#splendid fraggon

[here-be-descriptions]

The Splendid Fraggon, scientific name: Dracobufo rex; from “Amphiterra”. Artwork by Roxy Valdez.

The splendid fraggon silently pick their way through its island home.

“In an isolated, island environment short on prey animals, but also short on threats, a phenomenon can present itself where a high calorie, active carnivore can evolve into a slow, herbivorous browser. In our own timeline, we observe this in the Therizinosaurs. In Amphiterra, we observe this process in the fascinating splendid fraggon.

In stark contrast to the typical fraggon, the splendid fraggon is a quiet, peaceful browser, spending its day roaming in small herds, eating fungus from the trees. The fungus is very low calorie, and the splendid fraggon must eat at all waking hours to meet its caloric needs, wading its way through swampy jungles on graceful, stilt-like legs.

The splendid fraggon carries its eggs upon its back in a clump of frog spawn. The tadpoles are dropped into the marsh to fend for themselves as they hatch and fall off, the parents practicing no form of childcare. Because of this, only a tiny percent of the young manage to mature to adulthood, the rest acting as a staple food for predators too small to prey upon an adult.”