Pugbat
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Name:
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Turpis porcarius
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Abilities and Weapons:
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wings, teeth, claws
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Occupation:
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Pack hunting micropredators
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Home:
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Skull Island
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First Appearance:
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"The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island" (from 2005)
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Diet:
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Carnivore (Ferrucutus)
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Size:
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Wingspan: 60-91 centimeters
Weight Estimated: 0.7-1 kilograms |
Status:
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Possibly survived by flying away from Skull Island.
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The Pugbat, Turpis porcarius ("ugly swineherd"), is a strange, flat-faced, flying, nocturnal, bat-like non-mammalian cynodont from the lowland plains of Skull Island. It has a 2-3 foot wingspan (60-91 centimeters). They resemble Terapusmordax.
Facts[]
Flying non-mammalian cynodonts, Pugbats are nocturnal pack hunters specializing in taking down large prey. Families of up to 15 adults and their young nest in hollow trunks and sheltered hollows created by fallen trees on the edges of the lowland plains, emerging at sundown to hunt in the half-light before full dark. Dozing grazers, such as Ferrucutus cerastes, in the open lands are their primary prey.
Spooking the herd with eerie calls, the pack will swoop down en masse on young or sick individuals they have isolated amid the throng, instinctively aiming for the throat and stomach, where thinner skin grants access to more blood vessels. Ferocious bacteria in the Pugbats’ saliva can bring on spontaneous coronary shock in prey, dying of heart failure in a matter of minutes after being savaged, not unlike the Komodo dragon.
Few prey animals voluntarily seek conflict with the pugnacious little flyers.
Mouths are large and rowed with tiny, very sharp teeth. The bald head allows it to be plunged deep inside carcasses in search of tender meat.
Among Pugbats, males and females differ in their wingtips. In males, who are larger than females, the phalanges are split at the distal joint, allowing greater finger mobility.
Pugbat vs. Terapusmordax[]
Pugbats resemble Terapusmordax, but they differ in some features: for instance, Pugbats have little to no tails, and their eyes are darker in color. Despite these differences Pugbats will roost hanging upside-down just like the Terapusmordax and both are also not above making a meal out of a human.
Trivia[]
- The Pugbats were the replacements of the Rhamphorhynchus from the 1933 film.
- Like most flying creatures, the Pugbats may have survived Skull Island by flying to nearby islands.