Mottlekragg

The mottlekragg is a sit-and-wait predator. It clamps onto a river saltgrass with its hind legs and stretches out its pincer-like forelegs to catch whatever comes by. Though its claws are superficially crab-like, they are not sharp. They are useful only for gripping onto prey as the mottlekragg gores the prey with its tusk-like mandibles, starting with the head region. This is useful for piercing the exoskeletons of shelled prey. Mottlekrags don't have much when it comes to mouthparts, so it rasps exposed flesh with a rough, tongue-like mouthpart. (a feature first developed in its far ancestor, the beach thornworm, that has since been ignored for being unremarkable and changing little through time) Occasionally mottlekraggs discard live scuttler prey that have better-armored heads and bodies after a few minutes feeding on them. The scuttlers survive, but die soon after from loss of fluids or infection.

Its limb proportions make walking difficult, so it rarely ventures onto land. Its forelegs are a little too large for walking, and are lifted off the ground a little when the mottlekragg walks. When standing, it rests the lower claws on the ground at an angle. Its middle pair of legs are relatively unchanged from its ancestor, though slightly shorter. They stick out at angles that make them unstable on land, however. Its hind legs don't support its weight well, but they are useful in another way: it can use them to clamp onto the spines of larger fauna.

Much like its ancestor, which used the greater plentshirshu's butt-bristles to catch a ride, the mottlekragg grabs onto the posterior spikes of flunejaws and flutugas. Flutugas are the better choice, as their webbed feet let it swim faster. While the flutuga, unlike the flunejaw, is an omnivore, it will still occasionally eat mottlekraggs. As mottlekraggs swim relatively slowly, clamping onto larger fauna is essential for getting to faraway places quickly.