Clocoa

Brief Description

Clocoa are a medium sized, endoskeletal species, with 3 arms ending in 5 digits, and a prehensile tail. They are ground based, using 6 legs to move. They sense using 2 magical eyes and can hear using ears, and have a excellent sense of smell, and communicate using vocal cords. They live in a plains environment in an arid climate, and have a carnivorous filter diet. They form simple cultures and can use Elemental magic.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Clocoa do not have distinct genders, instead any Clocoa can reproduce with any other, or even with itself (although this is socially discouraged). Whilst two sets of gametes are typical, combinations of up to five have been recorded. Once a fertilised embryo is created, it gestates inside the individual until ready to be born. Once born, infanct Clocoa are relatively helpless, and they require fairly intensive care for their first few years of life.

Ecology and Habitats

The original natural habitat for the Clocoa was wide open plains in largely arid environments, similar to savannah or prairies. They can cope without access to drinking water for quite a while, conserving it in deposits under the skin and having a thick hide that prevents water loss. Their long legs gave them an advantage, and their evolutionary past had a long period where the species was migratory, although they settled down before evolving higher intelligence.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Clocoa are carnivorous filter feeders, and evolved to take in large mouthfuls of dirt, sifting it for the insect-like organisms that are plentiful in the soils of their home strata. They have developed since, and now 'farm' those insects in patches of specially fertilised and managed soil, before filtering them out mechanically, and eating the bugs without the dirt. In the larger towns and cities, the bugs are processed even more, removing the indigestible parts and made into granules that can be consumed without the need for much filtering or digestion.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Unlike a lot of species, Clocoa have no real familial attachments, but in their evolutionary past gathered in groups for protection against larger predators and competed with other groups for feeding grounds. These groups eventually became the basis for social groupings, and now the Clocoa gather in what are termed 'coteries', of typically a dozen or so familial strains. Smaller settlements will be a single coterie, but towns and cities will be a collection of many coteries in varying degrees of cooperation. It is highly unusual for Clocoa to live alone, and those left on their own for prolonged periods of time tend to suffer from psychological issues.

Average Intelligence

Clocoa are sapient tool-users, although have not developed much past a human-equivalent to the stone age. They do display complex problem solving abilities, and their languages are complex, with detailed story telling an important part of their cultures. They do adapt, when necessary, to more advanced technologies, but have shown no inclination to progress any further as a species as their current way of life provides them with all they need without much in the way of hard labour or discomfort.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Clocoa have no apparent eyes, having lost them at some point in their evolutionary past. Philosophers at the Altruis College of Magic postulate that the species spent some time on a Strata without light, and have instead evolved to use magic as a form of sensing their environment. Their 'sight' is remarkably astute, and are capable of visualising such things as disease, hidden objects, and even motives to a certain extent. Their hearing is comparable to human ranges, but their sense of smell is well developed, akin to canines, another trait that evolved to compensate for their lack of visual eyesight.

Civilization and Culture

History

The Clocoa have no recordings of their earliest years, and have just assumed that they have been a part of this world since its conception. They do have vague, contradictory myths about their creation, and the Altruis College of Magic has managed to make some connection between them and the Stratum on which they are most commonly found, indicating that it could indeed be their ancestral home. They either developed there, or the whole stratum was transplanted into the world, much like the human's one was, but far longer ago.

Clocoa by Xah, via Spore