The stonethrower is a bizarre creature, strangely shaped but perfectly adapted to its environment. Its nearly pure-white skin reflects as much light as possible and is completely hairless, relying instead on a pinkish, waxy secretion to prevent water loss from the nearly constant wind.
The stonethrower walks on its toes to keep its body as high above the burning sand as possible. Its long legs and lanky body help keep the body's temperature low, as does the peculiar dorsal arrangement. This is a protrusion above the spine, full of major blood vessels. The openings in the skin are covered by a thin membrane in juveniles, but often these are perforated completely by the wind in adults. The wind blows around and through these openings, cooling the blood flowing inside, and if the angle is right, can make an eerie whistling noise which announces the creature's presence.
The stonethrower gets its common name from its hunting behavior. It finds prey by overturning rocks with its enormous claws, which are quite strong. Once it has uncovered its prey, it spears it with its sharp beak, or if the creature runs, the stonethrower can easily keep pace with its long legs.
It leaves a distinctive footprint, with claw drag-marks from the front feet.
At night, the stonethrower secretes more of the waxy substance from its skin to preserve the heat of the day. The wax can also anchor the creature to rocks, to prevent it from being blown away by the relentless night winds.
