On one of our first expeditions to the continent known as Guralta, we arrived at a coastal marshland. A vast salt- and brackish water delta stretched for many miles along the coastline and extended deep inland, following much of the length of the main river that fed it.
This region of eastern Guralta is known as Kwispuulië. It is a variable land with a largely tropical, but also somewhat seasonal climate that depends on monsoons for much of its water. This vast delta however, seemed less dependent on the monsoons and appeared to be lively and moisturized for most of the year.
Disembarking from the main research vessel, a team took a couple of smaller boats to enter the delta.
It was teeming with wildlife. Six winged insect like animals were buzzing around their ears and all over the forest they could hear the screams, cries and songs of numerous untold creatures.
At some point, they spotted a large, eight legged, vaguely mammal like creature with two long tendrils sprouting from its what appeared to be its ears. It was an Arachnothere for sure, but not one they had seen before. It appeared to be foraging along the river bank for washed up vegetation and plants growing on the waters edge.
Before long however, the peace was disturbed.
A massive animal lunged from the water in a way reminiscent of crocodiles of Earth. As it prepared to strike, its "lower jaw" split open. Large spikes lined the jaws, perfectly adapted to impale prey.
It was over in a second...but the predator missed. It had lunged too early and came in short, allowing the Arachnothere to flee.
Gingûrs (Ginguridae) are Parasymmetrodactyl Cryptognath Anisospondyls and are a common sight in many tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
In general, these creatures are near perfect analogues to Earth's crocodillians, being largely semi-aquatic, cold blooded ambush predators covered in osteoderms and tough scales.
They are Anisospondyls, but there's one thing about that their appearance that does not exactly fit the stereotype: their jaws. Gingûrs possess a long "upper jaw" that, while toothless, is lined with sharp keratinized bony spikes.
But this is no true jaw.
Rather it is an extended bone that sprouts from below the eyes. A gingûrs true jaws are below it. These jaws, like those of all Anisospondyls, open sideways to reveal a large number of teeth inside. But they, like the "upper jaw", are also lined with keratinzed bony spiked on the visendal side.
Curiously, gingûrs possess a unique jaw mechanism that allows their true jaws to open both sideways and be moved up and down. This reveals the purpose of their strange heads. These jaws work together to impale prey and slam it against the "upper jaw". This mechanism bears some similarities to the jaws of the Haidomyrmecinae ants of Cretaceous Earth.
The eight legged creature that was initially spotted was a Brown Flailear (Kopanotus spadix), a large herbivorous Hesparachnine native exclusively to the forested regions of Kwispuulië.
These animals possess sharp rounded beaks, perfectly adapted to cut plants with. They are toothless, but to compensate they ingest stones to function as gastroliths.
The males of this species, similar to most flailear species, grow long tendrils from the base of their ears. These ears, unlike those of mammals, are supported by many small bones. As such, they possess a large degree of control over the motions of these "flails".
These tendrils have rhombus shaped tips that are lined with small iridescent scales, giving them a blue, green and yellow shine. Predictably, these are used for sexual display and serve little purpose otherwise.
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