The Legend of Zelda-Octorok

Most inhabitants of Hyrule are familiar with the infamous Octorok, an amphibious mollusk widely regarded as a nuisance due to it's habit of shooting projectiles at passerby from their specialized mouths.

This unconventional method of attack is enabled by the creature's unique mouth, homologous with the nostrils of other creatures. Air sacs just within the creature's mouth are filled with air, which can be forcibly expelled to propel a projectile in a manner similar to releasing air from a balloon. The actual projectile itself is simply a regurgitated ball of cholesterol and calcium salts. Formed during digestion, these stones are stored in specialized organs until the Octorok's feel threatened.

However, despite the large population of Octoroks that roam the verdant wetlands of Hyrule, most Hylians consider the creatures to be mere annoyances rather than true threats as the cephalapods are relatively vulnerable due to their lack of an exoskeleton. Instead, their fluid-filled body cavity acts as a hydrostatic skeleton: the pressure of their incompressible internal bodily fluid on the body wall provides rigidity, and muscles are able to act against it (in a manner similar to the tongue). Additionally, though the mollusk's rocks do sting, the Octorok's simple ocelli have incredibly poor acuity and the animals are rarely capable of hitting a distant target in one shot.

The species is fairly invasive, and inhabits many regions of Hyrule. A general rule of thumb is that an Octorok population can exist wherever there is enough deep water to sustain a breeding population of the creatures. Octorok's also possess the limited capacity to explore terrestrial environments due to the numerous papillae that litter the creature's body. Each small protrusion carries a layer of sensory nerve cells, and slime glands. These slime glands are responsible for secreting a bitter mucus that prevents the mollusk from becoming dessicated during terrestrial treks, allowing the creatures to be amphibious. Despite this nomadic lifestyle, Octoroks are only occasionally seen alone as they rarely stray far from breeding populations.

This is due to an Octorok's relatively short life expectancy, with some species living for only six months; however, larger species may live for up to 10 years under suitable circumstances. Additionally, reproduction causes premature death: males survive only a few months after mating, and females die days after their eggs hatch.

Octorok reproduction itself is basic. In spring, Octoroks abandon their land habitats and migrate toward shore, eventually congregating in deep water spawning grounds. Once there, a tremendous mating ritual begins, involving the colorful displays of huge numbers of the species. The male deposits his sperm and spends his remaining days watching over the pregnant female; the female, in turn, lays the eggs, watches over them, and dies when they hatch. The young spend their first months floating in the deep water, and eventually leave for land in search of larger prey.

The stubbed limbs that are characteristic of the Octorok are conical, baggy appendages of the body, which are internally hollow and have no joints. Rigidity is provided by the aforementioned hydrostatic pressure of the limbs' fluid contents, and each leg can be shortened or bent by internal muscles; due to the lack of joints, this bending can take place at any point along the sides of the leg.

The most prominent dermal feature of the Octorok are the eyespots, eye-like markings that serve as a form of mimicry in order to deceive potential predators; though it's believed that the eyespots also play a role in intraspecies communication and courtship.