Falcatisuchus

Falcatisuchus armatus (armed sickle crocodile) is the only species of the genus Falcatisuchus of giraffapiscatorid, gomphiobian , dispeculate , belonging to the subfamily Placosuchinae. This species inhabits the rivers that run through the tropical jungles of the Media Insula continent, preying on others dispeculates through ambush tactics.

## Description

These "animals" can grow to reach 2.5 meters long and 70 centimeters high so they are not by far the largest predator in the region. This genus has the following characteristics:

-A moderately long neck covered in the dorsal part by bone plates.

-A shell composed of a series of compact bone plates that protect the dorsal and lateral sides of the animal, but not the ventral part.

-Four pairs of limbs inherited from the most primitive gomphiobians, although in this genus the fourth pair is vestigial and totally unusable for the animal. The hands and feet of the first three pairs have short (for the family), non-webbed fingers.

-A vertically flattened tail very useful for swimming, similar to that present in the genus Giraffapiscator .

-The head is also very similar to that of this last mentioned genus, since it is also composed of bone plates and has a dental plate curved downwards and a circular bowl-like mouth.

-The two characteristic tentacles of the family are also present in this genus but their bone projections are not sawn, but curved downwards.

   -The male individuals also have a kind of short, pointed horn at the top of the head, formed by an extension of the upper bone plate of the head. This horn has a very colorful green color and its function is probably the attraction of females and the intimidation of rival males.

-A series of receptors on the sides of the head to detect vibrations in the water, similar to those of the aforementioned genus Giraffapiscator.

-The breathing holes of this genus have been moved to a ventral position due to the evolution of the shell.

## Lifestyle

These animals spend the most of the day submerged in the river waters waiting for their prey, and only leave the water protected in the dark of the night. His most common hunting strategy is to remain motionless at the bottom of the rivers trying to go unnoticed and wait for another aquatic dispeculate to get close enough. When the prey is in range, they charge on it with a rapid tail movement and capture it with the bony projections of their tentacles with a downward movement. Later, using their dental plaque, they begin to chop the prey and eat it under water.

On other occasions they have also been seen near the shore of the rivers for long intervals waiting for some small animal to come to drink water to ambush it in a similar way to what the crocodiles of the Earth do.

Males are very aggressive among themselves and it is normal for them to compete and fight for territory and for the females. However, these struggles are usually not violent and usually consist of snorts and the display of their horns. During the mating season the males mate with all the females they can find and after this they completely disregard them. Females lay eggs in holes dug near the river bank and then abandon them. At birth the offspring do not have the developed shell of adults and are very vulnerable. They go immediately to the river where they will grow feeding on larvae of other dispeculates until they are large enough to ambush adults.

Despite their shell these animals throughout their lives will be very vulnerable to large predators in the area such as Daemonium , although the shell does protect them from predators of moderate size such as Sauromimus atkios. It is for this reason that they prefer to get out of the water only at night.