With abundant rivers, marshes and above all steamy wet tropical rain forest, Deridous4 has many parasitic life forms. The Water leech is one of them. Slimy greenish grey in colour, these long boneless creatures superficially resemble their relatively tiny Terran counterparts.
They swim well, can climb trees and often just wait on wet branches for some prey to wander past.
Water leaches are commonly only about 4 inches long though giant specimens of up to 12 feet have been collected. A large mouth, features sucking pods and sharp incisors, will attach the leech to it's prey. Special substances in it's saliva anaesthetize any pain sensation and it usually hangs there unnoticed as it sucks the blood and body juices out until it's gorged to about 300% of it's mass.
Once properly fastened, the head is difficult to remove as it can easily be detached from it's body if just "pulled off", leaving the head still reflexively sucking away. Additionally the leeches' microscopic young are carried inside it's mouth in sacs. Detaching the body will cause the sacs to rupture, internally infecting the prey with thousands of minute leeches into it's bloodstream. This does not usually occur if the Leech is removed properly or it's satiated - gorged with blood whereupon it will just fall to the ground by itself.
Humanoid victims are, after a short while, often disoriented due to blood loss and the anaesthetic chemicals. If infected internally, death occurs within 7 - 12 days unless modern medical attention is promptly sought..
The proper way to remove a Water leech is to apply fire or a light phaser stun onto it's body whereupon it will instantly drop off. Failing that, digging the head out of the victims body with a knife - being careful not to decapitate the leech first, will sometimes work depending on where the Leech attached itself.
Frequency: Uncommon.
Rating: Dangerous.
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