SBG Fantasy Design Competition Discussion: Bestiary
Aug 21, 2017 8:39:43 GMT
Post by onekelvin on Aug 21, 2017 8:39:43 GMT
Sleepy Lobster, (Scyllarides Somnia)
Length: 30-90 centimeters, rarely larger
Weight: 2-20 kilograms
Strength: can crack walnuts with claws
Intelligence: low
Language: Antenna waving
, claw clicks
Special Abilities: Biological immortality
Special Defenses: Hibernation, self-burial
The sleepy lobster and its relatives can be found in cold water off of many of the northern coasts, and in various rivers. It is similar to a regular lobster, but due to the shape of its shell it is incapable of tail-flipping away from danger. This coupled with the climate has lead to its habits. The sleepy lobster will find a secure area and dig a little shallow in the sea/river bed, typically surrounded by kelp, moss, stones, or coral. The lobster will then tuck away into its bed and sit motionless, sometimes for days, even weeks. When food passes by that appears to be a mossy/coral encrusted/half-buried rock, the lobster will then spring forward and catch its meal. The immobility and camouflage lead it to be ignored by predators who often assume it is a rock or part of the environment.
In times of little food the sleepy lobster can hibernate for months, patiently waiting for food to become plentiful again. Sometimes the lobster is found crawling about, but usually this is done only to molt, move to a better spot, or in mating season. The lobsters molt about once a year, and do not die of old age. They simply grow larger with each molting until they are caught and eaten, or become to large to sustain themselves though hibernation staves off molting.
Since hibernation tends to be a reaction to lack of food, and the largest lobsters have trouble feeding themselves enough, the lobster does have a certain limit to its size. When it grows too large and eats to little the lobster will enter hibernation more frequently, and near the end of its life the lobster will sit immobile for years sleeping until it finally starves in its sleep. There are a few however that have taken up positions under waterfalls or in currents where despite never moving they are still able to catch food. These very few have grown so large they are now incapable of moving or molting, and are now for all intents and purposes part of the environment.
Length: 30-90 centimeters, rarely larger
Weight: 2-20 kilograms
Strength: can crack walnuts with claws
Intelligence: low
Language: Antenna waving
, claw clicks
Special Abilities: Biological immortality
Special Defenses: Hibernation, self-burial
The sleepy lobster and its relatives can be found in cold water off of many of the northern coasts, and in various rivers. It is similar to a regular lobster, but due to the shape of its shell it is incapable of tail-flipping away from danger. This coupled with the climate has lead to its habits. The sleepy lobster will find a secure area and dig a little shallow in the sea/river bed, typically surrounded by kelp, moss, stones, or coral. The lobster will then tuck away into its bed and sit motionless, sometimes for days, even weeks. When food passes by that appears to be a mossy/coral encrusted/half-buried rock, the lobster will then spring forward and catch its meal. The immobility and camouflage lead it to be ignored by predators who often assume it is a rock or part of the environment.
In times of little food the sleepy lobster can hibernate for months, patiently waiting for food to become plentiful again. Sometimes the lobster is found crawling about, but usually this is done only to molt, move to a better spot, or in mating season. The lobsters molt about once a year, and do not die of old age. They simply grow larger with each molting until they are caught and eaten, or become to large to sustain themselves though hibernation staves off molting.
Since hibernation tends to be a reaction to lack of food, and the largest lobsters have trouble feeding themselves enough, the lobster does have a certain limit to its size. When it grows too large and eats to little the lobster will enter hibernation more frequently, and near the end of its life the lobster will sit immobile for years sleeping until it finally starves in its sleep. There are a few however that have taken up positions under waterfalls or in currents where despite never moving they are still able to catch food. These very few have grown so large they are now incapable of moving or molting, and are now for all intents and purposes part of the environment.
Things have changed!