Creature:Jaynan

The Jaynan is an herbivorous 'plantimal' that lives in trees. Similar to monkeys they are agile climbers (their hands and feet even resemble those of primates). Jaynans are only of reptilian intelligence, though their social intelligence is closer to that of mammals.

As adults, Jaynans are approximatley cat sized (18-24 inches from head to stump-tail and 6-10 pounds in weight). Male and female Jaynans are about the same size, with females occasionally being slightly larger.

Relation to the interplanetary plant trade
Jaynans are common pests in interstellar plant shipments because they cling tightly to trees and their leaf symbionts camouflage them very well, making them harder to identify and remove. Once they reach a new world, they are known to reproduce very quickly, which is especially a problem for newly-seeded worlds without well-established ecosystems. It is through the interplanetary movement of plants that the Jaynan has spread to a large number of planets.

Society and behavior
Jaynans live in small social groups consisting of four to fifteen individuals. The dominant Jaynan is usually the largest one with the brightest foliage. Each Jaynan troop maintains a territory centered around a home tree, which they defend vigorously from other animals (including other Jaynans). The troop's territory also includes a number of trees surrounding the home tree, though they defend these less vigorously.

The Jaynan diet consists of fruits, berries, tender shoots, and leaves. Jaynans display a preference for the color magenta; for example, if presented with a choice between an edible fruit of any color and an inedible foam sphere painted magenta, the Jaynan will usually pick the magenta sphere. It is likely that Jaynans, at some point in their evolutionary history, fed on fruits that turned magenta when they were ripe. The preference for magenta still exists (or is reinforced) because of the magenta 'flower' on the Jaynan's head, which is an indicator of fitness.

Reproduction
The 'flower' on the Jaynan's head is not actually a flower but a display organ coupled with a scent gland. The brighter the Jaynan's 'flower,' the fitter and more socially dominant it is. The scent gland in the middle of the 'flower' produces pheromones that identify the individual Jaynan and whether or not it is ready to reproduce. The long, feathery antennae of the Jaynan pick up these pheromones. Jaynans lay clumps of small, seed-like eggs in the hollows or crotches of trees. Each egg contains both the Jaynan embryo and the germ of the Jaynan plant symbiont. Jaynan guard their offspring as they guard their home tree but otherwise contribute little to raising them. Young are self-sufficient from birth and must learn to hide and climb to avoid being eaten. Only a few young from each clutch survive to adulthood.