Sveltewolf

Sveltewolves Temporal range: Early Miocene – recent
One example from each extant genus of Haschidae, clockwise from upper left: etzavazi sveltewolf (Paraproteles obscurus), tree hyena (Nemohascha megalopus), ashnan sveltewolf (Plesicyon gracilis), and hashka (Orthohascha garrula)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Superfamily:	Herpestoidea
Family:	Haschidae
Type genus
Plesicyon F.
Genera
* Haschinae Nemohascha Orthohascha Plesicyoninae Paraproteles Plesicyon

Sveltewolves (/ˈsvɛltwʊlvz/ SVELT-wolves, /-tə-/ SVEL-tə-wolves) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Haschidae (/ˈhaskɪdiː/ Latin pronunciation: [ˈas.ki.dɛː]). It is a large and varied family of mostly crepuscular to nocturnal, small-animal predators distributed across Nkungu, Etzavaz and southern coastal Ashnan. Hashka are the only extant members in Anschuhe, even though they, too, are native to Ashnan, and were displaced out.

Phylogenetically, sveltewolves are herpestoideans most closely related to the hyenas of Nkungu and Etzavaz, of which the aardwolf is the closest relative. Behaviourally, however, sveltewolves are closer to small canid species such as foxes, with the major exception of the tree hyena, which behaves similarly to the red panda, and hashka, which occupy a similar niche to humans and jötnar as a sapient species.

Phylogeny

Origins

Haschidae evolved from a common ancestor with hyaenids in the early Miocene, around 21 million years ago. This ancestor physically resembled more basal hyenas such as the aardwolf and eventually went on to fill a similar niche outside of Nkungu as omnivores, never evolving the bite strength or bone-crushing capabilities of Hyaeninae.

Plesicyoninae

Plesicyoninae are the subfamily closest to the basal sveltewolves. There are two distinct genera of Plesicyoninae: Paraproteles, the aardwolf-like sveltewolves, and Plesicyon, which mostly covers species found on Ashnan. This latter genus is characterised by a more slender body plan and semi-migratory tendencies, moving towards the coast during mating season and inland for the rest of the year.

Haschinae

The common ancestor of the Haschinae was the thieving sveltewolf (Euhascha pseudocrocuta), a highly social, large sveltewolf that evolved somewhat similarly to the spotted hyena as a carrion-eater taking advantage of wolf kills while also supplementing its diet with fruits, which explains its later omnivory. They eventually evolved tree-climbing as an escape strategy, which led to more fruit entering their diet as it was more easily accessible. This newfound frugivory, compounded by their tree-climbing behaviour, led to them evolving opposable pseudo-thumbs. The lineage leading to hashka eventually gained the cognitive abilities to create tools and fire, and led to their sapience around 60,000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene.

Phylogenetic tree

Haschidae

Plesicyoninae (Land-dwelling sveltewolves) Paraproteles obscurus (etzavazi sveltewolf) Paraproteles ovifuris (egg-stealing sveltewolf) Plesicyon gracilis (ashnan sveltewolf) Plesicyon rufus (red sveltewolf) Plesicyon crinatus (greater sveltewolf) Plesicyon glaucus (boreal sveltewolf) Haschinae (Tree-dwelling sveltewolves and hashka) Orthohascha garrula (hashka) Nemohascha megalopus (large-footed tree hyena) Nemohascha latrans (barking tree hyena)

Characteristics

Physical characteristics

Although sveltewolves are highly varied, some common physical characteristics can be observed. Most sveltewolves, with the exception of the red sveltewolf (Plesicyon rufus), tend to have muted, desaturated coat colours ranging in the greys, blacks, whites and browns. These coats tend to darken around the face and neck, limbs, and the ends of their tails. The lighter-coloured areas are usually covered in faint stripes. They are endowed with manes, which in some species extend around the entirety of the neck, and are softer than the coarser fur around the rest of the body. This mane can be used in communication through piloerection.

Sveltewolf ears tend to be large and round-tipped, their noses somewhat flatter than those of canids, and their necks more elongated than those of their hyena relatives. Their tails are usually slim and tipped with bristle-like fluff which may, like the mane, also piloerect as an emotional response. Their tongues are strikingly cat-like, with noticeable backwards-facing spines along the upper surface.

Haschinae, the forest tree-dwelling subfamily including hashka, are highly divergent while also retaining some features from their land-dwelling relatives. They possess opposable pseudo-thumbs evolved from the ancestral index finger. Although not as dextrous as those of primates, they still allow for enough complex manipulation in hashka to grasp, make tools, write, etc., and in Nemohascha to grasp branches and fruit. Their tails also tend to be bigger, meatier, and more articulated, although in hashka they are greatly reduced, as they have not contributed to their balance for several hundred thousand years. It is theorised that hashka have retained their arguably vestigial tails for the purposes of emoting.

Behaviour

Sveltewolves, with the exception of hashka, generally feed on small animals, insects, and eggs. Some species may specialise their diets further, such as the egg-stealing sveltewolf (Paraproteles ovifuris), or the members of genus Nemohascha, which primarily feed on fruit and bird eggs. They are tendentially solitary-but-social, only demonstrating higher sociality in members of the Haschinae subfamily, all of whom mate for life. On average, sveltewolves live about twenty to thirty years, with, again, the exception of hashka, who live up to eighty. Communication (not counting hashka's complex languages) usually consists of "giggles" (laugh-like vocalisations noticeably not as raucous as those of spotted hyenas), guttural barks and growls, and chuffs. Reproductive strategies vary by genus; Paraproteles members mate through the wet season, meeting occasionally but never remaining with one mate for life. Plesicyon members instead follow a migratory pattern, moving towards the warmer southern coasts during the spring and remaining in the cooler inland portions of Ashnan the rest of the year. Haschinae in general tend to mate for life, with the female taking a dominant role and serving as the matriarch figure in a family unit. Hashka follow this pattern, and have indeed extrapolated it into a fully hierarchical, complex, matriarchal family unit system.

Relationships with humans and hashka

Folklore, mythology and literature

{hey, y'all, please fill this out with cultural notes and mythology about sveltewolves in your cultures}

Attacks

Sveltewolves in general, due to their skittish and solitary nature, rarely if ever attack unprovoked, and very few attested deaths can be attributed to them.

In popular culture

{same as folklore section}