So here's another light hearted idea for members of the IDU to put their stamp on the region and how it developed technologically. The idea is that nations may claim up to five inventions they gave invented subject to some very lose rules:

*Nation stats, fact books or just the players imagination can all be be used
*Players do need to give a very brief back story as to how their nation invented that technology
*Any situation where two (or more) nations claim the same invention, will be resolved by negotiation and/or a back story as to how this came about

I have a few ideas about inventions that gave come out of Nova Sodor but I'll let others make their mark first.

Description: The purpose of this legislation is to implement mandatory educational programs that promote access to factual, non-stigmatizing information in regards to substance abuse. Educating citizens about substance abuse will decrease the probability of deadly addictions.

Obviously these are only suggestions, and would be subject to change if too many of you disagree, but anyhows here is one possible set of differences between the IDU?s mammalian fauna and that of RL Earth. I?ve given one ?Order? of mammals that already exists in RL, namely the Lagomorpha (the Rabbits, Hares, and Pikas, in RL?) a more detailed prehistory in the IDU than the RL version possesses, and expanded its ecological roles ? primarily at the expense of its closest relatives, the Rodentia ? in ways that seem to me to be plausibly alternative routes that evolution could have taken. What do you think about this?

(N.B. This wouldn?t prevent your nation?s people keeping hamsters or gerbils as pets, they?d just have to imported the ancestors of those stocks from elsewhere at some point?)


_____________________________________________



Order Lagomorpha

On the ?RL? version of Earth the Lagomorpha consists of two families that contain extant as well as extinct member species, namely the Leporidae (containing the Rabbits and Hares; oldest fossils attributed to this family = Eocene) and the Ochotonidae (containing the Pikas; oldest fossils attributed to this family = Miocene); one family whose last species became extinct as recently as the 18th century AD, Prolagidae (containing the Sardinian Pika, and some other species that became extinct at earlier dates; oldest fossils attributed to this family = Miocene); and a few extinct genera that have not yet been placed definitively into any families.

In the [main] lands of the IDU, however, this order has enjoyed ? and still exhibits ? significantly greater diversity than has been the case in RL. Because of this fact, there is a school of thought among zoologists which suggests that the order actually originated in these lands and that its ?modern? families on the ?RL Earth? only moved there as colonists from the IDU ? presumably during one of the ?Faunal Interchange? events that also involved various other groups of animals expanding their ranges in the opposite direction to that ? later on...


Higher Classification

Class Mammalia
Sub-class Theria (viviparous, or ?modern?, mammals)
Infra-class Eutheria (or ?Placentalia?; the placental [i.e. non-?marsupial?] Therians)
Super-cohort Boreoeutheria (a group of Eutherian lineages that are all derived from a single northern-hemisphere rootstock, as distinct from either the Xenarthra [of South America] or the Afrotheria [of Africa, of course])
Cohort Euarchontaglires (which also includes the Order Primates & its closest relatives)
Super-order Glires (which also includes the Order Rodentia?).

Sometimes previously placed as a Sub-order in the ?Rodentia?; sometimes previously, especially when treated thus, called the ?Duplicidentata?. The most obvious single difference between Lagomorphs and ?true? Rodents is that the former possess twice as many incisor teeth as the latter.


Lower Classification

(At the start of an entry in this list: ?I? = both continents + nearby islands, ?N? = northern continent + nearby islands, ?M? = Malabra + southern continent + nearby islands, ?S? = southern continent + nearby islands.)


Family Proterolagomorphidae (M; presumed ancestral stock of the entire order; known only from a few fossils, Palaeocene to Eocene in age [i][with one example for which an origin in the later stages of the Cretaceous Period, i.e. before the extinction of the dinosaurs, during has been claimed]; relatively generalised ?early? mammals)[/i]

Family Asciuridae (M; ?Tailless Squirrels?, or ?False Squirrels?; known only from a few fossils of late Eocene to mid-Oligocene age; apparently filled a similar arboreal niche to tree-squirrels, and were replaced by those rodents during the Oligocene)


1/. Sub-order Euleporida

a/ Family Prolagidae (N; several species, all of them except for one fossil form ? whose classification is disputed ? belonging to one or the other of two genera that don?t occur in RL)

b/ Superfamily Leporoidea

=> Family Leporidae
=>=> Sub-family Euleporinae (I; Rabbits & hares as represented in RL, including endemic species & even genera in addition to those shared with RL lands)
=>=> Sub-family Marroilepoirinae (only on ?Marro Islands?; the Marroi Hares, a group of closely-related species that have been isolated on a remote island for several million years and have diverged there to fill a wider range of ecological niches)
=>=> Sub-family Parvoleporinae (I; the Mouse-Rabbits, a group of small leporines that commonly move by hopping on their back legs; they fill comparable ecological niches to RL Earth?s gerbils, jerboas & jirds, jumping mice, & kangaroo rats; sometimes considered to constitute a full family, the ?Parvoleporidae?, in their own right)

=> Family Cervoleporidae (N; the ?Deer-Hares?; slightly larger on average than are the Leporine ?Hares?, and with their males bearing antlers that they may use for defence against predators as well as for competing with each other over mates; reduced in both diversity and overall range since their heyday back in the Miocene; it is suspected that occasional animals from this family might have found their way to RL Earth?)

=> Family Erinaceolagidae (basically M; the ?Spiny Rabbits?; a group known from a few extant species, with no proven fossil relatives but genetically distinct enough to argue for a lengthy period of divergence from the related families)
=> Family Thylacolagidae (S; the ?Fanged Rabbits?; known only from fossils of late Miocene & early Pliocene date; a single genus has been identified, containing three or four recognised species; palaeontologists disagree about their probable lifestyle?)

c/ Super-family Ochotonoidea

=> Family Ochotonidae (I; Pikas as represented in RL; all species endemic, with some belonging to endemic genera ? one of which still has extant species, rather than just extinct members, as well as to the single RL genus)
=>=> Sub-family Orthoochotoninae (I; the pikas of the ?South Idu? continent?, and some of those from the main Idu continent as well; sometimes divided into two separate sub-families, one per continent, called Notoochotinae & Boreoochotinae)
=>=> Sub-family Neoochotoninae (N; the remaining pikas of the main Idu continent and all those of RL Earth; one of the more recent studies suggests that they may actually be a sister-group not just to the Orthoochotoninae but to the remainder of the Ochotonoidea as a whole? or even to the remainder of the Euleporida! If that hypothesis is correct then possibly an early Euleporid stock that either had migrated into ?RL Earth? at an early date or was actually that Earth?s own native counterpart of the IDU?s native early Euleporids evolved into this family, and then subsequently colonised [or recolonised] the northern Idu, whereas the Idu?s native proto-Euleporids gave rise separately [within the IDU?s lands] both to the other [fully endemic] ?Pika? lineages and all of the Leporoidea?)

=> Family Geomiseridae (I; forms better-adapted for burrowing than are the ordinary Pikas, and with ?pouches? to the sides of their mouths for carrying food)
=>=> Sub-family Geomiserinae (I; the ?Pocket Pikas?, or ?Burrow-Rats?; they fill comparable ecological niches to the RL hamsters and pocket gophers)
=>=> Sub-family Bathymiserinae (N; the ?Mole-Pikas? or ?Tunnel-Rats?, of the main Idu continent; more heavily adapted to predominantly subterranean lifestyles than are the Geomiserinae, they fill comparable ecological niches to RL?s mole-rats)

=> Family Notomiseridae (M; the ?Mole-Pikas? or ?Tunnel-Rats?, of the IDU?s southern continent; even more heavily adapted to predominantly subterranean lifestyles than are the Bathymiserinae, they fill comparable ecological niches to RL?s mole-rats; recent studies confirm earlier suspicions that they are more closely related to the Ochotonidae than either of these families is to the Geomiseridae)


2/. Sub-order Paraleporida

(This taxon actually might be ?polyphyletic?, i.e. with its members? latest common ancestor too far back to qualify as a member of this group itself?)

Family Eoleporidae (M; another group that is known only from fossils, in this case of Eocene to late Oligocene or very early Miocene age; their resemblance to modern Leporoids is more obvious than that of the Proterolagomorphids, but adults of some species seem to have been rather larger than are those of any still-extant Lagomorph species; thought to have been probably the ancestral rootstock for this entire Sub-order)

Family Paraleporidae (I; a group with fossil evidence from at least the middle of the Oligocene, but also with living members; the smallest species could easily be mistaken for members of the family Prolagidae, without detailed examination of their skeletons or molecular biology, but the largest species ? now long extinct ? were comparable in size and probably also in lifestyle to Tapirs; members generally more likely than Euleporids to be browsers rather than grazers, although the latter lifestyle has also been followed by a significant proportion of them)
=>Sub-family Proparaleporinae (S; fossils from early to mid-Eocene, possibly ancestral to some or all of the other sub-families)
=>Sub-family Mesoparaleporinae (I; the largest group, including most of the hare-sized to sheep-sized [or slightly larger] fossils forms; probably ?paraphyletic?[ i], i.e. the latest common ancestor of its members does qualify for membership but some of that ancestor?s other descendants have been excluded, and possibly even[/i] polyphyletic instead; middle-Oligocene to Recent, but declining seriously around the Miocene/Pleistocene boundary and now extinct; replaced either by Neoparaleporinae, by Euleporids or by Ruminants)
=>Sub-family Gazelloleporinae (N; fast-running grazers, mostly from a bit larger than hare-sized to a bit larger than sheep-sized; early Miocene to mid-Pliocene; replaced by Ruminants and Perissodactyls)
=>Sub-family Plioparaleporinae (S; similar to Mesoparaleporinae, but with limbs apparently better adapted for digging burrows and less so for running fast, dentition suggests that all of them were ?mixed feeders? that both grazed and browsed [maybeso changing the ratio of feeding methods seasonally] instead of individual species ? or the entire group, as a whole ? being more specialised; early Pliocene to mid-Pliocene definitely, and there are some fossils that appear to be from around the middle of the Pleistocene although it is possible that the deposits in which their remains were found had been ?reworked? from Pliocene ones by natural forces)
=>Sub-family Neoparaleporinae (N; rabbit-sized grazers & mixed feeders, currently native to various islands that lack rabbits; these are among the Paraleporid forms that could be mistaken for members of the Prolagidae; probably of Mesoparaleporine ancestry; mid-Pleistocene to present day)
=>Sub-family Cryptoparaleporinae (Malabra only; a small group of species with modern members found only in the forests of south-eastern & southern Malabra, and with no fossils identified so far; approximately hare-sized, with a gracile build; primarily browsers [and often eat significant amounts of fungi] but in some cases will also consume invertebrate animals or even smaller vertebrates; they thus fill a similar ecological niche to RL?s Chevotrains?)
=>Sub-family Boreoparaleporinae (N; a group whose members basically resemble small-to-medium species from the Mesoparaleporinae, except in their number of molar teeth, but which seem to have appeared in the IDU?s main continent at about the same time that the earliest known fossils of the latter group appeared on the southern land-mass; middle-Oligocene to late Miocene)
=>Sub-family Macroleporinae (M; sheep-sized to tapir-sized forms, browsers or possibly mixed feeders but apparently no pure grazers; late Oligocene to early Pliocene; replaced by Ruminants and Perissodactyls)

Family Hydroleporidae (N; hare-sized to sheep-sized grazers and mixed feeders, with some adaptations [such as closable nostrils] for a semi-aquatic lifestyle, filling similar ecological niches to RL?s capybara and coypu; mid-Pliocene to present day)

...perhaps the winner of the Cheese Festival, the abolition of CIDUS, and the upcoming charter vote for a few new items.



Also: could someone please do something with this post? http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/7428665/1/
It should have been deleted and the member banned long ago, but I don't know how to do that.

Details agreed so far

Located in the ocean, out to the west of the main Idu continent.
One large island (roughly the same size as southern England, from the Channel to the Thames), with a number of smaller ones around it.
Climate approximately as for RL?s Channel Islands, i.e. Jersey & Guernsey & their neighbours. (An earlier regional agreement says that ocean currents basically pass clockwise around the region, so the waters around these islands would have a warm current arriving [helpfully] from the south or south-west?)
Wildlife basically comparable to that of the Channel Islands too, i.e. basically similar to a ?Western European? ecosystem although with some elements that might be thought of more as ?Southern European? instead, but with some of this region?s endemic species also present (maybeso substituting for their RL ecological counterparts) as well.
Its national animal is the Bear, presumably meaning the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), which is present in the forests of the main island?s north-western corner.


Questions and suggestions

1. Presumably the main island is composed of ?continental? crust, so that it includes sedimentary and metamorphic rocks (and maybeso some ?granitic? igneous rocks, which can have useful deposits of metal ores or even ?native? metals [i.e. ones that don?t need splitting out of ores] associated) rather than of ?oceanic? crust (which would basically limit it to ?basaltic? igneous rocks, and little if anything else?). (Yes/No?)
If so, then it could be either on the ?continental shelf? of the main Idu continent or a detached fragment of continental material that was left behind after splitting off from that ?North Idu? plate as the latter moved north-north-westwards (c.f. in RL, the Seychelles which were left behind by India, or South Georgia which was left behind by South America). Both of these possibilities would let it have native species descended from stocks that have been present here since before the continents split, rather than just from those that could colonise an ?oceanic? island, but keeping it on the continental shelf would also allow for later immigration ? across the intervening shelf when that was exposed at times of significantly lower sea-level ? too, which is probably a preferable situation. Shelf or fragment?
In any case, of course, other species could arrive [and probably have have arrived] from alternative aspects of ?fractal reality? ? including versions of Europe or North America, as well as alternative versions of Idu ? as well.

2. If the islands are on the continental shelf then I suggest that they?re fairly close to the western edge of this, and are angled more-or-less from along a NW-SE axis. [/b](Yes/No?)[/b] There could be a shallow area of significant size in the sea to the east/north-east, sheltered from the ocean?s strength by the islands, ?the [Sodor?] Banks?, which would be a good place for fishing. (Yes/No?)

3. Some ?South European? plant species whose presence as natives here seems reasonable to me = Sweet Chestnut, [Common] Horse Chestnut or a close relative (or two?), Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo), Bay Tree (?Bay Laurel?), Silver Fir, and also [in RL native only to the Balkans, although also grown & to varying extents naturalised in England, but in NS already found at least as far west as some southern areas in Bears Armed] a species of Lilac, the Ivy-leaved Toadflax, and Wallflowers.

4. If it?s an ?oceanic? island, never associated with a continent, then the only species of freshwater fish likely to be present naturally ? apart from any that arrived from other Realities altogether ? are ones that can spend part of their lives in the sea as well: Eels, Trout, Salmon, and so on? However if it?s a ?continental? island, as I?ve already suggested would be a better choice, then it could have a comparable range of freshwater fish to western Europe and maybeso a few additional species (probably including at least one type of Catfish) to reflect the ?southern? aspect as well.
This nation having a slightly more ?southern? aspect than does RL England means that it could ?comfortably? (except to the phobic?) be home to more native species of Amphibians and Reptiles than England is, too: That isn?t the case for the RL Channel Islands, mainly because their smaller size provides less in the way of habitats, but with Nova Sodor being significantly larger than all the members of that island group combined that problem wouldn?t apply here. I don?t know yet how much we?re using RL species from these classes, rather than [more-or-less] equivalent ones that evolved specifically in the IDU?s own lands, but if we go with the ?continental island? origin (rather than with an ?oceanic island? origin, which would be rather more restrictive) then this nation?s herpetofauna could plausibly include sa fairly wide selection from: Common Frog, one or more other types of ?Green Frog?(i.e. Pond frog, Marsh frog, the ?Edible Frog which is a hybrid of those?), Nimble Frog, European Tree Frog, Common Toad, Natterjack Toad, Midwife Toad, Common Newt, Palmate Newt, Great Crested Newt, 1-3 more species of Newts or Salamanders, either the Common/Viviparous Lizard or the Two-lined/Western Green Lizard (or maybeso even both of those?), Wall Lizard, Sand Lizard, Slow Worm, Grass Snake, Adder [or the former?s deadlier relative, an Idu endemic species, the ?Subtractor?), Smooth Snake, Aesculapian Snake, European Pond Tortoise, and maybeso even a [?land?] Tortoise.
Birds plausibly could also be more diverse here than in either RL England (cooler) or the RL Channel Islands (smaller)? but there?s a problem. If these islands are a significant distance from the Idu mainland, and there isn?t a chain of other [smaller?] islands to bridge that gap, then the only migratory species that could be present would be those that can manage long over-water flights: This requires some thought?
I would expect to see the Red-billed Chough (in RL also called the ?Cornish Chough?) in some coastal areas, and the IDU?s endemic ?Coloured Crow? ? which generally replaces the Common Crow, Hooded Crow, and other RL ?Crow? species in this region ? quite widespread. Probably Ravens and some other corvids in suitable places, too?
The islands? largest native ?gamebird? is probably a partridge of some kind, or a grouse: Has a larger gamebird (a pheasant, or a wild turkey) been introduced at some point for hunting purposes? Yes/No?

Mammals: the presence of bears (brown bears, I presume?) in the woods suggests to me that, unless the first bears were actually brought here deliberately by [bear-worshipping?] humans, the main island probably had a fairly complete set of either 'European' or 'North American' large mammals at one stage: One or more species of deer; wolves; wild boar, if it was a 'European' fauna; possibly one or more out of wild cattle, woods bison, ibex [in the uplands] or chamois or 'rocky mountain'-style "goat"; beaver, if there were any rivers with suitably large flood-plains; maybeso lynx, or even -- with a 'north American' fauna -- puma...
How many of those would still be present, after millennia of human pressure on their habitats and probably of hunting as well, is of course another matter. Maybeso only one or more species of deer, unless protecting the bears (for cultural reasons) involved protecting their habitat so extensively that some other species of large mammal survived there?

As many of you may have already been aware, NSwiki is back, and has been for some time, at nswiki.org. It is not nearly as voluminous or interactive as the old NSwiki, but as ever it remains a handy resource for sharing and interlinking national and regional information.

I've already begun IDU's page, by adding in the most basic information: http://nswiki.org/index.php?title=Region...atic_Union

It can be added and improved upon as things progress. One or two images would certainly brighten it up some.

BTW, that last section is bot-written and can be ignored. A disclaimer can be added if members do not like the way the bot describes the region.

The "Nations" section I thought might be a good incentive for members here to start wikifying their own countries, and add in the links as they are created. You'll notice I've already made pages for my IDU nations, Boricuastan and SchutteGod. Nation articles are one way to establish historical and cultural links between IDU nations, in a way that dispatches and factbooks cannot. Which is why I would encourage members to think about starting a wiki page, even if they already have gameside factbooks, etc.

If anyone requires help with anything wiki-related, poke me.

Welcome to the Ambassador's Lounge - a light hearted RP thread where the Lounge is yours to do with as you wish and all we ask is that you respect others and don't take yourself too seriously.

Formerly a private members club housed in the old, and mostly abandoned, CIDUS building deep in the heart of Democracity the Lounge was somewhat of a hub once frequented regularly by different members of the CIDUS-delegations.

Famous for its multiple entrances, wood panelled walls, book lined shelves, numerous rooms and alcoves, stained glass ceiling centre piece, massive elongated octagonal bar that has seen more than one drink spilled upon it as well as an eclectic menu of food and drink from across the IDU and beyond.

So come in, gather round to hear stories of years past, strike a deal and partake in plans for days yet to come....welcome to The Ambassador's Lounge.

Vampire Shrews

Kingdom: Animalia, Sub-kingdom: Metazoa,
Phylum: Chordata, Sub-phylum: Vertebrata,
Class: Mammalia,
Sub-class: Theria, Infra-class: Eutheria,
Order: Insectivora,
(Sub-order: Liptophyla, Super-family: Soricoidea,)
Family: Soricidae,
Sub-family: Draculinae


The ?Vampire Shrews? or (to use an alternative name for them that is less commonly applied, but technically more accurate...) ?Climbing Shrews? presumably evolved from a lineage of ?conventional?, ground-dwelling shrews whose members took to climbing in bushes & other vegetation in search of their invertebrate prey, probably during some warmer & wetter period of Earth?s history when such food was even more abundant in those places than it is today. No fossils that can definitely be identified as belonging to any intermediate species have been discovered so far, apart from a few teeth whose attribution to this group is still a matter of dispute in some quarters, but that?s hardly unusual for land-dwelling animals of such a relatively small size. Their differences from the ?soricines? (the modern group of ?conventional?, ground-dwelling shrews) include not only feet that are better-adapted for grasping vegetation (and the fur of larger animals, too) ? as well as, in two separate species whose ancestral lines seem to have developed this feature independently of each other, a prehensile tail ? but also changes in the nature of their venomous saliva. Amongst the traits that they share with the ?soricines?, in addition to the basic ?shrew? shape, is the possession of glands located on their sides that secret a substance which makes them unpalatable to many potential predators.
The four species that exist within this sub-family today fall into two distinct groups, each of which has expanded its ancestral diet and thus survived into the present day ? despite there having been a decline in the invertebrate food-supply in their ancestral habitats, and increased competition for this resource from other groups of animals, since that likely origin ? whereas any related lines that remained purely ?insectivorous? in nature have apparently died out. The members of the genus Draculinus, which are the three species of ?True Vampire-Shrews?, now feed to differing extents on blood from other mammals of various sizes, which may be considerably larger than themselves ? and sometimes from birds, too ? as well as on smaller animals, whilst the ?Tree-Creeper? or ?False Vampire-Shrew? which is the only known member of the genus Dendrosorex has become much more of a generalised omnivore and has even added tree-sap as a major constituent in its range of staple foods (thus, one might say, becoming ?vampiric? on trees?).



Common, or ?Ruddy?, Vampire-Shrew

Binominal name: Draculinus sanguinis
Range: lowland areas in ?Bears Armed?, and possibly in other parts of the IDU as well
Habitat: undergrowth & scrub, preferably damp, and to a lesser extent long grass; also temporarily on the outsides of large mammals
Status: numbers diminishing due to persecution, but not actually ?threatened? yet

Physical Details
Head & Body: 5.0-9.0cm
Tail: 3.5-4.8cm
Weight: 4.5-16.0g
Teeth: 2.1.1.2/2.0.1.2
Colour: brown or reddish-brown, paler underside

Food and Habits
Food: mammals? blood, invertebrates & other small vertebrates
Nest: grasses, underground
Behaviour: alternatively active and resting throughout 24 hours; feeds on invertebrates in vegetation and more rarely on the ground, and sometimes on other small vertebrates (mainly on the ground) too; will climb onto larger mammals in order to drink their blood, and may also attack sleeping mammals of quite large size on the ground
Voice: high-pitched squeaks
Hibernation: none
Migration: may travel aboard mammalian prey, otherwise none

Life Cycle
Litters: usually 2 or 3 per year, in nest
Young: 4 to 8, naked and helpless
Maturity: normally year following birth
Longevity: usually 1-2 years

Comments
This is the species of ?Vampire-Shrew? for which the blood of other mammals is probably most important overall as a source of food. Although it forages for invertebrates and other small vertebrates to some extent, both on the ground and by climbing up into the vegetation, it feeds for preference by clambering aboard larger mammals when these brush against the plants in which it?s climbing and then ? after snapping up any smaller parasites that it might encounter along the way, which was probably what the common ancestors of all this genus?s member species originally climbed onto other mammals to do ? making a small wound through a suitable location in their skin and lapping the blood that flows out of this. They are assisted in this behaviour by the fact that their venom, rather than being a paralytic agent as is that of the ?soricine? shrews, forms a mixture of a (?local?) anaesthetic and an anti-coagulant. The main species upon which they feed in this way are Deer (of all kinds, up to & including ?Elk?/?Moose?), Woods Bison and other bovids, Sivatheres, feral Donkeys, and domestic livestock. They are less likely to attack those animals whose diets typically include significant proportions of meat, such as Dogs & Wolves, Tigers, pre-sapient Bears, or sapient ?Ursines?, presumably making this decision on the basis of smell, which is a trait that may have been selected for evolutionarily because any of them that do try this are more likely than those preying on herbivores to be noticed and killed... The thick skin and usual habits of Wild Pigs also render these animals reasonably safe from attack. The shrew will often normally leave each ?host? quite shortly after taking a meal there, returning to nearby plants as soon as this then becomes possible, which is made easier by the fact that they often choose vegetation close to streams & pools in which to hunt and can therefore transfer to & from those ?hosts? as the latter pass through these areas on their way to & from those sources of drinking water: This habit means that breeding females are able to resume feeding on mammalian blood rather than on invertebrates quite soon after giving birth, because they will usually be able to return from this feeding in time to nurse their young again before it?s too late.


Least Vampire-Shrew

Binominal name: Draculinus minimus
Range: lowland areas & middle altitudes in ?Bears Armed?, and possibly in other parts of the IDU as well
Habitat: undergrowth & long grass, preferably damp; & also on the outsides of large mammals
Status: not threatened

Physical Details
Head & Body: 3.6-6.1cm
Tail: 2.5-4.2cm, prehensile
Weight: 1.5-6.2g
Teeth: 2.1.2.2/2.0.1.2
Colour: dark brown, whitish underside

Food and Habits
Food: invertebrates, mammals? blood, other small vertebrates
Nest: woven from grasses, above ground-level
Behaviour: alternatively active and resting throughout 24 hours; feeds on invertebrates both in vegetation and on the ground, and more rarely on other small vertebrates (mainly on the ground) too, but will also climb onto larger mammals that pass through the vegetation where it lives in order to drink their blood and may remain aboard them for a long time
Voice: high-pitched squeaks, sometimes ultrasonic
Hibernation: none
Migration: may travel aboard mammalian prey, otherwise none

Life Cycle
Litters: up to 4 per year, in nest
Young: 4 to 10
Maturity: about four months
Longevity: probably less than 2 years

Comments
This species of ?Vampire-Shrew? typically hunts for its invertebrate prey in long grasses and other plants that are less sturdy than the sorts of bushes which its ?Common? (and rather larger) relative favours: Transferring onto large mammals tends to be more difficult in these circumstances, so that when a Shrew of this species does manage to board a suitable host it generally remains riding (and feeding) on it for some time ? preferably in a location where the skin is relatively thin and there?s something besides just fur to hold onto, such as at the bases of the ears ? instead of dismounting again after a single meal? However they will also readily board, feed once from, & then leave, animals that are noticeably smaller than those favoured by that relative ? including young members of those ?large mammal? species, as well as adults of types that don?t get that large such as Rabbits and Hares ? when the opportunity to do so arises. Adult females will normally refrain from attacking mammals in these ways while they have an unweaned litter in the nest, because of the fairly high risk that their ?prey? will carry them too far away from these for them to return in time to give those young their next feed, and rely on finding invertebrates ? and perhaps vertebrates of various kinds that are small enough for them to kill outright, too ? during these times: It helps that they are capable of ?delayed implantation?, meaning that they can postpone the effective start of pregnancy for some time after mating and thus perhaps wait until they?re well-nourished before facing this strain on their metabolism. The venom of this species is also, like that of their larger relative, a mixture of a (?local?) anaesthetic and an anti-coagulant.


Worst Vampire-Shrew

Binominal name: Draculinus horridus
Range: lowland areas in ?Bears Armed?, and possibly in other parts of the IDU as well
Habitat: undergrowth & scrub, preferably damp, and long grass; also sometimes on the outsides of large mammals; may invade farmyards and houses in winter
Status: declining, due to persecution

Physical Details
Head & Body: 5.9-11.2cm
Tail: 3.4-5.3cm
Weight: 10.2-28.8g
Teeth: 2.1.2.2/2.0.1.3
Colour: greyish-brown, paler underside

Food and Habits
Food: invertebrates & other small animals, mammals? blood, carrion
Nest: usually a burrow that was dug by some other animal
Behaviour: alternatively active and resting throughout 24 hours, although probably more active at night than in daytime in most cases; feeds mainly on the ground, although also to a lesser extent up in the vegetation; may also climb aboard passing mammals in order to drink their blood, but is more likely to attack them from the ground while they?re asleep ? or sometimes even, for the members of smallish species such as Rabbits and Voles, while they?re awake ? in which case it may eat their flesh as well as drink their blood
Voice: high-pitched squeaks, may hiss when startled or when males are arguing
Hibernation: none
Migration: generally none, although individuals may wander in search of food, but if the population in an area builds up beyond a certain point or a natural disaster strikes then mass emigration may occur

Life Cycle
Litters: usually 1 but up to 3 per year, in nest
Young: 2 to 4, less helpless than those of the other Draculinus species
Maturity: normally year after birth
Longevity: usually 2-3 years

Comments
Although not much longer on average than its ?Common? relative, this type of Shrew is somewhat more sturdily built and much more of an active predator (rather than just a blood-drinking ecto-parasite) than that species. In some ways it looks like an intermediate form between the other Draculinus species and the ?soricine? or ?conventional? shrews, because it is less well adapted to climbing than either of its genus?s other members whilst its venom is more strongly paralysing but less effective an anti-coagulant than theirs: However there are also various other, less obvious details of both its anatomy and its genes that do place it firmly within this group. The relatively uncommon occasions when it climbs from vegetation onto large mammals in order to drink their blood feed are likely to involve the very largest of the possible ?prey? species around, because their size & the fact that they usually move more slowly than the ?lesser? beasts maximises the time available for that transfer whilst they?re probably a bit less likely than the smaller beasts to notice the Shrew?s presence on their surface, although injured or infirm animals of other kinds may also be attacked in this way: Its preferred method of approaching members of these species is along the ground while they?re sleeping (or are awake but seriously incapacitated). The fact that its venom doesn?t encourage the flow of blood from wounds as effectively as does the venom of its smaller relatives means that it has to make larger, more ragged wounds in its larger targets in order to obtain enough food from them. When it can?t find suitable targets from amongst the larger mammals it actively seeks out rodents and other small vertebrates instead, as well as the invertebrates that are more frequent constituents of a typical ?Insectivore? diet, sometimes ambushing them from twigs that are a few inches above the ground and sometimes going down into their burrows ? despite the inherent risk involved in possibly meeting adult members of larger species such as rabbits or voles head-on in such confined spaces ? too? There have even been a few reports of it being found in moles? tunnels, although whether that was actually to hunt the moles or just to raid their larders remains unknown so far. Although they normally don?t hunt together it?s not actually unknown for a member of this species that which finds an immobile animal that?s too large for them to tackle alone, such as a deer with a broken leg or a domestic animal confined in a pen to announce this (by, as was only recently discovered, a special, ultrasonic squeak) to any others who might be in earshot so that they can share in paralysing it in exchange for a share in the food: This behaviour seems to be the most likely during migrations. Shrews that have a large corpse on which to feed may tunnel into it, both to seek out the sections that they prefer and to gain shelter from larger predators until they leave that site, which can be rather a surprise for any other scavengers that start feeding on occupied remains: There are even stories of them tunnelling into sleeping people, and killing these by eating their hearts, but these would seem to be only stories*. They are regarded as a danger to domestic livestock, especially when this is being kept in pens or sheds, and when they invade houses they may also attack not just pets but people too? For people to die as a result of their attacks is extremely rare but has been verifiably documented in a few cases, most of which involved either young children or elderly & infirm individuals who were anaesthetised or even paralysed whilst asleep and then bled to death from the wounds that the Shrews caused without waking up. There have also been some instances, although again only very rarely, when susceptible individuals have suffered fatal allergic reactions to the Shrew?s venom. Fortunately, however, it does not [yet] seem to have become a vector for diseases. The fact that this species? hunting patterns tend to involve more wider-ranging travel than those of the related species has led them to evolve into producing young that are more advanced than their relatives? at birth, so that they can leave the nest sooner, although this has been at the cost of their producing a reduced number of offspring per litter.


Tree-Creeper (False Vampire-Shrew)

Binominal name: Dendrosorex draculoides
Range: lowland areas & middle altitudes in ?Bears Armed?, and possibly in other parts of the IDU as well
Habitat: deciduous woodland & thick scrub, orchards
Status: fluctuates, but probably fairly stable overall

Physical Details
Head & Body: 4.5-7.0cm
Tail: 3.8-6.6cm, prehensile
Weight: 10.8-32.0g
Teeth: 2.1.3.3/2.0.1.3
Colour: mostly light brown, whitish underside

Food and Habits
Food: invertebrates, tree-sap, nectar, fruit, other small vertebrates, birds? eggs
Nest: holes in trees, sometimes deserted birds? nests
Behaviour: primarily crepuscular & nocturnal, but may also have periods of activity during the day; almost entirely arboreal
Voice: squeaks
Hibernation: yes, usually late autumn to early spring, in nest
Migration: none

Life Cycle
Litters: 2 to 4 per year, in nest
Young: 4 to 8
Maturity: year after birth
Longevity: usually 1-2 years

Comments
The members of this species have feet that are even better adapted to climbing than are those of any Draculinus species, and with the prehensile tail added they are capable of quite incredible agility up in the branches, but they are far less likely than any of their relatives to visit the ground. They differ from the ?True? Vampire-Shrews in being non-venomous, and although they have retained the scent-glands on their flanks that make shrews in general highly distasteful to most predators these have a weakened effect that doesn?t always protect them from [e.g.] Crows? Having developed stronger incisors than their relatives they are able to pierce the bark on trees? branches, both to get at any insects that might be present there and to release flows of sap which they then lap up: The ?Sugar Maple? is therefore one of the species that they especially favour as homes, which is definitely NOT appreciated by the ?Ursines? who also harvest those trees? sugary sap even though the Shrews usually feed only from the thinner, upper &/or outer branches (because their teeth can?t pierce the bark on the thicker ones) and thus don?t directly affect the supply ?upstream? where the Ursines tap the trees? trunks. They are regarded as a pest in orchards too, because of the damage that they inflict on the fruit, and even more so in silk-producing areas because there they will feed not only on the mulberries but on the actual silkworms as well.
There is some competition for food with Dormice (with which they may sometimes be confused, if not seen clearly), but these two types of animal are able to retain populations in the same areas as each other because each of them has both advantages and disadvantages that the other lacks: The Tree-Creeper?s ability to feed on tree-sap in spring & summer combines with its higher birth-rate to let it build up its numbers more quickly than Dormice can do during years when the weather is good , but then the Dormice?s ability to feed on nuts (whose shells are too tough for the Shrews? smaller & more pointed teeth to handle) in later seasons combines with their greater size to mean that a higher proportion of them than of the Shrews are likely to survive hibernation through the harsher winters?


(* There are old but probably inaccurate stories from the ?Real World? about ?soricine? shrews allegedly behaving like this, too?)

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