Scruffether

 (Veneraptor spiritus) are an original species designed by User:TheAgent41. Scruffether inhabit the Meta Monsters universe.

Scruffether are medium-sized theropod dinosaurs, adults measuring up to five feet, six inches in length from nose to tail. They stand one foot, ten inches at the hip and they generally weigh approximately 90 pounds. Their bodies are lean and sleek, helping them with pack hunting.

Scruffether are covered in purple scales. Black feathers measuring one foot in length at the longest sporadically cover the body in patches that vary depending on the individual. Meta Monster biologists have hypothesized that this is due to a mutated strain of parasitic mites that infected the species early in its evolution, giving it a permanent, species-wide case of severe mange.

Scruffether have pronounced underbites with numerous teeth protruding from the lower jaw. Scruffether eyes have yellow sclerae, prominent red veins (giving them a perpetual bloodshot look), and small round pupils. All Scruffether have a crest composed of three long feathers sprouting from between the eyes.

Scruffether "hands" each have three fingers that end in sharp claws measuring five inches in length. The same applies to the feet, although the first digit on each foot has evolved into a large curved claw measuring at least eight inches in length. This "sickle claw" is held retracted off the ground, meaning Scruffether only walk on the second and third digits of each foot.

The tail of Scruffether are incredibly powerful and take up approximately 50% of their body length. These tails are very stiff rather than flexible as in common thought, and Scruffether used them to keep balance during high-speed pursuits. The tails are somewhat flexible when moving horizontally, but they are very still and immobile vertically.

Scruffether are exclusively carnivorous. They are pack hunters, chasing down prey in packs of between three and six individuals. Working together, they can take down prey as large as Giraferno with minimum effort. Mostly, however, they feed on medium-sized game like Didgeroo or small prey like young Tunnelid. When hunting large prey as a pack, Scruffether will attempt to leap onto their prizes and latch on with their sickle claws. They then attempt to puncture the victim's skin in enough spots to cause intense blood loss. When the animal faints, the Scruffether will then begin to consume them alive.

Scruffether are relatively intelligent among Meta Monsters, although not enough to be classed as sapient. They are intelligent enough to work together in packs and plan coordinated attack patterns, and some packs have been observed planning ambushes by having some members of the pack lie in wait while other flush prey towards them.

Scruffether have a very basic social structure within their packs wherein one male, usually the oldest, acts as the Alpha. When the pack takes down a large prey animal, the Alpha always eats first and the other members are not allowed to eat until the Alpha has eaten his or her fill. Occasionally, younger members will challenge the Alpha for dominance. Dominance displays involve flaring up the feather crests on their heads and stretching out their arms to make themselves look bigger than they are.

Scruffether are capable of exhaling a thick purple cloud of toxic gas. This gas is composed mostly of carbon dioxide stored in a special sac rather than exhaled during respiration, but it also contains several species of infectious bacteria known to live only in this gas sac in a symbiotic relationship with the Scruffether. When inhaled, this toxic cloud causes intense nausea, stomach cramps, and mange-like symptoms such as loss of hair or feathers in other Meta Monsters and humans.

The Scruffether mating season lasts approximately one month in early Summer. Up to ten different packs will meet up in the same place, year after year, to mingle and mate. During this mass mating party, Scruffether Alphas will attempt to impress potential mates by strutting about with their wings outstretched and their necks bent at an angle. Lesser males will do this too, but females will generally pay more attention to the Alphas. Alphas will generally mate with up to four females in one season and become very territorial when lesser males try to move in on their harems. After the mating season is over, the Alpha males will go their separate ways with the females they mated with and whatever lesser males that straggle behind. Because of this, packs rarely consist of the same members across successive years.

Scruffether females lay between two and four eggs at a time. Eggs are generally laid two months after conception, and they hatch near the end of the summer, approximately two months after being laid. Scruffether females are surprisingly parental for such vicious creatures, protecting their young fiercely against predators or against jealous males. Hatchlings generally stay with the pack until the next mating season.


 * In the Meta Monsters universe, Scruffether are Beast/Toxic-type Meta Monsters and are No. 064 in the Encyclopedia. Their Encyclopedia entries read as such: "The clouds of toxic gas that Scruffether constantly exhale can cause humans to lose their hair and Meta Monsters to lose fur or feathers."
 * Scruffether's scientific name loosely translates to "poison breath thief".