Desert rattleback (SciiFii)

The desert rattleback (Testudomus americanum), also known as the North American rattleback, is a species of large, not-so heavily armored species of rattleback that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced to the scrublands and deserts of North America to help boost biodiversity. The closest living relative of the rattleback is either the paca or the agouti, and share the same type of DNA as both rodents. The desert rattleback is adapted to life in both hot and cold desert environments of North America. At 40 pounds (18.1 kilograms) in weight and 44.875 inches (114 centimeters) long including its tail, which measures 11 inches (28 centimeters), the desert rattleback is a larger animal than its grassland cousin. However, despite the desert rattleback's larger body size, its nose, ears and lips are much smaller than those of the grassland rattleback. In the colder desert climates, the smaller an animal's extremities, the less susceptible they are to frostbite. Like the grassland rattleback, the desert rattleback has scales, although the desert rattleback's scales are smaller than those of the grassland rattleback, due to less large predators and bushfires in deserts than in grasslands. Heat insulation, on the other hand, is vital in the cold parts of the desert, and larger air pockets within the scales provides excellent protection against the elements. The desert rattleback's face is covered in thick hair to shield its eyes and nostrils from the piercing, windborne sand. Food and water are usually scarce in the North American deserts, so when a desert rattleback comes across food, it gluts itself. What nourishment is not immediately used will be stored away as fat reserves in its tail, to see the animal through times of famine, in much the same way that camels stored fat in their humps. The rattleback's kidneys are also very efficient. It cannot afford to waste water, so its urine is highly concentrated. In fact, the desert rattleback hardly needs to drink at all. It obtains nearly all its moisture from the food it eats. Unlike its omnivorous South American cousin, the desert rattleback is a complete herbivore, subsisting on the tubers of various desert-dwelling plant species. Its acute sense of smell can detect plants from the surface and it uses broad, clawed paws to dig them out. Although the desert rattleback spends much of its time burrowing below the desert surface, it is not a subterranean creature. It does not dig tunnels and pits as other, more specialized desert animals do. During a violent sandstorm, however, it sometimes works its way into the soft sand and dust with a kind of a swimming action, shuffling down with its broad feet. Then it lets the displaced sand spill back, partially burying itself. Sometimes desert rattlebacks will find a hole in the ground with sand being kicked out of it by spinks, and rattlebacks know that wherever there are spinks, there are bound to be tubers. Often, the rattlebacks' movements are followed by deathgleaners (who occasionally prey on their young) in the hope that it leads them to an easier and more abundant source of food. They wait for the rattlebacks to unwittingly dig up smaller animals like spinks, which the deathgleaners will try to catch for themselves. Deathgleaners may occasionally prey on young desert rattlebacks, but adults are too tough for them. A mother rattleback will protect her baby from the huge bats by rattling her scales fiercely, and this is what makes the deathgleaners retreat, not willing to risk tearing their fragile wings on her sharp scales. The conservation status of Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the desert rattleback's wide range, and its tolerance to most of the human activities, including being able to adapt to life in the cities and suburbs.