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Description

If you go out onto the beach at night, or walk along the rocky shores, you may encounter one of these creatures. A shadowy flash darting across the sands or vanishing behind an outcropping. Often you will only get a glimpse, of long arms and a stunted torso. Though it moves with astonishing speed, its identity will be far from secret. It is a creature that practically announces its presence, when you hear its claws scratch upon the ground. You will hear a "teke teke" as it scurries about, and it is a Teketeke that you are most certainly witnessing.

Despite the ghostly encounter one may have, the Teketeke is no mere phantom. In truth, it is a crustacean that lives along the coast, scuttling across the rocks on its four highly elongated legs. While it does possess the same amount of limbs that most crustaceans do, it is hard to see them all when you are face to face with a Teketeke. In fact, most people think that have a single pair of limbs, walking about on just a pair of arms! This tends to be an optical illusion, as another pair sits right behind the first, meaning they mainly walk on four limbs. These appendages have greatly elongated to allow the Teketeke to scale any rocky outcropping or coastal obstacle. It also lets them move with surprising speed! Those legs move in a blur, as it zips across the sand to chase prey or escape predators. The rest of its legs are greatly reduced, held tight against the body that dangles between its long legs. The most these limbs do is hold onto objects or food while the Teketeke runs. In females, they aid in holding the large cluster of eggs they lay during the breeding season.

For food, the Teketeke scours the sands and shallows for meat, looking for fish or other crabs. Any morsel that washes onto the shore is good for them, as they will happily eat carrion as well. The prey they go after is most often smaller than them, which may shock some. Many who see a Teketeke assumes that they cleave through coastal beasts to appease their hunger, but surprisingly that massive weapon they hold is not for hunting. The first thing to note is that not all Teketeke boast such a massive claw, it is only present in the males. Female Teketeke are not unarmed though, as they instead have smaller curved claws at the end of the forelimbs. Essentially females have a pair of sickle claws, while the male carries this single mighty scythe. As I was saying, this is not for hunting, it instead is used to impress potential mates and protect themselves from predators. In day-to-day life, this claw can sometimes be a burden. It is too big for a lot of things, they can't even use it to feed themselves! As they grow older and the claw gets bigger, it can even slow their running, as they now have a lot of bulk to carry. With such a weapon, though, they don't always have to run. This claw is razor sharp, and they know how to use it. When threatened, the Teketeke will stand tall with this blade held in front of them, daring the opponent to come closer. If the predator is not convinced with this display, they will bolt forward and swipe the massive claw in a wide slicing motion. With their speed and strength, they can cleave through flesh and bone, with some saying that a male Teketeke can cut a person right in half! While the females don't have this giant claw, their pair of sickles can do just as much damage! They instead leap onto opponents and latch on with the back pair of long legs, while their long claws swing wildly about, shredding foes. Needless to say, it is easy to tell when someone has angered a Teketeke but hard to clean up after!

Due to their weaponry and appearance, Teketeke are often feared and avoided in the regions they inhabit. The fact that they are mainly nocturnal adds to their spooky nature. Though they have killed people before, it is not because they view man as prey. Teketeke are more content to snack on crabs or washed up fish, they don't want to deal with larger noisier meals. However, these crustaceans are quite territorial at times. Males tend to view creatures their size or larger as competition, and will think you are trying to steal their mate. Females can be just as vicious around the breeding season, when they are carrying their egg clusters. Getting close to one of them during the night can trigger this aggression, and one wrong move can start them swinging. Unfortunately, close contact with a Teketeke isn't always under your control. They move fast and get startled pretty easily, so you could be walking down the beach and have one just straight up run into you. In that case, the crab isn't really thinking about who had the right of way. It will just believe you attacked them and they will bring out the blades. It probably doesn't help that Teketeke can be hunted for food or for their bladed claws. When treated right, the claw of a male Teketeke can make a mean sword, and the tasty meat is a nice bonus! With this, Teketeke will see people as predators and will react accordingly. So it is advised that one does not walk the wild coast at night, at least not without company or a decent lantern. If you do this, you should make sure you have light and make plenty of noise. You want the Teketeke to hear you coming, that way they choose to avoid you entirely. This is not a creature you want to bump into in the middle of the night! Though to be fair, there isn't a whole lot of creatures you would want to see in such a scenario...

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This one is kind of skipping the posting line because I was reminded of it and now can't stop thinking about it. Thus time to post it so I can get it out of my head for a brief bit of respite before I latch onto something else. Much like my crazed run with fearsome critters, I also had a period of nonstop yokai, so figured I would sprinkle some of those results here and there. Even ghosts aren't free from carcinization!

Description

If you go out onto the beach at night, or walk along the rocky shores, you may encounter one of these creatures. A shadowy flash darting across the sands or vanishing behind an outcropping. Often you will only get a glimpse, of long arms and a stunted torso. Though it moves with astonishing speed, its identity will be far from secret. It is a creature that practically announces its presence, when you hear its claws scratch upon the ground. You will hear a "teke teke" as it scurries about, and it is a Teketeke that you are most certainly witnessing.

Despite the ghostly encounter one may have, the Teketeke is no mere phantom. In truth, it is a crustacean that lives along the coast, scuttling across the rocks on its four highly elongated legs. While it does possess the same amount of limbs that most crustaceans do, it is hard to see them all when you are face to face with a Teketeke. In fact, most people think that have a single pair of limbs, walking about on just a pair of arms! This tends to be an optical illusion, as another pair sits right behind the first, meaning they mainly walk on four limbs. These appendages have greatly elongated to allow the Teketeke to scale any rocky outcropping or coastal obstacle. It also lets them move with surprising speed! Those legs move in a blur, as it zips across the sand to chase prey or escape predators. The rest of its legs are greatly reduced, held tight against the body that dangles between its long legs. The most these limbs do is hold onto objects or food while the Teketeke runs. In females, they aid in holding the large cluster of eggs they lay during the breeding season.

For food, the Teketeke scours the sands and shallows for meat, looking for fish or other crabs. Any morsel that washes onto the shore is good for them, as they will happily eat carrion as well. The prey they go after is most often smaller than them, which may shock some. Many who see a Teketeke assumes that they cleave through coastal beasts to appease their hunger, but surprisingly that massive weapon they hold is not for hunting. The first thing to note is that not all Teketeke boast such a massive claw, it is only present in the males. Female Teketeke are not unarmed though, as they instead have smaller curved claws at the end of the forelimbs. Essentially females have a pair of sickle claws, while the male carries this single mighty scythe. As I was saying, this is not for hunting, it instead is used to impress potential mates and protect themselves from predators. In day-to-day life, this claw can sometimes be a burden. It is too big for a lot of things, they can't even use it to feed themselves! As they grow older and the claw gets bigger, it can even slow their running, as they now have a lot of bulk to carry. With such a weapon, though, they don't always have to run. This claw is razor sharp, and they know how to use it. When threatened, the Teketeke will stand tall with this blade held in front of them, daring the opponent to come closer. If the predator is not convinced with this display, they will bolt forward and swipe the massive claw in a wide slicing motion. With their speed and strength, they can cleave through flesh and bone, with some saying that a male Teketeke can cut a person right in half! While the females don't have this giant claw, their pair of sickles can do just as much damage! They instead leap onto opponents and latch on with the back pair of long legs, while their long claws swing wildly about, shredding foes. Needless to say, it is easy to tell when someone has angered a Teketeke but hard to clean up after!

Due to their weaponry and appearance, Teketeke are often feared and avoided in the regions they inhabit. The fact that they are mainly nocturnal adds to their spooky nature. Though they have killed people before, it is not because they view man as prey. Teketeke are more content to snack on crabs or washed up fish, they don't want to deal with larger noisier meals. However, these crustaceans are quite territorial at times. Males tend to view creatures their size or larger as competition, and will think you are trying to steal their mate. Females can be just as vicious around the breeding season, when they are carrying their egg clusters. Getting close to one of them during the night can trigger this aggression, and one wrong move can start them swinging. Unfortunately, close contact with a Teketeke isn't always under your control. They move fast and get startled pretty easily, so you could be walking down the beach and have one just straight up run into you. In that case, the crab isn't really thinking about who had the right of way. It will just believe you attacked them and they will bring out the blades. It probably doesn't help that Teketeke can be hunted for food or for their bladed claws. When treated right, the claw of a male Teketeke can make a mean sword, and the tasty meat is a nice bonus! With this, Teketeke will see people as predators and will react accordingly. So it is advised that one does not walk the wild coast at night, at least not without company or a decent lantern. If you do this, you should make sure you have light and make plenty of noise. You want the Teketeke to hear you coming, that way they choose to avoid you entirely. This is not a creature you want to bump into in the middle of the night! Though to be fair, there isn't a whole lot of creatures you would want to see in such a scenario...

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This one is kind of skipping the posting line because I was reminded of it and now can't stop thinking about it. Thus time to post it so I can get it out of my head for a brief bit of respite before I latch onto something else. Much like my crazed run with fearsome critters, I also had a period of nonstop yokai, so figured I would sprinkle some of those results here and there. Even ghosts aren't free from carcinization!