One of the lesser species of Felarya is also one of its least bright... the humble land fish.
Despite its name, the land fish does reside primarily in water, but unlike conventional fish, it has also adapted to short periods of time in which it can survive on dry land. The reason for this is that the land fish contain a pair of stringy, but quite powerful legs that remain tucked beneath it at all times whilst in the water. In fact, so minute is this difference in physical appearance, that most people cannot tell a land fish from a normal fish until they are on dry land.
Once in the open air, the Land wish will flip itself into the air with a sharp muscle spasm, at which point the reverse jointed legs will flick out.
However, the evolution is still developing on these legs, and thus the land fish use them in sync, rather than one at a time. The result of this is that the movement of a land fish is somewhat of a jumping motion, leaping forward, fanning its tail rapidly to gain speed, and then spring-bouncing forward to gain even more momentum, until the land fish is moving at a phenomenal speed.
Of course, as I explained before, the land fish isn't the brightest creature in Felarya, and changing direction in mid leap isn't something they excel at. Dissection proves that such directional changing is well within their power, but the average land-fishes brain isn't quite powerful enough to spot an approaching tree AND change direction at the same time. The result in this scenario is all too common, and is an excellent way for a fisherman to fool dull-witted friends into thinking he has had a real fight with a particularly heavy fish, when in reality it was a tree that did all the hard work.
That said, this stupidity is one of the reasons land fish can be dangerous in great numbers. Though not carnivorous where people are concerned, land fish crave the scent of certain creatures (this varies depending on the local flora and fauna of their spawning) and will stop at nothing to locate these creatures and attempt to satiate their hunger - regardless of what gets in the way. It is a common tactic for skilled hunters to learn the local fishes preferred prey of choice, slaughter one and place it in the back of a large wicker cage, and wait for the local land-fish population to propel itself foolishly into the cage. Such tactics can keep a village well fed for some time.
The danger in this scenario comes for any humans caught between the fish and the food. A leaping land fish is just as likely to smash into a human full force as a tree - and although a land-fish may only be ten or eleven inches long on average, continually being bludgeoned by them can severely injure anyone unarmored who gets in their way.
However, such people are usually as dull-witted as the fish who crash into them, as the average human can easily get out of the way as the sound of the speeding land-fish heralds their arrival.
And even more fortunately for the resident humans of Felarya, land-fish breed just as quickly and abundantly as their sea-bound brethren, and thus their numbers are in no danger of decline.
Subject: Land Fish 
Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:03 am
glad yall enjoy
