Nuke Slitherworm

The nuke slitherworm replaced its ancestor the slitherworm. Its red and purple coloring help it hide in the red-rusty mud and purple flora. They are now fully aquatic and have regained their "water-gills" rather than "air-gills". The gills are located behind their heads and are blue in color because they have blue copper blood. They have evolved a tail fin to help propel them through the water as well as a dorsal fin on their heads to help steer them. It is an ambush predator and will wait for food to come by. It keeps watch with its 3 eyes as well as feeling vibrations in the water with its body. However they are not above scavenging. Since they are cold-blooded they must regulate their heat by either sunning themselves or cooling in the shade. They can also last for weeks without food. They are constantly growing and will frequently shed their exoskeletons. When attacking prey they will bite it with their 4 jawed mouths and then use their bodies to constrict and crush it prey. They eat their prey whole and if threatened will regurgitate up their meal in order to escape faster. They lay hard shelled eggs on the shore. The offspring once they hatch must slither to the water before they suffocate. They will mate in the spring at the small area of land where Nuke River and Nuke Marsh meet. This massive mating migration is so they can find all 3 genders of their species. The 3 genders are; male who gives the sperm, the female who gives the egg and the third gender who gives the hormone that allows the sperm into the egg. Thus both the male and the third gender have to mate with the female in order for fertilization to occur.