Mousephant

The Mousephant is a small pachydermal rodent that lived during the Croodaceous Time Peiod.

Eytimology
The name comes from the word Mouse(A small rodent) and Elephant(A kind of pachyderm).

Anatomy
Head-The Mousephants head is quite large in comparison to the rest of its body and is round in shape. They possess small mouths which are hidden by their prehensile proboscis(trunk) which is similar to that of a modern Elephant. They possess elongated tusks which curv back towards their heads from underneath their proboscis whose tip is completely hairless, coming out from the corners of their mouth. They possess a well developed brow which allow them to express their emotions and appear more aggressive.

Eyes-Their eyes are beady and black in color with no visible sclera at all and their eyelids are completely hairless

Ears-The Mousephant possesses large flap-like ears similar to that of a modern Elephant and are movable by the animal allowing it to emote as well.

Body-The body of the Mousephant is very similar to that of a mouse and is rectangular in shape. They possess little to no neck which flows into their body seamlessly. They possess short stubby legs with the forelimbs being particularly thin. Each leg is tipped with 3 clawless toes and are completely hairless.

Tail-The tail of the Mousephant is prehensile and completely hairless, allowing it to balance itself similar to that of a modern Mouse.

Pelt-The Mousephant is covered in a short fuzzy fur similar to that of the modern Mouse.

Coloration-The mousephant is completely grey-blue in color aside from its hairless body parts which are pink in coloration.

Length-The Mousephant has been found to reach 4-5 Inches or 10-12 Centimeters in length when not counting the tail.

Weight-A single Mousephant weighs around 20 ounces.

Habitat
The Mousephant is known to inhabit jungles and live along the shore lines of bodies of water such as rivers or lakes.

Behavior
The Mousephant is a highly social animal and live in large groups together, typically within shrubbery in order to gain some protection from predators. Unlike the modern Mouse they will not flee instantly from a predator but will stand their ground and attempt to look aggressive towards them, trumpeting from their proboscis and furrowing their brow. Afterwards the Mousephant will then run away and is typically followed by the rest of its packmates. When crossing waterways they will hold their trunk above the water allowing them to breath similar to that of modern Elephants in a form of snorkeling, as shown by the fossilized footprints found below the Croodaceous Water Line.

Diet
The Mousephant is a generalist herbivore and has been shown to have consumed over `100 different varieties of plants shown through fossilized droppings.

Predators
The Mousephant is a common prey animal which is preyed upon by most if not all other predators.

Abilities
Hearing-The Mousephant possesses extremely sensitive hearing and is able to hear most everything from miles away.

Trumpeting-By forcing air through its trunk they are able to produce a high pitched trumpeting sound similar to that of modern Elephants allowing them to intimidate opponents.

Snorkeling-They are able to swim without fear of drowning much as they can hold their trunks above the water line and breath through it.

Swimming-Similar to modern rodents such as Rats the Mousephant is able to swim quite well and for long distances, even across rivers.

High Fertility-Due to being so similar to the modern Mouse these mammals possess the ability to reproduce rapidly resulting in their large packs.

In The Movie
A mousephant was seen in the forest entered by the Croods Family and was attacked by Sandy and pulled out of the bush it was hiding in. This mousephant was slapped out of Sandy's mouth by Grug and aggressively trumpeted at them before running off. It was followed by the rest of its packmates.

Trivia

 * The hybridization of a mouse and elephant may be a nod to the myth of elephants being afraid of mice.
 * The Mousephant may be a literal take on the real life Elephant Mouse or Elephant Shrew which they have a great resemblance to.
 * The Mousephant may be a reference to the Elephant Rat of Avatar The Last Airbender.
 * The Mousephant may be a reference to the rhinograde or snouter as well.