Ice-Angler Oropede

Ice-Angler Oropede (Oropede angler)

Creator: Hydromancerx Ancestor: Hookmouth Oropede Habitat: Nergali Polar Beach, Ittiz Bog, Ittiz River Size: 60 cm Long Diet: Piscivore (Carpet Foi, False-Larval Sauceback, Ironpin, Ittiz Foi, Rusty Muckraker, Mohawk Foi, Filtering Fee, Millifoi) Scavenger Reproduction: Fragmentation, Larva Budding

The ice-angler oropede split from its ancestor the hookmouthed oropede. It went up north where it mainly lives in Ittiz Bog and Ittiz River. There it spend its time 'ice fishing" It will use its front or back claws to dig a hole into the ice. Then it will stick in is middle legs and wait for food to pass by. They need very little food due to their extremely low metabolism. This also means they move very slowly and the prey they do catch or find will last them a long time. To get their iron they will either get it from the red blood of some their prey or will actually eat the red rusty soil.

Their front and back foot-mouths are mainly used for eating food they scavenge. Those that live in Nergali Polar beach are mostly scavengers due to the lack of suitable prey. All of their limbs and eye stalks except for the middle pair have shortened to retain heat. Since they are amphibious and still need water to breathe they will breathe through their middle limbs when out of the water. It works like a reverse snorkel as they sit on top of the ice. When walking around they use their front and back legs but hold up their middle legs since they are so long compared to their other legs.

They still have their nostrils on the front in which they use to sniff out carrion. However smell is useless for angling and is mainly used t smell for predators that may want to eat them. Luckily for them most of the predators around cannot digest iron fauna like them so they are left along for the most part. They cannot swim or float and sink to the bottom due to their metallic bodies. However they are perfectly happy in the water and will feed on dead fauna which have sunk to the bottom.

Like their ancestors they reproduce via fragmentation or larva budding. This means if say a limb gets ripped off they can grow a new body. As long as a mouth is in tact they can regrow. As for larva budding they can also produce an extra legs which eventually fall off and grow into larva.