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Description
The sawback thrax is native to the terminator of the tidally locked planet Ilion, from a story I'm writing and illustrating.
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Taxa Notes – Sawback Thrax

Thoracostomes aren’t known for agility and athleticism, being closer in morphology to sea slugs than anything else. They spend most of their time with their mouths firmly suctioned to rocks, plants, and the occasional unlucky creature. This, understandably, makes breathing through the mouth impractical, so air is absorbed and exhaled directly through the skin. Most would not last a day in the harsh terminator climate. Those that do depend on the shared warmth of furred animals, whether as harmless hitchhikers, parasites, or predators of parasites.

The sawback thrax defies everything we thought we knew about thoracostomes, and may very well be a missing link to their ancestral anteriostomes. It still has the ventral mouth and infrared-sensitive eyestalks that define the group, but nothing else fits the mold. The powerful hind legs and formidable-looking false head are not typical features. It’s nimble enough to take down an archersnake without being skewered like a shish kebob. The sawback protects itself with a leathery shell far too thick for diffusion. The jointed eyestalks reflect their origin as modified limbs. The sawback thrax is truly an anomaly.
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Ballpoint pen

Read Odyssey here [link]

Description
The sawback thrax is native to the terminator of the tidally locked planet Ilion, from a story I'm writing and illustrating.
___________________________________________
Taxa Notes – Sawback Thrax

Thoracostomes aren’t known for agility and athleticism, being closer in morphology to sea slugs than anything else. They spend most of their time with their mouths firmly suctioned to rocks, plants, and the occasional unlucky creature. This, understandably, makes breathing through the mouth impractical, so air is absorbed and exhaled directly through the skin. Most would not last a day in the harsh terminator climate. Those that do depend on the shared warmth of furred animals, whether as harmless hitchhikers, parasites, or predators of parasites.

The sawback thrax defies everything we thought we knew about thoracostomes, and may very well be a missing link to their ancestral anteriostomes. It still has the ventral mouth and infrared-sensitive eyestalks that define the group, but nothing else fits the mold. The powerful hind legs and formidable-looking false head are not typical features. It’s nimble enough to take down an archersnake without being skewered like a shish kebob. The sawback protects itself with a leathery shell far too thick for diffusion. The jointed eyestalks reflect their origin as modified limbs. The sawback thrax is truly an anomaly.
__________________________________________

Ballpoint pen

Read Odyssey here [link]