Altamaran Apex Predator:

These guys have existed for aaaaages but I've never actually posted anything I've drawn of them. Probably for the best because I did a big overhaul of them for this sheet.
They even got a name change... originally they were called chirimin, but I finally decided that no, that didn't sound frightening enough. I might change the name again, but for now it's Charan.

Pic just about says everything. They're huge but hard-to-track subterranean horrors that occasionally surface and wreak havoc on hapless surface life. Luckily, being so huge, they need massive territories- so they've a naturally small population.

Other things that could cause Charans to attack are the sorts of issues that often result in 'man-eating' predators on Earth- Lack of other food, injury or disease, natural disasters, young males driven from their territories... Ect.

Because of their huge size and their natural tendency to target them, the Altamara have a deep, instinctive fear of Charans that is strong enough to cause all but the bravest to flee at the sight or even chemical scent of them. One of their enemies the Dirga's final acts on the Altamaran home world before being driven off was the capture of several Charan to use as weapons of war. These 'Dirgan' Charans have been cloned and engineered for so many generations since that they are visibly and genetically different from those found planet-side. Altamaran scholars regularly debate if these individuals qualify as a separate species, and if so, if captured samples should be re-introduced into the wild.

Just a little scientific aside.. I did my research and thought long and hard over how to size them, based on body type, gravitational differences and lifestyle. As it stands they are roughly the length of an albertosaurus and a little shorter (but a lot thinner) than a blue whale.

In terms of Altamaran nature, they are distant relatives of and share some anatomical similarities with these guys:



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