Beast Fables - Megafauna from North Ambrosia

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A selection of megafauna from North Ambrosia! To give you a hint of the nature of biodiversity in Urvara. In short? There's a bigger selection of megafauna in the world of Urvara in comparison to ours. For North Ambrosia proper, megafaunal mammals are the most prominent, with a sprinkling of some birds and reptiles here and there.

Other continents will have their own surprises as well!

First row:

• Gray Wolf (Canis lupus): The type species of wolf Erobians and Asuvans are familiar with. Has an extremely wide range, though most common in northern biomes.

• Battle Wolf (Aenocyon pugnator): Similar to a wolf, but far stockier, and more successful in bringing down the biggest game, hence its name.

• Hoefhond (Lupusovis osedax): The very last mesonychid, a curiously cursorial scavenger, that while fully capable of hunting, typically follows the trail of other predators and scavenge off the remains of hunts… as well as eating a lot of bone.

• Ambrosian Black Bear (Ursus ambrosianicus): The most common bear of the continent, and the most generalist in diet. So common, it’s a notable pest for many Ambrosians.

• Colossal Condor (Terratornis altivolus): Opportunist among opportunists, devourer of both the dead and the living, this large condor travels far and wide for any appropriate meal.

Second Row:

• Sabertooth, Saberkat, Sabeleon (Smilodon atrox): The most powerful cat of North Ambrosia, its enormous size and strength allows it to pin down large game and sink its iconic fangs to deliver the final blow

• Jaguar (Panthera onca): The other big cat of the North, famous for ambushing prey and biting directly on the skull, unlike other cats.

• Cougar (Puma concolor): The most widespread large feline of the Ambrosias. A cat with many, MANY names.

• Brown Bear (Ursus arctos): A large, forest dwelling bear common to the northern hemisphere worldwide. Notably its size can vary depending on the location of where they live and what they ate.

• Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus): The second largest bear in the world, and the only one that lives directly on the ice of the north. Notably views werefolk as viable prey, and it's never a good idea to travel alone wherever these bears live.

Third Row:

• Buffalo Bear (Arctodus fortis): The biggest of the bears, respected for its size, strength and the sheer distance they can travel from place to place. The national animal of The Ambrosian Republic Union.

• Ambrosian Bison (Bison bison): THE Herd animal of North Ambrosia, and the most iconic large herd animal of the Republic Union. Whether it be the plains or the forest, so long as one is in Ambrosia, one can always see a bison.

• Moose (Alces alces): The biggest deer on the continent, and competes with the Kingselk (Megaloceros) for the largest deer in mass, even if its antlers aren’t nearly as big. Though it will run first like many deer, when it fights back and charges, it’s best to get out of its way.

• Rhippo (Mixotoxodon larensis): An odd, yet plain-looking animal that looks like the combination of a rhinoceros and a hippo, hence its name. Despite its initially goofy appearance, it is very dense, very heavy, and can deliver an absolutely nasty bite while crushing a hapless human.

Fourth Row:

• Ambrosian crocodile (Crocodylus acutus): The largest crocodile of the northern continent, and while not as common as the alligator nor as large as the frostgator, is more aggressive than both.

• Ambrosian alligator (Alligator palustris): The iconic large reptile of the marshlands and swamps of Ambrosia, and by far, the most common crocodilian on the continent.

• Black Frostgator (Megaloalligator frigidus): Large, powerful alligators that survive in parts of the north thanks to a combination of gigantothermy and the ability to brumate to a level unheard of in any other large reptile.

• Plains Mammoth (Mammuthus tonantis): The biggest proboscidean in the world, and viewed as a figure of awe and majesty by everyone on the continent. Make no mistake however, get on its bad side, and be in for a world of hurt!

• Forest Mastodon (Mammut ambrosianum): Also known as The Lords of the Forest, and competes for the title of second largest proboscidean of the Ambrosias with a Gompothere down south, though by most measures, it’s usually the bigger of the two. Shorter than many elephantids, but far more robustly built.

• Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius): The iconic mammoth, a familiar sight of both New and Old worlds. Wherever it is dry and cold, one can see a mammoth grazing on the plains.

• Titan Sloth (Eremotherium borealis): An enormous sloth, with this species competing with its southern relative as the biggest sloth, and thus xenarthran in the world. Extremely feared for their territorial attitude, claws and thick hide.

• Goliath Plains Camel (Megacamelus merriami): A huge camel. There were attempts to domesticate it or at the very least tame it, both from First Nations people and by Colonists. Neither had much luck.

Final Row

• Giant Capybara, Gable’s Capybara (Neochoerus gabliensis): A social, surprisingly docile (by large mammal standards at least) and ‘friendly’ creature (unless you’re a predator that’s CLEARLY bigger than it) that is basically a bigger version of the Capybara from down south. Still a rodent, so still has a mean bite.

• Pronghorn (Antilocapra ambrosiana): The fastest herbivorous land animal on the planet, and certainly the fastest long-distance runner of them all.

• Helhorse (Hastadon cursus): The last wild entelodont, who despite its fearsome weaponry, survived to the modern era by being more social, more willing to run and having a more generalist diet. Acts as a big lookout for other herds. Notably, its domesticated variant became one of, if not, the most iconic cavalry mounts of the Ambrosian Republic Union.

• Armadón (Glyptotherium pertinax): An ornery relative of the armadillo, known for being armoured from nose to tail tip. Bane of Tartessonian colonists in the north, thanks to its rather irritable nature to man, cattle, horse and pigs.

• Perseguidor (Bathornis regalum): Last of the continental bathornids, this is a bird that’s taller than a man and will chase down whatever prey that’s smaller than it, and whatever that CAN fight back is usually met with a nasty sickle-claw kick.

• Vapenrus, Boulderfish (Hibbertopterus frigidum): The last of the Eurypterids, clinging to the damp cold marshes of the very north, happily feeding on the bottoms of rivers and lakes. The biggest arthropod on the planet by sheer weight.

• Cave Sloth (Megalonyx spelaeus): A large sloth, known for digging caves to make their homes. Notably a subject of interest for a President of the Union.