Venus Trap Spider Development

Character Bio: Venus Trap Spider

The Venus Trap Spider is named for the plant like mouth it uses to encapsulate its prey and inject them with venom, and its method of hunting. It uses its long, hooked legs to position itself in a downward facing spring like stance in the tree canopy. Once in position, it stays absolutely still, save for the sweet thick substance that drips from its mouth to the jungle floor. This substance contains a variety of scents and pheromones which attract a variety of creatures, however it also contains a paralytic which renders the victim unable to move for a few minutes after it has been ingested. Once the prey is directly underneath the Venus Trap Spider, it springs downwards with lightening speed, delivering multiple doses of toxin with its teeth and claws, or in the case of a Womp Runner, Swallowing them whole. It then pulls the creature up into the canopy, using a long thread attached to its abdomen much like a normal spider. The Venus Trap Spider sits at the top of the jungle food chain because of its high toxicity to other creatures, but it has still developed defence strategies to protect its eggs, which are not poisonous, from the likes of the Canopy Dragon. It does this by cocooning the tops of the trees, creating long upward leading funnels. Although the Canopy Dragon can cut through the web with its scythe like claws, it gives the Venus Trap Spider vital time to react and defend its young.

Branch Skimmer Development

Character Bio: Branch Skimmer

The Branch Skimmer is bipedal creature, however its legs are rarely used in the conventional sense. It spends most of its time residing in the upper canopies where fruits grow, and ripe Treesappers climb to reproduce, providing a rich bounty for them to feast upon. They are tall and slender, with very long, lean, multi-jointed limbs. They have two long fingers on each arm which can be used to dig Treesappers out from their reproductive burrows within the trees. At the end of their legs are two long toes. It has a long tail which has is used for balance and as an additional limb for gripping. They live in large and generally peaceful social groups. Their main predator is the Canopy Dragon, and the only defense that the Branch Skimmers have is their insane speed at navigating the canopy. Young Branch Skimmers are generally the victims of Canopy Dragon attacks. 

Reptilian Snufflehound Development

Character Bio: Reptilian Snufflehound

The Reptilian Snufflehound is a quadrupedal creature that lives in a dense otherworldly jungle. It feeds both on animals and insects making it omnivorous. It's favourite thing to eat is the Treesapper, which it sniffs out from their hiding places under the earth with their long, hypersensitive snouts. It has sharp serrated teeth like a saw, which along with its sharp claws are used to dig up the earth and tear through thick undergrowth. The Snufflehound has a boney ridge across its head, which protects it from brain damage if it bumps into a tree while it looks for food. Additionally, it has two eye shapes on this ridge which are much larger than its own eyes. This is a defence mechanism to scare off any would be predators by making it appear the Snufflehound is bigger than it really is, or to make the predator think it has been spotted and betray its position too early, allowing the Snufflehound to escape. The Snufflehound can move in short bursts of speed if it is hunting or agitated, however it generally stalks the jungle at a leisurely pace digging up Treesappers. The Snufflehound has bio-luminescent markings on its back, which change colour based on its surroundings. These help it blend in with the environment, a lot of which also gives off a bio- luminescent glow. During their courting ritual, the males bio-luminescent spots glow intensely in a variety of different colours, creating a spectacular light show. 

Additional Character Bios

Character Bio: Canopy Dragon

The Canopy Dragon is a large and ferocious hunter that resides in our Jungle environment. It has large wings which are attached to the tip of its tail, making it work like a glider. The Canopy Dragon hunts just about anything in the jungle, including the eggs of the deadly Venus Trap Spider. It uses its long scythe like claws to tear through flesh, bones, and any jungle vegetation that gets in its way. The Canopy Dragon positions itself high above its prey, camoflaged against the trees by its cape-like wing structure. It then silently glides towards its prey in a dive bomb style motion. The Canopy Dragon is a solitary creature, preferring to hunt alone. It even gets in fights to the death if it spots another Canopy Dragon on it's 'turf'. 

Character Bio: Treesapper

The Treesapper is an interesting creature, part plant and part parasitic insect. It grows as a seed from Treesapper trees, and drops to the ground. Once in the ground, it starts to grow by absorbing nutrients and water from the earth, much like a plant. After it reaches a certain size, it begins to dig itself up from the ground, and stalk the surface for other insects. During this period of growth, it will constantly burrow into the ground to hide, until it has reached the required level of nutrition. It will then begin its search for a suitable tree, which it will climb and burrow into using its sharp beak like mouth. Once inside the tree, it will cocoon itself and begin growing roots which penetrate deep into the host tree. The Treesapper will begin to grow branches out of the burrow entrance, and eventually completely engulf the host tree, turning it into another Treesapper Tree. Treesappers are generally hunted by the smaller creatures of the Jungle, with little means to defend itself save its beak, but a Canopy Dragon will also eat them if one crosses their path.

Character Bio: Swamp Shark

The Swamp Shark is an ambush hunter that resides in the swamp, attracting prey and camouflaging itself with a fleshy protrusion that looks and smells like a edible flower extending from the tip of its nose. Once its prey comes to feed on the flower, it uses its webbed tentacles like a spring and snatches the victim with its huge jaws. It lays eggs similar to frog spawn, and baby swamp sharks act like piranha, feeding on fish until it reaches maturity.

Character Bio: Lilypad Crab

The Lilypad Crab is an eight legged crustacean lives in swamps and ponds, with and upward facing mouth and tongue. It extends its tongue to the surface, where it looks like a stepping stone. Womp Runners often try to hop across ponds when being chased, mistaking the tongue as a path across. When they jump onto the tongue, it drags them down into its waiting jaws where it is swallowed whole and drowned.