Common Hortax

The scaly, radially symmetric Hortax communis is one of the most common predators found in the shrublands and the desert edges. Having a diameter of about 60 cm on average, it is a member of the phylum Trichordata. Trichordates outwardly resemble starfish, though their internal skeleton, made of apatite and silicon dioxide, is made out of parts which structurally resemble more the bones of vertebrates. The name hails from the fact that each arm is supported by an arrangement which greatly resembles a spine, meaning that the skeleton of a trichordate looks like if someone stitched together three snake tails. At the bottom center of the body lies the mouth, which resembles a three-pronged beak. Opposing it on top of the body is a cloaca that also functions as a breathing orifice. Due to the mineral composition of the skeleton, some suspect that the Trichordata are most closely related to the bilaterally symmetrical Onychognatha, such as the Yrp the Hortax is hunting here, but embryological data does not support this. Trichordates do not develop from a bilateral embryo, but instead are radial from the get-go, meaning that their ancestor must have already been a radiate, perhaps more closely related to the Mollizoa.

Atypical for a radially symmetric creature, such as brainless starfish or jellyfish, the Hortax has a rather complex nervous system. The gut is ringed by a circular brain and each arm possesses a prominent ganglion and a primitive eye at its tip. Obvious ears or nostrils could however not be identified so far, though it is thought the hortax simply feels vibrations through the ground and smells through its mouth, like a snake. Observing a hortax simply being idle, it seems each arm has a bit of a mind of its own, not too dissimilar from the tentacles of an octopus. While one arm lies down, seemingly resting, another one might examine something on the ground or probe the sand, while the third stands high on lookout for danger or food. They seem to cyclically switch their shifts. Once direct action is required, however, the central nervous system seems to override any individuality and the three arms act in unison, slithering across the sands with disturbing agility and style.

Hortax hunt a variety of prey, such as spirifers, developing shellubim, onychognathans and smaller species of hortax. The prey is often grasped, sometimes even strangled, with the strong arms and then slowly killed through multiple bites with the beak. During feeding, some astronauts report hearing a purring sound coming from the Hortax, almost like a cat, but this has so far not been recorded.