Bos acutifrons
Written by Pookas Kreations
Bos acutifrons is a megafauna version of a type of cattle. This is the largest one known to have lived on Aquatica. They are the ancestors of all the cattle that followed. Their children are the Auroch.
No one knows for sure where they came from, these cattle just appeared one day. Some believe that they were created by Bel Mithra (God). He did create them and they were like children to him. The supposition is that since they were created by a god, that they gained some special abilities.
Basic Information
As with most cattle, one bull has a harem. Females commonly bear 2-3 young, the younger they are, the less young they have. The older they get, the more young is born. Females are more commonly born in multiples, but with male calves, they are only born as singles or rarely twins.
The gestation period is 280 days, the more fetuses, the less time is required for gestation. If the mother is threatened in any way during the pregnancy, the young are often aborted.
A young calf becomes an adult by the age of 1 year, while a female takes 2 years to be fully mature. The male can reliably mate by 6 months but must fight for the right to a female.
Their size and weight would have precluded them from living in wet or swampy areas. They preferred to inhabit plains, grasslands, and scrubby areas or on the edges of woodlands. The horns that they had mounted on their heads wouldn’t allow them to pass through dense forests or jungle.
Their diet would have included any type of leafy green materials, nuts, and roots.
The first generation was huge, but over the following generations, with no genetic input from Mithras, they started getting smaller and smaller until they became the size that they are now. Originally they only lived in small family groups, but as their size reduced, they received more predation so a herding mentality started to protect the herd so at least the stronger ones would survive.
Additional Information
They are herd animals, being in a group can calm or agitate them depending on the situation. They can sense others of their kind and always find them in need.
They have a wide head, long nose, and broad horns. The horns are as broad as the body is long.
They had average human intelligence, some believed them to have been empathic and possibly telepathic.
Darkvision, keen senses, tremorsense.
Most types of weather have no effect on them (except for the heat), the same with almost any type of physical damage. One of the few predators alive on Aquatica that could possibly harm them would be a dragon. Some of their abilities include fast heal, damage resistance/--, elemental immunity/fire, etc.
Scientific Name
Bos acutifrons
Average Physique
They are enormous muscular creatures, large-boned, with thick skin.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Males were usually dark in color, either black, dark grey, or dark brown with a pale stripe down their back from the base of their skull to their tail. The females and calves have a reddish or light brown color. They usually have a darker color on the top and a lighter shade underneath.
Entry for WorldEmber 2021
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