Chiravians! .:OPEN SPECIES:.

Originally hailing from an island with no natural predators, chiravians are a species just now interacting with the world. Many have begun to sail away from home, and the world that they’ve found among the rest of civilization is more than they could have ever dreamed. 

They’re an idealistic species at heart, and some might call them childish in their optimism. This ideology largely comes from never having experienced predation in any way. Chiravians born away from the island tend to reject the species’ traditional way of thinking though, and instead blend in much better with non-chiravian society. 

    Head: Chiravians have a head very similar to an owl from the tyto genus. They’ve got large, pointed ears that stick upwards on the back of their heads. Thick fur grows out from the sides of their facial disks.

    Body: A long neck, often covered in a thick mane, extends into a canid body. Some chiravians have webbed wings extending from their shoulders. Thin fur covers the top end, but the underside is bare skin. In feral form, they have long legs and short bodies.

    Paws: Chiravians have wolf-like paws, and can have owl-like talons where claws should be. They have thin webbings between each toe.

    Tail: On the end of their tails is a furless, sail-like fin. It can be used to help maneuver inside the water. Their fin can be in any shape, from a tiny spade of membrane to something akin to a Betta fish. In feral forms, chiravians store water and fat inside their tails. 

     Wings: Chiravians CAN have wings. They’re webbed like a bat’s, and very large. They’re not functional while they’re young (chirlets), but when they grow up, a chiravian can fly with them. (Generally, I tend to draw mine without wings.) They have fur on the topside of their wings, but it’s furless on the underside. The webbing is just a lighter, solid version of their fur-colour.

Chiravians can have any type of colouration, but their eye spots, fins, paws are the same colour. Their facial disks and the skin on their wings tend to be a lighter colour than their base coat. Note: Unless a chiravian has the snowflake gene, they cannot have white ANYWHERE on their pelt.

EXAMPLES:

• A purple-grey chiravian has yellow paws, fins, and eye spots. Her eyes are golden.
• A teal chiravian has sapphire-blue “points”. Her eyes are red.
• A chiravian is dark brown, with orange patches up and down his side. His points are sky blue, and his eyes are the same colour.
• A chiravian is a light sap green, with darker stripes along his body. His points are also green, a rare combination.

Chiravians in feral form come from four different biomes, and because of such have evolved to match their surroundings. If your OC is not feral as their main form, this can be disregarded. It can still be used for inspiration, though.

- Cave chiravians find themselves happiest underneath the stones. Their eyes have adapted to low light conditions, and if they have wings they’re smaller than average. Cave chiravians tend to have dark, muted fur. Their points are bright as means of identification.

- Forest chiravians live in the trees. Their wings are large and their fur tends to be thinner than the average chiravian. They come in shades of browns and greens. Their points can be any colour, but blue points are rare.

- Sea chiravians live on the shore. They can hold their breath underwater for long periods of time, as their main source of food is the ocean. They come in all colours, blending in with coral reefs. Their paws have thicker webbing between them.

- Snow Chiravians are an all-white species with very scant colouring. They have extremely thick fur and have extra lids on their eyes, and long lashes to keep out the snow. They live in far northern tundras, with mountains dotting their landscape. They’ve got massive paws with tufts of fur sticking through the pads, like lynx or bobcats.

Some traits are unusual in chiravians. They may affect lifespan and quality of life, but some variations are simply there. Below include many, but not all alleles and how they can affect a chiravian.

Snowflake Syndrome (autosomal recessive): Snowflake morph chiravians have patches of white on them. These white patches are a pigment within the skin that require extra nutrients to maintain, and this can be responsible for blood sugar dropping much more rapidly than normal. This gene affects lifespan heavily, and it’s rare for a chirlet to survive to adulthood with the gene. The gene is named after the extinct snow chiravian.

Dorsal fin (sex-linked dominant. Shows in males): A fin similar to the one on a chiravian’s tail. Usually in a similar shape as the tail and in the same colour as the points. Susceptible to cancers.

Talons (autosomal recessive): Massive owlish talons where claws should be on their paws. 

Ear tufts (autosomal recessive): Tufts similar to eared owls sticking out in front of the ears. 

Gill slits (autosomal recessive): A vestigial feature, there may be a few openings on the side of a chiravian’s neck. They have no use, and are prone to infection and getting things lodged in there.