Rabid Cave Scaleworm

Caves pose great challenges to life that is swept into them. Perpetual darkness and scarcity of food results in the death of most fauna that end up inside their depths. Every now and again, though, a species will not only find itself to be able to survive and adapt to its new dark desert, but to even thrive as well. The Rabid Cave Scaleworm, for example, has managed to do just that. It feeds on whatever potential food that may wash its way into the cave from the outside, living in and near the waters that pool within the lava tube so as to have good access to whatever has been swept inside. Its exoskeleton is now covered in fine, delicate hair-like filaments which detect even the slightest of movements in the still air. Its body has lost most of its pigmentation, now having a grey and white exoskeleton and light pink tissue in-between its segments. Its eyes are greatly reduced but still functional, as they occasionally end up near the cave mouth where faint sunlight may filter in, in order to scavenge there.

Rabid Cave Scaleworms reproduce in the still waters of the pools that naturally form inside the cave and, because of the conditions found within, develop slowly compared to their surface dwelling ancestors. Young stay in the water for months before they are able to reach full size. Should they manage to survive on the scarce resources within their pool, they will eventually venture out onto dry land. Adults reach maturity quickly and will live up to 5 local years given stable food supplies.