Saltwater Puppetfish

“No sooner had the alert been sounded, a body afloat in the open sea, myself ready to assist in its retrieval, when I was suddenly stopped. The Captain had wisely recognised, the body was not truly in peril, it was the lure of a much darker creature.”

- Explorations of the Tordronnen Coastline, by Leopold Der Vitner

Overview

The saltwater variant of the Puppetfish, this creature is much larger in size than its freshwater counterpart. They also share the chromatic cells and propensity to hunt through the mimicking of humanoids stranded in the water. Encounters with the Saltwater Puppetfish have become something of a horror tale told by sailors and fishermen of the coasts of Imerathan, noting both the eerie lures and overall aggression.

Anatomy and Morphology

The Saltwater Puppetfish is much larger than its freshwater cousin. The mantle of the Saltwater Puppetfish is the shape of an elongated egg, with two large eyes and slim fins either side, and a wider fan of fins at the top. From the mantle are 8 arms, each lined with powerful suckers and small viscous hooks. From the tip of their arms to its head, they can grow to approximately 10 feet. Alongside the arms are 2 further tentacles which are nearly double the length of the arms, each ending in a splayed out fin, intended to mimic that of a humanoid corpse. Similarly to the arms, the underside of the splayed fin is also covered in the hooks, allowing them to swiftly grip onto any prey, and drag it down into the depths and towards the beak. House at the base of the mantle tucked between the arms is a large, razor sharp circular beak. 

As well as these already formidable features, the Saltwater Puppetfish also has chromatic cells across its body, allowing it to camouflage in the water. These not only allow for it to become near invisible to prospective prey, but also allows it to communicate with others of its kind. The use of flashes of colours across their body communicates during an array of situations including when hunting and during mating season, and to ward off potential threats to their food.

Perception and Senses

Another feature these Puppetfish share with the Freshwater species is their wide visual range. They are able to perceive both ultraviolet and infrared light. They are also able to use both their mantle fins and their long tentacles to sense changes in the water currents, alerting them to nearby opportunities to hunt.

Habitat, Diet and Hunting 

The Saltwater Puppet fish is considered an open ocean creature, seldom making their way into any sort of shallow waters of the coastline.  While not considered social creatures, they do live in large groups of 50-100 all living, hunting and feeding as a swarm.

They are entirely carnivorous and will eat any creature they are able to capture. With the use of their lure this typically includes seabirds, and fish. However this species is not above cannibalism and any weaker or injured members of the swarm could find themselves on the menu at a moment's notice.

The most favoured prey appears to be that of people - those lured into the water thinking they are rescuing another, only to be immediately swarmed and shredded. They have clearly learned to associate the presence of boats and ships with this particular prey and will actively jostle and bump into smaller vessels in hopes of dislodging someone overboard. Likewise should one be mistakenly pulled aboard a fishing vessel the Puppetfish will always attempt to drag any person it can catch back into the water with it.