The almosbus (Lucertola critica) is a species of heafit in the order Hauropoda, who act as modern day sauropods. The species is endemic to Nuovo Diamanti, found within giant oak forests, mangrove swamps and closed, greeny fields. They will migrate depending on temperature, as the north might get too hot or the south would get too cold in temprature to want to live by, so they are typically found where the humidity and climate has a strike between hot and cold, and where lots of leaves and vegetables are, as they are herbivores.
As recorded by IUCN, there are about 50 almosbus' left in the wild and they are a critically endangered species. Many foundations have sought out for funding for re-breeding cycles. Planet Fauna, a zoo and wildlife conservation foundation in central Nuovo Diamanti, has 12 almosbus' in its possession and are currently working on re-introducing more of the species into the wild. If their end goal is to be achieved, more than 100 species shall be introduced into the wild under strict supervision, however.
Almosbus' live conjecturally between 30 and 50 years. In captivity, they can live up to 90 years, but it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. They spend most of their time eating and sleeping, however some almosbus' have been recorded playing with one another, confirming R. Courhan's theory of them having a social structuring.
Behavior[]
A almosbus being friendly towards a human, showing their generally pacifistic nature.
While not normally territorial, it has been recorded that some female almosbus' shall occasionally become territorial if they have a shared enviornment. A dominant male adopts a dominant stance and sometimes readies himself for a fight to attack a male aggressor to defend territory or food sources, or in competition for a female. Any male approaching without displaying submissive behavior is seen as a challenge for territory. Female almosbus has a greater attack strength than males, and are usually the leaders of their respective "kingdoms".
The almosbus occurs in many different colours. The spikes featured upon the body of almosbus' are a showing of dominance and greater power, and the larger spikes are usually found on females while males have a large quantity of spikes. The spikes stop growing after one year, however the spikes in itself can change colour due to age. They can become darker for males, which is a sign of maturity, and much lighter for females. Extreme behavior such as hissing can be observed when threatened with a predator, and stomping on the ground in an attempt to shake it is a sign of the reptile trying to intimidate a threat.
Description[]
Almosbus size comparison to two average humans.
The almosbus possesses thick bodies with box-shaped scales not seen on typically any other extant reptile. Similarly to their ancestors, sauropods, almosbus' have extremely long necks with both their necks and throats being laced with extremely sharp spikes which can reach up to 20 centimeters. Almosbus' have extremely thick, bulky legs each laced with three toes with a unique foot pattern for each footprint. The almosbus does not possess any teeth, like most reptiles, however they do have small bone-like architures they use to chew flesh and leaves. On average, almosbus' have the length of 120cm (3' 11.2" ft.), making them the longest species of reptile in length, but one of the smaller ones in size.
Life span[]
Normally, in the wild, the almosbus' life span has been measured to be between 30 and 50 years. In captivity, due to well care, good conservation in form of social spanning and foliage building, they can even live up to 90 years. The oldest recorded almosbus in the widl was 55 years old and the oldest in captivity was in a small wildlife park in North Nuovo Diamati, growing to the age of 102.
Evolution[]
Almosbus' belong to the family Heafitious, known as "modern sauropods", the almosbus is the only species belonging to the family class. According to a 2014 analysis, the Heafitious family split from other families around 160 million years ago in the late Mesozoic period, splitting away from other sauropods species such as Amargasaurus and evolving to an appearance similar to Alamosaurus (hence the similair names). It has been speculated that almosbus' migrated from Mongolia to Nuovo Diamanti in an attempt to avoid the later period's cold, and learned to adapt to the cold climate by starting at the stage of Nuovo Diamanti's winters around 112 million years ago. As oxygen started developing to a greater estant, and a more common need of life, the almosbus shrunk to fit the bigger portions of oxygen.
Reproduction[]
Almosbus' reach sexual maturity roughly at 12 years of age, far later than any other reptile, being one of the many reasons for the reptile's lower species rate.
When gravid, or carrying eggs, females turn either pure white or black to signify to males they have no intention of mating. Furthermore, females will become very defensive and may bite any advancing males. After a few weeks of carrying eggs, a pregnant female will bury between 2 - 5 eggs underground, and will move their respective kingdoms to inhabit the grounds the eggs have been layed in.
Almosbus' only have one pregnancy cycle their entire life, meaning they cannot develop further embryodic firtilisation, or get pregnant, after laying their first and only batch of eggs. Many Almosbus couples shall enter a mongamous stature to ensure that their children are taken care of until the age of three, when they are then seen as independant.
Distribution[]
Almosbus' natural distribution, mostly within forests in the Southwest.
Range[]
Almosbus' are native to Nuovo Diamanti, being mostly found in temperate oak forests in central Diamanti, however have been observed to live near Mangrove forests in the northen regions of the country. Almosbus' usually travel according to temperature. As they are reptiles, when temperatures drop during certain times in Winter and Autumn, thry have to migreate to hotter parts of Nuovo Diamanti however, as they are very tanky animals, they can also build up monumental amounts of heat within their layered skin, meaning they cannot be anywhere that is too hot, either.
Habitat[]
Almosbus' are, as mentioned before, typically found in enclpsed forest, or swamp-like habitats. Anywhere with access to fruits and leaves, the Almosbus' main source of food, and large water distribution areas, is the viable habitat for these reptiles.