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Snark

from Wikipedia

Name: Snark

Category: Useful

Type: Aquatic

Size: Medium

Region: Aquatic

Rarity: Uncommon

Lifespan: 30 years on average

Appearance

The snark, named such for its likeness to both snake and shark, actually most closely resembles a lizard — Earth’s Komodo Dragon.

The snark has a long maw, and several rows of teeth which are small but sharp. Each row of teeth moves forward to replace the row before it, when the row in use has lost too many teeth. Its jaw is similar to a snake’s in that it is double-hinged, allowing it to swallow small fish whole. The snark has four thick fins, two near its head and another pair close to the tail. The tail is where the creature appears the most serpentine, and it has a barbed tip which releases a slow-acting but potent poison.

The snark has piercing red eyes, and is coloured to enable camouflage. The skin on its underbelly is yellow, and on the back a light blue; this enables the snark to lie on its back on the sand and hide itself. It has skin of a leathery texture. This skin is at its toughest in the head region, and softest at the tail.

The snark is a very fast creature, and adept at hiding, so you won’t see it for long.

Behaviour

Snark are furtive fish, and mostly keep to the shadows, darting from place to place. They tend to swim alone and endeavour to avoid other fish unless intending to eat them — in these instances, the snark will stalk its target until it gets an opportunity to get it alone (snark are somewhat intimidated by large gatherings of fish).

The males tend to be more suspicious than the females, and will fight off threats to their territory where the females will not. It attacks using stealth tactics, catching the victim unawares as it grabs hold with its teeth and jabs its victim repeatedly with the barb of its tail to give it several doses of poison.

Diet: A snark will eat any fish smaller than itself, and it particularly likes to eat sea snails. Snarks are a good incentive for sailors of wooden ships to keep their hulls free of aquatic encrusters (such as barnacles), as a snark will try to pry such creatures from the hull, usually tearing through the wood with its strong teeth in the process.

Habitat: Snark live in the shallower regions of both the Ao and Nereid Seas. The skin of a snark will be thin or thick depending on its habitat’s climate. Snark tend to lurk amongst or beneath rocks, and they often partially bury themselves in the sand for warmth or in order to hide.

Breeding: Snark breed once every four months. They are livebearers, so the female will carry the offspring (for two months on average) and then give birth to up to 3 live fry, which look like mature snark but are much smaller. The male will then “teach” the young snark to be stealthy, by acting as an aggressor. Due to the solitary nature of the snark, the family does not stay together long, and the offspring are soon abandoned to fend for themselves.

Special Information

Strengths/Abilities:

• It has a barbed tail tip which can excrete poison. This poison needs to be injected in to the bloodstream to have an effect. It is a slow acting-poison, which will slowly paralyze the victim. Those suffering from snark poison will ultimately die three days later if not treated, when their heart muscles become paralyzed. An antidote can be developed from the poison, which can be found in the tail of the snark.
• The snark is particularly adept at disguise and stealth, and is naturally coloured to enable camouflage. It has particularly good eyesight, which enables it to see a great deal in the dark.

Weaknesses:

• The snark is not particularly clever about its eating habits, and will attempt to eat any fish smaller than itself — even fish with defence mechanisms that could prove harmful to the snark.

Uses:

• The skin is the most valuable material the snark has to offer, being as it has the texture of both tough and soft leather.
• The snark can be used as meat, but it tastes very bitter. Care also needs to be taken to avoid the tail, which contains the snark poison. In communities that live by the coast, the snark is a common meal option, but otherwise it is not in high demand as a food substance.
• The tail is also collected for its poison.

Origin: Unknown, although it could be a descendant of Earth’s long deceased Mosasaur, due to the physical similarities between the species.

Creator: Hollie