Acid Cow
A peculiar creature that was traditionally raised as subterranean livestock by the naga. The acid cow was a cattle-sized organism with 6 mammalian eyes (3 pairs), 4 short, insect-like legs, and a body covered in acidic boils. It was hard to tell what type of animal it was due to the strangeness of its combined features. The acid cow’s name came from its acidic blood, as well as the acidic boils which it used to defend itself from predators. Acid cows also spat up acid onto rock before licking up the remains for nutrients. Acid cattle were completely anaerobic, allowing large herds of them to be raised by the naga underground without drastic consumption of available oxygen.
Acid cows’ flesh were also filled with acidic juices, giving them a powerful sour taste to those that ate it. This could also be incredibly harmful to humans and duns who tried to consume improperly prepared meat. However, naga digestive systems were far more resilient, and could consume acid cow steaks without a care in the world.
Biology #
Anatomy #
The acid cow had 4 short segmented limbs that operate on a similar manner to a spider. By filling in gaps in their legs with fluid, they could pressurize the joints to force them to move--essentially, creating a biological hydraulic system. The ends of the legs were covered in a set of bony hooks which the acid cow could use to scale rocky cliff sides.
The rest of the acid cow is far more strange--soft, furless flesh comprised their thick, wide torso and head. Typically this flesh was yellow, olive green, or grey. A light layer of mucus also covered their exterior, giving them a shiny look.
Their flanks, ribs, and round were all coated with an irregular assortment of acid-filled boils, mainly there to deter predators. They bursted easily, sometimes popping on sharp rocks sticking out of cave walls.
Acid cows had a unique endoskeletal structure. It appeared to be similar in design to an exoskeleton in that it was comprised of many plates that enclosed all vital organs, but buried beneath a layer of muscle and skin. Small pores across the skeleton allowed for the movement of blood and other internal bodily functions.
Acid cows did not have teeth, instead only displaying a bumping set of gums to gently bite down on things in order to move them. They had a very long tongue which was used to sift through shale and lick minerals off of walls.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities #
Acid cows' heads had a total of 6 eyes, with 3 on each side, similar to a Hydrisikk. However, they served no function. Like a cave salamander, acid cows were completely blind, their eyes nothing but milky white pearls adorning their heads. Instead, acid cows maintained a 180 degree vibration-based sonar system using their legs.
Bovic Acid #
Acid cows were one of the strangest creatures on all of Legere. Their blood contained a unique chemical called bovic acid, making it highly corrosive. Bovic acid was found in increasing concentration in the boils of the acid cow, and even stronger still was the bovic acid spewed by it. Acid cows were completely unaffected by all types of acid regardless of pH--even pHs lower than the normal levels in their blood vessels, stomach, or boils.
Anaerobe #
Only to confuse its classification further, the acid cow was anaerobic. No oxygen was needed for the creature to metabolize.
Genetics and Reproduction #
Acid cows gave birth to live young just like a standard mammal despite their bizarre physiology. With male and female counterparts, the breeding of acid cows was not unlike that of normal milk-producing cattle.
Once impregnated by a bull, a female acid cow would become pregnant with twins for a period of about 6 months. Acid cows always gave birth to twins, one male and one female. The only exceptions were stillborn or disease-interrupted pregnancies that altered the normal process.
Growth Rate & Stages #
Acid cow children were born without legs, and had to be carried around by their parents.
About 3-4 weeks after being born, an acid cow will have fully grown legs and be able to walk by itself without the aid of their mother or father. After 1 month, an acid cow was an adult.
Their main butchers, the naga, were thankful for their rapid growth, since it fed their own kind's extremely fast multiplication.
Dietary Needs and Habits #
Acid cows fed by spewing potent bovic acid onto rocks before lapping up the mess with their thick, long tongue. This acid was built up within a sac in their throat. An acid cow could produce up to 30 liters of acid in a single day for use in feeding. The acid cow's digestive tract could absorb the freed minerals within the acidic slag once it was been ingested.
90% of an acid cow's waking hours consisted of feeding, since the amount of minerals it got from the rock came in small amounts. These minerals were all acid cows needed to survive--plant matter or flesh was unnecessary. This allowed acid cows to effectively behave as extremophilic multicellular macroorganisms.
The only resource that dictated the movement of acid cows was the availability of water.
Ecology and Habitats #
Acid cows lived below the surface in the dark of the extensive cavern system the naga called their territory. While in the wild, acid cows were bountiful and could be found almost anywhere. As the naga kingdoms grew, natural populations of acid cows would become all but extinct, mainly due to domestication.
Naga have tried to bring acid cows to the surface to farm, but the lack of minerals in stone, prevalence of predators, and disgust of non-naga customers have caused these efforts to fail.
Acid cows act almost like natural tunnel borers. Their voracious appetite for minerals embedded within the rock walls of caves force them to continue spewing out acid and lapping up the tailings. "Pastures" for acid cows could be set up almost anywhere--someone walking through the underground countryside would be bound to see a massive herd of acid cows all lined up one by one alongside the cavern walls, licking away at the sides. Over time, this would cause the cavern to expand, caused by years and years of generations of acid cows' feasting.
Domestication #
Acid cow domestication occurred early on in naga history. Naga record keeping of historical events was incredibly poor so it was not clear as to when or how it happened.
Some ancient naga artwork depicts acid cows as a far different creature--with a shorter height and longer limbs, the ancient acid cow may have looked more like an insect than mammal. Their heads also seemed to have been attached by longer necks as opposed to the shorter, stubbier necks of modern acid cows. It's likely that as acid cows were further bred for livestock, selective breeding for chunkier, meatier individuals caused them to have a far more plump appearance.
Uses, Products & Exploitation #
Naga used the acid cow primarily for its flesh. Naga also harvested the acid in their boils, storing it in containers to be thrown at enemies in order to melt through their Saurium armour. Bovic acid was also a key component in saurium forging, which required large amounts of acid in order to create the volume of weaponry needed to fuel the naga war machine.