Manducus

The manducus is a large species of foxtrotter that belongs to a lineage of more omnivorous descendants of the predatory mordax of the early hothouse. In the case of this species, it is more than 90% vegetarian. This dietary shift over the last ten million years has allowed this particular species, which is as large as its ancestor, to survive the localized extinction event which has afflicted many large southern carnivores by the wide success and ruthless ferocity of the squabgoblin in its efforts to rid itself of its competition and its own enemies. The ancestors of these bear-like canitheres evolved in wetlands and fed on aquatic prey such as fish; soft, easily chewed water plants also found there were the stepping stone toward evolving toward herbivory, as adding these vegetables to their diets let them get more food for less energy expenditure, and later allowed them to avoid contact with squabgoblin competitors more easily than their relatives that remained obligate carnivores. But as larger scroungers, the ancestors of the cantankerous brawlers and bogbeast, also evolved in Serainaustra's swamp habitats, the manducus was slowly pushed out again back onto drier land. 

It has since evolved larger, more blunted cheek teeth suited for grinding tough terrestrial vegetation such as grass and woody saplings rather than slicing flesh, and repurposed its massive jaw muscles toward chewing rather than crushing. Two upper canine-like teeth and the forward-most lower incisor have become tusk-like,  useful to grip woody branches and snap them off of trees and to dig roots out of the soil. These teeth may not be used to kill prey any longer, but are fully capable of defensive biting. The combination of ferocity when cornered with an otherwise docile, plant-eating lifestyle has allowed this animal to be mostly left alone by the squabgoblin that neither considers it a threat nor an easy animal to hunt.

Today, this unusual foxtrotter can be found in northern Serinaustra in a range of habitats including grasslands, flood plains, and open forests. A toothy scowl and a downward-pointing white mark over each eye lends it a crude, angry appearance, but the manducus is not a very aggressive animal unless threatened. It is not very predatory, though it will feed on carrion and gnaw on the occasional bone, so it is not feared by other animals.  And as a primary diet of plants, mostly leaves and shoots, is not particularly scarce, there is no longer much reason for it to be territorial and fight over land; it now often travels in loose aggregations of individuals, if only for company. Pair bonds between males and females have weakened without the need for one adult to watch the young while the other goes hunting, and females now do most of the child-rearing alone, keeping their single cubs with them from birth, as they are not in nearly as much danger from the grass as the cubs of their ancestors were from the fighting prey animals being killed by their parents. The manducus must eat a lot of plant food daily to get enough calories to sustain itself, and is similar to the Earth panda bear in not having a particularly efficient digestive system to process it. But its diet is higher in energy than the panda's sparse bamboo diet, and is comprised of a much wider range of tropical plant species, so that the manducus - though laid-back and often described as mellow - is not nearly as restricted in activity as the panda, and it has not experienced a major reduction in brain size. Further, its enormous mouth and jaws, similarly shaped to those of a hippopotamus, allow it to eat and pulverize large quantities of vegetation very quickly. Ecologically, it is now most similar to a large molodont, and fulfills a niche similar to a thorngrazer in the absence of these organisms in its habitat.