BogSnatcher

A wide mouthed amphibian ambush predator, capable of swallowing a man whole. The BogSnatcher waits with its mouth open 180 degrees, flat to the surface of a bog or marsh until a hapless prey creature stumbles across the gaping maw, triggering the jaws to snap shut around it.
The BogSnatchers cavernous mouth also functions as a rudimentary stomach. Once it’s jaws lock shut the BogSnatcher sinks just below the surface, its mouth forming a seal and flushing with powerful digestive fluids. These break the prey down into a digestible liquid which it absorbs through specialised sphincters lining the base of its gullet. Due to the inevitable ingestion of marsh water these digestive fluids can become considerably diluted. Prey items swallowed whole can take weeks to be fully digested, infact FED search parties have successfully recovered live personnel trapped inside adult BogSnatchers before the digestive process is complete.
Adult BogSnatchers have been known to latch onto the wheels of ATV’s that unwittingly stray into a spawning area. Crew usually draw straws to see who will cut the vehicle free.
Juvenile Bogsnatchers are unable to swallow larger prey items whole, their spawning grounds being readily identified by the assorted limbs and heads of prey protruding from the ground. Once a juvenile has digested several times its own weight in biomass a hormone is released triggering its development into adulthood. The BogSnatchers gullet elongates into its body while it’s legs become vestigial. The BogSnatchers leathery hide sprouts a coat of thin pale tendrils which extract nutrients from the surrounding bog, supplementing its diet during long periods between meals.
Adult BogSnatchers reproduce asexually, their spawn gestating in fluid filled sacks that distend from its belly. Once their gills are fully developed and they are strong enough to break free of their birthing membrane BogSnatcher spawn instinctively wriggle through the marsh until completely exhausted. This is usually a sufficient distance to avoid excessive competition with the parent and any other spawn.
In the marshes around the outskirts of LBN BogSnatcher spawn are occasionally planted around the perimeters of well established escapee camps, serving as a particularly effective defensive boundary.

Geographic Distribution

• The Marsh