Conashellae

''Shuffling trough the shallow silt is a tiny crustacean with a hard shell covering its top and a soft underbelly. Two rows of pseudopods jut out from the creature’s front, one set dexterous and probing the dust like sensory organs, the other hard as bone, pointed, and strong, used for burrowing.''

Combat
Conashellaes are timid and only defend themselves when cornered, preferring to flee at any opportune moment they get. If cornered, the conashellae will attack with its lower pseudopods, which are bony, hard, and pointed, and can grasp and pinch its prey. A conashellae secretes a salty and mildly corrosive liquid, dealing an extra 1d6 points of acid damage with each pseudopod.

Description
Conashellae, also called shell-diggers, are hardy shellfish that exist mostly in the silt or sandy wastes. They do not deplete the sand and silt of minerals, as their digestive process breaks minerals into base components and expelling the rest that is leftover, creating a liquid byproduct that doubles the mineral content in its wake.

Conashellaes are a viable food source; their flesh can be boiled and eaten, while the juices of the creature can be used as a water substitute. The juice from one conashellae represents one-third of the normal water requirements for a Medium character; one-eighth the normal water requirements for Large characters. The flesh and juices of the conashellae is very potent and removes any fatigue that may have been onset through starvation or thirst, but the nonlethal damage remains. Fatigue returns if more nonlethal damage is incurred by not meeting the food and water requirements of the size of the character.

The carapace of the conashellae is prized by some tribes of feral halflings. They use the shells as decorations, household items, and tools. Some have also utilized the shells as weapons, armor, and shields. When thrown as a weapon they do damage equal to a Small chatkcha, and if wielded as a melee weapon the shell deals damage as a Small dagger. A conashellae ranges from three inches to just over two feet across in size.

Conashellae Society
Conashellae are burrowing creatures, protecting themselves from the harsh environment by never going above the surface of the land. Their diet consists of plankton, salt, and water, which they consume by burrowing into and around a source of minerals or plants, secreting their digestive juices from their lower pseudopods, then absorbing the pulpy mass slowly through pores in their undersides.

Like most shellfish, the conashellae are found in small groups called schools, burrowing continuously through the sand or silt. During daylight hours, they never venture closer than eight to twelve inches from the surface in sand, and never closer than six inches from the surface in silt. During night hours however, the conashellae rest just below the surface, which is one to two inches deep in both environments.

Conashellae spawn in spring and late fall. Females produce between one and three dozen eggs, which are buried about fives inches deep in the soil of their hunting grounds. The eggs are never accidentally eaten during feeding hours because they produce a rancid odor when uncovered prior to hatching.

Hatchlings appear three weeks after the eggs are laid, and the young begin feeding immediately. The growth rate of the conashellae is unknown, but the fact that mature conashellae vary in size suggests they grow in proportion to the amount of minerals and plants they consume.