The snapmetun is an apex predator that inhabits Colmetry and the southern districts of Nusara.

Etymology

Unknown.

Morphology

The animal is heavy-set and low to the ground, weighing between four and five hundred kilograms. Its body is furred, but the fur grows in dense spiraling tufts that naturally felt together into a thick, mat-like carapace over the back and flanks. This felt-hide can reach ten centimeters in thickness, is oily and waterproof, and functions as soft armor against horns, stonefall, and cliff debris. Despite its mass, it has four pillar-like legs with dense bones that keep its center of gravity low. Its paws end in hooves fully encased in a thick, spongy callus of keratinized skin that compresses into jagged rock, gripping securely while muffling all sound.

Physiology

A specialized tendon-locking mechanism allows the mouth to be held open at a right angle for hours without energetic cost. Embedded within the pelt are thousands of long, stiff vibrissae that protrude like needles, compensating for the animal’s tiny, deeply buried eyes by allowing it to read air currents and vibrations.

Diet

It occupies a crucial scavenging niche as the only terrestrial animal capable of cracking open large marine carcasses to reach marrow. It is also an active predator (crusher-specialist).

Specific Abilities

The felt-hide functions as armor. The keratinized hooves muffle all sound for near-silent movement.

Behavior

Life Cycle

Reproduction is slow and conservative: females give birth to one to two pups which cling to the mother’s felt-hide for its first two years. During this time the pups’ teeth remain unfused, allowing them to suckle, before gradually hardening as they wean.

Social Structure

Individuals are solitary and intensely territorial.

Ecology

The snapmetun does not pursue prey but engineers encounters. It positions itself along narrow cliff paths or behind boulders, jaws locked open, and waits motionless for hours until prey is within reach.