Thanks to [link] for the species name!

It really kills me to put this in Fantasy. I wanted either Animals or Sci-fi. It's supposed to be as close to real dinosaurs as I can make it with no reference, and I'm going to be using it in my Guardian/Halo combo fic. (See latest journal)

The Triveloxsaur is a native inhabitant of one of the planets the fic is going to take place on. (Though there will be many.) They are desert dwellers, very large - obviously - and the fastest land animals on the planet. The inch-thick pads of their feet are formed of a hard, almost horn-like material with few pain receptors that protect the softer flesh on the rest of the foot. This enables them to move very quickly over rough terrain. It also protects them from the hot sand they live in.

The ridges of skin on their head, neck and tail can flatten to allow air to flow over them while the animal is running. When erect, they help to cool the animal down. They also become very brightly colored in the mating season to attract the opposite gender.

Triveloxsaur hands are very similar to human hands, and are used in much the same way. They will occasionally use all four limbs to climb over extremely rocky terrain, but for the most part, the hands enable them to carry and move things. They also seem to have superior fine motor skills, as they can do very delicate work that rivals some humans.

Their hands are not their only humanlike attribute. They also have the mental capacity to learn - and speak - human languages. While they are incapable of pronouncing certain phonemes - such as 'R' and 'V' - they are usually understandable and sometimes adapt 'accents' to make up for the 'lost sounds'. They are extremely intelligent and can pick up on languages very quickly.

When Master Chief and Samus arrive on the planet to rescue prisoners from a Covenant military base, they encounter a tribe of Triveloxsaur, who agree to help them by serving as mounts for the troops - effectively turning the foot soldiers into a mounted cavalry division. Their knowledge of the desert landscape and ability to sense when a storm is about to form also prove invaluable to the humans.

Likey? I sure do.