Backrunner Reference [2015]

This thing is pretty big and took me a damn long time, but I've been promising it for years and it's finally done so I figured I should toss it up as soon as I finished it.

The Lesser Backrunner (????. ?????) is one of several species of hooded predator that make their homes around craggy outcroppings across mountainous ranges, occasionally straying into the valleys below. Their tails have evolved into split, weighted segments that can be flexed and pressed together in order to provide counterbalance when traversing their rather inhospitable environment, while the lamellae-filled slits in their necks are used to siphon oxygen from the ashen-ridden air.
About the size of a large cougar, these rather cantankerous predators prefer a solitary life. While sibling and mated pairs can be seen together, backrunners will defend their kills and territory tooth and nail, should their cacophonous warning and flaring-of-hoods not be heeded.

Displaced from their natural habitat, backrunners are ranked at Class A and considered dangerous; their presence should be notified to authorities immediately. Do not attempt to approach unless familiar with anomalies at an advanced level, and remember to give all other trespassers a wide berth.

There's more to the species but I don't want to reveal everything all at once, but hopefully you guys dig these guys as much as I do.
Backrunners, their habitats, world, and all related creatures are © Lauren "Nhy" Budney. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This species is currently CLOSED, please do not make your own or ask to use them in any way, shape or form.