Gyrosprinter

Gyrosprinters are a species of herbivorous extraterrestrial Native to the planet of Darwin IV which feature in the Discovery Channel’s Alien Planet television special.

Description
Large, eyeless, bipedal creatures who appear to rely solely on echolocation to find their way around, Gyrosprinters possess a unique method of locomotion. Suggestive of a quadrupedal ancestry, it’s twin-hipped fore- and hind-limbs appear to be fused together into a single wide appendage. Although unconventional, these legs allow the Gyrosprinter to achieve speeds in excess of forty miles per hour, which makes them fast enough to evade most predators. However, this configuration does not come without a cost, and the creatures have evolved a pair of slim left-and-right spinal protrusions which they use to keep balance; damage to either one of these will result in the Gyrosprinter becoming unable to keep itself upright, and a certain death.