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
Light Eater (Phosophagus plagosus)

Varnian Cave Spider (Theraphosa blondi)

Varn Torum-native spider that dwells in caves.

Crustaceans
Acamtemicti (Megaluca terrestris)

Termincrawler (Inanis capere)

Voidcrawler (Inanis concitus)

Insects
Gardener of the Isle (Hortulanus insulae)

Murder Ant (Gigaponera horibillis)

Parasitic Silverfish (Paralepisma montroigensis)

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

Titan Bee (Apis major)

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.

Cephalopods
Short River Squid (Rotostomateuthis breviriparus)

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.

Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

Brackish-water Fish
Nieden Salmon (Salmo folvas)

Freshwater Fish
Common Pike (Esox lucius)

Nieden Pike (Esox orientalis)

Nieden Common Carp (Cyprinius niedens)

Marshfish (Palustrichthys arxellensis)

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

Toads
Mossland Wolftoad (Bufo nelondensis)

Bjebža Deathtoad (Bufo rapoha)

Wolf Frog (Lupobatrachus orientalis)

Predatory, ground-dwelling large toad native to Nieden.

Frogs
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.

Midnight frog (Ranitomeya gaelithox)

Mirimi Tree Frog (Walkeschia mirimensis)

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

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)

Chromatic Dragon (Chromodraco tetramorphus)

Gemstone Dragon (Mineralidraco crystallum)

Metal Dragon (Mineralidraco metallicum)

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)

Umbra Pseudodragon (Pseudodraconis umbra)

Often referred to as a "Darkdrake" by locals, the Psuedodragon is a small wyvern that hails from northern Valle but are most often found within the dark city Innercity of Skyreach. Having a classic shape of a small dragonoid, they are unique in that they possess the ability to camouflage within shadows or places lacking enough light, leading to their nickname among the locals. Friendly, if shy creatures, they have been observed to behave similar to Faeries, and have shown a limited inkling to use illusion magic, provided they within a dark place. These "Darkdrakes" have a pitch-black skin, phosphorescent yellow eyes, and have been noted to smoke when placed into a source of light; though it has been determined that sunlight itself does not harm them. Their diets consist of rats, birds, insects, but have been noted to predominately feed off of the latent magic present within Skyreach due to the Ley line source beneath it. While a nest has never found, it has been surmised from their population density that they take around a year to hatch, and can live up to around 350 years old, though no upper limit has yet been confirmed. The Darkdrake has domesticated by locals, most often spell casters and wizards as pets and familiars.

Apterodraconidae
Andorn Lindworm (Ophidophysis borealis)

Aurlûnoren Lûn (Ophidophysis aurlunensis)

Common Wyrm (Virmus trogolodytes)

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.

Ratites
Maasyr (Magnavis maasicum)

Fowl
Hafen's Chicken (Gallus hafencus)

Pygmy fowl (Gallus mallus)

Lesser Forest Hen (Nanogallus querciphilus)

Mico Fowl (Pavo micoa)

Parrots
Jumping Parrot (Anodorhynchus pigmeus)

Jeannes' Parrot (Septentripsitta jeanneum)

Raptors
Daelyrian Eagle (Aquila daelyricus)

Duskyan Eagle (Aquila duskyonensis)

Escharian Eagle (Aquila escharia)

Solarii Eagle (Aquila solarii)

Kastollian Hawk (Buteo kastollis)

King's Hawk (Buteo rex)

Western Hawk (Buteo occidens)

Black-Tailed Hawk (Buteo vastallosus)

Crested Falcon (Falco cristatus)

Maerun Falcon (Falco maerunensis)

Silver Giant Eagle (Haliaeetus megaargenti)

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.

Dragon-faced Owl (Phodilus draconum)

Ibean Raptor (Raptor Ibiens)

A small, highly intelligent raptor native to Yulara. The raptor commonly consumes desert and field mice for a diet, and sometimes even juvenile river serpents. Residents in the Ib region of Yulara use Ibean Raptors frequently as messenger birds due to the Raptor's ability to reach high air speeds when diving. The Raptor has a very strong sense of direction, making it a natural messenger bird. Ibean Raptors nest commonly in the branches of desert shrubs and in desert cliff crevices, where males partner for mates each year during mating season.

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)

Heliodusic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax heliodusionensis)

A large bird with a long bill first discovered in the Heliodusion region of Yulara, along the estuaries of the Epipia river. Despite its name, the Heliodusic Cormorant is common along much of the Yularan coastline. Its diet consists primarily of coastal fish. The Cormorant male has a more colorful plumage than the female in order to attract mates, and both sexes mate for life. Common nests are found along beaches, where eggs are wrapped in seaweed and downy feathers for nests. The mother cormorant incubates the eggs for 4-month period before hatching takes place. Maturity takes 1.5 years.

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
Black Pygmy Bat (Lophostoma negrisilva)

Forest Bat (Silviopteryx communis)

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

Bears
Vastallosi Panda (Ailuropoda vastallosica)

Maknerig Bear (Ursus geonis)

Glazica (Ursus maritimus burgamerensis)

Helmiedene Brown Bear (Ursus mostevski)

Foxes
Talawan Fox (Vulpes lagopus talawaus)

Field Fox (Vulpes malignos)

Orange Giant Fox (Vulpes megaluteus)

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.

Confuzzles Fox (Vulpes petarys)

Wolves
Escharian Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus eschariae)

Upper Khaset Jackal (Canis khaseti)

A black-skinned jackal native to the Upper Khaset region, in and around the city of Zar'Roc. These animals are solitary hunters, mostly scavenging from animals that have passed away from the desert heat. Occassionally, if food is scarce, these animals are known to attack residents due to desperation, though occurrences are scarce. Historically, accounts have described Jackals leading lost travelers to the city of Zar'Roc, earning them a sort of mythological reputation in the region. This is evidenced by multiple statues of the animal existing outside the Southern gate of the city.

Silver Wolf (Canis lupus argentum)

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.

Vastallosi White Wolf (Canis lupus vastallosus)

Natlas Wolf (Canis natlas)

Ravgaardian Dwarf Wolf (Canis parvus)

Cats
Lesser Darakeen Cat (Felis Darakeens)

A species of domesticated cat native to the Abaton, Khaset, Ib and Heliodusion regions of Yulara. Commonly found in the wild alongside river valleys and on rare occasion the Khaset and Abaton deserts themselves, the Darakeen Cat's diet largely consists of the hunting of other smaller mammals such as Desert Mice and river shrews. The species was domesticated at least as far back as 12,000 years ago, with engravings of cats seen amongst ruins found in and amongst Yularan archeological sites. Darakeen Cats were first named by the Drakkon tribe, named for their uncanny endurance during the desert summers, with their vitality compared to that of the demigod Darakon. These cats mate for periods of up to 2 years, and have a life expectancy of approximately 11 years depending on correct nurture by owners.

Ummarnu Wildcat (Felis ummarnus)

Eastern Mountain Cat (Leopardus bashais)

Wild Highcat (Leopardus catus signatus)

Long-tailed Savanah Cat (Leopardus mariorii)

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

A small jungle-dwelling cat native to the jungles of Vastallos. Name comes from from the Huitcan word ocelotl.

Short-legged Cat (Leopardus prionail)

Beauridine Snow Lynx (Lynx beauridinis)

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.

Vastallosi River Dolphin (Platanista essendae)

Bovines
Vastallosi Bison (Bison angustus)

Aurochs (Bos primigenius)

Mougar's Cow (Bos mougarii)

Cuahuacapra (Bubalus sanctus)

Camelids
Pygmy camel (Camelus pygmaeus)

Vastallosi Llama (Lama major)

Pygmy Llama (Lama minor)

Deer
Nieden Moose (Alces alces niedenensis)

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Nieden Common Elk (Cervus escharicus)

Helmian Deer (Cervus helmiensis)

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus leuconurus)

Jungle Stag (Odocoileus vastallosus)

Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus zarosavisa)

Horse Deer (Odocoileus hemippus)

Also known as Mule Deer.

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Caprids
Goats and sheep.

Bernese Ram (Capra berna)

Vastallosi Mountain Goat (Oreamnos vastallosus)

Dryland's sheep (Ovis drylandii)

Swamp Sheep (Ovis aceras hunshuiensis)

Forest Sheep (Ovis aceras occidens)

Moss Ram (Ovis bryophagus)

Equines
Donkey (Equus asinus)

Kelpie (Equus anura)

Eptaskia-Horse (Equus eptaskis)

Domestic Horse (Equus ferus)

High horse (Equus mougar)

Field horse (Equus minor)

Pigs
Noxnorri Boar (Choerus noxnorrensis)

Baykonian Pig (Sus baykonius)

Caiori's Pig (Sus caiorii)

A separate species of pig present in Vastallos. Little is known about it, but it is probably similar to S. quadra.

Common pig (Sus quadra)

The species of pig most commonly domesticated around Rathnir and Eldham. They are eaten by some individuals as food, and can be used as beasts of burden when other large mammals are absent. Despite their domestic status, common pigs are actually rather intelligent creatures, on par with or even exceeding dogs.

Hoglin (Sus vermisilvensis)

Similar to feral common pigs, but less intelligent and much bigger. Hoglins are brutish creatures, and will attack if one approaches them.

Lagomorphs
Jungle Hare (Lepus kawalapuensis)

Brown hare (Lepus kastanus)

Pinnipeds
Stormtusk (Odobenus tempestas)

Primates
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.

Yularan Desert Mouse (Mus solitudiens)

A common mouse found across both the Abaton and Khaset regions of Yulara. Their diet consists largely off of gnawing at the base of desert cacti. This diet provides basic nutrition including water and starch which the mouse can digest easily due to a very developed appendix. It is speculated that this enlarged organ developed due to the pressures of desert life and the frequent extreme heat in summer months. Desert mice are found to nest in the base of desert cliffs and in pockets of dunes in small burrows to escape heat, and during the winter nights, extreme cold. Desert mice are consumed occasionally on Yulara by natives as a delicacy, marinated in local spices and herbs.