Brinewing

Brinewings are a small, predatory fauna species that will appear in Subnautica: Below Zero.

Description
The Brinewing is an unusual species that bears a resemblance to members of the real life group of fish Sygnathiformes; The large transparent fins resemble the oversized fins of the flying gurnard, whilst the long snout and general head shape resembles the elongated snouts of Sygnathiforme fish within the subfamily Hippocampinae i.e. seahorses.

The concept of the Brinewing's projectile attack hunting method may take inspiration from the real life archerfish, which are known for acquiring their prey by knocking off branches by firing a jet of water from their mouth.

Behaviour
The Brinewing has a highly unique attack: super cooled saline solution is expelled from its mouth at high speed. This creates a snap-freezing "Brinicle" which freezes prey or defends against attackers. The Brinewing uses its fin-wings to keep the saline at super critical temperatures by deploying them speed up heat loss from its body, keeping the brine cold. The translucent underside of the Brinewing is known as the "Brine Bladder". This bladder holds the saline that the Bringwing uses for its attack. The bladder can be contracted at will to expel the saline through the Brinewing's mouth for this purpose of attack. Once expended the bladder recedes until filled with saline once more.