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Description

A short note before I get into this creature: I decided to design/put the spotlight on some background flora and fauna that'll at least be mentioned in the Dragons of the Axiom AU. Some of these might end up being recurring mentions and/or make actual appearances in the artwork accompanying some chapters in the AU.

The Common Salmon Slug is so named for its massive annual spawning runs, which like salmon, end in the slugs collectively laying millions of eggs across thousands of nests and mostly dying off shortly thereafter. This distant relative of the sea slug typically spends about 3 months incubating as an egg in a nest deep in the hidden world, after which the larva hatches and migrates away from their hatching site. The larvae then typically spends three years wandering around the hidden world and on the surface eating as much as they can and growing into their adult forms. Wild schools of this species of nudibranch then return to the Hidden World en masse. It's estimated that for as many as 95% of adults, this mass spawning run will be their last and only one, with many being caught and eaten by wild dragons, caught en masse and used in culinary dishes by humans and synths (2815 and onwards), or else successfully spawning in the wild and dying shortly thereafter. Those lucky few who survive their first spawning runs typically die off during their second or third spawning run, with no wild individuals being recorded as living for more than 9 years. This particular nudibranch is notable for having some amount of sexual dimorphism between adult males and females. Adult males typically have gold spots, tendrils, and stingers, and they typically cluster towards the edges of a school, while females have black spots, lack stingers and tendrils, and cluster towards the center of a school. The Salmon Slug is also well known as a generalist, being able to eat pretty much anything that can fit into its mouth. This, alongside the Salmon Slug's small average size (about 3 feet long with a 4 foot wingspan as an adult), general lack of weapons, and overall docile temperament make it easy to domesticate and rear... to the point that some dragons have started farming Salmon Slugs independent of human influence. The Salmon Slug is typically raised for four products: its eggs, meat, singers, and skin. Eggs are typically used as caviar... rather, they're used as a cheap and readily available alternative to caviar considering the sheer number of eggs laid by farmed Salmon Slugs and/or harvested from wild spawning grounds. The Salmon Slugs meat is commonly used in human and dragon cuisine alike, and is typically described as tasting like a more watery and slipperier version of stake when fresh, and like beef jerky with a slight tang when consumed dry. Unlike its distant relatives the sea cucumbers, the Salmon Slugs meat does not need to be rehydrated to be eaten. The Salmon Slugs skin is almost unique among nudibranches in that it can be turned into leather, and it preserves its color and patterning as leather surprisingly well. Additionally, Salmon Slug leather comes with a bonus in that it does not need to be defurred or otherwise treated prior to tanning... unlike most kinds of leather. Finally, the Stingers are harvested for their venom, which can be used as a paralytic agent in medicinal practices, or which can be used to make antivenom for accidental stings. Stingers that have had their venom supply exhausted are often turned into jewelry owing in part to their particularly vibrant coloring.

Description

A short note before I get into this creature: I decided to design/put the spotlight on some background flora and fauna that'll at least be mentioned in the Dragons of the Axiom AU. Some of these might end up being recurring mentions and/or make actual appearances in the artwork accompanying some chapters in the AU.

The Common Salmon Slug is so named for its massive annual spawning runs, which like salmon, end in the slugs collectively laying millions of eggs across thousands of nests and mostly dying off shortly thereafter. This distant relative of the sea slug typically spends about 3 months incubating as an egg in a nest deep in the hidden world, after which the larva hatches and migrates away from their hatching site. The larvae then typically spends three years wandering around the hidden world and on the surface eating as much as they can and growing into their adult forms. Wild schools of this species of nudibranch then return to the Hidden World en masse. It's estimated that for as many as 95% of adults, this mass spawning run will be their last and only one, with many being caught and eaten by wild dragons, caught en masse and used in culinary dishes by humans and synths (2815 and onwards), or else successfully spawning in the wild and dying shortly thereafter. Those lucky few who survive their first spawning runs typically die off during their second or third spawning run, with no wild individuals being recorded as living for more than 9 years. This particular nudibranch is notable for having some amount of sexual dimorphism between adult males and females. Adult males typically have gold spots, tendrils, and stingers, and they typically cluster towards the edges of a school, while females have black spots, lack stingers and tendrils, and cluster towards the center of a school. The Salmon Slug is also well known as a generalist, being able to eat pretty much anything that can fit into its mouth. This, alongside the Salmon Slug's small average size (about 3 feet long with a 4 foot wingspan as an adult), general lack of weapons, and overall docile temperament make it easy to domesticate and rear... to the point that some dragons have started farming Salmon Slugs independent of human influence. The Salmon Slug is typically raised for four products: its eggs, meat, singers, and skin. Eggs are typically used as caviar... rather, they're used as a cheap and readily available alternative to caviar considering the sheer number of eggs laid by farmed Salmon Slugs and/or harvested from wild spawning grounds. The Salmon Slugs meat is commonly used in human and dragon cuisine alike, and is typically described as tasting like a more watery and slipperier version of stake when fresh, and like beef jerky with a slight tang when consumed dry. Unlike its distant relatives the sea cucumbers, the Salmon Slugs meat does not need to be rehydrated to be eaten. The Salmon Slugs skin is almost unique among nudibranches in that it can be turned into leather, and it preserves its color and patterning as leather surprisingly well. Additionally, Salmon Slug leather comes with a bonus in that it does not need to be defurred or otherwise treated prior to tanning... unlike most kinds of leather. Finally, the Stingers are harvested for their venom, which can be used as a paralytic agent in medicinal practices, or which can be used to make antivenom for accidental stings. Stingers that have had their venom supply exhausted are often turned into jewelry owing in part to their particularly vibrant coloring.