Red Spiked Barbspine
"At the very top of the Jeslorian terrestrial food chain is the mighty Barbspine (Spinotherium Imperatus), sometimes also called the Landshark because of the distinct spikes on its back resembling the dorsal fin of a shark. Sometimes also Landwhales due to their sheer size, high intelligence, and echolocation abilities. Barbspines were long an anatomical mystery to Jeslorian biologists until they found out they classed it in the wrong Genus." - The average planeteers guide to Jeslorian fauna.
"I almost wonder how these magnificent animals did not wipe us out before we even gained the knowledge of how to avoid them. Of all the animals I have seen these are the best armed, most ruthlessly effective hunters." - Sylvia's biology journal
"For years scientists marveled as to why an animal would avoid domestication. It was commonly accepted that due to a lack of intelligence, they could not be domesticated. But now with the knowledge of how intelligent Barbspines are, it seems more likely they simply don't want to be domesticated." - Jeslorian scientific journal
"I almost wonder how these magnificent animals did not wipe us out before we even gained the knowledge of how to avoid them. Of all the animals I have seen these are the best armed, most ruthlessly effective hunters." - Sylvia's biology journal
"For years scientists marveled as to why an animal would avoid domestication. It was commonly accepted that due to a lack of intelligence, they could not be domesticated. But now with the knowledge of how intelligent Barbspines are, it seems more likely they simply don't want to be domesticated." - Jeslorian scientific journal
Basic Information
Anatomy
Barbspines are large quadrupedal mammals belonging to the order Rodentia and are part of the family Muridae which includes gerbils, mice, and the barbspines closest relatives: Rats. Unlike their cousins on earth, Barbspines are active diurnal predators that like most other mammals are hot-blooded. Perfectly in line with other rodents, Barbspines have regenerating incisors perfect for cleanly cutting through flesh like scissors. On top of that, Barbspines are extremely muscular in their front legs and neck, both of which are important to the Barbspine's unique method of hunting.
To cope with the constant impacts of running which combined with the weight of the animal would break the bones of other animals, Barbspines have extremely resilient and dense skeletons. This is also the source of weakness with a hidden strength. Because this pushes their weight over 3 tons, Barbspines can not swim and sink straight to the bottom. This means that prey capable of swimming can escape a pursuing Barbspine by entering deep water. But this also comes with a hidden strength. Because of their sheer weight, Barbspines can gallop across the bottom of a body of water much like a hippo. This means that shallow bodies of water like rivers only offer a temporary escape. This is partially because Barbspines dislike water much like domestic cats and will take a few seconds to build up the intent to enter the water.
Barbspines thank 2 out of their 3 names to the distinct spikes sticking out of their back. There is wide debate as to why Barbspines possess these spikes. Some theorize that these are both for intimidation and attracting mates. But skeptics argue that the size and shape of these differ very little between individuals. Intimidation has largely been dismissed as, being apex predators, barbspines do not need additional features to scare off attackers. Most biologists now agree that this is an evolutionary anachronism from an ancestor that would have relied on the spikes to defend against attacks from above. Today these spikes are much longer but have been observed to help defend against their former natural predators: dragons. They also just generally offer protection against other would-be predators.
Another biological anachronism that Barbspines have from an old herbivorous ancestor are the large tusks protruding out of their lower jaw. These were used by omnivorous ancestors to peel the bark off trees or uproot trees to access hidden nests and grubs. These are made of ivory, which is a very rare trait among predators and has never before been observed in members of the Muridae family. The tusks are extremely tough and can withstand immense amounts of pressure and strain without breaking off, capable of lifting tree and prey alike off the ground with ease.
Barbspines have a very distinct black coloration which helps them hide in patches of darkness. Despite their size, stealth and ambush is still a big part of the Barbspine's hunting strategy and thus get a lot of use out of the almost jet black fur they have. Despite the fact that the spikes appear to be made of an extremely hard bone-like structure, they can be flushed with blood to help regulate heat and also intimidate other barbspines. The spikes on the thagomizer has the same ability to turn bright red.
Another notable feature that Barbspines possess is a thagomizer on their tail that Barbspines have been seen using as weapons against prey and rivals alike. The spikes are razor sharp and are typically used in a fashion similar to a battle axe to finish off prey as the large tusks make a throttling bite impossible. It has also been used to fend off attackers from behind while barbspines are eating or to violently swipe in the direction of other predators that attack from the side or manage to pick them up.
The last addition to the Barbspine's massive arsenal of odd weaponry are the long retractable claws on their hind legs and long non-retractable claws on their massive front paws. The front paws have opposable thumbs which further helps Barbspines grapple injured prey or break free out of grapple holds themselves. These have been observed in nature to dig into the flesh of predators such as the forest stalker (an animal that resembles a T-Rex) like ice picks which helps them climb on animals bigger than themselves. The fact that their hind legs are retractable drastically increases their speed while non-retractable front paws' claws wear down while running. To keep their claws sharp, Barbspines will scratch up trees.
Barbspines are also surprisingly well-armored. Their hide and fur are quite dense making them immune to primitive ranged weapons like arrows and reducing the damage a bullet can do.
To cope with the constant impacts of running which combined with the weight of the animal would break the bones of other animals, Barbspines have extremely resilient and dense skeletons. This is also the source of weakness with a hidden strength. Because this pushes their weight over 3 tons, Barbspines can not swim and sink straight to the bottom. This means that prey capable of swimming can escape a pursuing Barbspine by entering deep water. But this also comes with a hidden strength. Because of their sheer weight, Barbspines can gallop across the bottom of a body of water much like a hippo. This means that shallow bodies of water like rivers only offer a temporary escape. This is partially because Barbspines dislike water much like domestic cats and will take a few seconds to build up the intent to enter the water.
Barbspines thank 2 out of their 3 names to the distinct spikes sticking out of their back. There is wide debate as to why Barbspines possess these spikes. Some theorize that these are both for intimidation and attracting mates. But skeptics argue that the size and shape of these differ very little between individuals. Intimidation has largely been dismissed as, being apex predators, barbspines do not need additional features to scare off attackers. Most biologists now agree that this is an evolutionary anachronism from an ancestor that would have relied on the spikes to defend against attacks from above. Today these spikes are much longer but have been observed to help defend against their former natural predators: dragons. They also just generally offer protection against other would-be predators.
Another biological anachronism that Barbspines have from an old herbivorous ancestor are the large tusks protruding out of their lower jaw. These were used by omnivorous ancestors to peel the bark off trees or uproot trees to access hidden nests and grubs. These are made of ivory, which is a very rare trait among predators and has never before been observed in members of the Muridae family. The tusks are extremely tough and can withstand immense amounts of pressure and strain without breaking off, capable of lifting tree and prey alike off the ground with ease.
Barbspines have a very distinct black coloration which helps them hide in patches of darkness. Despite their size, stealth and ambush is still a big part of the Barbspine's hunting strategy and thus get a lot of use out of the almost jet black fur they have. Despite the fact that the spikes appear to be made of an extremely hard bone-like structure, they can be flushed with blood to help regulate heat and also intimidate other barbspines. The spikes on the thagomizer has the same ability to turn bright red.
Another notable feature that Barbspines possess is a thagomizer on their tail that Barbspines have been seen using as weapons against prey and rivals alike. The spikes are razor sharp and are typically used in a fashion similar to a battle axe to finish off prey as the large tusks make a throttling bite impossible. It has also been used to fend off attackers from behind while barbspines are eating or to violently swipe in the direction of other predators that attack from the side or manage to pick them up.
The last addition to the Barbspine's massive arsenal of odd weaponry are the long retractable claws on their hind legs and long non-retractable claws on their massive front paws. The front paws have opposable thumbs which further helps Barbspines grapple injured prey or break free out of grapple holds themselves. These have been observed in nature to dig into the flesh of predators such as the forest stalker (an animal that resembles a T-Rex) like ice picks which helps them climb on animals bigger than themselves. The fact that their hind legs are retractable drastically increases their speed while non-retractable front paws' claws wear down while running. To keep their claws sharp, Barbspines will scratch up trees.
Barbspines are also surprisingly well-armored. Their hide and fur are quite dense making them immune to primitive ranged weapons like arrows and reducing the damage a bullet can do.
Biological Traits
The most obvious difference between barbspines and its closest relative on earth, the black rat is the massive difference in size and physique. Unlike its terrestrial counterpart, the barbspine is about 4 meters (13.1 ft) long and 5 and a half (18.1 ft) including the tail, stands at 2 and a half meters (8.2 ft) tall at the shoulder, and weigh around 3.5 tons on average. They can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour (18 miles per hour) with some outliers reaching 75 km/h (20.8 mph) and the highest ever recording hitting 79 km/h (21.9 mph).
Like with elephants, Barbspine sows are generally bigger and stronger than boars.
Like with elephants, Barbspine sows are generally bigger and stronger than boars.
Genetics and Reproduction
Due to their immense size, Barbspines have very long gestation periods. Barbspines have a gestation period of 13870 hours (about 19 months) but give birth about 2190 hours which is roughly 3 months after mating. During this period the female relies on the male to bring food but can fall back on scavenging or hunting smaller prey while pregnant as their wombs are located closer to their spine, meaning their growing cubs are not as vulnerable to damage as with other animals. Despite the extra protection, pregnant barbspines must still be careful not to get into too rough of battles. While pregnant Barbspines will typically hunt prey smaller than what they usually go for to avoid a fight too rough such as deer, boars, and wolves or animals that have no hope of fighting off a barbspine even when weighed down like crocodiles and cougars.
Growth Rate & Stages
Despite having no relation, Barbspines have behavior similar to bears. They are highly territorial, solitary creatures and will generally fight any large animal, including other barbspines that they perceive as intruding on their territory. During mating season, females will occasionally make loud roar-like sounds that serve as an invitation for males to enter their territory and then hide in a burrow from the males. Echolocation is used to locate the potential male within the territory of the female and avoid or detect any rivals. When a male enters female territory for mating, they most locate the female while avoiding or driving away rivals. Females will mate with the first male to fight them, meaning that female barbspine show a bias to males with the best tracking abilities. This is to ensure that the selected male is also the most likely to locate prey for the female.
After mating, the female will stay in her large burrow while the male is tasked with hunting and bringing food to the female, and guarding her when she emerges to drink from nearby bodies of water. During mating seasons barbspines are at their most aggressive, showing zero tolerance for any form of provocation from any organism that is detected. Barbspines typically know better than to attack people, not even the rangers whom Barbspines recognize by the colors of their uniforms as people who occasionally give them food, a strategy of rangers to distract wild animals so they can escape. The Barbspine gestation period takes a long time, they can only become pregnant once every 2 years and give birth to 3 cubs at most. This does explain why Barbspines are as aggressive as they are when pregnant.
After the cubs have been born, the male will linger with his family for a year at most before leaving, this is mostly because after pregnancy and experiencing maternal instincts, the mother becomes even less tolerant to provocation, and male barbspines can be sensitive. Unlike the fathers, mother barbspines are fiercely protective and highly aggressive. They become only slightly more tolerant to provocation and will cease their on-sight attack of rangers but remain wholly unfriendly. They will kill twice as much prey they find within their territory to keep their cubs fed and healthy while protecting them from predators.
After 7 years of defending her cubs, the mother will abandon them. Interestingly, even during mating season, the mother will not attack her cubs and seemingly welcome them even after they've matured. Once matured Barbspines will leave the territory of their mother and look for territories with barbspines injured or too old to defend against younger ones. Sometimes they will create new territory or annex part of other barbspine territories who are either not aware of their presence or can not fight them off.
When Barbspines are born, they very closely resemble jet black capybaras. They have no thagomizer, tusks, or barbs yet. These will begin to grow as the cub matures. They learn combat from playfighting but also learn advanced strategies and which weak spots to target while hunting from their parents. During these lessons, the mother will demonstrate the techniques while the father defends the cubs from potential threats.
After mating, the female will stay in her large burrow while the male is tasked with hunting and bringing food to the female, and guarding her when she emerges to drink from nearby bodies of water. During mating seasons barbspines are at their most aggressive, showing zero tolerance for any form of provocation from any organism that is detected. Barbspines typically know better than to attack people, not even the rangers whom Barbspines recognize by the colors of their uniforms as people who occasionally give them food, a strategy of rangers to distract wild animals so they can escape. The Barbspine gestation period takes a long time, they can only become pregnant once every 2 years and give birth to 3 cubs at most. This does explain why Barbspines are as aggressive as they are when pregnant.
After the cubs have been born, the male will linger with his family for a year at most before leaving, this is mostly because after pregnancy and experiencing maternal instincts, the mother becomes even less tolerant to provocation, and male barbspines can be sensitive. Unlike the fathers, mother barbspines are fiercely protective and highly aggressive. They become only slightly more tolerant to provocation and will cease their on-sight attack of rangers but remain wholly unfriendly. They will kill twice as much prey they find within their territory to keep their cubs fed and healthy while protecting them from predators.
After 7 years of defending her cubs, the mother will abandon them. Interestingly, even during mating season, the mother will not attack her cubs and seemingly welcome them even after they've matured. Once matured Barbspines will leave the territory of their mother and look for territories with barbspines injured or too old to defend against younger ones. Sometimes they will create new territory or annex part of other barbspine territories who are either not aware of their presence or can not fight them off.
When Barbspines are born, they very closely resemble jet black capybaras. They have no thagomizer, tusks, or barbs yet. These will begin to grow as the cub matures. They learn combat from playfighting but also learn advanced strategies and which weak spots to target while hunting from their parents. During these lessons, the mother will demonstrate the techniques while the father defends the cubs from potential threats.
Ecology and Habitats
Barbspines thrive in dense pacific surrounded by large open plains forest areas. If they were to be introduced to earth, Barbspines would thrive in countries like Norway and Sweden but also areas in Germany like the black forest. Barbspines will generally stay in dense forests where despite their size they can still hide and ambush prey. If they can not find prey in their own territory, they will head to more open fields to more actively hunt prey. Barbspines typically don't have friendly interactions with other Barbspines but they oddly either ignore each other or hunt together. On open fields, they rely much more on their superior speed and major strength rather than echolocation and ambush. This is always a gamble as Barbspines can only keep up their speed for relatively short bursts.
Barbspines also rely on these forests for cover against their original natural predator (not anymore as they are now too big to be hunted), find trees and stones to sharpen their claws and find reliable sources of water. They also prefer creating their lairs, which are large burrows where they sleep and retreat to when they are injured in forests like these.
Forests also offer a wide variety of dining options not just limited to smaller prey like deer and large birds. They also have berries and plants which Barbspines sometimes eat when they fall on harder times.
Barbspines also rely on these forests for cover against their original natural predator (not anymore as they are now too big to be hunted), find trees and stones to sharpen their claws and find reliable sources of water. They also prefer creating their lairs, which are large burrows where they sleep and retreat to when they are injured in forests like these.
Forests also offer a wide variety of dining options not just limited to smaller prey like deer and large birds. They also have berries and plants which Barbspines sometimes eat when they fall on harder times.
Dietary Needs and Habits
A rarity in the rodent order, Barbspines are fully carnivorous and only eat plant matter for certain vitamins when they are unsuccessful in hunting. In addition to needing colossal amounts of fresh meat, Barbspines need loads of calcium to keep their skeleton capable of sustaining their weight. When a Barbspine kills prey, unless it is stashing the prey for use in the winter it will leave nothing to waste. Barbspines have incisors perfect for cleanly scraping meat off bones. They also use their paws to crush bones into more chewable pieces and eat those and they have even been observed lapping up the blood from killed prey.
To sustain their bodies, a Barbspine needs up to 45 kilograms (100 pounds) of meat every day. This puts a lot of pressure on Barbspines to hunt big animals. Their preferred prey is the Linnessian Bronzeback Boar, a large omnivorous member of the Suidae family that stands at an impressive 3 meters (3.8 ft) at the shoulders and are up to 4 meters (13 ft) long that weigh up to 2.5 tons and are one of the few animals known to manhandle barbspines with their shorter (but still deadly) tusks, impressive strength and surprisingly high speed. Despite being well-armed, fast, and powerful apex predators Barbspines still need to be extremely careful when attacking Bronzebacks lest they get seriously injured. The danger does reward as Bronzebacks contain enough meat to last a Barbspine for a few days.
Unsurprisingly, as apex predators Barbspines are extremely good fighters and use their weapons to the max. When fighting a forest stalker or any sort of predator that they can't simply pick up and maul to death, Barbspines will always make a strong attempt to claw out the eyes of their opponents, as they know a blind opponent is much easier to kill. They do this by sinking their claws into the flesh of their opponent like icepicks and climbing on them to reach the head. When they can't climb their prey to reach the eyes a barbspine will either jump at the head of the opponent or try to lure them into a tail swing which for a mammal packs a surprisingly strong blow and is easily capable of destroying soft eye tissue.
Barbspines employ a wide range of hunting methods from standard to fairly unique strategies such as bleeding out prey by scratching open arteries. Their most spectacular method of killing is only used in open plains, where like rhinoceros they will charge at their prey and attack using their tusks in an upward scooping motion. Barbspines can do this with such force that even prey like Bronzeback boars get launched several dozen meters into the air and break numerous bones upon landing, allowing the barbspine to safely finish them off in the rare instances that the prey actually survives the drop.
Barbspines need a high calcium intake to keep their bones healthy and thus will often feed on plant matter to keep their skeletons in a good condition. They are also often seen raiding the nests of large birds eating whole eggs, including the shell for another calcium boost.
To sustain their bodies, a Barbspine needs up to 45 kilograms (100 pounds) of meat every day. This puts a lot of pressure on Barbspines to hunt big animals. Their preferred prey is the Linnessian Bronzeback Boar, a large omnivorous member of the Suidae family that stands at an impressive 3 meters (3.8 ft) at the shoulders and are up to 4 meters (13 ft) long that weigh up to 2.5 tons and are one of the few animals known to manhandle barbspines with their shorter (but still deadly) tusks, impressive strength and surprisingly high speed. Despite being well-armed, fast, and powerful apex predators Barbspines still need to be extremely careful when attacking Bronzebacks lest they get seriously injured. The danger does reward as Bronzebacks contain enough meat to last a Barbspine for a few days.
Unsurprisingly, as apex predators Barbspines are extremely good fighters and use their weapons to the max. When fighting a forest stalker or any sort of predator that they can't simply pick up and maul to death, Barbspines will always make a strong attempt to claw out the eyes of their opponents, as they know a blind opponent is much easier to kill. They do this by sinking their claws into the flesh of their opponent like icepicks and climbing on them to reach the head. When they can't climb their prey to reach the eyes a barbspine will either jump at the head of the opponent or try to lure them into a tail swing which for a mammal packs a surprisingly strong blow and is easily capable of destroying soft eye tissue.
Barbspines employ a wide range of hunting methods from standard to fairly unique strategies such as bleeding out prey by scratching open arteries. Their most spectacular method of killing is only used in open plains, where like rhinoceros they will charge at their prey and attack using their tusks in an upward scooping motion. Barbspines can do this with such force that even prey like Bronzeback boars get launched several dozen meters into the air and break numerous bones upon landing, allowing the barbspine to safely finish them off in the rare instances that the prey actually survives the drop.
Barbspines need a high calcium intake to keep their bones healthy and thus will often feed on plant matter to keep their skeletons in a good condition. They are also often seen raiding the nests of large birds eating whole eggs, including the shell for another calcium boost.
Biological Cycle
When it comes to seasonal changes, Barbspines are very resilient and do not change much. As the weather gets colder Barbspines will retreat back into their territory and rely more on prey found within the forest instead of going hunting on open fields as they do frequently otherwise. Being rodents, Barbspines do not hibernate and remain active hunters even in the cold. In preparation for the cold, Barbspines will try to create stashes of food so they have to expend less energy in the cold. They will also grow thicker fur to resist the cold when they do hunt and provide better comfort during their sleeps. Barbspines generally sleep longer the colder it is to preserve energy.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Barbspines are native to Dracholm but have been spotted all over Jeslore. Any country that harbors a solid mosaic of pacific forests and large plains has been colonized by Barbspines, even imperial countries whose efforts to drive them out have not yielded effective results. A list of countries that have Barbspines as an accepted and protected part of their state goes as follows:
- Linnesse
- Loftwoods
- Bylyn
- Sunset Isles
- Detritus
- Bloodspike
- Rifthelm
- Karraria
- Yuuik
- Atria
- Luma
Average Intelligence
Barbspines are immensely intelligent, a common trait for members of their family. But Barbspine intelligence surpasses that of elephants of porpoises. A list of advanced intelligence abilities of Barbspines goes as follows.
Another clue to the extent of their intelligence is their ranking on the scale of dhipper. The scale of dhipper is a measurement used to rank animals based on how hard they are to tame, with the lowest score being 30, which includes a dog that will become attached to its owner no matter what and the highest score is 870 which includes animals like giant spiders that have neither the will nor the capability to be tamed. On this scale, barbspine males have a score of 772 and females a score of 780. This is not because they don't have the capability to be tamed but for the simple reason, they do not want to be tamed. Especially females who are hard-wired mentally to raise and protect cubs.
The few Barbspines that have been raised, such as Sylvia's Barbsy, were very likely males that failed to find a mate or were not very self-sufficient. Barbspines all have a very unique temperament and the ones that allow themselves to be tamed or studied are typically very lazy and enjoy the attention and treats given to them. They will generally behave similarly to domestic house cats, forming a loaf posture whenever they're not actively out on the field.
- Barbspines can learn weak points on prey, remember those and also pass them down to their cubs. (I.E Blind prey is easy to kill, attack the eyes.)
- Barbspines can learn to exploit gravity to more easily kill their prey. (I.E using their strength to launch prey up in the air and letting gravity do the killing.)
- Barbspines can learn to recognize uniforms and remember what certain uniforms will do for them. For example, many barbspines will purposely annoy rangers because they know rangers carry bait which is meant to lure wild animals away from them.
- Barbspines are aware that when they enter cities, people will lock their doors and clear the streets, giving them free reign to raid trashcans for food.
- In studies, Barbspines were seen to purposely underperform on tests because they knew that upon completion of the trial, they would be released back into the wild where they would not receive free meals on top of treats for completing tasks.
- Barbspines know how doors work.
- In the rare instances that one is trained by a ranger, Barbspines can learn to differentiate between the pets of its master and other wild animals and act accordingly.
Another clue to the extent of their intelligence is their ranking on the scale of dhipper. The scale of dhipper is a measurement used to rank animals based on how hard they are to tame, with the lowest score being 30, which includes a dog that will become attached to its owner no matter what and the highest score is 870 which includes animals like giant spiders that have neither the will nor the capability to be tamed. On this scale, barbspine males have a score of 772 and females a score of 780. This is not because they don't have the capability to be tamed but for the simple reason, they do not want to be tamed. Especially females who are hard-wired mentally to raise and protect cubs.
The few Barbspines that have been raised, such as Sylvia's Barbsy, were very likely males that failed to find a mate or were not very self-sufficient. Barbspines all have a very unique temperament and the ones that allow themselves to be tamed or studied are typically very lazy and enjoy the attention and treats given to them. They will generally behave similarly to domestic house cats, forming a loaf posture whenever they're not actively out on the field.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Much like their family, Barbspines are very perceptive senses. They have fast reflexes and can hear a twig snapping from quite a distance away. They have sharp eyes, capable of spotting prey from quite a distance away but unlike most taxa of their family in the Muridae, barbspines do not have good vision in darker areas. Barbspines circumvent this weakness with a powerful ability that scientists believe their ancestors used to detect predators stalking them. Barbspines use echolocation in the dark to spot prey and predator alike and more interestingly they can use this same ability to detect weaknesses in opponents in a fight. Their most lacking sensory ability is their sense of smell, which is on par with an ordinary dog. They can detect the strong scent of carrion from a significant distance but are not successful in applying it anywhere else.
The evolutionary history of barbspines
This section contains two documents written by experts in Barbspine biology Sylvia Sunshard and Johan Bakker
The complete evolutionary history of Barbspines
Written by Johan Bakker Johan Bakker is one of the very few earthlings to ever settle on Jeslore. He was a dutch ex-conspiracy theorist on earth who had somehow managed to track Cykx activity and had collected evidence on their existence. Not willing to risk their cover, the Cykx arrested him and brought him to space where he was bribed into leaving his planet behind and was given a selection of planets he could go live on. He chose Jeslore as the idea of a large planet with dozens of races living together appealed to him. Once on Jeslore Johan, who had an interest in alien life, immediately began studying the local fauna with great interest.
During his life on Jeslore, he had made many discoveries and wrote many theories and documents recording the local animal life, spearheading some of the biologists and scholars of Jeslore itself. He was officially announced to be one of Dracholm's most dedicated and prestigious naturalists. He had written dozens of books, and the following is an excerpt from his swan song work: "Een gids tot de volledige geschiedenis van Dracholmische dieren voor de intergalactische reiziger" which translated to Linnessian means "A hitchhikers guide to the complete history of Dracholmian fauna."
Barbspines have a very rich evolutionary history. Being rodents, it comes as a surprise to no one that their earliest ancestor looked a lot like the black rat during an era where mammals were still a very new taxonomic order. As time went on it diverged into numerous groups eventually reaching families recognizable as animals on earth such as canis and felis. Rattus was among them in some type of evolutionary arms race. Originally the barbspines were a kind of large insectivorous rat that used its tusk to pry bark from trees, kind of like a crowbar to access the grubs hiding underneath. In the year 3187, I discovered a fossil of a peculiar animal. It was essentially the skull of a black rat* with the large incisors but with large tusks. It was unmistakably a barbspine but had 2 issues: It was smaller than even newborn barbspines with no parent nearby and had no wear pattern of flesh and bones but of insects and plants.
Without knowing I had stumbled across the ancestor of the mighty Barbspine. I named the fossil Spinotherium Dynatodon, which means strong tooth. In this same excavation, I found numerous fossils of better-preserved versions of this taxa and could piece the skeleton together. Like the Barbspine we know today (Spinotherium Imperatus), Dynatodon had a very rat-like skeleton but with more bone in the tail. It was notably smaller, about the size of a dog, and had much shorter claws. We thought at first this was a case of convergent evolution but upon further analysis, we found that this was in fact an ancestor to the modern barbspine. This is fascinating mainly because it means that at some point, Dynatodon, the first true barbspine must have changed its diet, now the question was why.
A clue to this mystery would come to me in 3193 when at a dig site for an ancient forest we found more fossils belonging to an unknown member of the taxa Spinotherium. These were much larger than Dynatodon and more closely resemble the apex predator we have today. This was the first one with a thagomizer, which my crew at first thought was a horn or tooth, which is why I have named this one Kornadon, meaning horn tooth. Something of note about Kornadon was the number of fossils we found of it. We hauled 83 fossils out of that place all belonging to Kornadon. It seems strange this many herbivores would be in the same place competing with each other.
At the academy, my findings were discussed. My colleagues argued that the number of Kornadon fossils meant that Kornadon must have had herd behavior. Something I am skeptical of as no member of the genus Spinotherium has displayed any sort of social behavior outside of mating. My theory, which was later confirmed by another founding was that Kornadon simply had immense population numbers and competed with each other in the same environment. We also analyzed the wear pattern on the teeth of Kornadon and as I would have suspected, these animals did niche partitioning, with some focusing on insects, some on vegetation, and some on both.
in 3197 I had found my smoking gun. The first carnivorous member of the genus Spinotherium. It was found by a mining crew in Rifthelm and it was recognized as a barbspine so I was kindly requested to investigate. While still not the behemoth we know today, this new species that I called Dynatonychus, meaning strong claw was very clearly going to be the animal we know today. Dynatonychus was the first true carnivore like we have today. If this brilliantly preserved fossil of the missing link we needed wasn't enough, we also found fossils very clearly belonging to Kornadon. I took this to mean that Spinotherium Dynatonychus and Imperatus descend from a member of the Kornadon family that through niche partitioning developed a taste for meat as all the other sources of food were controlled by others at the time. Despite having been herbivorous for a long time, Kornadon's strong claws, razor-sharp incisors, powerful bite, and many sharp claws and spikes all over its body blended themselves quite well to predatory behavior.
As time went on, the now carnivorous Kornadon became so well adapted to hunting other prey, it became its own species: Dynatonychus, which eventually evolved into today's fully evolved version: Imperatus. There is also evidence that either Dynatonychus or Imperatus are responsible for the extinction of Kornadon by overhunting. Both these predators were such an oppressive force and could overwhelm Kornadon with such ease that they likely went extinct in only a few years. While people are skeptical of my assertion that Dynatonychus is responsible for the extinction of Kornadon, it is not yet been dismissed. The consensus seems to be that Dynatonychus is responsible in addition to changes in climate that changed the environment Kornadon thrived in.
Whether or not Dynatonychus wiped out Kornadon, it is accepted that Dynatonychus was such an efficient hunter it could sustain bigger and bigger frames which eventually led to Spinotherium Imperatus. Now, by all evolutionary standards, Spinotherium Imperatus should have gone extinct because it had wiped out its preferred prey. But high intelligence and colossal size opened up new dining options such as the bronzeback and wood stalker. It not only survived but actually carved out the niche of apex predators on land.
The scientific research history of Spinotherium
Written by Sylvia Sunshard To get over my time in Eotrask, but more importantly Vilorah I have decided to continue my research on natural alchemy (it's called biology these days), particularly concerning my favorite animal: The red spiked barbspine. It's just a shame I couldn't continue my work while in Eotrask as Barbspines do not exist there and Barbsy sadly passed away of old age while I was there. I sometimes do curse my immortality. On top of that, while I was there with no way to return, someone else beat me to the punch on a study regarding the evolutionary origins of Barbspine, which from here on out I will refer to by their scientific term.
Nevertheless, the past studies should be compiled in one large readable document curated by me, who was recently awarded some of the highest scholarships when it comes to animal biology simply because my old journals served as important sources for modern researchers. Of course, also being the only person in recorded history the master control over not just one but two Barbspines as a companion on my own (apparently, I could swear someone in my court had 3 barbspines on his own back when I was a princess. Of course, this can't be verified since the sunset isles are still being rebuilt and I'm not allowed there because I could be assassinated by imperial loyalists.) I am considered an expert on this topic.
Barbspines are an interesting kind of animal that belongs to the large taxonomic group known as Rodentia. They were named by me, as they were first discovered by rangers of the sunset isles and as the princess they wanted me to do it. Originally I wanted to name it the terror bear, which my advisor said sounded needlessly threatening. Turns out the ranger that discovered them had a name in mind himself: Barbspine. Which I thought was simple and still summed up the animal well. Sure enough, the most distinct feature of Barbspines are the large spikes protruding out of their back. I recently discovered these spikes are directly fused to their spine, something I did not know before my return to Drasica. This document will cover the long struggle biologists throughout history have experienced to accurately class this animal.
First, I want to say that at least 500 years' worth of reclassifying and debating are likely my fault because I originally wanted to name it the terror bear. Many assumed that I knew something upon discovery and that me calling it a terror bear was anything more than just me thinking it sounded cool. I did not know anything about these animals, yet because of this, the barbspine was put in the Ursidae family with other bears. This was an immense mistake that led to tons of debate which could have been avoided if I just took a few more minutes to decide on a name.
This is an unfortunate reality about the scientific process, where discovery and actual research account for only one-tenth of the work. The rest is debate and discussion with skeptics and counter theories. Simply consider that it took over 50 years of actual debate for the whole taxonomic group of Spinotherium to be moved from Ursidae to Muridae because there were just so many skeptics. The problem here was that while the arguments for Spinotherium to be moved to Muridae were all solid, the extant taxa Spinotherium Imperatus displayed behavior extremely close to members of the family Ursidae. Meanwhile, the Muridae family has not a single hunter/scavenger like Spinotherium.
Another issue caused by me was the notion that Spinotherium is a generally lazy animal mostly because my own Barbsy was. Barbsy Junior, who is my current Spinotherium companion also has this lazy behavior. In fact, due to my observations Spinotherium, before being classified as Muridae were placed in the order Felis, which of course contains the domestic cat. Again, this is purely because of observations made in my journal combined with behavior barbspines display in captivity. Later this was explained by a scholar who claimed that the lazy behavior is only present in captivity, and wild barbspines are very active hunters who are actually quite hard to find. The ones that are found asleep are typically pregnant or injured.
By now it is much obvious that the Spinotherium that are kept as pets and companions do so because they allow it and not because we can train them. In short, this means that Barbspines choose their owners and never the other way around. The idea that Spinotherium is lazy is only a half-truth. As stated before Spinotherium choose their owners because they know it means a steady supply of food, shelter, treats, and affection. This sort of attitude is only really present in poorly performing males that have failed to find a mate or lost their parents which means that they are pretty poor hunters and look at people for food.
The reclassification from Ursidae, to Felis and then finally to Muridae did open another debate: If it did not descend from bears or cats, how did it get so big? Not counting Spinotherium Impertatus, the largest rodent would be Rattos Megalodontia, which only reaches about 2 meters long at best and also displays very different behavior from Spinotherium. This would remain a mystery until a man by the name of Johan Bakker would come along to scour through the fossil record and locate the long evolutionary history of these animals. And for now, this is all there is to know about Spinotherium. While of course, we do not know what secrets may still be hidden in both the living members of this family and fossils we have not found yet.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Spinotherium Imperatus
Origin/Ancestry
Barbspines trace their evolutionary origin back to Linnesse.
Lifespan
Between 60-70 years
Conservation Status
Despite being native to forests and having hunted their preferred prey into extinction, Barbspines have never seen a decline until the mid Synthrise era. As pollution and overhunting of their prey became more common they saw a slow decline in numbers but a sharp decline in health. Barbspines needed vitamins found in herbivorous species and become less healthy when they have to fall back on carnivorous prey. On top of that, the tusks of Barbspines lended themselves well to the creation of art which further contributed to their decline.
Pollution also added to their poor health and in the later synthrise era Barbspines were officially classed as an endangered species. Hunting Barbspines was strictly outlawed and possession of ivory artwork held serious penalties. Hunting of the preferred prey of Barbspines was also strictly regulated, only allowed when the total population surpassed a certain threshold. Finally, the rangers of nature preserves were given extra resources to track down people dumping filth in the area, and companies were forced to build landfills far away from preserves.
Average Height
2.5 meters (8.2 ft) tall at the shoulder
Average Weight
3.5 metric tons
Average Length
Body: 4 meters (13.1 ft)
Full length with tail: 5.5 metes (18.1 ft)
Rushdown/Grappler
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