Invent your own animal

[JHG]

Please feel free to make a fantasy creature of your own. Add as much detail as possible.
Make sure your animal has a weakness.
Other rules:

• No copying other people's creatures.
  
• No inventing creatures that already exist; giving scientific names to animals that lack them(e.g. Monster of Aramberri, Alaskan Troodon) or inventing hypothetical creatures is however, perfectly acceptable.
  
• No inventing ridiculous creatures(e.g. no animals that can swallow planets, no animals smaller than prions, no animals that die if they simply burp...)
  

[Detective Osprey]

Black Crab Plover, Dromas nigra
https://allbirdsoftheworld.wikia.com/wik...rab_Plover


Butler’s Bowerbird, Amblyornis butleri
https://allbirdsoftheworld.wikia.com/wik..._Bowerbird


I have hundreds more

[JHG]

Boltacyon blasingii(George Blasing's Bolt dog)
Named in double reference to the paleontologist George Blasing and the Disney film, Boltacyon is an unusual dog. It was once classified as a borophagine but has a more gracile snout that people say is more like a German shepherd; nowadays, it's believed to be from an independent taxa that displays features of both canines and borophagines and never made it to modern times. Even odder is that it was discovered in the jungles of Miocene to Pleistocene Southeast Asia, possibly suggesting canids ancestral to Boltacyon crossed over from North America. To top it off, skeletons of seven dogs were found at a single dig, suggesting a pack. Boltacyon probably ran down its prey and bit to inflict wounds based on its jaw size and dentition, which are long and sharp even by dog standards. Combined with intelligence and pack hunting abilities and Boltacyon would've been a terrifying apex predator; a far cry from the adorable namesake. The dog weighed 65 kilograms and measured 2 meters long and stood 1 meter tall, rivaling the famous Canis dirus. Prey would include Asian black bears, Sambar, Wild boars, Tapirs, Gaur, Water buffalo and even the huge Gigantopithecus blacki. On occasion, they ate humans and the calves of elephants and rhinoceroses. Even though they were formidable, Boltacyon were not able to bite into bone w/o hurting themselves and they didn't always succeed in bringing down their prey. It eventually went extinct from competition with dholes, tigers and Homo erectus although some people still think Boltacyon survived to the present. However, this means that whole packs would have to be supported and there would be a tremendous effect on the ecosystem. This misconception of purported survival is not unique to this frightening canid and in fact similar rumors exist for Megalodon. Through rigorous study of its diet, paleontologists determined Boltacyon's dietary preference runs in(loose) descending order of preference:

• Gigantopithecus
  
• Wild water buffalo
  
• Sambar deer
  
• Gaur
  
• Malayan tapir
  
• Wild boar
  
• Oloronemys
  
• Humans
  
• Each other.
  
• Ground dwelling birds, porcupines, young crocodiles, tiger cubs, other small animals(mostly prey for lone Boltacyon.)
  
• Elephants such as Asian elephants and Stegodon(mostly calves) and rhinoceroses such as Javan and Sumatran rhinos(mostly calves.) Adults are usually off the menu.
  

[Kyng]

(Pinned !)

Might as well cross-post my Mojave Dragon: 

 

It's about 1.5m long and 40cm high at the shoulders, and it lives mainly in the Mojave Desert (though it's sometimes found in the Great Basin and the Sonoran Desert - and there have even been one or two unconfirmed sightings in the Chihuahuan Desert).

Its characteristic black wings are designed for light absorption, so that it can generate energy by photosynthesis. This allows it to survive with relatively little food, in comparison to other similar species.

Its main weapons are its claws and its spiked tail, which it can swing at prey and enemies alike. However, it is a fairly cumbersome beast, whose wings are vulnerable to attack. Additionally, their black colour contrasts heavily with the lighter tones of the sand - thus giving away the creature's presence immediately.

[JHG]

Peg/Ramphavis panphagus(Beaked bird that eats everything)
The peg is an unusual looking basal flightless bird. It is known for having an extremely unfussy diet ranging from grass, insects, fruit, other arthropods, gastropods, dirt, leaves, carrion and even one of their own kind. It's easier to list what they won't eat. Pegs grow to 30 centimeters tall, 1.26 meters long and weigh 8 kilograms. They live in flocks of generally 50 or so individuals, but hundreds are not unheard of. While they cannot fly, pegs will use Wing assisted incline running to climb steep slopes and trees. They mate at the end of the dry season. Males at this time become aggressive towards one another and the loser in such fights can even be cannibalized. Females lay hundreds, sometimes thousands, of relatively large eggs for their body size in pits, bury them and leave to regroup in their flocks. The eggs resemble rocks to confuse predators but such a tactic is not guaranteed to work. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings must congregate in a creche and find an adult flock to adopt them. This is a dangerous journey as pegs of all ages are food for predators ranging from crocodilians, raptorial birds, wild dogs, cats and snakes. Pegs live on every continent.

[Detective Osprey]

Holsaeter’s Crossbill

https://allbirdsoftheworld.wikia.com/wik...skin=oasis

[JHG]

Tarbotherium gigas(Awesome beast giant)

A distant relative to the modern White-tailed deer, Tarbotherium was a Miocene species of deer living in the grasslands of North America. Standing 3.8 metres tall at the shoulder, measuring 7 metres and weighing in at 2.2 tonnes, no other deer species comes close. Size would be the main method of defense against predators such as Amphicyon, Barbourofelis, or Epicyon. When it wasn't, lashing out with hooves or antlers would be an option. Tarbotherium ate mainly from treetops given its giant size but could also graze. Like modern deer, Tarbotherium performed a rut in autumn but it's unclear whether the male stuck around to raise the fawns or not. It's thought that young Tarbotherium could fully mature in two years and theoretically live for roughly 70 years. Tarbotherium would be destined to go extinct with the advent of other herbivores like gomphotheres and mastodons. With such competition for rarer and rarer foliage combined with animals better at grazing, the deer's great size sealed its doom.

[Detective Osprey]

Cat-eyed Eagle 
https://allbirdsoftheworld.wikia.com/wik...eyed_Eagle 

[JHG]

Gorgotherium magnus(Great fierce beast)

Gorgotherium was a fearsome giant among pinnipeds rivaling the Walrus and being surpassed by the two living species of elephant seal. This creature has proven a headache to classify as it had traits of both the Phocidae(seals) and the Otariidae(fur seals and sea lions.) It lacked external ear holes and yet is thought to walk perfectly fine on land(albeit still more comfortable swimming.) These reasons currently leave the classification of the pinniped uncertain. More studies are needed to resolve the debate. Gorgotherium was 4 meters long and weighed 1.5 tonnes. It lived from the early Miocene up until the Pleistocene extinction event all across the Atlantic and part of the Pacific. This monstrous pinniped fed on large fish such as tuna, bluefish, juvenile obese koi fish and sunfish, cephalopods, smaller pinnipeds, seabirds such as pelagornithids and basal pelicans and even small whales. A few human skeletons were discovered with bite marks from Gorgotherium suggesting it occasionally killed and ate humans as well. Despite its deadliness, Gorgotherium was not the unchallenged apex predator. It had competition from Brygmophyseter in Japanese waters and fell prey to Argoselachus in the Mediterranean until the latter's extinction. But the biggest threats were from Megalodon and Livyatan, a giant shark/obese koi fish and sperm whale respectively with infamous reputations for killing giant marine animals. It's thought that mothers had a pregnancy of roughly a year and a half with a lifespan of about half a century. The infamous Pleistocene extinction was the last straw for the giant pinniped. Prey loss affected it negatively as did climate change and the appearance of larger numbers of smaller pinnipeds to crowd it out. New predators like killer whales and humans didn't help either.

---

Caledonitherium boreas(Northern Scottish beast)

Caledonitherium is to say the least, unusual. This is a relatively large amphibian living in lakes in the British Isles most commonly in Scotland and has been around since the Jurassic. These beasts grow to 3.5 metres and weigh 1.4 tonnes. They survive in these cold climates by hibernating during the winter and laying their eggs in late autumn to give incubation time, wait the winter out and ensure plenty of bounty for the numerous tadpoles in spring. They may be large but feed mostly on fish, frogs, water birds, snakes and turtles. Occasionally, they resort to cannibalism. Their numbers are rare in modern times thanks to habitat destruction and pollution. Their rarity led people to dismiss their existence and invent the myths of kelpies and the Loch Ness Monster. Despite what one may have read in the myths, these amphibians are harmless to humans. Thankfully, a good depiction of amphibians in the form of Mudkip in Pokémon may vindicate the reputation of these great amphibian beasts.

[JHG]

Dinochiropterus agathaumas(Great Wonder Terrible bat)

This was the largest bat of all time at 5 kilograms in weight and 2.5 meters wingtip to wingtip. Living in Southeast Asia from the Late Oligocene to the Pleistocene, it lived a mostly solitary life only gathering to breed. It takes four months for the mother to give birth and she would need to be lucky to have twins. These are omnivores, feasting on roots, tubers, wood, ripe fruit(when in season) and on occasion carrion. When nutritionally stressed, these bats will even cannibalize each other. They have few predators save for raptors, tigers, dholes, machairodonts, crocodiles and Boltacyon. When humans entered Southeast Asia, they also became a threat. Dinochiropterus could effectively defend itself with wing flap displays, biting or simply by flying away. Dinochiropterus is a cathermal animal and could sleep whenever and as long as it was comfortable. These bats were eventually driven to extinction by a combination of competition, climate change and humans. Being enormous and requiring a large amount of food didn't exactly help. Despite what their etymology might suggest, these bats weren't named for being menacing. It was just a very unique bat on such a ridiculous scale some thought it was fake. Since most bats are harmless, it's probable that Dinochiropterus was a jungle dwelling gentle giant.

---

Oloronemys ohmii(Swan turtle ohm)

Oloronemys is a massive tortoise, rivaled only by Stupendemys and possibly Archelon among the order known as the Testudines measuring 3 meters and 2 tonnes. Living from the Eocene to the mid-Pliocene in Southeast Asia, Oloronemys was a herbivore that ate via browsing with the aid of its long neck. The gigantic testudine was usually safe from predation but the young, sick and tired individuals would be vulnerable to bears, tigers, crocodiles, Boltacyon, raptors such as Falcalriaraptor and possibly humans. Since, tortoises today are soooo slow and bulky, one could imagine how fast an Oloronemys would be! Like its modern Galapagos relatives, the shell was the main source of defense. Biting may also have been possible. The tortoises are thought to be able to lay thousands of eggs at a time but give no parental care. Oloronemys eventually went extinct through continuing competition with large mammalian herbivores and over specialization. The species name evokes the giant arthropods called Ohms in the Studio Ghibli manga and film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind due to the carapace resembling that of an Ohm.