| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Species | Mango kestros ("dart-throwing shark") |
| Attitude | Aggressive |
| Type | Mobile |
| Category | Predators |
| Biome | Overgrown Ruins, Needler Nest |
| Damage | 2–3 Player Damage (per needle) |
| Scan Tool | Bioscanner |
| Biomod | Dermal Garden |
The Needler Mango is a large, aggressive predator.
Appearance
The Needler Mango has an elongated shark-like body, mainly black in color with a wavy red stripe running down each side from behind the eye to near the tip of the tail. There are four fins positioned around the head, each black and edged with red. There is a sharp division between the skin of the body and the skin of the head, which is more recessed and grey, with a striated texture and bears two small eyes.
The feature the creature is named for are the six fleshy protuberances around its mouth, each containing a long and sharp needle which can be fired at prey.
An enormous Needler—three times the size of a typical specimen—can be found swimming above the Needler Nest. Despite its size, it does no more damage than a typical Needler Mango.
Needler mango eggs are covered in a dense layer of thick, short spikes and irregularly patterned with red and black striations.
Behaviour
The Needler Mango is an aggressive predator which actively pursues the player and attacks periodically by shooting volleys of six needles. The needler mango will attack the Tadpole, even when the Tadpole is not in active use.
Like most mobile fauna on Proteus, the needler mango is oviparous but is one of the few organisms with discoverable eggs. Hatched eggs can be found within the Needler Nest.
Databank Entry
Mango kestros, the dart-throwing shark. Territorial predator capable of launching uranium-tipped tusks at up to twenty meters per second.
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Erupted jaw Dominated by six upper jaw tusk sockets. The lower jaw has receded into the throat for rasping and crushing. Muscles behind each tusk crank ligaments around hard anchors, storing mechanical energy like a crossbow.
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Teeth battery Tusks are reloaded from mature spares deeper in the skull. Needlers constantly form new tusks by 'sneezing' ground mineral paste and quick-setting enzyme into dental sacs. Each tusk is tipped with a self-sharpening uranium oxide cap.
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Body structure The equally spaced dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins give the needler excellent stability and aim control. A large caudal fin drives the needler on the sprint. Like its relative the marrowbreach, it has no thruster. Four 'whiskers' detect water currents to help aim.
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Behavior Needlers are social, nesting and sometimes hunting in family groups. They may be pack predators — cooperating to bring down larger organisms. Their need for constant mineral intake makes them fiercely territorial.
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Evolutionary history The needler shares a close relationship with the nibbler mango, which has a similar battery of constantly regenerating teeth. The needler may have evolved its tusks to penetrate hard shells—first firing into prey already clamped in its jaw, then launching the tusks as harpoons.
Assessment: dangerous, territorial predator. Avoid or distract even when operating submersibles.
Source: Scan a Needler Mango
Gallery
In Game
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Development
Trivia
- The Needler Mango was first seen in the first Subnautica 2 devlog, where the untextured head model was shown.
- The creature was later shown in full in the cinematic early access release trailer where it was featured prominently.
- The name Mango is derived from mangō, the Māori word for Shark.
