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Description
The Skullcrawler (referred to by the Iwi in their language as "deathrunners") is one of the most dangerous predators known to inhabit the Mondo-Faro archipelago, an insatiable eating-machine that has set about the goal of devouring all flesh of the Earth. However, it is believed that the species is not a natural endemic of the islands, but a recently arrived invasive species. In the journal of Carl Denham, he documented numerous instances in great detail of the "prehistoric saurians" that inhabited the mythic "Skull Island" during his 1933 unofficial expedition, something correlated by the ancient myths of the Faro natives. But during the 1973 expedition by Monarch, the only physical evidence of such creatures existed only in scattered bones, victims of the skullcrawler purge.

It is theorized that the skullcrawlers originally descended from some now long-extinct deep-sea cephalopod species that lived near and fed from a naturally occurring fission reactor under the sea floor. Under the infection of the kaiju YOG-virus, their genes became malleable due to the long-term exposure to intense radiation and over millions of years, horizontal gene transfer occurred with deep-sea fish and arthropods, birthing the proto-skullcrawler (the "C-Rex" organism documented by HEAT in Jamaica of 1999 may represent another offshoot from this hypothetical ancestral form). Nuclear testing during the Cold War may have finally destroyed the last of these natural fission reactors by accident, and forcing them to search for another source of sustenance, the cephalopods turned to Faro Island, probably drawn by the unusual geological signals of the landmass. Arriving upon the primordial isle sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s, they devastated the kaiju ecosystem as they slaughtered everything in their path in an effort to satiate their hyperactive metabolisms. They brought to extinction most of the giant reptilians (and taking on some reptilian traits in the process), quickly establishing themselves apex predator, overthrowing the great carnosaurs that had ruled for millions of years (although reports by G-Force suggest at least one individual still survives on the neighbouring Mondo Island).

From the numerous gnawed skeletons documented from the 1973 and 1994 expeditions and the stories of the Iwi, it was clear the native Kong species had attempted to fight back the invaders, but already very small in number, they too were brought to functional extinction; by the 1973 expedition, only Kong himself was known to have survived. However, the superspecies did not go quietly into the night, and still managed to kill almost all of the first-generation (or "alpha") skullcrawlers before being overwhelmed, and the remaining second-generation (or "beta") individuals, having scoured most of Faro Island clean, burrowed into the volcanic depths of the isle to hibernate until their food supply recovered. Although it is believed that only immature skullcrawlers still currently dwell beneath the archipelago, they are still believed to be quite numerous and passively feeding on the uranium deposits, gradually growing in size. It is likely that as these uranium deposits are used up they will emerge once more, and now it is only Kong himself that stands before the the second purge by the unholy devourers of Faro Island.

A hybrid radiotrophic and heterotrophic organism, the skullcrawlers' unstable fusion of kaiju and animal genetics have resulted in a rare mutation of a YOG-mutated life-form that breaks down energy at a hyper-accelerated capacity; if not near a strong source of radiation, it must continuously consume organic matter in order to prevent itself from melting down. Monarch has designated the classification of this type of organism as a "hypervore" of which the skullcrawler is the earliest known example, but certainly not the last (it has even been known to occur with humans, as documented with SHIN-F05) In effect, the skullcrawler is a tragic monster that knows only hunger and will simply eat until either it or everything else on Earth is dead. Absolutely relentless during the hunt, they will not stop until either they or their quarry are killed, and one may wonder if perhaps they themselves realize even subconsciously that the only permanent release from their hunger is death. The skullcrawler is nonetheless superbly equipped to kill and consume, being uncannily fast, intelligent, and durable, and armed with claws, venomous tentacles, a barbed prehensile tail, and a bone-crushing beak. It secretes a specialized collagen mucus that dries into a semi-fluid cement-like glue; this is used primarily to glue down bits of armour to its own body (most often the bones of its prey) for crude protection and possibly intimidation of opponents, but can also be sprayed at enemies to momentarily blind or distract them.

An all-terrain predator, it is an excellent swimmer, burrower, and runner despite its seemingly cumbersome body shape, and during the juvenile stage is an excellent climber and capable of gliding, leaping down on prey in numbers. It can alter pigments in its skin as camouflage, but this skill is seen mostly in juveniles, as it becomes less useful for adults, which can reach over twenty metres in height in the super-adult form (most only reach about half this size). They give live birth, and at any time there is a embryo developing in every adult skullcrawler, as they breed asexually; this ability to reproduce continuously is every bit as dangerous as their physical attributes. Skullcrawlers are already larger than humans at birth and must fend for themselves immediately, but at the barest minimum, it is reported that they do recognize their own species and do not consider one another prey under most circumstances, even using pack behaviour whenever possible. They are remarkably intelligent, and despite their rather single-minded goals, may in fact rival in cognitive skill of the higher apes like Kong. It is little wonder that they so quickly established themselves as the Devil of the Skull Island.

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A little bit of fan-made creature redesign born when from my immense disappointment looking back at the entries for the first spec challenge and not being able to find a single person who used the idea of a skullcrawler that had a literal skull head (which of course, was one of the earliest concept art ideas for the skullcrawler). So I made this partly as a personal (very, very late) retification of that (with some canon-welding backstory too because why not), and partly as a warmup to a possible future project that may or may not eventually come into fruition (this one is stand-alone either way just to be clear).

Description
The Skullcrawler (referred to by the Iwi in their language as "deathrunners") is one of the most dangerous predators known to inhabit the Mondo-Faro archipelago, an insatiable eating-machine that has set about the goal of devouring all flesh of the Earth. However, it is believed that the species is not a natural endemic of the islands, but a recently arrived invasive species. In the journal of Carl Denham, he documented numerous instances in great detail of the "prehistoric saurians" that inhabited the mythic "Skull Island" during his 1933 unofficial expedition, something correlated by the ancient myths of the Faro natives. But during the 1973 expedition by Monarch, the only physical evidence of such creatures existed only in scattered bones, victims of the skullcrawler purge.

It is theorized that the skullcrawlers originally descended from some now long-extinct deep-sea cephalopod species that lived near and fed from a naturally occurring fission reactor under the sea floor. Under the infection of the kaiju YOG-virus, their genes became malleable due to the long-term exposure to intense radiation and over millions of years, horizontal gene transfer occurred with deep-sea fish and arthropods, birthing the proto-skullcrawler (the "C-Rex" organism documented by HEAT in Jamaica of 1999 may represent another offshoot from this hypothetical ancestral form). Nuclear testing during the Cold War may have finally destroyed the last of these natural fission reactors by accident, and forcing them to search for another source of sustenance, the cephalopods turned to Faro Island, probably drawn by the unusual geological signals of the landmass. Arriving upon the primordial isle sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s, they devastated the kaiju ecosystem as they slaughtered everything in their path in an effort to satiate their hyperactive metabolisms. They brought to extinction most of the giant reptilians (and taking on some reptilian traits in the process), quickly establishing themselves apex predator, overthrowing the great carnosaurs that had ruled for millions of years (although reports by G-Force suggest at least one individual still survives on the neighbouring Mondo Island).

From the numerous gnawed skeletons documented from the 1973 and 1994 expeditions and the stories of the Iwi, it was clear the native Kong species had attempted to fight back the invaders, but already very small in number, they too were brought to functional extinction; by the 1973 expedition, only Kong himself was known to have survived. However, the superspecies did not go quietly into the night, and still managed to kill almost all of the first-generation (or "alpha") skullcrawlers before being overwhelmed, and the remaining second-generation (or "beta") individuals, having scoured most of Faro Island clean, burrowed into the volcanic depths of the isle to hibernate until their food supply recovered. Although it is believed that only immature skullcrawlers still currently dwell beneath the archipelago, they are still believed to be quite numerous and passively feeding on the uranium deposits, gradually growing in size. It is likely that as these uranium deposits are used up they will emerge once more, and now it is only Kong himself that stands before the the second purge by the unholy devourers of Faro Island.

A hybrid radiotrophic and heterotrophic organism, the skullcrawlers' unstable fusion of kaiju and animal genetics have resulted in a rare mutation of a YOG-mutated life-form that breaks down energy at a hyper-accelerated capacity; if not near a strong source of radiation, it must continuously consume organic matter in order to prevent itself from melting down. Monarch has designated the classification of this type of organism as a "hypervore" of which the skullcrawler is the earliest known example, but certainly not the last (it has even been known to occur with humans, as documented with SHIN-F05) In effect, the skullcrawler is a tragic monster that knows only hunger and will simply eat until either it or everything else on Earth is dead. Absolutely relentless during the hunt, they will not stop until either they or their quarry are killed, and one may wonder if perhaps they themselves realize even subconsciously that the only permanent release from their hunger is death. The skullcrawler is nonetheless superbly equipped to kill and consume, being uncannily fast, intelligent, and durable, and armed with claws, venomous tentacles, a barbed prehensile tail, and a bone-crushing beak. It secretes a specialized collagen mucus that dries into a semi-fluid cement-like glue; this is used primarily to glue down bits of armour to its own body (most often the bones of its prey) for crude protection and possibly intimidation of opponents, but can also be sprayed at enemies to momentarily blind or distract them.

An all-terrain predator, it is an excellent swimmer, burrower, and runner despite its seemingly cumbersome body shape, and during the juvenile stage is an excellent climber and capable of gliding, leaping down on prey in numbers. It can alter pigments in its skin as camouflage, but this skill is seen mostly in juveniles, as it becomes less useful for adults, which can reach over twenty metres in height in the super-adult form (most only reach about half this size). They give live birth, and at any time there is a embryo developing in every adult skullcrawler, as they breed asexually; this ability to reproduce continuously is every bit as dangerous as their physical attributes. Skullcrawlers are already larger than humans at birth and must fend for themselves immediately, but at the barest minimum, it is reported that they do recognize their own species and do not consider one another prey under most circumstances, even using pack behaviour whenever possible. They are remarkably intelligent, and despite their rather single-minded goals, may in fact rival in cognitive skill of the higher apes like Kong. It is little wonder that they so quickly established themselves as the Devil of the Skull Island.

---

A little bit of fan-made creature redesign born when from my immense disappointment looking back at the entries for the first spec challenge and not being able to find a single person who used the idea of a skullcrawler that had a literal skull head (which of course, was one of the earliest concept art ideas for the skullcrawler). So I made this partly as a personal (very, very late) retification of that (with some canon-welding backstory too because why not), and partly as a warmup to a possible future project that may or may not eventually come into fruition (this one is stand-alone either way just to be clear).