Galactic Geographic Animal Encyclopaedia: Bronzed Ocean Skimmer

 

The Bronzed Ocean Skimmer is a solitary flying omnivorous hunter found on Neith. They were named for the bronze coloured rings that circle their body and their hunting method. They hunt by skimming along the ocean surface reaching down into the water with their long clawed forelimbs to catch their prey. The skimmer feeds on any small fish analogue it can catch, and occasionally on some varieties of floating weeds. The Bronzed Skimmers themselves are large analogues of Terran dragonflies. Almost a metre long with a very slim dragonfly like body, they have a wingspan of roughly two and a half metres. During mating season a female skimmer will seek out a male and perform an aerial dance which if done right, will override the territorial instinct and trigger the mating instinct. Observers have seen males attack and even kill a female who has performed the dance poorly. If successful, she will be approached by the male, who attempts to grab the female behind the head, whereupon she will swing her ovipositor around to draw off his seed. She will then break contact, before the male returns to territorial mode, and make her way back to her territory, where she will dip her ovipositor in the ocean as she skims the surface. lay her eggs in the water. 

    The Bronze Ocean Skimmer is in position 5 on the encounter table below.

Ocean Surface Terrain                                                               Neith (D9BA87B-6)

Die    Animal                    Weight    Hits    Armour    Wounds & Weapons

2

3

4

5        Flying Hunter        12kg       7/4    None        Claws and Teeth    A:4+ F:7+ S:2

6      

7

8

9

10    

11   

12

   Neith    0310    D9BA87B-6        Na Wa                                                    G

Referee:    The Skimmers eggs sink to the bottom of the ocean, and hatch two weeks later. The young are called Naiads and will spend over a month immobile on the ocean bottom, filtering the water through their feeding orifice, feeding on any organic matter that passes through into their digestive sac. After about a month the naiad cocoons itself and the cocoon slowly inflates, while the naiad transforms into an adult Skimmer. The inflating cocoon drifts with the ocean currents and surfaces far from it's original feeding grounds. When it breaches the surface the now mature Skimmer chews its way free and launches in to the air. Many territorial fights break out at this time as young skimmers suddenly appear in the territories of the previous generation. Few naiads make it to the surface as they are preyed upon by other sea creatures, and of those that do, many are killed in territorial battles.

 Naiads can be found in the table below in position 6.

 

Ocean Bottom Terrain                                                               Neith (D9BA87B-6)

Die    Animal                    Weight    Hits    Armour    Wounds & Weapons

2

3

4

5

6       Filter                       12kg       10/10 None       Acid 1D      F:4+ A:If Poss. S:0

7

8

9

10    

11   

12