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Description

Planet: Amthalassa

Common name (in Gellteqna): Aḱũt́it^alt^umã (mosslands akuti)

Gellnan ecological designation: aḱũam^ũt^umã

Size: 70 centimetres in height

Diet: meat, usually small animals and tubebugs

Habitat and range: open mossland throughout the regions to the north and east of the Talliq Basin.

Reproduction: sexual, all hermaphrodites, lays eggs

The order Akuilnuti constitutes a wide range of small radially symmetric carnivores primarily engaging in ambush tactics. They are most active at night, making use of the system's two more distant secondary stars for light. Among nocturnal animals this is the favoured light source, the planet's small moon far too dim and usually eclipsed at night. Unlike most other akuti, the mosslands akuti engages in more cooporative hunting - perhaps a result of the more open environment offering fewer places to hide. The exoskeleton at the tips of their claws is constantly shedding, ensuring their sharpness is renewed, a defining feature of the order as a whole.

To avoid competition with the larger, bilaterally symmetric predators that inhabit the mosslands, like the lanalit, they tend to go after smaller prey, preferring the wide variety of small burrowing animals abundant in this environment. Since they can see colour, their prey tends to have a duller colouration than those of the apex predators.

More sociable than other akuti, they live in hierarchical groups, with the dominant individuals determined largely by the brightness of their feathers. These individuals are afforded a larger share of the meat obtained during a hunt. To reduce competition among their offspring, the eggs of lower ranking members of the group are eaten, so usually only those close to the top of the hierarchy are able to reproduce. There is quite a lot of group mobility, however, with the dominant members frequently replaced as they age. Power struggles can occasionally lead to fighting. Although since feather quality and pigmentation is a good indicator of health, it functions as a deterrent.

Description

Planet: Amthalassa

Common name (in Gellteqna): Aḱũt́it^alt^umã (mosslands akuti)

Gellnan ecological designation: aḱũam^ũt^umã

Size: 70 centimetres in height

Diet: meat, usually small animals and tubebugs

Habitat and range: open mossland throughout the regions to the north and east of the Talliq Basin.

Reproduction: sexual, all hermaphrodites, lays eggs

The order Akuilnuti constitutes a wide range of small radially symmetric carnivores primarily engaging in ambush tactics. They are most active at night, making use of the system's two more distant secondary stars for light. Among nocturnal animals this is the favoured light source, the planet's small moon far too dim and usually eclipsed at night. Unlike most other akuti, the mosslands akuti engages in more cooporative hunting - perhaps a result of the more open environment offering fewer places to hide. The exoskeleton at the tips of their claws is constantly shedding, ensuring their sharpness is renewed, a defining feature of the order as a whole.

To avoid competition with the larger, bilaterally symmetric predators that inhabit the mosslands, like the lanalit, they tend to go after smaller prey, preferring the wide variety of small burrowing animals abundant in this environment. Since they can see colour, their prey tends to have a duller colouration than those of the apex predators.

More sociable than other akuti, they live in hierarchical groups, with the dominant individuals determined largely by the brightness of their feathers. These individuals are afforded a larger share of the meat obtained during a hunt. To reduce competition among their offspring, the eggs of lower ranking members of the group are eaten, so usually only those close to the top of the hierarchy are able to reproduce. There is quite a lot of group mobility, however, with the dominant members frequently replaced as they age. Power struggles can occasionally lead to fighting. Although since feather quality and pigmentation is a good indicator of health, it functions as a deterrent.