Shoveljaw

The shoveljaw (Theen: sanyar; Torugk: noglusygk; Varen: zsu krnuhr; Yuin: heyea) is a large herbivorous and lithovorous mammal found in the Aphelian Plains. While wild populations exist on the plains, they are a common domesticated animal in Aphelia. Several herds of Voiced shoveljaws exist and have taken up residence in Shepherd's Crown and Colossus's Bones.

Basic Information

Anatomy

As mammals, shoveljaws have endoskeletons and are endothermic. They have four legs with two-toed hooves, long, thick fur strengthened by the minerals they consume, and long, bony tails beneath their coats.

Genetics and Reproduction

Shoveljaws give live birth, with calves taking on average eleven months to develop before birth. Twins or other multiple births are extremely rare and often dangerous to the mother. Shoveljaws produce milk for their young; if their diet is healthy enough, they can produce it even when not actively nursing.

Growth Rate & Stages

It takes a shoveljaw around five years to reach its full size and become fertile.

Ecology and Habitats

Shoveljaws prefer large, open spaces with enough plant and mineral matter to sustain their large bodies. After the Nightfall, there weren't many places in Tevhetra with any of the former. Along with scraping up rock to consume it, shoveljaws will carve shallow basins for them to hunker in against the wind or storms.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Shoveljaws consume plants, fungi, and minerals, using their tusks to break down the earth. While they can survive for short periods on minerals alone, after a couple of turns or so they will need to consume some organic material. Wild herds are migratory so as to keep moving from potential food source to source. Their need for plants to eat makes them a frequent target for the Overgrowth. Domesticated and Voiced shoveljaws have the advantage of eating greenhouse-raised plants rather than just what they find in the wild.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Shoveljaws are herd animals with a loose social structure, usually led by the eldest member. Herds usually are around ten to twenty-five large; if a herd gets too big, older shoveljaws will start fighting each other for supremacy until some of them are driven out to form a new herd. Typically, mothers will raise their own young, but if the mother is not around, the herd as a whole will become protective of the calf.

Domestication

While some of the human inhabitants of pre-Nightfall Aphelia herded shoveljaws, their domestication did not become widespread until post-Nightfall conditions made many previous herd animals unsustainable as sources of fur or food. Some domesticated shoveljaws have been bred for smaller tusks to make them less dangerous to their herders, though others have kept their wild tusk size so their animals may defend themselves against predators or Faceless. Those who specialize in shoveljaws are known as tuskers in parts of Northern Aphelia.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Shoveljaws are kept both as beasts of burden, able to pull wagons or carry riders on their backs, and for their milk and fur. Talented riders may be able to take a shoveljaw into combat and use it to charge and ram opponents. Aphelians will also butcher shoveljaws for their hides, bones, fat, and meat, but most herders see their shoveljaws as more valuable alive and will only kill them when they have grown weak or in an emergency. Hunters may occasionally pursue wild shoveljaws, but since shoveljaws usually avoid settlements and thus move through the more dangerous parts of the plains, they are risky targets. Northern Aphelian superstition also holds that killing the last shoveljaw of a herd will bring their spirits' wrath down on the hunters, and few are willing to risk that.

Facial characteristics

Shoveljaws take their Aphelian name from their large, heavy lower jaws and tusks used to dig through and break up rock, as well as for self-defense and fighting amongst the herds. Males' tusks are slightly larger than females'. Shoveljaws also have two small, dark eyes and two small external ears.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Wild shoveljaws are only found in the Aphelian Plains. An attempt by the myulins to export them to the Northern Wastes ultimately failed. Domestic shoveljaws have appeared in other parts of Aphelia as well as Setre and Southern Garrok Federation territory, though are less common than their Aphelian counterparts.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Shoveljaws have strong hearing and tremor sense through their hooves. Their sense of smell is moderately strong. However, they have poor vision.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

While shoveljaws will often risk feeding off the Overgrowth, they are also its most common prey, though it seems intelligent enough to avoid devouring whole herds to sustain its food supply.

Lifespan

25-35 years (wild), 30-40 years (domestic, Voiced)

Average Height

6'-7' (female), 7.5'-8' (male) (at the shoulder)

Average Length

18'-20' (female), 19'-22' (male) (nose to tail)

Average Physique

Shoveljaws are built stockily, and healthy ones can maintain a fair amount of muscle and fat beneath their fur.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Grayish-brown (adult), pale brown (calf)

Geographic Distribution

• Aphelian Plains