Cliggal Rat
Cliggal rats are amphibious little rodents, with webbed feet and a penchant for nibbling through stored sacks of grain. They have ruined many a store-room that lies anywhere near a waterway, where they live and frolic in the shallows like mischievous children.
Experienced folks, however, will know that it's not the seed that the little buggers are after; it is the mold and mildew in the bags themselves. Subsisting on decaying organic matter, the rats leave the actual wheat and barley seed largely alone, although they do ruin the foodstuffs with their waste and bio-toxic byproducts.
Anatomy & Morphology
These rats appear quite like common rats at first glance, if somewhat smaller and cuter. Upon closer inspection, however, their teeth are blunted, and they have webbed feet. A set of gils hides within the folds of skin at their neck. They additionally have a second set of clear, protective eyelids that close while they are swimming, to protect their eyes, and specialized flaps to prevent water from rushing up their noses.
Perception
These amazing little creatures can sense decay in any amount, and spend a lot of their time cleaning up the creeks, streams and waterways of Pax.
One of the most amazing abilities of these rodents is their ability to detect disease in humanoids, generally before symptoms even begin showing. Zoologists believe this is due to their almost preternatural ability to sense decay and decomposition anywhere in their vicinity.
Reproduction
These amazing little critters reproduce in the normal way, with a gestation period of only three weeks.
Growth Rate
Cliggal Rats reach sexual maturity at around eleven weeks old, developing rapidly in the first one to five weeks, and then more slowly as they age to maturity.
Ecology & Habitat
Cliggal Rats live in waterways and byways, always choosing relatively clean water wherein to dwell. It eats mainly molds, fungus, and spores, ingesting them with the putrefying remains of dead things in the water. They are known as purification systems, although the water that they live directly in needs to be boiled before it can safely be consumed.
Dietary Needs & Habits
Cliggal Rats are scavengers of the highest order, and dine on decay, as it were. They perform a vital service, in that they speed along the process of animals returning to Tellus from whence they came; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. They subsist on the lovely slimes and bacteria that exist in a putrefying body, of any sort.
Behavior & Psychology
These little, mousey, rats have surprisingly complex social interactions within their dens.
Biological Stages & Cycles
Born after only nine weeks of gestation, the Cliggal Rat develops rapidly, at first, but this slows the closer they get to the age of secual maturity, at around eleven weeks. They will live to about two years, barring any diseases or unfortunate circumstances. Once death does take one, the rest of the Cliggal Rat den waits for the putrefication process to start before consuming the body for the lovely nutrients available once the rotting process really gets going.
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