Serina: Torasque (Patreon)

To reiterate, this was a sponsored commission for a large, post-hothouse, ankylosaur-like crown-of-thorns descendant.

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295 million years hence, and the world of the birds is entering its last gasps of life, as the atmosphere is thinning and the warm, tropical climate life has enjoyed for the last twenty million years comes to a final conclusion. The weather has rather rapidly turned from balmy year-round to a much cooler and drier, and very seasonal world. For many plants and animals, this has been a disastrous change, as the fast pace of this change in the biosphere has been hard to keep up with, especially now that they have become very accustomed to a much more plentiful world. On the southern continent of Serinaustra, what was once thousands of miles of lush jungle, savannah, and swampland have been replaced with vast tracts of xeric scrubland, quagmires, and steppe. Only the most adaptable have survived this change, and life as a whole continues to thrive, but to scrape out a living now will only get tougher from here.

One group of animals which have manage to weather the climate chaos reasonably well are the burdles. Their thickened, scaly skin protects them from the harsh solar radiation, and their mesothermic metabolism means they require far less food than most large animals. Numerous species of large, heavily-armoured burdles have appeared to capitalize on a world that, for now at least, leans in their favour. And of these species, none are larger and more fearsome-looking than the torasque, covered head to toe in thick keratinous sheets and bristling with massive defensive spikes, most obviously the three-foot long projections jutting from its shoulders. A large adult can weigh up to seven-hundred pounds, much of its bulk made up by its heavy armour. Its increase in size occurred very rapidly considering its direct ancestor was only about the weight of a medium-sized dog a few million years ago, but its size provided it vital advantages to its survival in this new environment. Being much larger provided it with a much larger gut to better process and digest the tough and nutrient-poor grasses that now dominate the landscape, allowing it to better retain body heat in cooler weather, and also making it much more difficult for predators to tackle. Its epidermal keratin is in places nearly an inch thick, and the dozens of bony spines that line its hide render adult torasques virtually indestructible. If this passive defence is somehow insufficient to ward off attack, the torasque is not afraid to attack with powerful swipes of its clawed forearms. Its huge claws are adapted for digging, either to excavate tubers or grubs under the soil, or to create dens, but to be struck by them is a devastatingly injurious blow. All factors considered, there are few, if any hunters which consider this animal worth the trouble.

The torasques spend the summer months grazing on the Serinaustran steppe for most of their waking hours, and can consume nearly a hundred pounds of vegetation in a single day. Newer shoots, starchier roots, and leafier brush growing amongst the tall grasses are preferred for being more nutrient-rich and easier to digest, but in leaner times with less choice even dried husks may be eaten. Small numbers of them are a common sight feeding alongside the much larger herds of muffalumps that migrate south to take advantage of the summer plenty. Torasques are generally solitary, but social; they are fine with being alone, but loose associations are common. A male may trail a female for weeks to try and gradually gain her eventual approval. The condition and extravagance of the torasque's spiky armour are physical traits which are usually considered most attractive in a mate, which is likely in part why it has evolved far in excess of what is strictly necessary for defence against predator, although establishing a close relationship with a specific female also helps secure a chance at mating with her at times. Young torasques are not nearly as physically well-defended, but there is extended parental care in the species, which results in low mortality rates throughout their lifespan.

It gains a lot of weight in preparation for the leaner and colder winter months when the plant life dies back; too slow to migrate, it weathers the cooler temperatures by digging a burrow which it can nestle in when the weather gets too cold. If required, it can enter a state of extended torpor which can last several weeks, slowing its body functions to a crawl to tough out the harshest conditions, although they can also survive on consuming whatever is left, rotting wood, dead grass, the carcasses of animals killed by the winter chill, or hibernating critters nestled in their burrows; although primarily herbivorous, the burdles can feed on nearly anything, given the opportunity, although they are too slow to catch live prey most of the time. A particular dietary requirement is consumption of copious amounts of calcium to sustain its defensive coat. This is primarily derived from frequent osteophagy, gnawing on bones from decayed skeletons, although they can also consume dirt for its mineral content if bones cannot be located. In this transitionary period in Serina's history, the torasques' life is rather easy considering the circumstances, but its future is uncertain; as the climate becomes ever colder and food harder to find, it may not be enough to simply be big and armoured for the burdles to succeed.

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(Additional information is likely to be added or changed since the ecosystem in which the animal lives is in a state of underdeveloped flux at the time of writing).