Here we are again with another batch of Monster Cove drawings. But this one exclusively focuses on the freshwater section of the park.
First up we have Sash, a Titanoboa Flagellufusti. She is 3 feet tall, and 55 feet long and weighs about 2 tons. Her species name means "Titanic Boa Bludgeon Whip". Her head was inspired by actual boa constrictors, she has a few spikes on her head, she has wavy, water-like stripes, and at the tip of her tail, she has a rattle like structure, but this structure doesn't rattle, she uses it to attack opponents which is where she gets her species name from. She also has a ribbon bow on her tail. And though not seen here, she does have fangs, but she doesn't have venom, she uses the fangs to pin down prey. Sash is unexpectedly kind for such a large snake. She's energetic and she likes being around people. And when she's not interacting with people, she sleeps up on logs in her paddock. The ribbon was actually something that was left in her paddock by a little girl, and she tied it on her tail because she liked it. Her exhibit is called "Titan Swamp", it's an area with a good balance of water and land, with a large log on the middle which acts as a bridge.
Next up we have Ayala, a juvenile Kaprosuchus Locunatator. She is 2 feet tall and 10 feet long, but adults can get as big as 5 feet tall and 20 feet long. She currently weighs 300 pounds. Her species name means "Boar Crocodile Terrain Swimmer", because they're very adaptable to most kinds of terrains. They can even climb trees, hills, mountains, and cliffs. She has a long snout, prominent teeth and brows, a row of osteoderms on her back, sharp stripes, arrow-like stripes, and bone-like stripes on her body, and patches on her legs, and regular looking stripes on her tail. She has prominent scales behind her legs. Unlike most of the other animals in the park, she's not tethered to any paddock. Actually, she can walk all over the park. But she always has her owner and trainer, Wayne Irving, watching over her. She acts more like a dog than a reptile, she can do tricks and she often likes to play with people. But Wayne raised her like this which is why she's so playful. Her favorite food is king salmon.
The next one is interesting, because I had to draw it from the top instead of the side. Here we have Kappson, a Diplocaulus Rutrusagitta. He's 2 feet tall and 12 feet long, and weighs about 530 pounds. His species name means "Double Stalk Shovel Arrow", because he actually uses his head like a shovel, mostly because he mainly feeds on crustaceans buried under the ground. He has an arrow-shaped head with armored spikes on the side, a fairly bulky body, stripes and dots on his back, the line in the middle is a sail, he has four fingers and five toes, all have webbing in order to help with swimming, and though not visible here, he does have a tail fin, he also has leaf-like markings on his head that he uses to fool his prey. Kappson is actually pretty shy, barely anybody sees him during the day, and he mostly comes out at night. Because that's when he eats, and he's an ambush predator when he's not digging for crabs. He lives in the "Big Dipper Pond" exhibit which mostly has water, but has some small rocky islands for him to sit on. Also, he gets his name from the Kappa monster of Japanese mythology. He also uses the spikes on his head for attacking opponents by swinging it like an axe, or using it as a battering ram
The next one may look like a crocodile, but it's not. It's actually an amphibian. Meet Gus, a Prionosuchus Ucahabitor. He is 4 feet tall, and 35 feet long and weighs about 3 tons. His species name means "Saw Crocodile Mangrove Dweller", because this creature mainly lives in mangrove areas. He has a long snout with lips, a fairly slender body, he has wavy stripes on his back, arch-like stripes on his tail fin, and he has a sail on his back inspired by newts that has speckles in it. His most notable feature is his front left arm, which is a prosthetic arm. You see, before he was taken to the park, he used to live in mangroves in which he was a major predator. In fact, he was a maneater. He openly killed humans. But one day, he met his match when he fought a particularly large saltwater crocodile, and it used it's death roll on his left arm, severing it. When he was found, he was given a prosthetic limb to help him move, and it is very effective. Though he used to be a maneater, he quite enjoys humans now because they saved him, and he especially loves it when he's cleaned by the staff once a week to make sure he doesn't have any ticks or parasites. He lives in "Mangrove Mystery", which isn't really a paddock. It's more like a massive lake in the park where visitors go on a tour in a boat going through many animals that live in the mangroves, and Gus is the last encounter on that tour, and because he no longer kills humans, visitors aren't scared to get close to him. Also, Gus was named after Gustave, a massive man-eating Nile crocodile. Also, if you're wondering why his head is way different compared to a prehistoric Prionosuchus, it's because his kind evolved to look more like crocodiles in order to better compete with them.
And last but not least, we have the biggest animal in the freshwater section. Here is Gil, a Sarcosuchus Imperatoriadens. His species name means "Flesh Crocodile Imperial Tooth". He is 6 feet tall, 55 feet long, and weighs about 4.5 tons. He has a bulkier head than a Cretaceous Sarcosuchus, a large gash on his left side caused by another Sarcosuchus, he has armor all over his neck and back, even underneath his neck, he has tiger stripes on his body, a spiky tail with normal crocodile stripes, and he's way bulkier than a Cretaceous Sarcosuchus. He can also perform a proper death roll unlike a Cretaceous Sarcosuchus. Also, his species name, Imperatoriadens, is a tribute to the most well known Sarcosuchus species, S. Imperator. Gil is unlike anyone on this list, because most of them are fairly relaxed and even good natured, but not Gil. He's genuinely aggressive, and he likes to scare and unsettle people. But in truth, he does it because he's bored, and he likes to see the fear in his prey's eyes. He even grins and points at visitors when they pass by, earning him the nickname of "Sinister Gil". He got his name because he can hold his breath in water for over 24 hours, almost as if he has gills. Visitors don't get close to him at all, and even handlers take extreme caution when they're around him. But he just sees it all as a game of how much people he can scare. He doesn't want to kill them perse, he just likes seeing them scared. He's actually similar to Ricky the Rhizodus in a sense, because both like scaring people, but Ricky is more like a prankster, he means no harm, but Gil loves seeing the fear in people's eyes. He lives in an exhibit that has a lot of underwater caves, and has a lot of land for him to walk on, and he mainly high walks when he's on land. His exhibit is called "Supercroc Empire". Even though he's not a true crocodile. For those of you who don't know, Sarcosuchus is not a croc, it's called a Crocodyliform, It's related to crocs, but aren't actually true crocodiles. Also, the way in which I thought of his name is funny. Back then when I watched The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists when I was little, I always thought the Deinosuchus in the movie was named "Gil". But as I got older, I found out that her name is actually Dil. But I thought, hey, I really like the sound of "Gil", so, why don't I use it for another crocodilian instead? Also, his snout is not thin like a real Sarcosuchus, it's way bulkier, much more in line with modern crocodiles because he hunts large prey. He's even been seen hunting hippos when he was in the wild.
What do you think? Give me your thoughts down below. Who's your favorite? Personally, mine's Gil. I just really like Sarcosuchus and I feel like it needs more attention.
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