Giant Lactismid

The Giant Lactismid (Polycnemis ayhani) is a species of polycnemid within the lactismids (Lactismida). It is the largest known terrestrial carnivore on Phtanum B and is considered an apex predator. Giant Lactimids usually prey on all sorts of animals inbetween human sized and their own size, and live solitary lives.

## Characteristics

Giant lactismids are the largest known terrestrial predators on Phtanum B, reaching lengths between 25 and 31.1 meters (82 - 102 ft) and weighing between 70 and 150 tons, though most individuals tend to be closer to the lower area of that range. Record sizes of up to 40 meters long have been reported, but remain dubious and doubtful.

Giant lactismids have charred-grey to fully black colored skin, and a bright yellow-beige spot on their necks and frontal corpus backside. These bright spots might also occasionally appear on other parts of the body, mostly in older individuals. The overall dark color is caused by symbiotic unicellular autotrophs in the deuvertebrate´s skin, which have a dark color. Giant lactismids which emerge without these autotrophs have a more beige-ish color. While these pseudoalbinistic lactismids usually live fairly alright, they are far more prone to malnourishment.

The radiom is softly hooked and slightly slanted in shape. Giant lactismids have 26 outer legs and 28 inner legs, 13 and 14 on each side respectively. The corpus itself is elongated, and the genitalia are very close to the rear end of the organism. A keel-like structure known as the carinate extends downwards from the sarcophagus, and the sarcophagal cranium has grown to make space for a larger brain chamber. The brains of giant lactismids are fairly large in relation to body size, and the areas regarding cognitive understanding and memory are enlarged in relation to other lactismids.

## Range and Habitat

The giant lactismid inhabits mostly warm- to temperate regions in the lowlands. Giant lactismids do not inhabit the most northwards regions of Vastum erythra, their range westward is limited by mountain ranges, their range eastward limited by ocean. The lowlands that giant lactismids prefer to inhabit are dotted with smaller forests inbetween, presenting a great source for food. However due to their size, giant lactismids are limited to the open spaces of the red lowlands to move.

## Lifestyle

### Social Behavior

Giant Lactismids are solitary animals, usually avoiding individuals of their own kind. Most of the time, they are constantly on a search for food in order to sustain their massive bodies, foraging through underbrush on the edges of forests or looking for larger animals in the open spaces of the lowlands. Giant lactismids are fairly intelligent, studying their environment or potential agressors carefully. At times, they can be observed "playing" with their prey in a quite brutal manner, though these prey animals are usually eaten later.

### Hunting and Feeding

Giant lactismids are opportunistic hunters, usually eating every type of prey available to them. This ranges from around human-sized organisms up to deuvertebrates their own size. This not only includes deuvertebrates themselves but also xenicozoophytes. Sometimes, giant lactismids attempt to take down adult giant castlewalkers, though these attempts largely end in failure. Giant lactismids will occasionally feed on carrion and already dead animals if the chance presents itself, chasing away any other big carnivores feasting on the kill. Giant Lactismids are endurance hunters, pursuing prey along for quite some distance, but can reach up to 85 km/h (60 mph) during top speeds for a short time while pursuing.

Polycnemids are famous for their unique way of killing larger prey by running them over and crushing them under their heavy body weight - and Giant Lactismids are no exception to that. Smaller prey gets speared up by the phalanxes and inserted into the mouth hole.

### Reproduction and Growth

Giant lactismids show very little sexual dimorphism. A, B, and AB-Individuals are near-identical visually and the differences only recognizabe via a closer look at the genitalia to determine the exact sex. Giant lactismids release about 6500 polyps into the air post mating, of which about 80 make it to the mobile lifecycle stage. Giant lactismids stay in their polyp stage for about 3.5 years. Young giant lactismids which only recently emerged from the polyp phase are potential prey to other large predators. Giant Lactismids reach their maximum size after about 7.5 years, and can live up to the ripe old age of 12.5 years.

## Human Interaction

### Giant Lactismids in Captivity

Attempts to raise giant lactismids in captivity for the purpose of being kept in zoos have been conducted multiple times, each one unsuccessful. This has multiple reasons. Giant lactismids need enormous amounts of free space to roam due to their size, and the intelligence of giant lactismids might pose a serious risk to visitors or the staff themselves. Giant lactismids were able to be kept in enclosures during their polyp stage, but shortly after reaching the mobile stage seem to die mysteriously, most likely due to complications from stress or due to needing extremely specific conditions. An event involving the death of 19 staff members and 129 visitors during an accident with an adult giant latismid in captivity completely shut down the public´s longing for giant lactismids in zoos. Ever since then it was strictly forbidden to keep giant latismids in captivity, and any experiments to do so have ceased.

### Encounters in the Wild

While encounters with giant lactismids in the wild are rare and are avoided as much as possible, confrontations are close to inevitable in some cases. Giant lactismids have a certain respect of humans and the technology they posess, but do not hesitate to get violent in order to defend themselves or to keep them out of their territory. Giant lactismids are fairly unpredictable in cases of confrontation, some minding humans in a peaceful manner and being merely curious about them, while others immediately attack any near them. There are also multiple instances of "fencebreaching", where giant lactimids occasionally storm through weakly protected human outposts to at times seemingly kill for fun.