Muscle-Frilled Needleworm
This new predator is descended from the Hook-Beaked Needleworm (Acutognathus saeclum) that used its venom to help dissolve parts of the food that it scavenged from. The Muscle-Frilled Needleworm (Acutognathus acidonenum), however, no longer depends primarily on things dying for it to feed on. It has now become a predator at last, able to compete against the wyverns (Thalassaraptor sp. fundatus, gallicorpus, and kokovajilotus) and against Blattealimax panivore thanks to its feature of regurgitating stomach acid. It will inject approximately thirty-three milliliters (33 mL) of stomach acid into its victim to conserve acid for digestion as its stomach makes sixty-six milliliters (66 mL) daily.
When the Muscle-Frilled Needleworm hunts its prey (canetodes and cacosapods excluding adult Acutognathus erectus due to its large size), it will attempt to latch onto its next victim and inject it with stomach acid through its needle, which fulfills a purpose similar to that of spider's venom. The stomach acid will debilitate the prey by clotting blood veins and arteries that it touches along with burning the lining of unacidic organs that it comes in contact with. This may be among the worst forms of death on Oefsy, and it is nearly fatal once the acid is injected. Polyphs such as cockti (Phallucaceae) do not have to worry about such a fate as these predatory canetodes have smell receptors on their skin that can tell the difference between a cocktus and a muscal. The smell receptors are accurate up to a meter (1 m) away.
The Muscle-Frilled Needleworm will wait about twenty seconds (20 sec) after its prey's movement has stopped to begin consuming its innards to ensure that the acid has diluted into the body and that it is now safe to eat. This is not just all the Muscle-Frilled Needleworm's got. It has also strengthened some of the muscles on its "neck" and has developed an indent on the bottom of those specialized muscles to help grip onto struggling prey, which was selected for as it made it even more successful at injecting its acid as it could place its needle accordingly without the prey escaping quite as often. Muscle-Frilled Needleworms do not target wyverns naturally as they are much-larger predators but they may retaliate by poking them with the needle and injecting their acid to drive off their attacks. Muscle-Frilled Needleworms and Blattealimax panivore may sometimes attempt to prey on each other as they are both similar in body form to their prey items and as they are separate competing species, and a "fight" may occur. Most of these fights often end out with both participants dead, with the Blattealimax panivore with its innards dissolved and with the Muscle-Frilled Needleworm being constricted to death.
Muscle-Frilled Needleworms grow up to thirty centimeters (30 cm) in length and take seven to eight weeks (7-8 wks) to mature. After this period of growth, individuals of the species will mate with others they come across in the hopes of reproducing, using the needle shape and neck muscles as identifiers. They may pursue one-another at first but then realize they are the same species and reproduce instead of attacking each other. Sexual dimorphism is not prevalent in this species so they will end up mating with both males and females. Females will lay twenty-five to thirty (25-30) eggs underneath a fresh carcass, typically one that is killed by herself but is left alone. The offspring will then feed from what is left of the carcass upon hatching to boost their chances of survival. After they are finished off with the carcass, they will go their ways and feed off of other carrion that they come across. Muscle-Frilled Needleworms will begin hunting on their own at four weeks (4 wks) of age, when they are large enough to hold a chance of taking down prey and when their stomach is developed enough to produce the acid necessary for injecting into prey.
