Signalopes

Fast and agile running molodonts, signalopes coexist with similarly shaped thorngrazers, an example of convergent evolution - the tendency for unrelated lineages to develop the same physical traits when evolving under similar conditions.

Signalopes are cursorial molodonts descended from the tribbymara, which have evolved to strongly resemble the earlier circuagodonts and contemporary crested thorngrazers in shape. They are grazers, at least most of the time, with wide, flat tooth beaks similar to those of thorngrazers - however, their diet is more or less exclusively herbivorous, and they do not generally consume meat even if it is easily available, unlike those animals. Furthermore, they eat only soft, green vegetation, especially near water, and so have weaker jaws comparatively; they frequently niche-partition with loopalopes and other thorngrazers by feeding on the softer blades of grass left behind after those animals have fed on coarser vegetation. These animals are long-legged, very fast tripods with dog-like foot pads and short, blunt claws that give them traction at high speeds, and they have few defenses beyond running from their enemies. Signalopes can be found across Serinarcta wherever grasslands are open enough to support them - no species of them occurs in forest.

This clade of molodont is most distinct for its very highly-set eyes, which let them scan the grasslands for danger while grazing, but which also lend them a somewhat stupid look. Even more so, though, they're known for their extremely expressive ears which have evolved to facilitate social communication at a distance, especially to keep herds coordinated. Signalopes' fleshy ears are densely packed with iridescent chromatophores - pigment cells, which it can change at will with remarkable variety of pattern, nearly instantaneously, in a manner that is very unusual among land animals, though common in aquatic fish and invertebrates. By contracting or expanding pigments within each cell, signalopes can completely shift the colors of their inner ears through any shade and hue, from bright yellow, to red, to green, blue, violet, and black - only stark white is not produced. There are also less concentrated chromatophores in the skin of the face and neck, which can flush a narrower range of blue through violet colors depending on mood; these are smaller in the female, which is slightly less colorful as a rule.

Signalopes breed rapidly, producing litters of up to four young three times yearly, and so herds are often large, numbering dozens if not more than a hundred. They are made up of many socially monogamous pairs, and even more juveniles of many age. Yet these are not random assemblages, as they may be in thorngrazers. In these animals, herds are stable familiar units, in which everyone knows everyone else. This is only possible through complex visual communication, which is done through their ears - and to understand this language, these animals are much more intelligent than they may appear. Herds develop cultural dialects, all animals within them mirroring each other's shifting ear patterns and adopting a shared pattern of color flashes which they repeat in synchronicity while feeding and at rest. This serves to identify anyone as a member of the in-group, and to quickly allow the herd to find anyone who has become lost, especially when multiple herds gather in one place to feed. Signalope pups imprint on their own herd's flash patterns in the first few weeks of life, but take some time to figure out how to display their own, and youngsters under three months of age often struggle to keep sync with the rest of their groups signals - this is not a problem, as they only need to recognize the signals of their elders at this age, which they can do with some accuracy by just three days old. Adult signalopes also have instinctive ear signals that override their default patterns when threatened by predators, which are recognized innately by even newborns, and which tell them when to hide. Like their ancestors, signalopes practice cooperative childcare and the entire herd works to ensure the survival of all young. This applies even to adopted young which may be lost from other herds, even if they are already learning to flash the "wrong" ear patterns, as adults are naturally inclined to care for all juveniles as long as they are still in their infant coats, which are banded brown and yellow for camouflage, and not lost until 4 months of age. Though herd-specific flash patterns are an identifier, they aren't permanent, and both older juveniles and adults will adjust them and copy those of a new herd if they disperse at any age, though it is a learning curve that may take several weeks to perfect.

Because they have come to rely on visual cues for all communication, signalopes are almost mute, and have also very poor sense of smell. Pups will emit shrill peeping cries when separated from adults for a prolonged period, which they rely on to find their families if lost in tall grass. As might be expected for an animal so reliant on sight and particularly on color vision, signalopes are diurnal and rest at night in circular groups, where the oldest animals line up facing outward around the younger ones. If threatened by predators at night the entire herd scatters; adults will run almost blindly to escape, while pups will run a short distance, double back, and crouch down to hide. This ensures that the fewest number of animals are able to be pursued by their enemies, and that most will survive to reunite at daybreak. It is only then that adult signalopes will emit any vocalization at all - if a herd is separated, members will emit short, bleating cries that serve in helping the lost members to find each other once again if they are not in visual range.