Aridian
Anatomy
Aridians are the shortest of the sophonts of Terra Ava, with short, dark brown feathers and light cream stripes across their bodies. The majority of these people reach a height of around twenty centimetres, making them vastly shorter than any other intelligent people in the world. Despite their short size, they have some of the longest tail feathers compared to their body size of any animal.
During the summertime aridians produce the most beautiful of glows. Their feathers, especially on the tail, glow bright during the daytime, and give off a faint glow during nights. Nobody is quite sure how this happens, but aridians are considered some of the most beautiful people on the planet because of it.
Aridians are weak fliers, with incredibly small wings compared to their bodies. While they do often puff out their feathers to appear larger, these people prefer to just glide downwards as their wings can't support proper flight for long.
Diet
For the most part aridians are herbivorous, eating various cacti and other plant material in the Mesoean Strip. They do sometimes feast on insects and small animals, but this is only for their own satisfaction and they gain nothing from it. In fact, too much protein can cause serious issues.
Aridians have prepared some of the most delicious meals on the planet. Due to the uniqueness of the climate in the Mesoean Strip, aridians have mastered using the various flora species in their regional cuisines.
Reproduction & Eggs
Aridians typically lay between 5 and 8 eggs at any one time. Aridians in the Western Mesoean Strip are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs which hatch outside of the body, while aridians in the Eastern Mesoean Strip are ovoviviparious, meaning the eggs are hatched inside of the body and are birthed live.
The eggs of Western aridians are small and perfectly spherical. They are a dark green colour with yellow spots, a camouflage tactic as they resemble certain cactus polyps. Western aridians lay eggs because of a significant lack of predators - there are no predators around that would eat the eggs, while in the Eastern Mesoean Strip there are plenty of them, which is why aridians give birth to live young born with the innate ability to fly.
Aridian Settlements
Aridian settlements are unmistakeable, for they are both beautiful and of a tiny visible scale. Most of the settlements are tucked away behind desert cliffs, while various entrances are carved on cliff-faces. While each settlement differs from one another, they are all fairly similar in that the visible part of the settlement appears as nothing more than a bunch of holes. On the inside however are intertwining tunnels, caverns, rooms, all carved out by hard-working aridian miners.
Cave Farming
Aside from mining, farming is another popular job sector. Cave farming is the most common type of farming in aridian culture, as the cave systems below the Mesoean Strip are full of delicious plants regularly consumed by aridians.
As well, the cold climates in the furthest points of the settlements keep crops alive for much longer. They are kept in storage containers lined with icestone, the only cold thing found in the desert.
Distribution & Habitat
Aridians originated in the Mesoean Strip, a desert that stretches through the middle of the world, and is the largest desert biome in Terra Ava.
Two main groups of aridians have formed: Western aridians and Eastern aridians. Western aridians are oviparous, while eastern aridians are ovoviviparous. This is due to predators in the Western Mesoean Strip, which have caused western aridian babies to be able to fly from birth.
Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull
Aww, they are cute! I like that some of them lay eggs and some of them give birth to live young. :D
Mochi
Yeeees! Thank you for liking and commenting <3
My Bestiary Article!