Icefisher (SciiFii)

The icefisher (Decipulaformus mareglacius) is a species of large, mostly-quadrupedal bird with a gray and white plumage and a short tail. The icefisher originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced across the world. The icefisher is one of the only living members of the Decipulaforminae subfamily, which are most closely related to a widespread subfamily Carduelinae. The icefisher is about 23-24 inches (58-60 centimeters) in length. Unlike most birds, their flexible weight-bearing wrists with two-clawed fingers replace the rest of their forearms and it lacks the ability to lay hard-shelled eggs, it instead gives true live birth similarly to mammals and some non-mammal synapsids. The icefisher has been greatly modified physically and somewhat behaviorally from most birds; a stocky animal, it is not a fast runner, instead built for burrowing and feeding on carrion and small animals found underground. 70-120 lbs in weight, this species is much larger, more robust, and thicker-feathered than many of its relatives and is specialized to spend its entire life out on the sea, but is able to adapt to inland life. They have long, plush feathering and a shorter jaw than others which is more covered by plumage; the beak is short but bulbous and sharply hooked with well-developed serrations, and the feet are partially feathered. Icefishers have some tool use, well-developed but highly specific and, in areas away from human contact, based almost exclusively on bone tools and tendon nets and lines, but utilizes man-made tools, nets, and lines in areas with little and many human contact. They primarily feed on fish and many marine reptiles that live in the ocean. In the polar environments, the only way to procure food is by puncturing holes in the ice to fish or ambushing cold-tolerant marine reptiles as they surface to breathe. They are relatively solitary but do not have the aggressive, innate territoriality of their close relatives, and they have some cultural transmission and a wide array of vocal languages. Adult males in the wilderness spend much of their time alone but develop bonds with two to three females and will visit and help provide for their offspring. Wild mothers and female offspring, or same-sex siblings, may live together for many years, and adolescent males will sometimes leave with their fathers near adulthood and so learn from them for a period before settling into their own territory. Conflict avoidance is preferred instead of fighting, and their temperament can be described as gentle and even shy. The icefishers living in human-dominant environments are more social and readily adapts to behavioral changes in order to be accepted by human civilization. The conservation status of the icefisher is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the icefisher's wide range and its tolerance to many of the humans, including being able to work and live alongside other sapient species such as humans.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii