[center][b]Scientific Name:[/b]
[i]Mortuus Eremita Cochlea[/i]

[b]Common name:[/b]
[i]Corpse Snail[/i]

[b]Diurnal or Nocturnal:[/b]
[i]Does not require sleep.[/i]

[b]Habitat:[/b]
[i]Rain-forests[/i]

[b]Appearance:[/b]
An obsidian colored slug that comes in multiple sizes, with the smallest being the size of a bird, with the largest growing to the size of a lion. It has a thousand extendable appendages that are extremely sticky and flexible, which it uses to grip and control its' shell. It does not have a visible mouth or eyes.[/center]

[b]Biology:[/b][indent]
It's body is soft and malleable, capable of nearly flattening itself entirely. From research it appears to sense movement through vibrations in the air and ground. It gains nutrients by absorbing it from its current shell, which is the corpse of the latest animal it 'renovates' as its home. It stays in its home for 5-8 days before it becomes invalid and switches to a new body. While it occupies its shell, asides from empty eye-sockets and awkward movements, it's otherwise indistinguishable from other members of its shells species, allowing it to blend in relatively easily among a pack or crowd until the time comes for it to switch to another shell, where there will be an ample amount of choices. It grows continuously until it dies, become larger every month.

It does not have any other vital organs asides its brain, which travels freely across its body. Its body can be chopped to bits but so long as as its core remains intact it will remain alive. A Corpse Snail has a lifespan of six months to a year and a half. The longest living Corpse Snail is recorded to have lived up to two years, and was twice the size of a regular Corpse Snail.

The Corpse Snail typically mate thrice in its lifetime, with females releasing a scent that can only be picked up by male snails. They are required to leave their shells in the time required for them to mate, where the eggs are fertilized for a week and layed inside detached parts of its body which are deposited underground. It hatches from eggs two weeks after they are layed, appearing to be a light purple in infancy, which then grows darker with age.[/indent]

[b]Strengths:[/b][indent]
Has complete complete control over the body it vacates. If the animal it uses as its shell has magical properties, expect the Corpse Snail to have access to those properties - including humans.

As long as its core is intact, it is capable of regenerating its lost body parts in a short span of time.[/indent]

[b]Weaknesses:[/b][indent]
Fragile outside its shell, cannot live longer than a week without one.
Sensitive to salt and salt-based minerals. Applying salt to it dissolves its body.
Does not have perfect control over its shell, resulting in somewhat awkward movements that sometimes hinder it.
Becomes sleepy in temperatures under 15 degrees Celsius.
Even slight damage to its core kills it.[/indent]

[b]Misc:[/b][indent]
When the time for it to transfer shells comes close, they use their current home to kill a suitable host that it will then occupy.
Its body and core are used as luxury ingredients, unfortunately their body parts are difficult to preserve and pry out of its shell. The best way to harvest it would be in the small window of time where it is out of its shell.[/indent]