| Truteal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | Terebradens tubauris | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Mammalian | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Non-Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Northern Continent | ||
| Habitat | Forest ground | ||
| Diet | Worms and insects | ||
| Locomotion | Quadruped | ||
| Related species | Tree Drummer (distant relation) | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | After Man | ||
| Created by | Dougal Dixon | ||
| Designed by | Dougal Dixon | ||
The Truteal (Terebradens tubauris) is a small, nocturnal, insectivorous mammal which lives in the temperate forests of Earth about 50 million years in the future. It's a member of the shrews lineage and a relative of the arboreal Tree Drummers, but has developed unique morphological adaptations.
Truteals are blind and completely eyeless. They have evolved a beak-like structure formed from the elongated upper and lower incisor teeth. At night they forage in the undergrowth, feeding on earthworms and other invertebrates. Their bodies are covered in pale fur and they have incredibly-developed ears and sensory whiskers. Due to a set of specialized muscles, their ears are capable of changing shape, rolling into the shape of a trumpet and being pressed onto the ground to locate the sounds of burrowing worms and insects.
Appearances[]
- After Man: A Zoology of the Future, by Dougal Dixon (1981)