Gold Fame Citrus (26 page)

See also: Wandering Joshua.

COLOSSUS VINEGAROON

Very similar to the Heirloom Vinegaroon (
Thelyphonus doriae hosei
), relative of the scorpion, whose venom will cause its victim to taste only vinegar. Principle difference is the Colossus Vinegaroon can grow as large as a dachshund.

Family:
Thelyphonidae
.

DUMBO JACKRABBIT

Easily identifiable by its enormous ears, which grow four to five times larger than the rabbit’s body and serve as a cooling system in the extreme heat of the dune sea. Unlike its herbivore relatives, the Dumbo Jackrabbit is an insectivore.

Family:
Leporidae
.

GRAVEDIGGER ANT

The predation strategy of this ant species is its burrow, a steep-sided funnel constructed in the troughs of dunes. The burrow is dug at an angle that causes prey—Land Eels, Colossus Vinegaroons, Jelly Scorpions and Woolly Chuckwallas—to perceive it as a safe trough until they are inside. The ant uses its front pincers to “fluff” the sand on the sides of its burrow, so that efforts to dig out result in collapse, entombing the prey and preserving it for the ant’s return.

Family:
Myrmeleontidae
.

GREATEST ROADRUNNER

Descended from the greater roadrunner, the Greatest Roadrunner can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour for sustained distances, making it the fastest creature on land. Its tremendous speed is likely a result not of predation—as in the ostrich—but of the enormous distances it travels between its feeding grounds at sand reefs.

Family:
Cuculidae
.

HUMMINGBIRD, ALBINO

A symbiote of the Blue Chupacabra, the Albino Hummingbird harvests the gnats that gather in the chupacabra’s mucus glands—eyes, ears, nostrils and sphincter. As was the case in the Arctic, albinism is an evolutionary advantage on the Amargosa Dune Sea, for purposes of camouflage.

Family:
Trochilidae
.

INCANDESCENT BAT

This keystone species nests in decomposing yuccas. Their bioluminescent abdomen is thought to be a communication system, perhaps to aid in finding mates at long distances.

Family:
Lampyridae
.

JELLY SCORPION

Hermaphroditic and translucent, this arthropod likely dissolved its exoskeleton over time, the gummy body being better able to survive sandalanches.

Family:
Thelyphonidae
.

LAND EEL

This augmented asp is completely covered in spines, which both protect it and serve as camouflage from predators—Stiltwalker Tortoise, Blue Chupacabra—which often mistake the asp for ocotillo. Chief territory is the leeward face (formerly northern Arizona) where ocotillo once flourished.

Family:
Atractaspididae
, possibly
Loxocemidae
.

LILLIPUTIAN RATTLER

Long mistaken for a common earthworm, this is the rattlesnake cousin of the blind threadsnake. Growing to a maximum length of only two inches, its rattle is the size of a shelled sunflower seed.

Family: Unknown.

MOJAVE GHOST CRAB

Like the Jelly Scorpion, the Mojave Ghost Crab has rebuffed its hard carapace—which does not regrow after first molt—with the exception of its superclaws (chelipeds, propodus, semisoft carpus), which less resemble typical crab claws with pinching chelipeds than a trough like that of a backhoe, which it uses to dig down to ephemeral aquifers (the subterranean counterpart to ephemeral rivers) and to the egg caches of Stiltwalker Tortoises and Land Eels, on which they feed.

Family:
Blepharipodidae
.

OLYMPIAN KANGAROO RAT

Another superlative creature of the Amargosa, the Olympian Kangaroo Rat can jump up to fifty feet. A subterranean burrow snatcher, Olympians squat in vacant or abandoned warrens of Burrowing Dwarf Owls and Gravedigger Ants.

Family:
Heteromyidae
.

OUROBOROS RATTLER

Nearly indistinguishable from the Mojave sidewinder, except by its form of locomotion. Rather than sidewinding with its characteristic “J” track, the Ouroboros Rattler inserts its own tail into its mouth and locomotes via axial revolution.

Family:
Elapidae
.

PARASITES
(Appendix B)

The parasitic population of the Amargosa Dune Sea is among the most resilient in nature. One example is the Common Bowel Worm, which, rather than attaching to intestine or stomach at a single fasten point, replaces the entire digestive tract, beginning at the esophagus and including rumen, omasum, abomasum, cecum, small intestine, large intestine, colon, rectum and anus. The Common Bowel Worm is just one of at least three dozen intestinal parasites of the dune sea that are capable of thriving within mammal, bird, reptile, rodent, insect or human.

RAINBOW CHUCKWALLA

A vegetarian relative of the Komodo dragon, this ectothermic basker is chromatophoric. Colors observed include black, pink, olive, yellow, turquoise, red and white. Notably, the Rainbow Chuckwalla’s color camouflage depends not on the environment but on its predators. For example, when encountering a troubling of Blue Chupacabras, the Rainbow Chuckwalla will turn golden yellow, a color the chupacabras cannot distinguish from the white of the dune sea.

Family:
Iguanidae
.

SAND CORAL

Composed primarily of zoanthids, polyps and feathery pinnules, Sand Coral feeds on microorganisms that consume saline and silica, though some larger formations do emit palytoxins, which they use to paralyze and decompose Sand Krill and Jelly Scorpions. Like sea coral, Sand Coral reproduce primarily through asexual gonads and secrete saline silicate underskeletons, which form reefs at particularly salty deposits, such as the Amargosa’s north-facing stoss slope, which is exposed to a megaconcentration of saline and fertilizer from California’s Central Valley. Vastly delicate, these sand reefs constitute the most diverse ecosystem in a dune and, after ephemeral rivers, sustain the most life.

Class:
Anthozoa
.

SAND KRILL

These shrimp-like creatures are actually members of the worm family. Found in large numbers on Sand Coral reefs, this keystone species not only feeds birds, lizards and rodents at the dune sea, but, most crucially, consumes sand that, upon excretion, provides sustenance for microorganisms.

Family:
Lumbricidae
.

SCORPION BEE

A stinging apiforme, likely crossed from Africanized honeybees and tarantula wasps; its most notable adaptation is its ability to regenerate its stinger after an attack. Extremely aggressive, and known to be fatal.

Family:
Pompilidae
.

STILTWALKER TORTOISE

The Stiltwalker Tortoise (also called the Dalí Tortoise) is named for its extremely long legs and neck, which grow six to ten times longer than those of a desert tortoise. These allow it to walk long distances without the dune baking its torso. The Stiltwalker’s adaptive behaviors are astounding. Due to the lack of conventional vegetation at the dune sea, it has become the only known species of tortoise that is a facultative carnivore. Because the Stiltwalker has yet to develop teeth conducive to the shredding of meat, it tucks carrion in its shell until decomposition renders it soft enough to eat. Stiltwalkers have been known to transport carrion for up to thirty days and hundreds of miles, depositing the bones and claws of their prey well beyond those species’ known range, a behavior that long baffled this researcher.

Family:
Testudinidae
.

TINE SHREW

A cousin of the pocket mouse, the Tine Shrew makes its home in the tines of cacti, where it suckles its large litters on tine glue.

Family:
Soricidae
.

VAMPIRE GRACKLE

It was initially believed that the Vampire Grackle’s sharp, proboscis-like beak was adapted to extricate the fruit of cacti. However, the bird—glossy red-black with a white bow tie—has been observed to use its beak, which can measure up to twice the length of its body, to extract the blood of mammals, chiefly the Dumbo Jackrabbit and the common coyote.

Family:
Icteridae
.

WANDERING JOSHUA

The myth of the wandering tree dates back to the Chemehuevi Indians and likely before. Botanists have widely dismissed the wandering tree as cultural legend. The “wandering” is made possible by the Joshua’s unique root system—a horizontal blazing star structure equipped with a double-thick taproot and a meristematic zone capable of sensing moisture. The taproot grows in the direction of water, while allowing roots growing in the opposite direction to atrophy, essentially dragging the plant toward water. Some wanderers can travel up to one hundred yards a day.