Flabbergrype
A flabbergrype is an omnivorous scavenger native to Distal A and D, Rostral B, and Eastern C. Feared for its resemblance to impish lesser daemons from Unexpector lore, flabbergrypes are, in fact, non-sentient creatures with many traits similar to those of terrestrial desert-dwelling lizards.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A flabbergrype's body is bipedal, with four short, meaty limbs ending in grasping, clawed feet and a short, detatchable tail that serves as a reservoir for fat. A pair of webbed wings sprout from the creature's back, allowing it to glide and make long jumps but not fly for long distances. Its lizard-like head features a single horn in the center and one at either side of the jaw, all of which rake backwards in line with the snout. A flabbergrype's muzzle is blunt and houses both pointed and flat teeth for chewing a wide variety of foodstuffs; the upper canines are sharp and are often use for defense as much as for hunting.
Flabbergrypes can grow up to a foot and a half long from snout to tail and have a wingspan of up to three feet. The whole of a flabbergrype's body is covered in thick, dark, rounded scales that provide ample protection from attack. Tn the Eiquereus Craglands, this tough hide is proven to resist acidic water as well as punctures and impacts.
Genetics and Reproduction
Flabbergrypes travel in loose groups of up to ten individuals called gangs. These groups are single sex and work together to attract the attentions of opposite sex gangs. While individual mated pairs do not necessarily stick together from season to season, the male and female gangs as a whole do, sharing a territory while not directly interacting outside of mating season.
In the late fall, gangs of opposite sexes merge together to create burrows for each mating pair. Amplexus occurs in these burrows, and the groups will bed down together for mutual protection during their winter lethargy: flabbergrypes are exothermic and become vulnerable in the cold. When the weather warms in early spring, the eggs hatch and, within 4-6 weeks, the newborn flabbergrypes leave with their same-sex siblings to form new gangs.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Like wild boars, flabbergrypes have the uncanny ability to eat almost anything they can fit into their mouths. Fruit, vegetables, live prey, detritus, and carrion are all viable options. The natural armor of a flabbergrype can ward off Distal urticator spines, allowing it to occasionally take young urticators as prey - though the tough, vitreous hide of a Distal razorback pup is too tough for even a large flabbergrype to penetrate with its jaws. Windsievers and, where their territories overlap, flashravens are common prey for flabbergrypes.
Unlike many Distal creatures, the sensitive scent glands in a flabbergrype's mouth can actually detect the chiralty of many amino acids, allowing them to avoid Distal wasting by regurgitating any meals that have the wrong chirality. While the bacteria in a flabbergrype's mouth is unable to infect terrestrial life due to this difference in chirality, it is aggressive and necrotizing when delivered via bite into the body of a Distal creature, effectively making the flabbergrype venemous to these species.
Flabbergrypes, being native to hot Rostral- and arid Eastern- adjacent environments, are highly adept at conserving water in their bodies. A flabbergrype seldom has to search for water to drink, typically extracting all it needs from live or freshly-killed prey.
Behaviour
Flabbergrypes are cantankerous, territorial, and difficult to dissuade once stirred up. While seldom a life-threatening threat to well-prepared outdoorsmen, a gang of flabbergrypes often attacks in unison and can inflict grievous injuries on those caught without protection in their territories. Diving into water is an effective means of forcing a gang of flabbergrypes to break off an attack, as the creatures have not evolved the ability to swim and know they will quickly drown if forced into water deeper than their own bodies.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Flabbergrypes have excellent low-light vision and scent, but their hearing is poor. The hissing that a flabbergrype makes when frightened or angry is meant to dissuade predators, not signal to other flabbergrypes. Members of a flabbergrype gang identify one another through pheremones.
Geographic Distribution
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