Names: Cryptid Pants, Walking Worm, Fresno Alien

Habitat: dry regions; found throughout California

Size: up to 6 ft tall, or under 2 ft tall; sexually dimorphic

Diet: minerals and organics found within soil

Reproduction: androdioecy

Society: couple; large individuals keep near a smaller companion

Lifespan: generally no longer than 5 years

The Fresno Nightcrawler is a strange organism that spends almost all of its life underground; on the surface, it resembles a bright, billowing pair of animated pants, whereas deep below, it can only be compared to a giant earthworm. Soil dwellers, Fresno Nightcrawlers are covered in a slimy, wet mucus that aids in their muscular contraction-locomotion. As they travel, they consume soil and mix it with their saliva, producing and excreting humus—which is great for the plants above!

Fresno Nightcrawlers can be split into two categories: Type A and Type B. Type A animals are larger and possess both male and female reproductive organs; they are capable of intermittently producing young that are clones of themselves. Type B animals are much smaller and only male; unions between Type A and B produce young with greater genetic variance. Type A's typically prefer to always be near Type B organisms, whereas Type B animals only purposely seek companionship during mating season.