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Description

Burroughsaur: These strange animals are one of the more derived types of ornithopod dinosaur native to Skull Island. They seem to have evolved from the stegosaur lineage, becoming adapted for an arboreal lifestyle in the canopies of the island’s lush forests. Their plates have become flexible gliding surfaces that, along with grasping claws, enable them free roam of the trees. There are several species, each with distinctive plate shapes and color patterns likely to aid in interspecies identification. Their primary defenses are sharp senses, agility, and reproductive rates, though some varieties become more foul-tasting with age. Their thagomizers, too, mostly used as an anchorage point, can also inflict painful damage to sensitive areas. They begin life without gliding structures, resembling highly camouflaged lizards. They undergo several molts while growing, eventually attaining their plates upon maturity. Length: 10 to 15 feet.

Psychovulture: These areal hypervores are some of the most feared flying predators of Skull Island. Phylogenetic analysis is difficult to determine, though it seems they are most likely a sort of non-mammalian synapsid. Their radiation-racked bodies seem hardly functional at first. Their digestive track is underdeveloped, often rejecting large meals, though this does not prevent them from regular attempts. And their eyes are mostly nonfunctional. Their brains, though, possess an unknown type of organ that seems to be an outgrowth of the pineal gland merged with some regions of the cerebellum. This organ, while still poorly understood, seems to grant them a sort of sense focusing on other creature’s bioelectrical signatures. It is also important in their manner of primary sustenance. Upon killing their prey, Psychovultures are able to extrapolate the final release of energy upon brain death through this organ. This appears to “recharge” their own metabolisms like a battery, and has a narcotic-like effect which sends them into frenzies of slaughter, during which occasional “overdoses” have been observed. Though most of their hides are tough and leathery, their skulls are quite thin as to permit use of their “soul-extractors” as some call it, and is a notable weak point. It is said there is no good or evil in nature. Psychovultures, like so many Skull Island residents, seem apt to challenge nature’s laws. Wingspan: 20 to 45 feet.

Demeking: The massive reef structures surrounding much of the island’s western coast are home to many strange creatures. The Demeking is among the more visually notable of these denizens, being highly colorful and bearing flamboyant structures. This makes it stand out more often than blend in even among the extensive reefs. It can afford to do so due to its highly refined respiration system, the tube-like vents along its back, being able to filter even the slightest traces of ambient radiation. This collected material is stored and fused within its body to dangerous levels, and should it be provoked, each tube can unleash a highly pressurized stream of superheated radioactive water with enough force to penetrate most organic material. A single few tubes are usually enough, but if a Demeking is sufficiently threatened, it may fire from all tubes, inflicting significant damage to the surrounding environment. Being such potential timebombs is why most predators give these mutant nudibranchs a wide berth. Length: 13 to 24 feet.

Foetodon: These ambush predators are thought to be a type of Abelisaur. They await prey within holes most commonly found near the bases of large trees in the darker regions of Super Jungle understories. They have no eyes, yet sense prey with highly developed thermal pits similar to some snakes. When a target comes within rage, they strike with blinding speed, their necks stretching up to three times its normal length due to hyperelastic cartilaginous neck vertebrae. A single bite is usually all that is required, as their life of burrowing through the decaying forest floor infects them with a variety of diseases they themselves are immune to. Once something has been infected, they will track it relentlessly until it is weak enough to finish off and swallow whole. At this point they are most vulnerable and will seek the nearest small, dark space to hide until the next hunt. Length: 20 to 40 feet.

Juran Flower: There are several varieties of plants that engage in carnivorous behavior in the highly competitive jungle ecosystems of Skull Island. Among the largest is the Juran Flower. The flowering body is only the tip of a vast web-like root system that produces corrosive chemicals to repel other plants within a 60-to-70-meter radius. Without the support of additional root systems, the ground within this radius forms a large bowl-like depression, in the center of which the Juran Flower itself stands. The flower gives off a potent stench of decay, and the stamen structures are able to generate sounds mimicking an animal in distress. This of course attracts may predators, especially hypervores which, unable to resist a potential meal, venture within the Juran’s pit. At this point, the spine-covered roots burst from the loose soil to impale/constrict the too-daring carnivore. All required nutrients and radiation are extracted from the bodies while the flower is able to quickly regenerate any sustained damage. These natural predator-traps play an effective role in maintaining hypervore populations in the ecosystem. Height: 45 to 65 feet.

Earth Eater: Earth Eaters, or Geophagus dormiosis, are large biolithic ankylosaurs. Their lairs can be found deep within the sparser mountains, which they excavate with stony claws and jaws. Much of their diet consists of pockets of radiation and nutrient-rich rock and/or metal layers. They seek out such pockets with retractable antenna-like organs within their nasal chambers, which seem to function much like a Geiger Counter. After consuming a large meal, Earth Eaters tend to hole themselves up to hibernate for extended periods of time as they process new elements. Their thick outer armor effectively masks their inner radioactivity, speculated to be a defensive measure against larger burrowers, such as Baragon. Aside from such a threat, though, Earth Eaters have few enemies, as their size, armor, and territoriality make them unpalatable to most, including each other as they clash over the best mining locations. The more successful, largest individuals may exhibit unique armor patterns and composition depending on their diets and locality. Length: 60 to 130 feet.

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Creature Inspirations:
Burroughsaur: Initial idea of gliding stegosaurs credited to W.H. Ballou 1920 (I’d like to know what this guy was on when he thought of this…for scientific purposes), and subsequently inspired Pellucidar novel depictions by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Psychovulture: Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comic 2017, with elements of Giant Bat from Godzilla: The Series 1998.
Demeking: Demeking: The Sea Monster 2009.
Foetodon: Crocodilian creature from King Kong 2005, and elements of snake-like creature seen in Kong: Gods of Skull Island comic 2017.
Juran Flower: Ultra Q television series 1966.
Earth Eater: Hannah Barbera’s Godzilla television series 1979.
Additional elements inspired by Lediblock2. Thank you very much, as always.

Description

Burroughsaur: These strange animals are one of the more derived types of ornithopod dinosaur native to Skull Island. They seem to have evolved from the stegosaur lineage, becoming adapted for an arboreal lifestyle in the canopies of the island’s lush forests. Their plates have become flexible gliding surfaces that, along with grasping claws, enable them free roam of the trees. There are several species, each with distinctive plate shapes and color patterns likely to aid in interspecies identification. Their primary defenses are sharp senses, agility, and reproductive rates, though some varieties become more foul-tasting with age. Their thagomizers, too, mostly used as an anchorage point, can also inflict painful damage to sensitive areas. They begin life without gliding structures, resembling highly camouflaged lizards. They undergo several molts while growing, eventually attaining their plates upon maturity. Length: 10 to 15 feet.

Psychovulture: These areal hypervores are some of the most feared flying predators of Skull Island. Phylogenetic analysis is difficult to determine, though it seems they are most likely a sort of non-mammalian synapsid. Their radiation-racked bodies seem hardly functional at first. Their digestive track is underdeveloped, often rejecting large meals, though this does not prevent them from regular attempts. And their eyes are mostly nonfunctional. Their brains, though, possess an unknown type of organ that seems to be an outgrowth of the pineal gland merged with some regions of the cerebellum. This organ, while still poorly understood, seems to grant them a sort of sense focusing on other creature’s bioelectrical signatures. It is also important in their manner of primary sustenance. Upon killing their prey, Psychovultures are able to extrapolate the final release of energy upon brain death through this organ. This appears to “recharge” their own metabolisms like a battery, and has a narcotic-like effect which sends them into frenzies of slaughter, during which occasional “overdoses” have been observed. Though most of their hides are tough and leathery, their skulls are quite thin as to permit use of their “soul-extractors” as some call it, and is a notable weak point. It is said there is no good or evil in nature. Psychovultures, like so many Skull Island residents, seem apt to challenge nature’s laws. Wingspan: 20 to 45 feet.

Demeking: The massive reef structures surrounding much of the island’s western coast are home to many strange creatures. The Demeking is among the more visually notable of these denizens, being highly colorful and bearing flamboyant structures. This makes it stand out more often than blend in even among the extensive reefs. It can afford to do so due to its highly refined respiration system, the tube-like vents along its back, being able to filter even the slightest traces of ambient radiation. This collected material is stored and fused within its body to dangerous levels, and should it be provoked, each tube can unleash a highly pressurized stream of superheated radioactive water with enough force to penetrate most organic material. A single few tubes are usually enough, but if a Demeking is sufficiently threatened, it may fire from all tubes, inflicting significant damage to the surrounding environment. Being such potential timebombs is why most predators give these mutant nudibranchs a wide berth. Length: 13 to 24 feet.

Foetodon: These ambush predators are thought to be a type of Abelisaur. They await prey within holes most commonly found near the bases of large trees in the darker regions of Super Jungle understories. They have no eyes, yet sense prey with highly developed thermal pits similar to some snakes. When a target comes within rage, they strike with blinding speed, their necks stretching up to three times its normal length due to hyperelastic cartilaginous neck vertebrae. A single bite is usually all that is required, as their life of burrowing through the decaying forest floor infects them with a variety of diseases they themselves are immune to. Once something has been infected, they will track it relentlessly until it is weak enough to finish off and swallow whole. At this point they are most vulnerable and will seek the nearest small, dark space to hide until the next hunt. Length: 20 to 40 feet.

Juran Flower: There are several varieties of plants that engage in carnivorous behavior in the highly competitive jungle ecosystems of Skull Island. Among the largest is the Juran Flower. The flowering body is only the tip of a vast web-like root system that produces corrosive chemicals to repel other plants within a 60-to-70-meter radius. Without the support of additional root systems, the ground within this radius forms a large bowl-like depression, in the center of which the Juran Flower itself stands. The flower gives off a potent stench of decay, and the stamen structures are able to generate sounds mimicking an animal in distress. This of course attracts may predators, especially hypervores which, unable to resist a potential meal, venture within the Juran’s pit. At this point, the spine-covered roots burst from the loose soil to impale/constrict the too-daring carnivore. All required nutrients and radiation are extracted from the bodies while the flower is able to quickly regenerate any sustained damage. These natural predator-traps play an effective role in maintaining hypervore populations in the ecosystem. Height: 45 to 65 feet.

Earth Eater: Earth Eaters, or Geophagus dormiosis, are large biolithic ankylosaurs. Their lairs can be found deep within the sparser mountains, which they excavate with stony claws and jaws. Much of their diet consists of pockets of radiation and nutrient-rich rock and/or metal layers. They seek out such pockets with retractable antenna-like organs within their nasal chambers, which seem to function much like a Geiger Counter. After consuming a large meal, Earth Eaters tend to hole themselves up to hibernate for extended periods of time as they process new elements. Their thick outer armor effectively masks their inner radioactivity, speculated to be a defensive measure against larger burrowers, such as Baragon. Aside from such a threat, though, Earth Eaters have few enemies, as their size, armor, and territoriality make them unpalatable to most, including each other as they clash over the best mining locations. The more successful, largest individuals may exhibit unique armor patterns and composition depending on their diets and locality. Length: 60 to 130 feet.

--------------------

Creature Inspirations:
Burroughsaur: Initial idea of gliding stegosaurs credited to W.H. Ballou 1920 (I’d like to know what this guy was on when he thought of this…for scientific purposes), and subsequently inspired Pellucidar novel depictions by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Psychovulture: Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comic 2017, with elements of Giant Bat from Godzilla: The Series 1998.
Demeking: Demeking: The Sea Monster 2009.
Foetodon: Crocodilian creature from King Kong 2005, and elements of snake-like creature seen in Kong: Gods of Skull Island comic 2017.
Juran Flower: Ultra Q television series 1966.
Earth Eater: Hannah Barbera’s Godzilla television series 1979.
Additional elements inspired by Lediblock2. Thank you very much, as always.