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Q’RONAR SHELLBACK
Ah, the shellback. So, I’ve got a somewhat comical confession to make. I actually briefly had a pet shellback when I first arrived on Hoxxes. It was a freshly-born hatchling and I thought it was just a funny little creature, the local equivalent of a fox or giant crab. That became much less comical when it broke out of its enclosure and pinballed half my instruments to death. I would not recommend keeping a captive shellback as a pet. Suppose I should be lucky I didn’t discover how big they could get until later. However, that experience did allow me the chance to thoroughly observe these big critters.
Simply put, the roly-poly like q’ronar is a scavenger and apex predator, filling a role not dissimilar to a bear in the local environment, albeit much more migratory. The acid it spews from its body is actually its digestive juices, somewhat analogous to a fly’s. I find its hunting method genuinely fascinating actually, since it might be the only predator in the galaxy to use the bowling ball method of beating its prey to death. Well, except for Great Uncle Ludmir. Of course, like any predator it wouldn’t turn its nose up at a carcass, and in fact I tend to see it eat lead-riddled glyphids far more often than it ever hunts. Relatedly, I haven’t noticed any adverse reactions to lead in their diet, beyond the obvious, so I suspect they share the glyphids’ ability to digest metals. It would certainly explain the absurd toughness of their shells.
As one can tell by youngling sightings, their nesting grounds seem to be in the Salt Pits, though I find it strange considering that adult q’ronar can be seen across Hoxxes. My current hypothesis is that it’s a sterile environment, as most forms of bacteria and fungus find the area too caustic to infect the eggs. Perhaps q’ronar eggs are uniquely susceptible to infection. If this hypothesis winds up being true, I’d strongly recommend investing in a strain of bacteria to cull the Salt Pits’ shellback population. Also, I find it interesting that the immature q’ronar are unable to spit their acid, yet they maintain the behavior of “rearing up” at threats. Perhaps it’s a learning behavior.
As for their symbiotic role with the glyphids: they’re tolerated explicitly as detritivores. Simply put, the glyphids create a lot of dead, and not all of it is entirely edible, particularly the praetorians and acid spitters. Having a q’ronar or two around makes the hive more sanitary. That said, I’m not surprised that they tend not to have too many around, since they’d probably tend to break eggs or accidentally crush their would-be roommates. Just like Great Uncle Ludmir.
What can the common dwarf do to diminish the threat? Honestly, not that much. Their eggs certainly aren’t very big and even their young pose a moderate threat without he adults around. The only thing I’ve noticed is that breaking their shells around their eyes is a death sentence, so if you can’t kill a shellback, at least try to make sure the fat dobber is blinded in the future. I’ll keep you lads posted on that bacteria. I’ll call it… the Salt Pit Shaker. No, no, that’s awful. The Shell Cracker. No, that sounds like a brand of saltines. I’ll work on it.
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