Ultrasauros-Scar Island

Ultrasauros Matteria

{Matthew's ultra-lizard] 90-110 feet long

One of the largest animals on Scar Island, and possibly one of the largest living land animals ever, Ultrasauros is a herd-dwelling herbivore. Living in groups of six to twenty animals, Ultrasauros grazes the upper layers of trees, often creating new paths through the dense jungle simply pushing aside thick stands of plant growth and trees.

Herds are led by a mature male, while immature males are kept from reaching full growth by pheromones released by the male. The females give birth to live young, which are able to walk within a few hours and are protected by the entire herd. Mature females leave the herd to join another, while maturing males remain with their herd, assisting in defense and eventually replacing the adult bull when he dies.

The main defense of the Ultrasauros is its sheer size. At one hundred plus feet in length, there is little that can challenge a full-grown adult whose roar can be heard from over 50 kilometers away. However, the young are more prone to be taken by predators, and the adults will defend them—either by rearing back and stomping with their massive forelegs or by whipping their tails around to bash an attacking foe.

Ultrasauros is a huge lizard-like dinosaur, with a long narrow neck, a long slender tail, a small head, and four column-like legs. Its skin is grayish and has the same general appearance as an elephant's hide.

The Scar Isle Ultrasauros is based on the Brachiosaurus.

Facts:

*Ultrasauros Matteri*, is an enormous, egg-laying brachiosaurid from Scar Island that is easily one of the largest animals on the island, descended from *Brachiosaurus altithorax*. It measures 80-100 feet long. A close relative also living on the island is *Acanthostegus*.

The largest animals on Scar Island, the mighty *Ultrasauros* are capable of reaching lengths of well over 100 feet. Their long necks allow these sauropods to browse foliage as high as 20 feet above of the ground and their massive bulk places full-grown *Ultrasauros* well outside the weight class of almost all of the island’s predators.

Though superficially similar to their extinct prehistoric ancestors, the *Ultrasauros* of Scar Island has developed several distinct features that allow them to flourish. Unlike sauropods of the Mesozoic era (as well as most other dinosaurs in general), they are capable of defending their nests, just one sentry at a time. The major physiological development is in response to the constraints of island living. A slower reproduction rate keeps the population in balance with the smaller habitat and fewer resources. Newborn and fast-growing young, able to walk within hours of birth, reduce juvenile mortality thanks to the security afforded to them by being able to move within the safety of the herd.
Young are cared for and protected by all other members of the herd, which can number between 6 and 20 individuals. Regardless of their parenthood, all members of the herd will share duties of protecting young from predators. As they mature, young females will leave to join other herds, while young males stay with the group to assist in any defense. The sheer size of the adults protects them from almost all of the island’s predators, but young are at risk from D. rexes and other large carnivores. With a single adult male leading each herd, younger males are inhibited from achieving full maturity by pheromones exuded by the lead male, ensuring he fathers all the herd’s offspring. Immature males, rarely achieving even the size of mature females, are therefore more likely targets for marauding D. rexes effectively decoys for the breeding stock of the herd.

*Ultrasauros* is the tallest herbivore on the island, browsing on the highest of branches at 55 feet above the ground, while the *Jubaeibatus* and other midsized herbivores browse on smaller trees that are typically 25 feet above the ground. Ceratopsians (namely *Falxoceras*) feed on the low shrubs, ferns, and grasses that grow 4.5 feet tall or shorter, and smaller plant-eaters (like *Pungerostegus* and certain flightless birds) feed around them at ground level (or at 10 feet above the ground); thus each herbivore species avoids competing with each other for food.
When the herd is separated during feeding, *Ultrasauros* communicate with one another by making loud roars and stomping signals that are transmitted through the ground over short distances and received by other members of the herd through the pads of their feet. Simple alarm combos can be easily transmitted by individuals feeding on the outskirts of the family group, alerting the entire herd to any danger. Apart from their size, the primary defense mechanism of an *Ultrasauros* is its strong tail. When threatened, a well-aimed swipe can wind or even injure an unwary predator.

The towering herbivores are also responsible for clearing old and new areas of forest growth in their quest for the most digestible food sources. Moving through the jungle between the open lands, families of *Ultrasauros* create game trails, clearing paths through the thick forest with their great strength.

Scar Island dung beetles will follow herbivores like these and eat their feces.

## Skeletal Structure

Sturdy skeletons support the great hulk of the *Ultrasauros*. Stocky legs with incredibly dense limb bones support the creature’s mass. Capable of running only for short bursts when threatened, they are not built for sprinting and, being so heavy, will tire quickly. The teeth are short and stubby, designed for tearing off pieces of vegetation. Stones in the gizzard aid digestion of foliage that is bulk-loaded and swallowed without being chewed.

## Relationship with *Kynigosaurus*

*Kynigosaurus* is the only predator species that actively will prey upon adult *Ultrasauros*. No other predator on the island, including the mighty D. rexes, can match the size of the prey they bring down. Packs split, certain members strategically revealing themselves to panic and stampede an *Ultrasauros* herd in a predetermined direction. Flankers take up the chase, molesting the giants onto a course they have selected; across dangerously broken ground, over bluffs, or into dead ends. Injury or death among the herd lays meat upon the *Kynigosaurus*’ table, rewarding their cunning with rich bounties of carcasses large enough to feed a pack for a week or more.

The crumbling pre-native ruins dotting Scar Island create unusual landscapes that *Kynigosaurus* learn to use to their benefit. Herding prey, such as *Ultrasauros*, down what must once have been streets and into cul-de-sac courtyards, hunting packs make use of the alleyways and channels between buildings to afford them ambush sites and parallel paths to outrun and outflank intended victims once a chase has begun. These tactics require fewer hunters to accomplish the same job. Broken ground and gulches created by the ruins make effective traps for *Kynigosaurus* to drive the prey into for slaughter.