Kerins - hyacinthum ungue

-Location

Kerins lived in the deep underground caverns of planet Irk. These caves are called the Rupen Caverns for their glowing crystals that appear throughout the cave. These crystals glow a bright (1300-15000Lumens) blue due to their radioactive properties . The caverns have minimal entries and are about 1.8 miles (2.89 km) under Irk's surface. Most to all tunnels are interconnected along with having underground rivers. The ice cold rivers (16Celceus) come in from the surface with a high oxygen and nitrogen levels in which help aerate the caverns. With out the rivers the life giving air would be depleted and many cavern dwellers would suffocate.

-Characteristics

Kerins typically range from a Aqua green to a light blue skin tone. They have internal sex organs, they are non-mammals and are more closely related to arachnids. Kerins have black antennae with white fluff-like feelers that grows out of them in patches. These antenna can sense movement and sound while their feelers are used to communicate and track other Kerins using pharamones and scent. Males have larger fluff on their antennae then females the larger the length of fluff the easier to find prey and other kerins. Female antennae have a tint of color on the ends of the fluff the reason for this is also have large blinking eyes, an the color can be shades of yellow or light blue. With these specialized eyes they can see up to 100ft in almost complete darkness. Kerins posses very sharp interconnected teeth. They also have small hair like barbs on their hands and feet, with the barbs they can easily stick to cave walls and ceilings. Kerins have 3-4 fingers and toes, and have very large sharp claws used to grab hold of prey.

-Diet

Kerins are carnivorous and prey on almost anything they can find. They are also slightly cannibalistic towards weaker members and won't hesitate to take a bite out of anything they can get away with.

-Social Behavior

Male Kerins tend to be very solitary creatures. Males may form groups to take down large prey but they don't last for very long. Females often form small groups call skulks, although these groups can also be coed but their are very few males to a group as they are very territorial and tend to fight. Males tend to sleep on ceilings or in high crevasses in the caverns while females prefer to rest on the cave floor unless threatened. Females are very timid and shy while males are extremely aggressive. Sometimes if a group of males begin to fight small juveniles will act like females in order fool them and get away to survive. Males will often become possessive over a female or a group of females and will stay with them for a range of time but rarely for life. In a skulk males will lightly bite and chew on a females antennae to show they pair up they provide protection (from predators and other males), food(often regurgitated), and mating.

-Mating

During the spanning season (Mid-Year) females release pharamones from a gland below their antenna. This pharamone is detected by males which help to find will often mate with multiple partners during the spawning males mate with many females to ensure their genes are passed on often times males can sense that the female has mated with multiple partners and they will inject them with black cells first and then their sperm to ensure that any other contenders has been wiped clean. If there are not many females in a skulk the spawning female could decline mating by excreting the males sperm, unfertilized eggs will always hatch female while fertilized eggs are eggs are fertilized they lay them in clusters. Eggs are normally blue and females can have up to 100 eggs during each spawning season. Females do not nurture their young.

-Early life

Once hatched a young Kenva is only about a few inches tall. They use their feelers to find a large predators, usually the Glasligaslparch, then they attach themselves and feed off their blood and when growing bigger they burrow into the skin to grow. Kenvas reach maturity in about 10 Irk year (around 100 human years) and are no longer attached to their prey.