Lung Scorpion

Remember those foam toy dinosaurs that grow when you add water? Imagine that, but a literal scorpion.

— Dr. Kraven, Xenobiologist

Lung Scorpions

Also called Rain Scorpions, Monsoon Scorpions or Monscorpions by the locals of Neon Phoenix. When the weather is dry these seasonal vermin appear to be normal scorpions, no larger than 3 inches from the tip of their pincers to the end of their stinging tails. But when the lunar monsoon hits and they soak up the rain water they grow to the size of dogs. Their increased size is made possible by a normally dormant pair of external lungs that inflate when exposed to water, hence the name. In their gigantified state, the creatures go into a sort of feeding / mating frenzy. Drawn from vast distances by the scent of the female lung scorpion's pheromones, the slightly smaller reddish brown males will swarm. The larger purplish black females will lead their army of suitors on a rampage of destruction, eating just about anything made of meat they can get their claws on. Fortunately for humans and other meat creatures, their speed does not scale up with their size. They are the Romero Zombies of giant scorpions, but their swarming nature means they can surround and overwhelm vertebrates who aren't paying attention to their surroundings.

Their venomous sting is extremely painful but fortunately, the venom is diluted by the extra water, meaning a sting from a large scorpion tends to be less dangerous and painful than a sting from a small one. However, as the giant scorpions continue to feed their venom will become more concentrated. At the tail-end of the monsoon is when the scorpions will be at their most dangerous.

When the lunar monsoon ends and the scorpions eventually dry out, they return to their previous 2 to 3 inch long size and roam the deserts as solitary nighttime predators.

The scorpions were here first. We are their guests. Nobody has a right to arbitrarily exterminate them.

— Antoinette Burque, Arcadia Mayor

Scorpions ain't people, they scorpions. They eat your pets, they eat your kids, they eat you if you ain't careful.

— Guff Whitlock, Local Rancher

Though officially discouraged by the local authorities, the Annual Scorpion Purge is an event celebrated by Neon Phoenix's brave and reckless. The preferred method for neutralizing a giant lung scorpion is to puncture the external lung sacs with a long sharpened stick. This will not only inhibit the scorpion's ability to take in enough oxygen to move, it will also cause it to leak water and shrink back down to a less threatening size. Arrows are also highly effective.

MWAHAHA! It is I, Scorpion Chan, Queen of The Swarm! Imma eat yo pets! Imma eat yo kids! Imma eat you! Just try and stop me! Our stingers will blot out the sun, uh, okay it's cloudy and raining. But if you could see the sun right now, yeah, stingers, lots of them.

— Tevera Suloqa, Local Cosplayer

Grotesque and terrifying as giant lung scorpions are, they are not without their uses. It has been said that when cooked properly they taste similar to crawdads. They also have the added benefit of retaining the nutritional value of a giant scorpion when they shrink back down to their dehydrated size. Their taste, nutritional value and ease of storage makes them something of a superfood. Unfortunately the actions of a few enterprising individuals have led to lung scorpions becoming an invasive species on several desert planets with monsoon cycles. Fortunately, lung scorpions require a very specific environment in order to take hold. If there is no monsoon the scorpions can't breed, but if the air is too humid for them to dry out, the oversized creatures will burn themselves out.