The Olgoi Khorkoi

Order: Deinovermia

Family: Trypanovermia

Genus: Atrocivermis

Some dangers lie hidden, far from view.

Immerse yourselves into the seas of Alladoras for a short while, as we observe a group of slurpfish, mostly females, swim over the sandbar in search of new feeding grounds. Their movements, combined with the Amaterasu, the sun, shining brightly overhead, cast a shadow onto the seafloor, which they hug tightly in their massive shoal.

One swims closely to the seafloor... and in a blink of an eye, a massive, serpentine form erupts out of the sea floor, with a plume of sand concealing it. The last thing that unlucky slurpfish saw were three, massive fangs, which caught the pelagys in its grip, dragging it into the sea floor, disappearing as fast as it appeared.

That horrifying sight was the act of the olgoi-khorkhoi (large-intestine worm in Mongolian, taken from one of the names of the famous Mongolian Death Worm), a large, underground predator that reaches lengths of up to 7 metres (which is mostly hidden underground, and its body itself is not very thick in diameter) and is the very largest of the bullworm clade, which it belongs to. A far cry from its humble, burrowing relatives, the olgoi-khorkhoi is nightmare fuel in its rawest form. Hiding within substrate with only its head poked out, it detects movement through its antenna and shadows through its small eyes, allowing it to track prey and distinguish between viable prey items or those too large to eat; if it finds viable prey items at a close enough distance, it promptly launches out of the seafloor to take its catch, everting its huge mandibles. Tooth-like projections jut out of the front of the jaw, which allows it to capture prey, and a serrated blade at the posterior end of the fangs allow it to slice prey, which it digests underground, out of sight. A specialised throat full of teeth allow it to process prey further and guide it through its gullet, where it gets digested for a long time; it may take a week or more to fully digest prey.

Bullworms generally are worm-like with simple anatomy and metabolisms, which allow them to hunt very infrequently; the olgoi-khorkhoi actually spends 86% of its time digesting prey, with the remaining being either relocating, hunting or spawning, and spend most of their time burrowing or exploring. The olgoi-khorkhoi is no different; it typically burrows underground to travel out of sight, using its parapodia to displace substrate to aid in movement.

A different challenge from simple sand and other related kinds of substrate, carpgrass poses a unique problem for the large bullworm. Traveling directly underneath them would be very tough for such a large creature as the roots intertwine and pack up substrate. By twisting its body like a drill, with the serrations at the front cutting through the roots, it can break through the roots, which also aerate the substrate and allow for easier movement. In a strange way, this nightmare fuel of a creature also acts as an important keystone species for the carpgrass, aerating the substrate underneath, while the gallantee frees up space on the surface layer of substrate. Their actions help aerate the substrate, promoting nutrient flow, and allowing plants to grow in greater quantities.

Another unusual trait of the olgoi-khorkhoi is its reproduction. Usually, it occurs sexually through the release of their free-swimming gametophore appendages at the tip of their tails (not seen here), but it also may occur asexually, through the physical dismemberment of their body. These are capable of regenerating into whole new individuals themselves. It also may serve as a defence mechanism, where they self-amputate themselves to avoid getting killed by a predator which may have unearthed them from the sea floor. Even if they were to be discovered, they have foul-tasting flesh, which is how they avoid being hunted. Their young do not have the same privileges as the adults do, and are consumed by a wide variety of pelagys.

Even if it appears like something out of a nightmare, the olgoi-khorkhoi is still a unique predator which various unique traits. From its asexual reproduction, size and hunting strategy, it is a strange creature, which could be considered alien even on an alien planet. A wonderfully horrifying nightmare that lurks out of sight, the olgoi-khorkhoi truly deserves a title of being the most nightmarish species from Alladoras.