Throughout history, Theropods have taken on an array of unique body plans: from tiny song birds to massive Carcharodontosauridaes, the variety seen in this clade is truly astonishing. Even after the devastating K-T extinction which wiped out most of the non-avian dinosaurs, the surviving members still managed to bounce back and conquer the globe once again.
Although the Avis class has become the most dominant and derived Theropod group in the last few million years, the non-avian dinosaurs have also diversified. Originally, these ancient survivors were relegated to small members of the Troodontidae family in Southeast Asia; however, as soon as the Earth recovered from the K-T extinction, these animals quickly evolved and became the Neokyngós.
The first of the Neokyngós were the Neoraptors, small to medium size creatures which kept the general design of their ancestors. Then came the Neotyrannids who evolved large bodies, powerful jaws, and incredible abilities. Lastly were the Capucaudids, a family of truly massive and bizarre beasts.
At first, Capucaudids were best known for their enormous heads and tails; however, as they continued to diversify, these features started to become even more exaggerated, with some today supporting massive horns or huge clubs. Despite the occasionally deadly appearance of these tools, most of them are used for defense, foraging, or display purposes, rather than weapons for taking down prey.
Another thing which separates this family from their relatives is their diet as most Capucaudids prefer to feed on things that don't put up much of a fight, like vegetation, carrion, invertebrates, and very small vertebrates, rather than hunt larger animals. But most doesn't mean all, and there is one notable exception to this general rule.
In the Drakensberg mountains of Southern Africa, one species of Capucaudid has become the region's apex predator. However, it's not just its diet which is different; unlike any other Neokyngós outside the Neoraptor family, Brachydios obsidianensis has long, usable arms.
Standing 3.6 meters long and 2.1 meters tall, these animals may not be the largest Neokyngós, but they more than make up for it in raw power. Translated as "obsidian arm god", the name Brachydios perfectly describes these animals, as most of their muscles are concentrated within and around their forelimbs, giving these appendages unbelievable strength.
Brachydioses need this immense strength for multiple reasons, one of them being to help take down prey. Due to having a relatively weak bite force, these Theropods use their muscular arms to beat their victims to death, breaking bones, and rupturing international organs in the process. Even a single punch in the right spot can sometimes be enough to secure meals; however, it's not just muscles which makes the impact so dangerous.
The forelimbs of these animals have a lot of fast-twitch fibers, allowing them to move their limbs in explosive bursts of speed. In addition to this, Brachydios arms have large, solid masses of keratin covering their forearms called pounders which act like built-in knuckledusters. When the species' raw strength is combined with the acceleration of the fast-twitch fibers and the solid mass of their biological battering rams, they can generate enough power to snap an eland's femur.
Yet this power isn't just good for making kills. The sheer amount of muscles which are located within the arms allow Brachydioses to lift things almost as heavy as themselves, allowing them to create pathways through the mountains by removing large obstacles. This behavior not only benefits them, but the animals they coexist with by building natural highways; however, the users of these roadways must be careful, as the Theropods may use the constructs as hunting zones. By waiting near areas of the paths with high coverage or low visibility, Brachydioses increase their chances of coming across and capturing prey; some individuals have even been known to purposefully build their paths next to the sheer cliffs of the mountains, allowing them to pin targets between themselves and a fatal drop.
Brachydioses will use their highways as hunting grounds more frequently during the summer, knowing that common elands are likely to use them on their journey to find food higher up the mountains; in fact, some individuals will even build their dens near the paths for this exact reason. Yet, despite their immense strength, and backwards-facing, shovel-shaped hands, the Capucaudids aren't capable of busting through solid rock, potentially preventing them from building the shelters they sleep in.
Although the unique design of their hand and powerful pounders make digging easier, these animals do have their limits. Luckily, they don't work by themselves. Making some simple cracks is all that's needed for their partners to blast open an entrance for them. Brachydioses have a symbiotic relationship with Viridcrepitus bitumini, more commonly known as Slime-mold, a unique species of goo-like fungus which reproduces at a phenomenal rate, taking only a few hours for the organisms to fully mature and reproduce.
Being able to reproduce so quickly may seem like a good thing, and for the most part it is; however, there is one major problem. This requires a lot of energy which in turn produces heat and gas. By themselves, this would be of little consequence; however as a colony, the millions of cell divisions create a byproduct that adds up, making the mold volatile, to the point where they're at risk of exploding as a result of the buildup. Exploding may help the Slime-mold colonies spread their spores by launching them into the air and over long distances, but if any kind of cellular activity potentially causes the mold to erupt, then they may prematurely detonate and prevent procreation. This is where the Capucaudids come in.
It's unknown when or how this happened, but it's believed that at some point in history, the ancestors of modern Brachydioses used the colonies to mark their territories, running around with the Slime-mold and hoping it didn't blow up while they were carrying the fungi. Over the generations, these Theropods evolved glands which emit special hormones that seem to override the Slime-molds' reproduction, preventing it from building up too much heat and gas. It's unknown how this works, but what is clear is that this only works for as long as the fungi are on Brachydioses; once they fall off, cellular activity resumes.
Thanks to these hormones which are always being expelled, Brachydioses are now capable of using the fungi to blast open hard materials, mark their territories, and on rare occasions, kill escaping prey; meanwhile, the Slime-molds benefit from the relationship by having their spores spread to different locations without worrying about whether the entire colony could be destroyed. This also provides them with a safe place to reproduce away from foraging animals while being nourished by their partner's saliva. This may seem like the ideal symbiotic relationship; however, when young Brachydioses and Slime-mold meet for the first time, it isn't friendship on contact.
Despite being born with the glands and hormones needed to halt the cellular activity of the Slime-mold, young Brachydioses, sometimes referred to as bombardiers, still have to be extremely careful when bonding with the fungal colonies. Because the youngsters don't get any parental care, they aren't given the luxury of having their parents pass on the Slime-mold directly; instead, the babies have to find their own patches, or grab any goo which falls off fully grown individuals.
Picking up Slime-mold which is already on the ground is like playing Russian roulette for these youngsters. The simple act of touching the mold may cause the patches to detonate, and unlike the adults who's armoured bodies help diminish the damage of the explosions, the skin of bombardiers isn't thick enough to soften the blasts. Because of this, if the fungal colonies erupt, the ensuing explosion could seriously injure or even kill the young animals. To counteract the effects of this high infant mortality, females lay between forty and sixty eggs in their den, increasing the chances that one infant will make it to adulthood.
Although parents don't take care of their offsprings directly, they still do help them in indirect ways. Females will guard their eggs from the elements and other animals, mainly chacma baboons, as well as let the young Theropods stay in the surrounding areas and feed off their kills until they reach sexual maturity. At that point, the mothers will chase their surviving children out of their territories.
But even as adults, individuals who don't have territories still need to be very careful. Brachydioses are highly territorial and won't hesitate to confront intruders; however the way they go about it can greatly vary depending on the gender combination.
If two males meet, they'll typically try to avoid physical altercations, instead using the exaggerated, keratinous protrusion on their head to intimate each other, only resorting to trading blows if neither backs down. On the other hand, if two females encounter one another, they'll immediately begin hitting each other with their pounders, as they don't have the crests of their male counterparts to intimate each other. Finally, if the encounter is between individuals of different genders, males will try to diffuse the situation and use their protrusion to attempt courting the females in the hopes of mating. They will either leave because they've succeeded in impressing their potential mate, or they've been sent packing by an onslaught of punches and tail slams.
Although fights between Brachydioses can be brutal, they rarely end in either contestants dying. The reason fatalities aren't common has to do with where the Capucaudids hit each other. During the brawl, the combatants will only aim for the armoured parts of their adversaries, diminishing the amount of damage which is dealt.
Interestingly, when these battles do become deadly, the pounders are rarely the cause of death; instead it's usually due to the tail. As a holdover from their omnivorous ancestors who needed this for protection, Brachydioses have a mass of solid bone at the end of their tail, turning the appendage into a dangerous biological mace capable of shattering bone. Although the tails are rarely used because it is so unwieldy in the midst of brawls, when fights get really heated, the Theropods may deploy their mace-like appendage in an attempt to make their adversaries retreat. However, if the club hits the wrong spot, it could deal some deadly blows, with the impact either causing fatal injuries on the spot, or making it impossible for their opponents to hunt.
Yet despite this potentially deadly outcome, it's still uncommon for the tails to deal killing blows, as usually one swing will be enough to send the rival into retreat. So despite how hostile Brachydioses can be towards one another, it's still clear that few are actually willing to severely hunt their adversaries. In fact, the biggest threats to the lives of these animals isn't each other, but the environment itself.
The Drakensberg mountain range is a very harsh place to live. Hundred meter drops, powerful storms, wildfires, and extreme heat and cold all push life to its limits, and Brachydioses are no different.
To survive these huge temperature variations, Brachydios skin has evolved to act like a thermos flask, helping the species' core temperature stay relatively stable, despite extreme heat or cold. The unpredictability of the climate in these higher altitudes is also the reason why the Theropods construct dens - not only do they provide the owners with shelter, but the temperature inside is more stable. Actually, dens are probably one of the most important thing Brachydioses need for their survival, as even these apex predators can be overwhelmed by the unpredictable and sometimes violent weather of their alpine homes. Although most of these Theropods will build their own shelter, some individuals prefer to push the current owner out rather than construct one themselves.
Of course most owners won't just relinquish their dens to the thieves and will try to fight off these freeloaders. However, even the most dedicated of home owners will hand over their construction without a fight if they're faced with Raging Brachydioses, as they know that it would be suicide to try and battle them.
Towering over their peers, Raging Brachydioses were originally believed to be another species of Brachydios or potentially individuals with some sort of mutation; however, they are in fact males who have successfully bonded with another species of the Viridcrepitus genus: Viridcrepitus draconax. Also known as Flashpoint Slime, these fungi may be relatives of Slime-mold, and act very similarly to each other, but there is one major difference between the two: the power of their explosions.
Flashpoint Slime produces twice the amount of heat and gas their relatives do, making the explosions much more powerful, so much so that even fully grown Brachydioses can be seriously injured by the eruptions. Because of this, it's only the biggest, strongest, and most well armoured males that can stand a chance of becoming the host of these dangerous colonies, hence why all Raging Brachydioses are larger than their normal counterparts.
It was once believed that the Flashpoint Slime caused Raging Brachydioses to grow bigger, though this has been disproved, but one thing the fungi do affect is the coloration of their hosts. Due to extra care needed to control these fungal colonies, the hormonal glands are sent into overdrive, dispensing up to four times the regular amount. This sudden burst in hormones has the strange side effect of turning the Theropods' blue skin to an ebony coloration.
In addition to changing the animals' coloration, the high increase in activity of the hormonal glands also causes Raging Brachydioses to become more aggressive. This increase in hostility allows these individuals to simply take whatever they want with potential rivals immediately surrendering, knowing that the other options are severe injuries or death.
By now it's very clear that bonding with Flashpoint Slime is incredibly beneficial; however, this poses the question of why is it only males who become Raging Brachydioses. The answer to that is actually quite simple: mating privileges.
Other than their cranial protrusion and mating dance moves, one of the most important things male Brachydioses need to successfully impress a mate is Slime-mold. Individuals with brighter fungi are not only more desirable to females, but the vibrant colors mean that the colonies are more volatile and primed to explode; this reveals that the individuals are tough and capable of surviving potentially violent explosions. This is especially attractive to females, as it increases the chances of their children surviving the bonding process with the Slime-mold.
Now, when males become Raging Brachydioses, the mixture of greens, yellows, and oranges seen on the Flashpoint Slime makes them practically irresistible for females, as it's a clear sign that not only are they strong enough to bond with Slime-mold, but they're so tough that they managed to survive the more aggressive variation. This is why, despite the potentially deadly outcome, male Brachydioses are willing to search for Flashpoint Slime and take the risk of becoming one with it.
By now it may seem like there are only advantages to being Raging Brachydioses; however, becoming the host of Flashpoint Slime isn't always a good thing. Due to the need for constantly keeping their glands in overdrive, these males have to eat much more often than their regular counterparts; in addition to this, their heightened aggression can make them less cautious, raising the chances of these individuals doing something that could seriously injure them, especially when hunting.
Because of this brasher behavior and higher energy demand, it's not uncommon for Raging Brachydioses who actively hunt to have shorter lives than their common counterparts; however, this can't be said for all individuals. For those who instead use their aggression to rob others of their kills and homes, they actually have longer lifespans than most.
But no matter how long they live, even the strongest of Raging Brachydioses eventually dies; however, when this does inevitably happen, the corpse of these creatures go out with a bang. Without the hormonal glands to keep them under control, the Flashpoint Slime colonies will begin to reproduce at an exponential rate until they explode, usually causing the host's carcass to be blasted open, with the internal organs spread all over the mountainside in a bloody mess.
Although far from being a pretty sight, it's clear from San Bushman rock art that these explosive events once had some kind of religious meaning, though what it means exactly has been lost to time. However, other than the corpses, these paintings of the spirit world do occasionally depict humanoids with Brachydios features, pointing to a possible relationship between these people and the strange Theropods.
This does make some sense, as Brachydioses are known to be frequent eland hunters, antelopes with which the San Bushman of the area had a deep connection. It may be possible that because of the relationship between elands and Brachydioses, the artists may have believed that the two species were permanently intertwined with one another, though this is just one of many theories.
However what isn't a theory is the influence Brachydioses have had on people through history. The Basotho people have been known to incorporate these Theropods in their stories, songs, poems, and dances, and in the past, the Brachydios was adopted by one of the Basotho clans as its symbol or totem. Brachydioses are also the inspiration behind a type of martial arts called Ho Otla Sebata. Just like the animals which inspired it, the style focuses on fast, unrelenting, hard-hitting punches, made to end altercations as quickly as possible, while also protecting the users. The Theropods have also appeared in popular media, with books, movies, TV shows, and documentaries portraying them in multiple different ways. However, despite how much Brachydioses have influenced humans, encounters between people and the Capucaudids aren't very common, with those that do occur ending in the animals wandering off.
Due to the elevation and isolation of their habitats, Brachydioses, along with the species they coexist with, aren't greatly affected by human activity; however, this could change in the future. In recent years, development in the Drakensberg mountains have seen hiking trails, hotels, and resorts appearing on the high slopes, the area where these Theropods usually live, putting these mountainous ecosystems in potential danger.
Although rarer, Brachydioses do sometimes enter the lower parts of the mountains, though this is arguably the worse place to be. Due to lower slopes being greatly affected by agriculture and overgrazing, most of the individuals who do find themselves down there have a difficult time finding food and are at risk of poachers.
To combat many of these threats, both to the high and low slopes, people have created many wilderness areas; however, there's still a lot to be done, and that's where people like you come in. By supporting organizations aiming to help these creatures, aiding anti-poaching groups, establishing protected areas, keeping construction to a minimum, helping locals find a way to peacefully coexist with the native wildlife, and being very respectful of nature during hikes by not littering or disturbing the area, you can help ensure that these near threatened creatures can rise back into the least concerned category.
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The Drakensberg mountain range, also known as The Dragon's Back, is home to very unique creatures, but none are more unique than the rulers of these peaks: the Brachydioses. Equipped with enormous arms and the only Capucaudid that is an obligate carnivore, these creatures may be related to the likes of Duramboroses and Barroths, but it's clear that they are very different from their relatives.
Capable of crippling prey with a single devastating punch, these Theropods are without a doubt the apex predators of their alpine homes. Adding to their destructive power is Slime-mold.
Once only used to mark territories, Brachydioses and Slime-mold now depend on each other. While one gets the chance to spread its spores, the other gains the ability to bust out homes in solid stone, and for males specifically, an even better way of attracting females.
Although this symbiotic relationship may be rough at first, with young bombardiers having to risk losing their life to gain their lifelong partners, the result is one of the strangest but also most successful team in the world. However, sometimes one teammate isn't enough, and with the potential advantages the Flashpoint Slime presents, the risks it poses are worth it for those who seek to become Raging Brachydioses.
Despite being the oddball of the family, Brachydioses are also one of its most iconic members. They may not be the largest, most adaptable, or successful, but there's no doubting that these Theropods are some of the toughest and most iconic species of Capucaudid to ever evolve.