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Rubricata (Rubricatan: Rurrikata), officially the Rubricatan Commonwealth (Latin: Res Publica Rubricatana, Rubricatan: Respulika Rurrikata), is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of a main island, Tirra Maŋa, and over 200 smaller surrounding islands, for a total area of about 250,000 square kilometers. It is located east of Australia, north of New Zealand, and southwest of New Guinea. The landscape is characterized by vast tropical rainforests, which cover about 75 percent of the country, and the mountainous Northeastern Highlands. The country has a population of about 90 million.

The islands of what is now Rubricata were first inhabited by Melanesians in the 3rd millennium BC. They split into a few hundred tribes scattered across the islands, and by the 1st century AD many had formed state societies with contact with the Han Dynasty and Southeast Asia. Roman traders first encountered the Melanesians in the 3rd century AD, eventually setting up permanent trading posts as they lost contact with the fading Roman Empire. Thousands of Roman citizens escaping their empire's collapse gradually settled at these colonies, and from there the settlements became states of their own right by the end of the 6th century. By the beginning of the 9th century, Melanesian and Romance states were engaging in frequent contact, both via violent territorial disputes and peaceful cultural and population exchange. Their respective states began to merge and consolidate into a lesser number of larger entities; Romance-majority states were mainly located on the southern and western coasts, and Melanesian-majority states dominated inland and mountain-coastal areas. The states would continue economic and cultural exchange with China and Southeast Asia, and they had also established new relations with South Asia. Spanish explorers, who had heard of the Rubricatan islands through interactions with the Ming Dynasty and the Sultanate of Sulu, first set foot on them in 1551. The Rubricatan peoples, who by this time had formed an alliance of 16 kingdoms led by the Kingdom of Tangarurra, set up trade relations with the Spaniards. Spain made several attempts to conquer the islands from the 16th to the 18th centuries, all of which failed due to the robust structure of the alliance and its society. A unified Rubricatan Commonwealth was instead made a Spanish protectorate by treaty in 1763, which ended in 1896 due to a revolution stemming from a royal dispute. Rubricata became an elective monarchy with its current constitution in 1953. A year later, the Democratic Republic of Rubricata, with military backing from the Soviet Union and China, seceded in the northern areas of the country; the communist satellite state would become increasingly condemned internationally for its extreme policies. Rubricata reunited after a civil war from 1985 to 1989.

Today, Rubricata is a newly industrialized country whose top industries include manufacturing, services, agriculture, ethanol processing, fishing, timber, iron-mining and tourism. It is known for its high biodiversity; about 70 percent of Rubricata's plant and animal species are endemic and found nowhere else on Earth. Rubricata is a federal parliamentary constitutional elective monarchy, with a ceremonial monarch elected by the Senate for a lifelong reign, a prime minister as the head of government, and 16 provinces and five autonomous cities that are able to make their own federally-compliant laws. It is frequently characterized as having a high degree of civil rights; equality under the law regardless of ethnicity, class and religion is enshrined in the constitution, and Rubricatan women were given the right to vote in 1917, making Rubricata one of the first nations to legalize female suffrage.

Naturaya, the national religion and ideology, emphasizes respect for the natural environment and its resources and inhabitants, recognizing that humans are part of the natural world and that spirits reside within every human and natural object. It guides economic and personal activity in the nation to be sustainable and non-polluting; as a result, Rubricata is the largest country that substitutes petroleum and natural gas usage in domestic infrastructure for plant-based ethanol fuel and other, more environmentally friendly energy sources. Rubricata is one of a few remaining nations in the world with a majority religion derived from animistic tradition, alongside Japan, Benin and Haiti.

Etymology
Latin rubricata, feminine perfect passive participle of rubrico, rubricare, rubricavi, rubricatus (to paint/mark in red), from Terra Rubricata. TBA

History
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Geography
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Government and politics
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Military
Rubricatan Royal Army
- Rubricatan Royal Legionary Force
- Rubricatan Royal Navy
- Rubricatan Royal Air Force
- Rubricatan National Guard
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Economy
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Infrastructure
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Demographics
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Culture
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Here is a selected list of some of Rubricata's most notable species of fauna:

Molluscs

Stolid cowrie (Bistolida stolida)

Valued for its shiny pearl-colored shell and its blotched orange patterns, the stoild cowrie had been used as currency by Native Rubricatans for millennia. Cowries provided a natural, quickly renewable form of material currency. They are still popularly used as decorative items for jewelry today.

TBA

Arthropods

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Saltwater fish

Milkfish (Chanos chanos)

Ever since Rubricata saw its first human settlement, milkfish has served as a staple marine food source for its people.

Reef stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa)

The stonefish is feared by even the most wilderness-hardened Rubricatans. It is known for its ability to seamlessly blend into corals and rocks in reefs and its defense of delivering a sharp, often lethal sting of venom through its dorsal fin. Native Rubricatan warriors and Romance soldiers alike sometimes laced their weapons with the deadly toxin. The stonefish appears as a malicious character in several Rubricatan stories.

Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Rubricatan culture gives the whale shark the moniker of rex piscium (king of the fish). Whale sharks are known for being gentle giants, and many Rubricatans dream of petting one. When fishermen see one in the open ocean, it is said to bring good luck for a plentiful harvest.

Freshwater fish

Emberfish (Hyphessobrycon sp.)

Panda catfish (Hoplisoma panda)

Rubricatan flatminnow (Xiphophorus maculatus)

Denarius fish (Metynnis argentus)

Silver arowana (Osteoglossum bichirrhosum)

Under Chinese influence, Rubricatan culture refers to the silver arowana as the "dragon fish." Like the milkfish, the arowana is a common fixture in the nation's cuisine. Successfully catching three of this rather large fish in a day's outing is said to bring the fisher a healthier life.

Amphibians

Interestingly, Rubricata has no native amphibians. The niches that would be filled by amphibians elsewhere are instead occupied by a great diversity of lizards (see immediately below).

Reptiles

Crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus)

Every Rubricatan can claim to have seen a crested gecko inside of their hut, house or garden at least a hundred times in their life. These small, jumpy lizards are appreciated for their ability to control pest insects inside of homes and to peacefully share fruit snacks with humans. They are surprisingly docile with human interaction. For this reason, they have become popular pets in East Asia, Europe and North America since the 2000's.

Rubricatan giant gecko (Rhacodactylus lechianus)

The Rubricatan giant gecko is the crested gecko's more territorial, less docile relative, reaching adult lengths of about 40 cm. The largest gecko in the world was mistaken for a type of demon when Roman traders first encountered them.

Utdraco (Phoboscincus bocourti)

The ancient Roman traders thought this giant skink to be like a dragon, and they named it as such. It hunts crabs, eggs, small birds and small lizards using its long, dagger-like teeth. Some locals claim they have seen utdracones bite off people's fingers thinking they were food.

Yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina)

The yellow-lipped sea krait is a highly venomous semi-marine snake, but it is famously docile around humans. Many Rubricatans see it as the natural embodiment of "beautiful, but deadly."

Pacific boa (Candoia bibroni)

The pacific boa is often seen hanging on the branches of trees, sometimes in the middle of gulping down a lizard, bird, bat or even a deer fawn.

Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea)

Six of the seven (no joke intended) living species of sea turtles inhabit the waters of at least one Rubricatan coast. Locals and tourists alike are awed by the sight of thousands of turtles making landfall to lay and bury their eggs, as well as the eventual hatching of these eggs and the "Race to the Sea." The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas, pictured above) in particular is seen as a sacred attribute of the god Neptune.

??? river turtle (Podocnemis sp.)

The river turtle is a neotenous descendant of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle. It is a common sight in ponds, rivers and parks.

Common name TBA (=Meiolania mackayi)

(1)

Unlike any other turtle alive today, the Meiolania has a long, spiky tail and a spike-laden head. Combined with a high-domed shell, these make effective defenses against predators like alligators and jaguars. Small birds like finches and parakeets, and even predatory goshawks, are often seen perching on Meiolania's shell to get easy rides to other parts of their local forest. Along with the forest crocodile and the emperor junglefowl, the Meiolania is one of Rubricata's "Big Three" Gondwanan relics.

Rubricatan alligator (Caiman crocodilus ssp.)

The Rubricatan alligator is the largest predator of the island's river and streams. Unlike many other crocodilians, it doesn't mind human prescence, and it often goes often any catches that human fishers discard.

Forest crocodile (WIPgenus inexpectatus)

The forest crocodile, the only living crocodilian species to live entirely on land and climb trees, is one of Rubricata's "Big Three" prehistoric relics. Despite being two meters long, it hunts only smaller prey like lizards, birds, eggs and small mammals. Before the arrival of dogs, Native Rubricatans tamed these crocodiles to assist them on their hunts.

Ground-dwelling birds

Phantombird (Rhynochetos jubatus)

Phantombirds are named as such for their smooth, ash-gray plumage and their harrowing cries. They are famous for their territorial displays of raising their head feathers in a crest and fanning out their wings. Ancient Rubricatans believed them to be reincarnations of those who died in natural disasters or accidents.

Pile-builder megapode (Megapodius molistructor)

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The pile-builder megapode is the largest species of megapode, weighing about 3.5 kg. The piles of branches, twigs and dead plants it builds to incubate its eggs are quite large as well, and they can sometimes be seen along forest trails.

Rubricatan ground dove (Pampusana longitarsus)

The Rubricatan ground dove is a common sight in gardens and parks. As with ducks and geese on the continents, parkgoers enjoy feeding these doves scraps of food, usually raw seeds and nuts.

Emperor junglefowl (Sylviornis rubricatus)

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One of Rubricata's "Big Three" relics from Gondwana, the emperor junglefowl has been an important game animal since the arrival of humans 4,000 years ago. It has remained a popular source of meat, feathers and sometimes eggs even after the introduction of chickens to the island's people.

Flying and marine birds

Metallic pigeon (Columba rubricatana)

The seldom seen metallic pigeon is highly sought after by explorers, birdwatchers and tourists alike. It is famed for its iridescent dark green and purple feathers, which were used by Native Rubricatans as jewelry and decoration.

Goliath imperial pigeon (Ducula goliath)

The goliath imperial pigeon is exactly what it sounds like: a giant tree-dwelling pigeon. As with the emperor junglefowl, it is a favorite target for hunters for its feathers, eggs and fatty meat. Many Rubricatan royal families throughout history have also kept these pigeons in their gardens.

Green-backed white-eye (Zosterops xanthochroa)

The green-backed white eye is perhaps Rubricata's most common bird, even more so than the Rubricatan ground dove and the red-crowned parakeet. It has even been seen in city centers forging for scraps in flocks.

Red-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus saisseti)

The red-crowned parakeet is also one of Rubricata's most ubiquitous birds. They are commonly seen eating fruit from gardens or foraging with green-backed white-eyes in urban areas.

Jackdaw-crow (Corvus moneduloides)

The jackdaw-crow is famous in modern times for being among the most intelligent birds. Having an intelligence rivaling that of a 7-year-old human child, it is able to modify twigs and pebbles into tools to obtain food.

??? barn owl (Tyto sp.)

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The barn owl, as with the little owl in Europe, is held in sacred regard. It is recognized as a living attribute of the goddess Minerva.

Goshawks (Tachyspiza quartus and Tachyspiza efficax)

The gracile goshawk (Tachyspiza quartus) and powerful goshawk (Tachyspiza efficax) are the dominant aerial predators of Rubricata, though they fill different niches. The gracile goshawk is more slender and hunts smaller birds in aerial pursuit, while the powerful goshawk is larger and more sturdy and tends to hunt eggs, large reptiles and birds, and small or medium-sized mammals. Both goshawks have been tamed by hunters for almost two millennia, with the former also being used to deliver paper messages and the latter being used as an "attack bird" in warfare.

Mammals

Siren (Dugong dugon)

Known elsewhere as the dugong, the siren is named as such because of its vague resemblance to the dangerous creatures in Greek legend. Despite early Roman traders' fears, sirens are completely harmless to humans and graze vegetation on sandy ocean floors.

Fruit bats (family Pteropodidae)

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When a Rubricatan sees a huge flock of fruit bats emerging from their treetop roosts, they know the sun has basically set. Pictured above is the ornate flying fox (Pteropus ornatus).

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

As with their ancestors across the Pacific Ocean and past the Andes, Rubricatan capybaras are famously friendly. They let birds and smaller reptiles hitch rides on their backs as they graze on vegetation in riverbanks and parks.

Pacific brocket (Mazama pacificana)

Closely related to the red brocket of the Americas, the Pacific brocket has provided another source of food for natives and hunters for millennia. It is the only ungulate species native to Rubricata.

Crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus)

The crab-eating raccoon has a reputation of being elusive, preferring to avoid human interaction and habitation. It spends its nights mainly eating fish and shellfish beside streams.

Jaguar (Panthera onca pacificanus)

Just as its American cospecifics rule the Amazon and Mesoamerican rainforests, the Rubricatan jaguar, although slightly smaller, is the apex predator of the island. As the living attribute of the creator deity, the jaguar is highly feared and respected in Rubricatan society, so much so that it is legally designated as a royal symbol and the national animal.

Introduced species

Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Romance traders first brought the zebrafish from the Bengal region to Rubricata in the 8th and 9th centuries, keeping them in shallow garden ponds. They remain popular in home ponds and aquaria today, though feral populations descended from centuries-old escapees have found themselves at home in fast-flowing streams.

Image credits

All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons unless noted below:

(1) Image originally taken by Disneysaurus from Tumblr and posted to Fandom.

(2) Image used on earthlife.net. Hopefully, it isn't AI-generated...

(3) Image created by Astrapionte on Fandom.

(4) Image posted on observation.org.