Avetza/Species

The Avetza are carbon-based reptilian creatures which evolved in the large deserts of Atavin.

They have five limbs: Two arms and three legs.

Their torso is upright with three legs at the bottom, two facing forward and one facing back. On each leg are two joints, one going forward and a lower one facing backwards which gives the legs a backwards "z" shape. At the end of each leg is a foot which has five toes, these toes are equally spaced around the ankle.

On each of these toes is a small "nub" made from claw-material so that their feet don't get burnt or scarred from the hot ground which is underfoot.

On their torso they have an arm on each their left and right side. Each arm has one joint and a "hand" at the end. On these hands are four fingers, and on either side of these are thumbs. The same thing has happened to their hands as their feet and their fingers end in small nubs of claw-like material so that they don't burn or damage themselves.

On the palm of their hands there are small and rough patches with holes in. Behind these rough patches are several tiny finger-like digits (about 16mm long) which tap and click against the rough patch. These digits do this so fast that they end up making a sound so high-pitched that it cannot be heard by most creatures (kind of like bats). This allows the Avetza to "see" with their hands aswell as be more precise in measurements. The receptors for this are next to the rough patch on the palm of their hand.

However, within these "nubs" of claw on the toes, their is a thin inner-lining of sensitive nerves which spiral down to the very edge of the nub. These groups of nerves can sense vibrations from up to 50 metres away. This evolved as a way to escape and catch other animals in the desert after some species evolved to be very quite in their movement.

On top of the Avetzan torso is a thin neck which supports a small round "head". On this head are eight nostrils, equally spaced, and one big mouth on the top of the head which makes up most of the skull area.

Underneath the skin of the neck there are three ear canals which sense noise through the minute vibrations of their thin skin at that area. The skin around the ears are actually so sensitive that if someone or something was moving towards them they could pick up the tiny disturbances in the air. These three ears and eight nostrils have given the Avetza a very keen sense of smell and hearing, which make up for not having the sense of "sight".

The Avetza's skin is very scaly and tough, and while in some other parts like the neck fleshy and thin to produce sweat and let vibrations pass through them. It is also coloured orange to blend with the large expanses of desert.

Around their neck the Avetza have a large frill to keep cool. This frill extends six inches from their thin neck and goes around the full neck in a circle. This frill was also used to ward off predators.

Down their back they also have a set of webbed spines to help cool them down even further. These spines could retract and detract, as it could get rather cold and sometimes the Avetza have to conserve heat.

They are 1.5 meters tall and have light-orange skin to blend in with the vast deserts. The Avetza are also very fast to escape from large Capotes in the wild.

The Avetza are very social creatures, when in the wild before civilisation, they would band together into packs to allow for safe upbringing of offspring and working in packs to bring down greater food sources. They can tell that other Avetza were nearby as there is a particular scent that can be picked up that other Avetza excrete. This scent can give off enough information to tell: the gender of an individual, their family, their age, their genetic similarity and their sexual health.

However, instead of blocking out this scent that is everpresent, their brain has managed to keep making them smell the scent, as it is not overpowering and doesn't make things complicated for the brain.