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Description
Species of the Skull Islands (Part 1/6): LOWLANDS

Leafwing: A species of florafaunal ornithodiran that developed membranous wings for flight instead of feathered ones, although retaining down over much of the body. Colonies of the flying avians dwell in tree canopies, their greenish wings hiding them in plain sight; the wing membranes are filled with chlorophyll, allowing them to gain energy during the day through photosynthesis, and then when they awaken at twilight, they hunt for insects and small animals, allowing them to accumulate energy at all times of the day, contributing to a hyperactive temperament. They may sometimes regurgitate their crop contents once they've eaten their fill just to experience the thrill of the hunt again. Leafwings are also a common sight on carcasses, swarming upon them like vultures, using their long, toothed snouts like steak knives to cut them open. Packs of the avians may carry prey high into the air in their talons, flinging them between one another, slashing and ripping the animal to pieces in flight. Adult Leafwings have wingspans of between six to nine feet across, and larger individuals working together can carry off adult humans, tossing the animal back and force in macabre games of catch. The mottled greenish colouration of their wings is distinct in each Leafwing, providing additional camouflage by removing monotony. Groups hunting together have been known to take down prey much larger than them, and they should be considered potentially dangerous. They can dive-bomb larger prey to slice at their hides with great force; their serrated snouts, comprised of a keratin and cellulose composite, grow quickly and continuously, necessitating it be constantly worn down to prevent overgrowth, allowing them to be used as weapons without fear of breaking.

Dire Jackal: A living fossil from a time before the dinosaurs, Dire Jackals are a type of predatory non-mammalian therapsid which can reach the size of grizzly bears. All-terrain pack hunters that are both accomplished sprinters and excellent climbers, they range far across the environments of the Skull Isle, from the jungle interior, the larger canopy boughs, to the barren volcanic slopes, generally making up a mid-level predator link in the archipelago's food web. Long sabre-teeth and cunning intelligence are their tools of choice used to hunt large prey, while a coat of spiny hair along their neck and back, sharp as razor wire, act as defence against even larger and more fearsome predators. Well-developed thermoreceptors along the sides of the face allow them to detect camouflaged prey by their heat signatures, while bone-crushing jaws and powerful digestive enzymes ensure that no part of a carcass goes to waste once they're through; bone, teeth, hair, and other supposedly inedible portions are all consumed. Aggressive animals, their social structure is crudely developed, and they almost always bare scars from squabbles with pack mates (which are so ubiquitous, each Jackal could potentially be identified solely by its scar pattern), and should they be killed during a hunt, the animal’s pack mates will waste little time devouring their fallen. When a prey animal is singled out however, they suddenly become focused and single-minded in their direction, for nothing brings the pack together quite like the catharsis of rending an unfortunate victim limb from limb together. Their numbers are kept up by a high breeding rate and fast maturation, as well as a powerful immune system and unique blood plasma rich in stem cells and dissolved calcium (contributing to a milky colour), allowing fast regeneration from serious injuries, including the loss of limbs; a three-legged Dire Jackal is just as dangerous as a four-legged one.

Fern Moa: Flightless birds reaching up to six metres tall, they are avian flora-fauna that incorporate chlorophyll into their feathers, giving their bodies a green hue. With large frond-like outer feathers and thick legs covered in rugose, bark-like scales, when the moas have their heads tucked in, a bird standing out in the open is hidden in plain sight; when at rest, their bodies sway unconsciously to imitate the rustling of a breeze to complete the illusion. Even their eggs are covered in a special protein layer over the shell which encourages plant growth to grow over and camouflage them, thus rendering them virtually indistinguishable from moss-covered rocks, but also necessitates that the parents have to assist the chicks in hatching by prying apart the shell. The fuzzy greenish-brown down of the chicks allows them to blend in as clumps of moss to hide from predators. During certain periods of the year, males develop vibrantly-coloured petal-like lobes around their faces and wings, coated in sweet-scented pheromones with which to attract harems of females. Living in small flocks in the forest, they are peaceful animals that feed mostly on low-growing plants, fruit, and insects, but are capable of defending themselves with thin, scalpel-sharp feathers on their tail and wings, or projectile vomiting a noxious chyme made out of certain toxic berries and insects they consume from their crop. With one swing of its wing, the birds can easily decapitate a human or human-sized predator, and when swung with enough force, they can discharge these hardened feathers from their body like flechettes (which also helps to quickly replace duller feathers). If defensive attack is impossible, they will spontaneously eject a thick cloud of spores and pollen from their bodies by rapidly flapping their wings, like an octopus shooting ink, to cover their escape. The shedding of these spores also prompts the growth of a species of symbiotic fern which strongly resembles the lace-like feathers of the moas, in essence providing its own camouflage.

Elk Buffalo: When the mysterious Skull Civilization first arrived on the isle, they did not arrive alone; they brought with them their own domesticates and livestock with which to transplant their former way of life (whatever that may have been). Long after the people themselves died out and their civilization fell to ruin, some of these have survived the extinction of their masters and against all odds, integrated themselves with the ecosystem of the Skull Islands. The bovines that the Skull People once farmed proliferated into a number of native species in an exceedingly fast adaptive radiation (no doubt accelerated by the unusual geological and biotic properties of the archipelago). Elk Buffalo are a specialized fleet-footed form; deer-like animals with long, upward-curving horns, these forest-dwelling animals generally live in the dense forests of Faro Island, camouflaged by their marbled fur. Their horns are too fragile for sustained combat, and although growing up to the size of moose, they are a common prey species for many of the island’s predators, they rely on their speed and agility for defence and rather than physical combat. Because their horns are unsuitable for combat and physical altercations would likely attract predators, males merely posture to one another to establish dominance, leading to a relatively peaceful coexistence year-round. When calving, they become very aggressive, and adults will work together to fend off predators. During this period they will grow another set of horns, but spiked and solid, to use for defence of their young, but these fall out as the young gain independence, as they are cumbersome and can get caught on vegetation when fleeing through the undergrowth. With the recent extinction of many of the smaller ornithischians and other herbivorous reptiles of Faro Island, the species has more often been seen grazing in the open fields and expanding their range, sometimes forming large herds (which are a common food animal for Iwi hunters, even if difficult to hunt).

Spore Crab: Reclusive decapod florafauna, they are forest-dwellers that, despite their imposing size, are herbivores, using their broad, serrated pincers to clip low-growing vegetation and fruit and bring it to the mouth, sometimes uprooting whole trees to be mowed down like a wood-chipper. They appear to never stop growing, and the eldest individuals, which could potentially be millennia old, reach over thirty metres in carapace length and three-thousand tonnes in weight, although individuals of such age are exceedingly uncommon. During the day they are dormant and camouflaged underneath symbiotic plant growth that grows upon their flattened, grooved shell, which is covered in a layer of fat-rich soft tissue that encourages symbiotic vegetation to plant itself, and resemble overgrown boulders. In particularly large individuals, the equivalent of small groves may erupt from their backs. At night they uproot themselves to forage in the undergrowth. Their thick, bark-like carapace and massive pincers are ample defence against any predators, but the tannin-rich chlorophyll that runs through their partly floral bodies also makes them distasteful. As infants, they simply resemble moss-covered crabs, but become increasing plant-like in physiology as they mature; at a certain point, they no longer need to moult regularly as their exoskeleton is replaced by living bark (a key factor in allowing them to grow to such massive proportions). Mature crabs attract many forest commensals which can safely shelter from predators upon the bodies of the titanic arthropods, particularly flying animals which nest within its dorsal groves, Leafwings, Feather-Devils, Swamp-Wing, and all manner of miscellaneous flizards, winged insects, and birds. A small species of ammonoid-crustacean hybrid known as the squid-crab inhabits the roots and filaments that grow on the underbelly, nesting in in naturally occurring crevices and cracks in the Spore Crab's carapace formed by the growth of roots, defending their hosts from parasites and grazers which attempt to feed on them during the day.

Ootokage: A species of herbivorous agamid reaching up to six feet in length, they are much larger than any species of agamid found outside of the Mondo-Faro archipelago. Males are considerably bulkier than females and during the breeding season, flush a deep magenta to attract mates. They are very common throughout most of the islands baring the barren upland and steaming chasms, and used as a food source by the Iwi. While not much of note compared to some of the islands’ more exotic megafauna, with the extinction of most of the Mesozoic saurians, they now represent one of the most common species of endemic reptile. Their success can likely be attributed to their adaptability and high breeding rate; an adult female can lay hundreds of eggs each year to make up for the high mortality rates, and like many insular lizard species, they are capable of asexual reproduction, and they are proficient swimmers, climbers, and even known for creating burrows to nest in (although preferring to use preexisting holes). Their lack of notable mutation by YOG infection and purity of their genome can partly be attributed to their relatively recent arrival to the island (with the ancestor species likely having rafted from some distant Polynesian island a few million years ago), although some unknown genetic factor may somehow be suppressing these mutations, a trait still under investigation. The Iwi have apparently been aware of this trait for a long time, as they often cloak themselves in garments created with the skin of the lizards when foraging into the more intensely irradiated caverns for precious resources as a primitive chemical-suit. It is telling that on an island where the preconceived laws of nature are more like suggestions, the very existence of the normal becomes very abnormal.

Moonspider: An invasive species to Faro Island which, despite their name, are not spiders or even arachnids, but a species of abyssal arthropod (most likely crustacean or pycnogonid in origin, but possibly from some long-extinct line) which arrived as dermal parasites with the Skullcrawlers. With a new abundance of prey, they adapted as free-roaming hunters on the isle, preying on small animals and scavenging from carcasses. Their bodies are very thin, mostly of legs that can stretch nearly five feet in total width, but their abdomen can become grossly engorged like a giant tick after a large meal. Although possessing large mandible-like pincers, their actual mouthparts consist of a proboscis, limiting them to the liquid diet, which they are able to overcome by regurgitation of digestive enzymes to break down flesh into a protein slurry that can be ingested easily. Their claws are capable of injecting a fast-acting neurotoxin from their pincers which quickly incapacitates small animals. They prefer to hunt at night (as they are prone to desiccation due to their very low volume to surface area ratio and aquatic origins), emerging from tree hollows, caves, and burrows to feed, relying primarily on a pair of modified antennae-like legs to pick up smells and heat signatures that denote living prey. The Moonspiders' eyesight is very poor, but is sufficient to detect vague shapes and differences of light in moonlight. Their favourite food is eggs and Moonspiders are notorious nest raiders, using feeler-like appendages to pick up the faint scent of a freshly-lain clutch or fluids released as a chick just starts to break free, silently arriving upon a clutch of eggs to pierce the shells with their pincers, and then drain them empty of fluids, feeding on any hatchlings present as well. They will also feed like vampires from sleeping megafauna, using their venom as an anesthetic before opening a wound to drain their fluids from.

Pharaoh-Beast: Initially confused for some form of archaic rhinoceros, this is actually another of the numerous unusual evolutions of buffalo that have radiated upon the Skull Isle. Growing as massive as six elephants put together, their most obvious feature are two pairs of large horns which jut from the back and front of the head, with the front pair being larger, at up to eleven feet in length. While many endemics of the islands utilize specialized toxins, destructive long-range firepower, or other forms of unusual biotic weaponry for survival, the Pharaoh-Beast has only armour plate-like skin and its huge horns to rely upon. Constructed of iron-infused solid bone, they make formidable weapons in intraspecific combat or defence from predators. They are also useful tools for ripping through foliage, clearing trails through the jungle, and pulling down the winding vines and creepers they enjoy feeding on. They are very destructive foragers and their activities appear to keep back the tide of the dark jungle back from the open savannah. They live in small harems, with an alpha male (distinguished by a bright-red head and larger size) and a number of females and their young; lesser males may trail some distance behind, or live on their own in the jungle. Fights between males are brutal, and older individuals can be identified by the scar patterns adorning their hides from rival battles, even through the armour-plated skin. Predators are rarely found bearing similar wounds, because one strike from an adult Pharaoh-Beast is usually a fatal wound.

Red King: One of the new apex predator species to dominate Faro Island after the decimation of its former hierarchy by the Skullcrawler invasion, and the current dormancy of the Skullcrawlers are the reptilian Red Kings. These are one of the largest current super-predator species to the Skull Islands, generally reaching between fifty to sixty metres in length, although exceptionally large individuals can exceed eighty metres. These bio-terrestrial rauisuchians are primitive and brutish in their hunting techniques but ruthlessly effective nonetheless. Huge claws, sabre-like teeth, and a thick, armoured tail allow them to pummel and rip apart opponents limb from limb before even killing them. Their skulls and jaws are short and blunt, and mounted upon a very thick neck, giving them tremendously powerful biting force capable of sheering through solid steel, but also gives them poor range. As such, they rely primarily on their large, armoured forelimbs to batter and slash prey into submission before trying to bite. Their stony, plated armour allows them to withstand most possible retaliation of their prey, and their physical might is bolstered by their monogamous nature. Pairs working together are powerful enough to take down almost any prey, and their tremendous bite force allows them to consume every single part of the body, leaving nothing behind. Often, they may hunt only to entertain themselves, and after killing their target, simply leave the savaged carcass behind for scavengers, while other times they may use their strength to bully other predators off of their kills. Smaller predators often take advantage of this by following Red Kings from a distance, but always wary not to attract their attention. Rarely, Red King that reach a certain age metamorphose into a “super-adult” phase, submerging themselves in magma to further their bio-terrestrial physiology. They emerge with additional igneous growths on their armoured skin and an incredibly high body temperature capable of setting the land ablaze just by walking nearby. Although these “extreme” Red Kings present a serious threat to the biosphere of the Skull Islands, they are extremely uncommon due to very few surviving long enough to enter this metamorphic phase and often become suicidally self-destructive with unrelenting aggression when it does occur. With the decline or extinction of the islands’ previous apex predator species, such occurrences of super-adult Red Kings is believed to be on the rise.

Barugaron: One of the many geological anomalies of the Skull Islands are the presence of petroleum deposits on a volcanically active landmass, taking the form of tar sands pockmarked throughout the archipelago which do not lead into veins, only extending down a dozen metres or so at most. It was eventually determined these are not geological, but entirely biological in origin; they are produced by a species of parareptilian known as Barugaron, or specifically, by forms of symbiotic anaerobic bacteria which live within their bodies. Barugaron are unique among reptiles for being exclusively liquivorous predators, with a rudimentary digestive system and poorly developed stomach incapable of holding solid food. Barugaron can kill and dissolve prey with corrosive saliva containing protein-denaturing enzymes that reduce their flesh to a liquid slurry, although they are also known for hematophagous behaviour, cutting open thin wounds with blade-like fangs and drinking the blood/chlorophyll of larger florafaunal kaijin in their sleep (and consuming bloated Moonspiders and other ectoparasites doing the same). However, being relatively large animals (adults generally reaching between seven and nine metres in length), it would be difficult to survive like this, so this is where Barugaron's symbionts come into play. These bacteria ferment and digest the organic soup mixture in specialized chambered stomach sacs, converting ingested liquids into hydrocarbons that can sustain Barugarons for months on a single meal, freeing the animals from needing to hunt constantly to survive. To produce this oil, they slumber within volcanic vents, greatly increasing their body temperature to stimulate the bacteria into action, and as a defence it can increase its temperature further as it spits the petroleum from the mouth, spraying a trail of burning oil at attackers. To ensure a constant supply of fresh oil, it feeds excessively and takes to disgorging older produced oil in communal vomiting pits like a squirrel storing nuts, which have formed large saturated deposits over millennia. These are also used as their nesting grounds, and the eggs are buried within the oil sands. The Iwi periodically collect the material within these pits to use as fuel, and some types of bio-terrestrial organisms also utilize the pits for a similar purpose. These deposits are too poor in quality to be of commercial value, but the ability of a living animal to produce a fossil fuel (otherwise considered a nonrenewable resource) may prove to be a valuable resource should the exact mechanisms be uncovered in further studies.

———

NEXT: Inhabitants of Faro Island (Part II)

Description
Species of the Skull Islands (Part 1/6): LOWLANDS

Leafwing: A species of florafaunal ornithodiran that developed membranous wings for flight instead of feathered ones, although retaining down over much of the body. Colonies of the flying avians dwell in tree canopies, their greenish wings hiding them in plain sight; the wing membranes are filled with chlorophyll, allowing them to gain energy during the day through photosynthesis, and then when they awaken at twilight, they hunt for insects and small animals, allowing them to accumulate energy at all times of the day, contributing to a hyperactive temperament. They may sometimes regurgitate their crop contents once they've eaten their fill just to experience the thrill of the hunt again. Leafwings are also a common sight on carcasses, swarming upon them like vultures, using their long, toothed snouts like steak knives to cut them open. Packs of the avians may carry prey high into the air in their talons, flinging them between one another, slashing and ripping the animal to pieces in flight. Adult Leafwings have wingspans of between six to nine feet across, and larger individuals working together can carry off adult humans, tossing the animal back and force in macabre games of catch. The mottled greenish colouration of their wings is distinct in each Leafwing, providing additional camouflage by removing monotony. Groups hunting together have been known to take down prey much larger than them, and they should be considered potentially dangerous. They can dive-bomb larger prey to slice at their hides with great force; their serrated snouts, comprised of a keratin and cellulose composite, grow quickly and continuously, necessitating it be constantly worn down to prevent overgrowth, allowing them to be used as weapons without fear of breaking.

Dire Jackal: A living fossil from a time before the dinosaurs, Dire Jackals are a type of predatory non-mammalian therapsid which can reach the size of grizzly bears. All-terrain pack hunters that are both accomplished sprinters and excellent climbers, they range far across the environments of the Skull Isle, from the jungle interior, the larger canopy boughs, to the barren volcanic slopes, generally making up a mid-level predator link in the archipelago's food web. Long sabre-teeth and cunning intelligence are their tools of choice used to hunt large prey, while a coat of spiny hair along their neck and back, sharp as razor wire, act as defence against even larger and more fearsome predators. Well-developed thermoreceptors along the sides of the face allow them to detect camouflaged prey by their heat signatures, while bone-crushing jaws and powerful digestive enzymes ensure that no part of a carcass goes to waste once they're through; bone, teeth, hair, and other supposedly inedible portions are all consumed. Aggressive animals, their social structure is crudely developed, and they almost always bare scars from squabbles with pack mates (which are so ubiquitous, each Jackal could potentially be identified solely by its scar pattern), and should they be killed during a hunt, the animal’s pack mates will waste little time devouring their fallen. When a prey animal is singled out however, they suddenly become focused and single-minded in their direction, for nothing brings the pack together quite like the catharsis of rending an unfortunate victim limb from limb together. Their numbers are kept up by a high breeding rate and fast maturation, as well as a powerful immune system and unique blood plasma rich in stem cells and dissolved calcium (contributing to a milky colour), allowing fast regeneration from serious injuries, including the loss of limbs; a three-legged Dire Jackal is just as dangerous as a four-legged one.

Fern Moa: Flightless birds reaching up to six metres tall, they are avian flora-fauna that incorporate chlorophyll into their feathers, giving their bodies a green hue. With large frond-like outer feathers and thick legs covered in rugose, bark-like scales, when the moas have their heads tucked in, a bird standing out in the open is hidden in plain sight; when at rest, their bodies sway unconsciously to imitate the rustling of a breeze to complete the illusion. Even their eggs are covered in a special protein layer over the shell which encourages plant growth to grow over and camouflage them, thus rendering them virtually indistinguishable from moss-covered rocks, but also necessitates that the parents have to assist the chicks in hatching by prying apart the shell. The fuzzy greenish-brown down of the chicks allows them to blend in as clumps of moss to hide from predators. During certain periods of the year, males develop vibrantly-coloured petal-like lobes around their faces and wings, coated in sweet-scented pheromones with which to attract harems of females. Living in small flocks in the forest, they are peaceful animals that feed mostly on low-growing plants, fruit, and insects, but are capable of defending themselves with thin, scalpel-sharp feathers on their tail and wings, or projectile vomiting a noxious chyme made out of certain toxic berries and insects they consume from their crop. With one swing of its wing, the birds can easily decapitate a human or human-sized predator, and when swung with enough force, they can discharge these hardened feathers from their body like flechettes (which also helps to quickly replace duller feathers). If defensive attack is impossible, they will spontaneously eject a thick cloud of spores and pollen from their bodies by rapidly flapping their wings, like an octopus shooting ink, to cover their escape. The shedding of these spores also prompts the growth of a species of symbiotic fern which strongly resembles the lace-like feathers of the moas, in essence providing its own camouflage.

Elk Buffalo: When the mysterious Skull Civilization first arrived on the isle, they did not arrive alone; they brought with them their own domesticates and livestock with which to transplant their former way of life (whatever that may have been). Long after the people themselves died out and their civilization fell to ruin, some of these have survived the extinction of their masters and against all odds, integrated themselves with the ecosystem of the Skull Islands. The bovines that the Skull People once farmed proliferated into a number of native species in an exceedingly fast adaptive radiation (no doubt accelerated by the unusual geological and biotic properties of the archipelago). Elk Buffalo are a specialized fleet-footed form; deer-like animals with long, upward-curving horns, these forest-dwelling animals generally live in the dense forests of Faro Island, camouflaged by their marbled fur. Their horns are too fragile for sustained combat, and although growing up to the size of moose, they are a common prey species for many of the island’s predators, they rely on their speed and agility for defence and rather than physical combat. Because their horns are unsuitable for combat and physical altercations would likely attract predators, males merely posture to one another to establish dominance, leading to a relatively peaceful coexistence year-round. When calving, they become very aggressive, and adults will work together to fend off predators. During this period they will grow another set of horns, but spiked and solid, to use for defence of their young, but these fall out as the young gain independence, as they are cumbersome and can get caught on vegetation when fleeing through the undergrowth. With the recent extinction of many of the smaller ornithischians and other herbivorous reptiles of Faro Island, the species has more often been seen grazing in the open fields and expanding their range, sometimes forming large herds (which are a common food animal for Iwi hunters, even if difficult to hunt).

Spore Crab: Reclusive decapod florafauna, they are forest-dwellers that, despite their imposing size, are herbivores, using their broad, serrated pincers to clip low-growing vegetation and fruit and bring it to the mouth, sometimes uprooting whole trees to be mowed down like a wood-chipper. They appear to never stop growing, and the eldest individuals, which could potentially be millennia old, reach over thirty metres in carapace length and three-thousand tonnes in weight, although individuals of such age are exceedingly uncommon. During the day they are dormant and camouflaged underneath symbiotic plant growth that grows upon their flattened, grooved shell, which is covered in a layer of fat-rich soft tissue that encourages symbiotic vegetation to plant itself, and resemble overgrown boulders. In particularly large individuals, the equivalent of small groves may erupt from their backs. At night they uproot themselves to forage in the undergrowth. Their thick, bark-like carapace and massive pincers are ample defence against any predators, but the tannin-rich chlorophyll that runs through their partly floral bodies also makes them distasteful. As infants, they simply resemble moss-covered crabs, but become increasing plant-like in physiology as they mature; at a certain point, they no longer need to moult regularly as their exoskeleton is replaced by living bark (a key factor in allowing them to grow to such massive proportions). Mature crabs attract many forest commensals which can safely shelter from predators upon the bodies of the titanic arthropods, particularly flying animals which nest within its dorsal groves, Leafwings, Feather-Devils, Swamp-Wing, and all manner of miscellaneous flizards, winged insects, and birds. A small species of ammonoid-crustacean hybrid known as the squid-crab inhabits the roots and filaments that grow on the underbelly, nesting in in naturally occurring crevices and cracks in the Spore Crab's carapace formed by the growth of roots, defending their hosts from parasites and grazers which attempt to feed on them during the day.

Ootokage: A species of herbivorous agamid reaching up to six feet in length, they are much larger than any species of agamid found outside of the Mondo-Faro archipelago. Males are considerably bulkier than females and during the breeding season, flush a deep magenta to attract mates. They are very common throughout most of the islands baring the barren upland and steaming chasms, and used as a food source by the Iwi. While not much of note compared to some of the islands’ more exotic megafauna, with the extinction of most of the Mesozoic saurians, they now represent one of the most common species of endemic reptile. Their success can likely be attributed to their adaptability and high breeding rate; an adult female can lay hundreds of eggs each year to make up for the high mortality rates, and like many insular lizard species, they are capable of asexual reproduction, and they are proficient swimmers, climbers, and even known for creating burrows to nest in (although preferring to use preexisting holes). Their lack of notable mutation by YOG infection and purity of their genome can partly be attributed to their relatively recent arrival to the island (with the ancestor species likely having rafted from some distant Polynesian island a few million years ago), although some unknown genetic factor may somehow be suppressing these mutations, a trait still under investigation. The Iwi have apparently been aware of this trait for a long time, as they often cloak themselves in garments created with the skin of the lizards when foraging into the more intensely irradiated caverns for precious resources as a primitive chemical-suit. It is telling that on an island where the preconceived laws of nature are more like suggestions, the very existence of the normal becomes very abnormal.

Moonspider: An invasive species to Faro Island which, despite their name, are not spiders or even arachnids, but a species of abyssal arthropod (most likely crustacean or pycnogonid in origin, but possibly from some long-extinct line) which arrived as dermal parasites with the Skullcrawlers. With a new abundance of prey, they adapted as free-roaming hunters on the isle, preying on small animals and scavenging from carcasses. Their bodies are very thin, mostly of legs that can stretch nearly five feet in total width, but their abdomen can become grossly engorged like a giant tick after a large meal. Although possessing large mandible-like pincers, their actual mouthparts consist of a proboscis, limiting them to the liquid diet, which they are able to overcome by regurgitation of digestive enzymes to break down flesh into a protein slurry that can be ingested easily. Their claws are capable of injecting a fast-acting neurotoxin from their pincers which quickly incapacitates small animals. They prefer to hunt at night (as they are prone to desiccation due to their very low volume to surface area ratio and aquatic origins), emerging from tree hollows, caves, and burrows to feed, relying primarily on a pair of modified antennae-like legs to pick up smells and heat signatures that denote living prey. The Moonspiders' eyesight is very poor, but is sufficient to detect vague shapes and differences of light in moonlight. Their favourite food is eggs and Moonspiders are notorious nest raiders, using feeler-like appendages to pick up the faint scent of a freshly-lain clutch or fluids released as a chick just starts to break free, silently arriving upon a clutch of eggs to pierce the shells with their pincers, and then drain them empty of fluids, feeding on any hatchlings present as well. They will also feed like vampires from sleeping megafauna, using their venom as an anesthetic before opening a wound to drain their fluids from.

Pharaoh-Beast: Initially confused for some form of archaic rhinoceros, this is actually another of the numerous unusual evolutions of buffalo that have radiated upon the Skull Isle. Growing as massive as six elephants put together, their most obvious feature are two pairs of large horns which jut from the back and front of the head, with the front pair being larger, at up to eleven feet in length. While many endemics of the islands utilize specialized toxins, destructive long-range firepower, or other forms of unusual biotic weaponry for survival, the Pharaoh-Beast has only armour plate-like skin and its huge horns to rely upon. Constructed of iron-infused solid bone, they make formidable weapons in intraspecific combat or defence from predators. They are also useful tools for ripping through foliage, clearing trails through the jungle, and pulling down the winding vines and creepers they enjoy feeding on. They are very destructive foragers and their activities appear to keep back the tide of the dark jungle back from the open savannah. They live in small harems, with an alpha male (distinguished by a bright-red head and larger size) and a number of females and their young; lesser males may trail some distance behind, or live on their own in the jungle. Fights between males are brutal, and older individuals can be identified by the scar patterns adorning their hides from rival battles, even through the armour-plated skin. Predators are rarely found bearing similar wounds, because one strike from an adult Pharaoh-Beast is usually a fatal wound.

Red King: One of the new apex predator species to dominate Faro Island after the decimation of its former hierarchy by the Skullcrawler invasion, and the current dormancy of the Skullcrawlers are the reptilian Red Kings. These are one of the largest current super-predator species to the Skull Islands, generally reaching between fifty to sixty metres in length, although exceptionally large individuals can exceed eighty metres. These bio-terrestrial rauisuchians are primitive and brutish in their hunting techniques but ruthlessly effective nonetheless. Huge claws, sabre-like teeth, and a thick, armoured tail allow them to pummel and rip apart opponents limb from limb before even killing them. Their skulls and jaws are short and blunt, and mounted upon a very thick neck, giving them tremendously powerful biting force capable of sheering through solid steel, but also gives them poor range. As such, they rely primarily on their large, armoured forelimbs to batter and slash prey into submission before trying to bite. Their stony, plated armour allows them to withstand most possible retaliation of their prey, and their physical might is bolstered by their monogamous nature. Pairs working together are powerful enough to take down almost any prey, and their tremendous bite force allows them to consume every single part of the body, leaving nothing behind. Often, they may hunt only to entertain themselves, and after killing their target, simply leave the savaged carcass behind for scavengers, while other times they may use their strength to bully other predators off of their kills. Smaller predators often take advantage of this by following Red Kings from a distance, but always wary not to attract their attention. Rarely, Red King that reach a certain age metamorphose into a “super-adult” phase, submerging themselves in magma to further their bio-terrestrial physiology. They emerge with additional igneous growths on their armoured skin and an incredibly high body temperature capable of setting the land ablaze just by walking nearby. Although these “extreme” Red Kings present a serious threat to the biosphere of the Skull Islands, they are extremely uncommon due to very few surviving long enough to enter this metamorphic phase and often become suicidally self-destructive with unrelenting aggression when it does occur. With the decline or extinction of the islands’ previous apex predator species, such occurrences of super-adult Red Kings is believed to be on the rise.

Barugaron: One of the many geological anomalies of the Skull Islands are the presence of petroleum deposits on a volcanically active landmass, taking the form of tar sands pockmarked throughout the archipelago which do not lead into veins, only extending down a dozen metres or so at most. It was eventually determined these are not geological, but entirely biological in origin; they are produced by a species of parareptilian known as Barugaron, or specifically, by forms of symbiotic anaerobic bacteria which live within their bodies. Barugaron are unique among reptiles for being exclusively liquivorous predators, with a rudimentary digestive system and poorly developed stomach incapable of holding solid food. Barugaron can kill and dissolve prey with corrosive saliva containing protein-denaturing enzymes that reduce their flesh to a liquid slurry, although they are also known for hematophagous behaviour, cutting open thin wounds with blade-like fangs and drinking the blood/chlorophyll of larger florafaunal kaijin in their sleep (and consuming bloated Moonspiders and other ectoparasites doing the same). However, being relatively large animals (adults generally reaching between seven and nine metres in length), it would be difficult to survive like this, so this is where Barugaron's symbionts come into play. These bacteria ferment and digest the organic soup mixture in specialized chambered stomach sacs, converting ingested liquids into hydrocarbons that can sustain Barugarons for months on a single meal, freeing the animals from needing to hunt constantly to survive. To produce this oil, they slumber within volcanic vents, greatly increasing their body temperature to stimulate the bacteria into action, and as a defence it can increase its temperature further as it spits the petroleum from the mouth, spraying a trail of burning oil at attackers. To ensure a constant supply of fresh oil, it feeds excessively and takes to disgorging older produced oil in communal vomiting pits like a squirrel storing nuts, which have formed large saturated deposits over millennia. These are also used as their nesting grounds, and the eggs are buried within the oil sands. The Iwi periodically collect the material within these pits to use as fuel, and some types of bio-terrestrial organisms also utilize the pits for a similar purpose. These deposits are too poor in quality to be of commercial value, but the ability of a living animal to produce a fossil fuel (otherwise considered a nonrenewable resource) may prove to be a valuable resource should the exact mechanisms be uncovered in further studies.

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NEXT: Inhabitants of Faro Island (Part II)