The King of The Momotaron Mangroves

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by JohnMKieley0

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First in pool

Edonauts Field Guide

1 in pool

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Gashadokuro
Family Placodermidae

Cruising through the waterways of Momotaro's Mangrove swamps is the king of the planet's fish, the forty foot long Gashadokuro. Belonging to a family of fish distinguishable by the armor plating which covers their bodies, this species stands apart from the rest with its skeletal patterns which provide camouflage in the silty waters and the massive tooth plates extending from its jaws. These plates continue to grow throughout the fish's life (similar to rodents) and due to the action of opening and closing its mouth, remain permanently sharp, aided by jaw muscles that act like a spring-loaded trap. Few prey escape due to the great beast's mouth opening within one third of a second, creating a force of suction which pulls it into its bladed maw.

Due to its prey also possessing armor plating (like the schooling Mekkoupai and slow grazing Azukiarai), Gashadokuro are one of the few species of fish native to their home planet that have a gag-reflex. This enables them to regurgitate the indigestible parts of its meal. Due to the silt stirred from the swamp bed and shadows cast by giant tree roots, these fish have large pale eyes adapted to see in low light and a keen sense of smell. Many fisher-mammals have been injured by juvenile Gashadokuro as they're hauled into the boat, so to better handle them, fish hooks are designed in a way to insure that only small ones are caught.

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