My submission from the Scorched contest.
Common name: Hackett's giant Echidna
Species: Murrayglossus (Zaglossus) hacketti
Time: Early Pleistocene
Diet: Carnivore
Temperament: Defensive
Mountable: No
@Triloboii on twitter
Murrayglossus was the largest monotreme (egg laying mammals) known to have ever lived.
Suggested ability: The Murrayglossus could gather laid eggs in a surrounding area and store them in its pouch.
Their tongue estimated to be almost 50 cm long.
Suggested ability: Uses its long spiky tongue to grapple onto enemy creatures or players of lesser weight and holds them in place.
Echidnas have some outstanding sensory adaptations, including an electroreceptive sensory organ that allow them to sense detect movements and subtle electric fields produced by its prey.
Suggest ability: Murrayglossus pings enemy location once damage is taken.
This would implement the new ping feature in ASA.
When threatened, Echidnas curl up into a ball, protected by their spines or dig down vertically thanks to their backwards hind legs.
Suggested ability: Two modes inspired by this behavior
· Defensive: Digs directly down exposing the creature’s spines above the ground, acting as a spike wall.
· Offensive: Curls into a ball and allows the player to aim the animal as a rolling projectile. Can be dropped by flying tames to deal splash damage.
Offensive mode concept
Bonus facts:
Echidnas blow snot bubbles to keep cool, as they have few sweat glands.
Male Echidnas secrete a milky substance from their spurs during breeding season, likely used as a means of communication.
Additional information the can be found here.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1952110/
https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Zaglossus-hacketti
https://www.livescience.com/57267-echidna-facts.html