Aurora Skystrider

The skystriders are a species of large though extremely lightweight sophonts from the world of Sheatheria. One of two sentient species to exist on the planet, they are generally considered the most advanced. They are capable on the ground and in the air, and are secondarily terrestrial, having evolved from small flying ancestors which eventually returned to the ground. On land they traverse all terrain very effectively with a bipedal leaping locomotion, and in the air they soar gracefully and agilely with not two but four developed wings, those on the hind limbs being equally powerful as the forelimbs and attached to an extremely flexible hip joint, meaning that unlike any comparable Earth vertebrate, the skystrider can flap these wings as strenuously as its forewings. However, skystriders are most effectively built to soar, and spreading their wings out they obtain a massive surface area, enabling the creatures to travel thousands of miles with minimal effort.

These animals are omnivores, though they most definitely prefer animal prey, and use a multitude of tools to procure food. They have weak jaws, and most foods require cooking to be digested easily. As their hands are atrophied into a single immobile claw and the feet into inflexible shock absorbers, the majority of manipulation occurs through two flexible and extendable facial tentacles comparable in musculature to an elephant's trunk. On the snout, two antennae are present, used to detect scents and pheromones and to detect magnetic fields.