REP: Desert Snowball

Desert snowballs are a small group of desert-dwelling makropneumonopteres that feed mostly on a group of tentaculopods called ectossids that is found exclusively in deserts as well. Desert snowballs are clumsy fliers and are mostly moving around by foot. At day they close their eyes to protect them from the strong UV-radiation, only opening them for short periods. At this time they use the whiskers on their heads to orient themselves and do not fly. The thick, white coat both protects them from the radiation as well as from the heat. As an additional aid to cool down they use large tail fans which are covered with a wax-like excretion and constantly grow outward and shed to prevent mutated cell clusters to grow. As the sun sets they will usually fly back to their dens to escape the far stronger competition at night, where they also raise their young.