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Description

scientific name: ensitheria koinos
common name: ceballan unicorn, unicorn-beetle
average height: ~8 ft
average weight: 3,700-4,000 lbs

The Ensitheria Koinos (common sword-beast) is a species of the genus Ensitherium, a genus of the family ceratopisidae, which is made up of four known genera, with the Ensitherium being the most prolific of the four. This particular species inhabits the savanna of Ceballo Island. Here, the climate is both hot but also replete with savanna-adapted trees and lampaphytes. An interesting fact about Ceballo island is the fact that it's the only place in the world to find ceratopisids, with these creatures exisitng nowhere else. We theorize they got to Ceballo right before the merging of northern and southern Dougaal into a single Dougaal. The merging of the two landmasses saw the competition between the Dougaalese pachypods and the placopods, with the placopods ultimately replacing the Dougaalese pachypods. However, as this was happening, the island of Ceballo had already broken off from Dougaal, resulting in the island acting as a refugium for these Dougaalese pachypods. Over time, the Dougaalese pachypods began to evolve and change, evolving into the ceratopisids we see today.

The E. Koinos is a solitary creature, and prefers to eat and live alone. They're rather territorial, and confrontations are a common sight. To ward off an intruder, they will typically kick up dirt by dragging their hoof across the ground. They will also produce a low growl to emphasize their message. In most cases, this is enough to ward off an intruder, but confrontations do break out between stubborn individuals.

Diet for the E. Koinos is mostly made up of the plentiful lampaphytes, yet they will also take in shrub-like plants and some low-hanging branches. They are generalist feeders, and are not specially adapted for any very particular niche.

The hard beak at the end of the trunk not only helps to rip up the lampaphytes and tear shreds of leaves off low trees, but also servers as a means of consequence, and higher-ups in the herd will often use their beak to lightly jab at lowers of the herd, similar to the pecking order of chickens. This behavior is common throughout many clades of large herbivores, but in the ceratopisidae, specifically in the Ensitherium and Leschirusus genera, this type of behavior is far more common.

While the large size of the E. Koinos allows it to deter predators simply from that aspect alone, it is not invulnerable, and will sometimes be predated upon by the local Theronychus species or other pack hunting stiletocarpids. One of the defenses the Ensitheria Koinos has evolved is its notable horn on its back, which is a staple of the entire ceratopisidae family. In the Ensitherium genus, the horn has elongated into a piercing sword-like defensive and offensive weapon. The horn itself is an offshoot of bone that is present in the upper nasal bone of the limb girdle of the stithopod skeleton. In some forms, this bit of nasal bone serves only to keep an insulating and defensive shield against the “neck” of the herbivore, but in the ceratopisids this nasal bone has protruded past the skin and has been adapted to serve as a weapon of the family.
In the Ensitherium, this horn is used for both attack against predators and in mating. When attacked by any potential predator, the E. Koinos will often rush at full speed at the predator, using its powerful legs to store kinetic energy in the horn. If the predator is pierced by the horn, the energy released is enough to completely pulverize the limb girdle, which is most commonly targeted, which is a death sentence for the predator. When used against one another, it is usually to decide who does the fertilizing and who doesn’t. Because of the inherent lethality of the horn, the E. Koinos generally strays away from using it at full force against one another as to prevent death.
Other more minor defensive features include their beak, which is sometimes used against predators, and the hard, leathery plate along the back of their abdomen, which provides a thick and powerful wall to protect their soft and vulnerable abdomen. Occasionally, they will fall victim to predation, though most of the time these attacks occur in the juvenile forms and not the adult forms.

Description

scientific name: ensitheria koinos
common name: ceballan unicorn, unicorn-beetle
average height: ~8 ft
average weight: 3,700-4,000 lbs

The Ensitheria Koinos (common sword-beast) is a species of the genus Ensitherium, a genus of the family ceratopisidae, which is made up of four known genera, with the Ensitherium being the most prolific of the four. This particular species inhabits the savanna of Ceballo Island. Here, the climate is both hot but also replete with savanna-adapted trees and lampaphytes. An interesting fact about Ceballo island is the fact that it's the only place in the world to find ceratopisids, with these creatures exisitng nowhere else. We theorize they got to Ceballo right before the merging of northern and southern Dougaal into a single Dougaal. The merging of the two landmasses saw the competition between the Dougaalese pachypods and the placopods, with the placopods ultimately replacing the Dougaalese pachypods. However, as this was happening, the island of Ceballo had already broken off from Dougaal, resulting in the island acting as a refugium for these Dougaalese pachypods. Over time, the Dougaalese pachypods began to evolve and change, evolving into the ceratopisids we see today.

The E. Koinos is a solitary creature, and prefers to eat and live alone. They're rather territorial, and confrontations are a common sight. To ward off an intruder, they will typically kick up dirt by dragging their hoof across the ground. They will also produce a low growl to emphasize their message. In most cases, this is enough to ward off an intruder, but confrontations do break out between stubborn individuals.

Diet for the E. Koinos is mostly made up of the plentiful lampaphytes, yet they will also take in shrub-like plants and some low-hanging branches. They are generalist feeders, and are not specially adapted for any very particular niche.

The hard beak at the end of the trunk not only helps to rip up the lampaphytes and tear shreds of leaves off low trees, but also servers as a means of consequence, and higher-ups in the herd will often use their beak to lightly jab at lowers of the herd, similar to the pecking order of chickens. This behavior is common throughout many clades of large herbivores, but in the ceratopisidae, specifically in the Ensitherium and Leschirusus genera, this type of behavior is far more common.

While the large size of the E. Koinos allows it to deter predators simply from that aspect alone, it is not invulnerable, and will sometimes be predated upon by the local Theronychus species or other pack hunting stiletocarpids. One of the defenses the Ensitheria Koinos has evolved is its notable horn on its back, which is a staple of the entire ceratopisidae family. In the Ensitherium genus, the horn has elongated into a piercing sword-like defensive and offensive weapon. The horn itself is an offshoot of bone that is present in the upper nasal bone of the limb girdle of the stithopod skeleton. In some forms, this bit of nasal bone serves only to keep an insulating and defensive shield against the “neck” of the herbivore, but in the ceratopisids this nasal bone has protruded past the skin and has been adapted to serve as a weapon of the family.
In the Ensitherium, this horn is used for both attack against predators and in mating. When attacked by any potential predator, the E. Koinos will often rush at full speed at the predator, using its powerful legs to store kinetic energy in the horn. If the predator is pierced by the horn, the energy released is enough to completely pulverize the limb girdle, which is most commonly targeted, which is a death sentence for the predator. When used against one another, it is usually to decide who does the fertilizing and who doesn’t. Because of the inherent lethality of the horn, the E. Koinos generally strays away from using it at full force against one another as to prevent death.
Other more minor defensive features include their beak, which is sometimes used against predators, and the hard, leathery plate along the back of their abdomen, which provides a thick and powerful wall to protect their soft and vulnerable abdomen. Occasionally, they will fall victim to predation, though most of the time these attacks occur in the juvenile forms and not the adult forms.