Mincer

Known for: eating prey alive by mincing it.
Branches: Praeostia Spinaformae Unicephalia Sonosentios Terrestria Thermosentios Trituronops Usurpator
Learn about what these branches mean in the taxonomy page.

Mincers are a predatory species found in the Terminator Line. They belong to the Thermosentios (heat-sensing) branch, which means they have no eyes and instead rely on hearing, olfaction, echolocation, and thermal (infrared-based) vision to perceive their environment and detect prey. They are an invasive species originally from the Night Hemisphere, having reached the Terminator Line recently and spread rapidly due to evolutionary advantages allowing them to compete effectively against native predators. Mincers have not spread to the Day Hemisphere due to their lower heat tolerance.

Morphology

Like all species in the Tenebrisentios Terrestria branches, Mincers have four limbs which they use for locomotion, similarly to Earth animals such as lions or dogs. They have one single head located in the front of their body, where their mouth and all sensing organs are located. Mincer’s distinctive feature (and reason for their name) is their circular mouth with saw-like teeth, surrounded by three pincers on each side. Pincers are used to capture prey and pull it to their mouths; multiple layers of teeth then move in opposing circular directions, simultaneously killing, mincing and consuming its prey. Mincers have been observed consuming animals with half their size (bone included) in less than two minutes.

Mincers have high sexual dimorphism, females being much larger than males. In addition to their size, females differ from males in having four spires on their backs (see Reproduction below) and two tusks under their pincers, with no known function.

Sensing

Mincers map their surroundings using echolocation. Their sonar, located inside their throat, emits high frequency “clicks” which bounce off surrounding objects and echo back to the Mincer. Mincer’s pincers are surrounded by sensitive, cartilage-like tissue capable of hearing high-frequency sounds, including click echoes, allowing the Mincer to produce a mental map of stationary objects around it. In addition to sound sensors, Mincer’s pincers also have an infrared detector each, which it uses to see body heat emitted by live prey in closer proximity (up to 700 feet away). The fact that Mincer’s sound and infrared sensors are located in their pincers means they can point it in different directions to achieve an extended sensing range. In addition to high-frequency hearing, Mincers evolved a remarkable secondary hearing organ, called the pulsauris, located inside their throat. The pulsauris (which means “pulse ear”) is capable of hearing and isolating very low-frequency sounds such as heartbeats or breathing.

Mincers can also smell, using specialized organs located in their tracheas. Mincers and Burrowers, both belonging to the Trituronops branch, are the only Praeostia known to smell using their tracheas, which on the other hand is common to Tergumostia species. This is thought to be a case of convergent evolution.

Despite not being able to see light, Mincer’s range of sensing abilities turns them into formidable predators. They can map their environment using echolocation (including areas that are not in line-of-sight); triangulate prey through combined echolocation, hearing and smell; see body heat using thermal sensing; hear their prey’s heartbeats or breathing if everything else fails. Noah-1 settlers need to prepare for this - when faced by a Mincer, the only way to escape detection is to remove yourself from line-of-sight (to avoid thermal exposure), not make any noise (to avoid emitting sound), avoid moving even if silently (to avoid detection via echolocation) and use your exo-suit sterilizer (which temporarily suppresses smell). Unfortunately, there is no solution to reduce heartbeats and breathing fast enough to avoid Mincers hearing you with their pulsauris.

Behavior

Mincers live in nomadic, matriarchal packs with a single female and typically 5 to 10 males. Packs settle on a nesting spot (usually a cave) for an extended period. When food around the area becomes scarce, the pack moves to a different location. Females rarely attack or kill prey despite their larger size and strength. This behavior is believed to be an adaptation to reduce risk of injury or death for females, since losing the single female in the pack would have a more significant impact than losing one of the multiple males. Males operate as scouts, traveling vast distances to find larger prey while feeding on smaller animals to keep going. Once a male finds suitable prey, it howls across long distances to call the rest of the pack. Females remain at a distance, often howling what are believed to be coordination signals, while males take down large prey. The female then approaches and feeds alongside males.

Reproduction

Mincers reproduce through ovoviviparity. Males develop eggs which they deposit inside the female’s spires using their hollow tails. Once an egg reaches the bottom of a spire, it is fertilized by the female’s semen. A young Mincer develops inside the egg, but nutrients are delivered via the mother’s blood rather than the egg itself (eggs seem to have a purely protective function). Once the egg hatches, young Mincers remain inside their spire and occasionally come out to feed on fresh carcasses. As young Mincers grow, they stop fitting into spires and instead walk next to their mother for protection until they are old enough to become independent. Female Mincers are always fertile; once a young Mincer leaves its spire, it becomes ready to receive and fertilize fresh eggs.

All Mincers are born male. If a male Mincer spends a certain amount of time without contact with a female, it initiates a physical transformation that turns it into a female. Immediately after this transformation, the new female emits strong pheromones that attract other males, creating a new pack. This remarkable ability, along with females’ constant fertility, likely evolved as a mechanism to survive in the harsher and deadlier Night Hemisphere. In the Terminator Line, however, it makes mincers spread aggressively and threaten less adapted native predatory species. It’s likely that Mincer invasions will lead to the extinction of several of these species over time.