Worldbuilding Wednesdays: The Breath of Life, Part Three

Welcome to Worldbuilding Wednesdays!  Every Wednesday, we spend what is probably far too much time walking through our worldbuilding process.  This week, we'll be presenting the last intelligent species for our world, the... (sigh) scalie.

What We Have So Far

Just like last week, we're going to go ahead and summarize everything we've said about scalies over the last several weeks.

Scalies are native to the stilt-root estuaries.  They live on and among the roots, and are equally adept at swimming in the shallow waters about them, running on the ground when the tide goes out, and scrabbling up the roots for safety.  As partially amphibious creatures, they have scales and an appearance reminiscent of marine iguanas.  They're diurnal, most active during the 20 hours the sun is up.  Out of the three species we're discussing, they probably have the worst eyesight, since they don't need to worry about falling great distances or aiming at things far away.  Scalies are trappers, and like to lure prey under the roots where they can be attacked from above or herded into a terrain they can't handle and the scalies can.  Because weight isn't a disadvantage for them, scalies are the largest of the three species.  Just like furries, they possess features that render them more "cute" than "alien."  Scalies are omnivorous and supplement their (probably) fishy diet with kelp, seaweed, algae, cereals that like being wet, like rice, and vegetables that can endure brackish water, like tubers or chard.  Last but not least, their intelligence is derived from being clever; unlike the other two, large, fast predators are a concern (remember, crawling creatures like those commonly found near the sea are some of the fastest animals on this planet), and scalies will have to outsmart the animals that they can't outrun.

With that, we should be ready for a third profile!

Scalies:  A Profile

  When the great trees of our world march to the sea, they often clash with brackish water in estuarial lands.  Because there is less of an energy cost to force their trunks above the water here than on Earth, developing stilt-roots is quite common.  These root clusters, holding up a tree hundreds of meters in height, can be thirty meters tall themselves.  Among these roots roam the scalies, amphibious reptiles that function like the animal version of all-terrain vehicles.  Naturally adept in three different terrains, scalies have easily spread across the continent, though they do tend to suffer from being the "jack of all trades, master of none." They are neither as skilled at running, leaping, or climbing as the other two species.  Still, in any biome where multiple forms of locomotion come in handy, scalies have a natural advantage.

  Physical Description.  Your average scalie is between 2.2 and 2.4 meters in height.  Stocky and powerfully built, they are still on the smaller end of the scale compared to the other predators of their preferred biome, but significantly larger than the other intelligent species.  They are completely covered in thick scales, which are roughest on the hands and feet, and smoother on the inside of the limbs and torso.  Scalie scales range in color from dark green to almost black, though males can also have brighter patterns mixed in that are bright green, rust colored, or dark red.  Scalies that live in primarily aquatic areas will also possess a dorsal crest that runs from the top of their head to the tip of their tail, growing tallest on the head and tail.  Though possessed of a great deal of muscle, a scalie's weight is centered near the hips, which allows for easily shifting between bipedal, quadrupedal, and apodal motion.  This gives them, compared to nu humans, a body shape that could almost be considered "pot-bellied."

We were going to provide another simplistic drawing, but this popped up during our reference search and... well, good enough.

  Scalies, as mentioned, have hands, with three fingers and an opposable thumb.  They have small, thick claws that, combined with the rough scales on the palms of their hands, provide a sure grip even in slippery conditions.  They also have feet with four toes.  Although they do not have thumbs on their feet, the toes are webbed, which aids in swimming.  Scalie tails tend to be long and powerful, with more aquatic variants possessing longer tails; even the most landbound scalie will have a tail at least one meter long.  Their faces consist of a blunt snout, ending in a relatively flat cheek band, just wide enough to give them binocular vision.  Unlike most omnivores, scalies do not have canines or pointed teeth; instead, they have razor-sharp cuspids that allow them to "snip" meat and vegetation with equal ease.

  Behavior.  Scalies are diurnal, though they spend most of their time conserving their strength and will most commonly be found lounging in the sun.  Scalies prefer not to actively hunt and will instead set traps for their prey.  Their preferred tactics are to utilize sudden terrain changes and the stilt roots they call home, forcing prey animals into an area they can't easily escape and then picking them off from above.  Scalies will even use these tactics on creatures that would normally prey on them, allowing them to pick off apex predators with relative ease.

  In motion, scalies are quick, but do not possess a great deal of stamina.  They can easily scramble dozens of meters up roots, trees, and cliffs; they can sprint, almost horizontal to the ground, tail used as balance; and they can swim, propelling themselves forward with their tail and using their feet to steer.  Doing more than that takes effort that scalies are not interested in exerting, so you will probably never see a scalie jogging, for example.  When not engaging in short bursts of extreme activity, they will engage in more leisurely pursuits, such as building traps or gathering vegetation.

  Scalies can eat almost anything, but have a pronounced preference for semi- or fully aquatic meals.  Their diet is heavily slanted toward fish, algae, and seaweed, with other vegetables pursued only when seaweed is unavailable.  Fruits are not unknown in their diet, although most scalies disdain sweet flavors in preference for salty or bitter dishes, such as raw chard.

  There may have been a time when scalies avoided other predators, but cooperation has allowed them to actively pursue even the largest and most dangerous of the crawling creatures of the sea.  Hunting a large creature that wants to eat them seems to be one of the few things that can cause a scalie to act excited, and they will go out of their way to lure such predators into their traps, even going so far as to employ themselves as living bait.  The larger or more numerous the predator, the more scalies will get involved, with the largest predators drawing a crowd reminiscent of a sporting event.

  Socially, scalies are the most aloof of the three intelligent species.  This is not to say that they are unfriendly; far from it.  Scalies socialize in groups of dozens to hundreds, which they call "colonies," with little regard to family, gender, or even familiarity.  It is simply that their preferred method of socialization is to lounge communally or engage in nap piles.  Outside of hunting or that minimal necessary to complete tasks, scalies simply aren't interested in communication, and thus most of their socializing is done in silence.  Were someone to explain the concepts of "shared space" or "parallel play" to them, scalies would understand them immediately.

  This behavior changes during mating season.  Slightly.  Several times per year, males will suddenly become more aggressive, although they do not become any more energetic.  Instead, through subtle acts such as tail slapping and intense eye contact, males will try to lay claim to a specific territory, driving the others off.  The females act normally throughout the year.  Those that are within a male's claimed territory are assumed to have given tacit permission to breed.  Any children born of such unions are casually raised by all nearby adults, and the concept of a nuclear family is foreign to scalies in general.

  Environment.  Scalies prefer mixed terrain above all others.  While they do best when there are equal opportunities to run, climb, or swim, a scalie will still be happy if they have two of the three available.  As such, scalies are most likely to be found at the edges of a given biome, and least likely to be found in singular terrain, especially if that terrain isn't particularly moist.  They also avoid cold regions, since they have issues regulating body heat.

Conclusion

With this, we have profiles of each intelligent species in isolation.  Starting next week, we'll begin exploring what happens when these species try to do something interesting, like invent a civilization.  See you then!