Yellow Collared Venthi
Descended from Venovola rubanulus
Zone D
90 cm (head to tail) 120 cm (primary wingspan)
Adaptations: The Yellow Collared Venthi has made several significant advances, primarily related to feeding. The first involving its fang. The fang's structure is much the same as its ancestor's, made of bone with a keratin like casing, but it now has a channel running down the center that allows it to deliver a primitive venom to the prey item's bloodstream. The fang is covered in the keratin-like sheath in order to prevent it from drying out, and it developed from hardened skin that was previously very close to the fang when it was just a bump in the jaw.
The venom is a modified immune system protein, and is stored in a modified saliva gland. It can be forced through the fang using a set of small muscles in the roof of the mouth. The venom is simply a compound that blocks neuro transmitters within the victim's nerves. It does not always kill larger prey items, but will at least paralyze them temporarily, giving the Venthi more than enough time to swallow them whole.
The other large aspect is a prehensile tail, allowing the Venthi to get a good grip on prey before injecting venom. The bottom tail fin has nearly vanished in order for more tail to be able to grip, but what remains aids in gripping. The tail's bones have become less rigidly attached to each other with tendons and muscles and the muscles in the tail have become more specialized in making only certain parts of it move at once. This adaptation began in V. rubanulus with its less rigid tail.
They've developed a larger size in order to have a larger stomach, allowing them to eat larger prey reaching 40 cm+, or at least juveniles of those species such as J. harpiesis, D. brunus, D. purpurus, P. vorax, T. jumpus, and J. ignicornus. The larger stomach makes feeding on a large prey item less debilitating, as prey is proportionally smaller to the venthi, though they still do need to rest for long periods after feeding.
Feeding: Junctopinna flavocallus has a diet very similar to that of its ancestor, feeding on many smaller organisms in Zone D. Such as B. purpla, C. caeruleum, C. equinoxum, C. flumum, I. arbora, F. distringia, K. killiskippus, O. flectopesus, I. allium, R. subaquatica, S. opposa, T. purpa, T. takydromus, V. cuniculum, A. soarus, V. noctus, J. ovicomus, as well as smaller individuals of J. harpiesis, D. brunus, D. purpurus, P. vorax, T. jumpus, and J. ignicornus, as well as a variety of eggs and hatchlings.
It feeds by gripping prey with its tail and then injecting the prey item with a neurotoxin that kills small organisms and disables larger ones. It then eats the smaller prey whole or stalks the larger prey until it is incapacitated and eats them whole. For small enough organisms no venom is needed. Like their ancestors, they must rest for long periods of time after feeding on larger prey items in order to digest them.
'Reproduction: The Yellow Collared Venthi reproduces in a similar manner to its ancestors. Males woo females with brightly colored stripes, stabilizing fins, wings, and song. Fertilization takes place internally, and females lay their clutch of 8-10 leathery purple camouflaged eggs in tree tops. 5, of which, on average, reach adulthood. V. flavocallus mate attracting colors are different from those of its ancestor do differentiate its display from that of other tapsis in Zone D.
