Oceanum Sea Serpent

The Oceanum Sea Serpent (Eudeus maritimus) is an aquatic dragon native to the waters of Eldham.

The Oceanum Sea Serpents are some of the largest sea serpents ever recorded, coming in at roughly 100 meters in average length, though there have been reports that they can exceed that length to upwards of 300 meters. Some call the Oceanum Sea Serpent The true god of the sea, and its binomial name reflects this, Eudeus maritimus, meaning exactly that in Old Viodoxan. It inhabits Oceanum Cove, the Oceanum Sea, the Kaladinian Sea, and can sometimes be seen passing through some of the many rivers to go further north. Some have been spotted as far north as Arrak Bay, and it is not uncommon to see them in the Diana Sea.

Description
Their pelts consist of colors ranging from dark blue to cyan. Large and powerful creatures, the Oceanum Sea Serpent has a maw lined with three rows of sharp teeth, each about 6 inches in length. Four nostrils sit in front of two large eyes, used for finding prey in the darkness of the deep seas that line the cost of Oceanum. Four large fins line the frontal body stabilizing the creature as it moves through the ocean. A larger tail fin acts as propulsion mechanism.

Behavior
Due to their enormous size, the Oceanum Sea Serpent is by nature a solitary creature, only mating once or twice in its very long life time (speculated to be hundreds of years.) They often hunt in the deepest refuges of the ocean, diving down to depths that would crush any other Sea Serpent, and only surfacing for air. They will hunt anything from packs of dolphins, to whales, to other smaller Sea Serpents. When surfacing though, they often assume boats are in fact whales, and will attack and destroy the boat, eating anyone on board in the process. Their most common prey however, are large shoals of fish.

When raising their young, the Oceanum Sea Serpent takes great care in each of its children, as only one or two are produced by each female every mating season, so they are fiercely guarded, fed and taught by both the mother and father. They reach maturity by the age of 15, but until then they accompany their parents everywhere. Mating Seasons occur every 5 years, where every "unwed" Sea Serpent heads to a specific area, Seemingly chosen at random, though new research suggests that they are chosen in line with the migration patterns of their prey. Upon getting to this destination, male and female Sea Serpents will fight each other for the larger mates. Oceanum Sea Serpents mate for life. If their mate or child dies, they will often enter a horrible rage, wrecking all that comes in their path. Due to this, very few people even think of hunting down the serpents, making their pelts valuable commodities.