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By Al_B_Bach
01/23/2009 - 10:43:36

Type: Creature
Rating: 10 (Good)
Tags: al_b_bach, alien, biped, carnivore, tangre

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Description

The Tangre Dunehopper is an inland coastal predator that lives a solitary life. It is a hermaphrodite and young are born by the budding from its back. Buds drop and are usually covered by the dunes wind blown sand and hatch at a later time when the seasons warm and the ocean currents bring rain to soften the hardened sand. If this does not occur, they can survive in a dormant state for up to five years before hatching. They emerge hungry and are well equipped to deal with most small insectoid or reptilian prey the first few months of their life. If by chance they are born in close proximity to another Dunehopper, one will most likely end up as lunch. Adults have no qualm in eating the young as well, so the young try to stay close to some rock formation or brush they claim and guard to provide cover. As they out grow their surrounding they venture forth and expand on their territory, always guarding it jealously. Intrusion is never allowed by another Dunehopper and fights are usually to the death. There are few animals, other than its own kind, that can give this beast a hard time. They are extremely fast and have the ability to leap large spans due to the highly developed hind legs. Their feet are well adapted to a sand life and can spread to displace its weight on the sand providing a surefooted stride. Another feature of the Dunehopper is its front scoops that it uses to burrow in the dry rock hard sand, much like a Earthen Turtle. It does this to stay cool or wait out a sand storm that happens in the peak of summer wind storms. If caught in the open during one of these storms it has a secondary set of eyes below its nostriles on the side of its neck that is covered in a glass like protective membrane. It will use these to see while retracting its pivoting top eyes. It may also cover itself as a form a predation to ambush prey, leaving only the top eyes exposed top view its surroundings... leaping from its burrow to capture the unsuspecting prey. Being an arid animal, they do not need to intake water as they take most of their moisture from the prey. Should the need arise to, they have special glands that allow them to drink the high sodium methylidyne water of the Darwinian ocean. These 'extracting' glands in turn produce blued purple spots, a deposit residue, on their skin when exuded from their body. The tail is a wonder of nature, not a true prehensile tail, but capable of limited grasping in order to drag prey to a safe location for consumption. The serrated beak like mouth is capable of taking large chunks of flesh in a single bite, and is in most cases able to dispatch any small prey quickly with one quick grab. Dunehoppers are limited in adult numbers as they have short life spans of about two to three years. Because of this, territories are largely dispersed. This makes it easy for young to survive even though they are budded quite often. The survival rate is about one in fifty buds. [Creature design by Al B. Bach]