Frozen Leviathan

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   <default>Frozen Leviathan</default>
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</image> <label>Age</label> <label>Status</label> <label>Biome</label> <label>Length</label> <label>Coordinates</label> <label>GoTo</label> <label>Debug Spawn</label> </infobox> The Frozen Leviathan is the body of a leviathan class creature located within a large wall of ice in a Glacial Basin cave.

Appearance

The Frozen Leviathan is a heavily-built creature with a broad body, four limbs and a long tail. Running from just behind the shoulders to near the end of the tail is a row of large overlapping plates which gradually decrease in size as they move towards the tail. The tail is somewhat flattened and around the same length as the body, with a small projection from the end on the ventral side to assist with propulsion.

Its four limbs are heavily muscled and each ends with a five-digited hand, although the fifth digits on the hind legs appear to be vestigial. Each digit is tipped with a large claw. Additionally, on the undersides of each forelimb are three plates resembling those seen on the back. There is a small amount of webbing between the digits.

The head is broad, relatively flat and has a wide mouth filled with thin, long teeth; 34 in the lower jaw and 40 in the upper, for a total of 74. Placed behind the mouth on each side is a large sickle-shaped bony plate which projects straight forwards from the head. Another structure which is similar to these plates but smaller and pointing backwards rather than forwards is found further back on the head. The eyes are side-mounted and deeply recessed into the head.

The creature is noticeably infected with Kharaa.

In Life

The Leviathan specimen's species and age is currently unknown, but to be infected with Kharaa the individual creature must have been alive any time between 1000 years ago and now.

Based on their highly muscular limbs it is quite possible that this creature was capable of of climbing onto and supporting its body on land. Though due to the creature's considerable bulk it is unlikely that it would have hunted on land. Most likely only coming onto land to rest.

The long thin teeth resemble those of large piscivorous animals, so the creature's diet was likely composed largely of much smaller creatures than itself. It is possible that the two bony plates found either side of the mouth could be moved by the creature and used to corral groups of fish into the mouth. An alternative usage for these plates could have been breaking sea ice in order to come up and rest.

Design

The Frozen Leviathan has an appearance similar to that of the ancient amphibian Wikipedia:Eryops, though far stockier and with a much longer tail. They share a similar body plan and a very similar head and tooth shape and potentially an amphibious lifestyle.