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Stilted Sifter — Description
The Stilted Sifter is a large crab-like creature that lives exclusively in alkaline lakes. For many species, the caustic water of these lakes are toxic and they appear to be truly inhospitable. While it is true that a lot of creatures will find these water bodies deadly, there is still life to be found in such places. What thrives in these alkaline lakes are species that cannot be found anywhere else, beings that are hardened and adapted to this deadly place. The Stilted Sifter is one of these species, having found a way to not only survive the toxic waters, but to pull food from them as well. As the name already hints, they stand upon eight appendages that have elongated feet, acting much like stilts. Six of these legs end in simple spikes, but the front most pair possess curved claws. These extended legs allow them to wade through the boiling waters while keeping the bulk of their bodies above the surface. Having eight walking appendages helps a lot with distributing their weight as well as making them sturdy in the face of weather and waves. They move slowly and methodically, making sure each step is secure and safe. They also move this slow because they have no real place to be, as all they ever really need is right below them.

Though the waters are toxic and boiling, it is still home to an astounding amount of life. Much like algae you would find in a normal pond, there are unique lifeforms that grow in clumps, gobs and swarms. If you have ever seen these interesting ecosystems, you would notice the gorgeous colors that can be found in the waters. Streaks of red, orange and yellow can be seen, at it is all because of this algae and other growths. These colorful blooms are what the Stilted Sifter feeds on, and it uses some special appendages to do the job. From its head extends two long limbs that end in fan-like growths. These are covered in tiny fine hairs that are used to filter the water, causing the algae and food to get stuck. Another larger pair of these limbs can be found further down the body, and they drag through the water to sieve out edible bits. As the Stilted Sifter walks through the waters, these limbs sweep around their body, capturing every bit of food in their wake. After a little bit, they will start to get gunked up and will stop filtering food efficiently. That is when the Sifter harvests its crop! With its long claws, it shall grab one of these filament bundles and pull it through its grip, as if you were pulling a piece of meat off a stick with your teeth! In this case, though, the "teeth" being used are comb-like structures called "pectens." They line the insides of these claws and they pull off the edible gunk that is caught in its filters. One by one, it will strain these dredging limbs and capture the food in its claws. Once done cleaning, the food is brought to the mouth, which is designed for cleaning off these pectens. Each claw is licked clean of this food, and then the process starts all over again! For such a slow and lazy lifestyle, it sure takes a lot of upkeep!

Despite their role of big, lumbering filter-feeder, the Stilted Sifter does not have much in sakes of predators. One of the big reasons for this is because these creatures essentially spend their whole lives wading through a cauldron. Not many beasts wish to brave the toxic waters to take on a heavily armored crab, especially when they have a whole array of pointy bits! The long limbs that help keep it above the caustic waters can also skewer foes that approach them. Their claws can be deadly as well, but not in the way people think. Since they are mainly used to clean off their dredging limbs, they are not all that strong. They can, however, grab an attacker and force them underwater. By shifting its weight onto these claws, it can pin the opponent below the surface and eventually drown them (or poison them, whichever comes first). While many may think that Gnarled Gorgons may feed on Sifters, they are actually wrong. Those beasts do not go after prey that large, instead preferring to sit still and wait for something more manageable to come by. The only real time Stilted Sifters are vulnerable to attack is when they come ashore to lay their eggs, but even then, not many beasts find them suitable prey. Sapient species may hunt them at this moment, and certain locals do indeed harvest them. In the end, though, adult Stilted Sifters have very little to fear. It is their eggs and young that see the most mortality, as they are much easier food sources.

As I mentioned above, Stilted Sifters do see some predation from locals, who kill them for their meat and shells. Due to the environment they live in, their carapaces are incredibly hardy and are resistant to many caustic materials. This makes them popular materials for a wide variety of crafts and creations. Organic armor and shields can be made from them, and that is their most common use. Due to their resistance to burning fluids, the Venoness will sometimes use them to craft Blight Vessels. They have even seen use in the field of Thericorium, as the ground up shells can grant the user a sturdy, resistant carapace (though many add some extra ingredients for some color and flair). Outside of harvesting, Stilted Sifters are not used for much else. I did hear that people one time tried to domesticate these beasts so that they could use them to cross the alkaline lakes. Their size and strength could easily support a passenger or two, keeping them high above the toxic waters. It was said that the Stilted Sifters were unfazed by the folk on their backs, which probably was because they are never attacked from above. However, this effort still fell through when people realized how infuriatingly slow these creatures walk. Apparently a trip across one of the smaller lakes wound up taking hours, which was absolutely useless when a properly fortified boat could do the job faster. It was true that the Sifters would not need the extreme level of upkeep and repair these vessels require, but the agonizing length of their trips were too much of a cost. One quote summed it up pretty well, saying "I would rather swim through the burning waters naked than ride one of those sluggish beasts, as it would be both faster and less painful."

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

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Edit: Apologies, but it appears DA is currently burning and melting as I try to upload this picture, causing it to keep breaking. I am working
on it.

Edit: Fixed!