ASTROPEDIA-Carcosmodons and Remorods

The Sixth entry to the Astropedia! And my final submission for this year's Shark Week! It's a shame this had to be such an immensely hectic week for me with the school with it being my first year ever even doing anything artwise for Shark Week... But, there's always next year! Today's entry, CARCOSMODONS and their young forms, Remorods. This marks the first entry into the Astropedia that covers an animal within the universe, not a sentient race. The species they are based upon needs little introduction, they just celebrated their annual time in the public eye! SHARKS! Carcosmodons are not really based on any specific species of particular shark but I suppose they aare closest to Tiger Sharks what with their characteristic back stripes. Their younger form, Remorods, are based upon Remoras.

Text: The CARCOSMODON is the most fearsome of all known creatures. Weighing 250 tons and reaching lengths of 150 feet they are a sight to behold. The apex predator of the space drifting ecosystem; they prey upon SPACE WHALES and other Carcosmodons. Feared by almost all aliens for their infamous history of attacking space vessels, consuming entire crews and swallowing smaller ships with ease. Carcosmodons are generally reviled and many people wish they would be entirely wiped out; too scared to tread the 'waters' of space with such a terrifying beast roaming the stars.

Carcosmodons give live birth, their eggs incubate within. Litters can range between 100-350 babies; a baby Carcosmodon is referred to as a REMOROD. At birth they are 1.5 feet long and appear slug-like. Crawling upon their mothers; they feed upon her parasitically. Mothers are so large that even 350 children suckling off her blood and energy cannot deplete her and seems to have zero effect upon her. As the Remorod babies continue to leech off the mother they swell, and eventually begin to undergo a metamorphosis developing a more upright posture, a row of dorsal fins, two more pairs of eyes, tentacle limbs begin to sprout, the mouth loses it's specialized sucker for bloodsucking and morphs into a fearsome toothed maw with an immense biteforce. At this stage in life the Remorod young begin to turn to cannibalism and will eat their siblings upon their mother's back. Sometimes Remorods can be spotted leeching off of a Space Whale as if it were a Carcosmodon mother, it is theorized they sometimes leap onto a Whale during a failed hunting attack by the mother. Remorods grow fast; taking about three standard years to finally leave their mother's body. At this stage their limbs have grown much longer and their body has become smoother and more aerodynamic looking. The remaining young at this point test their 'swimming legs' for the first time in their lives, Carcosmodon propel themselves through the vacuum of space solely with their fins, the tentacles are used for hunting and combat. After taking their first flight the juveniles are forever on their own, the mother from there on out views them as nothing more than prey or competition, and the cycle of life goes on. Carcosmodons can live to be well over one thousand standard years old, and the fossil record displays them to be quite possibly the oldest known living creature in the universe in conjunction with their Whale prey. Carcosmodon are known to 'beach' themselves upon planets when dying, it is unknown why they do this. Because of this fossilized specimens can be found on just about any solid celestial body.

Carcosmodons are the common ancestor of all sentient shark-like races, paleo-xenobiologists theorize that planets were 'seeded' by freak accidents; parasitised Space Whales or mothers nearing the end of their lives beached themselves on a fertile planet, the young no longer supplied with the nourishment they need would venture into the ecosystem of the planet and if conditions were right they would overtime carve a niche for themselves on the planet, gradually over millions of years adapting to their new homes, evolving into entirely new species like HAMMA, FRYLDRA, and GOOBLUNS to name a few.

There are many activist groups across the Alliance vocally advocating for the Carcosmodons whom are considered misunderstood, though they do actively destroy spaceships that they come across it is believed to be a case of misidentification for Space Whales, as they ordinarily will take a chunk out once, then leave, they rarely will feed upon the unfortunate aliens that are sucked out into space.

Other entries to the Astropedia: Astropedia

© 2013 by Christian Tyroch

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