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Cipactli is a monstrous deity from the Mexica/Aztec culture characterized to be insatiable, primitive, and represent chaos and disorder.

Representations combine features from different animals, principally reptiles and fishes, like crocodile body or snake like. In other representations, with shark fins or more similar to saw fish.

https://arqueologiamexicana.mx/mexico-antiguo/cipactli-un-hibrido-de-cuatro-animales

These features might vary in proportion to make a representation of Cipactli, but the main one features to have some kind of Cipactli is a body divided by 18 parts or segments with a mouth on each conection or joint between them.

In general I'm asking about the entire features of this creature, "how could be an anatomically correct Cipactli?"

With the main aspects that are:

  • Segmentation of the body into 18 parts

  • Mouth like structures at each point of attachment

  • Aggressive behaviors

  • Appearance with characteristics of the mentioned animals

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    $\begingroup$ Fiction is stranger than reality - Everybody "knows" that it has 18 segmented parts, but in "reality" it is xxx (define as you wish; perhaps snakelike with scales and acts like an earth worm when chopped into pieces). $\endgroup$
    – DwB
    Jul 22, 2021 at 15:15

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Conjoined octodecuplets

There are 18 idential siblings that got entangled in the womb / egg, and have developed into a beast orientated mouth facing outwards.

Conjoined tuplets, or "siamese twins" do occur in non humans; although currently they dont quite get up to 18 presently.

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Starting with a species roughly resembling the desired shape and litter sizes of about 18. A mutation happened in the mother making her more likely to produce conjoined offspring. Eventually something resembling your picture is created when 18 children all grow together.

Looking through pictures of conjoined animals on Google image search split plane and angle seems to be open to all sorts of crazy creations, so something loosely like the ciplatcli seems plausible if 18 siblings are merged together.

Waste needs to go somewhere outside the creature exterior, so presumably theres some exit orificies not shown in the pictures.

Perhaps the 18 creatures form a rough donut shape, with waste products coming out the interior? This would prevent anyone from sneaking up on it while busy.

Why it's still alive long after the one-off mutation is a mystery. Perhaps the original creature had the ability to transition genders (think Jurassic park), leading to interior-facing genitals self-fertilising their identical conjoined siblings. This inbreeding would clone the original mutation, so I imagine each segment would be capable of bearing a complete conjoined litter of 18 child sections merged into one creature, 18 merged children, each a full clone of both the parents.

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    $\begingroup$ This is a good and very interesting way of that, but now being some kind of colonial creature, is not necesary be conformed of a similar specie, can be a (I dont know) just as example, cnidarian colony. $\endgroup$
    – Drakio-X
    Jul 22, 2021 at 8:36
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    $\begingroup$ @Drakio-X In a similar vein, it could be like the anglerfish where the males fuse their bodies permanently to a female so as to avoid having to repeatedly hunt for a mate in the deep dark of the ocean. $\endgroup$
    – Perkins
    Jul 22, 2021 at 14:09
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    $\begingroup$ "This inbreeding would clone the original mutation" doesn't seem exactly true for this case. I'm not sure conjoined twins are always a genetic mutation, they may be caused by external environmental factors, such as an incomplete split of twins that happens late in development. Therefore, you would need to replicate the external factors that caused the conjoining. mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/conjoined-twins/… $\endgroup$
    – Garrett Motzner
    Jul 22, 2021 at 23:07
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The 'mouths' could be pockets in between gastralia. The gastralia would be enlarged to form the jaws, with tooth-like scales on the outside. These belly-mouths could be used to grab prey that is too far from the mouth or limbs. This means that such a feature would require a rather long serpentine form

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  • $\begingroup$ I like it, but what could happen with the "mouths" on the limbs in parts like knees and elbow for example $\endgroup$
    – Drakio-X
    Jul 22, 2021 at 8:44

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