#elasmotheriinae

[vees-strangeworld-omniverse]

ARGONUS FAUNA: gremlins, rhinos and noodles

(NOTE: descriptions copy-pasted from DA where i normally/originally post my works. any context that is missing here on tumblr can be found on my DA [linked here and on pinned post] )

[additional note: much of the first several post on argous's fauna use a human to scale instead of an E-class aircraft like i would end up doing later on. thus, animal's actual size relative to their world will be smaller. a bonus note to make is that this human perspective also includes names of the animals, so i'll be giving out alternate names and/or some explanation....]

so, anyways...here's the beginning of a series of fauna unique to argonus.....starting with the earliests of these posts and making our way up.

GREMLIN BIRD -4ft 11' long (including tail) -caprimulgiformes, own group but related to potoos. -forest / woodlands throughout the old world, but especially in eroon and sonias

    generally speaking, when it comes to argonus the term "gremlin" can referee to one of two things: -a derogatory name for humans that live in the walls of larger elkinet's homes -several species of birds known to live in urban environments and have a reputation of being aggressive     you can guess which i'm referring to here. gremlin birds, also known as gremlin nightjars, gremlin potoos or just gremlins, are a pretty large genus of caprimulgiformes (potoos, nightjars, etc.). they're naturally found in the woodland of the old world, however they have also excellently adapted to living in urban and suburban environments. they're easily identifiable by the ear-like tufts on their heads, which most members of the order don't have. the diet of the gremlin bird is the same as every other nightjar and potoo; various insects, including moths, termites and beetles. however, unlike most other members of it's family, gremlin birds are crepuscular and most actives in the mornings and evenings.     gremlin birds nest in just about any hollow space large enough to live in. in the wild, these would include tree hollows, fallen trunks, abandoned burrows and undersides of rockfaces. however, in urban environments they'll use places like abandoned structures, barns, sheds, attics and back alleys to nest and raise young. they make a small, simple nest using twigs and whatnot, where they raise 1-2 chicks for 6 months. during that time they're know display aggression towards anything seen as a threat, typically if their first two tactics (camouflaged and intimidation) don't work.

SLEIPNIR RHINOCEROS -18 ft at the shoulder -rhinocerotidae, close relative of elasmotherium -boreal and temperate forest of eroon and sonias

    considering how argonian horned animals will always have an extra set of horns, this is the closest argonus can really get to a unicorn. sleipnir rhinos (also known as fur rhinos by the elkinets) are a genus of rhinoceros that get their name from the multi-limb horse of Norse mythology, sleipnir. their genus, sleipniroceros, are the last remaining members of the subfamily elasmotheriinae, the subfamily that had elasmotherium and sinotherium. they're not as big as other extant rhino species, only being around the same height as an argonian donkey.     sleipnir rhinos, despite being a rare and vulnerable species, have a pretty extensive range; species can be found from as far west as maronus, as north as the northernlands and as far south as center kingdom. sleipnir rhinos are most commonly found in the boreal and temperate woodlands, where they eat they various foliage of leaves, twigs and fruits. they're primarily solitary, with the males being loners and female living in pairs. their horns, like all other rhinos, are primarily for defense, however attacks are rare because sleipnir rhinos choose to run from a threat first.     the elkinets have, for a long time (600 years), kept sleipnir rhinos in captivity for a variety of reasons, depending on the culture. most commonly they're bred for their wool and meat, but have also been great at being beast-of-burden. however, no species is fully domesticated, only just very tame.

{tumblr note: the "sleipnir" part of the rhino's scientific name is actually the name of the naturalist who gave them the scientific name. also, they are NOT the only "unicorn" on argonus, as i kept creating more and more cool fauna for the world}

WALKER VOLANS -14 ft tall -domestic descendant of the secretary bird -origins in gwangir

    elkinets, for centuries at this point have been domesticating various species of birds. birds-of-prey species (vultures, owls, eagles, ect) have been a mainstay, since like the argonian helicopters (stunnits), they fill the role of dogs/cats while having the perk of flight and keeping up with their flying owners. the secretary bird here is no different, however, they're actually a very recent addition to the line of domesticated raptors. they've been tamed in captivity as early as the mid 17nth century, but only started to become truly domesticated in the early 21ste century (2000s-ish era), at least a decade before the pukani (and subsequent interdimensional beings) arrived. within the 500 years, they became fully domesticated with various distinct breeds and far enough removed to become it own distinct species; the walker volans (aka walking bird).     walker volans come in a variety of colors, coat lengths and sizes, however they don't stray too far from the basic build of their wild ancestor; they're still that tall, lanky bird with a sharp beak. however, there is one major difference from their wild ancestors, and that is flight. the walker volans are still relatively terrestrial, however they've been bred to fly more stronger, faster and longer than the secretary bird. this has, coincidentally, made them popular amongst human and similarly-sized sophonts as perfect mounts.

[tumblr note: i have yet to make any more domestic bird-of-prey for argonus (besides an owl that i scrapped one time). i must've forgotten about that, so...yeah, ok, moving on...]

SONIAS LAMPREY -3 ft in length -lamprey species -freshwaters of indus, center kingdom and kingdom of laos          the sonias lamprey is a very common species of lamprey, found through southern sonias. on it's own, its not too different from the average argonian lampreys. the only thing that makes them different is their omnivores diet, since they'll eat anything they can put their mouths on. but, they also go by the alternative name "soupfish", and not because the look like a noodle.     sonias lampreys (as well as other species of lampreys found in sonias) are commonly eaten as food. the most common dish is lamprey soup, where the noodles are replace with whole, cooked lampreys, sometimes with skull and spine attached. these lampreys are either pickled or marinated before being fried in a pan. although they taste great, many outsiders find it gross since they normally see lampreys as pests rather than food.

LEPOREPORCOS -9 ft at shoulders -cavy, giant relative of the mara / Patagonian hare -woodlands of north archus

    like alot of the large islands, back in the ice age both north archus and south archus were loosely connected to each other and mainland southest ameriga. most of the mammals that got their either crossed via the frozen bridge or by rafting there. then the ice began to melt, which had the sea levels rise and now here we are. like many islands, there's some unique fauna to the lands, and no island fauna would be complete without some kind of insular gigantism/dwarfism.     the leporeporcos is also known as the giant mara, and as one would guess it's a large rodent belonging to the Dolichotinae subfamily, the same family as the maras. due to the lack of competition and predators, they've become much bigger and heavier, with the size close to a capybaras. like it's relatives, it eats leaves and grasses and is a very social animal.

[gepetordi1]

the Siberian Unicorn

It was the last surviving member of Elasmotheriinae, a distinctive group of rhinoceroses separate from the group that contains living rhinoceros (Rhinocerotinae). The two groups are estimated to have split at least 35 million years ago according to fossils and molecular evidence.

Its legs were longer than those of other rhinos and were adapted for galloping, giving it a horse-like gait

[alphynix]

Elasmotherium sibiricum was a giant rhinoceros that lived during the mid-to-late Pleistocene epoch, between about 800,000 and 39,000 years ago. Found across much of the Eurasian steppe dry grassland environments, it stood around 2.5m tall (8'2") at the top of its humped shoulders and weighed about 4 tonnes (4.4 US tons), making it close in size and mass to a modern elephant.

It was the last known representative of a particularly ancient lineage of rhinos, last sharing a common ancestor with modern forms over 40 million years ago.

A large bony dome on its forehead is traditionally thought to have supported an enormous keratinous horn like the distantly-related woolly rhino, but a 2021 study has recently challenged that interpretation. The dome structure was actually rather thin-walled and wouldn't have been able to support the weight of a giant horn, instead probably being covered by a much stumpier backwards-pointing nub – while an enlarged nasal cavity inside the dome also suggests it may have actually functioned as a resonating chamber, similar to the crests of hadrosaurs or the extinct wildebeest Rusingoryx.

It also had a smaller toughened "pad" on its nose that may have been used along with a prehensile upper lip to dig around in the soil for plant roots and tubers.

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[andrearrrrr]

the Siberian Unicorn

It was the last surviving member of Elasmotheriinae, a distinctive group of rhinoceroses separate from the group that contains living rhinoceros (Rhinocerotinae). The two groups are estimated to have split at least 35 million years ago according to fossils and molecular evidence.

Its legs were longer than those of other rhinos and were adapted for galloping, giving it a horse-like gait.

[dreadwulf]

BTW, regarding the “great horned beast” who punched through the gates of Winterfell in AMFAS, this is what I was imagining:

basically a furry rhinocerus / mammoth thing. Which, turns out, is actually a real animal that really existed, and real actual scientists call them a “siberian unicorn” or Elasmotheriinae

so when I’m recapping how the unicorn was brought down in the next chapter, picture the above (not the Mia Farrow type)