Nojiva the Stehadrodine! Part Stegosaurus, part Hadrosaur, part Canine, and absolutely the good-est girl in the system!🏅 She is the loyal travelling companion of my Protogen OC, Kymani, and my favorite companion in No Man’s Sky. Commissioned from the amazing clay_pony_ over on Instagram! Huge thank to her for bringing Nojiva to colorful life. 😍

Some species stats📊:

🐾(N. Chromofugofera) Orthogonal Stehadrodine.

🌐First discovered wandering the wind-blasted lakeshores of Biggings, a small, arid planet in the Oransky XIV system, Stehadrodines are hardy, gentle omnivores. From birth to early adulthood, (Nojiva as depicted here is a juvenile, some months after Kymani adopted her) their thick, dust-defying fur ranges from rich peach to sienna while their armored platelets have a distinctive, blue sheen. As they age into adulthood, their fur becomes a darker, burnt sienna and their platelets take on a duller, grey-blue hue.

🎼They usually live long, fulfilling lives thanks to a notably complex social hierarchy within their packs, and an intelligence to rival that of the Bottlenose Dolphins found on Sol III. Their communication is largely vocal, the Hadrosaur-like horn on their heads containing several, interconnected chambers which allow for a wide range of horn-like calls and cries.

🌵These features allow for pack members to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next, such as cultivating the abundant but tough Echinocactus found on Biggings by only eating specific parts, or judging a tuber’s size so small ones can be moved to more fertile ground, and then left to mature. Certain pack members are raised as Gatherers and are taught the aforementioned practices. Others are raised as Guardians, males in particular, with a pair of long, fin-like plates down their backs rather than the smaller, triangular plates of the females, being more effective at shrugging off a predator’s claws. Some are raised as Scouts, ranging far ahead of the pack, seeking new cactus groves and watching for threats.