"That's right! That's right, you are! You arrr-RGGGGHHHHHH!! AHHHHH-AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"

*BURP* (Sorry Mr. Postman...)

Meet Gnash! At least I think that's his name. Hmm... Open for suggestions!

This big fella is a megavore, a species of large carnivore discovered on the planet Juun. Megavores are a species known for their disproportionately massive heads and enormous jaws. With large, heavy-hided bodies covered in a dense layer of wooly fur, megavores are believed to be alien analogues to the ancient cynodonts of Earth - the prehistoric precursors to mammals. Endowed with extremely dense skeletal and muscular structures as a result of their habitation on a high-gravity world, they can exhibit incredible strength and endurance under less strenuous gravitational conditions.

Megavores rocketed to galactic renown after a 1st season episode of the hypercast program "Most Dangerous," which cast a weekly spotlight on many lesser-known dangerous species throughout the Milky Way. Megavores ranked fairly high on that list, due to their considerable size, aggressive and territorial nature, and insatiable appetites. Legendary trackers and scavengers, they exhibit olfactory sensitivities akin to those found in sharks, capable of detecting prey at great range. Also like sharks, they lose and regrow countless teeth over the course of their lives. It is believed that a hungry megavore will attempt to eat almost anything that cannot move fast enough to escape its snapping jaws - inanimate objects included. The species holds the distinction of having the most proportionately powerful jaws in the known universe (among vertebrates) possessing a bite-force capable of pulverizing granite, or even cracking solid sapphire. They have incredible digestive systems that can break down almost any compound, including many metals commonly used in habitat construction. The voracious creatures posed such an incessant hazard to the colonists of Juun that the settlements on the planet were ultimately abandoned, with the world declared a protected wildlife preserve after animal rights groups mobilized to thwart the systematic extermination of the species by the Confederation Colonial Authority. Still, they are surprisingly difficult to kill, and many pharmaceutical corporations would pay top-dollar to illegally procure live megavore specimens on the black market to decipher the secret to their remarkable hardiness.

Ironically, despite their protected status there are no more megavores left on Juun, or much of anything else for that matter. The exploding megavore population so depleted the planet's biomass that they drove the world to ecological collapse within a few decades. There is, however, a theory positing the notion that megavores may not have gone extinct, and that they were, in-fact, originally somehow transported to Juun from another world. This theory of non-indigenous origin is plausible if one considers that the megavore population on Juun did not exist in homeostasis with its local ecosystem, and functioned in a manner more alike to an invasive species. Furthermore, all known megavore specimens carry an exotic bacteriological community in their mouths and gut unlike any micro-organisms native to the planet Juun. Responsible for the strangely sweet-smelling breath for which megavores are famously known (also the etiology of another common aphorism regarding untrustworthy people: "if the words smell sweet, watch out for the bite!"), the bacteria, much like that of a monitor lizard, is known to cause rapid tissue necrosis if it penetrates the external skin of most organic species. Megavore bites, already highly lethal, have a nearly 70% mortality rate as a result (in the unlikely instance that the victim survived the initial attack, anyway), particularly if not treated immediately. It is hypothesized that this bacteria, and the megavore species, originated on a currently unidentified world, where they still might exist in substantial numbers. However, there are currently no known megavore specimens alive not currently in captivity - except for Gnash.

Gnash is somewhat atypical of his species due to certain morphological features that set him apart from the rest of his kind. Compared to the sturdy, stocky quadrupedal body structures common to his species, Gnash is more heavily and powerfully built, with a torso exhibiting particularly enhanced musculature. This is believed to have resulted from the unusual conditions surrounding his gestation and birth. Stranded and unable to endure the intense gravitational forces of the planet, the Auran took Gnash's mother as an emergency host for her most recent reincarnation. However, since the creature was already pregnant at the time, the Auran's clonal fetus gestated in the megavore's womb alongside the pre-existing embryo. Although other hosts have been known to be imparted with robust constitutions as a by-product of their "pregnancy" this was the first known case involving the selection of a pregnant host. The Auran's eventual birth also triggered the simultaneous birthing of the megavore kit - in that sense, they are adopted "twins" of a sort. The newborn kit bore anomalous pigmentation, or lack thereof, much like the Auran's albino complexion. As he grew, he quickly outpaced the other kits in his "clan", eventually attaining a size 50% percent larger than the typical megavore. Although male kits are generally driven out of their matrilineal clans once they attain adulthood, Gnash was ejected at a younger age than normal; his unparalleled appetite, driven by his accelerated metabolism, outstripping the clan's ability to find sustenance. He and the Auran lived off the land quite successfully for many years, eventually finding their way off-world through unknown means. Frightening though it may be, he might still be growing...

Gnash's bestial appearance belies a mind that is surprisingly intelligent and self-aware. Though his cognition might not be terribly advanced by human standards, his essential cleverness often disarms those expecting a simple, dumb beast. He and the Auran share a preternatural link that enables them to communicate telepathically at any range. They are always aware of what the other is feeling, and each is fiercely protective of the other. The Auran is also apparently quite immune to infection from the bacteria in his mouth, though it is believed that she acquired that immunity from their "mother". Gnash, on his own, has often displayed an uncanny ability to detect danger, absent any apparent physical manifestations of peril. This ability may have a psychic component connected to his relationship with the Auran. It is possible that their connection is even more profound, and it is has often been stated, only partly in jest, that as long as Gnash lives so will the Auran, and vice-versa.

An awesome adopt originally drawn, and then heavily customized for me, by Maim (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/doodlies/ ), who has some really cool creature concepts. You can look here (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21625531/ ) to see Gnash's mother, an example of typical megavore morphology. Yeah, Gnash is a big boy.

For more info about the Auran, see here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20826561/