The Hopper Leech is a parasitic species found on Xeno, the species specialized in sucking blood off of much larger lifeforms on the planet.
Taxonomy[]
The Scientific name for the Hopper Leech is in relation to its resemblance to the Earth Leeches. It translates into "Two-Legged Alien Leech".
Those in the family of Bipirudo span back millions of years, making them an ancient family on Xeno. The family itself has easily survived up to modern day, filling in the same parasitic role they've always had even with the introduced species, though the larger species itself died out when its larger prey (ex. Elephantine Hexaped) also began to disappear.
Biology[]
Anatomy[]
Hopper Leeches are fairly small lifeforms compared to their usual prey. Their mouths, circular in shape, are able to open at 180 degrees to better grip onto its prey. Its underbelly also is lined with numerous small tentacles, hooked with small claws, which enable it to also firmly grip its body onto prey.
Behavior[]
Hopper Leeches are parasitic in nature, latching onto larger animals that come too close to them. Once an animal does so, the Hopper Leech will latch on, and suck the blood of its host for as long as several days before falling off.
Reproduction[]
Only living up to two years of age, Hopper Leeches have a very short time to procreate, often only getting one chance in their entire lives to do so. Once a female becomes successfully mated, the females' body undergoes a transformation where the females grow a set of powerful back legs, that allow the female to hop in the air at hosts, giving females a much higher area to latch onto than they would otherwise. Once successfully attaching themselves to a host, the female will lay their eggs inside said host through their mouth. On doing this, they will remain attached to their hosts until the females die, "guarding" their eggs in the same spot where they released them.
The eggs themselves take several months to hatch in the host's skin. During this time, any eggs left exposed if the female is killed leaves the eggs open to predators. Those that successfully hatch remain latched onto the host until the host is above a body of water, to which they themselves fall off.