Biter

Biters are a small, aggressive fauna species, mostly dwelling in the Grassy Plateaus, Mountains, and the Jellyshroom Cave.

Appearance

The Biter's body somewhat resembles a real-life tadpole; however, it has a greater size. It has two turquoise eyes on each side of its head, and a small mouth full of small, razor-sharp teeth like a piranha. It has two nostril-like structures on the front of its head. Its head features five horizontal black stripes. The Biter has no pectoral fins, possessing only dorsal and caudal ones running along its body length. Its upper body is a bright red, while its underbelly is a dull, pale grayish blue. It also has a small protrusion on its forehead, similar in appearance to the esca of anglerfish. Rather than being used to lure potential prey, this growth is effectively an extension of the olfactory system, used to track blood and other bodily fluids in the water, in order to catch prey. The PDA says that 2% of the biter is brain, which is extremely high compared to Earth fishes.

Behavior

Biters are aggressive towards the player as well as small, medium and shark classified fauna. They will often swim in packs of three to four, making up for their small size. Biters will attack their target numerous times before swimming away. They will quickly swarm any dead fauna, regardless of classification. Upon reaching the corpse, they will begin to consume the body until it disappears. Despite being aggressive towards shark classified fauna, they are also scared of them and will eventually flee from them if they are near one for too long. Biters swim slower at night while docile. This does not impact their aggression range or chase speed. The creature will flee for a few seconds upon being struck once with the knife.

Biters will target the Seamoth or Prawn Suit when the player is piloting them. Due to their size, they are unable to damage either vehicle.

Like most carnivores, holding any fauna will cause the Biter to eat the fish upon attacking the player, preventing damage from being taken. This will decrease the creature’s aggression for a short time.

Audio

Data Bank Entry

Vicious, pack-hunting predator. 94% muscle, 4% connective tissue, 2% brain. Indiscriminate when hungry. Almost always hungry.

1. Specialized Olfactory Antenna: Employed in detection of bodily fluids in the water at impressive range.
2. Secondary Pair of Eyes: Likely dedicated to detecting the peripheral movement of larger predators, and hungry members of its own species.
3. Overdeveloped Tail Fin: Favors out-pacing and outnumbering their prey over individual maneuverability. Calculations suggest creatures up to 100x the biter's body weight could succumb to a focused assault by a pack of ten.

Assessment: Avoid packs - Try not to bleed

Source: Scan

Gallery

Front view

Side profile

Top view

Underside view

Rear view

Bioluminescence

Size comparison to the Player

A Biter in the Grassy Plateaus

A Biter in the Jelly Shroom Caves

A close up of the Biter's mouth

A view from inside the Biter's mouth

Concept art

Model from Sketchfab

Trivia

• Despite having a closer resemblance to real-life anglerfishes, the Biter's behavior strongly associates them with real-life piranhas.
• There is a closely related species named the Blighter that inhabits deeper waters in the Blood Kelp Zone and the Blood Kelp Caves.
• Biters once lived around the Floating Island, but were removed from the location soon after they were added.