Malacutia

Malacutia is a moon of Calpha, and is predominantly a sandy desert. There is groundwater beneath some parts of the planet, and in some places springs feed into sizable lakes.

Ecosystem
Despite bring mostly desert, the little water on Malacutia sustains a surprising variety of life. For instance, Burrow Mice are small mice with webbed, spade-like feet used for digging and range in color from golden to a deep red; they have fluffy, beaver-like tails and abnormally large whiskers, ears, and eyes.

Desert Larks look like sparrows, but have longer beaks and tails; they are dusty brown with a white patch on their chests and are known for their beautiful call.

Desert Lynxes are moderately large cats with an excellent sense of smell, usually found near cacti and hunting for Burrow Mice.

Dragon Birds are small, rainbow-colored birds with a lifespan of one day; they hatch in the morning, lay one egg, and die in the evening.

Rainbow Beetles are very colorful and mostly harmless; they collect water from clouds atop tall dunes and scavenge larger dead creatures.

Acromantulas are giant spiders (on average smaller than their Exonian counterparts, and not at all intelligent) that are rather high on the food chain and that have venom appropriate for the size of their prey.

Desert Hydras are long, two-headed snakes that blend perfectly with the sand on the Malacutian desert, and boast venom that can kill most animals up to five times their size, though the only creature that big native to Malacutia are the Giant Wasps.

Giant Wasps are the apex predators on Malacutia, averaging seven meters long and able to project poisonous goo out of their tail stingers. Their subterranean nests stretch for miles, with surface exits that look like giant termite mounds.

Sand worms eat more nutritious soil under the deep sand, and are practically useless other than as a food source, though they are rather adept at destroying Giant Wasp nests.