Blossom Gnaw

Blossom Gnaw by Naelín

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El Gnaw de la floración o Blossom Gnaw es el miembro más particular de la familia de los Gnaw y se encuentra únicamente en las selvas de la Isla de Tháur.
Es pequeño en comparación a sus parientes, de facciones gruesas y compactas, cola corta, lengua fina y larga, y actitud alegre e incluso amigable. Es el único de los gnaw que no vive y caza en manada, en cambio, es un cazador de emboscada, y es a su vez el único de los Gnaw que no tiene una dieta puramente carnívora, ya que suplementa la misma con plantas y nectar de flores.
El gnaw florido ocupa un lugar vital y llamativo en las selvas de Tháur como polinizador de las plantas de ésta. Este gnaw usa su larga y fina lengua para lamer el nectar interior de algunas especies vegetales con grandes flores especializadas y frota su lomo contra las mismas (llenándolo de polen y fertilizando las subsiguientes flores en el proceso), y excreta en el lomo una substancia dulce de fuerte y atractivo aroma. Luego, se echa en los pastos camuflado entre ellos y espera. Gran cantidad de insectos y pájaros pululan alrededor de su lomo atraídos por el almizcle dulce que produce, el cual beben (e intercambian polen que llevan pegado en sus cuerpos luego de libar otras flores con el que el gnaw ya lleva encima). Eventualmente, criaturas de mayor porte se acercan atraídas por el aroma o por los insectos, y en cuanto agachan su cabeza para olerlo, el gnaw florido gira de un salto para atraparlos por el cuello.
Sin embargo, este gnaw caza solo ocasionalmente, y buena parte de su dieta consiste en nectar, brotes y raíces, e incluso algunos de los insectos que habitan su espalda.
Mientras que el lomo de los gnaw floridos es agouti pálido, la mezcla de polen, bichos y almizcle le da un tono amarillento, e incluso algunas algas pueden crecer en su pelaje húmedo otorgándole tintes verdes que lo ayudan a camuflarse.

Distribucion geográfica

Los gnaw floridos solo fueron avistados en las profundidades de las selvas de Tháur. No se han visto demasiados ejemplares, pero la cantidad de flores adaptadas a tener una relación simbiótica con ellos sugieren números bastante mayores a los que se observan.

Located solely in the forested areas of the Thaur Island, the blossom gnaw is the most peculiar member of the gnaw family.

Anatomy

The blossom gnaw is the smallest of the gnaw, standing at just 70cm tall.
It is stocky and compact, with a short tail, and a thin, long tongue.
Most of its fur is a dark agouti with a lighter, almost pink-ish toned belly, but on the top of its back from the neck to the base of the tail, it grows a longer coat of the same lighter, almost pink agouti tone of the belly, that secretes a sticky musk that gets the hair tainted beige by the mix of pollen, bugs and dust it collects, mixed with the musk itself. Sometimes, this humid coat can even get tinted green by the presence of algae growth on it.

Behaviour

The blossom gnaw has been found to have a cheerful and even friendly behaviour, despite being the only kind of gnaw that lives a solitary life.

Diet

Unlike the other gnaws, the blossom gnaw is an omnivore whose diet consists mostly of nectar, roots, sprouts, and insects it licks from its back. It catches its prey using camouflage to ambush its prey from below: The creature spends most of its time tucked in between grasses and roots and attracts birds, insects and creatures with the sweet scent of the musk it produces on its back. When a sizeable creature approaches it to lick the musk, pollen or insects, the gnaw springs on its feet and catches it.

Role as a polinizer

The ecosystem of the Thaurian jungles has the blossom gnaw in a vital role as a pollinizer of its plants. This gnaw uses its long and thin tongue to lick the nectar inside of some of the vegetable species of the island with big specialized flowers, and rubs its back against them, getting its fur full of pollen that will subsequently fertilize the flowers it encounters next.
When it stays quiet, the insects and birds that swarm its back attracted by its sweet stench also get covered in pollen, turning into pollinizers themselves.

Geographic Distribution

The blossom gnaw has only been found in the thickest areas of the Thaurian jungles. It is a rare sight, however, the amount of flowers that seem adapted to have a symbiotic relationship with them suggests much larger numbers than those that could be inferred by the sightings alone.

Geographic distribution of the blossom gnaw

Classification

Simple species

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Gnaw

Lifespan

10 years

Average Height

70 cm

Geographic Distribution

• Delta of Many Birds
• Thaur Island

Discovered by

Welkinal

Finding the rarest gnaws

Welkinal by Naelin

The blossom gnaw was first documented by Welkinal during one of his team's research expeditions to the Delta of Many Birds and the east of Thaur Island.