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Description

Planet: Xenosulia

Common name: Common field oclin

Scientific name: Acanthonota maximus

Size: 20 – 30 cm long, 10 – 15 cm high (up to the highest point of the back)

Diet: seeds, fruit, grass

Habitat and range: Mesogean grassland and savannah

Reproduction: remains hermaphroditic throughout their life, breeds at a rapid rate.

The oclin belongs to a group of spinoptilites called polylutiforms, so named for their tendency to shed through multiple “tongues”. In actuality, it’s just the hard outer layer that’s shed, rather than the radula itself. Members of the family Ancanthonotidae are colloquially referred to as “ocs” or “oclins”, a Gontanic term originally referring to the hedgehogs of Earth in certain dialects.

The main defining characteristic of the group is the hardened radula; rather than consisting of soft tissue with cupitinous teeth, the entire radula has become covered in a layer of hard cupitin, the whole organ acting as a single spiny tooth. This is shed and replaced by the layer beneath at a rate rapid enough to compensate for the constant erosion of the tooth.

While their small size allows them to hide well, oclins are able to use their spines for defence if this fails, with the spines it shares with other spinoptilites concentrated on its back. What’s less obvious at a glance is the fact these spines broaden at the base and are wide enough that they interlink, forming a thin shell under the spines. Another feature that allows them to avoid predation is the elongated compound eye band, which stretches all the way around the head from one shoulder to the other.

Although their limbs aren’t specialised for digging, they do have a limited ability to dig and prefer to sleep in burrows for safety. Often they will take up residence in abandoned burrows dug by more proficient burrowers. If they are close enough to their burrow when a predator is near, they prefer hiding underground to anything else.

While not nearly to the same extent as pulusiforms, these animals are fast breeders, allowing them to spread rapidly. Unlike pulusiforms, they do care for their young, although they’re not very selective in who they mate with. All individuals are hermaphroditic, and if they’re unable to find other individuals to mate with soon after they enter heat, they will release male gametozoans into the grass which will go looking for an individual to inseminate.

Acanthonota maximus and other oclins have quite adaptable diets, and as such are one of the groups to take advantage of the recent arrival of humans on the planet. Their fast breeding rate only makes things worse, to the extent that they’re considered a pest by many. They have a tendency to dig small burrows underneath people’s houses, only coming up when people are sleeping or away to steal whatever food is edible to them. Although they’re unused to daily cycles as inhabitants of a tidally locked planet, they seem to have quickly learned the cyclic patterns of human behaviour. In spite of this, they are also common pets, perhaps because their small size means they require little space to look after.

Description

Planet: Xenosulia

Common name: Common field oclin

Scientific name: Acanthonota maximus

Size: 20 – 30 cm long, 10 – 15 cm high (up to the highest point of the back)

Diet: seeds, fruit, grass

Habitat and range: Mesogean grassland and savannah

Reproduction: remains hermaphroditic throughout their life, breeds at a rapid rate.

The oclin belongs to a group of spinoptilites called polylutiforms, so named for their tendency to shed through multiple “tongues”. In actuality, it’s just the hard outer layer that’s shed, rather than the radula itself. Members of the family Ancanthonotidae are colloquially referred to as “ocs” or “oclins”, a Gontanic term originally referring to the hedgehogs of Earth in certain dialects.

The main defining characteristic of the group is the hardened radula; rather than consisting of soft tissue with cupitinous teeth, the entire radula has become covered in a layer of hard cupitin, the whole organ acting as a single spiny tooth. This is shed and replaced by the layer beneath at a rate rapid enough to compensate for the constant erosion of the tooth.

While their small size allows them to hide well, oclins are able to use their spines for defence if this fails, with the spines it shares with other spinoptilites concentrated on its back. What’s less obvious at a glance is the fact these spines broaden at the base and are wide enough that they interlink, forming a thin shell under the spines. Another feature that allows them to avoid predation is the elongated compound eye band, which stretches all the way around the head from one shoulder to the other.

Although their limbs aren’t specialised for digging, they do have a limited ability to dig and prefer to sleep in burrows for safety. Often they will take up residence in abandoned burrows dug by more proficient burrowers. If they are close enough to their burrow when a predator is near, they prefer hiding underground to anything else.

While not nearly to the same extent as pulusiforms, these animals are fast breeders, allowing them to spread rapidly. Unlike pulusiforms, they do care for their young, although they’re not very selective in who they mate with. All individuals are hermaphroditic, and if they’re unable to find other individuals to mate with soon after they enter heat, they will release male gametozoans into the grass which will go looking for an individual to inseminate.

Acanthonota maximus and other oclins have quite adaptable diets, and as such are one of the groups to take advantage of the recent arrival of humans on the planet. Their fast breeding rate only makes things worse, to the extent that they’re considered a pest by many. They have a tendency to dig small burrows underneath people’s houses, only coming up when people are sleeping or away to steal whatever food is edible to them. Although they’re unused to daily cycles as inhabitants of a tidally locked planet, they seem to have quickly learned the cyclic patterns of human behaviour. In spite of this, they are also common pets, perhaps because their small size means they require little space to look after.