Potbelly Rovett

Potbelly Rovett
Creator	Disgustedorite🌺
Information
Status	Extant
Common Name(s)	Potbelly Rovett
Zones	F, H
Roles	Base-Consumer
Classification
Genus	Vulpesaurus
Species	Vulpesaurus protophytophagus
Evolution
Date	August 14th, 2019
Ancestor	Eared Rovett
Descendants	No results

With little competition for herbivores further inland and pushed by competition from other meat-eaters in the zone including both intraspecific and with the carnivorous rovett (V. genikus), a population of eared rovetts (V. protolotus) became the first in its lineage since the ancient D. primaveteris to be completely herbivorous. The potbelly rovett has a large gut; due to the shape of its pelvis, its guts are not placed directly over its legs, so to compensate and stay bipedal it has a longer fatter tail and a slightly smaller head. This increases its length to 2.2 feet long, while its height stays the same at .8 feet.

As an herbivore, the shape of its teeth have shifted to be flat at the top and better designed for chewing polyph matter; they are convergent with the teeth of strutis. With its large gut, it is able to eat and digest a ton of polyph matter at once, getting as much food and therefore energy as it possibly can in a single meal; its digestive process is otherwise barely altered from its ancestor’s, however, so meeting its dietary requirements means eating almost constantly.

The potbelly rovett has similar mating practices to its ancestor. Males fight over females in the spring, and after mating they stay together and the female lays 3-6 eggs in a nest she builds. The eggs take about 2 weeks to hatch, and the young are fed and taught how to find the best polyphs until they are sub-adults and can go off to live on their own. They reach maturity in about a year, just in time for the next mating season.

As the potbelly rovett spends more time eating than anything else, it has lost any sense of territory or hierarchy--it simply hasn’t the time. Still, they live and eat in mated pairs and can socialize with other pairs. The only thing left of its distant aggressive ancestry is the fight over mates.

The potbelly rovett eats polyphs such as P. callioptoma, P. plumosa, L. fernus, L. potensus, and P. ipsumsemenous. Like its ancestor, it uses its claws to grip branches and such to help it reach leaves in taller polyphs, though it can also use them in combat and self-defense.