Zeiman Mantisaur

The Mantisaur was created and sprited by LITH. There are currently two varieties released with the second being found on P1 rather than Zeima.

It is found in the desert biome on Zeima.

Breed ID: Giant Lizard

Sprites and Descriptions
(Regular on top, Polytype on bottom)

Alpha: This green egg has a thin brittle shell. It's rather light for its size.

Beta: A newly hatched mantisaur has soft scales as they have not yet developed large deposits of chitin. It shows a preference for dark, enclosed spaces and has a voracious appetite.

Delta: As the mantisaur's scales harden they become more adventurous, exploring everything. They still have a voracious appetite and often get into trouble trying to eat things that aren't edible.

Omega: The mantisaur is a large arboreal creature found in forested areas. They use their long bodies and tails for balance and to aid in climbing. These carnivorous creatures will eat most anything small enough to fit in their mouths and sometimes larger - they have been sighted with large lumps stuck in their throats after perhaps biting off a bit more than they could chew. Luckily their esophagus is very elastic. Their bodies are covered with chitinous scales and their skeletons are cartilaginous. Females are larger than males. There are several subspecies, with green, brown, and even purple individuals.

Additional Information
Mantisaurs are neither reptiles nor insects, but something of an intermediate. They are primarily ectothermic although they do have some primitive mechanisms for slight control over their body temperature. They have hard, flat, plate-like scales that are unfortunately a bit brittle due to being made of chitin, but grow back readily if the mantisaur is injured. The mantisaur's skeletal structure is entirely cartilaginous and allows for extreme flexibility; individuals are regularly seen in positions that appear incredibly painful, and they can compress their bodies to fit into relatively tiny spaces. Mantisaurs are about as intelligent as an Earth dog, and once tamed can be trained to do simple tasks. Their first master, however, is their stomach. The mantisaur will eat nearly anything that moves, from tiny insects to things rather larger than its head. They use their numerous long needle-like teeth to kill their prey and then shove it whole into their mouths. It may take several hours for the prey to reach the mantisaur's stomach, but once it does digestion is a quick affair. It is unwise to upset a mantisaur while its food is still visible in its throat as it is liable to regurgitate its meal on its aggressor.

Mantisaurs are very curious and active. They are diurnal, and spend their days darting around in the trees, searching for food and mates. They have no concept of territoriality and huge numbers may congregate where food is plentiful. They are very enthusiastic breeders and are not at all known for being choosy, although the female is only occasionally capable of reproduction. Young mantisaurs hatch from eggs hidden far away from other mantisaurs as they are sometimes eaten by their elders. They are capable of feeding themselves from birth, although until their scales harden they spend most of their time hidden away in dark, enclosed spaces. Several subspecies exist, all capable of interbreeding but with different appearances: a green variety found in the rainforests of P1, and purple variety found on Mavi, and a brown variety found in the arid regions of Zeima.