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Trip Gerbil
Ring-tailed dog
Name Ring-tailed dog
Type Mammal
Diet Omnivore


Ring-tailed dogs are small conjoined rodents connected by a singular long tail.


Etymology[]

The name comes from their primary action against opponents being the word ring-tailed (the pattern of a striped tail) and dog (a species of a man’s best friend).

Anatomy[]

The ring-tailed dog is very same as each other and are seemingly completely identical, as such only one body part will be mentioned and is interchangeable in between each other and have been described as "Cutesy".

Head-The head of a ring-tailed dog is rectangular in shape with a curve downwards in the middle. They possessed wide mouths with enlarged incisors in the middle giving them buck teeth similar to most modern rodents such as the Beaver. Their snouts were very short and were tipped with a pink nose pad.

Eyes - Their eyes were noticibly sunken into the skull and consist of a white sclera and black iris and pupil.

Ears - They possessed enlarged rounded ears which they could move in order to emote, turning them in order to hear sounds better.

Body - Their necks are more visible than most other Croodaceous Creatures and allowed for better vision over long distances. Their limbs where around mid sized and where tipped with four hairless toes and looked similar to that of a modern Squirrel.

Tail - Their most distinct feature is their tail which connects the two individuals together making them naturally conjoined twins. While they share a nervous system they do not seem to share the same personality and mind as they must actively choose to work together. The tail is very flexible and possesses a nearly elastic stretching ability suggesting its structure is different to that of any known species of rodent and it has been stated to be similar in structure to that of a snake. This suggests that the tail of a ring-tailed dog has an increased amount of vertebrae and may possess rib like bones coming off of it in order to maintain its structure. The muscles of the tail are highly complex and the tail may possess increased tendons and connective tissue between the vertebrae in order to achieve the stretching ability it displays.

Pelt - The fur of the ring-tailed dog is short and fuzzy with the fur of the tail being longer and fluffier.

Coloration - They possess pinkish grey markings around the eyes with white markings around the upper lip, around the eye markings, and around the rim of the ears as well as down the chest and belly from the base of the neck. They possess yellow markings on the cheeks, chin, and down towards the neck as well as on the wrists of its forearms and on the lower parts of its hind legs with a darker yellow throughout the tail. They possessed black markings on the top of the head, back of the ears, down the back of the neck, down the back and rear, and black striped across the tail.

Height - The ring-tailed dog came in at around 5 Inches or 12.7 Centimeters tall.

Length - The ring-tailed dog came in at around 6-7 Feet or 1.8-2.1 Meters in length.

Weight - The ring-tailed dog came in at about 4 pounds.

Lifespan - The ring-tailed dog lived for around 2-3 years similar to a modern gerbil.

Habitat[]

The ring-tailed dog can be found in both Jungles and Deserts where they commonly live in burrows.

Behavior[]

Ring-tailed dogs are scavengers and will work together to steal food from other animals or even from families of Cavemen (Neanderthals) in order to get a meal. They will commonly communicate with the other twin in order to form plans to aid in their survival, They have a high amount of self preservation and even when the other twin is captured the uncaptured twin will attempt to run away and abandon that twin. They are quite fearless for a rodent and upon seeing a large animal will not run away or hide but instead will use their tail to trip the animal and steal any food stuffs they may have in their possession. To protect themselves from predators they will burrow into shallow sand allowing them to avoid being detected.

Diet[]

The ring-tailed dog is an opportunistic omnivore and will eat almost anything they can get their hands on. They primarily feed on seeds, nuts and fruits but will also eat proteins such as the yolk inside of a Ramu egg.

Predators[]

Some of the more common predators of the ring-tailed dog are the Macawnivore and the Turkey Fish with the latter showing particular enjoyment in preying upon these animals. It may also be preyed upon by the Bear Owl as they live in the same habitat as them.

Abilities[]

Burrowing - The ring-tailed dog has demonstrated the ability to burrow skillfully.

Tail Elasticity - Their tail is able to stretch and allow them to hit objects and wrap around them quite easily as seen when Grug threw one at Gran.

Tail Endurance - The ring-tailed dog's tail is able to resist breakage even when hit by a much larger animal or even multiple animals with no pain being visible within either individual and can even withstand the 40 Mph charge of a Ramu.

Intelligence - The ring-tailed dog is highly intelligent and are able to judge if an opponent is too tough for them or if they can take down a foe and can even form plans or react quickly to a threat.

In The Movie[]

A ring-tailed dog was seen at the beginning of the movie emerging from the sand to try to steal the Ramu.egg and are able to use their tail to trip it with ease and steal the egg from it. Upon the awakening of a Bear Owl they immediately retreat from the fight. Later the pair is shown to have migrated from the desert to the plains and are going to be eaten by a Turkey Fish. Near the end of the movie when The End is going to destroy the valley the ring-tailed dog is among those who didn't make it across to Tomorrow but are rescued by Grug and Chunky. Chunky later attempts to eat the ring-tailed dog, but are saved and become one of Gran's pets.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Despite joining the family the ring-tailed dog return show up in the ending scene.
  • The ring-tailed dog is not the first conjoined animal developed by Dreamworks as the Hideous Zippleback of the How To Train Your Dragon movies came out first.


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