MurashiMurashi's are a rather rare type of amphibian that resides in the poison forest. They can only be found near the lake of the poison forest, and possible streams nearby. Believed to be an evolution of a reptile, these creatures have far more traits to them than most amphibians. For example, they prefer nesting outside of the lake, even when their eggs are in dire need of a moist surrounding. They stand out due to their bright pale color which would make them an easy target, but attacking one can be quite dangerous. Wolves and animals alike have been confused about who of both genders is actually poisonous. While the females and males look alike, the male has a very bright and colorful mouth which it will open to warn predatory animals. But surprisingly enough it's not the male that's poisonous, but actually the female who has no bright and colorful mouth at all. Normally the brighter a creature is, the more poisonous it is. Because of this animals have mistaken the male over and over again for being poisonous while it are the females that are far more dangerous. When they bite, their teeth releases neurotoxins that are poisonous and destructive to the nerve tissue which in result can paralyze body parts permanently. Compared to the male the female is usually quite docile, but approaching to close will make her nervous and in return bite out of defense. The males on the other side are extremely aggressive and in a way bluff towards their opponents pretending to be poisonous. When approaching these little creatures they will spread out their external gill stalks, and shake their tail in order to warn their possible attacker. When moving around they are often confused with snakes, as they seem to move around more snake like due to their small legs.
AppearanceMurashi's have a smooth and almost slimy like skin. Their body is long and slender, as their legs are short and stumpy. Their skin is a pale type of purple, while their stalks on their external gills are a dark purple. They feature 3 external gill stalks on each side of their head. Their eyes are sky blue. While females feature a pale purple tongue and mouth like their skin, males feature a dark purple mouth with bright blue coloration. Unlike the females males do tend to have markings around their eyes, which can vary from stripes to dots and more. Both male and female have the same size. Aside from their external gills, they also feature gills on both sides of their neck.
HabitatMurashi's can only be found in the Poison Forest, near the lake and streams.
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Information
DietMurashi's are insectivores, but also known as opportunists. They will usually hunt for small insects and worms, but if they are granted with an opportunity, they will do so. Females have been known to bite fish and wait for them to float up. If they stumble upon a nest of mice like creatures, they will consume them.
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Ability(ies) / Power
Female Murashi's are capable of releasing poison through their teeth which releases neurotoxins that can lead to permanent paralysis. Other than that, these creatures do not posses any sort of different poison. Males have to rely on bluffing, and acting that they are poisonous. Of course when a predatory animal finds out they are not, they will become easy targets and snacks for smaller snakes and birds.
Reproduction
Both male and female become sexually mature around 1 month old as they reach adulthood only 2 weeks after birth. They do not follow a specific time to breed, as instead they will simply reproduce if they find a suitable partner. A female will usually rubs it's body against nearby rocks or plants, as potential males who smell it will seek them out. Males are quite aggressive as they will fight with one another to gain the right to breed. Before engaging in combat, they will try to spread out their externals stalks as much as they can in attempt to scare of another male. If this doesn't work, they will fight until one gives up. Once the male has proven itself, the female will select him as her mate. Females will start to look for a nesting area first, this is usually near water. But for reasons unknown they seem to prefer nesting outside of a main water source rather than inside. Because her eggs need to be wet, she will dig a hole away from a stream or lake until the hole reaches around a point that will cause it to be wet due to the nearby water. Then the female will lay her eggs which can be a clutch of 20-30, the eggs itself have a soft shell. Strangely the females are not the ones who will guard the nest. After they are done the females will leave to hunt and seek food, while the males at all time guard the nest. They will use their moist body to give the eggs a more most surrounding. The female will return after she is fed. During this entire progress of 4 weeks the males will not consume any food at all. It's believed that the males guard the nest, as they are mistaken more for being poisonous than the female. The babies will hatch within 2 weeks. Sadly due to the location they seek out for nesting, only 5% of all their hatchlings make it out alive. Poison wolves believe that it will take a couple more generations before they will fully adapt to living in the water more than outside of it. Once the babies are adults, they will all go their own path, as these creatures do not mate for life, nor live in groups.
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Trivia
- Murashi's might not be based of leopard gecko's, but for the color I was inspired by my very own Leopard gecko "Razura" who features a pale pink color.
- The name "Murashi" comes from the word "Numachi" which translates to "swamp" in Japanese.
- This creature was inspired by several animals, including the "leopard gecko - Blizzard", "Blue tongued skink" and the "Axolotl".
- Behavior wise, this creature is more reptilian like despite being an amphibian. Taking inspiration of the Blue tongue skink.
- It's external gill stalks spreading out is inspired by the "frilled lizard" spreading out it's frills around it's neck.