Giant Fringehead

The Giant Fringehead is a large predatory fish with a rightfully large mouth, exhibiting extremely territorial behaviors. Their mouths contain long fangs and a prehensile tongue hidden inside, with the tongue's tip splitting into multiple sticky parts that allow the creature to grab a hold of their prey easier. Although strong, these fish aren't fast compared to some other creatures, and mostly rely on staying hidden to gain the upper hand in a hunt.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Giant Fringehead has a long vaguely eel-like body, large tail and dorsal fins, four glowing white eyes, and an exceptionally wide pair of jaws. These creatures can extend their mouthparts to reveal sharp fangs and a long creeping tongue, both used to ensnare their victims.

Biological Traits

Male fringeheads will have slightly longer fangs, as well as small spines growing out of their chins, thought to be only for show rather than practicality.

Genetics and Reproduction

These fish are normally very hostile towards one another, but some will occasionally attempt to mate with one another if necessary. Most often they will engage in a brawl, attempting to drive each other out of their territory by interlocking their fanged mouthparts, and forcefully pushing each other back. If both deem each other to be strong enough, they'll pair up and reside in the female's territory, where the young will live under the parent's care for a short amount of time. These fish give birth to live young, and produce very few offspring in their lives.

Growth Rate & Stages

Soon after the young are born, the mother will leave them in search of food, and she'll never return again. At birth, these creatures will have their signature fangs, but they'll be largely ineffective at first. The young will spend some time getting used to their fangs and flexible tongues, with their father only sticking around to make sure they survive to the juvenile stage. Once they become juveniles, the father will leave them to survive on their own. They'll be able to defend themselves well enough by this point, but they will still have to grow in size for a long period of time, mostly feeding off of younger versions of their prey items until they get big enough.

Ecology and Habitats

Giant Fringeheads reside in the Forests, and spend most of their time searching for and claiming territory for themselves. They'll routinely clean up foliage from their claimed territory by pushing it away, and scare away smaller creatures to keep it safe and tidy. Some will also have to defend their territory against other fringeheads attempting to steal it, or against even larger predators, prompting them to push rocks over to build a makeshift wall around the perimeter. Their territories usually stand out from the various scuff marks in the ground caused by their brawls.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Giant Fringehead mainly feeds on Green Rays, Spikeshell Ammonites, and Polearm Squid. Their favorite hunting tactic is stay close to the ground, sneaking up behind their prey underneath the foliage, then striking with their long tongues. Then, they wrap their large mouths over their prey to restrain it, making the killing blow by pushing their fangs straight into their victim's flesh. 

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Their sight is extraordinarily good for fish in their habitat, and they are more likely to make use of sight than hearing or smell. It has also been thought that they are mostly deaf, and wouldn't be able to hear anyway.

Scientific Name

Neoclinus aureis

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Weight

2,010 lbs.

Average Length

22 ft.

Average Physique

Slim

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Brown skin, bright orange and red mouth, glowing white eyes

Geographic Distribution

• The Kelp Forests

Average Intelligence
Fairly high