| Chiselhead | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | Tenebra vermiforme | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Sciurid | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Non-Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Northern Continent | ||
| Habitat | Coniferous forests | ||
| Diet | Xylophagous | ||
| Locomotion | Quadruped | ||
| Related species | Chirit | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | After Man | ||
| Created by | Dougal Dixon | ||
| Designed by | Dougal Dixon | ||
The Chiselhead (Tenebra vermiforme) is a small, worm-like, tree-burrowing rodent which lives in the cold coniferous forests of Earth's northern hemisphere around 50 million years into the future.
Biology[]
It's a highly modified descendant of modern squirrels, and possesses an elongated, almost tail-less body, strong mole-like forelimbs and extremely developed incisors which it uses to burrow deep within the wood of still-living trees. Its diet consists mostly of bark.
Every spring, the Chiselhead chooses a new tree and starts digging its labyrinthine system of tunnels and chambers, to hibernate during the winter. Unsurprisingly, the Chiselhead's activity ultimately results in death for the tree. Since it can only feed on live trees, it needs to move into a new one each year. This brief migration period is when they become most vulnerable to natural predators, whose action is essential to keep the Chiselhead population under control, as an increase in their numbers could easily lead to ecological disaster.
In the southern deciduous forests, where the weather is more inviting, the relatives of the Chiselheads have moved back to the outer branches and reverted to a form more similar to the ancestral squirrels, but keeping the elongated worm-like built. These creatures became known as the Chirits.
Appearances[]
- After Man: A Zoology of the Future, by Dougal Dixon (1981)