HOME | DD

Description
In the world of Hypoemtasia, there are two groups of pterosaurs: the azhdarchids and the tapejarids. These two groups can be found throughout the shores and coasts of the Southern Hemisphere, however there are many of those are exclusively found in the three islands between Shan-Gri-La and Austrotasia. Many of them happened to have evolved drastically differently from their mainland relatives, in that they come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes due to the absense (and as such competition) of both the dinosaurs and the marsupials on the islands, which led them to occupy those niches usually filled in by the former two groups. As a result, this led to the three islands becoming the sole sanctuary where these exotic pterosaurs can be found, occupying nearly all the keystone roles on the island.

At a height of around 1.2 to 1.9 meters tall and weighing around 100 to 300 kilograms, the Matarirhynchus are a genus of flightless azhdarchids filling an ecological niche similar to the wader birds of RL, albeit being only found and distributed throughout the marshes, swamps and the coastal areas of the 3 islands. Having several adaptions that fits that of a wader: widely splayed webbed feet, a flexible neck and a long beak which allows them to strike their prey from a distance in the nick of an eye, this makes the Matarirhynchus well-suited in taking the role of waders that are usually occupied by the wader birds on the other continents. Bizarre as it seems, these azhdarchids are one of the few pterosaurus to have evolved bristle-like protrusions on their hind region similar to that of a porcupine, which provides them a form of protection against pursuing predators from the rear. Sexually dimorphic like most pterowaders, The males possess a sharper crest in contrast to the more circular crest of the females and are more vibrant in their body pattern and coloration. Other than that, the colour of their beaks sports a strikingly attractive reddish-orange as well, like most male animals from Hypoemtasia and RL. While their bright reddish-orange beaks are not actually lance-like as they are more closer to that of a saddle-billed stork, their beaks nonetheless functions similarly to a lance in that they use the tip of their beaks to stab through the soft underside of their prey before quickly swallowing them. As such, they are given the binomial Matarirhynchus rufus by the Hypoemtasian zoological community, in reference to their brightful lance-like beak.

While they are social animals and do often congregate in groups up to 20 strong or more, the Matarirhynchus can be defensive when it comes to defending their nest. Both the male and female will switch roles where one is in charge of guarding the nest and the other going foraging fishes for the other. Whenever an intruder is found within the proximity of the nesting ground, the pterowaders will aggressively snap their beaks and mock charge against said intruders to drive them off. Laying around 3 to 4 eggs at an area with an elevation several meters above sea level to prevent the eggs from being submerged with the saline water that could suffocate the embryos while utilizing the sunlight of the coasts to incubate them, the Matarirhynchus will continuously patrol the nesting areas to make sure that the tidal waves will not reach their nests. Carving small trenches using their beaks to mitigate the forces of the tidal waves via redistributing the kinetic energy of the wave to the trenches, the trenches help to ensure that even if the tidal waves were strong enough to reach to the shores the saline seawater will not reach the nest as it subsides.

While these wading azhdarchids are the largest of all the pterowaders* on the three islands and are rarely predated by the carnivorous tapejarids, they are not immune to predation from predators like the Deinorhamphus and humans as well. Their size and sharp beak serves as a defense against some of the more predatory pterosaurs, including the Deinorhamphus. Their hind region bristled with hard quill-like structures which makes ambushing them from the rear a daunting task even for an experienced Deinorhamphus, lest they get one of their eyes pricked by the hind protrusions. However, that is the case for the adults and not for the juveniles. As such, these azhdarchids will still congregate in a herd up to 20 or more as a form of protection for their offspring. The beaks of the male Matarirhynchus are prized by the natives due to their bright reddish-orange coloration, which the natives often associate with fortune and virility. Those beaks also symbolizes the status and authority of a person, as these beaks are only possessed by the head of a tribe as stated in their tradition. Whomever appointed by the tribe leader to be the one to lead the tribe in the future has the rights to truly possess the skull of these azhdarchids.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pterowaders is a term used by the Hypoemtasian scientific community to refer to these group of azhdarchids that have evolved several traits that have the characteristic of a wader [In this context, I am including the shorebirds (gulls, plovers, ibisbills, oystercatchers) and the other two: ciconiiformes(storks) and ardeidae (herons)], ie: wide splayed feet with web-like growth around their feet to increase their surface area and avoid sinking into the mud, a pair of long beaks aiding them in picking their prey off with great precision. Like their RL counterpart, they are found throughout the shorelines and mudflats, foraging for crustaceans, fish, molluscs and even cephalopods.

After a one-month Hypoemtasia hiatus, I am finally back on Hypoemtasia with the first Hypoemtasia Bestiary entry for 2021!
The idea of a wader pterosaur was partly inspired by a flightless wading pterosaur, Scissor Head, featured in a book accompanying Peter Jackson's King Kong film, The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island
That pterosaur, design-wise, is not a very appealing one in comparison with the other creatures with a more plausible-looking designs but the idea of a wading pterosaur itself is very plausible when given enough time and chance. Other than that, the three islands (yet to be given an official name as of this moment) is my own personal attempt to create an island where pterosaurs have diversified into a variety of shapes and sizes, occupying several niches that are left vacant by the previous dominant species of the island, which is heavily inspired by Trollmans's Cuvier Isle (www.deviantart.com/trollmans/a… ) although I would like to have my own personal take on a pterosaur island : p

More GUUD stuff to come soon BOIz and GURLz!
Hold on to your butts and stay safe!

Description
In the world of Hypoemtasia, there are two groups of pterosaurs: the azhdarchids and the tapejarids. These two groups can be found throughout the shores and coasts of the Southern Hemisphere, however there are many of those are exclusively found in the three islands between Shan-Gri-La and Austrotasia. Many of them happened to have evolved drastically differently from their mainland relatives, in that they come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes due to the absense (and as such competition) of both the dinosaurs and the marsupials on the islands, which led them to occupy those niches usually filled in by the former two groups. As a result, this led to the three islands becoming the sole sanctuary where these exotic pterosaurs can be found, occupying nearly all the keystone roles on the island.

At a height of around 1.2 to 1.9 meters tall and weighing around 100 to 300 kilograms, the Matarirhynchus are a genus of flightless azhdarchids filling an ecological niche similar to the wader birds of RL, albeit being only found and distributed throughout the marshes, swamps and the coastal areas of the 3 islands. Having several adaptions that fits that of a wader: widely splayed webbed feet, a flexible neck and a long beak which allows them to strike their prey from a distance in the nick of an eye, this makes the Matarirhynchus well-suited in taking the role of waders that are usually occupied by the wader birds on the other continents. Bizarre as it seems, these azhdarchids are one of the few pterosaurus to have evolved bristle-like protrusions on their hind region similar to that of a porcupine, which provides them a form of protection against pursuing predators from the rear. Sexually dimorphic like most pterowaders, The males possess a sharper crest in contrast to the more circular crest of the females and are more vibrant in their body pattern and coloration. Other than that, the colour of their beaks sports a strikingly attractive reddish-orange as well, like most male animals from Hypoemtasia and RL. While their bright reddish-orange beaks are not actually lance-like as they are more closer to that of a saddle-billed stork, their beaks nonetheless functions similarly to a lance in that they use the tip of their beaks to stab through the soft underside of their prey before quickly swallowing them. As such, they are given the binomial Matarirhynchus rufus by the Hypoemtasian zoological community, in reference to their brightful lance-like beak.

While they are social animals and do often congregate in groups up to 20 strong or more, the Matarirhynchus can be defensive when it comes to defending their nest. Both the male and female will switch roles where one is in charge of guarding the nest and the other going foraging fishes for the other. Whenever an intruder is found within the proximity of the nesting ground, the pterowaders will aggressively snap their beaks and mock charge against said intruders to drive them off. Laying around 3 to 4 eggs at an area with an elevation several meters above sea level to prevent the eggs from being submerged with the saline water that could suffocate the embryos while utilizing the sunlight of the coasts to incubate them, the Matarirhynchus will continuously patrol the nesting areas to make sure that the tidal waves will not reach their nests. Carving small trenches using their beaks to mitigate the forces of the tidal waves via redistributing the kinetic energy of the wave to the trenches, the trenches help to ensure that even if the tidal waves were strong enough to reach to the shores the saline seawater will not reach the nest as it subsides.

While these wading azhdarchids are the largest of all the pterowaders* on the three islands and are rarely predated by the carnivorous tapejarids, they are not immune to predation from predators like the Deinorhamphus and humans as well. Their size and sharp beak serves as a defense against some of the more predatory pterosaurs, including the Deinorhamphus. Their hind region bristled with hard quill-like structures which makes ambushing them from the rear a daunting task even for an experienced Deinorhamphus, lest they get one of their eyes pricked by the hind protrusions. However, that is the case for the adults and not for the juveniles. As such, these azhdarchids will still congregate in a herd up to 20 or more as a form of protection for their offspring. The beaks of the male Matarirhynchus are prized by the natives due to their bright reddish-orange coloration, which the natives often associate with fortune and virility. Those beaks also symbolizes the status and authority of a person, as these beaks are only possessed by the head of a tribe as stated in their tradition. Whomever appointed by the tribe leader to be the one to lead the tribe in the future has the rights to truly possess the skull of these azhdarchids.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pterowaders is a term used by the Hypoemtasian scientific community to refer to these group of azhdarchids that have evolved several traits that have the characteristic of a wader [In this context, I am including the shorebirds (gulls, plovers, ibisbills, oystercatchers) and the other two: ciconiiformes(storks) and ardeidae (herons)], ie: wide splayed feet with web-like growth around their feet to increase their surface area and avoid sinking into the mud, a pair of long beaks aiding them in picking their prey off with great precision. Like their RL counterpart, they are found throughout the shorelines and mudflats, foraging for crustaceans, fish, molluscs and even cephalopods.

After a one-month Hypoemtasia hiatus, I am finally back on Hypoemtasia with the first Hypoemtasia Bestiary entry for 2021!
The idea of a wader pterosaur was partly inspired by a flightless wading pterosaur, Scissor Head, featured in a book accompanying Peter Jackson's King Kong film, The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island
That pterosaur, design-wise, is not a very appealing one in comparison with the other creatures with a more plausible-looking designs but the idea of a wading pterosaur itself is very plausible when given enough time and chance. Other than that, the three islands (yet to be given an official name as of this moment) is my own personal attempt to create an island where pterosaurs have diversified into a variety of shapes and sizes, occupying several niches that are left vacant by the previous dominant species of the island, which is heavily inspired by Trollmans's Cuvier Isle (www.deviantart.com/trollmans/a… ) although I would like to have my own personal take on a pterosaur island : p

More GUUD stuff to come soon BOIz and GURLz!
Hold on to your butts and stay safe!