The Murazha

Order: Doryrostriformes

Family: Praetoridae 

Genus: Temnotelum

The barrier reefs of the Equatorial Triplets are among the largest builderworm reefs on Alladoras.  Massive colonies of builderworms craft interconnected tubes that form large reefs. Alongside these barrier reefs, the diverse carpgrass prairies provide life for many species of pelagys and jetgillers. However, farther from the coast, some of these regions suddenly drop from shallower depths to extremely depths. These undersea drop-offs provide a stark contrast from the plentiful reefs to the deep, dark depths.

By the drop-offs itself, there is life in the form of pelagys, sessile organisms and the hardiest varieties of flora. However, there is a predator that lurks in these areas and specialises for life here. You could say that it acts as the apex predator of the drop-off. Not a pelagys, but a 2.8 metre long, predatory jetgiller: The murazha (Temnotelum posaidonus).

The murazha is a very intimidating predator. Its beak is hooked and serrated, while its lower jaws have large, canine-like projections at the ends. Its three tongues, usually curled up when the mouth is closed, are lined with a row of serrated teeth — a truly intimidating and gnarly look. Its demeanour befits its imposing appearance, for it is aggressive and snappy when not hunting, and will not hesitate to break away from slow, leisurely swimming using their dorsal and ventral fins to bolt at you using their powerful jetlungs. For that is how it hunts prey in its gloomy habitat.

A social predator, the murazha associates with its own species in groups of around 5-8. While not pack hunters sensu stricto, they may cooperate or share food when their quarry is especially large, however, they usually hunt for themselves. Predominantly slow swimmers, the jetgiller swim close to the drop-off face and never stray far into open water. They rely on their dark grey colouration in order to hide amongst the rocks of the drop-off, with their piercing, yellow glare scanning the environment for prey that strays out to these habitats. However, when an individual is hunting, it becomes extra alert for prey. For when they do, they rely on the element of surprise and thus swim away from their group to intercept prey.

For example — a crescentjack shoal. While more agile and possessing more endurance than the murazha, it lacks the murazha's explosive bursts of speed. Sucking in water through its intake spiracles, it blasts water out from its exhaust spiracles. In a split second, it exploded into a lightning-fast blur, capturing a crescentjack in its mouth. The beak traps the crescentjack — so it cannot move — while it swims back to the group and begins to tear into the prey alive with its spine-tipped tongue, passing pieces of flesh into its throat. Of course, some competition may occur among its associates, but it has made a kill for itself to eat. A truly skilled ambush predator.

Bearing the title of the largest predatory jetgiller, it is a reminder of the time when the jetgiller clade used to rule supreme in the seas of Alladoras, overshadowing the pelagys. However, after a mass extinction 280 million years ago, they have since become smaller and live in the shadows of the pelagys. The murazha remains one of the few species of a clade of predators, relegating itself to the drop-offs, where they use their explosive speed to great effect.