Animals of Rathnir and Eldham

The Animals of Rathnir and Eldham (full title: Catalogue of the Animals of Rathnir and Eldham: A Worldwide Bestiary for Worldwide Use) is a compendium written by Dr. Tara Sauranis containing all known and referenced extant animal species of Rathnir and Eldham. Its first edition was initially published on February 9th, 2022.

Links are provided for all organisms that have wiki pages.

Introduction
Dear reader,

''It brings me great pleasure to see those across the world who take enjoyment in learning about wildlife. I have dedicated my life's work towards researching our natural world, often to the brink of death. Here, I hope that this book will transport you across the world from the safety of your home, library, or wherever else you prefer to read.''

''This book is organized phylum-by-phylum, with the exception of Phylum Chordata- the vertebrates and their kin. They're separated by class. The rest of the book is divided by "clades of convenience". While not properly scientific, they make the reading and writing much easier and more organized for the editors and casual readers. It's a necessary sacrifice, in my opinion. Some families, orders, and the like presented in this book are in effect in high-brow academia; others are simply folk taxonomies.''

''And now, without further ado, I present the animals of the world. Happy exploring!''

''-Dr. Tara Sauranis''

Phylum Arthropoda
The largest phylum; however, most species are undocumented. Contains many-limbed animals with exoskeletons.

Spiders
Varnian Cave Spider (Theraphosa blondi)

Varn Torum-native spider that dwells in caves.

Crustaceans
Acamtemicti (Megaluca terrestris)

Insects
Murder Ant (Gigaponera horibillis)

Parasitic Silverfish (Paralepisma montroigensis)

Silverfish that can hijack mammalian nervous systems. Responsible for the Montroig Silverfish Plague.

Mallean Wasp (Vespaculex malleus)

Ectoparasitic wasp, similar to mosquitoes. Native to Varn Torum. Spreader of Botan's pox.

Phylum Mollusca
Shelled animals bearing a mantle, radula, foot, and head.

Gastropods
Ranka Snail A

Ranka Snail B

Ranka Snail C

Ranka Snail D

Class Chondrichthyes
Cartilaginous fishes.

Sharks
Common North Shark (Prionace borealis)

Class Osteichthyes
Fish with true skeletons.

Saltwater Fish
Blue Snapper (Lutjanus caeruleans)

Commonly called Lûtjian by Aurlûnoren fishermen, this fish is the type species of the Lutjanus genus. It is a prized yet common shallow-water fish, commonly consumed by all classes and found readily in fish markets and the wild alike.

Sand Grouper (Epiniphelus arenatus)

Another commonly-eaten fish. This grouper has a sandy gray color with red splotches present in males. They are protogynous sequential hermaphrodites; they are born female, and may transition to male after reaching adulthood. Generally found in deeper water, they eat mollusks and crustaceans.

Red Dolphinfish (Coryphaena erythra)

A pelagic predatory fish, the Red Dolphinfish only comes to the shallows to spawn. Its fry live in the mangroves and seagrass beds before maturing and moving to the open waters of the Lothranis Sea. Favored culinarily for having a taste more similar to land meat than most fish.

Lothranic Puffer (Lagocephalus lothranicus)

Also known as the Rabbithead Puffer or Tutouhetun. Used by high-class chefs in making fugu for wealthier diners. In the wild, the pufferfish inhabits shallow waters and eats shellfish and crustaceans, including barnacles; they can be commonly seen around docks and even the bottoms of ships.

Brackish-water Fish
Nieden Salmon (Salmo folvas)

Freshwater Fish
Common Pike (Esox lucius)

Nieden Pike (Esox orientalis)

Nieden Common Carp (Cyprinius niedens)

Class Amphibia
Tetrapods that metamorphose from aquatic tadpoles to terrestrial adults, with some exceptions.

Frogs
Mirimi Tree Frog (Walkeschia mirimensis)

Tree frog native to the redwood forests of Nieden. Genus name derived from the Asteri word for frog, "Walkesch".

Wolf Frog (Lupobatrachus orientalis)

Predatory, ground-dwelling large toad native to Nieden.

Ashren's Bullfrog (Lithobates ashreni)

Great Bullfrog (Lithobates grandis)

A large Nieden-native frog.

Varnian Bullfrog (Lithobates gigantis)

An enormous member of the Lithobates genus, reaching up to three meters tall. Native of Varn Torum.

Salamanders
Giant Ambush Axolotl (Ambystoma suchis)

Class Reptilia
Group containing tetrapods with scaly skin. Technically includes birds.

Freshwater Turtles
Wolf Turtle (Chelydra veriaza)

Common Turtle (Emys familiaris)

Woodland Turtle	(Glyptemys silvensis)

Sea Turtles
Western Hawk Turtle (Buteochelys occidens)

Niedena Sea Turtle	(Caretta niedea)

Najer Giant Hawk Turtle (Parabuteochelys najeri)

Tortoises
Varmerii Tortoise	(Agrionemys varmerii)

Lizards
Slender Desert Lizard (Alatosaurus naturalis)

A wild ancestor of the Winged Lizard. Native to Mirau's drier regions.

Winged Lizard (Alatosaurus morgrendi)

An artificially-created feral species of lizard, created from Slender Desert Lizards and Sandgrouse. Found in Mirau.

Snakes
Canebrake Viper (Agkistrodon striatus)

Also known as Woolmouths for their characteristic pale mouth, the Canebrake Viper is a deadly venomous snake found in the freshwater parts of the Nir swamps. It is venomous, and can easily kill a large humanoid. It eats mostly fish, as its genus name Agkistrodon means "fish-hook tooth". It is a dull grey-green color with stripes, and has a diamond-shaped head.

Crocodilians
Short-Nosed Alligator (Alligator brevirostris)

Eudraconidae
Avalof Sawtail (Serratocauda avalofensis)

Bonsai Dragon (Parvidraco arborens)

Niedean Nightdragon (Noctidraco niedeae)

Phoros Maned Dragon (Lophodraco phorosensis)

Serrona Windrider (Euruvehor serronae)

Silver Dragon (Lophodraco argyrus)

Onthukhan Imperator Dragon (Onthukhanax rex)

A large species of eudraconid native to Mirau and the rest of Onthukhan measuring up to five meters in both length and wingspan. Being a large-bodied predator, it is one of the most feared predatory animals of central Eldham; however, they tend to live away from settlements, and prefer to eat fish, wild game, or livestock instead of humanoids.

The Imperator Dragon mates for life, forming tight bonds with its partner. Their nests are built in hillside caves or rock nests, keeping their eggs warm with embers generated by the mother's fire breath. Mother dragons protect their hatchlings fiercely, and will feed them by regurgitating partially-digested prey until they are old enough to fly and hunt on their own. Like other dragons, they will still however engage in cannibalism, with older dragons eating younger ones that aren't their own offspring.

Wyvernidae
Daelryan Wyvern (Wyvernis helmicus)

Lesser Wyvern (Wyvernis communis)

Northern Kaladinian Bloodserpent (Sanguidraco kaladinensis)

Apterodraconidae
Andorn Lindworm (Ophidophysis borealis)

Aurlûnoren Lûn (Ophidophysis aurlunensis)

Great Western Sea Serpent (Eudeus occidens)

Guojiang Weaseldragon (Paraophidophysis musteloides)

Nebskoslavian Lindworm (Vermisaurus elongatus)

Oceanum Sea Serpent (Eudeus maritimus)

Phagosian Sea Serpent (Thalattophis phagosus)

Tortugan Sea Serpent (Thalattophis tortugae)

Class Aves
Birds.

Fowl
Hafen's Chicken (Gallus hafencus)

Parrots
Jeannes' Parrot (Septentripsitta jeanneum)

Raptors
Escharian Eagle (Aquila escharia)

Solarii Eagle	(Aquila solarii)

King's Hawk	(Buteo rex)

Western Hawk	(Buteo occidens)

Black-Tailed Hawk (Buteo vastallosus)

Crested Falcon (Falco cristatus)

Maerun Falcon (Falco maerunensis)

Sandywood Eagle (Harpagornis harenolignensis)

Black Osprey (Pandion atratus)

Found across Rathnir, but the Nir Swamps have some of the highest osprey population densities. Also found extensively in Nieden's swamps. The abundant fishes of the swamps allow these birds to exist in high numbers, and their calls can be heard from all corners of the wetlands.

Seed-eating birds
Boulder Pigeon (Columba niedenensis feralis)

Messenger Pigeon (Columba niedenensis mercuricus)

Flute-Song Finch (Cuiczalli saltator)

Bunch Sparrow (Passer fasciculum)

Waterbirds
Golden Sea Swallow (Chrysornis maritimus)

Speckled Ibis (Eudocimus canescens)

A common, long-billed bird with a diet of worms and subterranean arthropods. They can be seen in small groups, probing the sand and mud for their food. They have a splotched grey and white pattern, but juveniles are a distinct "woody" brown.

Northern Egret (Egretta syltora)

A small, white bird with a long neck. Its name comes from the Fornoisan word aigrette, a diminutive of aigron, "heron". It prefers to eat small fish, and hides in the mangroves away from larger birds.

Guojiang Cormorant (Nannopterum littorum)

Red Spoonbill (Platalea rubra)

The spoonbill is a bird that specializes in eating small crustaceans in the water column. As such, the pigments of its prey turn its feathers a bright pink- on other diets, the bird turns a snowy white.

Western Tropical Booby (Sula occidens)

Class Mammalia
Tetrapods that produce milk and have hair.

Bats
Forest Bat (Silviopteryx communis)

The Forest Bat is Rathnir's most common microchiropteran. They feed on the abundant insects at night.

Foxes
Hampo Fox (Vulpes rufus hampoensis)

The most common canid in the Nir swamps, the fox preys upon the abundant bird and rabbit population. As its name suggests, the fox's range extends far south into Hampo Province, as well as the rest of Nir and Tamaka.

Wolves
Escharian Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus eschariae)

Niedena Wolf (Canis lupus niedenensis)

Southern Forest Wolf (Canis lupus silvaustralis)

Dune Wolf	(Canis lupus isaverii)

Royal Wolf	(Canis lupus rex)

The wolves of Varn Torum are ferocious pack hunters that rule the tundra, the forests and the plains. They are known as King Wolves or Royal Wolves, for they are significantly bigger than the wolves of elsewhere and fairly smarter, and their colours vary a lot more, ranging from snow white to leafy green to the golden shine of wheat and tall grass. They are the bane of shepherds and their flock, travelers and traders, for they are bold enough to even attack armed caravans when in big enough packs. Strangely enough their main source of food is not sheep nor travelers but different kinds of trolls, which is the main believed reason of why they got so big and so smart when compared to other species of wolves. Their eternal war and arms race against the trolls of Varn Torum is known as The War of Elewhere. They seem to be immune to the deadly effects that eating raw troll meat, albeit they have been seen many times throwing pieces of troll meat at fires then waiting for it to extinguish itself naturally then coming back to eat the carbonized flesh. It seems they really enjoy it.

Some ambitious dwarves in the distant past used these royal wolves as deadly mounts of war and legitimate companions for life.

Cats
Pard	(Panthera leopardus)

The pard is a feline native to the many forests of Eldham. It is the natural enemy of both the Royal Wolves and Forest Wyverns, for it competes with for prey with both, albeit in different ways. Juvenile Royal Wolves, still not big and strong enough to hunt their preferred prey, the troll, gather together in small, three member packs to hunt relativelly small game, like deer or elk, and practice hunting tactics. In this juvenile form they compete with the pard, who uses ambush tactics to get its prey. The forest wyverns are considered to be opportunistic scavengers, for they fly into the battlefield between a pard and a pack of royal wolves to snatch their prey, not alert to attacks from above, right under their noses. This three way competition makes it so that the pard population is never high, for they struggle to feed their young. As such, they are considered very rare and it is a good omen to spot one.

Legends say that the breath of a pard upon waking up is so sweet that it attracts every animal around to its den, including sentient species like dwarves or humans, but the pard is so good natured that it licks the wounds of the incomers and lets them be without taking advantage of the situation to eat. In contrast the only animals that the sweet breath does not attract but actually drives off is the Forest Wyvern, although it is debated if other dragons would suffer the same effect. It is as such that the pard is often is considered an omen for good, whereas the Forest Wyvern became known as an omen for evil.

Syltör Tiger (Panthera tigris boreoccidens)

The largest mammalian predator on the continent of Syltör. The Tiger is rare, but feared, and eats mostly deer and other large animals. Unlike most felids, it is quite at home in the water, and tigers often prey upon alligators.

Whales
Moon Whale (Kogia leviathus)

Skjoldish White Whale (Apatocetus alba)

Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphin (Turisops truncatus)

Found in most warm waters of both Rathnir and Eldham. In the Ha Anga Bayou, dolphins occasionally use the shallow waters to hunt for fish and mollusks to eat. Some local pods have been seen using the inlets in the swamps to corral fish into a single spot for easy feeding.

Deer
Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus leuconurus)

Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus zarosavisa)

Horse Deer (Odocoileus hemippus)

Also known as Mule Deer.

Nieden Common Elk (Cervus escharicus)

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Nieden Moose (Alces alces niedenensis)

Caprids
Goats and sheep.

Swamp Sheep (Ovis aceras hunshuiensis)

Moss Ram (Ovis bryophagus)

Old World Monkeys
Alsu Baboon (Papio kauhus)

Muda Baboon (Papio mudas)

Kenard's Swamp Monkey (Kenardopithecus angroviridis)

Rodents
Fox Squirrel (Setonix vulpes)

The fox squirrel native to Varn Torum is a tree canopy dwelling marsupial that predates other small mammals. They are generally very friendly and can be used as pets... or food, depending on the person. They used to be hunting partners for the ancient dwarves that predated Varn Torum. More specifically they chased small game into the trees or burrows, killed them and brought them to the hunter, in exchange getting some of the meat back.