Eosar
| Eosar | |
|---|---|
| Base Information | |
| Classification | Omnivore/Hunter & Heterotrophic Consumer |
| Terrain | Airborne, Terrestrial, Sub Surface |
| Locomotion | Flying and Walking |
| Size | (3m length 5-10m wingspan) / (51-100kg) average female is 72kg |
| Speed | Quick and then slower |
| Strength | Strong but frail |
| Social Structure | Solitary Hunters and then Communal Grazers |
| Weapons | Hooves/Teeth |
| Armor | Ventral Surface Flak |
| Source | |
| Homeworld | Aarshisuud (Fornast 1392) |
| Multi-world | No |
| Canon | No |
| Extinct | Extant |
| Reference | Ronald B. Kline, Jr. |
The Eosar is a bilaterally symmetrical, homeothermic consumer. It is an omnivore and a hunter native to Aarshisuud (world). They have two membranous wings made from thin layers of structural polysaccharides supported by boron carbide whiskers embedded in columnar protein tubes. These vast sheets of vascular tissue facilitate gas exchange and are how the organism breathes. The young adult wing span for the wings is 5 m and increases to up to 10m at maximum size at the terminal adult molting phase. They can soar and fly under the constraints of their local gravity and native atmospheric density. Adults range from 51-100kg in mass. The typical adult female is 72kg. They are big, but light for their size. Their carbon fiber nature makes their structure light weight but strong. They are a bit brittle and can be vulnerable to fracturing injuries. The closed vascular system has hundreds of tiny contractile pumps along its lengths and there is no central heart or lungs. The vascular liquids are also used for internal hydrostatic movements.
Physiology & Ecology[edit]
There are two genders and they are viviparous. After genetic materials are exchanged fertilization occurs in the male. The ovipositor then retracts into the body of the slightly larger and now gravid female where the embryo develops internally sustained by the mother’s circulatory hemolymph. Their ventral surfaces have thick layers of segmented armored carbon fiber plating which serves to protect the nerve clusters and functions as a keel for contractile muscles which articulate the powerful wing beats. The wings also have a beautiful spotted, subspecies specific, pattern. These neural nodes coordinate flight and serve as sensitive sound and olfactory receptors. They detect prey and food items from several kilometers away by scent alone. Vertical spars of carbon fiber anchor the hydrostatically reinforced body cavity. The dermal layers are adorned with thick layers of translucent filamentous hair or fur. This furry layer serves has a vibration sensitive tactile array. Minute air movement and pressure differences can be detected. Part barometer, weather gauge and atmospheric condition sensors, it also informs the organism of motion. Either the approach of predators or the movements of prey. The organism is blind and unfettered by lighting conditions. The landing gear consists of a trio of muscular 2m long legs each terminating in tough carbide hooves. The legs can spin the organism and while any two legs can support the organism’s mass the third can strike a devastating kick, lethal to most organisms. This strange tripod arrangement of 120 degree off set hooves allows the animal to spin and kick. The muscular legs develop more momentum and force behind the blows which can be delivered in any direction. The legs allow the animal to kneel, and provide a springing vertical leap to get the body launched up to 8m in the air under local gravity to allow the wings to catch dense tainted air and begin to soar on air currents. Wings can assume a variety of flight geometries to permit rapid changes in direction, pitch, yawl and roll. They are particularly good at a swept configuration for a high speed dive to surprise ground targets from altitude.
The legs when viewed from above, are in a Y pattern. Two legs point toward the anterior prow and one aligns with the posterior end of the 3m long body. The central axis of the body anterior to posterior serves mainly as wing root anchoring sites for flight muscle bundles. There is no discernible head or tail for this body plan. The ventral surface is armored to protect from the struggles of prey, where the multi-jointed legs and extendable mouth tentacle work in concert. The lateral and dorsal surfaces from front to back are coated in the long thick fur. The anterior prow is thicker and tapers toward the rear of the streamlined animal. This allows the landed animal to walk in any direction, change direction in a single stride and pivot their body and flexible wings. They tend to shiver and freeze to detect motion. A pin drop or heart beat at 10m is a klaxon to them. Their sound direction finding ability is enhanced by quickly spinning, then selectively furling and unfurling their sensor laden membranous wings, to directionally smell and hear targets. Their ruffed fur alert for vibrations, amid a concealing cloud of scent masking waste. Then they freeze motionless, waiting for a giveaway signal to strike. They pirouette, in a graceful wing assisted downward leaping arch, to deliver high velocity spinning kicks with muscular legs ending in diamond hard hooves.
Once the prey item has been immobilized or killed by a battery of kicks, a flexible muscular tube is sent forth, up to 4m away from the adult. It is ventrally mounted between the three legs and is fitted with long black carbon fiber teeth which pierce and grasp chunks of prey item’s flesh. Then the extendable mouth parts withdraw into a sleeve, sheathed with digestive alcoves. The bites from this toothy maw cause bloody wounds and finish off most prey crippled, wounded and/or stunned by kicks. Pockets of food are deposited into this a radial segmented array of larder/stomachs. These energy absorbing vesicles slowly digest and phagocytize nutrients. Circulatory metabolic waste products are shed into the hairs. A powdery dust of desiccated waste is excreted from glands at the terminus of each hair fiber. This material acts as a natural deterrent to native parasites and olfactory camouflage and jammer for other larger planetary carnivores. This dust masking cloud is deployed and then stirred up by the wing beats to distract visual hunters. It functions like an airborne ink cloud from an octopus. It only works during take offs and landings when the graceful and elusive flyer is most vulnerable to attackers. Once on the ground its kicks and viscous bites dissuade most attackers. This species specialize in attacking ground based prey and are ill equipped for aerial combat. Some local predators exploit this. The Eosar’s rapid flight and maneuverability are defensive adaptations which facilitate resource location and acquisition. If harried in the air, Eosars tend to land, release their smoke cloud to confuse, and if the attackers persist and escape is not possible they silently fight to the death. The dying adults release warning/fear pheromones to warn off others of their species. They have no sound producing abilities and produce nearly no acoustical signature.
Life Cycle & Reproduction[edit]
Mating occurs on the ground prior to hibernation. The female’s centrally located ventral feeding probe carries the serrated ovipositor. The pheromone stimulated male’s fatty prow is penetrated near a selected mass of rapidly dividing undifferentiated haploid reproductive cells fostered by his accumulated energy deposits. Once the genetic exchange occurs, a few minutes later the female withdraws the embryo bearing probe. The embryo is placed into a vesicle adjacent and superior to the digestive array by the now sheathed, yet toothy feeding tube. The encapsulated embryo moves within the mother’s body to her forward body cavity. New born emerge from a gestating mother just prior to her spring thaw and triggering. They are born without help from mom and must tunnel to the surface. They quickly orient themselves, flap their wings to exchange respiratory gases and take off in the early morning thermal drafts. Grounded young that don’t hatch properly, are damaged, or linger too long are devoured by now larger, newly molted parents. The parents are ravenous and will recycle any wasted energy which is unfit for survival. Pregnant 100kg mothers are extremely non maternal, but do tend to seek isolation prior to hibernation. The 51kg young secrete suppressor/head start hormones to keep mothers quiescent, and give them a fighting chance to escape. Only single offspring are possible in this species; which serves as a natural population control. The gender ratio is nearly a perfect one to one.
Diet & Trophics[edit]
Adults hibernate and molt each local year during the winter. They accumulate and store energy but don’t really grow between molts. Their newly molted volume is nearly constant but their internal mass and density increases as they feed. Waxy fat bodies amass in the prow of the flyer. In the spring when they emerge they are very light and very maneuverable. They are very active hollow hunters and kill often in the early days of the spring. As they hunt over the course of the year they gradually slow and their flight becomes more lumbering. As the weather cools, their metabolism slows and they spend more time foraging for plants on the ground. In the late fall and early winter, scent/pheromone triggered mating pairs form. They congregate around vast orchards of nutrient rich, native autotrophic photosynthetic producers. These plants release airborne chemical precursors necessary to the manufacture of this species’ mating signals. Different subspecies specialize on different plant forms in different niches in different ecosystems across their native world. At this stage of the year they rely more and more heavily on plant matter to sustain their energy. They are used for seasonal pollination and seed dispersal at this point by local flora. Eventually they can’t fly and they burrow into the ground and over winter in a protective layer of secreted spun carbon fiber formed from their spent, furled and tattered wings. Their powerful hooves function like spades and shovels to quickly excavate downward. Lighter material is manipulated by the feeding probe and wings furling and unfurling to complete the burial with a superficial surface covering of concealing soil. Winds and snow drifts tend to do the rest. This outer wing layer is porous for gas exchange even when buried in loose soil. Breathing tubes form to cope with limited flooding. This is a vulnerable stage of development and not all adults survive hibernation amid the plant groves.
History & Background[edit]
Aggressive and offensively dangerous, this species is vulnerable from crushing and blunt force trauma. Bullets and piercing wounds do little damage as there are few vital organs. Broken carbon fiber support structures don’t heal well and can quickly spell death for the individual. Most adults die from predation following injury. Later in the year slower grounded adults grazing and hibernating winter molting phases are also vulnerable. However, no one messes with the newly spring emerged meat eating hunters. They are too quick and viciously efficient. Depending on feeding opportunities 51kg young adults can survive ten molts before they reach the maximum 100kg size. Full grown adults average 72kg. Few survive past ten years, and these seem to stop growing during subsequent moltings. If growth is stunted for some reason they can live longer, until they are allowed to reach maximum size. The upper limit for the age of stunted growth individuals is unknown.
Travellers' Aid Society Advisory[edit]
The various airborne chemicals the complex myriad of plant and animal species employ on this planet constitute an atmospheric taint from this ecologically mature matrix of climax communities. Filter mask use is strongly recommended.
Once the excretory, thermal dampening and vibration sensory fur neural web is carefully removed intact, the muscular bundles are edible if sterilized and properly cooked. Many gourmet chefs steam the meat to purge any lingering aromatics (a well ventilated kitchen/galley is essential). It is often combined with locally made wines crafted from the indigenous "fruit" groves and orchards, only if properly paired with that particular subspecies' correct niche. A savory sauce and gravy can be rendered from the fat bodies stored in the anterior portion of the body. This is to be avoided by the calorie conscious. The huge leg and flight muscles are excellent protein sources once the boron carbide whiskers and carbon fiber support "bones" are removed. This culinary treat combined with the beautiful savagery of this species has made Aarshisuud (world) a safari destination famous throughout the Fornast Sector. Extremely limited and therefore extremely valuable hunting permits are carefully managed by the local nobles, as personal favors to win friends and curry influence.
References and Contributors[edit]
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis), Captain, and Lead Naval Architect Ronald B. Kline, Jr. of the Imperial Navy