User:Ahalosniper/Arrowtongue

"They turned the big ones loose on us at (APS: Please suggest a planet). They aren’t smart enough to even hold a gun, but they’re so damn big, and I saw a guy impaled on one’s flipping tongue."

- Anonymous Marine

The Arrowtongue, as it has been named in English, is a native predator of Saulos and, discounting the Saulosians themselves, is the apex terrestrial predator of the planet. Their Latin name means Lizard’s Neanderthal, as they may be intelligent and DNA testing has revealed it to be closely related to the Saulosians, with much in common with the Sceleratus subspecies.

Physiology
A fully-grown Arrowtongue can reach over 13 feet tall, and 40 feet long. A biped reminiscent of Earth’s Tyrannosaurus Rex, it has no arms, but a pair of triangular ‘wings’ along its flanks, believed to be the evolutionary remnants forelimbs. The most intriguing feature is its meter-and-a-half long tongue, which is used to attack and kill prey as well as integral in its ability to feed.

Behavior
The species’ hunting and feeding habits are vastly different from any previously discovered reptilian. Without eyes, an Arrowtongue uses a form of sonar to perceive its surroundings, and also in confusing the senses of potential prey. After running down its target, it will stab into the dying creature using a barbed tongue, which injects a dissolving liquid in the same way arachnids do. They will then absorb the digested internal organs and leave the husk for Saulos’ scavengers.

During their mating season, battles between rival males are waged not only physically, but mentally. Each uses its sonar to confuse the other, either to cloak itself or project a false image while readying a physical attack. This may require a high degree of intelligence, and biologists believe within a few centuries the Arrowtongue could be on its way to becoming a sentient species.

In Saulosian Culture
One highly regarded custom of the Sceleratus Clans is for a lone Saulosian coming of age to go out and stalk an Arrowtongue. His objective is not to kill it, but to immobilize it temporarily. This is done through means of often a chemical liquid slathered on a blade, though a more venerated method is to subdue it with a weight or trap. Once this is accomplished, the hunter cuts himself and then the Arrowtongue, becoming blood brothers with the creature. Afterwards the creature is released, unharmed, and the two are said to have a linked fate. This is not a mandatory tradition, but most of the Sceleratus Clansmen that go to war have done this.