Djihauti

The Djihauti is an organism that is perhaps best described as an animal that does not seem comfortable in its own body. Despite a somewhat antelope-like appearance, it has neither the style, nor the grace (though it has a funny face). When it walks, it seems like the single, huge frontleg is simply way too long for its hindlegs to catch up, leading to an awkward gait where the organism can seemingly only move by slowly inching its way forward. Instead of a gracile ungulate, its methodical, tank-like movements remind one more of a crab than anything else. 

Catching a djihauti then, whether you be a predator or naturalist, would then seem like an easy task. Just grab it by the neck like a duck and walk off with it. But in reality you would be eating dust before you even laid a single finger on it. Everything about Mars is deceptive, including its wildlife. Djihauti is the embodiment of Sun Tzu’s maxim of needing to appear weak when you are strong and its strengths are only revealed through careful observation. Marvel at its extraordinarily long neck, with which it gazes high above the savannah vegetation. Its double head-crest is studded with multiple eyes on both sides, which are asynchronously replaced one at a time, so that it never loses its large field of vision. Its large antennae can pick up even minor smells and vibrations in the air. This creature can sense you coming long before you are even aware of its presence. 

And when you do manage to sneak up on it, it will pull its greatest trick. The long forelimb, which at first glance seemed like a liability, will suddenly catapult the whole creature high up and far into the air like a vaulting pole. The hindlegs will catch it again on the ground and the creature will continue bounding forward with all three limbs like a mad mix of rabbit and pogo-stick.

When not concerned with evading predators, djihauti lead rather unassuming lives. Inhabiting the Hellas savannah, they largely feed on tall-growing vegetation, such as scale-tree-needles, which they strip off with their beak-like jaw. Between the jaw-joint and the eye-prongs, the skull is strangely elongated and dissection has revealed that inside this tube-like part lies a rasping tongue which apparently helps grind up the food against a roughened palate. Unlike some of their extinct relatives, all modern onychognaths lack true teeth, so this arrangement seems to have evolved as a replacement for molars. After the grind, the bolus is swallowed and digested in the large gut which gives this animal such a barrel-chested appearance.

Djihauti are gregarious and seem to have evolved various forms of visual communication. Most obvious is the stretch of skin that spans between the two eye-crests. They are able to change its colour from a mild blue to a deep violet, though the exact meaning of this signal is so far unknown. When in groups, djihauti rotate their head a lot, like flagposts, which may be a way for them to better flaunt their skull-sail. Also prominent are the long, ribbon-like scales which grow off the animal's back almost like a feather-wheel. Although a role in thermoregulation has been proposed, most  signs point towards it being a pure display feature used during mating. 

Djihauti like associating with ushabtis, often browsing together. Ushabtis are much taller than djihautis and therefore even better at spotting dangers at far-out distances, so this relationship likely evolved as a form of protection. Ushabtis can also reach into taller canopies and the tripods like feeding on the debris that falls onto the ground when the bipeds rip out leaves and branches from trees. Djihauti can in turn emit a loud warning call with their spiracles when sensing danger, so the benefits from this relationship may be mutual. On the other hand, ushabtis do not seem to care much about their neighbours' wellbeing. Juvenile ushabtis can sometimes be observed using djihauti as "playthings", violently kicking and tossing them around with no warning or just generally bullying them. It is possible that this behaviour is caused by hormonal changes in the youngsters that lead to aggressive behaviour that needs to be vented. Djihauti in turn have no qualms about scavenging the corpses of dead ushabtis (or other animals in general), despite being herbivores. One has to make use of every resource available if one is to survive on this and other worlds.