APHEM SPECIES

Skeletal System

Aphems have a total of 181 bones. Most of their bones are vertebrae, starting at the base of the head all the way to the tip of each of three tails. Total, these make up 123 bones in their body. Aphems have 13 bones per wing, this includes their paw. The largest bone in their wing is their ulna and radius, a bit more than double the size of the other bones in their wing. Finally, the Aphems only have 16 ribs, and each leg only has 8 bones. The leg consists of a pelvis, femur, a extremely short Tibia, a talus, a metatarsal, a short pastern bone, a long pastern bone and the coffin bone. Aphems have dense bones, much like other mammals. Because of this they are not capable of anything other than glide.

Exact placements of all bones in the Aphems body can be found in the anatomically correct chart soon to be released.

 

Heads seem to be the most diverse aspect of this creature’s anatomy, as their jaw and muzzle seem to vary slightly. While most of these creatures have a thick muzzle and slim jaw, there have been variant to have a thick muzzle and thick jaw, a slim muzzle and slim jaw, or even a slim muzzle and thick jaw. It is extremely rare to see any variation in length, however, and normally is the sign for a birth defect that will affect their breathing. This seems to be the most distinctive aspect of these creatures other than their coloration and patterns. These changes are caused by slight deformations within the skull, normally caused by dramatic long-exposure temperature and humidity changes while the fetus is still developing within the egg.

 

Typically, we can see the average head being developed in colder temperatures with less humidity. Head deformations occur when temperature and humidity are altered, and it has been observed that the hotter and more humid the environment is, the smaller the muzzle and/or jaw will become. It is difficult to produce Aphems with a thick muzzle and jaw, as the egg must be exposed to colder temperatures than average, and this risky task can easily result in the loss of the Aphem fetus within the egg.

 

Respiratory System

Aphems have typical mammal lungs, however they are used in different ways. Aphems have evolved to high altitudes in various humidities. Their large nostrils and lungs allow them to breathe easily in high altitude places, taking in large amounts of thin air and dispensing it slowly. These creatures can take up to a minute and a half to let out a breath and take up to five seconds to inhale the air necessary for them.

 

Hooves

Aphems are adjusted to mountain terrain, and have cloven hooves with two toes that spread widely to improve balance when moving about much like a mountain goat. However, unlike mountain goats, Aphems aren’t terribly sure-footed. They will often test the path ahead with their paws tediously before moving on. Because of this, Aphems are more prone to remaining in forested areas of their territory so that they may climb and glide through the area as they please, as they are far more comfortable gliding and climbing trees than they are walking over rocky paths.

 

Teeth

Aphems primarily eat insects and bugs that they can find. They have 48 teeth, all sharp and thin that can lay flat against the roof of their mouth and tends to fold under the tongue. Their teeth are to the side of the face, however they have 8 teeth in the front of their mouth that are much smaller and quite a bit duller than cannot lay flat. There are four teeth on the bottom and on the top, the middle two of these four are rather small while the outer two are only a small bit smaller than the rest of their teeth. From there, the teeth go from largest to smallest, front to back. This allows them to carry carcasses with their front teeth without getting their sharper teeth stuck in the carcass. When a Aphem is ready to feed, or to fight, their teeth pop upwards and are ready to begin chewing through even the toughest of hides.

 

Digestion

Aphems digestion tract is extremely small, and most of the food’s cleaning occurs while it travels down the throat. Aphems have a wall of hairs down their throat to clean off their food. The waste is caught by the hairs and the body then uses the information gathered from the waste such as urine, feces, dirt, etc, to strengthen the immune system. Once the information is gathered the hairs release the waste and it travels through the digestive tract with the rest of the food. These creatures have two small stomachs, the first stomach takes in the food and breaks it down before taking the nutrients from their meal. If the Aphem eats enough, the excess food is then passed onto the second stomach and is essentially stored until the Aphem is in need of more nutrients. When this happens, the second stomach further digests the food and takes in the rest of the nutrients. Aphems don’t waste much food nor do they need to eat too much. When they finish digesting through both stomachs, the indigestible parts of their meal will then pass through a single small but long intestine. Once the excess is formed into the Aphems waste, it’s then passed in a solid pellet manner.

The Aphems are capable of regurgitating their stomachs contents when feeding their young, though it is done in two stages. First, all stomach contents are returned to the first stomach and the hairs in the throat lay flat as to not attempt to clean the contents coming back up. Then, the food is pushed up by stomach acid until it reaches the mouth. At this point, the stomach acid recedes back to the stomachs, and the parent Aphem can safely feed their young.