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For those of you who've seen my other questions about the Chomping Eggs, please bear with me. This new creature is similar but named a Dropper (reasoning below). It has two wings and an egg-shaped body covered in a calcareous shell, with an eye on the front and back.

The bottom of the egg is split in two by a jagged seam (the cutting edge/teeth of this thing's mouth), forming a pair of mandibles. These mandibles each have an eye, and there is a secondary mouth within the mandibles, a ring surrounded by tentacles.

It's called a Dropper because it's entire hunting strategy is to use its many eyes to fly through the air, position itself above some tasty-looking animal, then tuck in its wings and fall onto the unfortunate prey with an open mouth. The mandibles clamp down to prevent escape, and the tentacles force prey down the hatch. It's not exactly huge, so it can only eat things like pigeons, turtles, squirrels, and the head of some unlucky sap who doesn't realize that shadow overhead is bad news.

I'm looking for a plausible explanation for this creature, and my criteria is:

A) clarity B) believability

Good luck!

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi, Alendyias. Feasible/viable compared to what? Real life? (Answer: no.) Exactly what validation are you looking for and why are you asking for it? You've invented a nasty little bounder I'd hate to meet in a dark forest. What specific problem are you now trying to solve? $\endgroup$ – JBH Dec 12 '20 at 7:01
  • $\begingroup$ Evolutionary triggers; what could make a Chomper become a Dropper? $\endgroup$ – Alendyias Dec 12 '20 at 23:57
  • $\begingroup$ I've never been fond of "how would X evolve?" questions. (a) Evolution takes millions of years. Whatever caused A to evolve into B therefore has no bearing on any story taking place in B's lifetime. Think about it. Humans evolved intelligence as a defensive trait against larger, more dangerous animals. But that fact has little to do IMO with a story about humans today. Can you explain why it's important to know this information? Can you explain the criteria for choosing a best answer (otherwise the question is opinion-based). $\endgroup$ – JBH Dec 13 '20 at 3:45
  • $\begingroup$ Okay, I'm looking for a plausible explanation of a flying Chomper. My criteria is A) clarity and B) believability. $\endgroup$ – Alendyias Dec 14 '20 at 14:08
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks! Please edit your question to state that. (Never trust that people will read through comments.) $\endgroup$ – JBH Dec 14 '20 at 17:50

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