Hardy Draco
As the Kylmetstan Belt saw the arrival of Lorensia gelidafrons and Radivorislontus axivermis, niches became available in the region. A population of Calidiuedraco rhenoscallium facing intraspecific competition risked inhabiting colder regions. The ancestors of Calidiuedraco verendus improved upon ways to handle the cold while taking advantage of available resources.
60 centimeters long
To survive in such a harsh area, the Hardy Draco (C. verendus) have become fully endothermic instead of mesothermic like their ancestors or relatives. This higher metabolism allows the species to maintain a consistent internal temperature. This means they require more food have adaptations to take advantage of any food source available. Several of these adaptations also help with minimizing heat-loss, such as being stockier with more powerful forelimbs. The forelimbs are also armed with large claws that aid with digging to dig up Polyph roots or burrowing Aveslontids such as R. axivermis. The shoulder joint has also become more flexible, allowing them a better range of motion to better help with digging. The need to minimize body heat lost to the environment selected for reducing their overall surface area, with smaller ear crests, the loss of their dewlaps, and a reduced tail length. Another way to retain their body heat was to grow bigger to reduce the surface area to volume ratio. The Hardy Draco has a snout-vent length of 40cm and a tail length of 20cm. They have larger nasal chambers which both give it a better sense of smell to find food and to help warm the air before breathing it in. They have more spines on their bodies, which help retain heat and act as protection against predators.
The Hardy Draco spends most of their year in the Kylmetstan Belt, feeding on L. gelidafrons and R. axivermis but also eating any saplings or seeds of Ultraplortatus stellafrons and Ultraplortatus pephkokladius. They particularly hunt R. axivermis frequently during the spring and autumn months, when the Aveslontids frequent the surface to warm up by basking. When autumn comes around and it begins to get colder, the Hardy Draco's begin to eat in bulk to build up fat reserves in the base of their tails. When winter arrives they make a southward migration to Zone B where conditions are more tolerable. This is when Hardy Dracos are at their most vulnerable, since their predators such as the Terror Hawk are present. This is also the time when the Hardy Dracos mate, since the eggs would die of cold even during the more mild summer months. The females dig out a shallow ditch before laying their 30 eggs and leaving them, with the eggs incubating over a 3 week period. Once the eggs hatch, the young fend for themselves and stay in zone B for the rest of the winter, although they take 6 weeks to reach sexual maturity. Once the winter transitions to spring, they then head back up north with the adults to the Kylmetstan Belt. New adults will not breed until the next winter.
