Karybdos

Splitting from its ancestor, the karybdos have adapted to life on Maineiac island. Several evolutionary adaptions have arisen since they have become seperated from the mainland population of gushlych, including a darker pigmentation to help them blend in with the rich volcanic soil. They have also evolved a system of removing the excess salts they acquire, both from ingesting blood and from the salty sea air, by secreting it from the "secondary" nostrils that dominate their heads. The salt forms rings around them that will eventually dry and fall off, but at the same time make the karybdos a rather salty meal for those that attempt to prey upon them. A trio of "primary" green nostrils have re-evolved, and are used for more sensitive pinpoint smelling when it comes to hunting, while its "secondary" nostrils are used for giving a world view for the karybdos in terms of scents. The last major evolutionary adaption these creatures have evolved is a sticky glue-like substance they secrete from pores underneath their feet. Used to hold onto their prey, this slime is tinged green due to trace amounts of copper within it oxidizing when exposed to air. Finally, they have lost their spines due to lack of necessity.

Life for the Karybdos begins as a blood-filled, egg-shaped group on the back of the "mother". These fall off and are given no parental care outside of a food store of blood to nourish themselves. Eventually the egg breaks, revealing a miniature karybdos that will immediately devour it in order to feed on the iron within. After this first meal, young ones will then seek out and hunt down shieldworms, killing them with their claws and spewing digestive enzymes into their bodies before drinking the resulting mush. After a few weeks of doing this, they will then be large enough and have developed the proboscis enough to begin their lives as parasites.

Once they have located suitable prey with their "secondary" nostrils, they will latch onto it. Their "primary" nostrils are then used to find the arteries closest to the surface of the skin. They then pierce the skin with their proboscis, injecting anticoagulants and painkillers to both increase the blood flow and reduce irritation to their hosts so as to avoid being detected. Once they have become full, they fall off and begin to develop several eggs on their backs. Their blood engorged stomachs then pump excess blood into the eggs to provide them with their first meals. Once all the eggs are filled and have then fallen off, the karybdos are ready to begin feeding again.

While not all young will survive, the sheer amount of eggs they can produce, both how often and how many, ensures that their populations remain rather high.