Mountain / Overland Reketta
In approximately the middle of the 2nd scholar millennia, Reketta that migrated central-north in Kayotia began experiencing a shifting evolution. They began procreating more directly to keep warm, began generating better body heat, and keeping eggs internal for more of the development until a couple generations later began to commit more to live birth. Mammal-like features took hold the longer post-imperials found they had to live up north. In some cases males even grew more plumage or some fur, and some females developed more coarse fur than feathers, but both traits are still somewhat inconsistent with some referring to the furred Reketta as "Wooly lizards", without there ever being the need for a real classified difference or formal name.
When mingling back with some southern Reketta, it was less obvious to some that changes were being made, some procreated naturally with life turning out to favor the mammals unless in truly more arid conditions. It is suspected that because of the harsher environments in some instances, less children were also born, and males were more prominent among the offspring - even if females still outnumbered them. This helped some of the southern Reketta to retain their purity by numbers, likewise mammal Reketta lost the ability to create infertile eggs and naturally were at social odds with old stigmas against intercourse. Yet they still had enough activity across each other to populate well and stay fixed in Rekettan history. Once the differences were better recognized, the new set was dignified as Mountain Reketta, or some "Overland" Reketta for their ability to dwell in higher altitudes with colder climates. Yet because the differences at first were hard to see, especially in males, the two never had a complete racial divide of conflict, with only a few exceptions sometimes taking place. Many do however, have inclinations to only breed with "their side". Due to their location, and new traits, they began to have a history somewhat closer to humans in social interactions, and even rare but increased cases of Human-Reketta halflings. In the long term they are mostly more advantageous without the need for thermal suits in the Starcroft period, though they are more vulnerable to dessert planet heat.
Overland Reketta are now more identified by traits of their softer scales or protruding fiber, more even fat storage, and the females may have mildly shorter tail lengths at even with males, and develop breasts in maturity. Any of these traits can potentially be undermined by how their fibers grow, how the individual develops, or even mixed heritage back with Sand Reketta, and may not be recognizable without deeper analytical equipment, or keen vision when directly compared against a Sand Reketta.
Encompassed species
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