Because of their prey’s inherent toxicity, many carnivores also tend to specialize, feeding solely on one, or a few, species of pagodivores. Carnivores also tend to be brightly colored and patterned, features for mate selection not too unusual for an animal group with exceptional eyesight. Some carnivores have all four eyes facing forward, establishing a very acute depth perception in combination with their color vision. Carnivore mouth part limbs tend to be very specialized, many having chitinous talons on their fingertips, an aid in prey acquisition. The coyote-sized swift-grasper is an example, having deeply taloned arms held at the sides of the head, ready to snatch prey with a mantis shrimplike speed.
Silacivorous ceretridontids face similar toxin problems, for the silacopods use pagoda toxins for defense. These small ceretridons have the largest teeth relative to body size among their kind, a requirement for crushing the hard siliceous shells of their food. The teeth wear down quickly, and are perennially growing to compensate for the loss of material. A unique example of silacivore is the “pet rock.” This little ceretridontid has developed a rough-looking armor from the hair typical of its kind in a way similar to armadillo of Earth. The armor is perforated, a necessity considering the one-way air exchange of the pentapod respiratory system, yet is quite strong, giving the pet rock much protection against predators. The shelled silacivores are sometimes mistaken for stones when they are clamped up, hence their name.
Avians are similar to the ceretridons in construction, save for a few important aspects. Two of the three standard ceretridon legs have elongated into wings that sit near the head of the critter, while the remaining leg has grown very large, lengthening its three fingers to support another (two-part) broad wing, one that is larger than the other two lifting members. The middle “finger” stretches through the fluke of this large hind wing and becomes a tail. The tail effectively pulls the beast’s center of mass rearward, putting it at the center of lift located in the region of the massive rear wing. A triangular sonar “ear” sits ahead of the eyes on top of the “cranium.” Sonar is the avian’s primary sense, though their eyesight is good. Eyes in avians are often located on the side of the head, giving the creature a 360 degree field of view. Usually the other pair of optical sensors are highly atrophied.
Propulsion is achieved through flapping the two forewings, and lift is generated by the broad hind fluke. This is an effective combination, capable of carrying the animal forward at speeds similar to light aircraft.
Many avians have assumed the role of predator, pouncing upon ceretridons and snatching each other from the sky. There are large predators called the dracowolf, with wingspans over ten meters, that hunt solely by sonar, having atrophied eyesight. Such predators tend to feed on midsized avians, as well as many of the ceretridontids—avians have developed organs that the ceretridons don’t have, and can tolerate a broader range of toxins than their terrestrial brethren. Other predators are small, like sparrows, and flock, attacking prey en masse like Earth’s piranha. Pagodivorous avians abound, lying flat on tasty umbrella leaves with their wings outstretched, and camouflaged in detail to hide from sight predators.
One lineage of avians has produced Epona’s sophont, the uther. Singularly the most fascinating physiological trait of die species in the uther line is the interdependence of the parent and neonate. Uther young are born extremely undeveloped, being mainly a football-sized head and body with vestigial wings hanging from one end. The neonate’s nervous system is also relatively undeveloped, save for eyesight, which is nearly as capable as any adult’s. Being placed on the parent’s back in a depression between the two forewings, where a single nipple is located, the neonate drinks a milklike substance for nourishment. Two vestigial fingers, one from each forewing, hold the young securely in place (unfortunately not shown in the illustration). Even with their sideways facing eyes, adult uthers are not able to see backwards very well, and, in this piggyback position, the neonate becomes a rear guard for the adult. A simple reflex response, the neonate will clamp down hard on the teat if a nonuther avian is detected, giving the parent warning of an attack. This symbiosis lasts for about five years, ending when the neonate is able to fly on its own. Having a neonate is of paramount importance to an adult uther, and rarely is an adult seen without one. There are potentially many cultural ramifications of this physiology, though, as with many things involving the uther, the social effects haven’t been explored in great depth at this time.
Utheran cultural evolution is known in general. Early uthers were originally scavengers, flying in widely separated groups to aid each other in finding the rare corpse on the ground. There are a number of predatory species of avian that feed on the uther, and the groups served a dual purpose as some members watched for predators. Such organizing behavior resulted in a complex communicative ability which eventually evolved into language.
Due to the limited nature of the pentapod respiratory system, uther speech is somewhat restricted in scope. Uthers do not have any type of vocal cords, like humans, so are unable to make a similar range of sounds. Instead, uthers sing, or chirp, their words using a simple system of rising and falling high-frequency pitches. Sentences end with a simple marker note of a specific frequency, so that the uther “singing” is interrupted periodically with this somewhat random “beat.” Uther writing looks like stock-market graphs, with the lines showing the rising and falling of various note arrangements for each word.
Having the typical weak chitinous teeth of pentapods, the scavenging and speaking uthers were not well, suited for the task of eating raw meat. With their strong need, uthers eventually created cutting tools in order to process food easily. Sharp tools led to hunting, and a new lifestyle. One ramification of predatory uthers was direct competition with a number of large aerial carnivores, and many megaavian species slowly disappeared as the uther improved on its weapons technology. Indeed, avian species that fed primarily on the uther were the first to be eliminated from Epona.
Created by a need for watching their prey herds very closely, uthers learned animal husbandry. Maintaining the nomadic lifestyle of their scavenger ancestors, uthers initially followed ceretridon herds around guarding them from carnivores, both terrestrial and aerial. As uther populations grew, violent encounters with other bands increased, and a need for territory arose. Uthers created permanent settlements, at first in pagoda trees, to maintain control over specific lands. Under this close protection the herds grew, and quickly denuded the lands. As agricultural methods were developed to feed the voracious herd animals, full-fledged civilization resulted, with an accelerating technological growth.
The paragraphs above summarize only a few aspects of Epona, a tiny glimpse at a world that is very complex and detailed. Fortunately, for those who are interested in seeing more of Epona, there’s an effort to depict the planet in its own publication(s). Epona is no longer restricted to Contact, in 1995, the participants of Epona’s creation have established a partnership called WorldBuilders that continues the development of Epona, and is pursuing many paths to give the world a visible spot in the science fiction genre.