Tundra-Plow

"It seemed a creature uncomfortable with its own method of movement, yet, I knew that its very survival in this harsh environment proved me wrong."

- Wayne Barlowe describing the Tundra-Plow

The Tundra-Plow is a large, remarkable creature which inhabits the northern tundra of planet Darwin IV. These three meters long herbivores keep their bodies partially burrowed in the snow-covered ground, and slowly drag themselves across with the help of two strong robust arms. As they move, they leave deep, several miles long furrows on the ground surface. Their average speed is of forty meters per hour.

The subterranean portion of a Tundra-Plow's body resembles a tough organic snowplow and contains three pairs of mouth-grooves, specialized structures used to collect the snow, filtering moisture and nutrients. While the creatures' nostrils are located on the above-ground part of their bodies, the mouth is placed below the ground, at the end of an extendable proboscis which is used to grab plants and pull them from underneath. The result is that the nutrient-rich plants appear to magically disappear from the creature's path once it approaches them.