Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.
Common Name: Torkoal, Cotoise
Scientific Name: Carbochelone capnos
Description: Torkoal are small reptilian pokemon, measuring only 20 inches long. They are orange in color with slate gray rings around their splayed-out limbs and long neck, as well as on the crown of the head. They have a dark, domed shell covering their torso, with several bright red scutes making a striking pattern on the back. Small, slit-like pores can be seen between the shell's scutes. The plastron is also grey in color. Torkoal have three clawed toes on each foot, and small, slitted eyes above a blunt beak.
Range: Torkoal are endemic to the upland regions of northern Hoenn.
Habitat: Torkoal live in dry, open, rocky country. They will often shelter at night in tunnels, both natural and manmade.
Call: Torkoal are mostly silent, but when under stress will make a coughing noise.
Diet: Torkoal are herbivores, walking miles to feed off grasses and the rare, precious succulent. The plants they eat are often high in salts, and they excrete these excess minerals with thick, goopy, salty tears.
Torkoal savor fruit, which is hard to come by in their harsh habitat.
Life Cycle: Though Torkoal are capable of breeding at any point in the year, they often breed just when the year's rains start, so that their young will have more food available when they hatch. When in the breeding mood, males attempt to ram and overturn each other, a dangerous prospect for a species that has difficulty righting itself! The male that has succeeded in overturning his rival then has access to the local females.
Females lay several clutches of 3-4 eggs in a shallow hole, which she then covers up and leaves. The young are independent and capable of caring for themselves at birth. They mature slowly, and are not capable of reproduction until they are 20 years old. Torkoal may live over a century.
Relationship with Humans: Torkoal, though they have a naturally limited range, are not overly targeted by trainers, and are not considered endangered. They are still reasonably common in Hoenn's uplands.
Naturalist's Notes: Torkoal have few predators. The large predators of the areas where they frequent often do not bother with such small prey, and the small ones have great difficulty getting through this pokemon's defenses.
Not only do Torkoal have a hard, protective shell, but they are capable of biocombusion, spitting fire out of their mouths at threats. In addition, they have glands situated underneath their scutes that secrete noxious fumes, usually aerosols of irritating liquid, from small pores. Torkoal can use these fumes to shield themselves or their burrows from view, or to create a nigh-impenetrable cloak of choking gas around their bodies. The Torkoal themselves seem to be immune.
As a result of these defenses, potential predators, which in historical times included Lairon, Skarmory, and Bagon, would stay well clear. Of course, in modern times all these species have very diminished ranges, and there are very few predators that are found in Torkoal's range today.