A few hexapods

Fentil's hexapods are characterised by their 6 (usually identical) legs, interwoven with trachea and air sacs for both respiration and mechanical support. As with all 'vertebrates' and related groups, they posses two symmetrical buccal openings, often but not always enclosed within one set of jaws. They are primarily an omnivorous group, with approximately a third of species being 'hunters'. Most of these hunters are strict carnivores, while others hunt Blas plants. The rest are usually smaller and feed on fruits, seeds, eggs, plants, carrion - whatever they can find. As of yet there are no purely herbivorous hexapods.

Their eyes are like other vertebrates' - glassy and tubular with a reactive pigment between the two lenses which controls the amount of light that can enter. Animals that live on Fentil's far side are exposed to near-constant daylight, and as such have developed a variety of shades and hoods to stop their eyes being damaged by the radiation. These brow-like ridges also give them a perpetual look of expression. Many species' common names are based on or include their 'mood'.

1. Sad Scrapper.
A very 'typical' hexapod. They are dog-like predators that stalk amongst the puffy fields of dandelion-like dendroliths. They roam in small family packs, communicating in shrill, gurgling hoots. When hunting they remain silent, sending signals to each other by flashing the vivid blue bio-lights on the side of their heads. Once the kill is made, they use their pincer-like mandibles to pull off swallow-able chunks, further chewing it in their gullets. Like many pack animals, there are sometimes squabbles as to which individual gets the first bite.

2. Harpoon Cat.
A common anatomical feature seen on all of Fentil's 'vertebrates' is the chitinous, segmented barb that protrudes from the base of each foot. Like a bird's beak, the structure has been modified and adopted for a multitude of tasks. Vertebrate legs evolved from extensions of their respiratory system, and these spurs take advantage of their pneumaticity. Often they are filled with air sacs and act as cushioning hoof, whereas in the forearms of Harpoon Cat they form a formidable dagger fired by compressed air. Similar to chameleons on Earth, these small predators rely on camouflage and ambush. Once impaled, they rush the prey and hold on with an assortment of claws and hooks, clamping their small mouths down and rasping away flesh. Harpoon Cats are one of the few examples of 'Centaurism' in Fentil's hexapods.

3. Diva Goss
Gosses are heavy predators that patrol the boundaries of polar and temperate regions on the northern continents. Not only do their fluffy white auricles resemble a luxurious boa, they have a glittery silver layer on the inside which reflects their bio-lights. When feeding, they snip their food into small chunks before pulling them in with their long tongues. The 'fur' on Fentil's larger animals, known as Keromi is a waxy secretion that is continuously extruded from glands on the skin. There is a wide variety of Keromi types, determined by patterns of the glands and proteins in the wax itself.

4. Snouted Feort
A somewhat primitive hexapod with a very generalised body, they spend their days rooting through detritus and leaf litter with their long snout. They have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell, and use the star-like protuberance to pull scents deep into their olfactory chambers. Once they find food, be it a seed pod, invertebrate or carrion, they indiscriminately gobble it up into their heavy jaws. They have loose throats and swallow most things whole, chewing it later with grinding plates in their crops. Many hexapods regurgitate pellets of food that can not be digested, and will often alternate mouths to allow the other to digest effectively.