Height/length:

• Male – 3.5 – 4.5 ft at the shoulder/5 – 8 ft
  
• Female – 3 – 4 ft/4 – 6.5 ft
  Weight: 600 - 1100 lb
  Diet: Omnivore
  Location/Habitat: Oases, marshes, and coastlines
  Reproduction: Ovoviviparous, two sexes

Nauffa are a common prey animal in Prithvian wetlands. They are one of the few true mammals on Prithvi, as they are warm-blooded and nurse their young.They are covered in a thin layer of very fine hair, giving them a texture similar to suede.

Nauffa travel in herds of various sizes. Most comprise of one adult male and several females. A male's only jobs are to reproduce and protect his herd. Females are tan and brown in color with no markings, while males have brighter fur with bold dark and white markings. This serves many purposes: attracting mates, warning rivals and predators, and distracting attention from females and offspring. Both sexes are equipped with six to ten quills on their rumps, with the males' being far longer than the females'. Both sexes also have tusks on their bottom jaw, but males also have long, pointed cheekbones. Males will use them by thrashing their heads sideways into rivals and predators. When confronted with a predator, females generally hide and lie on top of their offspring, while males will charge or back into the attacker.

Perhaps the nauffa's most distinctive feature is its snout. Nauffa are rarely found far from water. They use their shovel-like snout to dig up plant bulbs, seeds, shellfish, and other animals buried in the mud or sand. Their teeth reflect their diet as well. They are large and rounded to crack shells and casings and grind harder materials until they can be safely swallowed. Their tongues are also somewhat calloused to prevent them from being cut on jagged shell pieces.

 

Bulls impregnate cows through traditional insemination. Eggs are fertilized within the female's body, after which a coating of tissue will form around the embryo, solidifying to a gel-like substance as it grows. Two to five eggs are fertilized at once. Near the end of the pregnancy, the embryo will absorb the nutritious "shell". Once it is gone, the female will give birth. Egg mortality rates are surprisingly low, but calves are easy prey for most predators.

Most female calves will stay with the herd for their entire lives, but males will be forced to leave or challenge the patriarch upon reaching sexual maturity. Some brothers leave their parental herd and start their own together, but fighting is common until all but one have either left or been killed.

There are two species of nauffa: inland and coastal. The inland species occupies marshes and grassland oases; the coastal combs the shorelines. Inland nauffa are far more common, and noticeably larger than their coastal relatives. Males of the species are easily distinguishable. Inland bulls are a deep rust red color with bold black markings on the back, shoulders, and legs. Coastal bulls are a more golden color with brown markings similar to the inlands' black ones, but lack those on the neck and shoulder. The quills of inland nauffa are longer and straight, with the final pair being the longest. The coastal species has bent or curved quills, with the middle pairs being the longest. Females of the species are similar in size and color, but coastal cows have much lighter backs to camouflage with beach sand rather than mud. Due to a lack of plant life close to the ocean, coastal nauffa are more reliant on shellfish in their diet.

Nauffa of both species are commonly domesticated by sentient species. They are bred for their meat, milk, hide, and quills.

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Damn, I am on a roll! And we finally have an herbivore....kind of. I actually didn't make up a single feature on these guys. They're all taken from existing or extinct animals, and when put together, make something completely different.

Except.....actually the inspiration started with me playing with a clip magnet that had a shape similar to their snouts at my desk lol

And I finally got a gray colored pencil now so i can start working on the other herbivore I actually drew a couple days ago.

Nauffa, Prithvi, art © me