Topazial Anguillans

First off, let's get this out of the way.
FAQ:
Q: What is an Anguillan?
A: An Anguillan is a species of human/eel hybrids. They can be found in a variety of environments, with all manner of sizes, shapes and physical abilities. The first one I ever saw in Felarya, was a river Anguillan with electical abilities that Zoekin created ages ago. If I remember right, the word "Anguillan" was created by both Zoekin and myself via DA notes. It is based on the word Anguilliformes, which is the scientific order that eels belong to.

Now, onto the species-doc.

Topazial Anguillans

Threat level: Moderate - High

Topazial Anguillans are a species of anguillans that are, as their name implies, native to the waters of the Topazial Sea. They have the upper body of a human, and the long, sleek body of an eel from the waist down.

Appearance:

From the wasite up, a topazial anguillan appears fairly similar to a human in many ways. Their skintones tends to be relatively normal, compared to mermaids and other aquatic hybrids, and can range from fair-skinned, to tan, to even darker shades in some cases. They also have brightly colored stripes running along their human halves, usually starting at around the cheeks and neck, and continuing along their arms and sides.

The hair and eyes of a topazial anguillan can vary greatly in coloration. Various shades of blue, green, red, purple and many other (usually bright) colors have been seen, with no single color or shade having a clear majority over any other. Further common physical features seen on their humanoid portions include fin-like ears and three curved, sharp spines running along each forearm with a thin membrane running between them. These spines can be splayed out or folded flat against the forearms at will.

From the waist down, topazial anguillans have the long, sleek tail of an eel. There is a pectoral fin jutting out just below each hip, and a long thin fin runs along the full length of their tail along its dorsal and ventral edges, finally merging into a single large fin at the end of their tail. Possibly the most striking thing about the tail of a topazial anguillan is the coloration. Their tails are nearly always a bright, vibrant color, and are covered in stripes of another color that will run down the length of their tails in zig-zagging, seemingly random patterns.

When you combine the unique coloration of their tails, with their striped upper body and bright hair, you get a species that really looks right at home in the clear, tropical waters of the Topazial Sea.

Hunting Habits:

Topazial anguillans are active hunters. They stalk along the seafloor and coarl reefs of the Topazial Sea, as they look for food. They have been known to eat a wide array of things, ranging from various types of fish and crustaceans, to small mermaids and other human-sized undersea hybrids. They don't really have any special tricks for catching their prey, and instead rely on their excellent vision, sense of smell and their quick, agile bodies. While they do not have the pure, open-water speed of a mermaid, they can be very quick in short bursts, and tend to be much more flexible and agile than a mermaid.

Because of their preferrence for living near the seafloor, rock formations and coral reefs, topazial anguillans almost never come into contact with humans. Out of the handful of accounts gathered from Topazial sailors that have actually encountered them, their personalities seem to vary along normal lines, with some being perfectly willing to eat humans and others seeming relatively personable and friendly.

Defenses:

Because of the many dangers to be found within the Topazial Sea, these anguillans, much like many other native species, have devloped several forms of defense to help them get an edge over a would-be attacker.

The most visible defensive weapon on a topazial anguillan are the spines that grow from each of their forearms. These spines, while lacking a cutting edge, are exceptionately sharp, and can deliver a potent neurotoxin to whatever is unlucky enough to be on the recieving end. While they make for a very effective defense, their short range is an obvious drawback and requires the Anguillan to be uncomfortably close to whatever is threatening them. Topazial anguillans usually only use their spines as a last-resort defense, when they cannot swim away or hide from a threat.

Their other defense mechanism lies along their tails. The tail of a topazial anguillan is covered in a thin, slick layer of mucous, to provide a protective layer over its scaleless length. Under normal conditions, this mucous layer is mildly toxic, but its effects would be limited to nausea and extreme discomfort. This changes when a topazial anguillan finds himself or herself in danger though. The stress, rise in adrenaline and other factors stimulate glands in the tail to begin 'sweating' a much more concentrated form of the toxin in their mucous. It mixes with mucous already there, and raises the overal toxicity of the mucous layers to potentially lethal levels. This is more of a last-ditch defense than anything else though, since in order to be exposed to the toxin, something would have to bite the Anguillan's tail. Swimming off with a small wound on your tail is usually a much better alternative than being killed though.

Reproduction:

Topazial anguillans have an interesting, if difficult method of reproduction. The actual act of mating and the majority of the pregnancy is not much different from that of a mermaid, or many other egg-laying hybrid creatures. That all changes when the mother feels that her eggs are nearly ready to be laid though. When her pregancy reaches this phase, she and her mate will begin swimming towards the main continent to the west (or a nearby island, if it has the right conditions). This can be a dangerous journey, of course, and often a small group of friends will accompany the mother and her mate, to help them in their travels. Once they get to the continent, the topazial anguillans will begin to make their way into the river system, moving deeper inland until they find a suitable spot to lay their eggs. A small clutch of eggs are then laid and covered over to keep them hidden. The parents then turn around and begin the journey back to their home territory, back to the Topazial Sea.

After a while, the eggs will hatch, and the baby topazial anguillans will emerge from the sand. at this stage their colorations are dull and simple, unlike the vibrant colors of their parents. The hatchlings will live near where they were born for a while, their young minds quickly absorbing all the new sensations around them as they swim and hunt in their tiny portion of the river. When a certain amount of time has passed, they will begin to be drawn down-river, drawn towards the sea. This begins one of the most perilous times in a topazial anguillan's life, a time known amongst them simply as "The Swim." The young anguillans will make their way down the rivers they were born in, and into the Topazial sea, following scent markings left behind by their parents when they themselves swam along that same path. As they enter the ocean, and make their way towards where their parents came from, the childs' markings grow brighter and more distinct. Along the way, they learn many lessons in how to avoid danger and survive in the perilous waters of the Topazial Sea. If all goes right, the child will eventually make it home, where he or she will be welcomed by their parents, family friends and extended family. Granted, a certain portion of the young predators do not finish their journey.

Views on "The Swim" tend to be a bit mixed, and really depend on the family. Some see it as a vital rite of passage, full of lessons that will serve the child for all its life. Others do tend to see it as a somewhat cold, primitive and even barbaric practice. It is not uncommon to see topazial anguillans in the latter category make a second trip to the mainland just before their eggs hatch, to be there for their children from the moment of their birth and allow them to bypass "The Swim" altogether. The Swim remains a hotly debated topic amongst topazial anguillan parents.

Behavior:

All in all, topazial anguillans tend to be a fairly open, personable bunch. They aren't fond of conflict and violence, and try to avoid it if possible. Despite the somewhat harsh nature of "The Swim", topazial anguillans really do place a high value on family. Their family groups, unlike some other hybrid species, tend to be fairly tight-knit and family members usually try and live near one another. Since young members of their species will make their way to where their parents are from, some topazial anguillan families have been living in the same territory for many generations. While they do not live in large numbers, it isn't uncommon for several families to all live within the same area, working together to better support eachother and survive. You will see some of these anguillans set out of their own in search of mates though, if none are to be found near their home.

In general, topazial anguillans get along fairly well with most people who treat them well in return. They seem to get along especially well with sea krait nagas though, and have been known to trade trinkets, pearls, shiny stones and other objects with them. They are also fond of hearing stories about life on land and what all can be found there, since their bodies are not very suited for travelling out of the water. They also find the thought of humans, whom they consider to be "tailless mermaids who can't even breathe underwater and travel around in big wooden boxes", to be a very strange and somewhat facsinating thing. This probably explains why, of the few times a topazial anguillan has met humans, the majority of the encounters did not result in the eating of the humans, although to assume that you are totally safe around a topazial anguillan could be a very big mistake.

Nothing wrong I see, this whole thing is really well-thought on. I really like how you play with eel traits like the slimy-ness. I would have added more variety with traits from moray or conger eels, but this works just nicely

Slimetoad wrote:

Nothing wrong I see, this whole thing is really well-thought on. I really like how you play with eel traits like the slimy-ness. I would have added more variety with traits from moray or conger eels, but this works just nicely

Thanks. I was trying to toss in a bit of moray-ness with the colors, and their hunting. Also, I got their toxicity from moray eels. I just added in the part about them being able to increase it whe in danger...but I didn't want to take too many traits. This is just supposed to be one sub-species of a larger race, afterall.

Well its about time, I know people have been talking about this for some time. My only question is, do they have a second inner set of jaws like a moray eel? (joking of course they don't)

Looks good. The Topazial Sea can always use some more life.

I concur. Eel-taurs for the win.

And a very well thought-out description as well.

Yes that's right Cliff. You helped me to name them. The character you are thinking of is Rei.

It's a nice idea here, wel thought of and with a very solid description indeed. I just think that they could perhaps use a more distinctive trait to them ? in order to differentiate them more from sea nagas and mermaids ( as they are a bit in between ). The electric tail trait could be a good way I think ^^

These Topazial Anguillans are already a subspecies of Anguillans. If they were electric (like electric eels) then they'd be Electric Gymnoans.
Why "Gymno" and not "Anguill?" Well that's because electric eels aren't really eels. They're not even closely related.

There are many possible variants of Anguillians. Any sufficiently distictive freshwater eel is a possible variation. Anyway as far as I know Sea Nagas are a salt water species. Anguillians are freshwater.

Eel-taurs would indeed be awesome. I can't see anything in the description for me to nitpick, so yay

Karbo wrote:

It's a nice idea here, wel thought of and with a very solid description indeed. I just think that they could perhaps use a more distinctive trait to them ? in order to differentiate them more from sea nagas and mermaids ( as they are a bit in between ). The electric tail trait could be a good way I think ^^

Yes, as AJ pointed out, Electric "Eels" are acutally a species of knifefish. More so, they are adapted to freshwater river life - they even take gulps of air for their oxygen intake - not the sea life depicted here.

Anime-Junkie wrote:

These Topazial Anguillans are already a subspecies of Anguillans. If they were electric (like electric eels) then they'd be Electric Gymnoans.
Why "Gymno" and not "Anguill?" Well that's because electric eels aren't really eels. They're not even closely related.

There are many possible variants of Anguillians. Any sufficiently distictive freshwater eel is a possible variation. Anyway as far as I know Sea Nagas are a salt water species. Anguillians are freshwater.

Yeah, in all fairness though, we could probably just call the electric ones River Anguillans or something. No need to get too technical.

Either way, yeah, I intended the Topazial Anguillans to just be one sub-species of a much larger group of eel-people. Topazial Anguillans, in particular, are based on a couple species of marine eels, especially Moray Eels. Their main defenses are meant to be through poison and toxins, not electricity.

As for the difference between Mermaids, Sea Nagas and Sea Krait Nagas...
- Bright, unique patterns and colorations
- Unique reproductive habits
- Family-oriented attitude, with tight-knit family groups
- Venemous spines
- Potentially toxic mucous layer on tail
- Interesting views on humans
- Cannot really move on land at all, since their tails lack scales or any kind of muscles that would allow them to move
- Do not need to breathe air (Both types of sea-going Nagas DO still need to surface for air at regular intervals)

Text restored to the OP with changes and tweaks. The excessively colorful eel-people have returned.

I'm not sure if its right to ask in this thread but are human size Anguillans able to eat prey of the same size like a naga? I'm mainly asking because I saw one do so in the upcoming Felarya game Seliky's Story