Ocean Scorpodile

The Ocean Scorpodile split from the scorpodiles that lived on Maineiac Temperate Coast. They are nektonic predators that feed on almost anything that swims that ranges between 15 and 45 cm in size. However, they avoid spiny and poisonous prey. The only exception to this rule is the colonial filtersquid. This is because they are easy to smash apart due to how slow they are and their lack of defenses. Because their ways of life are so different from their ancestors, the Ocean Scorpodile couldn't replace its ancestor. They spread across the world over the course of a few hundred thousand years. They are smaller and are incredibly nervous. They will flee from most species that are larger than it and/or aggressive. In order to more easily spot prey, their eyes have advanced greatly; evolving simple pupils to help them see better. In order to 'see' behind it and in other places where its eyes can't see, its limbs have been covered in microscopic hairs much like the Marsh Scorpodile. These hairs can detect vibrations in the water. With these senses, it will constantly check its surroundings for predators, even when chasing down prey. Its coloration (dark blue on top, light blue on the bottom) helps it camouflage with the oceans light sunlight zone and dark depths. An organism viewing it from above will only see the dark coloration of the scorpodile's upper side and the ocean's depths while an organism viewing it from below will only see the scorpodile's light underbelly and the lighter portions of the sunlight zone. It's only flaw is that it isn't very camouflaged when viewed from the sides, as there would be a clear line between it's dark upper side and light underbelly. When it sees a predator, it swims away as fast as it can. The Ocean Scorpodile's hunting techniques have changed greatly. It no longer sits in wait for prey to swim by, instead; it will chase down its small prey and then catch, crush, and break up prey with its mandibles. They have been known to just charge into a shoals of schooling organisms. In the case of a Colonial Filtersquid, it will attempt to 'pop' the floater's inflated stomachs and then eat away at the tentacles and smaller specimens that live on it. Often times multiple Ocean Scorpodiles attack Colonial Filtersquids because they provide a lot of food, and Ocean Scorpodiles aren't aggressive. meanwhile, they will put more effort into chasing solitary prey. They primarily swim with their tail fin, using their fin-limbs as pectoral fins; lazily swimming in search of food (and of course scanning the area for predators). When it spots its prey, it will use both its fin-limbs and tail fin to swim even faster. It's fin limbs' joints have adapted so it can be moved both up and down and side-to-side. This means that it has a hard time steering when charging at its prey. It's fins have also grown larger and changed shape. While the shape has little effect on how the organism swims, the increased size of the fins allow the Ocean Scorpodile to displace more water and thus, swim faster. The Ocean Scorpodile will travel to coasts and shallows to mate, as there is no ground to bury their eggs in in the sunlight zone. After they arrive, they will quickly mate with little aggression between themselves, as they aren't picky when it comes to choosing a mate; and will choose the closest member of one of the other three genders. Once all three genders are together, they will mate. After mating, they will disperse, with some returning to the open ocean; while others stay near the coast. The young live in the shallows and are even more nervous than the adults, since they have many predators. They will hide under rocks and in marine flora in search of small fauna to eat. Newborn Oceanic Scorpodiles are 10 cm long.