Finhopper
A descendant of members of Ungoslontus saharus which found competition from the sand wyvern and their own kind, the finhopper discovered a new food source sucking on its prey that could supplement its diet of roots--painted metters. Its existing armor protects its head and underside from ejected spikes, and as an additional protective measure it also has some armor on its limbs. It became somewhat resistant to the painted metter's venom, allowing it to consume it without the painful effects as long as it nips off the tips of the spikes or entices the metter to eject them first--though, usually it will try to single out one that has already ejected its spikes.
The finhopper is named for its most immediately distinct trait--it uses its muscular tail and a modified version of its ancestorâs âfinâ structure as a third leg that can propel it through the air. This helps it escape predators and dodge its preyâs spikes, and lets it âstandâ higher to scope out its surroundings.
The finhopper is similar in size to its ancestor, at about 23 cm long at maturity. However, it appears more compact overall due to its unusual tripod stance.
Male finhoppers are aggressive towards one another during mating season and can non-fatally fight over the right to mate using their horns. Like its ancestor, the finhopper lays batches of 6-10 eggs in holes left over from uprooted polyphs. They mate once a year and can live up to about 2 years.
The finhopper feeds from the roots of D. cendra, D. flitzanius, and young E. phylloakidus, either uprooting them itself with its horns or nibbling from ones that were already uprooted. It also preys on S. sagittostium--the painted metter--usually by finding wandering groups and snatching them in its mouth, though it will also pounce at any scattering after their host polyph was uprooted. It is preyed on by A. kinthus and U. scorpio.
