Lexicon:Modern/Spynra
| Spynra | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Modern CLT |
| Pronunciation | /ˈspɪn.ɾa/ |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Etymology | from middle CRT spinrā, from Proto spinra |
| Related words | Eldershore, Ombari |
Spynra — the spined tropical animal of the deep southern forest.
Notes
A massive reptilian animal, not quite crocodilian and not quite serpentine. Twenty to thirty feet and over two thousand pounds, long-bodied and powerful, with four strong limbs, a heavy tail, and a head combining a broad crocodilian jaw with a crest of bony protrusions along skull and neck. Heavily scaled, deep forest green to dark brown, with a double row of raised scutes down spine and tail.
Raised, with the throat inflated, the silhouette justifies every dragon story ever told about it. The bellow carries for miles.
Semi-aquatic, found at rivers, swamp edges and lake margins. One of very few land animals a healthy adult Dorath cannot simply ignore.
Covered along the back and flanks in barbed spines that detach on contact and work inward. It does not pursue. It stands its ground and turns, and the wound it gives is rarely immediately serious and frequently fatal a week later. Eldershore physicians have a standing procedure for extraction and a good deal of practice at it. Engineered pre-Fall and released into the southern forests.