Megacaris

These large herbivores can colloquially be referred to as tanks that look like vegan lobsters. They are large but will only get aggressive when provoked by a predator. [Creature design by Random Evo times]

Basic Information

Anatomy

Megacarids are generally just scaled up durospina with some small differences. They have reached megafaunal sizes to combat the increasingly dangerous predators in the seas of Almaishahl. Adding to this defensive kit is an extreme amount of armour made from dead skin, this means when the creature curls up it can make it so only amour is displayed to the outside world, helping with this is the retractable antennae. They also display “hooves” made out of dead skin at the ends of their feet to protect them against jagged terrain and small ground predators, lastly they have claws very close to the mouth that really help grind up food before digestion acting like a set of mandibles, along with a neck to rotate their heads up or down to forage without grasping claws.

Genetics and Reproduction

Reproduction is exactly the same as durospina. Their ontogeny is rather simple, they begin as egg sacks each containing dozens of embryos that are laid in mass by parents and then promptly abandoned, then they use built in instincts to find food and grow to full size in 5 local years and breed from then on.

Ecology and Habitats

They live in shallow waters around continental shelves except in cold waters. They live all around Kub Shay, the southern tip of Arctica, all but the northern coast of Yama, and in the shallow waters between Yama and Kub Shay.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Megacarids are opportunistic herbivores but generally juveniles prefer high growing plants because of their easy to digest and energetic leaves but adults rely mostly on low quality ground plants because of their impressively efficient plant masticating abilities.

EXTINCT

Genetic Ancestor(s)