Designation: Non-Sentient
Homeworld: Dxun
Language: Hissssss
Average height of adults: 8m On Average, though largest ever recorded was 20m
Skin color: Green/Black
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
[+]Constrictor: The Primary attribute and method of hunting for the Corallus is its massively powerful constricting muscles. The massive snakes usually find their prey by dropping from the large tree's of Dxun onto smaller animals like Boma and Cannok's. The Corallus then proceeds to use its powerful muscles to rapidly constrict the animal and asphyxiate them before they have a chance to take breath. This is the Cora Snakes primary method of killing.
[+]Venom: The other method the Cora Snake uses to kill is its massively powerful venomous bite. The Cora snakes bite is not deadly, but instead has a far more useful effect. The deep black venom that the snake produces has a powerful paralytic effect on nearly every creature that it comes into contact with. The bite is also extremely painful to the victim. A single “hit” of the Cora Snakes Venom is said to be nearly as painful as Devaronian Blood Poison. Though it is painful, the poison does not kill, though humans who have been known to kill themselves after being bit. The primary reason for the venom’s existence is of course so the Corallus is capable of hunting larger prey. The Cora Snake will bite the larger prey and only after it is paralyzed will they constrict it. The Cora Snakes venom when applied to a human will typical last about forty eight hours, a full bite will cause paralysis for about twelve hours and pain lasting for the other thirty six. The Venom Also has downsides however(see Weaknesses)
[+]Echo-Location: The Cora Snake is mostly a night time predator in the deep jungles of Dxun. Because of this over many centuries of evolution the Cora snake has lost its eyes and vision. To compensate for that the Cora Snake has gained the unique sensory organ required for Echo-Location. It uses a unique “Sonar” like ability to see things in its surrounding. Due to this the Cora Snake has learned to mimic the sounds of many wounded creatures on Dxun, Cannoks and Boma's being the most common with whining hissing cries. This usually mean that the Cora Snake is a slow predator, but a more effective one once it finally strikes.
Weaknesses:
[-]Blind: The Chief “Weakness” That the Cora snake has is the fact that its blind. Because of this the Cora Snake can be easily confused with loud noises and other things that screw with its unique sensory ability. It also makes the Cora Snake far slower in hunting and unable to attack prey in packs(The multiple “sonar signatures” confusing it greatly). Though it has of course learned to compensate for this over time Blindness is still one of the greatest weaknesses the Cora Snake has.
[-]Squishy: Unlike many animals on Dxun the Corallus is still quite kill-able. Its scales are not hardened armor like the Zakkegs and its muscles below are not impenetrable. Though it can live through a few bites from larger animals like Boma and Cannok's if enough force is applied the Cora Snake will die. It is also incredibly easy to cut the Corallus with either a lightsaber or a vibroblade, though trying to do so provides obvious dangers since one has to get close to the deadly snake.
[-]Metabolism/Feeding Method: Because of its massive size and its constant need to produce Venom the Cora Snake like most predators on Dxun has quite the metabolism. Because of this the Cora Snake is often hungry and those on a bi-weekly basis needs to search out at least a single Cannok to consume. If a Cora Snake does not eat at least this it will waste away rather quickly, becoming too weak to constrict and produce its venom, thus rendering it incapable of hunting.
[-]Venom: The Venom of the Corallus although quite harsh and effective is also quite inefficient. The Venom of the Cora Snake constantly “expires” within the glands it produces. The reason for this is unknown, though it is suspect it was developed as an evolutionary trait so human hunters who traveled from Onderon to Dxun did not harvest the snakes venom. Because of this constant expiring the snake needs to produce new venom every 24 hours with the old venom being constantly “drooled” from the snakes maw. This allows a good tracker to find the Corallus snake based on the venom trail. It also means that the Venom is incapable of being harvested with the fluid only being able to survive about 6 hours outside of the snakes glands.
[-]Not So Silent Predator: In order for the Cora Snake to move and hunt it needs to make noise. This is obviously a huge detriment when hunting more intelligent prey(Humans, Drexl), though usually animals are too stupid or too caught up in their own little world to notice.
Distinctions: Corallus or Cora Snakes as they are sometimes called on Dxun are unique creatures the likes of which are not often seen in the galaxy. Their underside is covered in thick blade like scales usually toned brown or black with their tail growing deeply red. Their tops are usually colored green or black to match their night time environments.
In appearance they are mostly similar to other snakes of the galaxy, the only difference is that their scales are far larger and more pronounced, when the snake feels threatened the scale “stand up”, pointing off the body and making the snake appear far larger than it actually is. The other difference between the Corallus and its galactic cousin is its head. For some unknown reason the Corallus generally has a wildly different colored head than its body, usually a pale opposite of its body color.
Average Lifespan: 40-60 Years
Races: None Known
Diet: Carnivorous, Gizka, Boma cats, Zakkeg, a Drexl once.
Communication: hissssssssss
Culture: Its a Snake
Technology level: Come on guys...snake.
General behavior: The Corallus' behavior is fairly on par with many real world snakes. It lurks during the day time in the tree tops of Dxun Jungles, hiding itself from predators and sleeping within dark crevices and under tree branches until night time falls.
Once night time falls the Cora Snake begins to hunt, its sole purpose in life being to find prey, kill it, eat it, and then go sleep for another day. The hunt of the Cora snake is fairly simple. It slithers from tree to tree through interconnected branches, using its unique echo-location to guide itself around until it finds suitable prey. Usually suitable prey for the Cora Snake is a Boma or a Cannok, though depending on how desperate or large the snake is a Corallus may brave a Zakkeg or even a Drexl(although the later is very very rare).
Once its prey is found the Cora snake positions itself perfectly over its victim, then it simply drops itself from the tree's down onto the usually sleeping victim. It immediately wraps itself around and constricts the helpless animal, killing it in a few minutes. If the prey is bigger than expected the Cora Snake bites the victim and allows its venom to do the work before constricting.
The unique thing about the way that the Corallus feasts is fascinating. Instead of eating its prey whole the Cora will dismember its victim using its massively powerful muscles. It will break off legs, the head, and the tail one piece at a time and eat them separately, then leave the larger carcass intact in order to draw in more prey. It will repeat this cycle many many times leading to “bone pits” of animal carcasses. These pits are a huge indication that a Cora Snake is in the area and are usually a sign of the need for caution.
History: The history of the Cora snake is not very long.
There once was a snake on Dxun. It was a predator. One Day the predator decided that it needed to eat things. The predator started doing do by constricting things. Eventually evolution decided that constricting things was sometimes too dangerous if the prey was too big so it also gave the snake venom. The Snake then started hunting with both venom and constricting.
Other than these minute almost child like facts the Cora Snake's history is not very long. Because of its constant need for night time hunting and its like of the deeper jungles of Dxun not many humans have encountered this creature. Because of this not much is known of the Corallus, with only a few details ever actually reaching the public and because of the remote nature of Dxun itself not many people are interested in learning more.
The beast tamers of Onderon as well had no interest in learning or taming the Corallus because in the end it was only a snake and they had Drexl and Skreev, though it has been said that some powerful Force Users are able to control the massive serpents and put them to use.
Notable Player-Characters: Does...does anyone want to be a snake?
Intent: To further expand on Dxun's lore and create a new creature to do all sorts of horrifying things with...but definitely not torture, nope not that.
