of their relatives, the Daggerthumb stands as the second largest herbivore in the region, only dwarfed by the larger Thundertail, a relict diplodocid. Like most ornithopods, they are social animals, living in herds led by a bull and several females and their offspring.

They get their name from the spike like protrusions on their thumbs, which the Astrans often compare to daggers. These are formidable weapons, capable of inflicting deep puncture wounds, its because of the this, even the largest predators in Astra opt to go after easier prey. The males have inflatable hoods on their nasal areas, which they use to attract females or intimidate rival males. While often found in a quadrupedal stance, they are capable of switching to a bipedal stance, whenever they want to reach higher up food or move faster.

During the rutting season, young bulls would compete for the right to mate with harems of females, sometimes they will try and challenge the older bulls. If a young bull claims a harem after beating the previous leader, he will sometimes kill the previous male's offspring in order to get the females to become available again. Fights between bulls are brutal and could often lead to the death of the loser, so to avoid that, they inflate their hoods, displaying bright red colors as a means to display their strength, without direct violence. Females can lay 10-20 eggs in a single clutch, and place them on a nest dug from earth and kept warm by rotting vegetation. Their young are a bright light blue color to contrast to the green vegetation, this is a precaution for the adults to avoid accidentally stepping on them.

They have been known to be rather playful with the mammalian fauna in rather interesting ways. Hatchlings and juveniles are often seen in playing with young deer, llamas and wild asses. The adults and subadults would sometimes interact with the larger mammalian herbivores, such as the sloths and brontotheres, though this is mostly playful nipping. They will also allow smaller animals like lemurs, to ride atop their backs, sometimes allowing the small primates to pick off any parasites on their skin. They also display curiosity towards humans as a mammal that stands upright on two legs is considered strange to them.

While not without many setbacks, there have been attempts at domestication of these mighty beasts, by the people of Astra. Being social animals, they can work well with riders if trained from a young age. They prefer to be accompanied by other members of their kind to remain calm. The Astrans mainly use them as a form of transport especially across long distances where travelling by horse would be too dangerous especially with the predatory theropods lurking in the woods. Caravan Daggerthumbs usually travel in groups of three to five individuals, providing safe travels for passengers. They have also been employed in warfare, as their large size allows them to transport several soldiers or even mounted weaponry. Their size alone is an effective weapon on its own, able to take out platoons of soldiers, provided they were outfitted with decent armor to protect themselves from spears and arrow fire.

Scientific name: Iguanodon Astra - "Iguana Tooth of Astra"