The Toothentia Family

Toothentia species have been shown to be the best adapted animals on Kronos. They are endotherms, which is just another fancy word for warm-blooded. Their dentition is highly specialized for gnawing. Toothentia incisors are rootless, which means their teeth grow continuously for their whole lives. Another advantage that this family possesses is that during gnawing, as the incisors grind against each other, they wear away the softer part of the tooth and create a sharp blade. This "self sharpening" system is very effective and is one of the keys to the enormous success of Toothentia. Notice the teeth in skull pictures below and how all these species have a pouch inside their cheeks to store food. And with this we start our story with the first animal to walk on land (drum roll) Flatbilus dentalis.

                                                     
         Lemmus                                            Squirelius desertii                                         Squirelius

Flatbilus dentalis

This animal is the first known land walker on Kronos, and what a strange creature it is. It has a bill that resembles a duck's bill but it is actually an elongated snout covered with soft, moist, leathery skin. Although the drawing does not give an illustration, these animals have two large incisor teeth  which the Flatbilus use to cut and chew on Zuleus angiospermus terribilus, the most widespread plant on Kronos. The fruit is particularly appealing to this animal.  They can eat two times their body weight each day which is made possible by their busy lifestyle that keeps them moving and hunting all day long. The body of the Flatbilus is only about 3 to 4.5 cm long and their tail measures an additional 1 to 1.5 cm in length. Their feet are webbed with ferocious claws for protection from secondary consumers in the water and they use these webbed feet to swim and crawl with. The Flatbilus body and tail are covered with a thick, soft, layer of fur that protects them from cold temperatures in both water and on land. They have been known to grow to a maximum weight of .5 lbs.

The Flatbilus lays eggs in moist areas.  They protectively curl around their eggs to keep them warm.  Sound familiar? Well you might have seen this behavioral adaptation in birds before. In addition, the Flatbilus can store food in their cheek pouches while they are out hunting.

Ptilodus prehensus

The skeleton of Ptilodus shows several adaptations for life on land and trees, such as their sharp claws and eye sockets that point forward. The foot of Ptilodus was very mobile and could be moved in many directions, which allowed the animal to climb down trees while it pointed its head and eyes downward. This trait also appears in Squirelius, a future descendant. A marked difference from Squirelius is the long prehensile tail, that is similar to some primates found on Earth, which Ptilodus used like a fifth limb when climbing and holding on to trees. This animal only grew to be 14 inches and weighed one pound. The tail was an additional twelve inches. It fed mostly on plants, but in times of extreme hunger this animal was a ferocious hunter that used its claws and teeth to eat other members of many species.

In the tundra it is very cold: the average winter temperature is -13° F, and the summer rarely exceeds 50° F. In addition the tundra is home to strong winds that reach up to 100 miles per hour.  During the winter it is dark most of the time, and even in the summer it is usually overcast; therefore plants get little sunlight. The tundra is also unusually dry; it gets an average of just 23 cm of rainfall per year.

Lemmus are small and mouse-like Toothentia. Lemmus are herbivores (plant-eaters) that eat moss and grass. They lost the prehensile tail but kept the gnawing teeth and sharp claws. Lemus populations are very important to the tundra, because many animals feed on them. As the number of Lemmus drop, so do the numbers of Lemmus' predators. These small Toothentia live less than 2 years in the wild.

Lemmus range from 3 to 6 inches (8-15 cm) long not including their very short tail, and weigh from 2 to 4 ounces. These Lemmus are very furry, which is an adaptation to the cold. They are grayish or brownish in color which allows them to be camouflaged in the grass and dirt where they can be usually found. Their tails and ears are so small that they are almost hidden by their fur. The Lemmus are active both day and night. They nest in areas where the snow is deepest because they figured out that snow is a good natural insulator.

Breeding begins before the animals are fully grown and usually takes place during the short summertime on Robea. The average litter size is 7 younglings, and each youngling usually weighs only a little over one-tenth of an ounce at birth.

A Mountain Range Changes the Face of Melea on Kronos

An interesting thing happened on Kronos millions of years ago that changed Kronos' landscape. There was unusually large tectonic activity in this desert region and a landform came out of the kronos. In other words, a mountain range formed. The mountains, known as The Squirelii, creates what is known as a rain shadow. The northern side of the mountain range receives very little rain and creates the desert landscape. The southern side of the mountain rain has all the rain dropped on it and you see a deciduous forest landscape. This mountain range separated a Toothentia species, Squirelius desertii, and a new species was created, Squirelius navigatus which adapted to the deciduous forest.

Notice how the eye socket points forward, an adaptation to living on land.

The desert is a hostile environment, in which temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit with blasting sand storms that have reached 50-70 miles per hour. Animals in the desert need to adapt to lack of water, extremely hot temperatures and a small amount of edible plant life.

Squirelius desertii grows to be 14 - 18 inches in length and weighs up to 7 lbs. To avoid daytime heat, this squirelius is nocturnal; it burrows beneath the surface or hides in the shade during the day, emerging at night to gather food to eat. By digging burrows, squirelius helps the soil as it drains water into the surrounding soil. These desert animals drink very small amounts of water because they get a lot of water from their food.

This squirelius has an interesting adaptation to getting water during the dark portion of the early morning.  As the temperatures decrease at night and water condenses on the Ocotalia plant's taco shaped leaves, small pools of water form. We might call this water, dew. Squirelius then laps up this water from the different leaves every morning.

In order to conserve water, these little animals do not sweat.  Their diet consists mostly of seeds found on the ground from the Ocotilia plant which gives squirelius sufficient water for their needs. Squirelius uses their paws to tuck seeds into their cheek pouches for storage. They empty their pouches when they return to their living area.

Notice the teeth similarities. This is an adaptation to the squirelius' diet of acorns. The eye socket points upward, an adaptation to tree life.

A Squirelius navigatus is a Toothentia that lives and nests in the trees on the south side of the mountain range. The preferred food of this species is the leaves of Maplerium dynamicus.  They are nocturnal and glide from tree to tree near the aforementioned mountains. They cannot really fly, but can glide up to 150 feet using a flap of elastic skin attached to the sides of their bodies.  The squirelii find and store food for the winter because they hibernate and need food for the cold season. The length of these animals from their noses to their tail is about 3 feet, and their tail is about an additional 1.6 feet long. They weigh between 15 - 20 lbs and have thick, soft fur that covers both their body and tail.

The squirelius are known to have litters consisting of between four and six younglings.  At birth, the younglings are hairless, and both their eyes and ears are closed. An interesting fact of the squirelius is that they are monogamous.  They choose a mate with which they live for the duration of their lives.  As a result their mortality rate is low. Unlike many species that are killed by predators when they are young, the squirelius live long lives compared to other animals mostly due to the fact that both parents protect their younglings.   Squirelius live between 6 to 10 years.  Needless to say, their ability to escape predators by gliding from tree to tree and their ability to blend into their surroundings have helped them to survive longer.