Least Wyvern

Suffering from predation with the rise of the cat hawk, a population of mouse wyverns (Dracowyverious ponticius) evolved a few traits to help them avoid predation. Only 6 inches long and 2 inches tall at the hip, the least wyvern (Dracowyverious elachistus) was at the time it evolved the smallest wyvern to ever live--an adaptation which made it much easier for them to keep a low profile and avoid cat hawks. They also developed a tympanic ear, strikingly similar to that of its distant relative D. gymnocephalus, which allows them to listen for predators and dart back to the safety of their burrows at a moment’s notice. The ear consists of a membrane stretched over a depression on a vibration-sensitive bone which is part of the skull, and when there is sound, the vibration of the membrane is felt through the bone. Like their ancestors, they are nocturnal, and they are capable of flight by fluttering to escape predators. Their striped color pattern helps to break up their silhouette in tall grass and its color makes it similar to the ground which has been colored by long-dead polyph mater, therefore making them harder to spot by potential predators.

The least wyvern is notable for its food-storing habits--in case of famine, it stores a pile of seeds, bits of leaves and roots, and flesh from dried-out carcasses in its burrow. When a mated pair begin to live together in the female’s burrow, the food stash from the male’s old burrow may be transported to the female’s over time, but it is usually discovered and stolen by mouse wyverns or other least wyverns before most of it can be brought over.

Least wyverns are sexually dimorphic, with males having beards and longer eyelash feathers; the latter is no longer required to keep sand out of their eyes like it was in their more distant ancestors thanks to them living in savannah and grassland environments rather than barren desert. Males display their sexually dimorphic features to females at dawn or dusk when they’re best visible with their sleep cycle, the length of these feathers showcasing their health. After the female has chosen a mate, the male moves into the female’s burrow. They mate underground, and the female then lays a clutch of 4-8 eggs--the increased number to help ensure that at least some survive uneaten by predators. The parents take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch, and then they feed their babies on a combination of fresh food and their existing food stash until they are about 8 weeks old. The offspring stay with their parents until they are fully mature at about 6 months old, after which they go out to make their own burrows and eventually find a mate, beginning the cycle over again. Mated pairs will attempt to breed twice a year.

The least wyvern feeds on the seeds, leaves, and roots of Prothanos phyllosymplegmus, Prothanos chirapalamus, Prothanos thamnos, Athanasios chloodus, Athanasios paralius, and Donus desertus. It also scavenges for meat from anything dead it can find. Its population can reach massive sizes in times of plenty. Their primary predator is the Cat Hawk (Draconiraptor gatoeidius), though their smaller size makes them a less popular choice.