Real Sea Monsters

[MarkB]

"Natural" monsters are always cool. Aside from the sea, scaling up miniature monsters is also good. I've always wanted to get round to using a monstrous Velvet Worm in a D&D game (fast forward to 2 minutes in, though the Archer Fish is cool in its own right).

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8oV4RBYR9U]Velvet Worm[/ame]

And for parasites, Cordyceps fungus gives even Rot Grubs a run for their money.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8&NR=1]Cordyceps Fungus[/ame]

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That Cordyceps fungus reminds me of some of the Yellow Musk Fungus from D&D and that silicate "fungus" from the "Firewalker" X-Files episode.

 

[MarkB]

That Cordyceps fungus reminds me of some of the Yellow Musk Fungus from D&D and that silicate "fungus" from the "Firewalker" X-Files episode.

Yeah, I recall that episode, and I've wondered whether it was inspired by that fungus - there are certainly visual similarities.

Of course, keeping it as a fungus avoids the question of why a silicate lifeform adapted to life in a volcano would find human beings remotely comfortable to live in.

I just love the nightmare-potential of a parasite that actually modifies its host's behaviour as it grows in their brain, co-opting them to help it spread. In a fantasy setting, on a macro scale, it could co-opt a person's subconscious and compel them to quite complex behavioural changes, causing them to involuntarily serve its best interests.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Nature has a lot of that kind of thing.

I remember that there is some kind of caterpillar that exudes a chemical that makes ants not just accept it, but help bring it into the nest...

...where it starts eating ant larvae.

 

[Aeolius]

update on the black ooze:
"...scientists still don't know what type of algae it is or where it came from. They don't know if it's dangerous to fish or other underwater life... Coast Guard estimated its size as 13 miles by a quarter of a mile. It was floating about half a mile offshore. The blob was amorphous, Hasenauer added, broken up into globules and sections, and constantly changing shape.... As scientists continue to examine the rapidly degrading samples, the goo is still out there, floating."

Mystery Blob Leaves Scientists Puzzled: Discovery News