Graboids (Tremors)

Sandworm like creatures

There are two known species of graboids (aka dirt dragons) one in North America and the other in Africa. in both species, the Graboid is the first stage in the creatures' life cycle. Graboids are depicted as subterranean animals, superficially resembling gigantic worms or larva, with long, serpentine bodies. When fully grown, a mature American Graboid can measure up to 30 ft (9 m) long, and 6 ft (2 m) across at its widest point, and may weigh 10-20 tons. From the information presented in Tremors 4, it takes them about 3 months to attain this size. Anatomically speaking, the Graboid is a tube wrapped with thick skin-muscle, which is necessary to manipulate its external spines. Presumably, it must also possess a semi-rigid internal structure (though not a true endoskeleton) since it can burst through concrete (though such an impact kills it). Less dramatically, the Graboid's ability to lift its upper body into the air, as well as bear the weight of the soil through which it moves, also suggests a semi-rigid internal structure. The internal cuttle-bone structure is probably coupled with a strong musculature. It is logical to assume that a Graboid propels itself underground partly with its surface spines, and partly with an overall motion of its body. A strong internal musculature would enable the Graboid to flex its entire body, undulating in a curling, corkscrew motion through the ground. Graboids completely lack eyes as they live underground. Their heads consist of a massive, black, armored beak, which is used to push aside the dirt whilst digging. The beak opens up like a grotesque flower; it consists of a wide upper jaw, a thinner lower jaw, and a pair of hooked mandibles on either side, they measure three feet long. Whether they possess a skeleton or not is unknown, though a faux scientific document written by the Sci-Fi channel hypotheses they have a semi-rigid internal structure, similar to the internal cuttle-bones of certain cephalopods, such as cuttlefish.

Sandworm like creatures

Graboids have a trio of long, powerful, serpent-like tentacles, which are prehensile and have a reach of at least ten feet. Normally kept retracted in the Graboid's throat, these tentacles were initially mistaken for the actual creatures. The Graboid's common name is derived from these prehensile tentacles, which "grab" prey and suck it down the Graboid's hungry gullet. The three "tongues" each have a mouth, teeth and two pairs of horn-like projections on the upper jaw and lower jaw. The tentacles are used in other ways besides grasping. Other purposes of these erstwhile appendages include sensing very subtle vibrations and feeling around basically acting as the arms and hands of the creature. However, unlike human hands, the tentacles have taste sensors inside the mouth-like jaws. So when a tentacle's jaws close on something, the Graboid can quickly tell if something is worth reeling in to eat. While at times, these tentacles appear to have minds of their own, hissing and writhing like snakes, they, like an octopuses tentacles, are simply extensions of the creature. Food is typically swallowed whole, though sometimes they are shown to dismember and decapitate their prey, this likely points to necessity if it senses other prey approaching and needs to start after them. They apparently have a slow metabolism, at least for the sterile ones like El Blanco, as it was only hinted at to defecate. A Graboid's hide is thick and leathery, with a rough, pebbly texture, giving them a reptilian appearance (though they are not reptiles). This makes them very hard to kill with anything short of saturation bombing or large-bore rounds, usually from guns designed for large animals such as elephants and buffalo. Graboids possess immense physical strength, able to topple over mobile homes, tow along with an object heavy as a pickup truck without slowing down, smash through brick walls and pull an entire station wagon underground. Encircling their bodies are short spikes,

Sandworm like creatures

which all move in unison to push the Grabboid through the dirt (more specifically Pleistocene alluvial Soil), similar to the setae on an earthworm. Their top speed is around 15-20 mph in good loose soil. Therefore they are able to burrow faster than a human can run; a Graboid cannot catch motorized vehicles like cars or dirt bikes. galloping horses can outpace Graboids. With armored head and mobile spikes working together in unison, a Graboid can "swim" through the loose soil at high speed like a shark in the water, though they are incapable of tunneling through solid rock. Graboids (and their nymph and imago forms, the Shrieker and Ass Blaster respectively) have distinctive orange blood. Graboids also have a powerful stench. The Graboids' greatest weakness is that it is unable to tell the terrain of the environment it is in before it's too late. For obvious reasons, it has been all but impossible to directly observe the creature underground; observations of the surface soil above a Graboid's route, however, show that such soil is sometimes humped erratically, producing a series of rises and falls rather than a continuous ridge. This disturbance of the ground is consistent with a writhing, flexing mode of travel. Furthermore, when a Graboid surfaces, it often does so while turning its head or body in a circular motion, supporting the corkscrew theory of locomotion. The Graboid appears to respirate the same nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere as other terrestrial animals. Witnesses have heard Grabboids sometimes expel blasts of air. This implies that Graboid's possess lungs. Whether these lungs resemble vertebrate lungs is unknown. On a related topic, the Graboid, Shrieker and Ass Blaster all have closed circulatory systems; their reddish-orange blood has been well-documented. This suggests that they possess a cardiopulmonary system, a heat pump, and an oxygen-based blood-transport system. The Graboid would seem to require astonishing levels of energy to propel its prodigious

Sandworm like creatures

bulk underground faster than a human can run above ground, yet it does so almost routinely when pursuing prey. It is possible that the Graboid spends most of its time in a torpid or dormant state to recover from these short, intense bursts of activity. The Shriekers' rapid self-replication and the Ass Blaster's ability to generate volatile chemicals capable of launching it skyward suggest extremely efficient metabolisms. Like the Graboid, however, these creatures appear to need rest while digesting food and after prolonged expenditures of energy. Supporting this theory is the observation that, when fully fed, an Ass Blaster collapses into a "food coma" in order to digest and to regain its equilibrium. Curiously, in addition to its feats of speed and its ability to digest large prey, the Graboid has even shown an occasional willingness to eat metal. One of the creatures swallowed a large metal drum and there is also a report of Graboids attacking a station wagon. Did the Graboids involved in these incidents attack because their bodies are capable of deriving useful nutrients from inorganic objects? Or, as is considered more likely, did the car's vibrations mislead the Graboids into thinking they had found living prey? It is possible that the Graboid's underground life gives it access to elements or chemicals that "supercharge" its digestion and metabolism. Because the surface-dwelling Shrieker and Ass Blaster also show a similar level of digestive/metabolic ability, the discarded body of their parent Graboid might provide them with these required chemicals. It is also possible that this ability is simply inherent in all three species. Regardless, it remains one of the most impressive aspects of their physiology. Graboids are shown to be ravenous carnivores, always on the hunt for food. Indiscriminate eaters, their diet includes but is not limited to sheep, cattle, horses, donkeys, coyotes, and even humans. They are known to be cannibalistic when the opportunity

Sandworm like creatures

presents itself. Lacking eyes or a nose, they're shown to hunt by sensing seismic vibrations, which are produced by sounds and movements. Because they are unable to tell the difference between edible and inedible vibration sources they adopt a policy of "eat first, ask questions later," simply swallowing whatever sets off their vibration sensors and regurgitate anything that does not taste good. Inedible objects can be spat out with amazing force, being propelled high into the air. Due to the sensitive hearing they use for underground navigation, Graboids are so sensitive to sound they must retreat from loud explosions, which cause them great pain due to sensory overload. For the same reason, Graboids are unable to hunt during rainstorms. The scientific explanation for this is based on the fact that scientists recently learned that rain is one of the loudest sounds underwater in the ocean. Graboids are ambush predators, preferring to sneak up on their quarry, though they are shown to chase it down with great determination. They erupt from the ground and use their tentacles to ensnare prey, pulling them into their mouth. The tentacles wrap around the prey, biting into its flesh or hooking the prey with their horn-like spikes. When the prey attempts to flee by climbing, Graboids will simply dig away the earth under the hiding place, undermining it until it collapses or sinks low enough to allow the Graboid to pluck off the hiding prey. When they are unable to break down the prey's hiding spot, the undaunted Graboids will continue circling it like sharks until it ceases making vibrations. Usually, they wait so long the prey dies of dehydration or starvation, i.e. several days. Little is known about the creatures' nervous systems, but all forms of the Graboid appear to have sophisticated brains, at least as compared with other predatory animals. All Grabboids has exhibited signs of being extremely quick studies. Science cannot yet measure exactly how smart these

Sandworm like creatures

creatures are, but they might approach the intelligence levels of such mammalian pack predators like wolves and lions. That being said Graboids are highly intelligent, possessing memory and the ability to learn. Graboids can communicate by a wide variety of clicking noises informing each other for food sources. The African species presumably has a similar life cycle to the American species, but unlike the American species, which is only seen in the Northern Hemisphere, the African species is found in the Southern Hemisphere, or at least Africa. It is unknown when this species branched off from the American species, but archaeologists find a skeleton of one, indicating that this is not a new evolution. After seeing the skeleton, Burt describes this species as longer and slimmer. While not a biologist he describes this species as more evolved and efficient, better adapted to their environment. The Shrieker stage was never seen, possibly indicating that their life cycle bypasses it all-together. The African species' tentacles, referred to as "Grabbers", can detach from the host Graboid. They are sentient and can hunt on their own. Separated, they are fast and lethal, able to climb up rocky surfaces. However, this leaves them more vulnerable to being attacked. It is unknown how many Grabbers each African Graboid has. The African Graboid also exhibits a far more aggressive hunting behavior than American Graboids; besides simply coming up and swallowing their prey from beneath, or using their tentacles to reel them in, these Graboids can launch themselves out of the ground to its target, showing considerably more agility than the North American Graboid. Presumably, this behavior developed in response to the speed and alertness of African animals, many of which can run faster than a Graboid's top tunneling speed, and will flee at the sensation of the ground moving were a Graboid to attempt to tunnel under them. Additionally, paleontologists found evidence that this species

Sandworm like creatures

is able to tunnel through rock by releasing formic acid from its mouth to soften rock before using its magnesium mandibles to eat through it. This would mean that the established practice of getting up on boulders or other rock formations to escape and stay out of reach would be ineffective against an African Graboid, as it could dissolve the rock until it got to the prey. Unlike the American species, the primary driver of members of this species is shown to be the propagation of the species rather than hunting. To this end, they cooperate with any Ass Blasters to protect their nests. This level of social cooperation is greater than any seen in the American species, and could, in fact, be described as a non-exist ant. Ass-Blasters and Graboids ignored each other outright instead of working together, in one case a Graboid was known to eat an Ass-Blaster. Unlike the American Graboids, African Graboids have a clear internal skeleton that can fossilize. American Graboids have a semi-rigid internal structure, but African Graboids have more developed internal structures more similar to some vertebrates. This likely, while not specifically stated, is a convergently evolved trait for African Graboids to better support their larger bodies, but it is unknown why and how they developed a skeleton-like structure. The Arctic species appear to be the evolutionary link between the two species having traits from both, although it is believed to predate either, indicating that the Desert American species and African Species diverged from this singular species. They look and behave similar to the desert North American species, but have traits of the African variant, such as breaching. Also as with the African variety, they have no Shriekers and develop Ass Blasters, but as the desert American Graboids, there is no apparent cooperation between Ass Blasters and Graboids. It is unknown if the Arctic Graboids have a more developed skeleton structure like their African relatives.

Sandworm like creatures

Most likely not if African Graboids did convergently evolve their skeletons rather than being an ancestral trait lost in only American Graboids. Oceanic Species This species is named after it's aquatic nature, having been able to swim to various islands. They are the result of Bill genetically engineering Graboid's for hunting. The Shriekers are the only other stage these Graboids go through during the life cycle, as no Dirt Dragons or Ass Blasters can be found on the island. They appear to be a hybrid of the American, African, and Arctic variants. Graboids hatch from eggs that can lay dormant for at least 300 years, possibly even longer. Abnormal heating (geothermal or radiation) of the soil around a Graboid egg can accelerate its gestation and cause it to hatch sooner. Once hatched, Graboid worms grow very swiftly into 30-foot-long, sightless, underground eating machines that hunt via their extra-sensitive hearing. They can zero in unerringly on the slightest movement or vibration. It's also worth noting that many people who have survived encounters with Grabboids have reported that one can smell the stench of a Graboid long before one actually sees its eel-like hunting appendages. it is stated that scientists believe that the Graboid species is now in a hatching cycle which is why so many eggs are now hatching and Graboids are popping up. Besides the Graboids seen in Perfection, Mexico and Africa which hatched in clusters, Graboids are generally seen hatching alone. the African breed of Graboid is shown to be very protective of its eggs and focused on getting them to hatch and propagate the species. To this end, they have been seen to work side-by-side with Ass Blasters. The American breed doesn't show this behavior with their eggs however, as the Ass Blaster is one to lay the eggs, but none have ever lived to do so with humans to observe them. So it's not known if Ass Blasters, in general, nurture the eggs. When in an area infested with Graboids, it is

Sandworm like creatures

important to remain absolutely motionless and silent. If you are in a stopped motor vehicle, do not let the engine idle, and be certain to turn off car stereos and any other sound-producing devices, such as a portable CD or tape player with headphones. If you are in an area with Graboids do not jump on a pogo stick, use a jackhammer, use a tamper, or use a drilling rig Graboids will be attracted to the vibrations and will eat you. Graboids have proven to be deadly underground predators. Strength & Combat: Because of their large size they proven to be quite powerful enough to bring down a small vehicle. As their strength also from their snake-like tongs could hold a horse easily. For combat, they mostly rely on their snake-like tongs to bite enemies as well as their powerful jaws. Their jaw strength is powerful enough to crush a dirt bike with a human on it as well. Burrowing: As these creatures live underground their lifestyle is basically underground to tunneling through the soil for making their home as they can make their territories to be unknown for humans or preys that will trespassing. Speed & Agility: Graboid's speed is proven to be greater than that of humans, able to run at speeds of 15 to 20 mph. With their agility as well making them able to make quick turns in pursuit of prey. Intelligence: Their intellect is pretty high as they can understand that breaking through a small building easily as the prey that is mostly humans will go on the roof to stay safe but after some time they will try to break the buildings down as hot will take some time to do so. Also have shown to figure waiting for prey to get off the high ground back on the ground to think the Graboid's have left but it a setup. They can also leave a trap for a vehicle that is too big for Graboid to take down as they will follow the large vehicle by making trap that will sink the vehicle. Though father sometime over the years few older ones like El Blanco proven to be smart enough to ow a

Sandworm like creatures

favors such as knowing the villains that were trying to kill him. Vibration Sensor: They can feel the vibrations of prey on land as they will follow the vibration to detected. Proven to be a very powerful sense as they can lock on prey. Endurance & Stamina: Their endurance is actual is pretty high as it took many gunshots to kill one Graboid that attack Burt basement as they use a variety of guns to kill it. Though over time they learn more as their endurance will not work on weapons that Burt will use to kill them more easily such one type of gun that was used on Graboid in the series that will blow it up with one shot. Though their endurance was also proved that Graboids will not be able to survive as full speed to go through a concrete wall will kill itself. Their stamina is very high as they can chase prey for a long period of time. Hunting: Its hunting style has proven to be quite solitary but can work in packs if needed to such as more of the variety of prey it's on the ground. Its true hunting style is ambush as they will hunt prey by waiting for fir the target to make loud noises of vibration to attack. Though they can work as a team to make plans to get more prey by breaking down small houses or sheds proven in Tremors. Maturation: As it has the ability to go into other forms as they can explode into the stage of the transformation into Shriekers to pop out at least nearly 6 then they turn into the next to gain the legs with heat sensor and final stage of the life cycle the Ass Blaster to take air. Grabbers: Its special feature of a Graboid as these are tongs are about six feet long as these are snake-like as it's able to grab around prey that is large like a horse to bring it down. It can use the snake-like tongs to bites its prey to hold and weaken the prey. Parasitic Infection: The Graboid houses a very deadly parasite (contracted by other lifeforms by being consumed by the Graboid but escaping before being digested) which under most circumstances

Sandworm like creatures

will kill its host in 48 hours but can lie dormant for up to 20 years in a host ( exemplified in the case of Burt Gummer) will cause the host to become slower, weaker, causes intense headaches, as well as hallucinations and unconsciousness. The only known way to cure the host is to remove antibodies from a gland in the back of the throat of a Graboid, which must be alive at the time of the extraction for said antibodies to be viable. The Graboids seemed to have surfaced enough times in the past thousand years (possibly during an earlier hatching cycle) for them to pass into the traditions of local native American tribes as Tecopa asserts, he seems to ascribe the Graboids' predations to being these creatures of legend. This could possibly mean that they avoided the valley that became Rejection and is now Perfection. a cave is shown with caveman paintings of Graboids, showing that the species had been active in caveman times as well, enough to have paintings made of them. They have also been shown to have been active at presumably some later point in the past but close enough to the present to leave behind a skeleton as one is dug up by archeologists not far from the cave with the paintings. Nandi also states that her ancestors hunted what they called Lightning Birds but were actually Ass Blasters. Shrieker The second stage of the graboid life cycle first seen in Tremors 2. Unlike their previous incarnations, the huge, subterranean and limbless graboids, shriekers live on the surface. Much smaller than graboids, shriekers are about 5 feet (1,50 m) long and 4 feet (1,20 m) tall. While graboids are worm-like in shape, shriekers slightly resemble dinosaurs or heavy ground-dwelling birds, having stout, three-toed legs and a compact body. They also have a short, stump-like tail. This tail, as well as some small bulges in the neck, has some orange coloring on it. Its function is not mentioned. The one thing that shows shriekers are related to graboids is their skull- just

Sandworm like creatures

like a graboid's, it consists of a powerful, beak-like armored upper jaw and a much narrower lower jaw surrounded by two mandibles. Both the jaws and the mandibles have sharp hooks and serrations to hold on to prey. The beak is very powerful; shriekers are capable of ripping through sheet metal with ease. While graboids have three prehensile tentacles for tongues, complete with jaws, shriekers have more normal tongues: singular ones lacking jaws. Like a graboid's, the tongue is relatively stiff (for a tongue). It can be stretched out approximately 3 feet (90 cm) and has some short bristles on it, not unlike the tongue of a cat. The shriekers' most notable feature is their heat sensor, a brain-like pulsating organ atop their head which is usually covered by a frill-like flap of skin, which is supported by a small ridge at the base of the skull. Using this sensor, shriekers sense infrared heat, which is their only sense other than taste and touch as they lack eyes, ears or a nose. As shown by shots in Tremors 2 depicting the creatures' point of view, the heat sensed by the shriekers is apparently processed into an image highly similar to that of an infrared camera. Shriekers are much easier to kill than graboids, being smaller, surface-dwelling and more easily damaged by firearms, although they hunt in groups. Like graboids, shriekers have orange blood. Unlike the solitary graboids, shriekers are pack hunters, using their numbers to bring down large prey. In Tremors 2, the graboids appeared to spawn 3 Shriekers per worm. However, in Tremors 3, Burt discovers that one graboid can spawn 6 from itself. It is likely that the exact number varies, somewhat like the number of pups in a dog's litter. Shriekers are able to hunt in packs. By eating sufficient foods of any kind and getting enough to eat, they have the ability to multiply. The creatures are hermaphrodites, being able to double a number every few minutes. In Tremors 3, the six Shriekers were able to spawn an

Sandworm like creatures

entire herd in under 12 hours. Sensing heat, they let out loud screams (earning their name). While the sound is useless (as they are deaf) they produce a lot of heat when screaming, alerting each other to the presence of prey. Another thing unexplained in the films is the shriekers' ability to "see" heat before raising the frill covering their heat sensor; they always seem to know when to raise it. It is explained on the Stampede Entertainment FAQ that they can see some heat through the frills. Raising them merely enables them to make full use of the obviously delicate sensory organ, similar to opening one's eyes widely. When hunting shriekers show some good feats of insight and cooperation, using each other to form natural ladders to reach prey hiding on high ground such as rooftops. Graboids, hunting by vibrations, often attack inedible objects, and the heat-seeking shriekers are no different. They have been observed attempting to eat warm car engines, electronic cables and steamed clothes. Shriekers also feed on cold objects which they find by dragging their tongue over the ground. They have been observed eating military rations, and could possibly also feed on plants, which would make them omnivores. Ass-blaster The ass-blaster (Caederus mexicana combustus). It is the third and final stage of the life-cycle. Also like shriekers, ass-blasters have bird-like legs ending in three-toed feet, and their feet have three slender black talons. The ass-blasters' most striking features are their wings – they have red/pink-colored sail-like structures at the back of their bodies, consisting of a semi-translucent skin supported by rigid stems. A third dorsal sail extends from the spine down the back and tail. Ass-blasters use these wings to glide through the air. In order to take off, they produce an explosion from their rear ends, earning them their name. This is achieved by mixing two chemicals near their colon (by shaking their hind quarters)

Sandworm like creatures

The mix explodes upon exposure to air, launching the creature into the air. The ass-blaster also learns at an extreme rate and can easily comprehend how to use its natural means of transportation as a torch, such as when one attempted to melt through a fire door. Ass-blasters have been known to spontaneously combust when accidentally poked with sharp flaming objects. Like the other life cycle stages, ass-blasters have orange blood. Ass-blasters hunt like birds of prey, scanning the ground for prey while gliding on hot air currents. Their heat sensors are much wider than shriekers', allowing them to view large sections of land at the same time. Judging from shots in Tremors 3 depicting the ass-blasters' point of view the heat they sense is processed into an infrared-camera-like image, just like how shriekers see the world. An ass-blaster's heat vision is much more detailed than a shrieker's. Like the other creatures, ass-blasters are also attracted to inedible heat sources such as fires. unlike their previous form Shriekers, an ass-blaster will slip into a coma after eating, instead of multiplying. Like the other life cycle stages, ass-blasters are intelligent, capable of learning from their mistakes.