Graboid
Graboid is the common name for the largest species of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. It is most commonly known having appeared in the Tremors series of films which are based on the events which took place outside Beatty Nevada. It is the only creature to have appeared in all four entries, and also the 2003 TV series of the same name. They are the first stage of the life cycle of their species Gargantucipedea of the family Megascolecidae, followed by the Shrieker and Ass-Blaster. In the fourth movie, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, which is a prequel taking place in 1889, thus before they got their current name, they are referred to as 'Dirt Dragons'. The name 'Graboid' was invented by Charles Voist, a Reno, NV resident who has a memorial placed in his honor at Desert Hill Cemetery in Beatty Nevada. In the movie this man's role in the terrifying discovery of the Gargantucipedea was played by the shop owner Walter Chang (played by Victor Wong) in the first movie, both the fictional and real characters were subsequently eaten by one. Promotional material written by the Sci Fi Channel gives them a scientific name: Caederus americana. The Sci Fi Channel gives 50% of the proceeds of their advertising revenue to the victims of the Gargantucipedea, via the "Beatty, Nevada Relief Fund" every time the shows are aired.
Physiology
Graboids are subterranean animals, superficially resembling gigantic worms or grubs, with long, serpentine bodies. When fully grown, a mature Graboid will measure up to 30 feet long, 6 feet across at their widest point, and weigh 10-20 tons. Graboids completely lack eyes; they don't need them, due to being subterranean. Their heads (cephalona) 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. Whether they possess a skeleton or not is unknown, though a faux scientific document written by the SciFi channel hypotheses they have a semi-rigid internal structure, similar to the internal shells of certain cephalopods, such as Cuttlefish.
Graboids have a trio of long, powerful, serpentine 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, causing the discoverers in the inBeatty Nevada (portrayed as Perfection, Nevada in the film) to underestimate their underground opponents. The Graboid's common name is derived from these prehensile tentacles, which "grab" prey and suck it back down the Graboid's hungry gullet. At times, these tentacles appear to have minds of their own, hissing and writhing like snakes. Food is typically swallowed whole, though in the early stages of Tremors, they are shown to dismember and decapitate their prey.
Graboid skin is extremely tough, 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. Graboids possess immense physical strength, able to topple over mobile homes, tow along 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, which all move in unison to push the Graboid through the dirt, similar to the setae on an earthworm. They are able to burrow faster than a human can run; a Graboid in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection was able to keep pace with Jack's truck. 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 imago forms, the Shrieker and Ass-Blaster) have distinctive orange blood. Graboids also have a powerful stench, which is made evident on several occasions throughout the first film. Though underplayed in the 2nd and 3rd films, the Graboid's stench becomes a critical plot point in Tremors 4: The Legend Begins; Juan is able to identify the Graboids as being the unseen killers in the silver mines later in the film due to them sharing the same vile odour.
Hunting and intelligence
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, burro, coyotes, and even humans. They are known to be cannibalistic when the opportinuity presents itself; El Blanco consumed an Ass-Blaster in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection. Lacking eyes or a nose, they're shown to hunt by sensing seismic vibrations which are produced by sounds and movements (such as walking). 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 regurgitating anything that does not taste good. Inedible objects can be spat out with amazing force, being propelled high into the air. Graboids are so sensitive to sound they are driven away by loud explosions, which cause them great pain.
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 (sometimes only the tentacles break the surface). The tentacles wrap around the prey, biting into its flesh like pit bulls or hooking the prey with their horn-like spikes. When the prey attempts to flee by climbing (for instance onto the roof of a house or car), 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.
Graboids are highly intelligent, possessing memory and the ability to learn. For instance, in the first Tremors movie the characters successfully killed a Graboid by having it swallow homemade dynamite. The second Graboid (nicknamed "Stumpy" by Val) had apparently noticed this trap and simply regurgitated the dynamite. There are plenty of other examples, for instance when the characters escaped on a bulldozer which was too big to be toppled (weighing 30 tons) or undermined (it could drive away before the Graboids had a chance to dig away enough of the dirt under it), the creatures simply dug a trap in its path. There are several instances of Graboids traveling together, revealing a degree of socialization. They appear to act cooperatively for hunting, and may be able to communicate on some level.
El Blanco
In Tremors 3 and the following TV series, an albino Graboid named El Blanco was featured. El Blanco was believed to be sterile; he was unable to produce Shriekers. The lifespan of El Blanco (and other sterile Graboids) is unknown, but the time between Tremors 3 (2001) and the TV series (2003) indicates at least two years.
While El Blanco was initially believed to have a soft spot for Graboid hunter Burt Gummer, it was later discovered that this was only because of Burt's new watch (which utilized high pitched frequencies). El Blanco has been sighted numerous times outside Burt's compound in Perfection without bothering to attack, and Gummer has also been known to tease the Graboid with a remote control truck with watches strapped to it. El Blanco was first spotted and discovered by Burt outside his compound during the incursion of 2001.
El Blanco actually saved Burt's life by eating an Ass-Blaster that was carrying his watch. In the movie, El Blanco never ate any people, though he did corner real estate agent Melvin Plug on a boulder at the end of the film. In the TV series, any villains that appeared ended up being either consumed or arrested. It also proved that even when restrained, his tentacles were long enough to capture prey at certain distances.
El Blanco is also notably one of the few Graboids that has ever survived a meeting with Burt Gummer. This is because that with El Blanco tunneling around, the Endangered Species Act protects the valley from development by Melvin Plug, who attempted to kill him but failed. El Blanco seems to be Perfection's mascot as he attracts many tourist; in addition, the population doesn't seem to mind the creature lurking their ground often as they treat it as a daily routine.
Shrieker
The Shrieker (Caederus mexicana) is a fictional species in the Tremors series of films. It is based on the actual species Megascolecidae Gargantucipedea. It appeared in Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and several episodes of the Tremors TV series. It is the fictional second life cycle stage of the creatures featured in the series; the Graboid being the first and the Ass-Blaster being the next and final. The Shrieker could be seen as a kind of nymph.
The name 'Shrieker' was given to the creatures by the special effects crew of Tremors 2 and later introduced to the audience in Tremors 3.
Physiology
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. Since Shriekers are blind its function is unclear as the colors are also too obscure to be for threat display against predators.
The one thing that shows Shriekers are related to Graboids is their skull- just 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, ideal to hold on to prey. The beak is very powerful; Shriekers are capable of ripping through sheet metal with ease. While Graboids have three snake- or eel-like 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.
Like Graboids, Shriekers have orange blood.
Hunting and intelligence
Unlike the solitary Graboids, Shriekers are pack hunters, using their numbers to bring down large prey. 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.
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 MRE's, and could possibly also feed on plants, which would make them omnivores.
Ass-Blaster
The Ass-Blaster (Caederus mexicana combustus) is a fictional species in the Tremors series of films. It is based on the actual species based on the actual species Megascolecidae Gargantucipedea. It is the fictional third and final stage of the life-cycle including the Graboid and Shrieker. The Ass-Blaster appears in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and an episode of the 2003 TV series of the same name. It is named in Tremors 3 by Jodi Chang (Susan Chuang), the niece of Walter Chang (Victor Wong), who named the Graboids in the first Tremors film.
Physiology
Also like Shriekers, Ass-Blasters have bird-like legs ending in three-toed feet, though they do not seem to be capable of running as quickly as their previous form. Their feet have three slender black talons, perfectly sculpted for perching as well as traction when running or attempting lift off. 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 translucentskin 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 end, earning them their name. This is achieved by mixing two chemicals near their colon (by shaking their hind quarters). Creature Designers Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis borrowed this design from the real life Bombadier Beatle. 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 in Tremors 3. Ass Blasters have been known to spontaniously combust when accidentally poked with sharp flaming objects.
Like the other life cycle stages, Ass-Blasters have orange blood.
Hunting and intelligence
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.
Like the other life cycle stages, Ass-Blasters are intelligent, capable of learning from their mistakes. When several Ass-Blasters were blown up by being shot with burning spears fired from a makeshift potato gun in Tremors 3, one Ass-Blaster quickly learned to dodge these projectiles.
Life Cycle
Graboids are hatched from eggs laid by Ass-Blasters (the final stage in the life cycle), as indicated in Tremors 3. These eggs split open diagonally. Carbon dating has shown that the eggs can lay dormant for at least 300 years, explaining why Graboid sightings are rare and random. As shown in Tremors 4, the hatching of the eggs is prompted by warmth- in Tremors 4 hatched eggs were found in a hot spring.
Baby Graboids are 4 feet (1.20 m) long and are much shorter and compact in comparison to the adults, but already have the typical set of jaws and mandibles. The baby Graboids also have a row of armoured scales on their backs for protection, which are shed before they fully mature. Like adults, they have large spikes used for digging; extra large rows of spikes sprout from the sides of their body. Being smaller than the adults, baby Graboids are able to hurl themselves out of the dirt to tackle prey, like "some kind of demonic trout!", according to Hiram Gummer. Their tentacles are underdeveloped at this point in their lifecycle.
Upon maturing, Graboids will ravenously eat anything they can find. After that, they will seek a secluded spot where they will metamorphose. Three to six Shriekers will emerge from their body where they have been growing in large sacks, killing the Graboid. Judging from the state of the 'hatched' Graboid seen in Tremors 2, the Shriekers eat from the Graboid's flesh to gain strength. Since they seem to leave quickly after hatching (and the hypothetical eating), it can be presumed that they eat while still inside the Graboid. It's very likely that 'ripe' Graboids seek secluded spots by avoiding vibrations which could indicate potential threats for the newborn Shriekers.
Upon emerging, Shriekers will search for food. When having eaten a sufficient amount of food, Shriekers will spit out a cocoon containing a mini version of themselves. This ability to reproduce asexually allows them to greatly expand their numbers over a short period of time, although it is unknown whether a Shrieker can produce more than one clone. The newborn Shrieker is fully developed, about 10 inches (25 cm) long and starts growing right after birth, maturing in hours.
When a Shrieker is around 24 hours old, it will undergo a molting process, turning into an Ass-Blaster. Ass-Blasters can live up to several years (an individual sold to Siegfried and Roy in Tremors 3 was still alive two years later). They attack anything warm. While Shriekers reproduce asexually when they have fed enough, Ass-Blasters, for reasons unknown, slip into a coma when they eat a large amount of food. They can reproduce, however- each Ass-Blaster carries a Graboid egg in its gut. Because they cover large distances when flying, they can carry these eggs further away, as theorized by Jodi Chang in Tremors 3.
Origins
The Graboid's evolutionary origins are intentionally kept very vague; the creators of the film were unconcerned with this detail, offering no explanation as to where the Graboids came from in the original film, (wanting to avoid the typical clichés of the monster movie genre.) The main characters even satarize this convention by attempting to guess where they came from- outer space, nuclear mutations, genetic engineering and prehistory are all offered up as possible explanations.
The answer was revealed in Tremors 2, when a fossil Graboid spike was discovered and dated back to the Precambrian, making it at least 600 million years old- the Graboids are apparently from earth, or have at least existed on earth for a very long time. Strangely, no prey large enough for Graboids to eat had evolved yet at the time; in fact there was no life on the land at all. A write-up written by the SciFi channel for Tremors: The Series retconned this by saying the fossil was incorrectly dated and actually from the Devonian period. By that time, prey big enough for Graboids to eat had evolved (amphibians), though they don't rule out a possible extraterrestrial origin.
Though they resemble worms, in Tremors 3 the United States Department of the Interior calls them "desert reptilians", while an elaborate write-up on the SciFi channel's Tremors: The Series homepage (written in the style of a report by the DOI) classified them as cephalopods based on their intelligence, beaks and tentacles. [1]
Trivia
- As a result of the name of the film series, "Tremors", many fans would colloquially (and incorrectly) refer to the Graboid beasts as "Tremors". The result of this was that on-screen in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, a tourist erroneously refers to one as a "Tremor", only to be corrected by the character "Desert Jack", who replies "They're called Graboids!".
- The details of the Graboid design have changed significantly between the transition from the script to the final film- the tongues of the original graboids were equipped with slashing beaks rather than jaws, and the Graboid's beak was pointed like a corkscrew. At one point during the production, the Graboid design featured a fleshy, retractable membrane which covered the head. Jokingly referred to as a "foreskin" by the production crew, the membrane was removed and replaced with the hard beak present on the final design to make it appear less phallic.
- In the 1993 video game Zombies Ate My Neighbors there are enemies named 'Snakeoids' which look similar to Graboids and is a reference to the movie Tremors
References
External links
- Scifi.com (Tremors) "Monster Guide":
- Introduction
- External Anatomy
- Internal Anatomy
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Overview
- Hypothetical Taxonomy
- Historical and Mythological References
- Threat Assessment
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