A plethora of creatures have taken to the sky on the Rhynia, from the tiny thriae found wherever the air is breathable, to the horrifying [redacted] of Dome 6, but none are more glorious than the flying placoderms, the iactocauds. The relationship of iactocauds to other bipods had long been a mystery. Their overall external anatomy suggested ties with the four-legged pseudopods, while the anatomy of their skulls had some speculate a relationship to the largely aquatic acripod clade, the tetragnathes. Evidence from genetic testing supports the latter...
Among the Iactocauds there are two major factions: the repentocauds of Dome 5 and the shantaks. Shantaks are found mostly in Dome 4, but a few highly specialized species can be found throughout other Domes. Iactocauds are thought to have gained flight when their placophid ancestors glid on clasper memberanes and used their tails to fling themselves out of trees. The tail-flinging days of shantaks are long gone though. Unlike the flexible and often prehensile tails of the repentocauds, the shantaks have very rigid tails which they use to stand on. The vetebral structure in a shantak's tail are unlike those of any other animal, being most comparable to the thoracic vertebrae of hero shrews (Scutisorex) in the way they interlock. This makes the tails of shantaks extremely strong and capable of both supporting their weight and helping with take off.
Shantaks turned the pectoral claws they inherited from their acripod ancestors into structures more akin to the chelicerae of scorpions and solifuges than the claws of their shellsnake cousins. This, unsurprisingly, has a tendency to trigger mild arachnophobia in some explorers. In addition to their pectoral limbs becoming deadly facial appendages, many shantaks have also evolved small claws on their wings and tails to aid in climbing, walking and in some instances even hunting.
Well, almost. It turns out that iactocauds, with their four appendages, are closest related to the near-limbless placophids. Cladistically speaking, iactocauds could in fact be considered shellsnakes themselves, despite their highly divergent morphology.
Among the Iactocauds there are two major factions: the repentocauds of Dome 5 and the shantaks. Shantaks are found mostly in Dome 4, but a few highly specialized species can be found throughout other Domes. Iactocauds are thought to have gained flight when their placophid ancestors glid on clasper memberanes and used their tails to fling themselves out of trees. The tail-flinging days of shantaks are long gone though. Unlike the flexible and often prehensile tails of the repentocauds, the shantaks have very rigid tails which they use to stand on. The vetebral structure in a shantak's tail are unlike those of any other animal, being most comparable to the thoracic vertebrae of hero shrews (Scutisorex) in the way they interlock. This makes the tails of shantaks extremely strong and capable of both supporting their weight and helping with take off.
Shantaks turned the pectoral claws they inherited from their acripod ancestors into structures more akin to the chelicerae of scorpions and solifuges than the claws of their shellsnake cousins. This, unsurprisingly, has a tendency to trigger mild arachnophobia in some explorers. In addition to their pectoral limbs becoming deadly facial appendages, many shantaks have also evolved small claws on their wings and tails to aid in climbing, walking and in some instances even hunting.
With the evolution of endothermy came the need to stay warm. Whereas most shellsnakes possess scales, shantaks have filaments. The origins of filaments had been one of the most contentious issues in iactocaud evolution until the 2547 discovery of Plumasquama byngi. With overlapping scales with frilled ends, P. byngi seemed to suggest that iactocauds, unlike birds, evolved their fuzz directly from scales. Frustratingly though, only part of a wing was preserved, leaving the affinities of P. byngi unknown.
Parrot shantaks, also known as shanttacos, are omnivorous shantaks that live throughout much of Dome 4, though especially common on the southern microcontinent of Yanhuo. While their ancestors were mostly carnivorous, fossilised remains suggest that around 20 million years ago, shanttacos began to adapt more plant material into their diet, mainly the false-fruits of the derived angiosperm-like horsetails present in much of the rain-forests of Dome 4. As a result, their limb-derived chelicerae have become sharp and robust, resembling the beak of a parrot. Most living shanttacos have diets mostly comprised of these false-fruits and other plant material, but animal consumption is not uncommon, although most stick to small animals to hunt such as arboreal tieheformes.
Illustrated by Anna, from our discord server
The Indigo shanttaco (Psittacops yanhuoi) is so named for its grey-blue pelage on most of its body, including the tail fan. The head is instead a light brown or cream-colour and the eyes are typically a darker brown. Males look mostly identical to females save for a striking blue crest; females possess a crest, but it is smaller and a dull dark grey as opposed to a vibrant blue. They live in dense rain-forests across much of Yanhuo, typically in the high canopy, where horsetail "fruits", which compose the majority of their diet, are most accessible. A subspecies also is present on Cuocha Island, and vagrants have reported as far away as the Chongwei Archipelago.
Indigo shanttacos typically live in loose conglomerations consisting of three or five females lead by a male, though these groups do not often stay together for long and both sexes may come and go as they please. Although superficially similar to parrots, shanttacos do not possess the keen intellect Earth's parrots and relatives are known for. While certainly fairly clever, shanttacos cannot mimic human speech or solve complex equations. Tool use is also not observed in either the lab or nature. Indigo shanttacos especially are rather silent, preferring to communicate with body language rather than vocalizations. However, when they do vocalize, it is usually with high-pitched grunts or whistles, sometimes even making screeching calls similar to that of a blue jay.
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There are thousands of species of Shantaks, including some really small ones. These three species were all found on Kornacki's Island and yet await formal description. The top most shantak is a horsetail polinator akin to the extinct hummingbirds. Just like them, its wing segmentation has been lost in favour of an insect-like structure. The shantak on the right is a presumed distant relative, with rudders and similar chelicerae morphologies. It darts through the dusk skies in search of chimaeraflies. The final animal on the left is a vampire with narrow chelicerae for stabbing and a strange tubular tongue for sucking up the blood of its prey. I find them even more troublesome than mosquitobirds because they flock to feed.
The Indigo Shanttaco was a fan-submission made, illustrated and written by Anna from our Discord. If you have similar fan-contributions in mind, you can send them to us or join the Discord and we might include them if we find them fitting for this world.
High above the seaside cliffs of Kornacki's Island, a lone skull-faced rhynigull drops its jetleech (superorder Bdelichthyes) catch in a desperate attempt to distract the yellow-crested frigateshantak from hunting it.
Skull-faced rhynigulls (Xenolarus necrocephalops) are a species of sea faring shantak from a wider family commonly called rhynigulls, endemic to Kornacki's and the surrounding islands. This species lives on the island year round and do not migrate as many other seafaring shantaks do. As a result, they are somewhat stockier built than other members of their genus. They are excellent divers and fishers, but will also feed on carrion and even hunt smaller animals on Kornacki's Island. Their relatively short wings make them very maneuverable and fast, a trait which they need seeing as to how they are far from the largest marine flyers to visit Kornacki's coasts. While these wings limit the Rhynigull's ability to soar long distances effectively, its mortal enemy has perfected this art.
The Yellow-crested frigateshantak (Belonicheirus luteocristatus) with its nearly 3 meter wingspan can spend up to 90% of its adult life on the wing, only ever landing for breeding and nesting. They are found all around Dome 4, but only nest on Kornacki's and surrounding islands. This is what sets them apart from other members of its genus. Though they are skilled oceanic hunters themselves, they are not above bullying other shantaks for their food. With their great size and terrifying, double-row pseudotooth-filled face-claws, most other shantaks will drop their catch after a short chase. But when it's breeding season, frigateshantaks often desire food a bit more substantial. Often times they'll wait for other shantaks to return from the hunt to their nests and ambush them just off the coast. They try to make their prey fly higher in order to exhaust them and then catch them when they come down. Using thermals to rise up, they use only a fraction of the energy the rhynigull needs. In the final stages of the hunt, when the frigateshantak starts beating its wings, it catches up with its prey surprisingly fast. The rhynigull is doomed to become lunch.
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3 microflier shantaks made by Yuujinner
There are thousands of species of Shantaks, including some really small ones. These three species were all found on Kornacki's Island and yet await formal description. The top most shantak is a horsetail polinator akin to the extinct hummingbirds. Just like them, its wing segmentation has been lost in favour of an insect-like structure. The shantak on the right is a presumed distant relative, with rudders and similar chelicerae morphologies. It darts through the dusk skies in search of chimaeraflies. The final animal on the left is a vampire with narrow chelicerae for stabbing and a strange tubular tongue for sucking up the blood of its prey. I find them even more troublesome than mosquitobirds because they flock to feed.
The Indigo Shanttaco was a fan-submission made, illustrated and written by Anna from our Discord. If you have similar fan-contributions in mind, you can send them to us or join the Discord and we might include them if we find them fitting for this world.
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