Re-translations for Paul

Country of high grasses

"Ex Africa semper aliquid novi" ("Africa always presents something new") - the ancient Greek proverb says so. Africa during the Neocene justifies this phrase on a grand scale. This continent is rich in life, as it almsot always has been. On the plains of Africa, we see savannah very similar to that which prevailed in Africa during the age of man, thousands of herbivores of different size and shape graze: from the tiny to the gigantic. But we do not see on these plains the most remarkable and common herbivores of the age of man, known to many naturalists and hunters - hoofed mammals. There are no herds of antelopes, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, as one would have seen in Africa during the Holocene, nor are there any lions, leopards, or hyenas to hunt them. All these animals have become victims of man or have become extinct due to the accidents which ocurred at the close of the Holocene. The new herbivores still seem somewhat familiar. If you were to fly above the plains, it would seem that nothing has changed. But if you look closer, you will see that things are strikingly different.

In the bush thickets large animals browse. They break off the branches of bushes with their huge incisors. It would seem that they are some sort of rodent, but these animals nevertheless are descendants of a group of hoofed mammals, one which survived mass extinction due to their ability to live in extreme conditions. They are flathorns - descendants of hyraxes (also known as damans). On the heads of the giant adults there are flat, horn-like structures. It is impossible to pierce an opponent using such “horns”, but it is possible to administer a crushing blow which can knock an opponent off their feet. The large flathorn male with his huge, thick, horn-growth, tears off a branch and slowly chews it. He is calm: the adult flathorn has no enemies. Beside him frolicks two of his cubs, twins mothered by one of the group's females. One-and two year-old juveniles nearby are the male and the female that previously dominated the group. For a long time they had established hierarchy and now they are simply enjoying food and safety. The smaller adult female grazes on lush green grass : now it is the wet season, and grass is especially juicy. Large incisors allow her to tear out big clumps of grass. In search of food flathorns thin out bushes and do not allow them to grow thicker. In the past such work was done by elephants and rhinos.

Due to the work of flathorns, bushes do not grasp open spaces. On open parts of the savanna the ground is overgrown with a carpet of grasses, providing food for other herbivores. From the thick grass a long-eared muzzle shows itself, and behind it the body, with short fore and very long hind legs clambers clumsily out of the thickets. The animal moves similarly to a kangaroo: leaning on it's forepaws, and bringing it's hind legs forward. But it moves somewhat more clumsily than at the kangaroo, because the tail does not serve as a support point. This animal is the grass kangoohopper. It lives in groups: after the first animal, a second and third appear out of the grass... Among them the cubs, staying near to mothers, also come. Kangoohoppers are grazers, eating mainly dicotyledonous plants - herbage: they eat rigid graminoids - grass, only in case of hunger. The awkwardness of these small mammals is deceptive: when in danger, they can hop away very quickly. And it is no wonder: an African rodent, the springhare, was their ancestor. Kangoohoppers have keen hearing and are very cautious: at any suspicious noise the animal that heard it jumps three meters vertically, in order to check the vicinity for danger. Having seen the predator, the sentinel notifies the herd by a sharp whistle, and kangoohoppers instantly flee to safety. And now, having caught a scent, one of the young females shoots upwards. But her fears are in vain, in the nearby bushes harelopes, another herbivore of new Africa, are browsing. Resembling hornless antelopes by the constitution, these animals are actually descendants of hares. Strong jaws allow them to eat food which is not eaten by kangoohoppers: graminoids, more commonly known as grass. Because of unexpected jump of the kangoohopper the harelope jumps aside, but quickly calms down and continues to browse on the bushes. They are not frightened by thorns: the narrow muzzle allows them to accurately nip off leaves, without being pricked by the thorns.

Not far from the harelopes another family of flathorns graze. They do not pay attention to the harelopes constantly jumping aside when birds or locusts fly off. The keen hearing of the flathorns will warn them of any danger. But they are being watched keenly by another animal. These watchers are miteeaters, the small motley birds watching the huge herbivores. The heavy smell of large animals attract clouds of bloodsuckers: mosquitoes and horseflies. Also large mites await them, falling from grass and bushes onto the animal's skin. However, these small birds struggle against the hordes of parasites. For a long time they have divided the savanna into territories, protecting them from neighbours. But, when animals graze in their territory, the pair of miteeaters processes the giants, pecking at their parasites. If the giant beasts pass near, the birds can involve them: the birds make a special vertical “candle” flight in an open place, sharply taking wing vertically, and slowly falling down, frequently flapping it's wings. Bright colouring makes them very visible. Besides this they perform an advertising call consisting of repeating soft whistlings. Miteeaters have keen eyesight: they see the slightest extraneous movement of grasses and branches, instantly making it known by a loud, disturbing alarm cry. Therefore they became the “flying eyes” of the huge herbivores.

But one kind of savanna inhabitant can live without the services of the watcher: it is the largest bird to ever live on the planet. The giraffe ostrich, the giant of the Neocene African savanna, grows up to 6 meters tall. From it's high point of view, it can see any activity nearby or in the distance. And still it does not refuse the services of miteeaters: many parasites inhabit the feathers of this bird and the naked neck is constantly being attacked by blood-sucking insects. Weaverbirds willingly sit on the back and the neck of the giants, searching for dinner. Giant ostriches keep to family groups of only afew birds: the male, two or three females, and their chicks. Miteeaters from several nearby territories fly to them taking the chance to process such a family.

Having such good watchers is excellent luck for the herbivores. Having basked in the sun, the flathorn female has fallen into a light sleep. An uneaten branch has dropped out of the beast's mouth, as has a string of saliva. The animal is not being watchfull, that can cost any animal their life. But flathorns live in groups, therefore nothing threatens the female: neighbours are on the alert. Suddenly the miteeater makes it's alrm cry, having seen something. Grumbling cubs instantly stop their play, and sleep leaves the female, their mother. The alarm is not in vain: in the grass the spotty, black-and-white back of a deadlynetta, the most terrible predator of savanna, flashes. The flathorns immediately move into the defensive formation, hiding the cubs behind their powerful backs. They roar and shake their heads. Simultaneously, the animals send a chemical signal to their neighbours: a bunch of wool on the flathorn’s back rises up and opens up the channels of the stink gland, giving out a bitter, musky stink. Other flathorn families, sensing this signal, start to sniff the air and to roar, showing their huge incisors.

The spotty predatoress leaves the bushes. She is a female, and behind her, in the small hole between bushes, a pair of cubs sit. The cubs are hungry, and the hunting of the genette was foiled many times during the last three days. Flathorns can destroy the shelter of the genette by their destructive movements; therefore she can not recede. The female is not going to attack: there is no chance for her to conquer the adult flathorn. But she shows her might to the huge herbivores, she loudly roars, lunges forward (still keeping her distance), and tears out tussocks of grass, throwing them into the air and shaking her head.

At last the nerves of flathorns are weakened, and they slowly depart. The dominant male leaves last. He departs by shuffling away sideways, ready to make a charge. But at the same time he is drawn back to the plans – he can see he will be safer there. The genetta leaves too - she has no need to waste her energy on a show of force, and her cubs are hungry.

Not only genetta hunt here: on the savanna there are also other predators. Near the tree, a herd of huge, bear-like mighty grasscutters graze. These descendants of the reed rat dexterously cut off grasses almost under the root. Young bushes and the most rigid grasses are their basic food. The rigid grass is very necessary for these rodents: their teeth grow quickly, and they need to be ground off constantly. And they do not have competitors, no other herbivores, except sometimes flathorns, eat their food. But the mighty grasscutter has enemies - its meat is tasty and soft. However it is only possible to prey on these rats by hunting them from ambush. And now a pair of barbed herzogcats hunt them. The male and female creep towards the giant rodents under cover of high grass.

One of rats tears off the bushy branch and starts to eat it, having sat upon it's hind legs. Its eyes are located on each side of head, giving it an almost circular field of view. And literally out of the corner of it's eye the mighty grasscutter sees the barbed herzogcats. If the rat notices the predators from afar, it can mound an active defence: riseing on hind legs and tries appear imposing to the predator. The group of rats, chattering with powerful incisors and making aggressive attacks at the enemy is a formidable, unified opponent. The barbed herzogcats jump out of the grass, but they are already met by by the whole group of rats. Contrasting colouring on their stomachs warns: "do not approach, I will kill you!". The bright orange incisors and their mighty bites will be remembered by an unlucky predator for a long time. But the barbed herzogcats apply another tactic in this hunt, they try to frighten the huge rodents. The male fluffs up his mane and shows his power and ferocity. He roars with full voice, hoping to force the rats to run away. He could frighten one or two rats, but it is a group, and their collecive defence gives them confidence. The rats retreat to the big tree, trying to gaurd their back.They are sucessful at keeping the cats at bay. It seems their defense is indestructible.

The egg endures the weight of the hen, but breaks, when the chick pecks through it from within. The mighty grasscutter had tried also to break the huge ostritch egg, which sits under the tree. From the branches of the tree a huge black-and-white body lands upon the mighty grasscutter's head: the deadlynetta has taken advantage of the failure of barbed herzogcats and has turned it to success. The predatoress has landed with her full weight upon the head of the mighty grasscutter. By a strong jerk of her saber-like canines she has throttled the rodent. Other panic-stricken mighty grasscutters run up, and the barbed herzogcats are not slow to take advantage. They take chase and pursue the young male rat. Some seconds later from grass a quiet rustling overlapped by the growl of barbed herzogcats is audible.

Life on the savanna is the life a soldier during a war. The long lull and brief minutes of fear make up the life of all inhabitants of the savanna. The predators have had their share, the fear subsides, and herbivores return to the habitual rhythm of life. Miteeaters again fall on the backs of the herbivores and search for parasites.

The herd of harelopes will drive off annoying insects, waving their ears. But it's not always sucessful: under the skin of some of the animals cambers are visible. These are larvae of hypodermic botflies, developing and parasitizing the harelopes. Before being eaten by birds, botflies have time to infect animals and to reproduce. Their adaptation is not absolute: the harelopes have a friend... or does this friend have an alterior motive?

The small bird hovers around the herd. It is similar to the miteeater, but the attentive eye will notice distinctions. However, it is similar, the harelopes do not notice that it is a fake. The bird sits on the neck of the harelope and surveys the skin of the animal. Having found a firm swelling, it starts the operation. The thin strong beak finds an aperture through which stigmas of larva emerge and penetrates it with it's beak. By dexterous movement of the head the bird takes the larva out and swallows it. But then... it picks open the wound and starts to lick out blood, using it's long tubular tongue which deeply enters into the wound. The bird’s saliva has an anaesthetic property, and the wound does not cause anxiety to the harelope. This is the bloodbird - the successful fake and close relative of the miteeater. Being sated, it departs, heavily flapping it's wings. The bloodsucker must be cautious: miteeaters pursue them because of their similar colouring. The gorged bird tries to hide in the tree because of its aggressive relative.

Certainly, the work of the bloodbird causes inconveniences to the herbivores, but it is a unique bird which is able to extract larvae of hypodermic botflies: its saliva will paralyse the larva so it can be taken out easily. As opposed to the miteeater, the bloodbird tries to keep near the herds of herbivores, moving with them during migrations. It depends to heavily on specific food. The posterity of this species depends on the continued existence of it's food. From it's step-parents a juvenile bloodbird also learns to service the herbivores.

The world is penetrated with connections of mutual aid and antagonism between living creatures. Even the giant which, apparently, is out of the competition, is compelled to face it. The huge giraffe ostrich browses on the leaves of trees, passing from one tree to another. No other animal can eat leaves at the height accessible to this giant. It especially likes sweetish leaves of the sugar tree, which grows in small aggregations on the savannah. But the foliage of this tree looks marvellously rich and green, despite of its appeal to the giant herbivore.

Put simply, the tree has friends too.
But that is another story...

The Golden Afternoon

This is for Spec, and for Paul.

A closer look:

The Golden Afternoon:
The secret garden of Spec's european forests.

Part 1 - Tiny denizens and their predators.

In the forests and undergrowth of temperate europe, the world goes at a pace of knots. Small denizens of the shade go about living, eating, mating, birthing and dying all through the day and night, for most of the year. In the spring, sunlit glades are filled with countless types of wildflower, with bees and butterflies fluttering about them.

An always-abundant parasite, sucking blood from the titanic bodies of the browsing dinosaurs like streks and therizinosaurs, is the rocking-horsefly (Hippodipterus hippochephalus). So called because of it's long, vaguely equine snout, which it uses to pierce hide and suck blood, it can be seen in swarms wherever the dinosaurs browse a path through the vegetation. As they fly they constantly zip back and forth.

At the level of the forest floor, a rich compost of manure, rotting vegetation, and windfall fruits and branches provides nutrients for a rich carpet of moss, ferns, and orchids. Here roam beetles and grasshoppers of countless kinds, many preyed upon by the west eurasian trapdoor spider (Burkaracne zygoti).

The fiercest insect predators at this level are mammals, the west eurasian pygmy zam (Eumetasorcis minutus), it is no larger than a mouse, it stalks and rips apart any insect or other invertebrate it finds. It closely resmbles a shrew, but is descended from the pediomyids of the Cretaceous.

The eurasian rabbit-ear (Leporomys agilis) is another small but formidable beast, only as large as a small rat. It feeds on seeds and stems, and will also feast on fallen berries and even insects and lizards. It is mostly bipedal, with long, strong jumping legs.

The barb-tongue (Smiloglossus nanus) is another odd mammal. Large for a mammal, it is actually related to the pigshrews, equable in size to a gunea pig, it posesses a long, narrow head. It is almost always seen sniffing the ground, pawing soil with it's long claws, and probing the ground with it's snout. It doesn't appear to feed on anything on top of the ground though, it will locate worms with it's keen sense of smell, and probe the ground, sending it's tongue into the soil, and skewering the worm with it's barbed tip.

Part 2 - higher calibre mammals

One of most dangerous mammalian predator of the forest floor is as mall deltatheridian, the Pygmy False weasel (Eumetictis nanus), preying on other mammals, lizards and large insects. It has a painfull bite thanks to it's sharp teeth and powerfull jaws, it is a liliputian terror however, averaging at 25 centimetres inlength.

The common false-mole (Metatalpa mosseyi), churns up the worm-rich-soil beneath leaf litter in the forest. Another deltatheridian, it preys on worms and mole crickets, and grows to fifteen centimetres in length.

A sligtly more shady relative, the long whiskered false mole (Hispidotalpa carrolae), at thirty centimetres long, is much more cunning. It forages at dawn and dusk, consuming any creature small enough, and also eating vegetable matter. It regularily stalks birds and baby dinosaurs, hiding in ambush and pouncing with quick and powerfull movements.

Part 3 - Dogerpillars, catterpillars, lizards, snails, slugs, beetles and a copper centipede
Higer up, in the lower branches of the trees and the upper branches of the undergrowth, caterpillars of various sorts munch happily on leaves. Most develop into butterflies, but three species stay in their larval state almost their whole lives, before briefly metamorphosing into plain brown large moths to mate, lay eggs, and die soon after. Just after winter in one year the catterpillars hatch and grow, they stay this way until as close as a week before the start of the next winter, they metamorphose, mate, lay eggs and die before winter sets in.

Due to the fact that the catterpillars spend the better parts of the year as larvae, the adult form, or imago, which only appears in the late autumn, does not feed. Indeed, it has no mouth, the imago lives off some of the fat that it accumulated as a catterpillar. In this short period of time before winter, the adult hurriedly seeks a mate, soon after mating, the female lays only one large set of eggs. As autumn ends, the imagos die in their thousands, this influx of insect food is usefull to other animals preparing for winter.

The Black doggerpillar (Caninopapillion hirsutus), is a voracious, four centimeter, hairy black catterpillar, that feeds on mainly leaves and buds, but will eat small insects as well. It's adult form is plain and brown, and feeds on plant matter, nectar and sap in the treetops.

Less offensive is the three centimeter, white catterpillar (Felipapillion wuzzii), covered in silky white, non-irritating hairs, it feeds mainly on the leaves of the wild rose. It will take any action in defending it's food source, chasing brown-mouse aphids (Brunoaphidus musoides) and detaching them with it's mouthparts, throwing them onto the ground. It's adult form is a handsome chocalate brown, with a five centimetre wingspan, which feeds on rose blossoms.

The largest and most voracious of all is the Mooncalf catterpillar (Bovipappilion harryhauseni), an eight centimeter, bald green eating machine, it spends all of it's time eating stems and leaves. It's adult form is a simple, fairly large brown moth that feeds on fruit such as blackberries during spring.

Many other butterflies and moths, more normal in their life cycle, grace the forests dappled stage.
Another large catterpillar is the larvae of the European neomosura (Neomosura oweni), which is plain, bald, red-brown and ten centimetres long. After pupation it hatches into one the largest moths in all of temperate spec, the European neomosura, with red-patterned wings and a wingspan of ten centimetres. The only one larger in temperate spec is the Japanese mosura (Mosura japonicus) at fifteen centimetres in wingspan.

All "mosura" moths have tiny symbiotic mites, Cosmos mites (Mosuraphilus sp), they keep the adult moth's wooly body and wings clean of other parasites and dirt particles.During the moth's mating period, which is long, as is it's lifespan,the mites also mate. When the moths are intertwined, the mites areable to cross from moth to moth, mate, and lay their eggs. "Mosura"moths feed on the nectar of night blooming flowers.

By far the most common butterfly can be seen in the spring, feeding on the wildflower's nectar. The pupae, little, fuzzy red catterpillars pupate and open by spring to take advantage of the wildflower's bounty. The Bread-and-butterfly (Carollopapillion medius) is the adult butterfly, with five centimetre wingspans and light brown wings which bear yellow blotches.

Enemies of the moths and butterflies, and many other insects, are the lizards.

The British tree-whiptail (Longocaudolacerta agilis) is a common, twenty centimetre lizard of the forest's leafy undergrowth, it feeds mostly on the unremarkable ants and aphids, aswell as catterpillars. Most of the cooler parts of the day and night, it will stay at ground level, when the sun is bright and the air is warm in the afternoon, it travels into the upper reaches of the undergrowth to bask and hunt.

The most remarkable Lizard is the green and brown cuckoolizard (Cuculacerta oviphagus), hence named for the early misconception that it was a nest parasite. It is, in fact, an egg stealer. Most of the year, it can be seen in the undergrowth among the shrubbery, but in the breeding season, spring it takes to the trees to exercise the habits that earn it it's name. In spring it eats a small bird's eggs, scares off the mother, and uses the empty nest to incubate her own eggs. The male and female will take turns basking, incubating and feeding, warming up their bodies and then sitting atop the nest untill the lizards hatch. This lizard is twenty five centmetres ling, banded brown and green, and lives mostly in the forest's undergrowth. When not eating eggs, it preys on insects and occasionally small mammals.

Slugs and Snails are also abundant among the leaves, from the unassuming, spec-garden snail (Mundanocochlea mundanus), to the brightly coloured green goon snail (Chlorocochlea villanus), with a green shell the size of a golf ball and the thickness of a small seashell, and a huge appetite for leaves, berries, and carrion.

The most interesing are the Brass Wazoo (Monsterocochlea oscari) and the green and gold wazoo (Monsterocochlea wazowskii), not only are their shells brightly coloured and shiny, but have large eyespots on either side to scare off would-be predators, and violently poisonous flesh.

The eight centimetre british roadworks slug (Biffeus lazyboyi) is so violently poisonous that it can kill a large man, and is marked with red, yellow, and black, it spends most of it's time munching leaves and secreting virulent poison.

The ten centimetre short-horned-armour-slug (Horaceus slughorni), bycontrast is not poisonous, is a dark green, and has it's backcovered in a chainmail of horny growths, it has bad vision, andcompensates with it's long, white, moustache like chemoreceptorytentacles.

The Blue goon slug (Goonyus insectophagus) is another slightly poisonous, six centimetre, bright blue slug, it feeds mostly on leaves. But in spring, the breeding season for many insects, it eats beetle eggs. It especially likes those of the hairy-faced black beatle-beetles (Beatleus jonpaulringogeorgei), unassuming, abundant,hairy, fingernail sized, leaf eating beatles that produce a wonderfull sounding chirruping song, when they rub their hind legs together. It is thought that it eats like this in spring to provide protein to fuel the production of gametes as a prelude for mating.

Ladybirds and other carnivorous beetles of all sizes and shapes also feed on the small insects and berries that the growth harbours, and scarabaeids revel in piles of guano at ground level, left by large dinosaurs.

The most fierce invertebrate predator is the armour plated, ten centimetre long, copper centipede (Carnomyriapus smilomandibulus), which ravenously devours insects, mollusks and lizards alike with it's huge, venomous, sword-like mouthparts. It is recommended that, however pretty the coppery sheen that it's armour displays, never pick one up, though their venom has no lasting effects, the mouthparts can administer a seriously painfull bite.

Part 4 - tweeties, crickets and grasshoppers, the REAL singers in the golden afternoon

The forests canopy is the part most birds always see. Rustling with foraging birds, basking lizards, singing crickets, grasshoppers, and birds, it is a buzz of activity.

Crickets of all sizes, from small or tiny brown grasshoppers, bright-green katydids, spiny brown bush crickets sit in the lower reaches of the canopy singing in thribulatory musical tones. The largest is the green-brown thumper (Pixarus pixarus), a locust six centimetres long, with a loud and melodious chirruping song and an apetite for leaves.

Birds are the singers of the sunlit canopy-top, Wagtail tweetys, jaubs, false-magpie tweeties. Fawlty birds (Sibilornis fawlteyi) a variety of large wagtail tweety, are the most commonly seen forest bird, the males being gracile and long-legged, feeding on insects with it's slender bill, the females plump and fluffy with a large feathery-crest, feeding soley on seeds, berries and snails with a stout, stumpy beak. The female's call is a raucous "Baaaa-ziiiiiil", replied to with the male's lugubrious "wyes-deear". These birds pair for life, and the male is constantly being harrased and harried by the female, even though they do not compete for food. They are known to do this because the female will only reproduce once a year, and she needs to constantly watch and harrass the male to stop him from mating with other females. The male's mating ritual is strange, the usually quiet male will take a well vegetated branch, and show his vigor by ripping leaves off the branch. This ritual is accompanied my the males mating call, a very loud series of rough, yell-like cries, which makes it seem like the male is extremely angry.

Part 5 - Climbing mammals, high society among furballs

The levels of vegetation also harbour small climbing mammals.

The Black midget-mouse (Minutomys niger), diurnal and tiny, the smallest xeno on spec's earth, weighing only 2 grams and able to stand atop a thimble. It eats mainly insects and seeds, as well as vegetable matter. It lives soley in blackberry thickets, and in spring, it's diest consists mainly of berries.

The chubby tree pseudovole (Gravinanomys potteri) is a tennis ball sized nocturnal xeno that gorges itself on seeds and leaves as well as fat juicy mooncalf catterpillars. It is without a doubt the most common of the canopy's mammals.

The curl-tail tree mouse (Dendromys pardus) is a crepuscular omniviore, and common prey to branch dwelling predators. It is the size of a small rat and can make prodigious leaps among the foliage.

Conclusion:
Many other small and interesting denizens doubtless await us as we study the undergrowth of other areas of spec, awaiting us will be new frontiers, new species, new golden afternoons.

Here is my rough biogeographical map of the Neocene's Meganesia, showing it's main habitats.

And here is the key showing all the habitats.

How's that Paul?

Tim

New Australian Species

I've got more Australian species, these should go into the main index bestiary, Paul, if you need translation help, contact me on the forum.

Forest giant false-mihirung (Neodromornis titan)
This beastly bird, with powerfull, long legs, shaggy auburn feathers, and standing three and a half metres tall. It is descended from the equally impressive cassowaries, but looks more like the near-mythical prehistoric dromomornithids, these neocene giant-birds are called false-mihirungs. It has a powerfull, deep beak, that turns into the casque on the head, it destroys both soft and hard vegetation of Australia's tropical forests, as it feeds. A single bird will leave a visible path of destruction in the rainforest and floodplain scrub. The bill and casque are bright red in males and yellow-orange in females, the wattles around it's face and neck are blue and yellow, with red blotches. When startled or angry, they charge headlong through the forest, at speeds of up to sixty kilometres per hour, leaving undergrowth trampled. As well as vegetation, mainly leaves, bark and branches, they greedily eat fruit and tubers, and will scavenge or tear apart small animals. The males weigh seven hundred kilograms, five hundred with females, with rounded calloused bellies. The once lethal toe claws are now blunt hooves, though they can still kick fiercely.
Short faced false-mihirung (Nanoneodromornis velocipes)
Only fifty kilograms heavy, this bird has a fairly long, thick neck but a height of only one point seven metres. It's beak is rounded and short with a square biting arc, being bright blue, with a knob like casque. It's wattles are thick and tough, being milk-coloured with black speckles. It's legs are long, allowing it to run at speeds of up to sixty kilometres per hour. It feeds entirely on grass, herbage, and other vegetation. Like it's larger relative, it has a calloused belly. When confronted, they turn tail and run away at great speed. It is found in most lowland habitats throghout northern Australia, including swampy savannah, various forests, and swamps.

Plains false Moa (Neodromauis velocipes)
The neocene's sucessor to the emu in almost every sense, it is found on the savannah and on the forest periphery. It can run at seventy kilometres per hour at it's fastest, is naturally alert and has keen vision and hearing, it can't defend itself as well as the massive false moas (Pseudodinornis) can, but can still give a painfull kick. It's feathers are shaggy and grey-brown, it's face has blue and yellow wattles, and it's legs are long and powerfull for fast running, the lower leg has thick brown scales.

Marsuipial Puma (Diablowallabia camelophoneus)
Another descendant of rock wallabies, this is a fierce macropod, five hundred kilograms with a flexible torso and long, bushy, balancing tail. A carnivore, it feeds on birds, herbivorous macropods and mountain camel-gazelles. It terrorizes the rocky mountainous uplands, as well as scrubby and forested mountain ranges over most of Australia. They have a huge advatage in the rugged terrain, being far more agile than marsuipial jaguars or marsuipial panthers. With long, strong limbs and feet, and strong, curved claws, they can easily pursue and subdue even goat sized prey. They pounce on their prey and pin them down with their powerfull forearms, then rip out their throats with long, sharp incisors. The long jaw hides slicing premolars, and sharp cusped molars, the snout contains masses of turbinals, their sense of smell is very keen. They can run very fast over short or long distances, but in open or lowland terrain, they often conflict with other marsuipial predators.
Fox wallaby (Diablowallabia omnivorodentus)
A smaller, more agile relative of the marsuipial puma, it lives on the central australian plains, chasing down or ambushing small vertebrates, insects and digging up grubs, nutritious stems and tubers. It can run very fast, almost as fast as the it's larger relative.

Orcine sea-polecat (Orcinomustela mordax)
In the holocene's pacific, indian, and atlantic oceans, the terror of the seas were orcas. The Neocene is bereft of any whales or dolphins, but the two oceans other than the atlantic have a fierce marine mammal. Orcine sea-polecat (Orcinomustela mordax), is a one ton descendant of asia and europe's adaptable polecat, and it terrorises fellow marine mammals, fish and squid from the arctic down to the antarctic. Though it is most prevalent in cooler or cold waters, it is found throughout the indian and pacific oceans. Roaming the seas in packs of up to ten, their arms are powerfull, the paws webbed, and large-clawed for grabbing prey, the back legs are short, with wide, webbed backfeet. The head is streamlined, with huge jaws and teeth, it is the beast's main killing organ. Though it's tail is shortened, it swims with vertical undulations, pushing the water with it's lower torso and backfeet. Once their large eyes fix on prey, the pack will chase down the other animal, grab it with their clawed flippers, and rip it apart. They birth on land, the whole pack mate and bear young at the same time each year, protecting the cubs as a group. Woe-betide the foolish land predator that stumbles on calving Orcine sea-polecats.

Seal rats (Phocorattus sp)
Found in numerous similar, yet differing species across the pacific and indian oceans. They swim acrobatically after squid and fish through seas of many differnt climates, from the cold antarctic waters to the bay of bengal. Descended from the fierce and adaptable Australian water rat, the beasts are now similar to alsatians in size, with broad, powerfull, webbed back feet, and paddle like tails. It swims somewhat like a seal, with powefull strokes of it's feet and tail, also using them to steer. Like seals, they mate and raise their young on island or beach colonies, where they congregate in numbers. They eat mainly fish and squid, but their powerfull, sharp, rodent dentition can process shelled animals as well.

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Tim