Sandworm

Sandworm - Cestafiti

*Eremedenti Maxima*

Animal, Worm

* Largest Recorded Height: 2 metres

* Average Length: 14 metres

* Largest Recorded Length: 20 metres
* Average Width: 1metre
* Largest Recorded Width: 2metres

* Average Life Expectancy: 7 years

* Longest Recorded Lifespan: 10 years

## Description

The Sandworm is a large burrowing animal, something like a cross between a worm and a snake, which lives in the desert of Calsunaria. Its slightly leathery skin is a light shade of brown, similar in colour to the sand itself, and it possesses four large black eyes (two on each side) which have three eyelids each. The mouth of the Sandworm has three sets of teeth. The front set are large, round-tipped and smooth, shaped like shovels, which helps them burrow through the sand. This front set can be retracted into the gums, as it gets in the way of the next two sets. The first is made up of sharp teeth designed to tear and chew flesh, and the second set is made up of flatter, wider teeth designed to crush and crunch plant and bone.

The Sandworm does not have very good vision despite its numerous eyes, however it has an exceptional sense of smell and hearing, and it can detect vibrations from movements on the surface up to half a mile away. It spends the vast majority of its life underground, only coming above the surface to hunt. Sandworms are excellent at burrowing through the desert sand, however they struggle with denser earth, which limits their range solely to the sands.

Sandworms are primarily ambush predators, who move to intercept prey they detect on the surface by calculating which direction they are travelling in and estimating their trajectory, lying in wait ahead of their prey's path and coiled up just beneath the surface, ready to pounce. They are usually more successful at predicting the trajectory of larger animals, as these tend to change direction less frequently. When the prey is very close, ideally straight overhead, the Sandworm bursts out of the sand and clamps their jaws around the prey. Using this method, Sandworms are the only animals known to be able to successfully hunt the huge Qalurans, as they have virtually no defence whatsoever against this sudden hidden attack straight at their soft bellies. The vast corpse of a Qaluran can feed a Sandworm for about two months.

Sandworms mix the layers of sand through their burrowing behaviour, which mainly serves to cycle around water within the sand. This helps the few stubborn plants that live in the desert survive, and it also helps smaller burrowing animals find water, as well as cooling down the surface layer.

Sandworms have permeable skin, which can lead to rapid dehydration if they are somehow stuck on the surface, but it allows them to drink through burrowing deep underground to find water and simply soaking it up through osmosis. This deep, wet layer of sand is also where they lay their eggs, which have very permeable and almost transparent shells.

## As Food

The meat of the Sandworm is extremely unappealing, and most feel nauseous after eating it, however it smells like beef when cooked. The meat contains a poison which gives the victim diarrhoea and makes them vomit, dehyrdrating them very quickly. There is no known cure to the poison, and the only way to cure it is to keep drinking lots of water and wait for 2-3 days.

## Conservation

Since the Sandworm's meat is inedible, it is not hunted, however they are extremely destructive pests and are usually killed on sight. Despite this, their numbers are still quite healthy, as one Sandworm lays many eggs, and they have no natural predators. Sandworms have also learnt to keep out of the way of Humans to avoid being hunted.