Paketerus

Paketerids are enormous sea scorpions that live in a communal lifestyle, living only to serve their ever-growing mother. These scorpions have four claws and a paralyzing sting in order to restrain and kill prey, but their strength mostly comes from numbers. Larger families will survive better than smaller ones, as more members makes for more effective hunts, and more sustenance at a time.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Paketerus has a smooth, streamlined body with a large head containing four eyes, and large feeding appendages near the mouth. Their tails are thin, and end in three sharp points for neutralizing prey. They also have ten limbs, four of which act as pincing claws, while the rest are used for walking.

Biological Traits

Male Paketerids will have small extendable fins behind their heads and main body segments, while females generally end up immobile at the end of their lives.

Genetics and Reproduction

When two Paketerids meet each other, they will more than likely attempt to mate with each other, sometimes with the males displaying the fins on their head and backside. After the female has chosen her partner, she will consume his body after the eggs are fertilized, in order to sustain herself while she watches over the eggs indefinitely. After eating her fill, she'll become too bloated to move. Even though she is immobile at this stage, she'll still be able to defend herself with her claws, able to pick up any nearby rocks and hurl them at threats. Its for this reason that these creatures normally choose to mate near large groupings of rocks.

Growth Rate & Stages

As soon as the young hatch, they'll crawl onto their mother's backside, and simply stay put until they have to grow. They start out lacking claws and tails, and survive by filter feeding various types of plankton from the surrounding waters, since their mother remains completely immobile for the rest of her life. After they've eaten enough, they'll lay dormant for a long period of time, forming a leathery sac around their bodies and metamorphosing into their adult form. After spending some time growing larger, they'll have to begin hunting to bring food to their mother, if they do not want to get eaten by her to satisfy her hunger.

Ecology and Habitats

Paketerids only live in the Forests, spending their entire lives on the ground. Although having four limbs which they can pick things up with, they use their claws more for self defense rather than manipulation, the one exception being mating season. Some male Paketerids have been observed carrying rocks back to their mates before getting eaten, just so she'll have something to defend herself with while she guards the eggs.

Dietary Needs and Habits

These scorpions hunt in large groups for most of their lives, attempting to hide in the shadows and surround their prey without them realizing. They feed mainly on the Megafin Squid, and the Green Ray. Once their prey is in range, the entire hunting party will lash out, attempting to grab their victim's weak points with their claws, before stinging them with their tails. Their sting causes paralysis, allowing the scorpions to easily make a killing blow and carry it back to their mother. After a Paketerid's mother dies, it'll have to learn to hunt solo, mostly going after juvenile stages of its preferred prey items.

Biological Cycle

Occasionally, discarded foliage from their surroundings may gather on these scorpions' backsides, mostly from their bodies brushing against the plants. Some may pick it off with their claws, but others will keep it on to better blend in.

Additional Information

Social Structure

These eurypterids live in a pack system, where two Paketerids start a family, and the offspring are forced to serve their mother. Mother Paketerids have nearly endless appetites, and often resort to eating their children just to sustain themselves a little longer. The young then have to hunt food both for themselves and their mother, until she eventually dies of old age, and allows them to go their separate ways.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

These creatures' go to sense are sight and smell. They only use sight for dealing with immediate threats and coordinating with their siblings, while they use smell for navigating long distances. These creatures leave powerful scent trails behind which they routinely follow back to their mother.

Scientific Name

Paketerus armatis

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Weight

700 lbs.

Average Length

13 ft.

Average Physique

Streamlined

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Brown underside, green backside, yellow glowing eyes

Geographic Distribution

• The Kelp Forests

Average Intelligence
Average