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Description
Some stagjaw sketches. Stagjaws are the new top predator in Yraal, main continental body of Canaan. They took over just a couple million years ago after literally exploding on the scene and tearing the "apex predator" title away from the slower, stalking spikeworms. Stagjaws have since blossomed into a wide variety of forms and were well established by the time humans showed up on the planet.

A small alteration in the enzyme that assists in the storage of ATP allowed the stagjaw to store and retain large amounts of energy that the spikeworm could not, so its resting periods were fewer and farther between, and it was capable of sprinting. The arrival of the stagjaw tore through large amounts of previously slow-moving herbivore and "plant" populations. The development of new methods of movement and camouflage occurred almost overnight just to deal with the new boss.

There's a few different types here. One with little radar booms and fold-away receiver dishes and pincers, one with the muscle attachments for the pincers on the ventral side of the skull, and so on. Stagjaw "necks" (like most Canaanite bipeds) are boneless, with a single, thick tendon running through the center and the muscle wrapped in a sprial around it, making the "neck" almost as pliable and strong as, say, a vertebrate's tongue. When not in use, they'll often rest the thing on the back or in specialized nooks on the front of the body.

Description
Some stagjaw sketches. Stagjaws are the new top predator in Yraal, main continental body of Canaan. They took over just a couple million years ago after literally exploding on the scene and tearing the "apex predator" title away from the slower, stalking spikeworms. Stagjaws have since blossomed into a wide variety of forms and were well established by the time humans showed up on the planet.

A small alteration in the enzyme that assists in the storage of ATP allowed the stagjaw to store and retain large amounts of energy that the spikeworm could not, so its resting periods were fewer and farther between, and it was capable of sprinting. The arrival of the stagjaw tore through large amounts of previously slow-moving herbivore and "plant" populations. The development of new methods of movement and camouflage occurred almost overnight just to deal with the new boss.

There's a few different types here. One with little radar booms and fold-away receiver dishes and pincers, one with the muscle attachments for the pincers on the ventral side of the skull, and so on. Stagjaw "necks" (like most Canaanite bipeds) are boneless, with a single, thick tendon running through the center and the muscle wrapped in a sprial around it, making the "neck" almost as pliable and strong as, say, a vertebrate's tongue. When not in use, they'll often rest the thing on the back or in specialized nooks on the front of the body.