Durahmi

The Durahmi, also referred to as 'The Dura' are an ancient species that had evolved in underground caverns which managed to grow bio-luminescent plant life. It is unclear as to just how old the race is, but there are signs that it was present as far back as when Humans could even live on the surface of the world.
They are bipedal plant-like organisms which vaguely resemble the Saola, a species of wet forest-dwelling deer-like animals. In 2018, their numbers were estimated to be roughly around 70. In the following years, their numbers were estimated to decrease until they were announced "functionally extinct" somewhere between 2040 and 20-85. The records of such things are so old that they've become practically impossible to find, however, so the exact dates remain unknown until further relics of the surface world are found.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Durahmi are bipedal creatures. Their bodies and heads greatly resemble that of the Saola, while having feet similar to that of a camel's foot, with two large toes in front that support the majority of the weight, and a smaller third toe that helps to balance and arches out behind the foot like a bird's, (- minus the talons or claws). Their hands are built in a similar fashion, with two sturdy fingers and one thumb that work in a tripod effect to grip things. Despite the clunky design of their more dexterous ligaments, the dura are surprisingly agile and quiet. Their soft skin makes it a lot easier to move reasonably unnoticed in the underground, while their strong and durable hands and feet are able to use their tripod-like designs to make them great climbers and incredibly adept at grasping whatever they need. The dura commonly have tails, though these can vary in all shapes and sizes. Once in a blue moon, a baby might even be born with multiple traits such as tails, sets of eyes, ears, or another pair of legs which gives them an almost centaur-like structure. This is, however, understandably very rare just like the curled horns and just like any unusual colouring or genetic mutations such as albinoism.
They are thin, lithe creatures with a reasonably androgynous build. The females of the race are slightly thinner and taller than their shorter more stout counterparts. Males also have horns that are much sharper, straighter, and longer than the female's shorter, more curly horns. Evidence has been found that on rare occasions, some some dura are born with curled horns like that of a ram. This does not seem to indicate any physical disability, nor does it seem to hinder their life in any way, except those with curled horns have a higher chance of being born hermaphroditic or infertile. Despite the increased chance being incredibly low, the risk is still there.
Durahmi appear much as plant life as they do animal, coming in a variety of shades and patterns that match the environment they came from. Many are dark colours with desaturated greens, coppers, and neon pinks, purples, blues, and white freckle patterns covering their faces, shoulders, and down the sides of their torso and legs. Despite sounding quite garish and obvious, this helps them to perfectly blend in with their glowing forest and underground swampland homes. Despite not having many immediate predators, they're managed to maintain and evolve upon the genetic makeup needed to camouflage into the shadows: hiding in plain sight. Often dura will be born with plants growing in their bodies, creating a symbiotic relationship with the dura host. Despite using the term symbiotic, the relationship is still ultimately based off of a parasitic plant growing inside the child. This is often used to their advantage however, as in return for living off of the dura, the individual can often use the plant as if it were under their control: this can be used from having controllable vines or ivy, to being able to shoot toxic spores out of the flowers for self-defence, and so on.
Durahmi eyes can come in theoretically any colour, but the most common are white, silver, pastel colours, pure black, or a bright glowing yellow - often inherited through a genetic mutation caused by the type of parasitic plant born within the baby's developing body inside the womb.

Biological Traits

See previous section for details on biological traits and development.

Genetics and Reproduction

The durahmi breed similarly to humans, and their reproductive systems work in a functionally identicle way, with little variation of anatomical design. The biggest difference would be the gestation period which instead of being nine months like a human, is actually anywhere between six to eighteen months. If the child takes longer to properly grow, it hints that there may be genetic mutations or complications, but as the durahmi live for far far longer than humans do anyway, it's barely any time at all to them in reflection. The other main difference would be that the parasitic bonds that are born with the durahmi individual develop alongside the child, effecting their 'seed' during gestation, pun not intended. This means that when a baby begins to develop inside a female, it already has the foundations for baby's parasitic plant ingrained within it's DNA from the mother and father, and develops whatever parasite it will live with in the same way any of it's other genetic traits are decided upon.

Growth Rate & Stages

Durahmi go through several stages of life, similarly to humans. They start off within the womb and can take anywhere between six to eighteen months growing inside of the mother's uterus as a normal human baby would. Then they are born into the world, and will stay functionally as a baby for three years. The toddler stage in an average healthy durahmi child is from the ages of four years to roughly five and a half. It's unknown why the durahmi develop so quickly from a hapless baby to a developing toddler into a curious and quick-learning child, but it seems like a trait that likely came from their ancient animalistic ancestors. As previously mentioned, they then quickly develop into the child phase which lasts from roughly five and a half to seventeen years of age. During this time, it is very common for young dura to develop the majority of their personalities, as well as begin to go through the beginings of puberty from on average around eleven for girls and thirteen for boys. Some late bloomers will start puberty towards the later stages of the child phase, however. Following swiftly on from that is the adolescent (or teenage) stage in life, where puberty really kicks into high gear and they slowly develop their bodies more until they reach sexual maturity and thus are able to functionally bear offspring at the age of twenty three, but in most of their societies durahmi females won't publicly become sexually active until twenty five, and most male durahmi won't publicly be found to have had sexual activity until on average the age of twenty four. After this is the adult stage. In this stage they are able to bare offspring and generally are in peak physical condition. This is also the longest stage of an average durahmi's life. The adult stage lasts from around twenty five well into their third or fourth century. (In this respect, they could easily be thought of by twenty-first century citizens as an elven-esque race of druidic beings from such pop culture and games as, for example, Dungeons and Dragons.) Finally, their last stage in life is the elder stage, which lasts from a few months to a year at most. It is a short and peaceful stage where their parasistic bond begins to eat away at their bodies until they become almost completely plant-like, and rejoin the earth from which they were once born so that they may help to continue the circle of life.

Ecology and Habitats

The durahmi have a great significance and insignificance with their environment; somehow managing to take a very active roll in the maintenance and protection of their homes, as well as being mere blips in the abundance of life that dwells withing the bio-luminescent underground caverns filled with forests and marshy swampland.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Durahmi diets predominantly consist of plant-based materials such as leaves, vegetables, and fruits, as well as a highly insectivorous diet to help properly maintain their protein intake.
They are predominantly foragers, often only hunting to protect their homes and to observe anything that could be perceived as a threat. They store their food in larder-like storage systems and stash-like constructs.

Biological Cycle

A majority of their physical features such as skin patterns and definitive colouration isn't fully developed until they reach sexual maturity, with some late bloomers having their final markings develop into their adult stage. When they begin to near the end of the adult stage and progress into the elder stage, their colours become less and less saturated and they begin to become more and more plantlike until it eventually consumes them and they pass on peacefully, their bodies being returned to the earth to continue the circle of life.

Additional Information

Social Structure

They live in a rather community-driven social structure, with great emphasis on respecting the shorter existences of the elders and the wisdom they've acquired above all else. As such, the elders are often seen as the highest parts of the social structure, and often work together with members of all life stages to help come to the decisions that would best suit all members of the community. Males and females are seen as equals, and toddlers, children, and adolescents are treated with love, respect, maturity, and as much of a relevant member of the community as any adult or elder. Babies would be given the same respect, except they physically lack the abilities to join in on such matters.

Facial characteristics

See previous sections for more details on physical characteristics and mutations.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

They live in underground cavernous environments which are often moist and warm. Due to this, their environments are always filled with the bio-luminescent plant life that they have evolved to survive in. The plants work in a similar way to the underground subspecies of orchid which do not require sunlight to thrive.

Average Intelligence

They are very intelligent, on similar and sometimes higher levels than humans, except their intelligence is more in-tune with nature and each other so they don't always appear to be as smart as they really are.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Durahmi have exceptional olfactory and audio senses, meaning that their senses of smell and hearing are incredibly sensitive. The reverse to this however is that they have famously bad eyesight due to estimated millennia of living deep underground with only their glowing homes to light their way. Because of this, their vision works similarly to that of a night vision camera when used with an inverted colour scheme. Additionally, their eyes have developed a way of seeing ultraviolet light, so they are able to differentiate details from the patterns, colours, and placements of any object or surface that uses such. This is similar to how another extinct species known as a "bee" used to be able to navigate plant life to best seek out the nectar they needed and pick up any pollen along their way.
Their senses of touch and taste are reasonably ordinary, with a rather bland pallet that enjoys sweeter tastes but just as easily enjoys the tastes of varying plants and insectivore diets.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

See previous sections for more details on parasitic bonds and mutations.

Scientific Name

Pseudoryx Rhizanthella Sapien

Origin/Ancestry

Unknown due to lack of records, but their appearance looks reminiscent of the species of animal called the Saola; as does part of their scientific clarification.

Lifespan

330 - 450 years.

Conservation Status

The species has been hiding far underground in bio-luminescent forests for generations, and keep themselves mostly hidden away. Some individuals or groups may try to explore once or twice in a generation, but most never return, and those who do turned back before making any real progress in the first place. They protect their habitats and ecosystems, and as such the habitats and ecosystems do the same for them.

Average Height

Males: 5'00'' to 5'09''. Females: 5'04'' to 6'07''.

Average Physique

Lithe and athletic.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

See previous sections for more details on physical characteristics and mutations.