Oroxortoise ((Or-roh-zor-toice))

Basic Information

Anatomy

The oroxortoise is a quadrupedal reptilian-esque creature that is known for its extremely tough exterior and viciousness. While it looks similar to a turtle, it actually has few traits of a turtle aside from its shell. It has two large bulbous shells that are present on the creature's back, and on top of its head which slants down until it covers where–presumably–the eyes of the creature would be. The rest of the alien creature's body is very oily to the touch and incredibly soft. Despite this texture, the flesh appears to be incredibly difficult to tear or damage, and the oils make it extremely resilient to things such as disease and poison. The strange muscle that makes up their flesh appears to have strange textures, and an overall design reminiscent of most creatures from its home world. At its front, all that can be seen is a giant maw filled with rows of razor sharp teeth. They are also known for having massive thick feet which they use to stomp at the ground.

Genetics and Reproduction

Reproduction for this species requires a male and female, however they are hermaphrodites and thus can take on any role necessary to begin breeding. Due to this, they have a rapid breeding rate which is further pushed along by their quick gestation periods. These creature reproduce through eggs, which hatch nearly a week after being laid in an oroxortoise nest.

Growth Rate & Stages

Growth and maturity are almost as quick as the breeding process itself. It only takes about a week for one to mature enough to be on its own, and a month for it to fully grow into a young adult. Within a few months it will be a fully grown oroxortoise, much like its parents.

Ecology and Habitats

While their prime world is the perfect habitat for them, a planet that is mostly hollow and very humid with plenty of weaker fauna to feed on, they have no particular habitat which they can't invade and turn into a nest for themselves, usually by turning the environment around them into something the resembles their home world. While they are extremely durable creatures, there are some climates they tend to avoid. Extreme tundra locations are pretty inhospitable for them due to their eggs freezing over and dying in the harsh conditions, despite how sturdy the shells are. The oils on their flesh, and their innards, are also not immune to becoming frozen, making it a pretty good way to kill or incapacitate one. Environments with shifty earth, such as deserts, volcanos, or locations that frequently have earthquakes, make for poor locations for them as well, since loose earth or constant quakes render oroxortoises blind. They also require air to breathe, which is done through their skin, thus they can not survive underwater.

Dietary Needs and Habits

These creatures are carnivores and equal opportunity eaters. They will eat live prey that they actively hunt just as much as they will devour the corpses of animals they find on the way. Carcasses are a little less common for them, since they are better at hunting actively moving prey, and tend to have to run into the carcass in order to actually "see" it. They require a lot of meat to survive, and thus spend most of the day actively seeking out prey to devour.

Biological Cycle

Seldom is there any real reason for a oroxortoise to change its habits based on the passage of time, aside from light molting of skin and their shell to maintain a fresh layer of that oil that keeps them protected from most things that aren't physical trauma, and to keep a sturdy shell for said physical trauma. The only thing that causes them to go into hibernation are flash freezes and winter should the season change and present a cold enough climate to the point where it may threaten these creatures. Considering they tend to avoid colder locations, this is rarely an issue for them.

Behaviour

These creatures are extremely independent once they leave the nest they hatch from, often seeking out others to mate with and then carry eggs back into a freshly made nest of their own design. For this reason they don't swarm locations with pack tactics together. However, where there is one there is likely a nest nearby that may produce more, so while they are independent they tend to remain within the same region as one another and often run into one another.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

These creatures have no face outside of a large shell which covers half of it, and a giant man eating maw with hundreds of teeth as the main "face" of this creature.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

These creatures have no real ability to cross from planet to planet on their own, and thus rely heavily on infesting cargo ships or similar space faring vessels in order to spread out to other planets and propagate their species. Currently their distribution is throughout a couple of nearby solar systems. They aren't hugely common, but have enough of a presence on each planet to be considered a part of their ecosystem.

Average Intelligence

The intelligence of these alien creatures are pretty much nonexistent. They exist to eat, procreate, and then eat more. They rely purely on instincts, and even then the only instincts they have outside of building nests and breeding is purely eating. It is said that higher intelligence creatures from their home planet had some control over them, but as they spread out across the stars this appears to be less and less true.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Despite being completely blind, they can detect everything around them through vibrations that their ultra sensitive feet can detect. Even when nothing is moving, they can slam their foot against the ground to generate a massive shockwave which reflects back to them if anything is near.

Lifespan

20 years

Average Height

8 ft

Average Length

11 ft

Average Physique

On average they are about the size of a horse with the weight and power of a tank. Not that this stops them from moving lightning fast, and crossing vast distances in order to chase down prey. They even appear to be capable of tearing through sheet metal with their teeth, though this is likely due to having some form of acidic bite rather than raw strength of their jaw and teeth. Regardless of which, these creatures are powerful.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Generally these species come in a glossy dark ocean blue, with some hues of green mixed into the color. Rarely do they deviate from these colors, however as their species spread out, more foreign pigmentations began to become introduced to their color scheme. This appears to be mostly a result of different atmospheres since these estranged colorations appear to be planet wide.