(Terra Antarcticus) The Swamps and Wetlands: Denizens of the Swamp Forests
*A male Marsh Thunderpod, only just having reached adulthood, wades through the shallow waters of a channel winding through the damp forest. His target is a large swamp beech, laden with large fat-rich nuts that will provide him with enough layers of adipose tissue to help insulate him through the cold Antarctic winter. Below him, an old female Filterdrake, lagging behind her flock, has stopped to sieve the water for her favorite foods- small fish and algae- in the hope of gaining enough energy to catch up with her fellow pterosaurs.
Near the reeds, a pair of Mire Monoclaws have approached the channel to get a drink. The have spent the day digging into the soil and leaf litter for invertebrates with their spade-like single claws, and they have worked up quite a thirst. Nearby, a solitary Hooded Terror Crane, a semiaquatic phorusrhacid, peers into the reeds; he knows that the reed-choked water is full of tasty Grassfins, his preferred prey, but he must stand perfectly still and keep his gaze focused on the water if he is to have any hope of catching the well-camouflaged fish. If he would only turn around, he would notice a foot-long King Frog sitting near the roots behind him, more than enough food for an entire day- but alas, he is to fixated on the fish to claim this much easier prey.
A bit farther away from the channel, a fight of sorts has broken out. A cranky old Grey Gripperturtle has noticed a Filthtooth (an omnivorous relative of the tuatara) climbing down the tree near her nest. The Filthtooth has just failed in stealing the eggs of a Black-Crested Drillbeak and was hoping to find easier food on the ground, but has instead been confronted by the irate turtle, who has had more than enough bad experiences with the thieving rhyncocephalians for one lifetime and is set on driving him away from her territory, bearing her spiky beak in a defensive posture. The Filthtooth couldn’t care less for the Gripperturtle’s grandstanding and continues climbing down the tree, planning on heading deeper into the forest in search of mushrooms; at least those don’t chase you off.*
Welcome back! This is the fourth post I’ve made about my Terra Antarcticus project here. I have decided to move on (for now) from the coast and display the marshes of the southernmost continent. As always, comments are appreciated and I will try to answer any questions about both the post and the project as a whole. Thank you for your interest!
*A male Marsh Thunderpod, only just having reached adulthood, wades through the shallow waters of a channel winding through the damp forest. His target is a large swamp beech, laden with large fat-rich nuts that will provide him with enough layers of adipose tissue to help insulate him through the cold Antarctic winter. Below him, an old female Filterdrake, lagging behind her flock, has stopped to sieve the water for her favorite foods- small fish and algae- in the hope of gaining enough energy to catch up with her fellow pterosaurs.
Near the reeds, a pair of Mire Monoclaws have approached the channel to get a drink. The have spent the day digging into the soil and leaf litter for invertebrates with their spade-like single claws, and they have worked up quite a thirst. Nearby, a solitary Hooded Terror Crane, a semiaquatic phorusrhacid, peers into the reeds; he knows that the reed-choked water is full of tasty Grassfins, his preferred prey, but he must stand perfectly still and keep his gaze focused on the water if he is to have any hope of catching the well-camouflaged fish. If he would only turn around, he would notice a foot-long King Frog sitting near the roots behind him, more than enough food for an entire day- but alas, he is to fixated on the fish to claim this much easier prey.
A bit farther away from the channel, a fight of sorts has broken out. A cranky old Grey Gripperturtle has noticed a Filthtooth (an omnivorous relative of the tuatara) climbing down the tree near her nest. The Filthtooth has just failed in stealing the eggs of a Black-Crested Drillbeak and was hoping to find easier food on the ground, but has instead been confronted by the irate turtle, who has had more than enough bad experiences with the thieving rhyncocephalians for one lifetime and is set on driving him away from her territory, bearing her spiky beak in a defensive posture. The Filthtooth couldn’t care less for the Gripperturtle’s grandstanding and continues climbing down the tree, planning on heading deeper into the forest in search of mushrooms; at least those don’t chase you off.*
Welcome back! This is the fourth post I’ve made about my Terra Antarcticus project here. I have decided to move on (for now) from the coast and display the marshes of the southernmost continent. As always, comments are appreciated and I will try to answer any questions about both the post and the project as a whole. Thank you for your interest!