Flying and walking monster bats

While not as widespread and diverse as in the earlier and warmer Biancocene era, gargouilles maintain a discrete presence in Antarctica. These astonishing bats, despite being capable of efficient flight, primarily hunt on the ground, preying on dead animals and small mammals, which they unearth from their dens. Most species weigh less than 100 grams and are unable to survive in regions where the soil remains frozen for extended periods. Nearly all Antarctic gargouille diversity is concentrated in the southernmost parts of the coldvanna, where they inhabit the undergrowth of the last remaining piedmont forests of the continent.

The ongoing global cooling trend does not favor the expansion of these thermophilic mammals, but there is one exception. One species of gargouille has adapted to the open areas of the southern coldvanna, where permafrost prevents traditional digging for these bats. How can it survive? By growing larger to hunt bigger prey and reduce the relative need for food intake. This bat, known as the clawed gargouille (Brontomyotis raptorius), is truly gigantic and the largest bat documented in Antarctica, weighing between 2-3 kg and boasting a wingspan of 2 meters.

As its name suggests, the clawed gargouille features an exceptionally large single claw on its thumb, reduced to only one phalanx. This modification sacrifices dexterity for enhanced grip on a prey or carcasses. Unlike its relatives, who usually hunt on the ground, the clawed gargouille hunts by diving from the sky and striking its prey with a moderately strong bite that exerts a force of 500 N, similar to that of a cougar. Their main food however come from dead animals (up to 80%). Its molar teeth are less serrated but more robust, with the upper ones rotated towards the inside of the mouth. This adaptation allows the bat to better tear off meat from frozen solid carcasses.
Aside from some species of parstrikers, clawed gargouilles are the largest flying scavengers on the continent. However, their range has been shrinking recently due to the increasing harshness of both interglacial and glacial periods. The age of gargouilles in Antarctica may have to wait for temperatures to rise again.

If they rise at all.