Cloud Leviathans

The Cloud Leviathan lives among the upper atmosphere of the gaseous planet Opaela. This creature can be seen hunting alone or in small groups, and can prey upon creatures both large and small. In this image two of the creatures are seen cooperating to trap many small planktonic air floaters by clasping their long tentacles together at the base, forming a sort of dragnet.

Bioluminescent organs called photophores cover 90% of their bodies. By controlling which of these are firing at a given time they can create changing light displays of incredible complexity, allowing them to communicate during coordinated maneuvers.

These creatures use jet propulsion to move through the clouds much the way that aquatic squid propel themselves through water on Earth, and they have an air bladder filled with hydrogen to maintain buoyancy in the dense gasses of the cloud planet.

Also peculiar about these creatures is the fact that they represent two different species working in a complete symbiosis. The front of the animal is much like an arthropod, and it is conjoined as a larvae with a soft-bodied tentacled creature which forms the back half of the adult specimen. So conjoined are these two original creatures that their nervous system, circulatory system and digestive system are merged together as one, making them a single creature for all purposes. Both original species contribute and retain a set of eyes, giving the adult both fore-and-aft vision which is useful during hunting. It is impossible for an adult of either original species to survive to maturity without the other.

Copyright K.L. Turner. All work is the original creation of the artist (K.L. Turner) unless otherwise noted.