Pterhippus (Sefdaania)

Pterhippus - Megadorcas volans

Scientific classification

• kingdom - Animalia
  • phylum - Chordata
    • subphylum - Vertebrata
      • class - Mammalia
        • subclass - Theria
          • infraclass - Eutheria (Placentalia)
            • order - Cetartiodactyla
              • suborder - Ruminantia
                • infraorder - Pecora
                  • superfamily - Bovoidea
                    • family - Bovidae
                      • subfamily - Alcelaphinae
                        • tribe - Alcelaphini
                          • genus - Megadorcas
                            • species - volans

Ancestry

• The ancestor (now extinct) was a much smaller animal, apparently related to the Tibetan antelope, Pantholops hodgsonii, which was about 120 cm./4 ft. long, 90 cm./3 ft. high at the shoulder, and weighing about 30 kg./60 lbs. that lived in the Ural and Caucasus mountains. A strange mutation for wings gave it an advantage in escaping from predators. A descendant settled on the steppes, became a grazer instead of a browser, and increased in size. This descendant is the animal domesticated by the Ethrans.

General Characteristics

• Body Length: 210 cm / 7 ft.
• Shoulder Height: 140 cm / 4.6 ft.
• Tail Length: 50 cm / 50 in.
• Weight: 250-400 kg / 550-880 lb.
• The grayish brown upper parts are sharply contrasted with the pure white belly. This white area stretches up the ventral half (stomach-side) of the neck to the jowls. The grayish brown color lightens as it extends down the legs. Along the spine is a black dorsal stripe. The grey muzzle has a thin border of white. The summer coat is short and sparse compared to the very long, thick, grayer winter coat. The grayish brown tail, which mark the animal as bovine rather than equine, has a black tuft, with long hairs growing up the side. It is hollow-boned for lightness. The feathered grayish brown wings are 4-5 feet in length and when the pterhippus is at rest, they are folded double as in the larger birds. The wing humerus is attached to the upper side of an enlarged scapula, the foreleg humerus being attached to the lower. The chest is rather massive containing as it does the muscles for both the wing and the foreleg. As with the larger birds, a running start is necessary to become airborne. The early ancestor merely jumped off the side of the mountain! The descendant still retains the musculature in the hindquarters for leaping. Five color variants have been bred, one for each of the orders of Ethrans (the elementals do not use steeds): gray for the archimages, palomino for the mages, sorrel for the archons, chestnut for the adepts, and brown for the guardians. Of course, breeding registers are maintained. Specimens of undesirable coloration are not bred (the bucks are gelded), but they are cared for until they die which could be as long as 30 years. The females are known as does.

Ontogeny and Reproduction

• Gestation Period: About 12 months.
• Young per Birth: Never more than one.
• Weaning: By 12 months.
• Sexual Maturity: After one year.
• Life span: About 20 years.
• The August-September breeding season yields foals born in late July through August the next year. Small groups of 2-5 females split away from the main herd, retreating to high grasses to give birth. The young can walk and run just a few hours after birth, and mothers and foals rejoin the herd after a couple weeks. They cannot fly until they are at least one month old.

Ecology and Behavior

• When left to themselves the pterhippi live in very cohesive herds which never become scattered. Led by an old female, the herds travel in single file, and the members appear to do everything - including eating, drinking, turning, and running - in unison. Unlike horses, however, there is little physical contact (like mutual grooming) among animals. In July they begin to molt and the males begin to follow the females in July, fighting amongst themselves through August for breeding rights. During mid-August, they begin herding the females into harems, defending them from rival males. By the time mating is completed they are able to fly again. Pterhippi are good swimmers, and during the summer months take apparent pleasure in bathing in rivers.
• Family group: Maternal herds of 5-25 animals, mature males generally solitary, although bachelor herds of up to 10 individuals form during the winter.
• Diet: Grasses and forbs.
• Main Predators: Wolf, leopard, hyena.

Distribution

Ural and Caucasus Mountains up to 5,000 meters/16,500 feet.