What Is A Beetlemoose?
Well for starters, it obviously has six legs. But they’re moose legs, with sticky pads on the hooves. They’re about the same size as a regular moose. Its large, branching antlers are covered in soft, bumblebee-like fuzz in spring, which they scrape off against trees in summer to early fall to reveal an iridescent sheen similar to a scarab beetle. Their noses are tipped with hornlike appendages as well, much like insects in the dynastid family, and their lips curl back to reveal mandibles similar to a stag beetle. They bear thick carapaces on their backs, the iridescence of which matches their antlers, and beneath their carapaces are large, filmy wings that are like a sort of flexible fiberglass- oh yeah, these terrifying things can fly. They are mostly hairless, with the exception of their muzzles and the lower segments of their legs, and the rest of their body is covered in a chitinous material. As for their eyes, they are bulging, compound structures, creating the need for “eye bones”. Squinting too hard forces the eye back into the skull, which may cause eye bone fractures, and it is for this reason that the Beetlemoose is a strictly nocturnal beast.
Beetlemoose reproduction occurs when the Beetlemoose selects a mushroom and injects it with its venomous spit. The venom hijacks the mushroom spores, but it also slowly kills the mushroom; as a result, usually only one or two Beetlemoose are born at a time. The stronger Beetlemoose eats its sibling. The type of mushroom selected may have an effect on what abilities the Beetlemoose has, though most Beetlemoose are capable of spitting gastric acid at their enemies.
Beetlemoose Subspecies
Common Beetlemoose: Beetlemoose of average size with no additional abilities. Usually born of common, edible mushrooms.
Bioluminescent Beetlemoose: Beetlemoose with glowing antlers and carapaces. Born of any bioluminescent mushroom.
Puppeteer Beetlemoose: Parasitic pygmy Beetlemoose born of cordyceps that were illegally injected with Beetlemoose venom. They are capable of controling the actions of their host.
Oozing Beetlemoose: Beetlemoose born of the shaggy ink cap. Their hides are always slick with black ooze. Oozing Beetlemoose carcasses will self-digest.
Burrowing Beetlemoose: These small, rotund Beetlemoose are always born of truffles. The fuzz that they scrape off their antlers can be collected and pressed to make a delicious oil.
Angelic Beetlemoose: Albino Beetlemoose born of Destroying Angels. Known for luring the unwary into their territory with empty promises before goring them on their antlers. Can be differentiated from all-white Common Beetlemoose by the veil-like fibers that cling to their ankles.
