Everyone has their own species that others can create, and I wanted one too!

I hope you like reading!

The Mortox are the species Raseri belongs to. They are, by appearance, a canine/rat hybrid, but they also have features and behaviours not derived from either of these two species, making them a specie in their own right.

History:

These animals live in a futuristic, post-apocolyptic setting.
They were originally developed as a guarding animal for junkyards. Their intention was not as a pet, but as a tool, and they were designed to be almost entirely self sufficiant, without a need for human care 24/7.
The rat was added to the mix to enable them to survive in harsh conditions and to eat pretty much anything and still thrive.
They were originally developed using primarily strong, large canines; wolves, mastiffs, dobes, rotties, pitbulls, ridgebacks etc.
Unfortunately, they didn't work out for the intention they were bred for, as they were freakishly intelligent, and very destructive, beyond what was expected. They got easily bored in their roles and, began very social creatures, began figuring out ways to escape their confines for companionship. This resulted in what is now a thriving, and quite unwelcome, wild population.

Though their run as a guard animal was short lived and terminated early on, the animals that did remain bred, changed and evolved once they became feral animals.
They are now even more adaptable, and form packs of up to 20, which makes them arguably more dangerous.
A project was then attempted to breed these animals down in size and ferocity, with an aim to infiltrate these individuals into the wild and make the wild population more manageable and docile.
As a result, smaller, more docile canine breeds were also used, but this was also abandoned once it was revealed that it had little affect on their temperament and size. Because of this, Mortox of many dog breed mixes now exist.
Unfortunately, their origins as a human created species means that they are somewhat reliant on a human population in order to survive. Like rats, they tend to live off man's leftovers, and as a result, are an increasing problem in cities.

Habitat:

Mortox tend to hang around places where they can scavenge a living off man, but not close enough to be threatened by them.
They will not live in cities, merely visit them, but their homes are always made within a reasonable distance to a major human habitat. They are commonly seen at scrap heaps, junk yards, indistrial estates, and wastelands.
They like to inhabit discarded human buildings, such as old offices, factories and warehouses, which they will always destroy to the point where it looks like a junk heap anyway.
However, they are quite adaptable, and if chased from one area by man, tend to be able to settle just as happily elsewhere.
They do not fear man, as such, but they are fully aware that humans can shoot them and are generally not a good thing. They will try to run from a human threat as their first option, but will fight if cornered or unable to run.


Lifespan:
Cats are said to have 9 lives. The Mortox have 3. They can die 3 times, by either natural causes or accidental death, and regenerate. But the 4th time, they cease to be forever.
Individuals that are on their final life develop white skull like markings on their face, and larger claws. If these particular individuals are seen near humans, it is supposed to be an omen of a death, so the 3rd life Mortox are the most feared by man.
As a result, they are often not involved in the more risky encounters, and tend to stay back a lot, allowing others to provide for them.

It takes the average Mortox around 100 years to exhaust its total supply of lives, making the average span for each life around 25.
When they regenerate, their age is once again set back to Zero for ease of keeping track, but the animal itself is not physically or mentally changed. However, when they do regenerate, their health status is once again perfect, so old beasts become fit and agile again, and all disease is cured.
They retain all memories of their previous lives, and it is almost as if nothing amiss has happened when they reappear.
Scientists have a system for recogninsing an individual Mortox's age; a beast on its first life who is 20 would be labelled 'first life, 20 (or FL20) whereas if this same beast was now on his second life, he'd be 'second life, 20 (or SL20) and so on.


Appearance:
The Mortox range hugely in appearance depending on what type of canine shows itself in the mix.
Due to their chaotic breeding history, its now possible to find virtually any type of canine in the mix, and even individuals who are crossbreeds. Originally, it was primarily large, intimidating breeds that made up their population, but this is no longer the case.
Remember, though dogs and and rats were definately in their make-up, it is unknown what else was used, so they are not true dogs or true rats.


Mortox can be any colour. The originals had more muted coat tones, of greys, browns, whites, and natural canine markings, but they are evolving brighter colours and patterns of late with several neon coloured examples showing up with unusual markings.
As such, the population is now almost 50/50 on those that are boldly patterned and those that aren't.
Several albino varieties popped up in the early days, thanks to the rat in the mix, but these are not as common now due to generally being weaker and more prone to illness.

The coat texture varies slightly with the canine in the mix, but generally their coats are very thick, somewhat harsh, and slightly greasey to repel water. Youngsters have very soft fur, but this becomes harder and more weather proof as they reach the 6 month - 1year age.
All Mortox have thicker, more bristly hair around their neck and shoulders, and it tends to smooth out and get slightly softer over the rest of the body.

The eyes are round, and rat like. They have solid coloured eyes, but these eyes can be almost any colour, and they can even have two different coloured eyes. On darker eye colours, the pupil is virtually unnoticable. The eyes can glow in dim light to keep the pack together when hunting.

The muzzle is always more canine than rat, but sometimes shorter and thicker than a normal canine.
Muzzle shape depends on which canine is in the particular Mortox genes, but bear in mind that all muzzles have some length to them.
If the canine in the individual's make-up was a pug, the Mortox would still have at least some length on the nose, due to the rat in the mix which lengthens this. You do not get flat-faced Mortox, even if the dog in their mix was.
They have whiskers, and these are always neon coloured, regardless of the coat colour.

The teeth are a mixture of canine and rat. Typically, all dentition is canine, except the incisors in the upper jaw, which are orange and rat like.
These incisors are set slightly further forward than the wolf teeth, to allow the animal to gnaw. They have immense jaw pressure, and can gnaw through steel and concrete.
Occasionally, the teeth swap jaws for some individuals, and it is the bottom jaw which exhibits the rodent incisors while the upper has normal wolf teeth. However, this is considered an undesirable trait.

Mortox have large tongues, and pant like a dog to cool themselves down. Their tongues are flesh coloured. They are champion droolers, and are often salivating. This saliva is much like that of a komodo dragon, and contains a lot of bacteria which they use in catching their prey. If a human is bitten by one of these animals, the infection can kill quickly.

They always have canine noses as opposed to rat noses. Their noses are the same as their flesh colour, so a neon green beast with green skin would have a green nose.

The ears vary somewhat based on the canine in the mix, but the ears are always hairless, and again, flesh toned to match all other areas of skin. They can be upright and pointed, much like the ears of a cropped doberman, or dropped slightly to the side of the head. Ears vary in size a lot, from very tall pointed ears right down to tiny ones, again, depending on what type of canine is involved in the individual's make-up.

Mortox tend to have obvious tufts of hair on their head.

They have large, robust bodies which are more rat-like than canine, with no visible 'tuck-up' from the rib cage to the abdomen. They are stocky, heavy set animals. Their hind legs are slightly longer than their front.
They are, like rats, able to stand bipedally for short periods. They cannot walk this way, however, as they can only maintain it for a few seconds. However, they do sit up on their haunches like a rat which enables them to use their dextrous hands.
Their front legs are longer than a rat's in proportion to the body, and are slightly more slender. However, in all other ways, they are usual rat legs, and the front 'paws' are rat hands, the colour of which would also match the flesh tone. They have 4 fingers and one 'thumb' like appendage to the sides of their front feet. Like rats, these hands can grip things and hold items.
They tend to have long, non-retractable claws, which match the neon colour of the whiskers.

Chart showing the size of The Mortox: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3612290

The hind legs are more canine and they have paws. Some Mortox have hind dew claws also. Leg length can vary a little depending on what breed of canine is used. Generally, as with the muzzle, the more extremes of the dog canine world are not as obvious on these animals as on pure dogs. You do not get beasts with tiny stumpy legs just because the canine in their mix was a corgi.
These individuals would have noticably shorter legs than, say, one mixed with a greyhound. But all Mortox have some length to their leg, enough to allow them to run properly at least.

The tail is always partly hairless and rat like, though it is common for part of the tail to be furred too.
Some Mortox have 90% of the tail furred with only a small part hairless, while others have almost a fully hairless tail. Some have hair at the base of the tail where it begins, others have a bald tail with just a tuft at the end. Some Mortox have a slight curl in their tail if the canine in their genes does also.


Behaviour

Mortox are crepuscular, so prefer to be active at dawn and dusk.
They live in groups, with a strict social structure, run by an alpha female.
They are generally a tough, brave, and somewhat violent species. They're fiercely protective of their territory and group members, particularly the Mortox on their last life, who are more vulnerable.

They are lazy, greedy animals and their favourite pastimes are sleeping and eating. As such, it is rare to see a skinny Mortox, but they do sometimes occur. They can run at a moderate speed, but they have great stamina and can run prey down over a long period.

The Mortox are omnivores, and there isn't much they can't eat. They've even been known to eat soap and drink bleach.
Their favourite foods, however, are any that are rich in sugar, fat and grease. They also have a liking for fish. Their food intake is vast, and they eat more than they need to, eating their food extremely quickly and seeming to sometimes not even chew. They also tend to stash food incase of hard times, and they bury this underneath foliage or scrap metal. As they lack the front claws and 'digging feet' of a canine, they cannot dig well in harder earth.

There is a definate cruel streak in this species, particularly in the females. They seem to enjoy watching the misfortune of others, and will actively play with their prey, like a cat, sometimes killing it and not even eating it. They have a crooked sense of humour, and are extremely destructive. They enjoy breaking things, and tend to decimate any area they move into, which is part of the reason they're disliked.

Like rats, they have an urge to gnaw, and will try it on anything.
They have a love of shiny things, and metal things. Part of the reason they're atracted to rubbish tips is not only to find food, but because they are drawn to scrap metal and anything bright or shiny.
Some Mortox will adorn themselves with items they find here, from tin cans to wire and anything else shiney. They are hopelessly attracted to things that glow, also.
People in the cities now try and avoid having anything that emits a coloured glow around after dark as it draws The Mortox. It is not uncommon to see them with trinkets of their favourite shades adorning their bodies.

Extras
Mortox have a distinctive smell. Some have described it as like a mixture of corn-chips and grape soda.
They make a variety of noises, ranging from rat like squeals to howls, chatters and growls. When they are in distress or otherwise sad, they make a sound that is almost indistinghuishable from whale song.
They prefer colder weather, and do not tolerate extreme heat very well.

These are free to create! Create your own, or turn your character into one. You don't need to ask. But I would like to be linked back to on the submission and I like seeing your pics, so link me to them!

Any questions, just ask.