Sand Wyvern
This small burrowing omnivore descended from D. deserta has found its way in life by being small. At only 1 foot long from head to tail (not counting feathers) and just 4 inches tall at the hip, at the time it evolved the sand wyvern was the smallest extant member of Wyvernsauridae. Its smaller size is due in part to competition with other muscals in its environment for food. It is nocturnal, sleeping in its burrow during the hot day and coming out to search for food at night. It is sexually dimorphic, with the male having a “beard” of feathers on its lower jaw.
The sand wyvern can fly (albeit awkwardly), but mainly does so to escape potential predators; it is mostly a ground-based creature. Its wings have been modified to turn the first three fingers, which were already free from the wing membrane, into digging tools. When digging, it uses its claws to scrape away at sand and throw it between its legs before kicking it further back with its feet. With help from existing flight muscles, it can dig very quickly compared to other muscals in its environment. Its wing membranes have a layer of short downy feathers on the dorsal side which protects them from being scraped up by rough sand while it digs; the ventral side of the wing membrane remains featherless.
With its smaller size, the sand wyvern faces competition with the similarly-sized U. saharus for food; however, its more advanced burrowing ability allows it to feed from polyphs with far more stable roots, such as D. desertus, simply by digging under them.
Male sand wyverns court potential mates with feather displays around dawn or dusk, sometimes competing with one another for the same female by attempting to show off their beards--the length of which helps indicate their health and dedication. 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 2-5 eggs. The parents take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch, and then they take turns bringing food to the burrow to feed their babies until they are about 10 weeks old. The offspring stay with their parents until they are fully mature at about 8 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 sand wyvern feeds on the roots of D. desertus, D. cendra, and D. flitzanius by digging them up; this is also where it gets most of its water. It scavenges for meat from various muscals which die from predation or desert heat. It itself, especially its eggs and young, is prey to U. scorpio.