Songbird race! (And other stuff.)

[Metastachydium]

So, let's talk about whatevertaurs! D&D (and I'm pretty sure they are not exactly the only offenders) has this strange habit of considering -taur a kind of postfix that means 'six-limbed creature with four legs and two manipulators' (I'm sure everyone's at least as familiar with the dracotaur and the tauric creature template as I am). This annoys me to no end. It's not quite as bad as whatevermancy (that one gives me physical pain), but it's trying. I mean,
1. the -taur in centaur is widely believed to come from ταυρος somehow, but κεν doesn't mean 'human' (in fact, linguists are not entirely sure what it does mean, but that's beside the point) and ταυρος absolutely doesn't mean 'with four legs'. As (I'm pretty sure) we (as opposed to whoever made MM3 and Savage Species) all know, it means 'bull'. Accordingly, dracotaur, for instance, means 'dragon bull' (or 'really big snake bull', but let's not dwell on that) which… Doesn't make a lot of sense.
2. There were variations on the centaur design, historically speaking. Beside the hippocentaur (a classic!), we used to have the ichthyocentaur (two arms, two horse legs and a fish tail) and the onocentaur (two donkey legs and two long human arms, used as arms or legs as needed). There's an easily noticable pattern here: the first half of the name refers to whatever a human torso was mixed up with; meanwhile, the second half is -centaur (rather than -taur).
More to the point: to vent my frustrations, I decided I might as well just go make an actual tauric creature (in your face, Wizards!), i.e. some random animal with the head of a bull! Since PF already did ophiotaur and Stormwrack (I think) gave us the ramfish which would make an ichthyotaur somewhat redundant, after briefly considering crocotaur and pterotaur, I ended up creating the mighty

Helicotaur
The horned head of a helicotaur would resemble that of a bull, were it not for the bony plates covering it. These snail-like, legless creatures carry an enormous, dull grey, spirally coiled shell on their backs.

Size/Type: Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 3d10+2 (17 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 15 feet (4 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (-1 size, +10 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+9
Attack: Gore +3 melee (1d8+1)
Full Attack: Gore +3 melee (1d8+1) and radula -2 melee (1d2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: –
Special Qualities: Darkvision 10 ft., DR 5/bludgeoning or piercing, resilient shell, tremorsense 5 ft.
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +2
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Climb +3, Hide +1, Listen +3, Swim +3
Feats: Athletic, Great Fortitude
Environment: Temperate marshes
Organization: Pair or herd (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 2
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4-5 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: –

Combat
Helicotaurs rarely attack creatures other than helicotaurs from different herds. When threatened, they will normally try to flee, retreating into their shells if cornered.

Resilient Shell (Su)
The shell of a helicotaur replicates the effect of a lesser globe of invulnerability. A targeted dispel magic spell suppresses this quality for one round.