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Sikirin
Sikirinar (sing. sikirin) are a largely arborial species of dvidalin, related to the orghysh. Though they have no language and are non-sophonts, they are fairly intelligent animals and have had a long, if ambiguous, relationship with takma society.
Appearance
Sikirinar are medium-sized draconiform hexapods, with adults averaging between 1.25 and 1.4 meters in total length. Compared to takmar and xtauh, they have compact bodies with short necks, long, powerful limbs, and simplified wings; their antennae are short and oriented backward, and their muzzles are short. Their fingers and toes are adapted to grasping and climbing, aided by claws that are short and broad, and their tails are more prehensile than those of the takmins.
Sikirinar have large eyes with round pupils and irises of a gold, amber, or brown color. Their bodies are vibrantly colored, dark green on their backs and the tops of their heads, brighter green on their sides and the dorsal surfaces of their limbs and wings, and cerulean with irregular bright blue spots on the belly. Stripes of a dark green or olive color run down their sides. Aside from slight differences in size and muscle tone, the main visual difference between male and female sikirinar lies in the ventral surfaces of their wings and limbs; in females these are only a slightly paler green than the dorsal surfaces, while in males they are very pale, flushing red during courtship displays.
Juvenile coloration is less flamboyant, with both sexes starting out almost uniformly dark green with dark olive stripes on their sides. They begin to transition to adult coloration around two cycles of age, at the beginning of adolescence.
Habitat and ecology
Sikirinar are native to the rainforests of the Cerulean Tangle. They spend most of their time in the canopy, using their long arms and legs to climb and travel between branches; though their wings are not capable of flight, they do allow sikirinar to glide between trees that cannot be reached by climbing or jumping. They may descend to ground level in search of food, to defecate, or (if more suitable sites are scarce) to maintain nests, but overall they prefer to remain elevated - if not actually in trees, then in other high vantage points such as cliffs.
They are fairly generalist in their feeding habits; they will eat fruit, leaves, fungi, insects and other small invertebrates, small to medium vertebrates, and eggs. They do not typically attempt to take large prey, either alone or cooperatively, but may band together to seize a large kill from another predator.
