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Skitter: Updated Reference

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Description

Name: Skitter

Species: Unknown.


Biology:

Habitat:

     Skitter's kind lives mostly in shallow ocean and coastal waters. They can swim freely, but are more comfortable 'walking' along the ocean floor with their arms and using their legs as propulsion and tail to steer; walking on land is done with all limbs contacting the ground. So long as the obstacle is shorter than they are long, they can also be vaguely effective climbers. 

   Skitter is semi-aquatic, and needs to have access to both air and water to function well for any length of time. He does have lungs, which can account for up to 25% of his breathing; the rest is accounted for by the gills in his lower thorax and the permeable, blood-rich fins of his swimmers and swimmerets. His gills and fins work above water so long as they are damp, and the gills at least can remain damp for quite long stretches of time so long as Skitter is not dehydrated. His nostrils seal instinctively when water touches any of the skin on his face, though he can choose to open them again. His esophagus is not connected to his trachea at any point.

Diet and 'Social' Structure:

     His species is voraciously carnivorous, and eat pretty much anything they can hunt that's large enough to be worth it.

    Adult male morphs are viciously intelligent and largely reclusive. According to Skitter, those who encounter one another fight immediately (unless, of course, one notices the other first and purposefully hunts him), with the winner usually eating the loser. He claims that little to no social interaction exists, and that they have no language that he's encountered. His ability to learn other languages, and to process if not share social concepts, remains a mystery.


    The female morphs tend to live in small social groups of four to five. Skitter does not know much about them, as he lost most of his memories from his time as a female morph when he matured into the male morph.

Further Anatomy Notes:

    -> Fangs/tusks: Skitter has two strong tusks. He's seen them used for many purposes, up to and including one older male that he hunted who saved his broken tusks to use as spear tips. Personally, Skitter mostly uses them to help anchor himself on rocks (or, in his current situation, the edge of his tank) so that he can sleep with his head above water and his lower body submerged when he wants to. Needless to say, they also leave deep wounds and provide a strong anchor when biting things. 

   -> Skeletal Structure: Skitter has a strong carapace and a rudimentary internal skeleton; it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the exoskeleton ends and the internal skeleton begins. He is a partial vertebrate, with a developed neck and skull; there is a spine and even vestigial ribs fused to the upper carapace within both sections of his thorax. There is also evidence of vestigial vertebra within his abdomen, though they are not connected.   

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Comments12
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RS-Burghardt's avatar
Wow, you've really thought this out, and you certainly seem to know a lot about zoology. Well done :)