Scruff neck

This was made by @LionPatriot

Info provided by @Aegwyn0

Common Name: Scruff Neck

Genus: Agesevalda

Species: alkḗphármakon

Endemic To: Terria

Habitat: Forest, Grassland, Savannah

Diet Type: Herbivore

Diet: Carnivorous Water Plants, Driftwood, Horsetails, Poisonous Berries, Poisonous Bushes, Poisonous Vines, Pondweed, Reeds, Roots, Shoots, Tree Bark, Tree Needles, Water Lilies

Height: 12 Ft(3.7 Meters)

Length: 36 Ft(10.97 Meters)

Weight: 5 Tons

Features: Triangular Head, Muscular Laterally Slit Nostrils, Large Overhanging Upper Beak, Upward Pointing Sharp Lower Beak, Thick Molars, Tall Pointed Head Crest, Large Brown Eyes, Long Neck, Long Fluffy Beard Of Feathers On The Underside Of Their Neck, Muscular Body, Shorter Forelimbs, Forefeet Ending In Four Digits, Three Hoofed Toes, Stiff Pointed Hind Digit, Large Digitigrade Hindlimbs, Hindfeet Ending In Three Hooved Toes, Elongated Stiff Tail, Mane Of Feathers Down The Dorsal Side Of The Tail, Smooth Scale Covered Hide, Creamy Orange Head, Neck, and Limbs, Black and White Face Mask, Creamy Grey Back, Yellow Underbelly, Light Grey Tail Base, Dark Grey Tail End, Male:Yellow Tail Tip

Lifespan: 15-25 Years

Sexual Maturity: 2 Years

Gestation: 8 Months

Offspring: 1-2 Chicks

Personality: Brave, Curious, Protective Of Personal Space, Somewhat Tolerant

Aggressiveness:Medium(Female), High(Male)

Sociability: Low

Group Type: Herd

Herd Size: 1-2, 40(Mating Season)

Description:The Scruff Neck is the third largest species of Agesevalda, with a height of 12 feet, a length of 36 feet, and a weight of 5 tons. Their muscular body is mostly covered in smooth scales, with the exception of the long fluffy beard of feathers on the underside of their neck, and the mane that runs down the dorsal side of their tail. They are covered in a variety of colors throughout their body, with their head, neck, and limbs being a creamy orange, while their face has a black and white face mask over their large brown eyes, they have a yellow underbelly and a creamy grey back which fades into their tail which has a light grey base and a dark grey end. These varying shades allow them to blend in with the shadows of trees at varying light levels within their forest home. Male Scruff Necks are a bit more visibly distinct due to the fact their tails typically end in a bright yellow mark.

They have an elongated triangular head topped with a tall pointed head crest, and its nostrils are laterally slit and packed with muscles that allow the Scruff Neck to seal its nostrils shut in order to either swim or dive deep underwater to consume water plants. Their beak and teeth are built for woody plants as the upper beak is extremely thick, overhanging and blocky allowing for the Scruff Neck to hook onto the top of branches, the lower beak curves upward and is both pointed and slightly serrated allowing it to saw through even the toughest of wood, while the thick constantly growing molars provide the crushing force necessary to crush up even the thickest of wood. While the staple of their diet is tree bark, roots, and plant shoots they are known to add to their diet based on the season, consuming mostly pondweed, water lilies, carnivorous water plants, horsetails, and driftwood in the warmer months, while in the colder months they mostly consume coniferous tree needles. 

They are unique amongst the Agesevalda for their near impenetrable defense against predators, and that is the fact that they are extremely poisonous, mostly due to their diet of poisonous vines, bushes, and berries. During digestion the toxins from these plants are striped and transferred throughout the body, with the external areas of the body having notably less of a toxicity than the inside. The toxins present externally are found within the skin, eyes, and tongue and are produced within the tears, saliva and as an oily substance that coats the feathers on their neck and tail. The toxins present within the body are found within the vocal chords, liver, ovaries in females, and also within the body fat. Exposure to the external poison only requires contact and results in a near instant painful reaction as the nerves are caused to go haywire, and after 12-24 hours the contractor experiences redness, itching, swelling, and blisters on the area they made contact, while if they ingested any of it they can experience difficulty breathing and swallowing with intense irritation to their digestive tract. Should their insides be consumed however, results in the sodium channels becoming blocked within the body, fully paralyzing the consumer within minutes while they remain conscious, with the consumer being unable to breath or produce noise during the process and eventually dying due to asphyxiation. There is no known cure for the poison with the only organisms capable of consumption of the Scruff Neck being the Develians, Bristle-Headed Bewalla, Pangolion, and the Garnax, with only bacteria playing a part in their decay process as even invertebrates lack the ability to consume them.

The Scruff Neck are not merely defensive, when it is necessary to attack they will do usually by charging a target and either running them over, or flinging them into the air with a swift head butt. They are extremely strong and have dense skulls and neck vertebrae, as a result this can actually be fatal depending on the size of the opponent and the terrain they are in. Their hind legs are much longer and larger than their forelimbs, allowing them to achieve a bipedal stance, and due to their stiff tails they can maintain this stance for long periods, allowing them to have a higher vantage point, exert greater force in a stomp, and even run for long distances. They are also known to rear up and charge an opponent while flailing their forelimbs in a devastating flurry of kicks.

They are active throughout the day with peaks during dawn and dusk and prefer cool, moist conditions within forests, frequenting the lakes, ponds, and swamps within. They tend to stay within the same general area of around 3-6 miles of forest, though depending on how far north they are some populations are known to only remain within the forest during the spring, summer, and fall, with them moving during the winter into the more southern grasslands and can even end up in the savannah temporarily. They are mainly solitary Metafauna, though two individuals may deem each other a non threat and can be seen grazing together or drinking from the same stream, though this is usually temporary. They are mostly limited to the colder regions due to their body size, inability to sweat, and the heat produced during fermentation in their gut, with them commonly cooling off by using either the shade of trees or swimming within one of the prior mentioned water formations. They are stubborn and hard-headed animals known for their bravery, curiosity, and their protectiveness of their personal space as they are not opposed to attacking anyone who gets too close or tries to touch them.

During the mating season they are known to become unusually sociable, with up to 40 individuals gathering in a single area, though none will be within more than 80 feet of one another at any time. Females attract males through long, moaning vocalizations, which can be heard up to 2 miles away and they will produce a powerful scent from the same oil glands they produce their poison from. Males will compete for access to females during this, upon spotting one another they will usually rub their heads or bodies against trees or shrubs, even knocking them over to display strength and size. This usually results in either the smaller bull retreating, or enraging the rival into combat, where they will charge each other and either slam their heads into the sides of each others necks until the other gives up, or biting onto the back of their rivals neck, rearing back while yanking the rival upward and then delivering powerful forward kicks. When one retreats the victor will approach the female and they will mate, and the male will immediately leave to go compete for other mates, the female may either immediately leave or continue to call to mate with as many males as possible, as males are known to kill the offspring of a lone female in order to mate with her. Females do not dig out nests or lay eggs, instead they give live birth, typically to a single offspring though twins are common enough to be considered a regular occurrence. The strongest bond between Scruff Neck are between mother and calf, as she will be exceptionally protective of her calf, and will relentlessly chase down anything who comes within 5 feet of their calf in order to kill the threat, with the offspring typically chasing after for protection.

Abilities: Cold Resistance, Expert Swimming, Headbutt, High Physicality, Poison Immunity, Stamp, Tail Smack

Powers:Venomous Sonic Boom

Naturia:Wind

Disambiguation

Cold Resistance: Due to their size, internal head, and inability to sweat they are able to tolerate the cold, and even walk through the snow during the winter.

Expert Swimming: They are excellent swimmers and are able to sustain a speed of 6 MPH in the water.

Headbutt: Their primary mode of offensive is to headbutt a target, either by coming at it straight on or attacking it from the side.

High Physicality: They are incredibly strong, durable, and have a lot of stamina, they are able to run up to speeds of 35 MPH and can take being hit by a vehicle head on without dying.

Poison Immunity: They are entirely immune to their own poison and are able to make contact with one another, any poison weaker than theirs they are also immune to as a result.

Stamp: When reared up the Scruff Neck is known to charge forward while unleashing a flurry of blows with their forelimbs.

Tail Smack: Their thick, stiff tails make for excellent blunt weapons and can be used to smack away opponents which approach them from the rear or knock over small vegetation, however due to their poisonous oil glands these can result in poisoning the target..   

Venomous Sonic Boom: Unlike the other species of Agesevalda the Scruff Neck is not very vocal, as a result they rarely ever use their Sonic Boom attack, it functions as the others where they infuse their vocalizations with Naturia wind energy in order to amplify them, resulting in a sonic boom, however receiving one almost always results in either death or hospitalization at best, this is due to their poisonous vocal chords having the toxins flown out of the body alongside the sound, resulting in envenomation that carries the same symptoms as that of their internal poisons, alongside either being stunned, knocked unconscious, or having an air embolism within the lungs that can contribute to their death.

General Weaknesses: Age, Dense Snow, Illness, Injury, Intense Cold, Nasal Strain, Sonic Backlash, Water poisoning

Naturia Weakness:Fire

Disambiguation

Age: Young and elderly Shaghooves are generally more vulnerable to predation than healthy adults, not only due to strength but also due to the fact that as a juvenile they have not developed their poison glands yet and are not toxic at all, whereas the elderly have lost their toxicity.

Dense Snoweep, crusted snow makes them vulnerable to predation.

Fire: The Scruff Neck is particularly vulnerable to Fire and Fire Naturia attacks from either predators or weapons.

Illness: They are vulnerable to many maladies which can result in them becoming an easy target for predators. They are particularly vulnerable to nasal diseases as a large amount of mucus can impede their ability to vocalize or produce a Sonic Boom.

Injury: The Scruff Neck is vulnerable when injured.

Intense Cold: They cannot tolerate temperatures that exceed -16.6 F for long.

Nasal Strain: Overuse of their Sonic Boom can result in their nasal passages becoming strained and can even result in damage to the internal structure, resulting in nosebleeds or a permanent dampening of their vocalization ability.

Sonic Backlash:The Scruff Neck is not immune to the effects of their Sonic Boom, and have been known to receive damage to their beak or bone as a result of releasing a particularly powerful Sonic Boom, though these injuries are not severe most of the time it is not unheard of for a Roundhead to accidentally blast off a part of their beak by accident.

Water poisoning:As they swim the poisonous oils can be washed away from their skin and feathers, resulting in a temporary vulnerability to attack.

All creatures, characters and everything Monterra related belong to me @Monterra65 ©️.