Stygian Forest Rat

Art Credit: Lemmingcurd   The Stygian Forest Rat   This incredibly rare creature is a meerkat sized mammal. It has four legs. Those in the front, act as arms with hands to grab things as well as legs for the purpose of running. The "Hands" have three fingers, while the feet are four clawed. They have a long, elegant tail.   They have an almost silk like fur that is either dark brown or dark grey or a combination of these colors. They are omnivore, tho they mostly eat nuts, insects, and things they rob out of nests.   They're diurnal and rely on their communication and communities to gather and protect themselves. They have deep black eyes and can see pretty well in the thick forests, but they are rather light sensitive, which sees them at a disadvantage if they ever leave the forest. That is also why caught specimen seem so lethargic when presented in cages, as the broad sunlight simply stuns them and makes them almost blind. They have long, rat-like snouts and small almost non-visible ears. Their heads are fairly large in comparison to their bodies.   They make sounds ranging from very high pitched to fairly high pitched and have a large range of sounds they make to indicate discoveries, dangers and otherwise communicate with each other.   These creatures are quite protective of their territory. Studies have hinted that they might be rather intelligent. The Stygian Forest Rats mate once every four years and they mate with a select few partners throughout life. For small mammals, they have a rather long life span of up to thirty years in the wild.