Alien Name: Tikanewt

Planet of Origin: Rinbar

Ecosystem Component: Small herbivore- near the base of the food chain

Base Habitat: Shallow freshwater rivers and marshes (though amphibious)

Grouping: mated pair: 2 + offspring, Solitary

Size: 6 inches in length

Appearance: in all hatched forms, the Tikanewt is long, with a large bulge at one end that tapers into a blunt and rounded tail at the other. It is a slimy yellow green, with some scale like structures visible on its skin. Its back is a darker forest green in color, covered in large bluegreen spots. It rides very close to the ground, having a bout 30 very tiny legs that propel it across the ground in a haphazard undulating motion. The legs are tipped with plate-like feet that help it wade through marshes. However the small legs get tired easily, making land travel limited and slow. In the water and mud it wriggles its slug-shaped body and manages to travel at a decent speed.
Its larger part of its body contains its mouth, eyes, and sensory organs and glands. Its eyes number five, and are set so that they form a triangular goggle pattern. The third eyeball on each side faces downwards. They are devoid of all features, round, and black. Its mouth is much like a lamprey’s in design, though not in function. Its function is more like a lawnmower, chopping away at vegetation then sucking it into the Tikanewt’s large belly. It is situated on the lower part of the front area, and faces downwards. The teeth-like protrusions in it are normally quite dull on human or comparable skin. They have been known to bite in play and affection when kept as pets, or even in the wild. It is not that painful, usually, and can even be considered massage.
Unfortunately, this habit becomes deadly when they are frightened or overly stressed. The tooth protrusions extend in times of stress and poison flows through them from the small poison sac located directly under the floor of the mouth.
When on land, not moving, and safe, two long antennae unfold from a hidden compartment and stick out from the head bulge. They are very thin and are covered with many tiny lumps. They are only held out for a moment, crisscrossing each other near their base and continuing outwards away from the head bulge. These are used to test the weather and determine if it is right for breeding season.
A thin layer of slime covers the scales of varying sizes that make up the Tikanewt’s skin. It is colorless to human eyes and aids in the exchange of oxygen,

Lifespan/Reproduction: They typically live about a half of a Rinbar year under ideal conditions, and their mating season occurs whenever conditions are right- that is, adequate rainfall and large amounts of sediment in the waters, or an increase of about 4 inches in the level of water in the marsh.
They reproduce by spraying reproductive material into the water and letting the sediment cover them. Within 2 weeks, juveniles hatch and within 3 days of ideal conditions, they, while not at full length yet, are considered fully reproductive adults

Territory: While not territorial, they need at least 100 square feet of ideal environment (marshland, rivers, or dry land) to sustain the minimum population required to breed without imbreeding. More is definitely preferable

Known Predators/Dangers:
Dry spells, Predators