Willowhead

Artwork

Weight:
5,600lbs

The **Willowhead** (*Circafaucius salix*) is an original species created and designed by TheAgent41. The Willowhead inhabits the *The Hole* universe, an original universe created by TheAgent41.

## Appearance and Anatomy

The willowhead is a large, long-necked dipode with a long thick tail. Covered in a thick, gray, bulletproof hide with a wrinkled texture like that of an elephant, the willowhead is both the tallest and the heaviest known dipode in Achlys. True to its size, it is a powerful creature with few natural predators. The willowhead's body is supported by two powerful digitigrade legs with thick muscular thighs and calves. These legs end in thick white hooves that completely encircle the tips of its feet. These hooves, like those of other disaxupodes, are actually composed not of keratin but primarily of inorganic minerals incorporated into these hooves from certain foods consumed by the willowhead and the water it drinks.

Willowheads are named for the large cluster of muscular tentacles covering their heads. An adult willowhead generally has anywhere from 45 to 50 of these tentacles. These tentacles are prehensile and are capable of both powerful feats of strengths and delicate acts that require precision. Each tentacle contains approximately 100,000 separate muscle fascicles, making it extremely strong. The willowhead is capable of manipulating each tentacle independently, and there is substantial evidence that, like an Earth octopus, a large number of the willowhead's neurons are located in its tentacles, allowing each to move with some amount of autonomy. Each tentacle is also covered with sensitive touch and taste receptors.

The willowhead's mouth is located at the center of its tentacle cluster. This circular mouth is toothless and is incapable of chewing the flora it consumes. To compensate for this, the willowhead stomach has evolved to act like an Earth vertebrate's jaws, similar to the gizzard of a bird. Whereas birds need to swallow small stones to grind up food in their gizzards, the inner walls of the willowhead stomach are covered with small tooth-like projections made of the same material that makes up its hooves. The willowhead's stomach is constantly expanding and contracting, grinding up all matter consumed by the creature.

Like most Achlysian wildlife, the willowhead navigates by sensing the body heat of other organisms in its environment. However, whereas predators like bloodstriders have thermal pits that point more or less straight ahead to maximize depth perception, the willowhead has six thermal pits on its neck (three on each size) that point straight out, allowing the willowhead to keep watch of predators sneaking up on it from the side. That's not to say, however, that the willowhead can't "see" in front of it. Situated on either side of its mouth in the center of the tentacle cluster are extra forward-facing thermal pits used to detect the heat given off by the flora it consumes.

## Ecology

### Behavior and Intelligence

Willowheads were once thought to live largely in small family groups, and while it is true that they are a herding species, it has since been revealed that groups of willowheads, referred to as "canopies", are actually just groups of often-unrelated individuals that share resources and assist in raising each other's offspring rather than individuals who are close biological relatives. Because of this, individuals are free to come and go as they please, provided they do not attempt to hoard resources for themselves. Willowhead canopies are led by a single individual, usually the oldest member.

Willowheads are affectionate creatures; pairs of willowheads have occasionally been observed nuzzling each other's faces with their facial tentacles. It is thought that they do this as a way to gain information about another individual such as how old it is, whether or not it is sick, or whether or not they have met before. This is similar to how domesticated dogs sniff each other's anal glands. Adult willowheads seem to be more likely to nuzzle and/or investigate individuals that are either calves or familiar adults who have calves in the same canopy.

In regards to other species, willowheads are generally peaceful creatures, only attacking if provoked. If provoked by a predator, such as a pack of desert bloodstriders, a willowhead will protect itself either by using its tail as a bludgeon or by attempting to kick the predator with its powerful hooves. The adults of a canopy will usually form a near-impenetrable wall around young calves to protect them.

### Diet

Willowheads are herbivorous creatures with a diet consisting primarily of lobes from the tall floravites it lives near. These lobes give off large amounts of heat, which the willowhead detects using the two forward-facing thermal pits on either side of its mouth. Floravite lobes are often poor in nutritional value, which means the willowhead must consume hundreds of pounds of them per day. The willowhead strips the lobes from their stalks with its powerful facial tentacles, each of which can be manipulated independently. It is common to see a willowhead standing full-height next to a tall floravite, dozens of tentacles all working to feed the creature. Because they are unable to reach high lobes, willowhead calves feed mainly on a predigested lobe slurry secreted by their parents via their cloacas.

### Reproduction

Willowheads are monogamous creatures that mate for life. Despite the fact that willowheads are hermaphroditic creatures, only one adult out of each mated pair will become pregnant due to the massive amount of energy needed to go through a pregnancy. During the mating season, adult willowheads will attempt to find a mate either in their home canopy or other nearby canopies. If they find a mate whom they deem suitable, the two will engage in a mating battle involving their facial tentacles. This process, dubbed "entangling", is a fight/mating ritual hybrid in which each individual attempts to use their tentacles to tie their mate's tentacles into a knot. The "loser" of this ultimately harmless bout will undergo the pregnancy.

The willowhead gestation period is rather lengthy compared to most Achlysian creatures, lasting as long as 20 Earth months. During this period, the willowhead undergoing pregnancy will gain at least 600 pounds in preparation for birth. When the calf is born, it is incapable of walking at first but gains the ability after several hours. Willowheads have only been known to give birth to a single calf at a time.

## Trivia

* The scientific name *Circafaucius salix* loosely translates from Latin as "willow round throat." This name refers to the Earth species *Salix babylonica*, known more commonly as the weeping willow. This is due to the willowhead's numerous head tentacles, which were likened by the creature's discoverer to the hanging branches of the weeping willow tree.

## Gallery

Artwork