Spider Wolf

The Spider Wolf is a species introduced to Earth as part of the Gene Sea.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Spider wolves are six legged predators but with a skull and body structure closer to the native mammalian design pattern of Earth and specifically with a head resembling a wolf, including a long snout and twin rows of sharp teeth. Their name comes from the somewhat fanciful resemblance this body plan has to that of a giant spider (although, obviously with two fewer legs).

Biological Traits

The Black Spider Wolf is the most common race, found on Trass. On Fereth, the Brown Spider Wolf is a slightly smaller race. Black and Brown Spider Wolves can interbreed, so they are not distinct species.

Genetics and Reproduction

Spider wolves mate in autumn and give birth to live young, born in the spring. Male spider wolves are rarer than females, the ratio at birth being roughly four females for every male.

Behaviour

Spider wolves live in extended family groups, consisting of a dominant male with up to five females and their offspring, which roam over wide territories. They collaborate in the hunt using a range of tonally modulated howls to communicate their intentions to one another. The howl of a spider wolf is an especially chilling sound for any unprepared traveller who might have the misfortune to hear it.
Spider wolves are remarkably fast. Their scuttling gait is disturbingly similar to that of a large spider and in short bursts they can easily overtake the deer that is their usual prey.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Young spider wolves remain with their mothers in the pack where they were born, until they reach five or six years of age. At this stage, any males will leave and spend two or three years alone, before establishing their own packs. Females will also leave but will align themselves with another pack, either an existing established group or attached to one of the wandering males.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Spider wolves are mainly found in northern Trass and Fereth. During the early Foundation Age they were common in the Vallot woods and the plains outside the city of Vesper. They became less common for two and a half thousand years as human civilization returned after the end of the Season Of Innocence, but there were always some in the furthest northern wastes. In more recent times since the Emptying of Earth, their numbers have begun to grow and they have pushed their range further south again.

Lifespan

25 Years

Average Height

1.5 m

Average Weight

50 kg

Average Length

2 m