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We left early in the morning, when the air was still cool from the night before and the sun had just begun to pierce the horizon.

By midday, the three of us had reached a slow-moving river, and we decided to take a break and rest out weary feet. We sat in the cool sand of the bank, dangling out toes in the warm shallows of the river.

A ribbon of darker water caught my attention in the middle of the river, gliding just beneath the surface. Ripples broke the surface, quickly followed by a plume of flame, startling the three of us into laughter.
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Maximum length: 100 feet
Maximum width: 5 feet
Maximum height: 2 feet
Approximate lifespan: 45 years

Fireskimmers are aquatic predators that prefer to live in calmer waters. They swim by undulating their bodies, which allows them to sneak up on their prey, because this method of swimming disturbs the water as little as possible.

Fireskimmers use the barb at the end of their tails to spear prey, then finish it off with their razor-sharp teeth.

Fireskimmers produce a chemical that they excrete through the spaces between the scales on their backs. This chemical violently erupts into flame when it comes into contact with oxygen. While these flames are useless underwater (duh), the chemical tastes horribly acrid, and does a good job of deterring anything that would wish the Fireskimmer ill will. In addition to secreting it from their backs, they can forcibly shoot this chemical from the vents around their mouths.

Fireskimmers have very few natural enemies, but when they they are threatened, they can roll up like carpets and the hard scales on their backs will keep them safe from harm.

Made in Adobe Illustrator.

Fireskimmers are (c) copyrighted to Rainthatfalls.