Rootarmours

Burrow

by Ruby O'Degee

Rootarmours are biped mammals that lay eggs. Hamlet palaeontologists agree that during prehistoric times, these beasts used all four legs and a bone-metal snout to burrow holes. They continue to build their homes in burrows, but their mode of surface transit changed. They stood up and refused to crawl through wet brush and weeds.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The fear of an Allosaurus doesn’t discourage Rootarmours from finding a healthy meal. Carpenter ants are a delicacy and Rootamours appreciate the option not to bend over for food. They use their metal armour snouts to dig carpenter ants out of trees. The Rootarmours spend so much time in trees; they blend with them. Two million years ago, Rootarmours sprouted leaves and thick hairs that collect water. All they need to do is stand there before returning to their dens.

Ecology and Habitats

The forests of Lost Words Hamlet are a favored breeding area for rootarmours. They are their own tree cover. No predator expects it to be a mammal. Hamlet birds flock to a tree. Birds surprised to find rootarmour trees aren’t what they expected. An adult Rootarmour will eat a bird egg. They will eat a bird. Rootarmours are pollotarians.

Behaviour

Male and Female Rootarmours are a confident beast group. They realize the confusion about their eating habits is a plus. Parakeet owners petitioned the Hamlet Chamber of Commerce to move Rootarmours out of Lost Words Hamlet. Free range parakeets are being eaten by fibbing rootarmours.
Rootramours are consistently careless about setting ant and bird traps. They don’t watch for cart drivers who don’t run over them. They run into them.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

From a distance of 240 meters, a rootarmour uses root hairs to sensor an approaching predator. While the Rootarmour no longer depends on digging for food, it uses its underground home for defense. Like heading to a root cellar before a tornado, the Rootarmour scurries into a burrow. The neck of any burrow makes a nice place to build a fortress.
Since Rootarmours can no longer bend, they are more vulnerable to attack than their ancestors. Most Rootarmour parents teach their offspring to box. Champion female and male boxers earn awards. Their snouts reveal family insignias.

Scientific Name

diggerdillos

Origin/Ancestry

LWH Rootarmour by ROD w/Midjourney

The Rootarmour is not closely related to the armadillo. The creature is an ocotoarmour first located in prehistoric areas. The male is seen only once every ten years. The female is seen every 5 years to lay eggs.

Conservation Status

Rootarmours are prolific diggers. Rarely seen, these early morning mammals lay out their ant traps before the sun comes up. Lost Words Hamlet residents swear in error they've seen a camouflaged prarie dog looking back them.

by Violet M. (rod)