Titansquid

Content Warning: In-depth description of squid feeding methods

The titansquid is a giant squid native to the Abyssal Depths, and is the apex predator of the region. It is the largest animal in its biome, and one of the largest animals on the planet.
The titansquid is seen as a fearsome creature, a menace from the depths that constantly terrorises the people living there. It only somewhat lives up to this reputation - the squid tends to eat larger food, such as the colossal octopus, and typically ignores smaller prey - too much work for too little of a payoff.
The titansquid does have a few uses, for those lucky enough to stumble upon a recently-deceased corpse or somehow manage to kill the squid.

Lifespan

4-5 yrs.

Average Length

upwards of 100 ft.

Geographic Distribution

• Abyssal Depths

Basic Information

Anatomy

The titansquid lives up to its name, growing up to 100 feet in length, its main body reaching lengths of up to 30 ft. The squid is barely visible in the water, with clear skin and organs, leaving only its blood and the food it is digesting visible. This makes it an incredibly effective predator to creatures that rely on sight, but fairly easy to avoid for those that rely on touch, as the water it displaces as it moves are incredibly easy to sense, and for prey to avoid when detected.

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Genetics and Reproduction

The titansquid has a certain pigment in its skin that does give it a slight green glow, to those with the gene to be able to see it - namely, the squids themselves. To titansquids, males with a brighter and more pigmented glow are incredibly desireable.
This glow becomes even brighter during the squid's mating season, as its hormones prompt the creation of even more of this pigment, in order to make the squids more desireable to potential mates.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The titansquid is a carnivore, and can eat almost any of the animals in the abyssal depths. It particularly favours larger prey, such as the colossal octopus, the glass squid, and the whale squid. These foods provide the most nutrients for the titansquid, and are less difficult to get a hold of due to their size. More recently, glass squids have been decreasing in size, likely due to predation from the titansquid.
To eat its prey, the titansquid will wrap its feeding tentacles - its two largest tentacles, with wider bases - around the animal it intends to eat. Once the animal has been trapped in the tentacles, the titansquid will bring it towards its mouth, on the bottom of the main part of its body. There, its sharp beak does most of the work to cut the prey into pieces - then, it will chew its prey with its tongue, covered in multiple rows of tiny, sharp teeth.
This is often a painful and terrifying death for the prey, and a large part of the reason that these squids are feared by the sapient species of the region. It is also the source of much terrifying folklore and tales about the squid, meant to scare children into not straying far from home.

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Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The titansquid has excellent vision, able to perceive wider parts of the light spectrum than other animals, and with eyes well-adjusted for low light environments. It sees partly into the infrared spectrum, as well as a bit into the ultraviolet spectrum. This gives the squid one of the widest ranges of vision among the animals of Etharai, save for magical sensory capabilities - which the squid does not have.

Average Intelligence

The titansquid is often overestimated in intelligence. While these creatures are not unintelligent by any means, many imagine it to be a scheming, evil menace lurking in the dark. In fact, the squid is not particularly evil, nor does it have any sense of morality - it simply finds prey to eat, mates, and reproduces. In each of these regards, the squid is fairly capable.

Behaviour & Psychology

The titansquid tends to ignore around 90% of their environment, paying attention only to prey and other titansquids. They are fairly territorial, with females of the species often fighting over territory and driving one another away. Males are mostly an exception to this, with females not particularly caring about males in their territory, and males only fighting during the mating season.