Arcab
Native to the Hazfen desert, these large beast are theorized to be the remanents of the long withered Hazfen ocean. They are rare and prized by the Hazfeni as powerful and useful creatures.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Ten limbs in total, two of which act as arms, the rest legs. An extremely hard exoskeleton grows on the creature's entire exterior with soft regions at joints to allow for movement. They are short oval-shaped creatures with a central body like that of a squished and stretched raisin. The center has two pairs of embedded eyes that are small and yellow. The back features a thin nearly flat section tilted toward the ground. Four legs on each side circle the sides and leave a few feet of space at the front and back. Their front appendages are wide discs that vary in shape from spheres to rounded plates.
Genetics and Reproduction
Slow to breed the creatures often only breed two or three times in their entire lifetimes. The gestation period is equally as long with up to three years being taken to carry the child as it grows inside of the rare females of the species.
Growth Rate & Stages
Being born already the size of an adult human they slowly grow to usually warhorse-sized creatures, though more in width than height. This growth takes twenty years but can range between twelve to twenty-five years.
Three, and rare fourth stages occur in the creature's life. At early birth, they are soft and slowly grow a hard skeleton over ten years. This skeleton is stretched and broken over another ten years at which point they grow their adult exoskeleton. If they reach a high enough age they will shed their shell a single time more to grow what's called a sun shell as it appears bleached by sunlight. A rare few reach a fourth stage where they exceed usual sizes and need a third larger shell, the final shell is white as marble and shines in brightly.
Ecology and Habitats
The creatures stay in sandy environments with large quantities of heat such as coastal beaches or, more likely, deserts. The Hazfen desert boasts the largest quantity. They live nomadic lives and will wander the entire area suitable to their needs.
they will utilize sand to bury themselves with violent vibrating motions below sand to wait for prey where they wait to sense suitable movement. They exercise a small level of intelligence when it comes to disturbances as only extended vibrations of a certain magnitude draw them bursting from their hiding spots.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Carnivores in nature hunt for other creatures to eat. Their hard shells and large frontal claws allow for them to hunt creatures of the same if not greater size. Their motionless hunting strategy allows for a patient game as they wait for suitably large prey.
Biological Cycle
The creatures when they create a new shell seem to have a short period of time in between growing the new shell and being soft that they seek a mate. Since this only occurs a few times in their life this rare they reach a mate in a similar stage of life within the few months they have to do so.
Otherwise, due to their habitats, they feature a steady biological cycle.
Additional Information
Domestication
The Hazfeni have long domesticated many members of the population but a few remain in the desert. Adventurous peoples will attempt to capture the creatures by mimicking prey loudly and causing the creatures to burst from their hiding spots. After this, they are captured and then fed till they trust a set of handlers.
Domesticated members of the species feature taunter lower back plates, rendering their blind sight weaker but allowing it to be used as a step up for those who wish to mount them. Three main lines of the mounted creature exist.
The thump lines feature rounded glove-like appendages on the end of the creatures with their claws being rather small. Smashing quickly as well they are great at attacking other mounts or enemies.
Secondly, the more common ramp version has more naturally shaped plate-like appendages that are very large, allowing them to be used as shields. Trained to hold the shields at either their sides or front and back while they run, many riders are able to duck behind the shields to hide from attacks.
The rare third line has shrunken exoskeleton appendages compared to its original and larger claws that are bred for sharpness. Only a dozen or so of this pincer Arcab exist and their ability to slice chainmail neatly has come in handy for many of the Burgeonend owners.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Mounting the creatures for battle is most of their usage as they are rare and breed slowly. A few are used as transportation or work horses by those rich enough to afford and to as they wish with the creatures.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Manly in the southern reaches of the main continent. The large deserts their housing 99% of the population.
Average Intelligence
Ranging from bestial to human newborn level intelligence the creatures portray little problem solving and other higher intelligence skills.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
The creatures seem to function mostly on sense of feel to travel and see. The thin portion at the back of their bodies is loose and rattles easily. Covering their eyes only seems to blind them at a distance but has a minimal effect at shorter distance sensing. Their sense of hearing is keen but smell rather weak.
Scientific Name
Brachyura
Origin/Ancestry
Crabs
Lifespan
300-400 years
Conservation Status
The Hazfen Empire protects and breeds animals whose population is quite low.
Average Height
0.8-1.5 Meters
Average Weight
900 - 1,200 labs
Average Length
Front to back, 1.5 -2 meters, left to right, 2-4 meters.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Before their third shell the creatures are usually a rusty orange or pale yellow coloration. Older members of the species are grey or even white.
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