Serpotalpa bulbuphagus
As V. cocotus ate detritus in the soil they sometimes would eat the roots of the multiple species in the genus Bulbus. While these often provided more nutrients, some were often acidic and difficult for them to eat in large amounts. Overtime, those that were able to better resist the acids of these polyphs were able to eat them more frequently and thus get more nutrients in their diet. V. bulbuphagus specialized to feed on only this genus of organisms.
16-18 centimeters long
Originates in zone D
While they do still partially feed on detritus at times they mainly prefer the more nutritious stems and roots of the Bulbus genus. To properly process their new diet, they have developed small serrations on their beaks to more effectively tear the exterior into edible chunks. Their limbs help with holding onto the bulb while using their jaws, the repeated use of their limbs le to calluses forming. Mucus lining their digestive tracts along with neutral buffers allows them to safely devour species such as B. ateras without suffering the chemical burns from acids.
While their diet is a bit different from their ancestors, their reproductive habits have hardly changed at all. V . bulbuphagus seek out several partners to breed with once every two weeks during warmer temperatures, with the female then laying 30 eggs in the dirt after using the sperm from the males they see fit. The young take about a month to mature and feed more like their ancestors at first before transitioning to their adult diet. Due to living in a tropical climate V. bulbuphagus have lost their ancestral ability to hibernate as it was no longer needed.