Bergmann’s rule states that among homeothermic animals, members living in colder regions tend to be larger than close relatives in warmer ones, in order to better conserve body-heat. While the climate inside an individual dome is rarely heterogenous, such a thing can be be observed on the Rhynia between domes with the chionipods of Dome 5, who on average are more massive than their typically puppy-sized thelocaud cousins in Dome 4 (Of course there is a bit of a caveat, as nobody has actually checked so far, if the latter are homeotherms as well).
Ferntails are among the most widespread of all the chionipods in Dome 5, existing on practically all major landmasses. In most places, ferntails are small and fill the niches of rodents or small ground birds. But not on the microcontinent Thule. Here, a family of ferntails has attained megafaunal sizes, with the smallest member of this family already twice as large as the biggest Ailidhan ferntails Characterised by their distinct lack of facial whiskers, these megafaunal animals are called degeneiids, colloquially known as the brackemors.
The very largest member of this family is the aptly named giant brackemor (Degeneius laniger), which with its over 2 meter long carapace weighs about as much as a European Bison. As with all brackemors, the giants are herbivores. They tend roam in the tundra and snow desert of central Thule, where predators are few. They use their wide clawed feet to dig and break through layers of snow and ice to reach the fresh vegetation below. Their social groups are organised into gender-segregated herds, female herds being led by a matriarch, often the mother or grandmother of some of the group-members, while young males will often split off with others to form their own renegade packs.
As with all ferntails, brackemors are largely mute and instead communicate through the filament-fans on their tails. Like in wolves, different angles and bents of the tail indicate varying moods and messages. Calfs of these giants usually have a cryptically white filament covering and an underdeveloped tail to camouflage them in the deep snow. This helps them stay hidden from what few predators they have to face in the wide open tundra.
This illustration was a fan-submission by DemonicManchot on DeviantArt, best known for his flattacanth project. If you have similar fan-contributions in mind, you can send them to Me or Bob and we might include them if we consider them fitting for the world.
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