Fur, Feather, Fin - Cave Leech - [Canon]
- Location
- 47° 09′ S, 126° 43′ O
Here i fixed the size,it it better ?I like it, very detailed and imaginative, but a bit too...divergent from other lifeforms IRL. If they were smaller (80cm at best) I'd consider making them canon, but as they are they read far too much like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Cave leach
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Description:
Undisputedly one of the most repulsive denizen of the Guang ecosystems,writhing, serpentine, shaped vermicular carnivores of the tepid sludge that suffocate the depths of the chasms, they are feeders on the dead and wounded. Carnictis are slow-moving but relentless. Lacking eyes or a face of any sort (unless a sphincter maw of teeth can be considered a face), Cave Leech are little more than an animated stomach that folds in and out of itself with obscene undulation.
They are invertebrates flatworms similar to the related parasitic tapeworms that can infest other species of animal such as humans,the Cave Leech are worm-like blind creatures with fleshy pink skin with black shell that they emerge out of when they sense prey,said shell hare either gray-brown either black with sometimes a mix of the two color in large spots,they have bristles around their necks with a mouth at the end of the neck,he mouth has two rings of teeth, and they are described as being similar to slugs and maggots. the Cave Leech gives off a pestilential odor mix of rotting corpse,mud and faeces,the average adult measures between 60 and 70 centimeters long (2 and 2.3 feet) and weighs between 3 and 3.8 kg (6.7 and 8.4 pounds) with exceptional specimens up to 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) anf 5 kg (11.1 pounds).
Life cycle:
The life cycle of the Cave Leech begins with the laying of a clutch of between 50 and 20 eggs in a pool of water near the sort of hot spring, if there is not one will be dug by the layer, once laid the layer does not care about its young and leaves them to their fate, after about 20 days the eggs hatch,baby leech fresh from the egg measures between 1.18 and 1.98 inches (3 and 4 centimeters),the hatching of the first tends to cause the hatching of the others, a characteristic which has evolved due to the tendency of the babies to devour the eggs of the latecomers,it is still unknown if it's the movement ofit is the movement of the release of the first leech from its egg or the release of possible hormone present in the liquid contained in the egg of the first which is responsible for this phenomenon.
The Young Cave Leach will continue to develop over the next five years before reaching adulthood, using its superior agility and speed compared to the older one to reach prey first and hunt insects,each year in the heat of summer when a storm breaks out the moment of reproduction begins, it can happen several times a year if the very hot + storm conditions are met with a maximum recorded of 8 times, the necessity of the storm is to keep them moist and to add more water to the mud of their repair thus facilitating the movement inside, at the moment when the storm begins a mating frenzy occurs, all the young flee so as not to end up crushed by the more large and heavy old leechs, the Cave leech are hermaphrodites reproducing via a pair of cloacae, one for the entry of the semen and one for the exit.
No Cave leech has ever been recorded dying of old age, the reasons being that it is an animal that grows throughout its life without stopping and that it has a very long theorical lifespan, it grows more or less depending on the quantity of food available but the more it grows the more food it needs to survive and the slower it becomes to the point where it dies of starvation once it reaches a certain size because the younger and faster ones have already devoured the prey before it does not arrive or he simply no longer has enough prey, this means that the maximum size of the Leach in a given place depends on how well positioned their sinkhole, cave or other is to trap prey to fall into it, the theoretical maximum lifespan would be around 2700 years thanks to the production of a hormone similar (but more imperfect) to that of Turritopsis dohrnii which would cure the damage caused to the telomeres by time, however even if it had access to sufficient of food to survive the Cave leech internal organs would collapse under its own weight long before reaching this age.
Senses:
The Cave leech is completely devoid of eyes or ears making it deaf and blind, it is located thanks to the vibration, in fact it has an excellent sense of touch allowing it to be felt and interpreted the tiny vibrations of the air, of the water and soil, his sense of taste and smell his average.
Habitats/routine:
They require very specific environmental conditions, living in the geothermal spring-fed sludge that clots the bowls of the island,in the rich organic river that are warmed by the hot, geothermal water bubbling into the syrup of the pits,these need mean that Cave Leech are restricted to the cavernous rents,pits,caves and sinkholes that suit their particular needs. Squirming downstream through the muck to where the chasms open into rivers is death. The cooling water sucks their life away, while any pit that sees a drought of carrion or fresh meat will similarly devastate the great worm,however to counter that problematic situation the Cave worm has developed a survival strategy. While the adults are susceptible to change, eggs can survive for decades in a dormant state, waiting for a return of favorable conditions to hatch and spread.
The vast majority of the time the Cave leech will be folded up buried in the mud retaining its strength, it will only move and release its mouth during reproduction times, to feed, in the event of danger or similar problems,they act extremely agresively at any time they are not sleeping.
Predators:
Undisputed master of their small ecological niche the only ones attacking Cave Leech are certain birds of prey which tears a leech from the ground before flying away without giving the other leech time to swarm it, parasites and rarely very stupid humans wanting to prove their courage or poach, Cave Leech hunting (it's a say carried out successfully, the failures are nicknamed Cave Leech feeding) is rare due to the great danger of attacking a scavenger which is also a pack predator favoring ambushes in its favorite environment as well as the prohibitions on doing so and the little market that there is for leech although a commercial demand has recently risen among certain followers of "traditional medicine" in China, in fact certain superstition attributes purifying virtue to various methods of use and consumption of leech and the desperate superstitious believe that the largest leechs in the world could cure and protect them from radiation sickness which has recently become a problem in China..
Food:
Mainly scavengers, the Leech caves will feed on the carcasses crushed on the ground of anything that has the misfortune of falling into their lair, if it did not die instantly from the fall, found another path or managed to descend without fallen then they will rush and on the prey (which would probably have preferred to be dead) to submerge it under their numbers tearing them alive thanks to their agility,numbers,numerous sharp teeth,extreme agresivity and the great strength of their muscles if the prey is large enough to prevent their preferred method,However if the prey is small then they can proceed with their favorite method which consists of swallowing it whole without considering whether it is alive or dead thanks to the very extensible skin and muscle taht constitue most of their body, any prey that successfully repels the first wave (fire,explosive and heat seem to be so far the only thing that would repel a swar of these horror that comonly reach thousands of leechs) will be harassed. until exhaustion and blood loss causes the inability to defend themselves before finally being devoured, the Cave Leech are also cannibals who have no hesitation in feeding on the dead, weak, sick and wounded of their own species, once satisfied a Cave Leech will fold up and enter a state of digestive nap where the prey will be slowly dissolved in the gastric fluids of the leech.
Interesting anecdotes:
There are several species of cave insects that have developed a parasitic relationship with the Cave Leech. They lay their eggs in the mud and water where the Cave Leech lives to be ingested by said leech or if they are very lucky a carcase not yet devoured, most eggs never survive to hatching, destroyed by other bugs or drowned in the thick muck. However, a lucky few survive long enough to be ingested by the Cave Leech, later hatching in the worm's gut, where they spend their larval stage living as intestinal parasites. Years later, fattened on the meat they steal from their worm host, they undergo a metamorphosis and emerge from the flatworm's rectum as miniature versions of the adults, crawling out to join their parents as free-roving scavengers of the "abyss".
At the time of the British embassy a missionary decided to cross the jungle to reach a village he had heard about and spread the word of his gods, his guide died on the way from what is now theorized to be a heart attack, being three quarters of the way he decided to continue rather than turn back he quickly got lost and ended up falling into one of their nests breaking his leg, he was one of the very lucky few to manage to survive, reamping in a high corner, pushing them back with his pistol whose shock waves caused by the explosions disorientated them, a group of hunters heard him and came to help him threw a vine for him to grab and pulled him up before bringing him back to their village and treating him, he came away with big scars, a leg chewed to the bone up of the thigh, smaller pieces of flesh devoured here and there all over his body and a huge mental trauma, once healed and having thanked his saviors with part of the gold he had to finish his journey, he left Guangchou and made it his mission to warn the world against the gates of hell who are in Guangchou and who must be avoided at all costs, thus contributing to the reputation of our nations.
The ancestors of the Cave Leech lived in the guts of large predatory dinosaurs, where they devoured the half-digested flesh swallowed by their hosts. At some point in their history, these gut parasites must have evolved so they could survive outside the confines of their hosts' intestinal tracts. They made their new homes in the geothermal spring-fed sludge that clots the bowls of the island. It is theorized that long ago, a Siamotyrannus or a similar predator fell into one of the chasms and died, its parasite cargo disgorging slowly from the carcass to find themselves in the rich organic river in the pit's base. Instead of drying up and dying, they thrived. Warmed by the hot, geothermal water bubbling into the syrup of the pits, the worms were sustained on the flesh of other animals falling into the chasm from the jungle above. Parasites no longer, they have swelled to disturbing new proportions and have become carrion-eating scavengers/predators of the "abyss." With their new size and strength they can overwhelm and consume live prey , dragging the slow or wounded to their deaths below the surface.
Research into the product allowing the Leech Cave telomeres to regenerate are being considered but initially encountered difficulties due to the problem of acquiring living subjects and the unique environment where these creatures live, requiring numerous studies to replicate it. adequately in order to avoid death in captivity of said study subjects.
The Leech Caves and their lairs were often used against the invaders of Guangchou by bringing patrols and colonies of enemy men to fall in to be devoured, notably the best known is that of the invasion of 1247 or the zip lines installed in above a sinkhole type nest allowed a group of gerillas to lead a group of enemies to chase them running then grab the zip lines to fly over the nest while their pursuer fell into the nest to be devoured alive , the screams were heard by other groups of enemies, greatly demoralizing the invading army.
There is a particularly well-known Cave Leech tune called "The Japanese Hole" where a Japanese bomber crashed during the Great War, the attempts of those who survived the crash to escape during the following days greatly entertained the local populations. between two days tried to save what they could from the rubble of their houses and buried their family, the films of the recordings are still particularly popular, notably the moment where the third pilot is impaled on one of the propellers after his improvised grapple let go, the moment where the propeller slowly turns towards the jaws of a group of Cave leech is very Schadenfreude.
For some reason Cave Leech are completely banned for importation into many nations.
I would be happy to hear any constructive critisism or modification suggestion if i missed something or got it wrong.
Hope you like it.
Any thoughts ?