The Month of Beasts
February 2023
I decided to use this month's challenge to create some new creatures (and many new stubs) for the world of Etrea. I'm hoping to expand these articles in the future, but for now I hope you enjoy the small taster of these animals.
The rosy flutterer is a pinkish, wide-winged dragonfly that lives in the cool wetlands of Fluvansii. It lays its eggs under the surface of the water in autumn and the larvae is ready to emerge fully-grown in the spring. They feast on small flying insects and the fry of fish.
The gilded eel is a freshwater eel that lives in rivers across the continent of Caia. They can grow up to a metre in length, and are opportunistic predators, feeding on whatever prey they can find. Their bodies are striped brown and gold, which provides them camouflage with underwater plants and the sun-dappled riverbed.
The speckled rhinoceros is a large mammal that lives a mostly solitary life on the vast grasslands of Akara. They have three horns at the front of their skull, the biggest at the bottom near the nose and the smallest at the top between the eyes. Though they eat only plants, they are known to be aggressive and will charge at both perceived and actual threats.
The pearly wentletrap is a sea snail that lives in the warm sands near the coral reefs of the Jasperic Isles. It has an iridescent white spiral shell where the whorls just barely touch, supported by a number of raised ribs. Its diet consists wholly of corals and sea anenomes that grow on the reefs.
The violet arrow frog is a tiny tree-dwelling amphibian from the deep jungles of Aenica. It is vibrant yellow and purple in colour, a warning to potential predators. It secretes a highly caustic poison from its skin, causing severe chemical burns to those who dare to touch it.
The bog deer is a large grey-coloured deer that lives only in the Gravelands, a swamp in eastern Kaien. It features prominently in folklore related to the dead and is said to be able to guide people to the afterlife. A solitary animal, it feasts mostly on mosses and lichens.
The common cavy is a stocky rodent native to much of southern Caia. As they are the preferred prey of many predator species, they have developed specialised alarm calls to warn each other of incoming danger. They gnaw constantly on foliage to prevent their teeth becoming overgrown.
The dusky angler is a bony fish that lives in the depths of the Caerlean Ocean. It has a wide mouth with many sharp teeth and a stretchable stomach that allows it to consume prey bigger than itself. A green bioluminescent lure sprouts from the top of its body, dangling in front of its jaws.
The red-banded lizard is a small lizard endemic to the Gravelands in eastern Kaien. It is a deep black colour with bright red stripes, warning off potential predators. However, the red-banded lizard is actually harmless to consume and is considered a delicacy across Kaien.
The dappled vutter, also known as the shriekspider, is not a true spider, but a small mammal. Endemic to the Black Forest, the dappled vutter has eight limbs with grasping fingers which allow it to move with unsettling ease through the tangled branches of the canopy. They communicate with loud high-pitched calls. Deeply misunderstood, these are social and friendly creatures.
The Caian black wolf is a large dark-furred wolf that stalks the forests of northern Caia. The males are solitary predators, whilst females travel in familial packs. During the late summer, males will howl to attract packs of females that may be in the area, the sound carrying for miles.
The Valen copper pig is a red-haired pig that lives on farms across the island of Vale. This particular breed was bred for milk production, with typical yields being four times as great as other pig breeds. It was originally bred due to a lack of other milk-producing livestock, though the introduction of cattle to the island has led to a sharp decline.
The Akaran wild dog is a smallish canine that lives in the grasslands of Akara. They are golden-furred with darker stripes that help them camouflage in long grass. They are a social animal that live in large packs of up to twenty adults and their current pups.
At home in the great forests of northern Caia, the diminuative marbled polecats are much more sociable than many other mustelids. They live in networks of tunnels in family groups, with one adult male to about four females and their young. They secrete pungent oil from their skin that coats their fur to discourage predators. This smell has been known to disorient truffle-hunting hounds, earning them the nickname 'false truffles'.
The whiskered oou is a light pink, curious bird common to southern Caia. They are named for the long whisker-like tendrils that exist either side of their beak. They often make friends with people, especially children, trading tasty fruit for pebbles or other small objects. Social creatures, they groom each other's feathers with their beaks, and also groom the hair of the people they befriend.
Originally bred for advanced scouting, the Caillan lightfoot is an athletic horse used exclusively for the countrywide postal service. Agile and clever, these mild-tempered horses are swift and sure-footed whilst traversing the roads of Caillah. The breed is tightly controlled by the postal service, with each new foal born registered in a central database.
The northern ambinid is a small amphibian that splits its life between salt- and freshwater. It spends most of its adult life in the depths of the Grey Waters, and travels for miles upriver to spawn in shallow mountain streams. Its eggs are a delicacy in southern Caillah.
The common hasley is a small brown bird abundant in southern Caia. Like other haslies, it uses its needle-sharp beak to feed on the blood of large mammals; the common hasley specialises in horses. It does not raise its own young, instead laying its eggs in the nests of other unsuspecting birds.
The polar mosasaur is a large marine reptile that patrols the northernmost reahes of the Northern Ocean around the frozen coasts of the Expanse. They can reach up to fifteen metres long, and hunt mainly whales and large fish. Unlike most mosasaurs, that swallow their prey whole, polar mosasaurs tear their food to pieces with serrated teeth.
Closely related to the diminuative flower mouse, the harvest mouse lives in fields and hedgerows across the continents of Aenica and Caia. Only growing up to three inches long, excluding their tail, they are skilled at climbing amongst grasses and reeds. They weave round nests above the ground where they raise their young.
Congrats on finishing all 27! These are some incredible species :D <3
Thank you, Mochi! :D It was so fun to build some of the world out this way!