Yumee Report

Creature Name: Yumee
General Location: SR388
Species Status: Extinct

The Yumee is a bizarre arthropod from the planet SR388 whose bodily form is a powerful force of nature even if it is not the most resilient beast to ever rule the planet. These creatures, much like the Zeb and similar insectoids on Zebes, live within tunnels made ether be forcefully ramming into artificial structures to make holes or simply by carving through rock gradually; regardless, these creatures are a step above their Zebesian relatives in terms of anatomical design. While their bodies might not be that much resistant against direct gunfire, in terms of physical attacks, they are able to withstand a lot more than their relatives as a result of their small bodies being covered from top to bottom in a series of fixed, armored plates that make them much more difficult to pierce with physical attacks; in fact, the only part of their body that isn’t armored is their single, massive red eye, which actually tracks targets using infrared vision. These creature are adorned with a single horn on the tops of their heads that can pierce metal if rammed hard enough and is thus the primary means with which these creatures try and take down potential prey. What makes the Yumee stand out from all similar types of colonial creatures, however, is the fact that their aerial movements are powered not by winged flight but jet propulsion. The back end of these creatures contains a port where they release a combination of volatile gases that they can then ignite externally by scraping the ends of their armored plates together, producing sparks in the process. Once this jet is lit, it will produce a small but potent burst of flame that will propel the creature in whatever direction it wishes. In addition, these creatures have a huge advantage over their competition because there is a massive joint in the center of their bodies that allows them to rotate their lower bodies a full 90 degrees while in flight; as such, whenever their body is straight, they can move forward horizontally, but if they tilt the lower end of their body downward, they can then ride their jet to move up and down vertically. This ability to change their flight trajectory makes the Yumee much less predictable and therefore more dangerous against unarmored prey items. Thankfully for most explorers, though, these creatures are still fairly easy to kill and can even be farmed for supplies just like many other weak creatures that share their habitat characteristics, though it is noted that their colonies are not that very large and the bulk of them may end up moving from a spot if at least ten members are killed in a very short period of time.