Blood-Thirsty Waterworm

The blood-thirsty waterworm split from its ancestor and specialised to a life of drinking ambush sauceback blood. The back spike and front fins now move in sequence and are used to dig into and stay imbedded into the flesh of its host. The hind limbs are used to prop the worm up in the mud while searching for a suitable host, and the tail is actually the only thing used for swimming. On the worms face are yellow glands that produce a chemical that numbs the area that it is imbedded in. The beak is large and used to take a bite out of the flesh of its host to give easy access. When searching for a host the waterworm props itself up in the mud until it spots a sauceback, during this time without a host they may eat the ocassional egg found buried in the mud. Once the host has been selected the worm swims in a painful looking, seizure-like motion towards it at high speed, when it reaches the host it wipes its face on the portion of flesh it plans to dig into to numb it. After that it tears into the spot with its enormous beak and wriggles into the fresh wound, hooking the back spike and fins into the deeper flesh and pulling its body all the way in. Once settled the only part of the worm showing is the tail and maybe the hind fins. When ready to breed, the blood-thirsty waterworm removes itself from its host and sinks down into the mud. After breeding they repeat the process of seeking a host. The fry when hatched will feast on various eggs found in the muck to build up their strength, they grow quickly and when they reach half size they will seek out a host. If a blood-thirsty waterworm dies while in a host it can cause serious infection, and often death.