Conglong

Off the coast of the lower portion of Obcasis is an archipelago known as the Tarakona Islands. A dry and hot world, they are predominantly dominated by savannah and grassland. They are also ruled by a squamatan relic that echoes the long extinct creatures from an era now long past. All inhabitants of the Tarakona Islands fear the Conglong.

Evolution


The earliest known ancestor of the Conglong is found during the Holocene approximately 350 million years ago; fossils of small creatures known as agamids are common throughout the continent of Afropia, which during the Holocene would have been the continents of Eurasia and Africa. For most of the Cenozoic era, they remained small, primarily insectivorous animals; insignificant compared to the great size and diversity reached by the mammals. They did prove themselves hardy and adaptable, moving through the Quaternary extinction with little consequence, which, compared to the devastating blow struck to the mammals, is quite a feat. It would be another 60 million years before they would hold any bit of power over Earth or evolve far beyond their generalist forms.

Volcanic eruptions in what was then a region known as the Mediterranean began, erupting in a scale not seen on Earth for eons. It wiped out over 80% of life of Earth and ended the Age of Mammals, but brought in a new era. The small and then insignificant lizards rose from the ruins of a world past and built an empire that would last for countless millennia.The agamids were among the most successful lineages, being one of the first clades to develop endothermy and an erect stance. They quickly swept through the Earth, many of them causing the extinction of some of the few surviving mammal clades. As the Earth's surface temperature steadily rose, the Age of Squamates began. Behind the geckos, agamids were the most successful, with hundreds of species known from every continent. Some included massive behemoths larger than anything alive today, or predatory creatures seemingly come from the deepest depths of hell. For the next 180 million years, the squamates would hold dominance of Earth like nothing else to ever exist, but like every empire that came before, their ultimate fate was near-oblivion.

97 million years ago a comet 16km wide struck the coast of what is now the continent of Aurora, causing one of the greatest extinction events this planet has yet seen, wiping out almost four-fifths of all living things. Among those that perished were the great diversity of squamates. The vast majority of agamids were gone, the magnificent goliaths that had walked this Earth were never to be again. The great diversity that once was, almost completely annihilated.

One clade did survive however. A small, rodent-like group (more commonly known as the ratama) that was once common throughout every continent except Arabia (now only found on Obcasis and New Laramadia). They became the ultimate descendants of a lineage that once ruled the planet; small generalist animals that mirrored their long ago ancestors.

The earliest known members of the genus Aestospinosaurus appeared around 7 million years ago, with the species A. eodraco, a small arboreal animal once found in the forests of Obcasis's southwest coast. From this one species, the genus radiated outward, now being present over much of the lower portion of Obcasis. The conlong's ancestor was thought to have rafted from the mainland approximately 4.5 million years ago. In the absence of predators and competition it grew in size; as this affected its ability to climb effectively it moved into the islands' lowlands as a terrestrial animal. The present form of conglong appeared approximately 860,000 years ago, and ever since, life on the Tarakona Islands has never been the same.

Description
At first glance, the conglong does not look too much different from its long ago ancestors, but in close view the general features of the creature. The conglong can reach a length of 6 metres, but this is usually only reached by large adult males; more common for males is a length of 5 metres, with females being closer to 4 metres. The largest weight reached by them is 800kg, most males only reach 650kg or so and females usually only have weights of around 500 kg. They are heavily built animals with short, blunt heads built for crushing bone. Teeth in the front of the jaw are long and dagger-like, for piercing and pinning prey; those in the back are thicker and more triangular for causing maximum damage, ensuring death. Large, front-facing eyes give the conlong excellent binocular vision, although its vision in general is not particularly well.

As with other ratama species, they have three toes on their back feet and only one on their front limbs. The single claw on the hands have been adapted into a massive spike-like structure for stabbing prey or rivals. Strong muscles in the shoulder and arm (borrowed from its arboreal ancestors) help drive the scythes deep into a victim's flesh. To keep them from unnecessary damage, they walk on their knuckles most of the time. Although their hind limbs are rather short, they are capable of short bipedal movement, most often when they ambush prey.

As with other species of the genus Aestospinosaurus, it has a characteristic double sail structure that is jointed as to be able to easily fold it back when not in use and prevent damage. Unlike other species of Aestospinosaurus however, it is no longer used by adults for gliding, as they are far too heavy to become airborne (young conlong will use them as such though, being much lighter). They are now used mainly for show now (males have much bigger sails than females). Although many species of ratama are bioluminescent, the conglong is unique in that it's glow is neither yellow, green or blue; it is orange (the subspecies A. atrox gojira/Southern Conglong has blue glow however). As with most members of the subgenus Pyrosputosaurus, conlong have bioluminescent saliva; in offshore species this is mostly used for marking territory and so other animals can assess the health of the producer from its glow. In the conglong it also has another use; when hunting larger prey a single cognlong may have difficulty killing the victim without injury. But once bitten, the victim will glow, allowing the conlong to track its prey day and night, slowly wearing it down. Other conlong also know that a glowing prey animal is an injured prey animal, often joining the hunt. Once bitten by a conlong, there is no escape.

Habits
Conglong are a polygynous species, with males holding a harem of females year-round (females generally prefer the biggest an brightest males). Aside from mating and the occasional activity of social grooming they interact very little with each other (although group hunting may happen sometimes with larger prey). Males generally do not have set territories, but will stay within a general radius; intruders are usually treated with indifference unless they venture too deep into a male's area (although some males may still treat these intruders with indifference).

Common prey include hoppers and wartdeer; being fast and agile animals, they are ambushed from the brush, the conlong's bone-crushing jaws making short work of them. Other prey include the armoured scuttlebirds, urchin fish, and mologs, which are helpless against the predator's powerful bite force. Larger and more dangerous items on the menu include the dwarf gigacoots, and the taurobufo, the large size of gigacoots makes it extremely difficult for lone conlong to take them down, and the taurobufo is rarely hunted, being itself a large predator (still dwarfed by even an adult female conlong however) easily capable of defending against attack. Carrion is also taken whenever possible. Being the apex predator, they can basically eat anything they want; although, they are not true carnivores, taking fruits, nuts, tubers, and limited amounts of plant matter occasionally to supplement their meat diet.

Conglong are oviparious, large nests are dug in warm, dry earth and between 12-24 eggs are laid before being covered with dirt and vegetation. Females more or less keep watch on the eggs until they hatch, at which point the hatchlings scramble for cover, usually living in more forested regions (being much lighter and actually capable of gliding and climbing) than the adults, which prefer more open areas. Conglong grow slowly, taking around 8 years toreach sexual maturity, and most young are killed off before they reach adult age. As they grow larger, they move towards more open areas where they can manuver better, and larger prey is more common. Eventually they are ready to become the Tarakona Islands' top predator.