Flo-tark Species in Wayfarers Universe | World Anvil
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Flo-tark

Flo-tark is the name given  by the szassar to a species of mammal, which reflects their mating call - a snuffling "floo" squeal followed by a barked "tark" sound.    The flo-tark is a quadruped mammal with a thick hide. They have a relatively flat face, with an elongated lower jaw that has a similar function to a cow-catcher on an old steam train. They brute force their diet, and sensitive olfactory capabilities are not exactly helpful in the kinds of terrain they feed in. They have wide, jagged rear teeth where most herbivores have flatter teeth for grinding and pulping their food. The rear teeth of flo-tark function as much as saw blades as they do grinding surfaces. Flo-tark have-comically small triangular ears, but their hearing is quite sensitive when they become still. Their ears flap closed when they are charging down a bog in search of their food. The hind limbs and shanks of flo-tark are incredibly strong and densely muscled. Their forelimbs effectively become sleds when they are pushing their bulk through the bog, primarily using their hind legs. With that said, their forelimbs are incredibly strong and sinewy.   Their diet consists mainly of soggy tree roots which they dredge up in salty and sulfurous bogs using jagged foot-long tusks that protrude down from their upper jaw. These tusk curve away from their bodies slightly, and they use coarse rocks to sharpen their ivory tusks into frighteningly sharp knives. They use these tusks to stab deep furrows in the ground, then charge forward until they meet the resistance of a buried tree root. When they sense resistance, they wrench their heads upwards violently and repeatedly until the root they have found can be pulled up to the surface and jammed into their maws to chew on, or are severed and pop up. Flo-tark are excitable and messy eaters.   Flo-tark generally travel in small herds of four to five individuals. Larger groups would become dangerous in a bog when 140kg mammals are charging around faces to the ground with wicked tusks. Given the incredibly tough and fibrous nature of their diet, flo-tark have 6 stomach compartments, each with its own gall-bladder.   The tough hide of a flo-tark serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it provides a layer of protection when they are pushing through caustic bogs on their bellies. The second factor is protection against the dagger-tusks of other flo-tark as they make their own blind charges through the swamp. The third factor is that the bogs they feed in are full of hungry predators, including 4 meter long venomous snakes, and similarly sized crocodilians.   Flo-tark belly-meat is very soft and tender, but back and leg meat requires slow cooking over days to be edible. Flo-tark meat is very rich, and can cause a form of protein-shock if a szassar eats too much of it in a short period. The gall-bladders of flo-tark are incredibly acidic and will spoil meat if punctured, so szassar hunters and abattoir workers generally target the spine just below the incredibly strong neck of a flo-tark when aiming for a killing or disabling blow.

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