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Plaguewalker (Pestilencium carnis - "pestilience flesh")

First discovered in 1985 during an Ebola outbreak in parts of Central Africa, these strange centaur-like carnis generally roam the savannas. They use their arms for basic purposes such as grasping, using tools, and attacking, and have a total of four digits on their feet. However, you should stay as far away from them as possible because the strange gases emitted by Plaguewalkers can cause skin rashes, active bleeding, and blindness. But unlike their distant and infamous cousins, the Mimics, Plaguewalkers are not active maneating predators but scavengers that feed on dead bodies. Their calls are low-frequency and sound like a combination of a snake's hiss and a zebra's bray.

'Conifers have long passed their heyday in the Glaciocene, when large forests of taiga covered enormous swathes of the northernmost continents. Yet, today, in a world greatly warmed and very different, some species remain quite successful: even in places the opposite of what most of their forebearers once dominated.

The millennium flycone (Desolopinaceus aerogermus) is one such species that, conversely, thrives in the arid deserts of equatorial Arcuterra, where adaptations such as waxy needles that prevent moisture loss and deep-boring roots that can dig deep for groundwater help it survive in the harsh, dry conditions and nutrient-poor soils. Coupled with its slow growth and low metabolism, flycone trees can live not only hundreds, but even thousands of years, making them some of the oldest and longest-lived individual organisms on the planet.

Its most remarkable adaptation, however, is the way it spreads its seeds: not just parachutes or spinners, they are equipped with aerodynamic wing-shaped extensions that make them efficient miniature hang gliders: in a strong wind, they can launch from their pinecones and travel many meters beyond their parent tree, and, when riding on thermal updrafts in the hot summer air, can extend that distance to kilometers. The lucky few that land somewhere they can safely take root eventually establish themselves and begin to slowly grow once the seasonal rains arrive, and, barring disease, erosion, or damage by herbivorous animals, may continue to do so for several thousand years to come.'