Lava Larva

The Lava Larva is a mid-sized, parasitic fauna species.

Appearance
The Lava Larva has a dark violet body, which is slightly flattened on the top and underneath. It has a striped pattern on the back.

On the front, the Lava Larva has two short, bulbous antennae-like appendages pointing forward. It has a pair of useless eyes surrounded by an orange ring. A glowing, orange-colored pattern rims the creature's mouth and stretches all the way to the other end of its body.

While moving, the Lava Larva emits black particles from its back; these dissipate after a short time.

Behaviour
The Lava Larva will swim around aimlessly, producing high-pitched chirping sounds. It will attach itself to the Seamoth, Prawn Suit and Cyclops, draining Energy and slowing the vehicle down.

The more Lava Larva there are attached, the more quickly the energy will drain. In order to get the Lava Larva off, the player must hit it with the Knife, freeze it with the Stasis Rifle, or blast it off with the Propulsion Cannon or Repulsion Cannon. They can also be removed by the Prawn Suit Propulsion Cannon and are repulsed by the drill arm and will not come near the prawn if the arm is active, the Cyclops Shield Generator (if on a Cyclops), and can also be scared off with the Seamoth Perimeter Defense System. A Grav Trap will also drag them away from vehicles. Lava Lizards will also eat the larvae off of the vehicle without causing any damage. If the vehicle's energy is turned off by removing all Power Cells, or the Power Cells are depleted, they will detach and swim away. Alternatively, one can just remove the active power cells, making the Lava Larva detach from the vehicle.

Influence on Vehicles

 * If the number of Lava Larva should exceed past six, vehicles will lose 1% of energy every second.

Gallery
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Trivia

 * Despite being called a larva, the Lava Larva is not currently suggested to be the immature form of any known creature on Planet 4546B; presumably, this name is based purely on outward appearance.
 * The Lava Larva may have been inspired by the alien creatures present in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Galaxy's Child" as they both share a similar feeding mechanism, shape, and suction ability.