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Snoreosaur - Plural: Snoreosaur(s). Genders: Bull, doe. Young: Calf. Collection: Herd
World: Suise. Range: The Valley (west). Temperament: Passive. Diet: Frugivore
Shoulder Height: ~15-20' (f), ~15-24' (m). Weight: ~14,000-18,000 lbs (f), ~15,000-20,000 lbs (m)
(For reference, bull African elephants are 10-13' at the shoulder and weigh ~13,000-15,000 lbs)
The Snoreosaur is a large, herbivorous dinosaur that can walk quadrupedal or bipedal with ease. Despite their hulking size, they can bear a lot of resemblance to felines with their posture and movements. For example, they may rise up on their hind legs to investigate high objects or scan for danger. When threatened, they'll arch their backs high in a "Halloween cat" pose, raising or lashing their tails. They often get distracted by their curiosity, which can prove very destructive in civilized areas. Nobody wants one of these pawing at their open window... Despite their apparent grace, they often act without regard to their environment, leaving destruction in their wake. It's not the Snoreosaur's fault that you build a wall in such an obnoxious place
Live in small family groups, often consisting of a mating pair and young children. Once calves reach maturity, they're sent off to form groups of their own. Lone bulls who can't win over a female commonly travel in bachelor herds (which should strike fear into any keke's heart. A bunch of giant, over-eager dinos prancing around to try and gain a female's affection... horrendous). They eat almost exclusivity fruit, only dabbling in vegetables or other greenery in hard times. Their height allows them to graze otherwise unreachable fruit from the tops of trees. However, this requires effort. Snoreosaurs much rather to bulldoze into keke orchards - especially ones growing Slumber Fruit. It is absolutely no coincidence that the two species' names bear thematic resemblance. Slumber Fruit is a favorite of Snoreosaurs, to the point where they'll clean out entire harvests if proper barriers aren't set up. They're a nuisance and a menace. They're not aggressive, but will defend themselves when harassed. Thankfully (in this situation), they're also easily spooked by the unfamiliar such as loud sounds or strange sights. Scary backups to protect fruit trees are nigh mandatory
Species coloration is dull in order to blend in with their forested habitat. Their skin may be red, brown, green, yellow, blue, grey, or even whiteish. They often sport partial or complete countershading, accompanied by thin, sometimes blotchy stripes or small to medium spots. Patterning is typically somewhat simple and may only affect a small portion of the body. The eyes are always white and the insides are a shade of green. The toe claws are typically a lighter or darker variation of a color already on the body, but may be any color that the skin can be
The dinosaur bears some peculiar similarities to Snakekeys, mainly in eye shape, solid eye coloration, attached teeth, and head shape. While Snoreosaurs have rounded, blunt heads, it should be noted that their muzzles do not end in a flat plane like those of keke. Their eyes are also aligned on the sides of their heads, as is appropriate for a prey animal, instead of forward-facing. The attached teeth are in roughly the same alignment as keke, though the upper canines are not fang-length. Males also have significantly longer lower fangs than females do. Snoreosaur mouths are not seamless and sport a thick tongue with forked tines.
The neck, torso, and tail are all quite long and mobile. These dinosaurs are able to twist and contort their bodies into many positions, allowing them to better access hard-to-reach fruits. Or evade keke trying to keep them out of orchards. The legs are long and fairly uniform in length, ending in elephantine feet. Each foot has three large claws that protrude slightly in a toe-like manner, though the front toes have a wider possible spread than the hind. Females have horns that point forward, but are set low on the head, curving around the cheekbone area. Male horns are longer, sharper, and point backwards, swooping slightly. They may also be adorned with a varying amount small "bud tines". These are usually either very sharp or uselessly blunt. A male may have any numnber of bud tines, but often will only have a few closer to the head where there's higher nutrition levels to feed them. Calves have small, nubby horns that grow as they age. Once they reach maturity, it will be clear whether they're a bull or a doe by simply looking and their headpiece
Despite being separated into "male" and "female", Snoreosaurs are not gendered as things on Earth are. This species reproduces through an intricate mating dance, which is different per pair. Each gender will typically have a part of the dance and they'll combine them into a total routine to judge compatibility. Agitated bulls will often fight for breeding rights, rearing up to claw at each other's necks and torsos as well as engaging in attempted goring with the horns. In the end, "females" are capable of internally producing a stone roughly the size of a dinner plate (but oval-shaped). This is made of compressed residue in the stomach, often consisting of fruit pits and seeds. This stone doesn't take as long as one might expect to produce, especially if there's ample fruit available for consumption. It's porous akin to to pumice and grey or brown in color. Does have complete control of when to make the stone and they can even "cancel" one they were working on if they so desire, allowing to to instead be digested. It's deposited via the hind end, which isn't as gross as it might sound since Snoreosaurs don't excrete solid waste
"Male" animals have glands in their front feet that excrete a pale, pearly blue or green liquid. This is rubbed into the pores of the stone and will slowly be absorbed (with ample ominous hissing) over the course of 4-7 days. After this period, the holes in the surface appear to slowly vanish. The "stone" will appear to be more of an "egg" with a shiny grey, brown, blue, or green shell. Both parents will diligently guard this egg, often without moving it to a new location, for roughly 2 weeks. Around this time, a calf, tiny and blind, will hatch. The baby is almost entirely helpless and will be carried around from place to place by way of the parents gently holding it in their teeth for the first few months of its life. The calf will grow rapidly, but parents often won't start leaving it on the ground until it starts getting too heavy and unwieldy to lift
Animals outside the Valley have evolved into Sleepysaurs or Trotlings
Sample Snaps are little creatures that seems to be based on food items, only some of which Snakekeys know about. They don't do much, but they are very good at hanging onto things. This makes them good pets since it makes them appear very affectionate. Two inch critters hugging your fingers? Absolutely! Snaps feed off of scents that they like, which are often related to their flavor category. They absorb these through their skin. An easy recipe to make them as low maintenance as possible is to invest in some scratch-and-sniff stickers
