Megavarg adamantinovore (meaning "Giant Diamond-Eating Warg") is an extinct prusam--once thought to be a geovore--known from a single full-body impression and numerous footprints, the latter of which were previously mistaken for small craters. It earned its name from its resemblance to a gem warg and the fact that it was so large it was thought that it could bite a diamond in half and swallow her gemstone whole with little trouble. It most likely preyed on Megabakad, which it shared its environment with.
It it the first of many species of extinct Lattice megafauna discovered by Gem colonists.
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Discovery and Description[]
This extinct geovorous creature was first discovered by a lapis flying above Lattice’s southern wasteland, where she looked down and saw the massive impression of the creature’s body right in plain sight. A stunning amount of detail had been preserved, down to the shape of its ears. Initially believed to be the impression of a gem warg fusion that had fallen down, it was soon proven to be a singular creature by a mass of giant shards found within the fossil, previously thought to have been the remains of a massive boulder. Analysis of the surface of the shards revealed that the creature likely had an internal gemstone, much like extinct basal geovores--hence its former classification.
Its feet had large rounded bases and flat nails, and the front feet only had three toes touching the ground while the innermost toe was retractable and bore a massive claw.
Despite its massive size, analysis of its musculature from its full-body impression as well as the distance between footprints thought to belong to it indicate that this creature was much lighter and more flexible than it looks and could run at incredible speeds or even launch itself into the air to tackle huge prey.
It was initially classified as a geovore, but later discovery of the remains of a mineral "skeleton" in the original fossil and an additional specimen believed to be a juvenile being discovered revealed its relation to creatures such as the powochi, leading to its reclassification as a kind of prusam.
Naming[]
The creature was so large that it was thought that it would have no trouble killing and eating a diamond, hence its binomial name's epithet, adamantinovore. However, some Gems thought the name suggested that Diamonds aren't invincible and it was quickly reported to Blue Diamond, who owns the colony. Much to everyone's shock, when informed of the meaning behind the name it was given, she simply stared at the impression of the creature's massive jaws for a long while before calling it fitting and leaving. The name remains unchanged to this day.