Canyon crawler

The canyon crawler is a large animal found in the Western Earth Kingdom, and more commonly the Great Divide. With an arachnid body, the crawler is able to scale the sides of the canyon in search of prey. Its many sensitive nostrils provide a sharp sense of smell for hunting, and its powerful crocodile-like jaws bring death to any creature it finds. Food brought into the gorge often attracts the creatures.

Anatomy
The canyon crawler resembles a strange mix of a crocodile, an ant, and a spider. It has four eyes on either side of its face and a forked tongue in a sharp-toothed jaw. Much like a traditional arachnid, the crawler retains a two-segmented body made up of a cephalothorax and an abdomen, and its four skinny legs attach to this center body. The canyon crawler's name is derived from its arachnid-like characteristics and from its ability to run up sheer mountain walls. The canyon crawler also contains multiple sensitive nostrils, causing it to be easily attracted by the scent of food.

Connection
These creatures seem to be based off of real life ants. Their body structure is somewhat similar to an ant's, with the long insect-like legs connecting only to the center of the body as an ant's legs connect to its thorax. In addition to its appearance, the canyon crawler is also like an ant in behavior.

Behavior


The canyon crawler is a dangerous animal that primarily inhabits the canyon of the Great Divide, but its habitat widely extends throughout the arid terrain of the Western Earth Kingdom. Though the crawler prefers live meat and its various useful features make it the perfect hunter, the canyon crawler is primarily an omnivorous scavenger that is willing to eat whatever it can find.

Trivia

 * In the Avatar: The Last Airbender video game, canyon crawlers are the most powerful enemy.
 * After the Hundred Year War, a pro-bending team named itself after the creature.
 * The creators stated that the canyon crawlers were the product of an experiment to see how crazy they could make the hybrid animals. Reportedly, they asked if anyone could make a cross between an alligator and a spider because they could not visualize such a hybrid. One animator produced a drawing, and that design turned into the canyon crawler.