Lautro

Description:

The Lautro is a small carnivore, that lives in the foliages of the rainforests of planet Vointia. Since the trees around the equator grow so ridiculously high, bottom layers of the forests barely get any sunlight, the difference of the fauna between layers can be drastic. At the upper layers of the foliage, that sunlight can reach, the only way to get around are the long and thick branches of the tall trees. The Lautro adapted by developing wings, large enough to carry it's full mass. Barely larger than a domestic cat from planet Earth, it can navigate easily, and stay hidden from it's prey. There are other way they're similar to the cats of planet Earth. They are agile stealth predators, with a keen sense of smell and the ability to grab onto the branches with it's claws and thumbs on both sides of their front paws. Their behavior is also similar, in that they are solitary creatures, and they only seek company to mate. There are also many differences, including the fact that they biologically have nothing to do with each other. Other very obvious difference, apart from the pair of wings, is their "beak". This "beak" serves not only as a tool to tear into the flesh of the prey, but also as a tool for communication. With positioning the tongue in a certain way, and blowing air into the little depression in the beak, they can make bird-like chirping and whistling sounds. This may function as a mating call, or as a way of echolocation, by picking up the echos on their sensitive feelers around their ears and mouth. This beak needs to be maintained regularly, as meat may get stuck in it. Their eyesight is good, but may prove useless against seeing through the regularly occurring fogs. Their furry tails are strong enough to keep the Lautro's weight, as it stays coiled around a branch and keep the whole body suspended under the branch, while the animal sleeps, with it's wings wrapped around themselves. They have two major relatives. The Bastyt, a much larger and more colorful animal, that lives in the darker sections of the foliages. Their eyesight deteriorated, while their echolocation developed more. They can't make the whistling sound, but they can use ultrasound instead. There's also the Kalobea, a very large and lazy scavenger in the regular forests and plains to the north. The Kalobea's neck elongated, allowing it to dig deep into the carcasses. They use the diseases stuck on their neck as form of self-defense, until they wash themselves in a lake. In case the neck disease is not available, they can also use their powerful jaws, capable of easily breaking human bones. The Kalobea doesn't rely on echolocation, but more on their exceptional sense of smell. While their wings aren't useless, their bodyweight is much greater, thus they're not capable of flying.