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Description

Draconology © VikasRao

Please do not copy, redistribute, reference, trace, reuse, alter or modify for your own use without my prior permission, thank you!

This was easily the most time I've ever spent on an ecology piece in this series. I figured I'd do an overview of sorts of some of the clades that populate the Draconology version of Atlantis. I'll be properly introducing all of these and more in a dedicated post on the fauna of this fictional landmass but for now, zoom in!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A trio of Atlantean dragons (Lykonopterus ferox) feast on their latest kill, a waldrhog (Lagochoerus gigas), as a pack of tekulas (Proticticyon venaticus) wait patiently to feed on the charred leftovers, knowing full well that the dragons cannot finish the entire carcass. An impatient alphyn (Vulpictis rubidus) meanwhile, tries to snag a bite, only to be driven off by one of the feeding dragons.

Some distance away, an Atlantean pardelot (Neosmilus atlanticus) observes the commotion, but with a full belly is not interested in scavenging. A pair of Stymphalian birds (Sarcogrus calvus) on the other hand, squabble over who gets first dibs; even though they still have to wait a good while before they can eat, the highly territorial birds cannot stand the sight of each other for long.

In the distance, a small herd of common jackalope (Ceratolagus fulvus) go about their day grazing, while a large hespir (Steropitherium meniscodus) browses on some low-lying branches.

Though not the largest dragon species in Atlantis, the Atlantean dragon is still an apex predator of its ecosystem, compensating for its relatively small size by hunting in packs and using their knife-like teeth and talons to lethal effect, not to mention their fire breath. As with most dragons however, they have rather weak jaws, and therefore cannot eat bone, and the weight restrictions of flight mean that even if these dragons gorge themselves, they will still leave most of the carcass uneaten.

The tekulas, also called the warg badgers, are, despite their canid-like appearance, members of the Mustelidae, the family that includes weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Specifically, they belong to the subfamily Oligobuninae, which were quite diverse in North America during the Miocene, but now only persist in Atlantis. At 80-95 cm long including the tail & weighing 20-30 kg, it is similar in size to a medium-sized dog or slightly larger than a large wolverine. With no canids on Atlantis, oligobunines such as the tekula have evolved to fill the niche of a social, persistence hunter similar to wolves & wild dogs. While not particularly fast, they have impressive stamina, powerful jaws, good intelligence, and the ferocity of a honey badger. They have a commensalistic relationship with Atlantean dragons, which, as with all dragons, burn their prey before eating, but cannot eat the entire carcass. The tekulas therefore wait for the dragons to eat their fill, and then treat themselves to freshly cooked meat; their powerful jaws enabling them to crush all but the largest bones.

The alphyn, also called the enfield, is another oligobunine mustelid endemic to Atlantis. While the tekula has adapted to fill a niche similar to wolves & wild dogs, the alphyn has evolved convergently with foxes. Measuring 50-60 cm long including the tail and weighing 12-17 kg, the alphyn is a highly adaptable solitary, small game hunter that uses its forepaws with elongated digits and claws to climb trees to raid birds' nests, capture prey, and even sense prey moving underground. Although a mesocarnivore unlike the hypercarnivorous tekula, it too will not pass up a chance to scavenge, though its gracile jaws are ill-equipped to exploit a carcass to the same extent.

The waldrhog is a massive lagomorph, which, at ~2 m long and weighing 120-200 kg, holds the distinction of being the largest lagomorph known. It belongs to a clade of lagomorphs endemic to Atlantis known as the Ceratolagidae, colloquially called jackalopes, which are characterized by distinctive cranial horns and an ungulate-like build (though in this species, horns are only present in males). In an ecosystem with few large ungulates, these lagomorphs have become the dominant grazing animals. The waldrhog in particular fills a niche similar to that taken up by bovines.

The common jackalope is a typical ceratolagid. At 65-75 cm long and weighing 9-18 kg, it is similar in size to a mara, and fills a similar niche as a social, fleet-footed grazer.

The pardelot, or simply pard, is a late-surviving nimravid which, in the absence of felids, has continued to occupy a similar niche as its ancient ancestors. Measuring 2 m long and weighing 45 kg, it is similar in size to a small leopard, and is a similar arboreal predator. Although it possesses elongated upper canines, being a nimravine, these are better described as scimitar teeth such as those of Pogonodon than the dirk teeth of hoplophoneines such as Eusmilus but are stouter than either. This tooth configuration allows it to quickly take down prey such as jackalopes, as well as drag it up a tree out of reach of scavengers or competitors, a feat which may break the longer & flatter teeth of dirk tooths.

Despite a passing resemblance to horses and the extinct paraceratheres, the hespir is actually more closely related to tapirs. It belongs to a small clade of perissodactyls endemic to Atlantis, the Steropitheriidae, which evolved from early tapir relatives such as Heptodon, and are the sister clade to Tapiridae within the superfamily Tapiroidea. Large adult males (bulls) can stand upto 2.5 meters tall and weigh 450-550 kg. The hespir is a low browser, feeding on shrubs and low-hanging branches, a niche which not many other Atlantean herbivores exploit, making it the most successful of the few ungulate species native to the islands.

The Stymphalian bird is an unusual crane species endemic to Atlantis. It is the only species in its genus, but is related to cranes of the genus Antigone, which includes the sarus, sandhill, & white-naped cranes and the brolga. Standing 1.8 m tall with a 2.5 m wingspan, it is similar in size to sarus cranes, however, this species isn't as dependent on water sources as its relatives, and leans strongly towards hypercarnivory compared to the omnivorous tendancies of most cranes. The Stymphalian bird has evolved along a similar trajectory as the marabou stork of Africa and the adjutant storks of Asia, with a sharp bill and featherless head adapted to feeding on large carcasses. Their most notable feature however are their wing feathers. The quills of the primaries extend beyond the feather vane, giving the feathers sharp, barbed tips. Their wing bones too are quite robust, and possess prominent wing claws. This wing weaponry suits their general temperamental nature, and in conjunction with their size, will use it to bully smaller predators/scavengers off a carcass.

World of Draconology

Description

Draconology © VikasRao

Please do not copy, redistribute, reference, trace, reuse, alter or modify for your own use without my prior permission, thank you!

This was easily the most time I've ever spent on an ecology piece in this series. I figured I'd do an overview of sorts of some of the clades that populate the Draconology version of Atlantis. I'll be properly introducing all of these and more in a dedicated post on the fauna of this fictional landmass but for now, zoom in!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A trio of Atlantean dragons (Lykonopterus ferox) feast on their latest kill, a waldrhog (Lagochoerus gigas), as a pack of tekulas (Proticticyon venaticus) wait patiently to feed on the charred leftovers, knowing full well that the dragons cannot finish the entire carcass. An impatient alphyn (Vulpictis rubidus) meanwhile, tries to snag a bite, only to be driven off by one of the feeding dragons.

Some distance away, an Atlantean pardelot (Neosmilus atlanticus) observes the commotion, but with a full belly is not interested in scavenging. A pair of Stymphalian birds (Sarcogrus calvus) on the other hand, squabble over who gets first dibs; even though they still have to wait a good while before they can eat, the highly territorial birds cannot stand the sight of each other for long.

In the distance, a small herd of common jackalope (Ceratolagus fulvus) go about their day grazing, while a large hespir (Steropitherium meniscodus) browses on some low-lying branches.

Though not the largest dragon species in Atlantis, the Atlantean dragon is still an apex predator of its ecosystem, compensating for its relatively small size by hunting in packs and using their knife-like teeth and talons to lethal effect, not to mention their fire breath. As with most dragons however, they have rather weak jaws, and therefore cannot eat bone, and the weight restrictions of flight mean that even if these dragons gorge themselves, they will still leave most of the carcass uneaten.

The tekulas, also called the warg badgers, are, despite their canid-like appearance, members of the Mustelidae, the family that includes weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Specifically, they belong to the subfamily Oligobuninae, which were quite diverse in North America during the Miocene, but now only persist in Atlantis. At 80-95 cm long including the tail & weighing 20-30 kg, it is similar in size to a medium-sized dog or slightly larger than a large wolverine. With no canids on Atlantis, oligobunines such as the tekula have evolved to fill the niche of a social, persistence hunter similar to wolves & wild dogs. While not particularly fast, they have impressive stamina, powerful jaws, good intelligence, and the ferocity of a honey badger. They have a commensalistic relationship with Atlantean dragons, which, as with all dragons, burn their prey before eating, but cannot eat the entire carcass. The tekulas therefore wait for the dragons to eat their fill, and then treat themselves to freshly cooked meat; their powerful jaws enabling them to crush all but the largest bones.

The alphyn, also called the enfield, is another oligobunine mustelid endemic to Atlantis. While the tekula has adapted to fill a niche similar to wolves & wild dogs, the alphyn has evolved convergently with foxes. Measuring 50-60 cm long including the tail and weighing 12-17 kg, the alphyn is a highly adaptable solitary, small game hunter that uses its forepaws with elongated digits and claws to climb trees to raid birds' nests, capture prey, and even sense prey moving underground. Although a mesocarnivore unlike the hypercarnivorous tekula, it too will not pass up a chance to scavenge, though its gracile jaws are ill-equipped to exploit a carcass to the same extent.

The waldrhog is a massive lagomorph, which, at ~2 m long and weighing 120-200 kg, holds the distinction of being the largest lagomorph known. It belongs to a clade of lagomorphs endemic to Atlantis known as the Ceratolagidae, colloquially called jackalopes, which are characterized by distinctive cranial horns and an ungulate-like build (though in this species, horns are only present in males). In an ecosystem with few large ungulates, these lagomorphs have become the dominant grazing animals. The waldrhog in particular fills a niche similar to that taken up by bovines.

The common jackalope is a typical ceratolagid. At 65-75 cm long and weighing 9-18 kg, it is similar in size to a mara, and fills a similar niche as a social, fleet-footed grazer.

The pardelot, or simply pard, is a late-surviving nimravid which, in the absence of felids, has continued to occupy a similar niche as its ancient ancestors. Measuring 2 m long and weighing 45 kg, it is similar in size to a small leopard, and is a similar arboreal predator. Although it possesses elongated upper canines, being a nimravine, these are better described as scimitar teeth such as those of Pogonodon than the dirk teeth of hoplophoneines such as Eusmilus but are stouter than either. This tooth configuration allows it to quickly take down prey such as jackalopes, as well as drag it up a tree out of reach of scavengers or competitors, a feat which may break the longer & flatter teeth of dirk tooths.

Despite a passing resemblance to horses and the extinct paraceratheres, the hespir is actually more closely related to tapirs. It belongs to a small clade of perissodactyls endemic to Atlantis, the Steropitheriidae, which evolved from early tapir relatives such as Heptodon, and are the sister clade to Tapiridae within the superfamily Tapiroidea. Large adult males (bulls) can stand upto 2.5 meters tall and weigh 450-550 kg. The hespir is a low browser, feeding on shrubs and low-hanging branches, a niche which not many other Atlantean herbivores exploit, making it the most successful of the few ungulate species native to the islands.

The Stymphalian bird is an unusual crane species endemic to Atlantis. It is the only species in its genus, but is related to cranes of the genus Antigone, which includes the sarus, sandhill, & white-naped cranes and the brolga. Standing 1.8 m tall with a 2.5 m wingspan, it is similar in size to sarus cranes, however, this species isn't as dependent on water sources as its relatives, and leans strongly towards hypercarnivory compared to the omnivorous tendancies of most cranes. The Stymphalian bird has evolved along a similar trajectory as the marabou stork of Africa and the adjutant storks of Asia, with a sharp bill and featherless head adapted to feeding on large carcasses. Their most notable feature however are their wing feathers. The quills of the primaries extend beyond the feather vane, giving the feathers sharp, barbed tips. Their wing bones too are quite robust, and possess prominent wing claws. This wing weaponry suits their general temperamental nature, and in conjunction with their size, will use it to bully smaller predators/scavengers off a carcass.

World of Draconology