Lyk-gogga

"Oh, that's a big bug. That's a very big bug." - Lokke Eastwood upon encountering a female Lyk-gogga  

Though often thought of as ghost-like creatures, Lyk-gogga are in fact a species of purely physical animals with no supernatural qualities outside of their large size. Neither an insect nor an arachnid, Lyk-gogga stands in their own special subphylum of terrestrial arthropod. With a drastically different morphology between the male and females of the species.

 

The Females

A hard slap in the face to conventional science's oxygen size hypothesis for arthropods, female Lyk-gogga are large, slightly bigger than an average pickup truck, and are the dominant sex. Her general body shape resembles that of a large spider, only split into three segments like an insect. Possessing ten limbs in total, consisting of eight legs and two forelimbs, protected by a chitinous exoskeleton. Body coloration is mainly a sandy-brown color to better blend in with the dry grass of the savannas she usually calls home in the wild. With white markings on the underside of the abdomen. The back and legs are covered in sharp, upwards-curving spines along with sensory hairs. The armor of the abdomen's underside is considerably softer than the rest of the exoskeleton and houses most of the vital organs. The foregut extends the whole length of the monster and can be used to store prey for digestion later. Respiration occurs through small, valved orifices known as spiracles on the sides of the abdomen. A series of spinnerets at the end of the abdomen allow her to make silk strands in a wide angle from behind. Though Lyk-gogga are incapable of making sticky webs like most spiders can.

Aside from their eight legs, female Lyk-gogga are additionally armed with a pair of raptorial forelimbs, which show convergence with those of common mantids, including a series of spiny protrusions lining the inner arms. Twice the length of her legs, these forelimbs usually stay folded up beside the head and are solely used for hunting instead of locomotion, as well as to manipulate objects in the environment. The ends of these forelimbs are shaped like skinning knives and are vital to creating her infamous defense mechanism.

Two large forward-facing spikes are located on the back of the thorax and reach over the head. These two horns are venomous and are used to deter predators from rushing a Lyk-gogga head-on as she can use them as lances. The head is round with two wide mandible plates forming her mouth. She has four complex eyes, two on each side of her face that are a beautiful pearlescent pink. These complex eyes have tapetum lucidum behind the retina. Creating the phenomena known as eyeshine when exposed to bright light. It also gives her superior night vision. In the middle of her head is a triangle of simple, light-sensitive eyes. Just behind the mouth is the genital opening, leading to two seminal receptacles (spermathecae) in which females store sperm recieved from the male. Four shallow niches surround the genital slit and serve as footholds for the male to cling to during mating.

Lyk-gogga hemolymph possesses red hemoglobin like humans and most animals. Indicating a high level of iron content and increased ability for oxygenation. The blood's increased ability to carry oxygen more efficiently may explain how Lyk-gogga managed to reach the massive sizes they do.

 

The Males

"I hate bugs." - A dwarf after killing a swarm of male Lyk-gogga

 

The male Lyk-gogga is drastically different from the females. Roughly the size of a common house cat, he is dwarfed by his better half, but still quite large for an arthropod. With a thin body shape, he more closely resembles winged insects like lacewings and wasps. He only has six limbs compared to the female's ten. He has four legs and two wings, allowing him the advantage of flight. His head is elongated and tube-shaped, hidden beneath a large, armored canopy that extends far beyond the rest of his upper body. Serving a similar purpose to the twin thorax horns of the female, only lacking the venom. The shell, which is covered in spines and knobs, is an iridescent navy blue whose luster is reminiscent of gemstones. The wings are a flamboyantly orange color. The male Lyk-gogga is capable of highly precise movement in the air, thanks to his highly-developed wings. His metabolism is very energy efficient. Allowing him to travel great distances in search of a female to mate with without stopping to rest. His forelimbs are designed for jabbing and slashing, and will also spear his prey with his armored canopy. Lacking the knife-like weapons of the females, he is instead armed with hooked claws used to cling to trees or the underside of the females during mating. The abdomen of the males is stretched out into a segmented tail. He too breathes through valved spiracles on the sides of each abdominal segment. The end of the tail houses the aedeagi, the male's reproductive organs. This organ is flanked by a clasping, two-fingered claw. Special muscles allow him to lock this pincer shut to secure himself to the female's reproductive organ.

Lyk-gogga mate during the fall. Mating is an extremely dangerous affair for the male Lyk-gogga. Just like black widow spiders and mantids, females are renowned man-eaters and are several times larger than subordinate males.

When the time is ready, the female releases pheromones that attract a potential mate. These pheromones travel great distances on the wind where they will eventually be detected by a male. The male will fly to her nest and waits outside. He needs to know if the female has eaten recently before he makes his move. If there is no immediate risk of being eaten, he will get her attention by plucking on the tripwires outside her nest. Once the female realizes she has a suitor calling on her doorstep, she will come to the entrance of her nest and watch. Now the male must woo her. He begins a mating dance. Performing dance patterns, wings may be fluttered or moved in circles, or short flights may occur. Specific rituals must be precise routines in order for him to win the female's affection.

If she is receptive, the female will allow her new consort to climb up her. He will cling to her underside by several small niches in her armor and insert his tail into her genital opening on the underside of her head. Special muscles in his tail will constrict that locks his pincer shut. Anchoring himself inside the female and making him impossible to pry out. The aedeagi will begin to transfer his sperm to the female, creating the next generation of the species.

While this event is the culmination of the male's life, it can often be his end as well. With his tail firmly fastened to the female's reproductive organ, his body is now perilously close to the female's mouth. If at any point during coitus, the female decides that he's worth more to her as extra calories, there is little he can do to escape. The silver lining is that her bite will sever the tail from the body when she devours him. Still locked in place, the tail will continue to hang from the female. Even without a brain to control them, specialized muscles will continue to pump the male's sperm in the spermathecae of the female. Guaranteeing that the male's sacrifice was not in vain. It will continue its work until the muscles holding the pincer shut eventually relax after a few days. Letting the spent tail drop limply off the female.

Now comes the hard part. Once her eggs are laid, a female will not leave her nest until they hatch so she will need to stockpile food. She begins to hunt and consume in excess, far more frequently than usual. Most of the nutrients she intakes will go to the development of her babies, the rest she stores in her foregut for herself. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she weaves a large egg sack to place them in. The larger size of the females is usually a good predictor of potential fecundity. Typically, they can lay up to 600 at a time. The larger females are more sensitive to environmental changes which determine the gender of their offspring. Organization scientists have determined that the gender ratio of the eggs averages around 50 males to 1 female. In times of scarcity, the females usually produce larger clutches of male offspring to spread their genes and then produce smaller batches of the more costly, slow-growing females when resources are sufficient. The female will attach her egg sack to her abdomen and enter a hibernation-like state through the winter. Surviving off the nutrients she stored in the fall. In spring, she will awake and her eggs will hatch.

The larger females take twice the time of the males to grow and mature.

In the wild, Lyk-gogga can be found in the arid southern regions of Africa. Female Lyk-gogga make their nests in caves. Selecting for ones with a singular entrance sizable enough for their entire mass to occupy any available breathing room. This is so that if the Lyk-gogga is confronted by something trying to enter her nest, she can effectively use her body as a door to block the entrance. Making it impossible to circumvent her and the only available option a direct assault. Where she can effectively use her venomous thorax horns to repel her attackers. She will coat the inside of her nest with a layer of silk threads to make it comfortable and she makes a network of smaller threads that extend beyond the nest's entrance. If an animal were to disturb one of these threads, it sends vibrations down into the nest, alerting the Lyk-gogga. This network of tripwires can serve as either an early warning system or a dinner bell. Like a spider, Lyk-gogga can ascertain the size and weight of an interloper based on the strength of the vibrations. This preference for cramped environments has made the Lyk-gogga very successful at survival within the narrow hallways of the Trench. Due to their preference for potential nests to have only one entrance, many females in the Lower Levels and Abyssal Prison choose to make their home inside vacant containment cells. They will defend and use these empty cells just as stubbornly as they would a cave in their natural environment. But assuming that the cell's structure is undamaged and the necessary systems still have power, this can be used against them.   Male Lyk-gogga are more free-spirited and have no set territories. Following the migration paths of their prey or the scent trails of the females. They are most active during the day. Flying low over the savanna for hours at a time in search of food. When not flying or eating, they can be found clinging to trees or rock formations as they rest. Due to a highly aggressive nature and appetite, male Lyk-gogga can be extremely destructive to their environment. Luckily, they are kept in check by a high mortality rate and an abundance of predators. Both monsters and regular animals like large predatory felines.

Outside of their aforementioned proclivity for sexual cannibalism, female Lyk-gogga are opportunistic ambush predators who specialize in hunting large prey. In the wild, their prey consists of rhinos, cape buffalo, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, lions, domestic and wild cattle, young hippos, and baby elephants if they can take them. This diet of large game also includes native monster species such as emela-ntouka. Their time in the Trench has shown that they aren't too picky about what species they eat as long as it is in the equivalent size range of their usual prey. Their hunting strategy differs greatly depending on the time of day. During daylight hours, when they are mostly resting inside their nest, they behave in a similar manner to trapdoor spiders. If prey disturbs her tripwires, she will rush out of their nest's entrance, subdue the prey animal, and drag them back into the nest. During the nighttime, the Lyk-gogga will leave her nest and actively search for prey. As she hunts for prey as large, powerful, and potentially dangerous as herself, a female Lyk-gogga must be cautious when hunting. When she spots nearby prey, she will posture herself using her limbs and shroud of skin camouflage so she resembles the general shape of the animal. Mimicking their behavior as she slowly approaches her target. She will continue this ruse until she is close enough to strike with her extended mantid-like raptorial forelimbs. Using them like spears to puncture the tough hides of her preferred prey species or impale them upon the spiny insides of the arm by gripping. Keeping them at arm's length and well away from her head and vital parts while doing so. If prey puts up a considerable fight, she may engage in a behavior similar to antlions known as prey-beating. In which, she repeatedly thumps seized animals against the ground. This helps her spiny bits dig deeper into the prey as well as disorientating them and preventing them from escaping. The prey will usually die from blunt-force trauma, puncturing of a vital organ, or exsanguination. A Lyk-gogga will not begin to consume her prey until she is sure that they are good and dead. Assuming she does not skin them first, Lyk-gogga feeds in a manner similar to crabs in which she shreds her food into tiny bits with her thick mandibles and consumes them. Thanks to the size of her food and her extended foregut, female Lyk-gogga are intermittent feeders who can go for extended periods without food by storing nutrients inside them for later use. Despite their unsettling appearance, female Lyk-gogga typically do not attack humans or humanoid species unless she considers them a threat or is starving due to a lack of acceptable prey in the area. But, they do make an exception for the blind, humanoid Crawlers and in some areas will routinely select them for predation. The frequency at which Lyk-gogga hunts for Crawlers suggests that they actually find the oily taste of Crawler meat pleasant.   Male Lyk-gogga are hyper-aggressive predators and much less concerned by their prey's size than females. As stated above, they will attack almost anything they encounter, including humans. They kill their prey by slashing with their sharp limbs or by rushing them from above in a kamikaze dive to spear them with the pointed hood of their carapace.

Twice a year, primarily at the start of spring and late summer, adult Lyk-gogga of both sexes molt. Shedding their exoskeleton and allowing them to grow. Once the old has been cast off, the Lyk-gogga will take refuge in their nests or other safe space as their new armor is very soft and needs time to harden. Even the normally belligerent males will be hesitant to attack until their shells are hard enough to effectively protect them. As stated above, their mating season is in the fall and both sexes will exhibit an increase in their hunting behaviors. Brooding females will hibernate through winter and reawaken in spring when their eggs hatch.

"Does that rhino look funny to you?" - An African hunter observing a disguised female Lyk-gogga in the wild   Despite being an armored arthropod the size of a pickup truck, the female Lyk-gogga does have predators to contend with and has developed one of the most disturbing ways to do so. Which is the main cause for the species' dreadful reputation and monikers. Female Lyk-gogga skin their prey using the knife-like ends of their raptorial forelimbs and drape the flayed skin over their bodies. Piercing it on their armor's hook-like spines to hold it in place. When confronted they will posture their bodies to mimic the skinned animal as best they can. The skin-wearing habit also doubles as an olfactory disguise as the skin masks the scent of the Lyk-gogga with either the smell of the victim animal or rotten meat. This behavior is known as corpse camouflage. The reason they do this is to avoid predation as most of their predators will ignore individuals with this corpse camouflage but attack those without it. It may be that predators do not recognize camouflaged individuals as prey. Once her grisly shroud begins to putrify, the Lyk-gogga will replace it with that of the next acceptable prey she catches. Female Lyk-gogga do not feed on carrion as they associate the smell with either another female Lyk-gogga or that their camouflage is beginning to go bad. Prolonged exposure to the odor may trick her into shedding her corpse coat and search for a new one. Females are normally docile to humans and humanoids and, despite their large size advantage, will normally flee when aproached. Unless, she feels threatened or is starving.   Males do not share this docile temperament and can be dangerous if one is unprepared. Fragile but agile, the male Lyk-gogga can be taken down in relatively few shots even with low-caliber or melee weapons. They are, however, extremely fast, hit fairly hard, and fond of a "dive-bombing" tactic where the male circles his target and rushes in to hit once before returning to circling. They can be a harsh problem due to their speed and erratic movements. Beligerint, they will not abandon an attack unless they or their target is killed

The hard, jewel-like carapaces of the males are highly prized.

Male Lyk-gogga are little more than chemically powered robots that react to scent cues in their environment. While females show a great deal of intelligence for arthropods. Capable of creating traps out of their environment as well as being able to identify a multitude of different species and their behaviors as well as successfully mimic them.

Females possess remarkably good eyesight for an arthropod and superb night vision. The sensory hairs dotted across her shell are sensitive to vibrations in the air and ground. This sensitivity to vibrations and touch also extends to the silk threads she lays down around her nest. Allowing her to detect approaching visitors without seeing or smelling them. As Lyk-gogga primarily use pheromones to detect things in their environment and signal each other across vast distances, both sexes have advanced olfactory senses with the males having the better sense of the two. He is able to pick out the female's scent even from the smell of her camouflage, which normally even her predators cannot do. Outside of pheromonal communication, Lyk-gogga can vocalize to each other. Little is known about what their communications mean as their vocalizations are in the ultrasonic range.

A common misconception about Lyk-gogga that has arisen due to the females' ghastly appearance when wearing the, sometimes rotting, skins of their victims, is that they are undead. This assumption has caused many undead species to resent Lyk-gogga. Viewing them as impostors. The prevalent belief in this urban legend is an interesting case in how legends form and it seems that even supernatural beings aren't immune to the power of rumors.