Mechanimals

[Leathurkatt]

This thread will hold information on various Mechanimal species that live on Cybertron. Most will be canon or based on canon, though some will be extrapolations to fill in the gaps in canon information. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a note or contact me in the chat box.

[Leathurkatt]

Datafile: Raptobots

There are four types of Raptobots known, each found in specific regions of Cybertron. They are Manganese Raptobots, Canyon Raptobots, Northern Raptobots, and Southern or Pit Raptobots. Each are characterized by specialized anatomical features that give them an advantage in their native region. As a general rule, unlike the Autobots, Alphas tend to actually be slightly smaller than their bonded mates, allowing the Betas to carry their hatchlings more easily and giving the Alphas greater speed and maneuverability in flight to protect their mate and young.

Manganese Raptobots
The largest of the Raptobot types at around seven to eight feet in height with an eighteen foot wingspan, Manganese Raptobots have large wings and long legs on a stout and powerful body, able to glide the air currents around the Manganese Mountains where they live, their tails folding like a double folding fan with the center "feathers" being three times longer than the outer feathers (much like a scarlet macaw tail). They have a piercing cry that echoes for many kilometers and are superb hunters of Turbofoxes and other small ground dwelling Mechanimals. They are rarely captured or kept as pets, though reengineering one as a Symbiote can be done if one is caught at a young enough age. Their Bonding flights are considered quite spectacular to behold, and many Autobots visit the mountains just to watch their dangerous yet beautiful aerial displays. In Earth equivalent species, they resemble large eagles and hawks that soar in Earth’s skies.

Canyon Raptobots
Canyon Raptobots are only slightly smaller than the Manganese type, about six to seven feet tall, with wider and shorter wings that span twelve to fourteen feet and bearing VTOL wing fans upon a more serpentine body and shorter legs. Their long neck and serpentine tail (tail has protruding vanes on either side) seem to help in steering through obstacles in and around the Sonic Canyons where they live, while the wing fans allow for extra lift in areas of the canyons where the downdraft is strongest. Soundwave’s twin avian Symbiotes Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are examples of this type. Like the Manganese type, they are rarely caught or kept as pets, though very young ones can be reengineered as Symbiotes, as Soundwave has done. Their Bonding flights are rarely seen, often done within the depths of the Canyons themselves, well out of visual range. In Earth equivalent species, they are similar to many broad winged avians with long necks, like herons, cranes, and vultures.

Northern Raptobots
The Northern Raptobots are the smallest of the four types, roughly three feet tall with a wigspan between six and eight feet, living in the wild areas around Six Lasers over Cybertron, Iacon, and Nova Cronum. They are small and stout avians, built for speed. They flap their wings like any other avian, but they can also lock their wing servos in a fixed position and deploy small turbo jets from their sides, right below their wings, which allows them to fly like a fixed wing jet, their tails folding like a double folding fan with the center "feathers" being only slightly longer than the outer feathers (similar to that of most hawks or eagles). It is not unheard of for an Autobot to tame one of these creatures, as they seem to be the most docile of the four types, though very hard to catch due to their speed in flight. They seem to be one of the rare few Mechanimal species capable of initiating a Symbiotic bond with an Autobot, most often choosing to do so with a mech who has befriended them and earned their trust. In Earth equivalent species, these avians resemble smaller birds like falcons, ravens, crows, terns, and other similar shaped birds.

Southern or Pit Raptobots
So named for their habitats around Kaon, Vos Star Air Command, Tarn, and Simfur, the Southern Raptobots, also called Pit Raptobots, are not as large as the Manganese or Canyon types, but larger than the northern variety, standing around four feet in height with a nine to ten foot wingspan. They have VTOL wing fans like the Canyon type, and longer legs like the Manganese, but they have more rounded heads (similar to an owl) than the other three Raptobot types with large optics on a short neck that seems capable of a full 360 rotation, and their tail is similar to that of the Canyon type but only 2/3rds the length. Their wings are heavier and sport a set of claws which enable them to easily climb vertical surfaces more readily. They are often found under ground or in pit like areas hunting GlitchMice and other small Mechanimals. They are rarely encountered and are the most vicious of the four types, often lashing out at would-be captors to escape, and are almost never taken as Symbiotes unless unhatched pods can be found and tended so the hatchling imprints on the mech in question instead of one of their own kind, making them easier to handle. Their Bonding habits are generally unknown, though it is thought that they do so within the confines of a hidden lair one has built to entice a mate. In Earth equivalent species, they seem to resemble nocturnal birds like owls.