Mer-Soquili appear to be half horse and half fish, but in truth, like whales or dolphins, are mammals. Unlike the Kelpi, these soquili are usually gentle creatures but extremely shy. They can swim the deeper and faster than any other type of soquili.
Mer-soquili can only mate with other mer-soquili or with pure-blooded Kelpi. Instead of magically woven baskets, newly-born mersoquili are protected in a special type of large clamshell by the Merloks (A race of half-human, half-fish people). When they hatch into foals they are usually 3 feet in length. Adult males can grow to be up to 8 feet long from nose to tail tip, but adult females are usually smaller.
Mers are usually brightly colored so they can hide in coral reefs but some are darker in shade that can hide in dark grottos and caverns. Like the kelpies, these are a carefully guarded species by the Merlok people who are wary of the human beings in the Kawani village.
They rarely come to surface but usually do only at night so they won't be seen. Their bodies are not suited to being able to go onto land; their bodies are heavy and their skin can dry out very quickly, threatening their lives. However, they can poke their heads out of water, or with ample depth can gather momentum to make graceful jumps out of water. Cooler night air and lack of sunlight means that it is easier for them to surface at night.
Mer-soquili technically breathe air. They don't have gills, but mers and seathi have very thin skin that allows the passage of some oxygen through it, letting them remain under water for a very long period of time. Many, however, live very far out to sea and have never actually seen land. Others who live in the undersea kingdom of the merloks can breathe in air-chambers built into the stony architecture.
Many mer soquili also do not stay in very deep waters for long periods of time because they feed on sea-plants, which only grows where the sunlight penetrates the ocean. However, the Merlok people harvest kelp and other sea plants to feed their steeds and maintain the air-chambers.
Most mer-soquili call the oceans home, however they can navigate deep rivers further inland.
Like the usdia, Mer soquili don't have an elder stage.
