Flying Swampsucker

Artwork

Weight:
5lbs

The **Flying Swampsucker** (*Lustrihirudo tardalibramus*) is an original species created and designed by TheAgent41. The Flying Swampsucker inhabits the *The Hole* universe, an original universe created by TheAgent41.

## Appearance and Anatomy

The flying swampsucker is a small leech-like organism in the suborder Xenohirudia. Its body measures approximately ten inches in length and weighs five pounds. The swampsucker's coloration is largely a medium grayish-brown broken up by a dark mottled brown on its back and a dark cream color on the underbelly.

Its cylindrical head features a large perfectly circular mouth armed with six black fangs that can be moved independently. Situated fairly far back on each side of the head are three heat pits.

The most notable feature of the swampsucker is its wings. The flippers commonly found on Utiliforamids have been extended greatly over the swampsucker's evolutionary history. Combined with thin membranes of skin stretched between the tip of the flipper and the base of the tail, the flying swampsucker has developed crude wings. However, despite its name, the flying swampsucker is not actually capable of true powered flight. Instead, it is capable of gliding through the swampy forests in which it lives.

## Ecology

### Behavior and Intelligence

The flying swampsucker is a largely arboreal species. Using the sticky mucus secreted by its epidermis, the swampsucker is capable of climbing trees with surprising speed for a swampsucker, clocking in at 0.75 miles per hour. Using its powerful tail and abdominal muscles, the swampsucker is capable of leaping off of a tree and extending its flippers, allowing it to glide for great distances through the canopy. The swampsucker is a masterful glider, its tiny brain being capable of calculating the distance to incoming objects and adjusting the shape and position of its "wings" for maneuverability.

### Diet

Flying swampsuckers have two main feeding methods. The first is the simplest. Inhabiting the air above the swamp floor are millions of microorganisms closely related to those eaten by the suneater. When gliding, the swampsucker will often attempt to drift through large clouds of these organisms, allowing it to consume large mouthfuls at a time. If the initial launch point was high enough and the swampsucker is agile enough, it may have time to circle around for a second pass.

The second feeding method concerns larger prey and is the namesake of all swampsuckers. When confronted with a larger creature that is as-of-yet unaware of its presence, the swampsucker will glide down to its body, latch on with its mouth, and immediately inject a special toxin that numbs the surrounding skin, preventing the prey from sensing the swampsucker. After the general area is numb, the flying swampsucker will, much like an Earth leech, begin to drink the blood of the prey organism. While Earth leeches would drink until they are sated, the swampsucker doesn't have this luxury as it has to remain light enough to get airborne.

### Reproduction

Like cerulean junglefiends, flying swampsuckers are normally solitary creatures, but they will meet together to mate. Unlike junglefiends, swampsuckers do not practice opportunistic mating behavior, instead having a defined mating season. Although this season is hard to pin down, it is thought to last several Earth days. During this time, swampsuckers will meet at a specific tree that acts as the official mating grounds across multiple generations.

Like many Achlysian species, the swampsucker is capable of taking in sperm from multiple partners to maximize genetic variability and the viability of its offspring. It is curious how this ability has evolved separately among multiple lineages. Once the group is gathered on the mating tree, individuals will attempt to attract mates by emitting sounds resembling the croaking of a frog. The combined croaks of hundreds of swampsuckers can be heard from up to a mile away. The swampsuckers who emit the loudest calls and who can hold them the longest appear to be the most attractive to mates.

When two individuals begin mating, they will glide from the mating tree and make their way to the water below. In the water, each individual will release a cloud of sperm from its mouth to be taken in by the other.

## Trivia

* The scientific name *Lustrihirudo tardalibramus* loosely translates from Latin as "slow-falling swamp leech".

## Gallery

Artwork