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Rumiu
(Loquispinae basilicus)
💎 Origin
The rumius are small animals native of the planet Mimmum, a celestial body located in the
Liliar sistem. They seem to be a relatively recent species, existing only from a hundred years with the appearance we know today.
💎 Etymology
The scientific name with which it was classified on Earth comes from old terrestrial languages; Loquispinae derives from Latin and means more or less "that talks with thorns", referring to its special communication method (see Behavior), while basilicus comes from Greek basilikón, which means "regal, splendid".
💎 Average lifespan
From 7 to 10 years.
Females usually live a few years longer than the males.
💎 Appearance
Adult rumius measure on average 8,5 cm in height (3,35 inches) and 17 cm in length (6,7 inches), independently from their sex. Their appearance is long-limbed with soft and sinuous edges, their skin smooth without being clammy and quite thick, but adherent to their body. The rumius are characterized by their very vivid and saturated colors, which can also vary drastically from one specimen to the other depending on the zone they live in and their diet.
Although the color is variable, many rumius have a dark upper body, black or grey, and a lighter chin, neck, belly, under-tail and inner-thigh of reflective colors. Some common hues in wild individuals are pearlescent, sea green, blue and purple, or yellow and orange.
Their back is topped by keratin appendages similar to blunt thorns, thicker at the top, which culminate with two of these on the sides of the rumiu's head that form a sort of pair of horns; they do not properly have a defensive intent, but more of a communicative one: these thorns are connected to specific muscle fibers that allow rumius to move them at will and communicate their mood or appear larger and threaten the enemy when alarmed.
The tail is long and fleshy, with a jagged tip, and the paws culminate in a pseudo claw that only has two fingers: the first one is long and with several very flexible joints, the second is poorly developed and is at the opposite end of the paw. It's meant to strenghten the rumiu's grip, like a small thumb, and it's always placed on the internal side of the limb.
The
L. Basilicus have long, black, smooth tongues, which can reach in extensione the length of the roundish, egg-shaped head with a slightly protruding snout.
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| A common green-bellied rumiu |
The eyes of a rumiu are of a very saturated and vivid pink or violet hue, sometimes even aqua green, apparently without pupils. The structure of their eyes is different from that of mammals, way more similar to that of a single ommatide covered of pigmented cells.
Rumius have an excellent color vision, and it's estimated that they're able to see in the ultraviolet range; however, they have a limited ability in focusing their sight on distant objects. They are sensitive to polarized light and easily distinguish that of organic or mineral origin from a star's one. When they sense the sun or moon light, they usually move away from it to avoid exiting their cave and getting lost, while it's known that they appreciate the natural light emitted by several crystals existing inside of Mimmum caves.
The flexibility of rumius allows them to be very agile, with articulated joints and thin bones which, however, are also rather fragile to violent shocks.
Rumiu do not have particularly rapid healing, but they tend to heal bone lesions faster than muscle injuries.
💎 BehaviourThe Loquispinae basilicus easily makes friends with animals of its own or other species, and regularly exhibits parasocial behavior (aka, it shows ability of social interaction and communication, but does not need to recognize itself as tied to a group of membership); in the wild, several rumius can be seen sharing the same territory without the least tension been generated.
Rumius aren't possessive of their territories, but they will hardly ever leave the cave in which they were born if they feel safe, except in severe overpopulation cases.
When closed in confined spaces or lacking stimuli, the rumiu somatizes and withers quickly, first losing its incredible chromatic variety and beginning to show signs of indolence and fatigue.
Males are slightly less wary than females, who are a little more reactive but cautious; it takes little to convince both to conquer the friendship of both anyway.
Rumius can acquire the "taste" of being cuddled by being of other species at any ages, but the individuals that are used to hetero-specific contact in the first weeks of life won't feel any distrust towards all the exponents of that species. On the contrary, although it's not a
typical behavior in the wild, rumius that are bred and domestic even from a single generation (or after a few years of captivity) easily adapt to seek
protection and physical assurances from the sentient species
that handle them (
in primis the Mimme).
For this reason they're particularly appreciated as pets... from those who can afford to maintain them, of course.
They've been observed indulging in altruistic behaviors not conducive to their own survival, like helping another rumiu in trouble or cheering up a sad owner offering them their own possessions, like food or playthings.
In captivity, rumius quickly assimilate the concept of property, something that seems to be absent in nature, becoming possessive of all the playthings that their owners gift them to provide the right stimuli-enriched environment.
The better ways to make a domestic rumiu play is to give them surfaces they can climb on, safe tunnels they can explore and obstacle courses.
Rumius mainly communicate with each other without emitting sounds, moving their back thorns in certain combinations that correspond to different messages, but they will occasionally squeak when they're alarmed or feeling pain. Domestic individuals are generally much more talkative than their wild counterparts, because they understand that performing certain actions (such as making cute little noises) somehow gives them more favored treatment than their natural communication.
Their call is defined with an onomatopoeic word on Mimmum, which can be roughly translated as "piuling", and is generally composed of a series of short and sharp verses in staccato.
Their logistic intelligence is inferior to that of mice, but they seem to adapt quickly to other social models or modification of their natural habit, and it also seems that they can have strong personal preferences.
💎 Habitat and diet
Rumius live inside caves or rooms dug by lava inside the quiescent or
inactive stratovolcanoes, as they love warmth and their life cycle
happens in very close harmony with the crystals of the planet Mimmum.
The less common subvariety
horribilis lives underground instead, in tunnels
under the earth's crust that it digs next to the intrusive magmatic
"puddles" that have cooled as rocks. There they move around the bubble of
magmatic material in search of gems.
The (expensive!) diet of a rumiu is composed by crystals and minerals. They prefer consuming the ones protruding from the ground, but they don't disdain digging to find them, without
necessarily extracting them.
The rumius use their saliva, rich in special enzymes able to demolish the crystalline structure of the minerals they eat and melt the crystals they feed on -- which are too hard for rumius to consume as they are -- nibbling and
sucking on them until they reach an ideal consistency to be consumed.
These species is not widespread all over the planet, but they're mainly
concentrated in the warm spots located in the central-southern area of
the Continent and in some points in the East. However, they became common as pets all over the Continent.
💎 Birth and growth
Females give birth to one or two babies at a time.
Their reproductive period occurs about twice a year, once during the cold season and one in the warm one; a female could potentially give birth every six months, but this largely varies depending the availability of males, how successful courtships are and her will to be a mother again.
The pregnancy lasts for about forty-five days, with a gap of at most five days.
The babies are born "mute", still lacking the keratin thorns that will allow them to communicate as adults. Even if the babies could potentially take care of themselves since birth, the mother practices assiduous parental care until they begin developing their own thorns, about a month after their birth.
That's when the babies finally begin to behave like adults, despite the fact that their physical development will continue for five more months, in which their silhouette will gradually become less stocky. At six months old, they're physically and sexually mature.
💎 Courtship and reproduction
Young rumius always skip their first reproductive season, as courtship is an acquired behavior that needs to be observed at least once from the adults before being performed properly, and allowing them to be chosen as acceptable partners.
, pronti a quest'accanita
competizione, anche i giovani (sia maschi che femmine) prendono
finalmente parte ai rituali. It's only during their second reproductive season that, finally ready for this fierce competition, the youngsters (both females and males) take part in the courtship rituals.
For the occasion, adult rumius start eating as much different types of crystals as they can. Since their body absorbs the substances contained in the minerals they feed on, more varied is their crystal diet, the more their colors become bright.
This, apparently, is precisely the characteristic that rumius seek in a partner! A colorful appearance show the ability of an individual to find a lot of food in a short time, but, most of all, it's attractive to other rumius simply because they're enchanted by pretty colors in general.
During this period the rumius increase exponentially in weight and become particularly easy preys to possible predators, considering also that their behavior becomes altered: they become bolder (males usually a bit more than females), touchy and prone to wandering.
It often happens that, in the attempt of getting more gems and penalizing their love rivals, some rumius will try to steal minerals spotted by others, causing major quarrels to break out. These contrasts never end with the death of one of the contenders, given that rumius are pretty poor fighters, but rather start pathetic fights that go on until one of the two opponents decides that it's time to surrender and flee.
The female and the male choose each other, showing their bellies to highlight their colors to each other, then share a meal and nestle together to become familiar with their partner.
Several couplings of the same pair occur during the same reproductive period, before the two part their ways.
Rumius are not monogamous, although it's not uncommon for a couple to choose each other repeatedly during different breeding periods. This can be due to several factors, not least the difficulty of finding a wide choice of partners in a restricted range, but it's often also influenced by the affection the two can feel for each other, or it may be due to a peculiar talent for gorging themselves on crystlas that makes those two rumius the most attractive individuals in the microcosm of their cave.
It may happen that a male and a female, two males, or two females, entertain the first part of the courtship without then mating.
It has been observed that, even when the reproductive season is over, these "pseudo-couples" continue to reach out for each other and spend time together, forging a friendship. It can happen that two females involved in a pseudo-couple grow up their litters together.
💎 Morphs – In captivity
Rumiu's appearance was shown to be easily susceptible to be changed through selective breeding. There have been several "morphs" selected in captivity, individuals that have fixed characteristics and colors from which the enthusiasts can tell their bloodlines apart. The breeders often have fun experimenting by
variating the rumiu's diet and breeding specific couples to try and obtain rumius that are more and more beautiful and peculiar.
The most appreciated and pricy variety is the "mirrorglass", in which the whole rumiu's body, thorns included, is reflective and colorful. It has no opaque or dark areas, and it often presents a distinct heterochromia, sometimes with two different colors in the same eye.
The main rumiu morphs are:
► Classic
Their natural color, with a gray back and colored belly.
The colorful parts can change in hue according to their diet.
More slender than the Classic; the upper part of its body has a delicate, velvety blu-gray hue, and the lower one can assume several blue tones, but its body can also present different patterns and dark lines more or less visible that vary from one rumiu to another. Their eyes can't be pink.
The finest specimens can have electric blue belly and muzzle, with symmetrical pitch black designs.It's the less "extreme" form of the mirrorglass, it has pink or pale sea-green eyes and the body is almost totally white, with soft shades of iridescent hues reminiscent of soap bubbles. Its frame is similar to that of the Classico morph, but with the muzzle more rounded.
They are of a playful, extroverted disposition. The finest specimens have showy, reflective hues, almost metallic, and many colors.
► Dinnica
Distinguished by opaque, low-reflecting colors, tending to oat yellow and covered by darker imprecise stripes. It used to have very little popularity when it was invented, but it became much more appreciated in later times due to its soft, squat shape, which resembles that of a baby rumiu, and the stripes that can also create complex designs.
This morph is named after the breeder who invented it, La Dinni.
► Darkbeard
It can have any color, given that the lower jaw and the tail tip are black. Their canines are bigger and sharper and they present little extra kitin thorns on the back, cheeks or paws, that give them a fierce look. The finest specimens have completey black heads and bright colors; especially appreciated are the ones with golden areas.
The colorful parts can change in hue according to their diet.
Less slender than the Classic morph and bright crimson in color. It can have large circular areas of darker or lighter color all over its body, and generally has smaller horns and less conspicuous tail indentations. The proportion of its toes is more "balanced" than in the wild counterparts, as its second finger is longer and the first shorter.
The finest specimens have an almost uniform color and very dark eyes.
It has very pale eyes, and its body is light gray on the back and pink -- ranging from cotton candy to fuchsia -- on the belly. This morph is distinguished by a very strange arrangement of the thorns, which are antique pink or grapefruit in color, that form double rows starting starting from the base of the tail and get closer as they get to the head, in which the "horn-thorns" converge in one, called by Earthlings "alicorn".
The thorns of the Unicorn grow in the opposite direction compared to those of all the other morphs.
It's the variety that reaches the biggest size.
The finest specimens have longer thorns and a more slender build, with a long neck and thin tail.
Also called "Inverted", the Lapillo has the belly, under-tail and lower jaw
pitch black, and its back is colored in warm tones, ranging from yellow to scarlet with orange shades. It's the second smallest morphs. Their eyes are red, yellow or blue. The tail is more jagged than in their wild counterparts.
Very similar to the Classic morph, but the gray of its back is replaced by a green that can range from olive to acid yellow-green. It's a bit smaller than the other rumius, with almond shaped eyes. It vocalizes a lot.
The colorful parts can change in hue according to their diet.
Some of these morphs need a specific diet to keep their colors at their maximum splendor. Unlike the Classic, Darkbeard and Peridot, a change in diet may result in severe discoloration for the remaining morphs, which are more at risk for certain deficiencies. This is especially true for Lapillo and Ruby rumius, which need to maintain high levels of iron in their bodies, without which they can incur in severe anemia, and implement their diet with manganese or chrome.
💎 Symbolism and mythologyThe rumiu represents absolute goodness on Mimmum, since it's one of the few creatures that, thanks to its mineral-based diet, does not sustain itself in any way from the death of other organisms in order to survive.
In some minor variants of the Sterei, the main religion of their home planet, they have a sacred value due to their habit of feeding on crystals, which are considered by the Stereans to be the solidification of the breath of the goddess Lily. However, their habit of living in the dark did not grant them similar regard from the rest of the Sterei practitioners.
According to many Mimmae, especially gem hunters, the very presence of rumiu makes the crystals in the caves they inhabit more beautiful and luminous: in fact, when they die, the substances that give them such bright colors supposedly return to the earth and back to the crystals. For this reason, the rumiu is sometimes linked to or symbol for the concept of a virtuous circle.
💎 Facts and trivia!
- The subvariety horribilis counts far fewer individuals. Despite its name, the R. basilicus horribilis is considered by most on its homeplanet to be definitely more beautiful than its classic counterpart, adorned with many more thorns and kitinous or siliceous formations, although unable to move them.
- Given the quantity of still thorns on its body, the subvariety horribilis has great difficulty in being understood by its classical counterpart, if they ever happen to meet.
- Considering their adaptability and their relatively recent discovery, some have advanced the theory that rumius are none other that another species believed to be extinct, which, however, shared with them size, some physical structures, and part of their current habitat: the goki (Loquispinae lepidosaura), that has only adapted its looks to a sudden change yet to be determined.
- The most popular rumiu of the Continent is a female spectrepearl named Naria, extrovert and affectionate, who loves to paint using her whole body. Her paintings are distinguished by wide a range of very bright colors; sometimes it seems that among the colors, the figures of people she met or environments she visited can be discerned. Her paintings are highly appreciated by the public and sought after.
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Naria, the spectrepearl rumiu
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💎 Related pages
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