Welcome to the official thread of the Articelus. Now, what are Articelus? Articelus are night dwelling creatures from the rain forest. They are small, almost insignificant to the life of the forest. Unknown to few, and prey to even less, these secretive creatures have lived in the rain forests of the Caribbean region since before the natives, making them know the ways of the forest better than anyone, creating security, and the prospect of future generations.
This is Luminita, a rare albino Articelus, and the first to be discovered of the species.
Articelus are my original species, and as such, I am the only one allowed to make them. If I see anyone making some for, they will be reported for art theft.
About Articelus
Appearance
Small in size, Articelus appear to be a mix between hamsters and bats. Ears are large and round, making them capable of picking up the smallest of sounds, and their noses are leaf nosed, much like bats of the region, giving them amazing echo location abilities. Males range from 7 to 10 cm in size while females range from 5 to 7 and tend to weight from 10 to 25 grams. Like all bats, Articelus have narrower bones than most mammals, making their bones light, enabling their flight. Their wingspan helps in this however, seeing as how their wings are twice the size of the animal each.
Colors are far and many, however, they tend to keep a very earthy look to them, to blend with their surroundings. Their eyes are always black, or rather, almost always, as in rare cases have popped up of one of them having colored eyes. Their colors range from 3 to 5, never more or less. Certain mutations sometimes carry around on these creatures, giving them smaller ears, no wings, fuzzier coats, fuzzy tails, noses with no leaf indentations, and so on. These mutations, like the different eye colors, are rare occurrences, although maybe not as rare as the eyes changing from black to another color.
Their hind feet are large and clawed, enabling them to grasp to trees and leaves easily. Their front paws are clawed, and almost hand like, giving them the ability to grab whatever they are eating while hanging to the terrain with their hind paws. Their wings are bald and leathery, although on occasion they do have fur in them, giving them a look similar to their ears. This is not a mutation, but a common occurrence in the Artlus. Their bodies are compact, giving them a better chance at hiding and falling when followed by prey.
Footnote: Articelus are based mostly on dwarf hamsters, artibeus and Honduran white bats. Their references are not chibi, but showing how round in appearance and small they are, seeing as how they are 5 to 10 cm in size.
Diet
Herbivores, they eat anything in the forest they can find, from fruits, to leaves to even bark, although usually, this isn't the case, as there is normally enough to go around.
Behavior
They live their lives in colonies, usually ranging from 3 to 15 members. Uncomfortable if seen by other creatures, they tend to keep to themselves, sleeping underground until the night falls, which is when they come out to look for food and seek the company of others. Not territorial creatures, they can live side by side with another colony, and sometimes even swap members if mating occurs while they are in the same place. If they do meet with another colony, they may live above ground for a few days, but at the first sign of danger they will spread out, separating the colonies respectively and making them go back to the safety of their tunnels. Their sharp senses enable them to sense rain before it falls, giving them the opportunity of flying to the safety of the treetops where they will not drown from the floods that tend to plague the forest.
Mating
Unlike rodents, Articelus mate for life. They are short lived, and prefer to not spend their time looking for a mate every season. Once pregnant, the female will have a child at 2 weeks of gestation, and keep raising the baby and carrying him on her back or have him cling to her front for about 3 months. Once the three months are over, the young will be a part of the colony, and reach sexual maturity at 6 months of age, when it can choose to either search for a new colony or remain the one it already lives in. Usually, they will only leave if they have found a mate and the colony is overpopulated. They tend to mate three times a year, with a span of four months in between each mating season.
Aging
Males and females alike tend to live from 3 to 5 years. A venerable one may reach 6, but this is very unlikely.
This is Luminita, a rare albino Articelus, and the first to be discovered of the species.
Articelus are my original species, and as such, I am the only one allowed to make them. If I see anyone making some for, they will be reported for art theft.
About Articelus
Appearance
Small in size, Articelus appear to be a mix between hamsters and bats. Ears are large and round, making them capable of picking up the smallest of sounds, and their noses are leaf nosed, much like bats of the region, giving them amazing echo location abilities. Males range from 7 to 10 cm in size while females range from 5 to 7 and tend to weight from 10 to 25 grams. Like all bats, Articelus have narrower bones than most mammals, making their bones light, enabling their flight. Their wingspan helps in this however, seeing as how their wings are twice the size of the animal each.
Colors are far and many, however, they tend to keep a very earthy look to them, to blend with their surroundings. Their eyes are always black, or rather, almost always, as in rare cases have popped up of one of them having colored eyes. Their colors range from 3 to 5, never more or less. Certain mutations sometimes carry around on these creatures, giving them smaller ears, no wings, fuzzier coats, fuzzy tails, noses with no leaf indentations, and so on. These mutations, like the different eye colors, are rare occurrences, although maybe not as rare as the eyes changing from black to another color.
Their hind feet are large and clawed, enabling them to grasp to trees and leaves easily. Their front paws are clawed, and almost hand like, giving them the ability to grab whatever they are eating while hanging to the terrain with their hind paws. Their wings are bald and leathery, although on occasion they do have fur in them, giving them a look similar to their ears. This is not a mutation, but a common occurrence in the Artlus. Their bodies are compact, giving them a better chance at hiding and falling when followed by prey.
Footnote: Articelus are based mostly on dwarf hamsters, artibeus and Honduran white bats. Their references are not chibi, but showing how round in appearance and small they are, seeing as how they are 5 to 10 cm in size.
Diet
Herbivores, they eat anything in the forest they can find, from fruits, to leaves to even bark, although usually, this isn't the case, as there is normally enough to go around.
Behavior
They live their lives in colonies, usually ranging from 3 to 15 members. Uncomfortable if seen by other creatures, they tend to keep to themselves, sleeping underground until the night falls, which is when they come out to look for food and seek the company of others. Not territorial creatures, they can live side by side with another colony, and sometimes even swap members if mating occurs while they are in the same place. If they do meet with another colony, they may live above ground for a few days, but at the first sign of danger they will spread out, separating the colonies respectively and making them go back to the safety of their tunnels. Their sharp senses enable them to sense rain before it falls, giving them the opportunity of flying to the safety of the treetops where they will not drown from the floods that tend to plague the forest.
Mating
Unlike rodents, Articelus mate for life. They are short lived, and prefer to not spend their time looking for a mate every season. Once pregnant, the female will have a child at 2 weeks of gestation, and keep raising the baby and carrying him on her back or have him cling to her front for about 3 months. Once the three months are over, the young will be a part of the colony, and reach sexual maturity at 6 months of age, when it can choose to either search for a new colony or remain the one it already lives in. Usually, they will only leave if they have found a mate and the colony is overpopulated. They tend to mate three times a year, with a span of four months in between each mating season.
Aging
Males and females alike tend to live from 3 to 5 years. A venerable one may reach 6, but this is very unlikely.
