Glimmerminks

"Oh you're a cute litt-ACK! Me thumb! It took me thumb!" - Misguided traveler.

The glimmermink, a creature cloaked in fur that mirrors the night sky, is a captivating anomaly of the natural world. Its seemingly limitless palette of food sources, capable of consuming both prey and inanimate or outright toxic objects all-the-same defies all known biology. Found in dense forests, its playful curiosity often masks its predatory instincts, while its luxurious, ever-luminous pelt has made it a target for hunters. Despite its delicate appearance, the glimmermink's resilience and enigmatic origins continue to challenge those who study or seek to control it, leaving its place in the natural order both revered and, slightly feared.

Basic Information

Anatomy

An oddity of the natural world, but resembling in-most ways a common weasel; Unique to the glimmermink however, are its varying shades of brightly glowing amber eyes, or more-interestingly fur that resembles a starry night sky. These star-like patterns on its body seem to stay in place while the glimmermink moves, replaced with a new assortment of 'stars' differing in size and color wiith every movement, the creature's hide never appearing the same way more than briefly making them difficult to distinguish in groups; Yet this coat otherwise behaves exactly like normal fur, it can become wet, is able to be touched or plucked from the animal, become dirtied, providing seemingly no other function than warmth.
The Glimmermink's most supernatural feature though, is it's mouth; Despite the standard bones and organs of other weasel species, the creature rather than having a throat has a sort-of void behind its teeth. Death however seem to render the void inert, leaving only flesh in the back of it's mouth with no opening to the stomach or lungs; Confusing many researchers as anatomically this creature should not be able to breathe or swallow food without one yet does both just-fine. The current theory on-the-matter being this abyssal opening 'is' its throat.

Genetics and Reproduction

Typicall mammalian reproduction, sexual encounters leading to groups or 'nebulas' of 2-6 live infantile offspring. Unexplainably however, aside from the creature's ability to cross-breed with many other species of weasel, it seems remarkably genetically dominant when mating; Offspring between a glimmermink and another species, even after generations of breeding these offspring with species that are not glimmerminks, will seemingly always be born a full-fledged glimmermink. Some researchers believe these diminutive hunters may eventually become the only species of mink on the planet as their ease-of-reproduction coupled with their nigh-impossibility of starvation makes them proportionately more common by the day.

Growth Rate & Stages

A glimmermink will fully develop from birth within 10 months to a year.

Ecology and Habitats

Predominantly forest-dwelling creatures. Preferring foliage heavy environments to hide in as they are remarkably skiddish creatures when faced with almost-anything larger than itself. Though they are known for their curiosity, many travelers through the forests over the years reporting dozens of little orange eyes contentedly watching them make their way down the roads. Unassuming as its demeanor may seem the glimmermink is in-fact a carnivore and a clever one at that; Hiding in their leafy surroundings or sometimes puddles and streams as they are also great swimmers, to ambush any small prey it can find, sometimes just for what would seem the sport of it.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Strangely enough, this creature may be able to actually eat anything, shockingly easily. For unknown reasons, the creature can just-as effortlessly subsist on a captured mouse as it can an absconded rusty dagger. The glimmermink while possessing a set of simple sharp teeth for chewing meat common to its cousin species' carnivoristic diets, can bite into anything and consume it as-if the area it bit into simply disappears. While it does seem to instinctually prefer hunting smaller rodents, birds or fish as its cousins do, the glimmermink is able to gain nutrients from any material with no ill-effects ever recorded despite decades of experimentation on captured specimens. Gunpowder, rattlesnake venom, broken glass, it does not matter to the glimmermink. All just-as-easily disappearing into the black void with no end residing behind its maw where a throat should be. Fortunately this appears to be a voluntary effect, especially for the creature's tendency to leave playful nibbles.
Many researchers are thankful the glimmermink retains a similar appetite to its cousin species, sated from a mere several spoonfulls of any material it consumes for many hours if-not an entire day; To these folk it would be nightmarish to think that these creatures which consume all, that can consume all without difficulty, would have the hunger to do so. But it seems the skiddish little predators will certainly try, successful, or unsuccessful groups of them evident with tiny bitemarks in random places like tree trunks or soil in absence of prey.

Biological Cycle

A full lifespan of the glimmermink is on-average 8-12 years, considered elderly around the age of 7. Interestingly, whenever a glimmermink ages or dies, its coat never diminishes or even decays; The skin and bones rotting away while the fur remains vibrant as ever, long-dead glimmerminks resembling mounds of dimly-lit hair trimmings.

Behaviour

Playful, energetic, quite agile sometimes quite vicious.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Aside from its coat and eyes, seemingly no-different than a common weasel. However they do seem to be able to hunt at night unlike many of their cousins, leading some researches to adopt the theory it may possess some sort of low-light vision or that the soft light from their eyes also acts as a kind of lantern for the glimmermink.

Scientific Name

Chordata barlumeus

Origin/Ancestry

Unknown, likely magickal experimentation.

Conservation Status

As this species is remarkably resilient, and possesses a both luxurious and very unique coat which does not lose its 'starry' pattern even after the hide is removed; The glimmermink is commonly hunted for its fur, little efforts taken to protect them from this are in-place as the creature is also a terrifyingly effective hunter and breeds rapidly, potentially wreaking havoc on ecosystems they are introduced to, so culling the herd is often left unmolested.