Voidlight
- Intent: An animal that lives in the oceans of Susevfi.
- Image Credit: medium
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Manta shark
- Name: Manta Shark
- Designation: Semi-sentient
- Origins: Susevfi
- Average Lifespan: ~ 30 years
- Estimated Population: Planetary
- Description: Long body with long, wink-like pectoral fins.
- Breathes: Water. (Thrives in saltwater but can survive in fresh)
- Average Length of Adults: 1.65 meters
- Average Width of Adults: (wingspan) 1.9 meters
- Skin color: Shades of grey and brown
- Hair color: N/A
- Distinctions: The long manta-like "wings" of its pectoral fins set it apart from other sharks. It also differs in the broadness of its mouth and its diet. The male tend to have brown tones and are slightly smaller than the females, which have great scales. The extra size in the females is most likely so they can better protect their young.
- Races: None
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive (There are some who believe their electrocommunication is a form of Force ability and that all manta sharks are minutely Force-sensitive, but Science has proven this incorrect. The ability is completely biological in nature.)
- Hydrodynamic placoid scales allow for silent and efficient swimming.
- Gills mean the fish cannot breathe out of water.
- Due to the lack of a ribcage, the manta shark will succumb to its own weight if not constantly submerged in water.
- Diet: Omnivore. They primarily eat crustaceans but will also eat other fish and can subsist off kelptree leaves and algae.
- Communication: Through a form of electrocommunication, broadcasting through short, organic wires that grow below their mouths. These same wires also pick up the electrical pulses from other manta sharks.
- Technology level: None
- Religion/Beliefs: None/Unknown (It is does not appear that manta sharks are sentient enough to have any kind of society or belief system.)
- General behavior: Manta sharks are ovoviviparous livebearers. Gestation takes about a year, with one to five pups being produced. The offspring are born fully formed and typically take about five years to mature. The first year, the mother sticks around to guard the young. They typically use the leaves of kelptrees as nurseries during this time. After a year, the mother leaves, and the young are left to defend for themselves.
The Susevfi Manta Shark is found primarily among the salt and oxygen rich waters of Susevfi's ocean-dwelling kelptree forests. It is unknown exactly how long these sharks have been around, though it is believed that they existed eons before people settled Susevfi, perhaps even before the resistance of humans as a species. In fact, manta sharks may be among some of the earliest animals to evolve during Susevfi's earlier stages.
