Marmophants

Marmophants are massive herbivorous ground squirrels native to Alor and Gricela in the genus Gigantomys. These herbivores are active during the summer when often found in groups, but are not seen during the winter when they hibernate underground.

Of the entire 15 species, only 5 are discovered in Udon and the rest are in Alor. The alorian bush marmophant is one of the most social out of the other 14 species, and live in herds of up to 30 individuals minimum, only to be competed by the gricelan marmophant.

Description
Marmophants are very large rodents with relatively large and highly robust legs. What used to be the large claws of its ancestors have become broad-hooved pads. They have stout bodies and large heads along with a pair of incisors to help it grind through vegetation. Marmophants vary in color pattern based roughly on their surroundings. Marmophants, more specificallly the Alorian bush marmophant, can reach up to 8 meters (26.2 feet) in length and stand around 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) at the shoulders, while also weighing around 8.4 tons (18,518 lbs) in average mass. The smallest species is the Gricelan marmophant, which is dwarfed by the other species of marmophants, averaging around 1.8 meters (nearly 6 feet) at the shoulders and a body weight of only a ton (2204.6 lbs). In the traditional definition of hibernation, the largest marmophants are considered the largest "true hibernators" as bears do not have the same physiological characteristics as obligate hibernating animals.

Diet
Marmophants are granivores, meaning that they feed predominantly on grass, though larger species, such as the Alorian bush marmophant can also be folivores. Marmophants that are granivores usually have to eat alot of grass, and they will eat constantly to survive. Marmophants consume up to 60% of their entire body weight in their meals, and after that, they will go to a sunny location to speed up digestion, but this is where they usually get predated in most cases. Marmophants can obtain all the water they need from their food, making them quite adaptable during droughts or other periods of water shortage.

Behaviour
Marmophants start reproducing at around twelve years of age, and could live up to a maximum fifty. They reside in herds of up to ten individuals, but more social species can live in larger herds. Each male marmophant immediately finds a safe place after the winter season arrives, and will start looking for females to mate. Litters usually average two to three offsprings per female. Yellow throated marmophants spend most of their day in their burrows, though they dominantly use these burrows during hibernation. Being the smallest species of marmophant, the gricelan marmophant are very social, and lives in herds of a maximum one hundred individuals. Mother gricelan marmophants spend most of their days with their pups while the males usually live in a nearby den. In large herds, gricelan marmophants utilize sentry duty rolls that are periodically rotated. A sentry marmophant will alert the herd if a predator is near the area.