Cave Crawler

The Cave Crawler is an aggressive life form that can be found on the Aurora, in the Underwater Islands, on the Mountain Island, in the Dunes and around the Abandoned Seabase on the Floater Island.

It typically forms groups, and may catch an unaware player by surprise.

Appearance
The Cave Crawler closely resembles a real life crustacean, albeit a small one. It has a large, glowing eye with a cyan sclera and a dark blue pupil, covering most of the top of its body.

It has four, light tan colored segmented legs, along with the underside of its body.

The Cave Crawler has two mandibles on its head, which are presumably used for feeding.

Behavior
The Cave Crawler is semi-terrestial, but it cannot swim, rather walks and jumps around underwater.

It moves in groups. When being approached, it lunges towards the player to attack.

It is also capable of climbing onto the walls and ceilings of caves.

It appears to be used to slow prey, as it rarely can hit a moving target.

When it attacks the player, it hits on average for around 4-6 HP, with severe knockback (if on dry land). The easiest way to avoid this is to keep moving when they are nearby, as their jumping attack does not lead a target.

Data Bank Entry
Agile, territorial carrion-feeder.


 * 1) Four legs: Used to walk along the seabed and cling to walls. Equally well adapted for land.
 * 2) Gas exchange membrane: Absorbs essential gases from the air or water.

This species seeks out corpses in packs, before defending its claim while the corpse is devoured.

Assessment: Inconvenient, particularly at funerals

Gallery
For a more complete gallery, visit Cave Crawler/Gallery.

Trivia

 * There is a larger relative of the Cave Crawler called the Blood Crawler that lives in the Blood Kelp Caves.
 * These creatures bear a great resemblance to the spider creatures from the movie Lost in Space: They have disc-like bodies, they're hostile towards the player, and they roam around a derelict terraforming ship; much as the creatures from the movie roam the Proteus, another derelict ship that appears to have items on board for colonizing a new planet.
 * The Cave Crawler used to be blue, to fit into the Aurora's color scheme. But, as the Cave Crawler was moved to other areas such as the Underwater Islands and the Dunes, the color switched to brown to match with the seabed.
 * They may also be a nod to Headcrabs, from the Half Life series.
 * Despite it's name, most of the Cave Crawler's habitats aren't actually caves.