Xastre

The xastre (pronounced /ˈzæstɚ/) is a huge, eight-legged creature of Dadauar's oceans, one of the top predators of its environment. Though they are nowhere very common, xastres are found throughout the ocean floors, except, of course, at the deepest reaches where the Bathybius lies.

An adult xastre's body is about four to five meters long and consists of three segments, each roughly conical in shape (the apex of the cone pointing upward when the xastre is upright), of which the abdominal (hindmost) section is by far the largest. They have eight thin but strong long, segmented legs. Xastres possess an intelligence comparable to that of a mammalian predator such as a tiger or a wolverine, and often seem to show remarkable cunning. They are solitary creatures, and very rarely is more than one xastre seen at a time.

Xastre reproduction is initiated by the fertile male releasing its sperm into the surrounding water. The female absorbs it through its gonotreme (posterior vaginal orifice), and the sperm is stored in the spermatheca until it's needed to fertilize eggs. The male and female xastre do not remain associated after the fertilization process; indeed, the male may leave immediately after releasing its sperm and before the female has even taken it in. About four weeks later, the female lays clusters of eggs. These clusters are coated in hard shells and look like irregular rocks; the juvenile xastres are able to release special chemicals to dissolve the shells from the inside. The mother does not stay with the eggs, and the xastre hatchlings are on their own, although even a newly hatched xastre is still a match for most creatures it's likely to encounter.