Introduction: the "Terrible Lizards"

65 million years ago, an asteroid crashed into the world in what was known as the K-T event. this had mixed effects, but three main things arrived from it.

1.) mammals were able to establish dominance.

2.) the first 30 Draconequi were born from the resulting chaos

3.) the majority of dinosaurs died out

Now, it was established some time ago that birds are dinosaurs, but non-avian dinosaurs have clung to existence in parts of the world, competing with newer predators. some have feathers, others don't, but they all are still alive.

these posts will cover the known species of extant dinosaurs. they may be updated, so keep an eye out!

Basal Coelurosaurs are small carnivores related to creatures such as the Tyrannosaurs and Dromaeosaurs.

Interestingly, all the following species of Coelurosaurs (except the Gaw and Flesh Wiggle) can be tamed, and often make faithful pets.

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Flesh Wiggle

Above, a Neighpon Grendel, tormented by a severe infestation by the parasite Coelurohydrus ichneumon.

an unusual-looking Coelurosaur with an even stranger life cycle. The adults reproduce in giant sauropod carcasses so that the young will have plenty of food in the form of necrophagous insects. However, sometimes they can infect giant theropods if the latter feed on a carcass that's full of young Flesh Wiggles. The ones that avoid being swallowed may burrow into the predator's mouth, where they cause important damage to the jaws, teeth and soft tissues and may even cause death from blood loss or inability to feed. Sometimes, if the infestation is not too severe, the wiggle may pass from the theropod to a sauropod when the former attacks the latter unsuccesfully; in this case, they live most of their lives in the sauropod's body, burrowing into its skin and feeding on its flesh and blood until the sauropod's death, when they breed again.

Mountain Leaper

Native to the Crystal Mountains, the large brain of the mountain leaper coordinates its movements, and enables it to make swift judgments as it springs and leaps between the spires and crags of the mountain peaks, hunting the birds and small mountain mammals on which it feeds. Mountain leapers live in small packs, with the males undertaking all the hunting, and protection of the females and the young. When not hunting the male mountain leapers stand as motionless sentinels, guarding the females and the young of the pack. On bright days the pack may sun itself on the open slopes, at which time it is vulnerable to attack.

Dingum

Native to Hosstralia, the dingum creeps through the grasses of the hot, central plains, hunting small mammals, reptiles and insects in the dry tussocks. Suddenly a dark shadow sweeps across as a hunting bird hurtles down from the sky. In an immediate reaction, the dingum arches its back and dips its head. A fin of skin supported by struts of bone springs up from its curved back and presents a gaudily colored sail to the attacker, a sudden burst of garish color against the drab grasses. The crest on the back of the head pops up a frill of spines, each one poisonous enough to kill a large attacker. The bird breaks off its attack, instinctively knowing that these colors mean danger and death, and flies away to seek easier prey.

The dingum is small for a dinosaur, measuring only about a 3 ft. long. It is a meat-eater but occasionally eats small poisonous plants. The dingum itself is immune to the poison which is then concentrated in the spines at the back of the head and used in defense. The female is quite a different animal, however, having neither poison spines nor sail. It is much larger than the male and has a more conventional coelurosaur shape. It is more secretive in its habits, avoiding predators by not being conspicuous.

The dingum's complex mating and nesting ritual begins during the wet season. The male begins to build its nest from clay and the half-built nest is used as a display arena while it courts a female. After mating the couple continue to build. By the dry season, the nest is completed, with the female walled up inside incubating the eggs while the male hunts food. In the next wet season when the eggs have hatched, the male stands guard at a newly enlarged nest entrance while the female hunts.

Apesaur

A Therizinosaur-like native to Skull Island, the apesaur has developed a long tongue, similar to woodpecker's tongue, which is used to pick bugs. It has also a extremely powerful claws which are very useful to defense, attack and to break termite mounds; it use their claws to make a curious ritual which resembles the flapping of a wings. The objective of this behavior is to intimidate opponents and the predators.

These creatures live alone or in small groups with no more than 3 members (always a mom with their babies). Males develop a little crest of black feathers over the eyes during the mating time and they fight with other males. A common result of these combats is the death of one of the males, but the winner still needs to "dance" for the females in a lek.

ARBROSAURS

these tree dwellers are widespread around the world, but are often restricted to areas low in bird species of a certain type.

Nauger

Native only to the Northern stretches of the Everfree that border the Crystal Tundra (aka whee there are few woodpeckers, the nauger is perfectly adapted to its purpose of drilling into solid wood. The teeth grow only at the front of the jaw and are directed forward, each one lending support to the one before. Those at the very front bear the brunt of the pecking force. When they wear out or break, they are replaced by more teeth growing in from behind. The neck joint is very strong, protecting the back of the skull and the brain and giving support to the heavy neck muscles needed for the constant rapid pecking. The second finger of the nauger is remarkable, being about as long as the forearm. It is used for poking down burrows and winkling out the larvae of the wood beetles on which the arbrosaur feeds. A hooked claw at the end secures the catch.

Pangaloon

Native to Cocordia, the pangaloon, which is evolved from an arbrosaur that has reverted to a ground-dwelling way of life, has redeveloped a scaly armor from masses of protofeathers fused together. The pangaloon has a long sticky tongue which it extends into ant burrows. The dense scaly armor of the pangaloon is not a protection against ants but guards against attacks by predatory reptiles that live on the tropical forest floor. The pangaloon is a slow-moving animal and unlike its relatives, it cannot take refuge in trees. When it is threatened, the pangaloon can curl the paddle-shaped tail beneath its body to protect its soft under parts from the stings and biting jaws of the large ants.

Flurrit

Most arbrosaurs are able to leap great distances from branch to branch and from tree to tree, in order to look for more prey. The flurrit of Manechuria evolved its gliding habit from these beginnings. Lacking proper muscles or even primitive primaries, flaps of skin, or patagia, between the forelimbs and the body, developed and became aerodynamic structures. These do not allow the animal literally to fly but they enable it to glide from one tree to another. The flurrit's glide path has an angle of descent of about 45 degrees which can be controlled to some extent by the positions of the arms. When not in use the patagia fold away against the animal's sides and do not interfere with its hunting. Like the other arbrosaurs, it feeds mainly on insects which it catches by winkling them out of their tree burrows with its long fingers. The flurrit is very small, its body and head being about 1 ft. long. The underside of the wings has a very bright pattern, invisible when the wings are folded, and this is used for display and intimidation.

PSEUDODROMAEOSAURS

large, predatory pack hunters.

Jaggi (Jaggi, Jaggia, Great Jaggi)
Great Jaggi and two Jaggi
a Jaggia, her eggs, and two Jaggi.

found in various temperate regions, in the juvenile stage, Jaggi attack in packs led by a Great Jaggi. Once a Jaggi reaches maturity, they will leave the pack to lead a new one by defeating another pack's dominant male. Once they do those, they claim the title 'Great Jaggi'. While male Jaggi go out to hunt, the females, Jaggia, stay near the nest. Their meat is lean and protein-rich, and they are often preyed upon by larger predators.

Despite their small size, and relatively timid behavior when alone, Jaggi are know to be quite bold and fearless when in groups ( and sometimes even in pairs) when confronting threats.

The Jaggi is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the Great Jaggi can only be male. The creature can summon its pack by a loud roar. As the Great Jaggi is much larger than its brethren, it can take on larger prey with relative ease. Its large frill is a sign to show that he is the leader of the pack. It can also serve to scare away potential competitors, as it may make the beast look bigger than it actually is. The barbs on its powerful tail serve as a formidable weapon when hunting prey, fighting against hunters or as a defense against other monsters. Another powerful weapon is its huge claws, which can easily slice through herbivore flesh. The most defining trait a Great Jaggi is its frills which are used for both threat and mating displays.

Baggi

Unlike Jaggi, which live only in temperate and desert climates, Baggi are adapted to the frigid climate of the Tundra of Mustikk. They also have special organs that produce sleep-inducing materials which, when mixed with saliva, can tranquilize most anything, meaning an easy meal. Their blue scales help them to blend in with the icy terrain and blizzards of the Tundra , and also to ensure the success of a sneak attack on prey. They nest mainly in caves close to the gathering spots of food sources, but they are opportunistic carnivores that eat any source of meat available, including fish, insects and carrion.

Once fully grown, Baggi leave the pack to start a new one or to usurp another's, if successful, they attain the title "Great Baggi". Great Baggi are extremely territorial, defending their nests from anything except the stronger monsters of the Tundra. Unlike its relatives it appears that both male and female Baggi are able to become Great Baggi.

Wroggi
Female
Male

Found in Equus' swamps, Wroggi are pack hunters lead by an alpha female, called the Great Wroggi. Being pack hunters, they are highly intelligent and use teamwork to take down prey many times larger than they are.

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They have sacs in their throats that produce a deadly poison.

Draggi

Native to Concordia, Great Draggi are the alpha leaders of the Draggi, recognized by their axe-like crests. They can spit a corrosive acid that weakens any and all in their path.

Naggi

Found in Equus' deserts, the Naggi are nocturnal, and have a venomous bite

Cutlasstooth

a native of Tapiri, the cutlasstooth's dental arrangement is unique among Coelurosaurs. The first tooth of each upper row is a long, curved slashing weapon. Those behind it are continually growing. Once the front tooth is broken and discarded there is another to take its place.

The jaws of the cutlasstooth can open remarkably wide, so that the lower jaw is well away from the cutting teeth when the heavy head is thrust downwards in the slashing stroke. The undersides of the large teeth are serrated and work against the lower teeth as carnassial (meat-shearing) blades for ripping and chewing flesh when the animal is eating. When hunting, a pack of four or five can inflict deep bleeding wounds on the flanks of their prey, and then wait until it bleeds to death.

MONKEY LIZARDS

Native to Skull Island, Sauropithecus is an extremely successful genus of arboreal theropod, found throughout the rainforests of the island. Since their initial discovery in the 1920's more than a 22 species of Sauropithecus have been identified. There is some debate over how many species are actually valid, and many of the species named before the advent of genetic analysis may prove to simply be subspecies rather than true species.

These creatures are, as their name suggests, rather monkeylike. They have short lizard-like faces with large forward facing eyes. The body is covered in protofeathers which, while variable in thickness and color, always cover the body everywhere but the hands, feet, and face. The hands and feet have four digits which are slightly curled to aid in climbing. The tail, which is nearly twice as long as the body, is lizard-like and flexible and can help support the animal's weight when the hands are busy manipulating food. Some species have feathered tails and others have bare. Most species weigh roughly 4kg when fully grown.

The largest species, Sauropithecus maximus is 7kg. All species are omnivorous, although they all have a preference for fruit and seeds over other types of food. The teeth are mixtures of stabbing teeth, serrated teeth, and flatter teeth in the back of the jaw for masticating plants. Sexual dimorphism is present in all known species, males are always a fair bit bigger than females and compete over females by chirping and using display structures such as dewlaps, inflatable throat pouches, and vividly colored bushy tails. This genus is a common prey item of the Skull Island eagle.

2926103 Yeah... Flesh Wiggles are... fairly interesting.

the best ones, as far as pets go, would be one of the Arbrosaurs. sure, they're basically birds, but still!