User:Masondactyl123/VolumeThree

Previous Volume

Species Compendium: Soft Invertebrates

Total Species Diversity: XXX

Preface

This volume posed a great challenge for me. As I progress into later volumes, more and more names pulled from real world taxonomy will show up but I could not go nearly as deep as I wanted to with this volume because of how the genomic age is causing a huge upheaval in taxonomic relationships for pretty much everything invertebrate as well as for fish. Most of the other vertebrates are pretty much set in stone as to their taxonomic relationships and will likely receive little change as time goes on though. Let me also say that my focus in my studies is largely on vertebrates though I do grant crustaceans and cephalopods special mention so I am not quite as knowledgeable on these groups as I am on others

I also decided in this volume (and the next) to go through and name every ambient “species” I could find in the files. Many of the starfish, urchins, coral, sponges, and tubeworms were named by myself, while this isn’t canon this does draw a parallel with real-world nomenclature in that there can be a myriad of common names for species (Puma concolor currently holds the most) so I see no harm in doing so. In the end this is intended to be a resource for roleplayers and given how there is a lot of ambiguity even in real world biology I found this a fun exercise. Some of these species were kind of lazily named (I had to name over one hundred of them) so if any readers wish to propose a new name please feel free to message me and if I like it enough I will change the name.

Setup

Each species is divided up into six categories.

• Name is self-explanatory.
• Appearances is a visual depiction of that species.
• Status is a short description of their status as a species.
• Unique Features is a brief description of any notable facts, behaviors, or traits that the species is known to exhibit.
• Location is where the species can be found. Some species appear in numerous zones, so I simplify this down to just mean "<continent/planet>". If you'd like to find all species within a particular zone, the sorting feature doesn't work too well. I suggest using Ctrl+F and searching that way.
• Sources include all the resources I used to gather this information. NPCs are NPCs found in-game. Quests are specific quests that involve additional lore for the species. Other includes any other mentions, such as in-game books, published novels or visual depictions.

Each species grouping now has seven subsections to the profile before the species listing:

• General Description: self-explanatory; general description of physical attributes and miscellaneous information
• Social Behavior: General patterns of social behavior of the group. Do they operate in packs? Are they solitary? Any unique behaviors in their social interactions?
• Reproductive Biology: Facts about their reproductive habits and mechanisms. Are they a sexual or asexual species? Are they polygamous or monogamous? Viviparous or Oviparous?
• Defensive Mechanisms: General tactics and abilities a group might use when hunting or fending off a predator. Anything aside from the typical scratch and bite
• Biology: Will often be left blank, any information we know about the inner workings of the animal.
• Diet: What do they eat? Do they specialize on any particular food?
• Location: general description of where members of the group might be located.

Please Note!

Please do not make major edits to this page. Minor corrections are accepted and appreciated.

This list is the second entry in what will be the most complete species list ever created for WoW. Please keep in mind, I am one person. I miss things, I get some things wrong, and I'm not omniscient. This is why I've listed sources. Check for yourself if you're wishing to use anything here for roleplay or serious lore discussions. If you find anything incorrect, or discover a new type of species (or argue against me on what I decided was or wasn’t a species) that is not on this list, please let me know and I will do what I can to add it in or at least hear you out.

• You can send in-game mail to Zanzulu on Horde-side Wyrmrest Accord.
• You can leave a post on my talk page, found here.
• You can add my Discord and send me a direct message here: Forgotten Goat#2933

Please do not make major edits to this page. Minor corrections are accepted and appreciated.

(Preemptive) FAQ

How Do You Choose What to Add?

That’s a complicated question. Even in real life, there is no clear cut definition of what defines a species, I have been introduced to 35 species concepts alone (Though only 3 have any weight) during my time as a biology student in university. Typically, if it’s a breed (variant of a domesticated animal) it is not a species, of course sometimes blizzard will call something a breed but it is also mentioned being seen in the wild so that means its a species. Typically, if it occurs in the wild, is distinct in range from similarly named mobs and doesn’t typically have prefixes that might be attributed to being a simple descriptor I consider it a species.

Why do you add some species that weren't added to the game?

Mostly, I add a lot of individual NPCs that exist within the game files but never made it in-game for flavor. It adds greater diversity of species for people to use in their roleplay and there exist species that we simply don't see in-game that we know exist in the lore (Like Arachnathids) so I basically often treat these never added NPCs as perhaps like a jaguar in the real world: secretive and not too often seen or just little-reported. In the end I think their addition enriches the species list rather than detracts from it (and some of these mobs have really cool names so it's almost a shame not to) and I hope readers will mostly agree. Every one of these species will say so in their "unique features" section so everybody who reads it is made aware as to the status of the npc.

Why Do Some Species Have Red Sources?

A lot of the newer NPCs, such as the mobs in a new expansion, have not yet been added to Wowpedia. Please keep in mind that the majority of content created on this website is done by a small team of volunteers; none of which are being paid, and there is a lot of work to do. In the meantime, please use Wowhead for your sources if the ones here appear in red text.

How Can I Roleplay Knowing These?

You can either say your character did their own research into these species and studied them on their own, or, I will be progressing and RPing that my character, a forest troll named Grazz’bek, has published this guide in book form and is written by me from his point of view (Meaning it is in character in writing form). You are more than welcome to say your character has purchased this book, I just ask the courtesy of mentioning that Grazz’bek is the author. :)

Special Thanks and Mention

The former (as of now) WoW player known as “Cannibal” is owed his due thanks for giving me the format for this guide. While I helped him with my background in zoology to form the categories, this was originally his undertaking before he quit the game. Having been involved in the process I requested that I be allowed to finish it when he made the announcement he was leaving the game making sure that both his work and mine saw more than the light of a google doc. Hope you return to Azeroth one day, Beans ^_^

Thanks to Petopia and WarcraftPets.com for giving me permission to use some of their images. Certain models and skins do not show up properly in model viewer and I am able to use their facsimile images from their site to keep in line with the image format

Porifera

Total Species Diversity: 22

Sea Sponge

Basal typically sessile animals that do not operate beyond the cellular level. At their simplest, sponges are essentially a chimney or tube that takes in water through incurrent channel pores lining the body and filtering it out through an opening at the top called an osculum. Three general body plans exist to describe sponges: asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid. Asconoid are the afore-mentioned simplest state of sponges consisting of a small tube and simple internal cavity, an example of this body plan is the cucumber sponge. Syconoid sponges are a small step above asconoid retaining the standard chimney shape but have a more advanced inner network of channels allowing for greater surface area with which they can feed and thus reach larger sizes. The final body type: Leuconoid is where things start to get strange and what most sponges fall under with an internal body filled with numerous small channels allowing them to grow into various kinds of shapes

Social Behavior: Sponges are extremely simple animals and exhibit no social interactions.

Reproductive Biology
Sponges are hermaphroditic and can reproduce using both asexual and sexual methods. Asexually, sponges can reproduce simply by producing genetically identical external buds. Sexual reproduction for sponges is also easily explained with a sponge expelling sperm into the surrounding water that will be taken in by other sponges through their incurrent channels, fertilized and then later released

Defensive Behavior
Many sponges produce toxins to counter against predators.

Diet
Sponges are filter feeders consuming bacteria and plankton found throughout the water

Range
Sponges are found throughout Azeroth’s oceans.

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Abyssal Puffball		Common	Leuconoid; sometimes occurs sympatrically with the related Brown Puffball but one species always dominates	Abyssal Maw; Vashj'ir
Aqua Bushsponge		Common	Leuconoid	Suramar; Vashj'ir
Arcane Spire		Locally Common	Syconoid; named for a color reminiscent to arcane energy and residue	Suramar; Vashj'ir
Azshari Sea Sponge		Data Deficient	Ultra-absorbent	Azshara	Items
Azure Sponge		Common	Leuconoid	Vashj'ir
Bleached Sponge		Common	Leuconoid	The Great Sea; Uldum
Bloodtree Sponge		Uncommon	Leuconoid	Vashj'ir
Brown Puffball		Common	Leuconoid	Abyssal Maw; Vashj'ir; Suramar
Bubblegum Sponge		Common	Leuconoid	The Dread Chain; Jorundall; Vashj'ir
Cucumber Sponge		Common	Asconoid	Abyssal Maw; Suramar; Vashj'ir
Desolate Sponge		Common	Leuconoid	The Great Sea, Uldum
Earwax Sponge		Locally Common	Leuconoid	Vashj'ir
Firethistle Sponge		Common	Leuconoid	Uldum; Vashj'ir
Moldy Bushsponge		Uncommon	Leuconoid	The Great Sea; Uldum; Un'gol Ruins; Vashj'ir
Orange Puffball		Data Deficient	Leuconoid	The Great Sea
Royal Sponge		Uncommon	Leuconoid; Often occurs in single colonies in nascent reefs	The Great Sea; Uldum
Rusted Tower		Locally Common	Syconoid	Endemic to the Scalding Chasm of Vashj'ir
Scarletcapped Sponge		Common	Syconoid	Abyssal Maw; Dread Wastes
Squishy Sponge		Rare	Leuconoid	Zuldazar	NPCs
Sulfurstack Sponge		Uncommon	Syconoid; shallow water species	Uldum; Vashj'ir
Toadstool Sponge		Locally Common	Leuconoid;I almost named them something else but decided against it	Endemic to The Scalding Chasm of Vashj'ir
Violet Bushsponge		Common	Leuconoid; one of the most widespread sponge species.	Krasarang Wilds; Dread Wastes; Vashj'ir

Cnidarian

Basal organisms exhibiting radial symmetry and a tissue level of organization. Cnidarians are most commonly distinguished from other organisms by the presence of cnidocytes or stinging cells that are typically used to capture prey and by their two different body plans: the free-swimming medusa and sessile polyps each with an oral (mouth) or aboral (away from mouth) end. An important note is that many cnidarian species will go through both a polyp and medusa stage in their life cycle (larval medusa and adult polyp or larval polyp and adult medusa) but I have only depicted the adult specimens of each species.

Total Species Diversity: 125

Anthozoa

Total Species Diversity: 100

Sea Anemone

A typical anemone can be described as a cylindrical trunk capped by a pedal disk that anchors the polyp to the substrate on the aboral end and a crown of tentacles with a flexible mouth, also known as an oral disk, on the oral end. The length of the trunk varies by species and may even be completely concealed burrowed into the substrate they attach to.

Social Behavior
Anemones engage in little social behavior though polyps in certain species may group together in close proximity.

Reproductive Biology
Anemones can reproduce by asexual or sexual means. Sexually, male anemones will expel sperm into the surrounding water that can be taken into the GI cavity by females for fertilization or trigger female polyps to expel their eggs into the water column to undergo external fertilization. Asexually, anemones can reproduce through a variety of methods including budding, fission, and fragmentation.

Defensive Mechanisms
Like all cnidarians, sea anemones possess cnidocytes. For most species, however, the stinging cells are ineffective against most humanoids and serves mostly to capture prey items.

Diet
Sea anemones are carnivorous and mostly consume zooplankton (microorganisms) but can eat anything from small fish to mollusks, echinoderms, and crustaceans.

Distribution
Found in oceans worldwide.

Total Species Diversity: 14

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Cthun's Anemone		Common	Often found in groups alongside less abundant tidal anemones	Arathi Highlands; Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Desolace; Stranglethorn Vale
Dandelion Bouquet Anemone		Rare		The Great Sea
Flowerpot Anemone		Uncommon and local	Polyps occur spaced out in roughly equal distance to one another.	Endemic to the Silver Tide Trench of Vashj'ir
Longfingered Anemone		Common	Polyps usually found in dead reefs and heavily disturbed habitat; possible indicator of unhealth in an ecosystem	Vashj'ir
Palm Anemone		Uncommon	Sparsely populated; individual polyps often found within sizable distance of each other.	Vashj'ir
Pink Bouquet Anemone		Common	Interestingly has a gap in the depth it is willing to occupy. Polyps happily grow abundantly at upper-level depths close to the water’s surface where they occur sympatrically with the seagreen bouquet anemone before being phased out by the latter species in mid-level depths and returning to prominence once again at lower-level depths	Vashj'ir
Pinkwig Anemone		Common		Azshara; Stranglethorn Vale
Rose Tube Anemone		Rare	Occur in clusters of individual polyps	Vashj'ir
Sanguine Anemone		Common	In the Glimmerdeep Gorge population the anemone has formed a symbiotic relationship with a local species of saltwater frenzy	Vashj'ir
Seagreen Bouquet Anemone		Common	Occurs in shallow to mid-depth water; polyps usually found with relative distance between each other.	Vashj'ir
Thistle Anemone		Uncommon		Broken Isles
Tidal Anemone		Common		Arathi Highlands; Blackfathom Deeps; Desolace; Stranglethorn Vale
Void’s Reach Anemone		Common	Prefers to bind to the side of underwater rock columns (often near gilblin habitation) but are not exclusive to this habitat	Jorundall; Vashj'ir
Weed Anemone		Locally Common		Tidal pools of Azsuna

Stony Coral

Stony corals are a group of sessile cnidarians typically forming colonies of genetically identical polyps that grow by asexual budding of the individual polyps bound by a calcium carbonate skeleton secreted by each polyp.

Reproductive Behavior
Stony corals reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexually they undergo budding and fragmentation while the means of sexual reproduction varies by species.

Defensive Biology
Same as in all cnidarians: sting it.

Diet
Coral largely feed upon zooplankton but have been known to feed upon small fish.

Range
Worldwide in distribution but they occur in the greatest abundance in tropical and temperate waters where they are prone to forming reefs.

Total Species Diversity: 70

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Bloodsucker Coral		Uncommon		Krasarang Wilds
Bubblegum Coral		Data Deficient	(Might not even be in-game yet as I could not find any instances of this doodad)	The Great Sea
Budding Tower Coral		Relatively Uncommon		Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Stranglethorn Vale
Cascading Coral		Moderately Common		Nazjatar
Churro Coral		Common		Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Stranglethorn Vale
Coral Lasher		Locally Common	Feed upon aquaflies. Which is curious, do aquaflies also exist underwater?	Nazjatar	NPCs
Cyan Sheetcoral		Rare		Abyssal Maw
Deepcoral		Common	Colonies often dominate the habitat they're found in forming coral forests; produce "fruiting" pods filled with a gas that many creatures, notably fathom rays, consume to attain buoyancy and even flight.	Nazjatar	Items NPCs Quests
Demon-horned Coral		Common	Often found near firethistle sponges.	Vashj'ir
Dome Coral		Common	Colonies often in close proximity to stone coral and smallmound coral	Eastern Nazjatar
Dragon’s Breath Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw
Fallen Naaru Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw
False Saturated Coral		Common	Always co-occurs with the true saturated coral species and is always the less populous in number of colonies.	Vashj'ir
Fire Whisker Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw
Forked Coral		Uncommon	Often found among nascent reefs but are much less common in mature reefs.	Uldum; Vashj'ir
Frostbite Coral		Uncommon and Local	Striking coral of deep undersea trenches	The Dread Chain; Vashj'ir
Fuschia Candelabra		Uncommon	The less abundant of the candelabra corals; can be found at greater depths than the scarlet candelabra	Vashj'ir
Glowleaf Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw
Golden Branchcoral		Rare		Uldum; Vashj'ir
Inferno Sheetcoral		Common	Close appearance to searing coral	Abyssal Maw
Lipstick Carnation Coral		Locally Common		Krasarang Wilds
Leycoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea	Items
Living Coral		Data Deficient	Whoever named this species needs to be educated and/or flogged.	The Great Sea	Items
Moosehorn Coral		Common	Colonies attach to the undersea rock formations.	Western Nazjatar
Mosstop Coral		Uncommon	The membranes of this coral are rich in oxygen, useful for deep sea diving	Nazjatar (The Eternal Palace)	NPCs
Needle Coral		Common	Not to be confused with Violet Treecoral or Greater Indigo Stagcoral	Suramar; Vashj'ir	Items
Pink Polkadot Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw; Vashj'ir
Pink Pufftop Coral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Pink Pucker Coral		Rare		Krasarang Wilds
Rusty Branchcoral		Locally Common		Vashj'ir
Saturated Coral		Common	Name derived from the high saturation in hue the skeleton possesses	Krasarang Wilds; Vashj'ir
Scarlet Candelabra		Common		Abyssal Maw; Uldum; Vashj'ir
Searing Coral		Common		Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Desolace; Stranglethorn Vale
Smallmound Coral		Common		Nazjatar
Spikeball Coral		Common		Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Stranglethorn Vale
Stone Coral		Common		Western Nazjatar
Thunder Coral		Locally Common	Colonies often found around the mouths of underwater caves	Vashj'ir
Tiger Coral		Common	Extremely prolific; can be found in any shallow to mid-depth reef	Abyssal Maw; Krasarang Wilds; Uldum; Vashj'ir
Twilight's Breath Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw
Unsettling Coral		Rare	More to it than meets the eye	Stormsong Valley	objects
Violet Perforated Coral		Common		Arathi Highlands; Azshara; Blackfathom Deeps; Desolace; Stranglethorn Vale

Brain Coral

Pretty self-explanatory in description: stony coral with a grooved spherical appearance similar to that of a brain.

Distribution
Brain coral are typically found in temperate to tropical reef ecosystems and rarely outside of them..

Total Species Diversity: 2

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Lime Brain Coral		Common		Abyssal Maw; Vashj'ir
Orange Brain Coral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea

Fern Coral

Colonies spread out in layered "branches" giving them the appearance of an underwater fern..

Distribution
Among the most widespread groups of coral; fern coral are worldwide in distribution.

Total Species Diversity: 3

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Abyssal Ferncoral		Common		Nazjatar
Fuschia Ferncoral		Common	Occurs at lower depths than any species of fern coral	Abyssal Maw; Off the coast of the Broken Isles; Vashj'ir
Red Ferncoral		Common	Incredibly abundant, colonies found throughout the world in differing environs.	throughout the Great Sea

Staghorn Coral

An informal grouping of unrelated corals whose skeletons often grow out from stalks and branch into prong-shapes much like the antlers of many cervids (Note: I drew the inspiration for the name of this group from a common name given to certain species of the Acropora genus.The Acropora genus also holds species referred to as table coral. I am using the name as a catch-all term for coral art assets of similar structure and shape and not just models that bear a close resemblance to the real world species)

Distribution
Being an informal grouping based on morphology, staghorn corals occupy many different niches and locations and can be found in various regions of the globe.

Total Species Diversity: 7

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Cyan Stagcoral		Locally Common		Dread Wastes; Eastern coast of Highmountain; Loch Verrall in the Twilight Highlands; Un'gol Ruins; Deep caves in Vashj'ir
Glow-tipped Stagcoral		Common	By far the most abundant of all stagcoral	Abyssal Maw; Krasarang Wilds; Uldum; Vashj'ir
Gold-flecked Stagcoral		Uncommon		Uldum; Vashj'ir
Greater Cyan Stagcoral		Locally Common		The Dread Chain; Loch Verrall in the Twilight Highlands
Greater Indigo Stagcoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Midnight Stagcoral		Uncommon		Krasarang Wilds
Rusted Stagcoral		Common		Uldum; Vashj'ir

Table Coral

Another informal grouping of unrelated coral species. Table coral are any coral who form broad, flattened skeletons covering more horizontal space than they do vertical. A number of table coral species are cultivated by Tortollans to use as chairs or actual tables in their dive bars and thus can sometimes be found outside of their native ranges in the undersea pubs.

Distribution
Many table coral species are restricted and relatively local in distribution having carved out specific niches. A couple species, however, have achieved a more widespread distribution.

Total Species Diversity: 12

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Aberrant Tablecoral		Data Deficient	Noticeably different than most table corals by the spiky projections on the top surface of the colony	The Great Sea
Cooked Tablecoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Copper Tablecoral		Common	Coral of kelp forests and deep caves	Vashj'ir
Drained Shelfcoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Grand Shelfcoral		Common and widespread	restricted to shallower waters; niche taken by lavender shelfcoral at lower depths but otherwise is almost ubiquitous in rocky underwater environs	Abyssal Maw; Krasarang Wilds; Scattered colonies along the Kul Tiras coastline; Suramar; Vashj'ir
Lavender Shelfcoral		Common	A deepdwelling species with colonies capable of reaching massive sizes (far greater than the grand shelfcoral of shallower waters)	Deep tidal pools in Azsuna; Nazjatar; Vashj'ir
Lilypad Coral		Common	Certain polyps within the colony exhibit bioluminescence	Abyssal Maw
Malachite Tablecoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Mossy Tablecoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Rough Tablecoral		Common	Individual colonies often found in kelp forests near verdant platecoral; usually no more than two colonies found within close proximity	Abyssal Maw; Dread Wastes; Vashj'ir
Ultramarine Shelfcoral		Locally Common	Colonies often grow around “dead” areas usually featuring the skeletons of other species; relative of the lavender shelfcoral.	Vashj'ir
Verdant Platecoral		Common	Colonies tend to grow around kelp forests and deep caves; relative of the lilypad coral	Vashj'ir

Tree Coral

Like the table corals and staghorn corals, tree corals are an informal grouping characterized by their forming large colonies that begin with a large cylindrical trunk and bifurcate to form thick "branches" giving colonies a tree-like appearance.

Distribution
Tree corals are typically known for only establishing colonies in robust and ancient reef ecosystems like in Nazjatar and Vashj'ir.

Total Species Diversity: 4

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Bloodied Treecoral		Data Deficient		The Great Sea
Electric Blue Treecoral		Locally Common	Often found growing around thunder coral	Vashj'ir, Twilight Highlands
Nazjatar Treecoral		Common		Eastern Nazjatar
Violet Treecoral		Common	Trips into the abyssal maw have lead me to believe that colonies of this species are capable of reaching the greatest size of all coral species.	Abyssal Maw; Tidal pools in Azsuna; rare colonies in Suramar;

Soft Coral

Soft corals, also commonly known as sea fans, are colonial organisms largely forming flattened branching colonies reminiscent of a fan in shape. Unlike their stony coral relatives, soft corals do not create calcium carbonate skeletons to enclose the polyps and provide support and instead have skeletons composed of tiny calcareous elements called sclerites.

Reproductive Biology
Soft corals possess varying means of reproduction just as their hard coral relatives do.

Diet
Many soft corals rely on colorful algae that grows upon the individual colonies as a primary source of energy but all soft corals are capable of filter feeding to consume plankton from the water column.

Range
While not typically reefbuilders, soft coral colonies often grow in reef environs and can be found anchored even to soft substrates like mud and sand.

Total Species Diversity: 15

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Amethyst Seafan		Common	Can sometimes be hard to distinguish with the closely related magenta seafan in certain light conditions	Abyssal Maw; Deep tidal pools in Azsuna; Vashj'ir
Cerise Seafan		Rare		Shallows of Jorundall
Cerise Treefan		Common		Abyssal Maw
Crimson Seafan		Common		Abyssal Maw; Uldum; Vashj'ir
Emerald Seafan		Common	Less abundant than the highly similar mossy seafan but more widespread; incredibly hard to differentiate from the mossy seafan in areas where they co-occur which is almost always	Abyssal Maw; Krasarang Wilds; Vashj'ir
Fuzz-fingered Seafan		Common		Western Nazjatar
Orange Seafan		Common	Frequently inhabits nascent reefs	Uldum; Vashj'ir; Whispering Reef
Orange Treefan		Common		Uldum; Vashj'ir
Iron Seafan		Uncommon		Abyssal Maw; Krasarang Wilds
Magenta Seafan		Common	Can sometimes be hard to differentiate from the amethyst seafan with which it frequently co-occurs but reaches greater depths than the sister species	Vashj'ir
Mossy Seafan		Common	Incredibly hard to differentiate from Emerald Seafan in many lighting conditions	Abyssal Maw; Vashj'ir
Ruddy Seafan		Common		Abyssal Maw; Uldum; Vashj'ir
Spooned Seafan		Common		Nazjatar
Steel Seafan		Rare		Vashj'ir (used as location due to one being at the portal to Vashj'ir but isn’t found anywhere in the zone)
Striated Seafan		Common		Abyssal Maw

Zoanthid

Often seen as undersea plants as they look like tentacle lined undersea flowers, and harvested by herbalists as if they are, Zoanthids make up an order of Anthozoa. Unlike the corals and anemones, zoanthids incorporate surrounding sediment into their tissue to provide structure.

Reproductive Biology
Reproduction is varied between species and can occur by asexual or sexual methods.

Defensive Behavior
Zoanthid polyps or "blooms" are often consumed by wildlife and thus when a branch or "tentacle" is removed from the rest of the colony it will curl up and retract preventing the individual zoanthid polyps from being consumed or harvested. (Did Blizzard understand what the hell it was they were talking about in this quest because the quest text makes no sense relative to the actual appearance of the herb node in game)

Diet
Zoanthids gain energy by photosynthesis with symbiotes as well as filter feeding on plankton

Range
A variety of environments from reefs to deep ocean depths..

Total Species Diversity: 1

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Zin'anthid		Common		Nazjatar	Objects

Medusozoa

Total Species Diversity: 25

Jellyfish

The Scyphozoans, or true jellyfish are among the most familiar and feared of all cnidarians. Unlike the anthozoans (anemones, corals, and zoanthids), jellyfish and other medusozoans (like the man o' war) possess both a polyp and medusa stage, the free-swimming medusa stage being what I will describe and focus on. A general physical profile of a jellyfish is an umbrella or bell-shaped "top" with a litany of stinging tentacles beneath it.

Social Behavior
While not truly social in nature, some jellyfish species will congregate in swarms.

Reproductive Biology
Medusa stage jellyfish typically reproduce by the release of sperms and eggs into the water column

Diet
In their medusa stage large jellyfish are often predatory and will feed upon crustaceans and fish that get caught up in their stinging tentacles

Range
Like many of the other cnidarians, jellyfish are worldwide and can be found in any depth.

Total Species Diversity: 24

Back to the species list.

Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Abyssal Stinger		Data Deficient		The Great Sea	NPCs
Bleakwater Jelly		Common	A jellyfish native to Helheim that’s not a helsquid, quite unique.	Helheim	NPCs
Cannonball Jelly		Locally Common	(Named after the real world species: Cannonball Jellyfish)	Tiragarde Sound	NPCs Spells
Darkwater Jellyfish		Locally Common	Has bioluminescent tentacles	Darkest Depths, Eternal Palace	NPCs Spells
Deep Ocean Jelly		Common	Brightly Bioluminescent	Deep depths of The Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Disco Jelly		Locally Common	A common sight around tortollan dive bars. Tortollans were not forthcoming about whether they lure the jellyfish in or breed the species for their underwater pubs.	The Great Sea	NPCs
Electrified Jellyfish		Common	Releases a paralyzing shock with its sting.	Coastal waters of Nazmir	NPCs Spells
Electrifying Jellyfish		Common	Releases a paralyzing shock with its sting.	The Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Fathom Dweller		Common	Occur in dense swarms	Deep trenches and chasms of The Great Sea	Mounts
Great Sea Jelly		Data Deficient		The Great Sea	NPCs
Lantern Jelly		Locally Common		Northern Vol'dun	NPCs
Luminescent Jelly		Locally Common	Highly bioluminescent species	Abyssal Depths, Vashj'ir	NPCs
Mauve Stinger		Common	Occur in small swarms	Nazjatar	Items Objects
Pint Jelly		Locally Common	Tiny in size; harmless to most humanoids	Nazjatar	NPCs
Plump Jelly		Common		The Great Sea	Battle Pets
Pond Nettle		Common	An incredibly adaptive species capable of surviving in a multitude of harsh environments	Worldwide	Mounts
Sewer-pipe Jelly		Common	How a species of jellyfish grew adapted to the sewer system of Dalaran can only be attributed to one explanation: Magic.	Dalaran Sewers	Battle Pets
Slippery Quilljet		Data Deficient		The Great Sea	NPCs
South Sea Stinger		Common	Widespread and often seen species of island coasts	Crestfall; Molten Cay; Skittering Hollow; Un'gol Ruins; Whispering Reef; Zandalar	NPCs Spells
Surf Jelly		Rare	Capable of devouring humanoids	The Great Sea	Mounts
Wandering Lucifin		Locally Common	This species is able to exist outside of water freely floating about the air	Nazjatar	NPCs

Helsquid

Helsquids are a mysterious offshoot of jellyfish associated with Helheim.

Biology
Helsquid are named as such because their cells, much like many cephalopds (of which squids are a part of) are able of producing ink.

Diet
Helsquid are indiscriminate devourers of everything they come across and can completely strip a region of all biota where they will subsequently revert into polyp form and wait for the area to eventually have food again.

Distribution
Native to the realm of Helheim, but will also appear in regions where Helya's influence is known to be great.

Total Species Diversity: 3

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Bleakwater Helsquid		Common	Most commonly seen species within Helheim.	Helheim	NPCs Spells
Fleshripper Helsquid		Common	Broke into our world as a result of the mists taking over Tideskorn Harbor	Helmouth Shallows, Stormheim	NPCs Spells
Misthunter Helsquid		Data Deficient	(Doesn't seem like it made it in-game, here for flavor)	Helheim	NPCs

Siphonophore

Siphonophores are unique organisms of the class Hydrozoa that form colonies composed of a number of specialized individuals with specific functions. (Siphonophores are weird so I'm not going to get into much more than that)

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Borean Man O' War		Common		Most common around the Borean Tundra but appears throughout the waters surrounding Northrend	Items

Platyhelminthes

Platyhelminthes, commonly known as flatworms, are among the simplest organisms with what can be considered organs. They do not possess a body cavity or circulatory and respiratory organs forcing them to do gas exchange by simple diffusion leading to their flattened shape.

Total Species Diversity: 1

Cestode

Also known as tapeworms in the common vernacular. These things are disgusting so I will keep it simple. Adult tapeworms have a simple anatomy consisting of a scolex with which they anchor to the host, a short neck, and a line of segments called proglottids that get produced from the neck and grow larger and larger as they get further from the scolex.

Diet
What their host ate

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Common Tapeworm		Common		Inside the guts of host organisms	Items

Annelid

Total Species Diversity: 84

Leech

Grotesque parasitic worms that inhabit freshwater environs throughout the world. On the outside, these sickening creatures posses two suckers, one on each end, and external annuli (rings) like most annelids but that do not match their internal segmentation. The coeloms of leeches have also been greatly narrowed to small stratified channels.

Reproductive Biology
Leeches are sequential hermaphrodites, starting out with male reproductive organs and developing and switching to female reproductive organs later on.

Diet
Leeches are ectoparasites that feed off the blood of their host, but one species sucks the energies from a host's soul.

Distribution
Generally considered to be worldwide (and beyond) in distribution and have been "domesticated" for medicinal use across many cultures cementing their cosmopolitan status.

Total Species Diversity: 3

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Medicinal Leech		Domesticated	A captive-reared species used specifically for medicinal species and can often be found kept in jars.	Raised by sentients the world over	Items Quests
Soul Leech		Common	It looks like a leech, but its nature is not entirely biological	Mardum, the Shattered Abyss	NPCs
Vicious Leech		Domesticated	Often kept by Neferset Theurgists, typically been documented for offensive purposes but maybe they are used in similar fashion to typical medicinal leeches.	Uldum	NPCs

Oligochaete

Earthworm

Also commonly called 'Nightcrawlers'. If one used the word "worm", chances are an image of an earthworm comes to mind. While not charismatic, their importance to improving and maintaining soil quality and fertility has long made them appreciated by mortal civilizations as no agrarian society could get off the ground without them. Earthworms are long and cylindrical in shape with a fluid-filled cavity (coelom) to provide them with structure.

Reproductive Biology
Earthworms are hermaphroditic and undergo internal fertilization...I'm not saying anymore.

Diet
Earthworms travel anywhere from just above ground through leaf-litter to various layers within the soil eating organic matter (living and dead) they come across which helps break down larger organic detritus.

Distribution
Earthworms occur worldwide and have even independently evolved on Draenor where they also find a ubiquitous distribution. Given how they are known to evolve, it might be they are necessary in the development of life outside of simple abundance of the Spirit element.

Total Species Diversity: 10

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Bore Earthworm		Common	Largest species of earthworm; inhabit "nests" of decaying organic matter from which they will emerge if disturbed and do not hesitate to make a meal out of whatever roused them.	Throne of Thunder	NPCs
Corpse Worm		Common	A species of earth worm commonly found around grave sites; also great bait for the pike of Brightwater Lake	Tirisfal Glades	Items Quests
Deviate Worm		Common		Wailing Caverns	NPCs
Kindleworm		Common	A unique species the burrows through the volcanic soil of the Firelands	Firelands	NPCs
Nightmare Nightcrawler		Rare	Useful bait for catching Terrorfin	Val'sharah	Items
Rot Worm		Common	Have the ability to regurgitate their digestive juices to externally digest a more difficult meal	Icecrown	NPCs Spells
Tasty Nightcrawler		Common	(from the tumultuous WoD beta) What even eats these that decided to call this species tasty?	Shadowmoon Valley (alternate universe)	Items
Underrot Worm		Data Deficient	(Never appeared in-game)	The Underrot	NPCs
Whitepetal Worm		Common	Their numbers took a hit during Garrosh Hellscream's attack on the Vale, but the population is likely recovering following efforts to restore it.	Vale of Eternal Blossoms	Items Quests
Wriggling Worm		Common		Broken Shore	Items

Ice worm

Also called a frost worm.

A small, poorly understood kind of worm unique from other oligochaetes.

Distribution Ice worms are endemic to Highmountain where they inhabit gravel beds and riverine environs

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Frost Worm		Rare	Useful bait for catching  [Coldriver Carp]	Highmountain	Items

Borer Worm

A derived and widespread group of worms that make up the physically largest of the oligochaetes. These worms are quite different from other annelids possessing armored overlapping segments and distinct formation of a head with a jawlike structure and even eyes (something no other annelids possess).

Defensive Mechanisms
Borer worms commonly possess acidic bites and even the ability to spit it (possibly to aid in digestion as their "jaws" cannot masticate).

Diet
Borer worms, while aggressive, are not predatory and prefer to eat fungi and decaying organic material.

Distribution
Deep and complex cave systems of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor are the most likely locales to find borer worms, but certain species have adapted to different niches.

Total Species Diversity: 10 (extant)

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Cadaverous Worm		Common	Decomposers; often appear from the bodies of rotting undead	Dire Maul	NPCs
Coldlurk Burrower		Common	Magenta pigmentation; Co-occur with a species of spider with similar pigmentation	Winterspring	NPCs Spells
Deep Borer		Common	Among the smaller borer species; often found in groups of ~5-6 but it is not known for what purpose these groups form.	Maraudon	NPCs
Dredge Crusher		Extinct	a larger sister species to the Dredge Striker; wiped out by Sargeras' stabbing Silithus	Southern Silithus	NPCs Quest
Dredge Striker		Extinct	smaller sister species to the Dredge Crusher with an acidic bite; wiped out by Sargeras' stabbing Silithus	Northern Silithus	NPCs Quests Spells
Dredge Worm		Data Deficient	Venomous species with different phenotypic variation in color that is known to also carry a disease that mortals can contract.	Blackrock Mountain	NPCs Spells
Earthborer		Unknown	Produce acid in their mouths than cat eat away at inorganic materials such as metal armor; status unknown following the events involving Ragefire Chasm during Garrosh's reign.	Ragefire Chasm (Classic)	NPCs Spells
Flesh Eating Worm		Locally Common	Grotesque worms that eat rotting flesh from corpses but do not hesitate to try for living prey if given the opportunity	Duskwood	NPCs
Murk Worm		Common		Temple of Atal'Hakkar (Classic)	NPCs
Oozeworm		Rare	The most uncommon species of borer worm, and one highly sought after by hunters.	Dustwallow Marsh	NPCs Spells
Rock Borer		Locally Common		Foulspore Cavern, Desolace	NPCs Spells
Rockhide Burrower		Data Deficient	(never made it in game)	Unknown	NPCs

Polychaete

Bloodworm

Vile worms commonly associated with dark magics and filth.

Total Species Diversity: 3

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Blood Parasite		Common?		Icecrown (Icecrown Citadel)	NPCs
Common Bloodworm		Common		Worldwide	NPCs
Fetid Bloodworm		Locally Common	Disgusting creatures that dwell within rotting flesh	Isle of Thunder	NPCs

Bone worm

Bone Worms are subterranean worms with chitinized armor akin to that seen in arthropods and 5 pairs of elongated and hardened parapodia. These worms are gray in coloration and only inhabit barren habitats.

Social Behavior
Bone worms typically lead solitary lives, the one exception known was when they appeared upon the Broken Shore.

Defensive Behavior
Bone worms are venomous.

Diet
Carnivorous

Distribution
Bone Worms are native to Draenor and aside from their odd occurrence upon the Broken Shore are entirely restricted to Terokkar Forest in present day Outland.

Total Species Diversity: 3

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Bone Crawler		Common	The most curious thing about this species is how it has appeared in both Draenor and Azeroth; they proliferate rather quickly in areas with high concentrations of corpses and decay	Terokkar Forest; Broken Shore	NPCs Spells
Bone Sifter		Common	Respond to intense vibrations	Bone Wastes of Terokkar Forest	NPCs Spells
Flesh Burrower		Data Deficient		Draenor (alternate universe)	NPCs

Carrion worm

Carrion worms are bioluminescent polychaetes with partially ossified parapodia running laterally down their bodies with some parapodia being migrated towards the oral cavity to form teeth (though not true teeth). Dorsal parapodia have likewise been modified to have intermittently hardened units jutting out like barbed spikes though it is not sure what these barbed parapodia are for as they would no doubt be detrimental to subterranean movement.

A second kind of carrion worm is added to this section though bearing no close relation to the previous group. These worms bear the appearance of yellow oversized maggots and are believed to be grubs or larvae of some sort, but I for one have never seen an insect of their native range that is large enough to be the adult form of these creatures so they are just tossed in here.

Social Behavior
Carrion worms are typically solitary creatures but have no issue congregating when there is plenty of food to be had

Defensive Mechanisms
Forms of toxic spit are common to carrion worms and an exaptation of their ability to produce dangerous substances is the covering of their body with it in one species.

Diet
True to their name, carrion worms prefer to feast upon carrion but they do not shirk live meat if given the opportunity.

Distribution
The yellow maggot-like worms are native to the current plaguelands of what was once Lordaeron while the true carrion worms were thought endemic to Draenor but an Azerothian group has shown up in the vast underground caverns beneath Highmountain.

Total Species Diversity: 5 (2 and 3)

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Carrion Devourer		Common	Produces a debilitating slime that weakens potential predators.	Eastern Plaguelands, Eastern Kingdoms	NPCs Spells
Carrion Grub		Common	Co-occurs with the Carrion Devourer and has a similar defensive strategy	Eastern Plaguelands, Eastern Kingdoms	NPCs Spells
Carrion Worm		Uncommon	Type species	Draenor (alternate universe)	NPCs Spells
Rotdrool Grabber			Secretes a vile substance that surrounds its body. Has a barbed tongue it can use to reel prey to it.	Neltharion's Lair underneath Highmountain	NPCs Spells
Snapping Rockcrawler		Rare	Has an extremely acidic spit.	In the vast underground caverns beneath Highmountain	NPCs Spells

Jormungar

Spoken of in myth to be the misbegotten children of the wayward titan keeper Loken. Jormungar are large aggressive worms with mineralized parapodia that take an almost crystalline appearance and a thick mane of setae running dorsomedially along the body flanked by two more small trails of setae running laterally as well as an articulate mouth full of sharp teeth.

Social Behavior
Jormungar may sometimes have broods headed by individual spawnmothers that outsize the other adult Jormungar.

Reproductive Biology
The reproductive habits of Jormungar reflect the social habits above.

Defensive Mechanisms
Like many large annelids, jormungar possess toxin glands from which they produce a highly corrosive venom.

Diet
Jormungar are incredibly predatory and have a strong preference for meat although in one case they are shown to even be geophagous. The most unique part about their feeding biology is that larger jormungar actively feast upon the eggs of other jormungar in order to facilitate their continued growth.

Distribution
These voracious worms are endemic to the continent of Northrend.

Total Species Diversity: 8

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Deep Jormungar		Common	Tunnel deep beneath the ground and can only be made to breach the surface by creating loud vibrations through the earth. These Jormungar are also uniqute in that they keep their eggs in sacs on their body.	Underneath Storm Peaks	NPCs Items Spells
Hulking Jormungar		Locally Common	An enormous species with a small range, this species occurs almost sympatrically with the Ice Heart Jormungar in the nearby Crystal Vice and possesses a corrosive venom capable of eroding rock.	Northern Dragon Wastes of Dragonblight	NPCs Spells
Ice Heart Jormungar		Locally Common	When young, these Jormungar have white pigmentation and never leave the cave they are spawned in but as they grow older their bodies see greater production of melanin until as adults they are greenish in color. This species also has an odd choice in diet, predating upon the ice giants that also dwell in their home range.	Crystal Vice in Dragonblight	NPCs Quests Spells
Ravenous Jormungar		Common	Invasive and the cause of the all but extinction of the native Icemaw Bears	Hibernal Cavern of the Storm Peaks	NPCs Quests
Roaming Jormungar		Common	Invasive to the cave of Gimorak's Den but do not pose a problem in the southern parts of their range (Counted Infesting Jormungar as roaming jormungar due to similar size and sharing the same model variant	Central Storm Peaks	NPCs
Snowdrift Jormungar		Uncommon	Contend with the Tundra Crawlers and Hulking Jormungar for the largest species (Though the Hulking Jormungar takes the title)	Snowdrift Plains, Storm Peaks	NPCs
Tundra Crawler		Uncommon	Contends with Snowdrift	Northeastern Borean Tundra	NPCs Spells
Winter Jormungar		Common	Dwell in dense numbers underneath the snow and act as ambush predators, groups of them burrowing out the snow when they sense movement above them where they can inflict their prey with acidic bites	Ulduar, Storm Peaks	NPCs Spells

Rockworm

Rockworms are very similar in appearance to the jormungar of Northrend. This similarity could be due to convergent evolution or a case of recent shared ancestry.

Social behavior
Rockworms are varied in their social habits. Many rockworm species are entirely solitary only meeting with each other to breed while others (usually of the smaller species) group together to hunt.

Defensive Mechanisms
Like many large annelids, rockworms possess the ability to spit a toxic bile or venom at their prey

Island rockworm species are of a unique trend in their abilities, in hinting at a common ancestor each species will spin its body around using the spiny parapodia lining their bodies to shred at flesh. However, just about every individual species has its own unique spitting attack (Aside from the Gnashing Horror which appears to be a recent evolution out of the frostbore worms.

Diet
Carnivorous

Distribution
Rockworms largely inhabit islands and regions within the Great Sea between the four major continents while on Draenor rockworms are often found in areas disturbed by activity of the Breakers such as Gorgrond and Frostfire Ridge

Total Species Diversity: 25

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Acidic Worm		Uncommon		Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Bile Spitter		Locally Common		Caverns of Highmountain	NPCs
Bloodstone Tunneler		Uncommon	One of the smallest species of rockworms.	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs
Bonescale Worm		Uncommon	A unique species that stores undigested bones in its gullet for it to regurgitate as projectiles	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Bore Worm		Uncommon	Creates scalding steam in its body to fire at potential prey.	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Brulworm		Domesticated	Deep underground worms used as beasts of war by the subterranean drogbar. The drogbar use this worms to burrow tunnels to the surface from which they can send troops with a direct path to the site they are raiding. Brulworms are not only used as beasts of burden but also have an offensive use in Drogbar raids, spitting out the potent bile which typically aids them in rapidly tunneling through the earth upon the drogbar's enemies.	Highmountain	NPCs Spells
Crag Burrower		Rare	(Doesn't exist in game, added for flavor)	Draenor (alternate universe)	NPCs
Darktunnel Worm		Uncommon	This island species...burps toxic smoke.	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Deepfrost Lurker		Uncommon	Massive rockworms that dwell beneath the ice of cave systems	Northeastern Frostfire Ridge	NPCs Spells
Frostbore Worm		Uncommon	This cold-dwelling island species has frozen spit that it uses to attack.	Northern islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Garnetback Worm		Uncommon	This one has molten hot spit, isn't it great!?	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Gnashing Horror		Rare	A rarer relative to the frostbore worms, a Gnashing Horror bears similar abilities to their smaller cousins	Northern islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Grievous Depthworm		Locally Common	Large rockworms that dwell within sulfuric springs. These worms, aside from a saliva containing pathogenic bacteria, will actually spit rocks onto their prey to knock them out or simply kill them.	Sulfuric springs of western Gorgrond	NPCs Spells
Harvest Worm		Common	A medium sized rockworm that is also a problematic agricultural pest	Highmountain	NPCs Spells
Ice Lurker		Locally Common	Ambush predators that dwell beneath the ice of the Cracking Plains where they feed upon migrating clefthooves...or anything else unfortunate enough to disturb the ground tey dwell beneath.	Northeast Frostfire Ridge	NPCs Spells
Jadescale Worm		Uncommon	This island worm's spit attack is "generic" venom	Islands of the Great Sea	NPCs Spells
Mud Feeder		Common		Mud flats of Stormsong Valley	NPCs Spells
Pale Icecarver		Locally Common	This species lives in association with a tribe of Drogbar but the nature of the relationship is not quantified	Southern Highmountain	NPCs Spells
Rock Burrower		Rare	(Never made it in game, added for flavor)	Draenor	NPCs
Rockcrawler Worm		Semi-Domesticated	Drogbar rear and train these worms for use as beasts of war like Brulworms	Eastern Highmountain	NPCs Quests
Snow Lurker		Locally Common	The smallest of the Frostfire Lurker genus and the only one that actively hunts aboveground. A warning, these creatures' carry in their mouths a fast-acting pathogenic bacteria that saps the host's ability to move, once the infection sets in snow lurkers will often also deliver a frost breathe attack to further weaken their prey and attempt to finish it off.	Northeast Frostfire Ridge	NPCs Spells
Spiked Rockworm		Locally Common		Ashran	NPCs
Tarspitter Lurker			The bile these worms produce is incredibly sticky and viscous,	Highmountain (Neltharion's Lair)	NPCs Spells
Venomous Iceburster		Rare		Southern Highmountain	NPCs Spells
Wastes Rockworm		Common	This species has often been mislabelled by the local Frostwolves as the children of Shui Halad but that is nonsensical since Shui Halad was an ancient bone worm, which is another family. Arguably the smallest of Draenorian rockworm species, wastes rockworms travel in groups of three beneath the ground from where they ambush local clefthooves, making up for their size with their small numbers and an arsenal that mimics the Snow Lurkers.	Northern Frostfire Ridge	NPCs Quests Spells

Sand worm

They look an awful lot like bone worms but with more color to their bodies.

Social behavior
Largely solitary and some species are quite territorial

Defensive Mechanisms
Like many of the other large annelid families, sand worms have venom glands

Diet
Carnivorous

Distribution
Sand worms are known from the more barren habitats of Outland and the dunes of Tanaris

Total Species Diversity: 7

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Crust Burster		Common		Hellfire Peninsula	NPCs Spells
Dune Worm		Uncommon	Incredibly powerful species and appears more territorial than other sand worms	Northern Tanaris	NPCs Spells
Gorgrond Sand Worm		Rare	(Never made it in game, added for flavor)	Gorgrond	NPCs
Greater Crust Burster		Locally Common	The young are much more plentiful than the adults which begs the question of what is predating upon them	Blade's Edge Mountains	NPCs Spells
Nethermine Burster		Locally Common		Shadowmoon Valley	NPCs Spells
Noxious Tunneler		Uncommon	Very large and territorial	Southern Tanaris	NPCs Spells
Tunneler		Locally Common		Hellfire Peninsula	NPCs Spells

Tidal Guardian

Flattened colorful worms that can often be found in close association with the naga.

Social behavior
Tidal worms can occur in relatively high densities when found often involving multiple species but nothing else can really be extrapolated about their social ecology

Defensive Mechanisms
Tidal guardians possess powerful electrogenic organs within their bodies with electricity cascading along their antenna and mandibles.

Diet
Carnivorous

Distribution
Deep within the world's oceans, often near naga strongholds.

Total Species Diversity: 5

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Azsh’ari Leviathan		Rare		Nazjatar	NPCs Spells
Common Tidal Guardian		Locally Common	The smallest and most abundant species	Northwest Nazjatar	NPCs Spells
Cracklemaw Colossus		Rare	Only superseded by the leviathan in strength, colossi have the ability to summon its electricity in front of it and when threatened will let out a cry to call nearby offspring to aid it.	Northwest Nazjatar	NPCs Spells
Tidal Cracklemaw		Uncommon	This species boasts the most varied use of it electrogenic abilities applying it to its spittle which it will launch at prey and even summoning localized storms of lightning around it.	Northwest Nazjatar	NPCs Spells
Voltscale Guardian		Locally Common	Roughly the same size as the common and more abundant type species but more powerful and distinguished by the striking yellow coloration	Nazjatar	NPCs Spells

Tube Worm

Tubeworms are an odd group of sedentary annelids that inhabit chitinous tubes they produce from specialized glands in their body walls. Their bodies can be broken down into four distinct body regions. The first body region is the branchial plume from which gas is exchanged within the water column and the part of the body that is seen outside of the chitin tube. Second is a fleshy muscular collar called a vestimentum, following that you have the trunk with all the visceral organs and then finally the opistosome that anchors the worm to its tube.

Social behavior
Tubeworms often congregate in colonies, though I'm not sure if this is deliberate or having to do with resource concentration being densely localized.

Reproduction
Like many other sessile organisms, tubeworm males emit sperm into the water column to then be taken up by female individuals to be fertilized within the ovaries.

Defensive Mechanisms
Being sedentary, tubeworms have no ability to flee and thus their only defensive measure is to retreat the plume within the chitonous tube in which most of the body is contained and seal it with a special operculum

Diet
These worms do not feed, and in fact lack digestive systems entirely, but instead the plume is highly vascularized and provides nutrients gathered from the water to bacteria housed within a special organ called a trophosome. The bacteria within the trophosome in turn provide the worm with the essential nutrients it needs.

Distribution
Typically, deep within the ocean and often near hydrothermal vents is where these worms anchor themselves

Total Species Diversity: 4

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Finned Tubeworm		Locally Common	Exclusively found around hydrothermal vents	Vashj'ir
Redplumed Tubeworm		Locally Common		Vashj'ir
Nazjatar Tubeworm		Common		Nazjatar
Ventfeeder Worm		Common	Often found clumped around the entrance to undersea caves and occurs the closest to the surface out of any species.	Nazjatar (Eternal Palace). Vashj'ir	NPCs

Mollusc

Bivalve

The general common appearance of a bivalve is a shell composed of calcium carbonate consisting of two articulating valves that join to each other along a hinge. Most bivalves live sedentary to even sessile lives buried in sediment or anchored to a form of substrate within a body of water

Reproduction
Like so many other sedentary creatures, bivalves reproduce largely by external fertilization releasing their gametic cells into the water column to mingle and fertilize.

Defensive Mechanisms
For most bivalves, their calcified shell is their first and last line of defense against potential predators but an additional measure is made by many non-anchored bivalves in burrowing into the substrate where they may hopefully lie concealed

Diet
Most bivalves are filter feeders, consuming plankton (mostly phytoplankton) from within the water column

Distribution
Oceans and freshwater bodies across Azeroth and Draenor

Clam

Clams are an informal grouping used for a multitude of bivalves, but as having typically bilaterally symmetrical valves.

Distribution
Oceans and freshwater bodies across Azeroth and Draenor

Total Species Diversity: 18

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Abyssal Clam		Common		Nazjatar	NPCs
Ashmaul Clam		Locally Common		Northern Ashran	Objectss
Big-Mouth Clam		Common		Worldwide	Items
Chittershell Clam		Rare	(I couldn't figure out where this is and likely never made it out of ptr)	Nazjatar	NPCs
Darkwater Clam		Uncommon		Northrend	Items
Freshwater Clam		Rare		Lakes in Nagrand	Objects
Giant Clam		Uncommon	Contrary to popular belief the meat of this clam is not tangy unlike that of the Thick-shelled Clam	Great Sea	Objects
Giant Draenor Clam		Rare		Northern coast of Frostfire Ridge	Items
Glimmerdeep Clam		Locally Common	Abundant where they occur, but their occurrence in a single gorge makes the species prone to overharvesting if sustained activity were to occur in that part of Vashj'ir	Glimmerdeep Gorge, Vashj'ir	Objects
Jaggal Clam		Common		Coast of Isle of Quel'Danas	Items
Monstrous Clam		Locally Common		Eastern coast of Durotar	Objects Quests
Neptulian Clam		Common	Most commonly found in the Abyssal Pool but larger individuals, but their remains can be found in other areas around Nazjatar albeit less frequently	Nazjatar	Objects Quests
Pearlescent Clam		Common		Great Sea	Objects
River Clam		Uncommon	The meat is rather bland	Razorjaw River, Nazmir	Objects Items
Slimy Clam		Uncommon	The slime of this clam creates temporary oxygenated bubbles that one can use to briefly be able to breathe underwater	Northeast coast of Highmountain	Objects Spells
Soft-shelled Clam		Common		Veiled Sea	Items
Teldrassil Clam		Locally Common		Coast off of Teldrassil...Or the burnt husk of it	Objects
Thick-Shelled Clam		Common	Meat of this clam is quite tangy	Worldwide	Items
Winterfin Clam		Locally Common	Used as a currency by the Winterfin tribe of murlocs	Westrift, Borean Tundra	Objects

Oyster

Oysters are sessile bivalves with heavily calcified shells often creating irregular shaped valves.

Social behavior
Oysters anchor to a substrate and congregate in groups that eventually form what is called an oyster bed. Oyster beds are important to the health of their ecosystems providing habitat to many species of fish.

Reproduction
Oysters are protandric and thus start out reproducing as males then subsequently switch over to producing female gametes as time passes

Distribution
With the exception of the freshwater species, oysters largely restrict themselves to marine and brackish environments often within the intertidal zone

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Freshwater Oyster		Locally Common	Creates a brilliant blue pearl	Valley of the Four Winds	Objects Items

Scallop

Scallops are brilliantly colored bivalves with characteristic fan-shaped valves.

Reproduction
Scallops are hermaphroditic but some species

Defensive Mechanisms
Scallops count themselves among the most "free-living" of bivalves, some species capable of simple swimming and even migration, but most scallops lie at rest until a potential predator is detected in which they will flee using jet propulsion caused by clapping their valves together

Diet
Filter-feeder

Distribution
Worldwide, primarily in salt water

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Common Scallop		Common		Worldwide	Items

Cephalopod

Ammonite

Peculiar cephalopods with external coiled shells

Social behavior
Living ammonites are known to exist in schools

Reproduction
Ammonites rely on laying large numbers of eggs at the end of their lifecycle.

Defensive Mechanisms
Like most cephalopods, ammonites possess ink sacs that they will release in a cloud when threatened

Diet
Ammonites are believed to have been mostly carnivorous like other cephalopods but the fire ammonite has a strong taste for frostfire fruit

Distribution
At one point in time, Ammonites could be found throughout the seas of Azeroth but as of the current day, only the Fire Ammonite of Draenor (another planet) is known to currently exist.

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Fire Ammonite		Common	A strange species that specifically dwells within the lava pools of Frostfire Ridge	Frostfire Ridge	Items

Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish are squid-like creatures but can be distinguished by several key distinguishing features. Cuttlefish, unlike squids, have a 'w' shaped pupil and a stouter more flattened mantle due to the presence of a flattened internal shell called a cuttlebone as well as a fin that extend all the way around the mantle. Cuttlefish, even for cephalopods, have an exquisite ability of changing their color, pattern, and skin texture making them constantly equipped with an extensive wardrobe.

Social behavior
While cuttlefish aren't social in the form of any degree of group dynamics they do come into frequent interaction with each other displaying an incredible diversity of visual signals to communicate making use of their ability to change color and skin texture as well as positioning of their arms to send specific messages to one another when interacting with one another.

Reproduction
Given their short lifespans (1-2 years), cuttlefish have very few opportunities to breed in fact the females will breed only once and then die shortly after laying their eggs. Males usually get access to dens and territory and therefore females by being the largest, but granted since a male might have multiple females in his territory, small sneaker males might have the opportunity to mate with the female while the dominant male is patrolling the territory.

Defensive Mechanisms
like all cephalopods, cuttlefish possess an ink sac to disorient predators and also have their color and texture changing abilities to make them blend in with their environment, some cuttlefish are even venomous and will flare bright colors to warn potential predators.

Diet
Carnivorous, mostly crabs and fish as adults and shrimp as juveniles

Distribution
Cuttlefish are currently only recorded in the North Sea

Total Species Diversity: 1

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Moonglow Cuttlefish		Uncommon	Rarely found close to shore and usually farther out in the ocean	North Sea	Items

Leviathan

A subject of fear and legend among the maritime peoples of Azeroth, leviathans are massive cephalopods borne of the Abyssal Maw. While placed within Coeloidea along with cuttlefish, squid, and octopuses and bearing marked resemblance to the latter two, leviathans possess several notable features that place them firmly in their own taxon. To start, leviathans possess eight arms much like an octopus but while octopuses have arms of roughly equal length leviathans sport three shorter arms positioned dorsally flanked by two much longer arms on each side of the animal and finally by an even longer and thicker arm with a finned tip situated towards the venter. Another synapomorphy of the leviathans is the loss of the beak exhibited by most other cephalopods and instead have an open maw lined with layers of teeth with a three-part radula-like organ. Each part of the radula is prehensile and autonomous as well as tipped with a tooth making the confrontation with the mouth of one of these beasts one of horrific despair.

Social behavior
Leviathans are almost always seen alone unless with young or when they congregate to breed.

Reproduction
Among coeloids, leviathans are unique in terms of reproduction. Like the ammonites and nautiluses, leviathans are known to reproduce multiple times in their lives and are the only group of cephalopods to exhibit parental care, although this is not exhibited across all species. In fact, leviathans are known to exhibit both R and K-selection strategies in terms of number of offspring albeit in different

One method (the R-strategy) is a leviathan laying a large number of eggs that hatch into relatively small (about the size of a normal octopus) fry that will stick by their mother for protection until they are suitably large to fend for themselves. Due to the large number of spawn though and the relatively low numbers of adult leviathans across all species it is possible that despite staying near their mother there are far too many initially for her to "keep an eye on" and therefore frequently fall victim to depredation from other large predators until eventually there is only a few left that the mother can then efficiently guard.

The second method (the K-strategy) is the laying of a small number of large eggs that hatch into fully developed juveniles and must immediately fend for themselves with their parents having long since moved on from the spawning grounds.

Defensive Mechanisms
Due to their enormous size, Leviathans have next to nothing to fear and sit at the top of the food chain. Thus, it disturbs me that having the power to rip almost anything apart, leviathans still possess the ink sacs of their relatives despite having no known predators.

Diet
Carnivorous; apex predator

Distribution
Any seaman can confirm that no part of Azeroth's seas are free from these monsters

Total Species Diversity: 4

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Ancient Leviathan		Rare		Coast of Townlong Steppes	NPCs
Deep Sea Leviathan		Rare		Coast of Nazmir is where they've been seen, but they are called "Deep Sea" for a reason.	NPCs
Salty Leviathan		Rare		Coast of Broken Isles	NPCs
Writhing Leviathan		Rare		Great Sea	NPCs

Nautilus

The second of the two types of cephalopods with an external shell.

Social behavior

Reproduction
Like the leviathans and ammonites, nautiluses breed multiple times during their lifespans

Defensive Mechanisms

Diet

Distribution

Total Species Diversity: 2

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Aquipotent Nautilus		Data Deficient		Great Sea	Items
Hadal's Nautilus		Data Deficient		Great Sea	Items

Octopus

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution
Typically, temperate to tropical seas

Total Species Diversity: 10

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Coastal Octopode		Data Deficient	(Never added in game)	Coastal waters	NPCs
Common Octopode		Common	Shows the greatest intraspecies diversity in pigmentation	Great Sea	NPCs
Coralback Octopode		Data Deficient	(Never made it in game)	Coral reefs	NPCs
Crimson Octopode		Common	Larger and Hardier than many other species, and can achieve greater depths due to a better ability to withstand the crushing pressure	Great Sea	NPCs
Kelpback Octopode		Data Deficient	(Never added in game)	Kelp Forests	NPCs
Mimic Octopus		Rare	Extremely adept at camouflage and thus rarely seen because of how well it blends in	Great Sea (Been recorded caught off the coasts of Pandaria and Zandalar)	Items Quests
Nameless Octopode		Common	Altered by the influence of the Old Gods in its native range	Nazjatar	NPCs
Pygmy Octopus		Common		Coastal waters, typically of islands	NPCs
Reef Octopus		Abundant	While always abundant, this species is know to have specific spawning grounds off the northern coast of Jade Forest causing a massive explosion in their population as the fry hatch.	Coastal waters of Pandaria	NPCs Items
Slimy Octopode		Data Deficient	Squirts slime instead of ink	Nazjatar	NPCs Image:Warcraftpets.com

Squid

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

Total Species Diversity: 2

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Seabottom Squid		Data Deficient	Deepdwelling species that never comes even a mile from the surface of the ocean, typically found eaten by deep-diving predators	Deep on the seafloor	Items
Winter Squid		Common	Spawns in the fall and matures in the winter	Worldwide	Items

Gastropod

Pulmonate

Land slug

Physical description.

Social behaviors.

Reproductive behavior

Defensive behaviors.

Biology.

Diet

Location.

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Land snail

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Opisthobranch

Abalone

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Conch

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Freshwater snail

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Sea slug

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Sea snail

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Whelk

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Echinoderm

Asteroid

Starfish

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Angel Scale Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Borean Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Cold waters around the world.	NPCs
Crabclawed Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Crescent Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Deep Sea Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Parasitic Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Ring-of-Fire Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Azshara; coast of Pandaria; Vashj’ir,
Saltwater Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Shuriken Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Small-armed Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Snuggly Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Stub-armed Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Spiny Starfish		Common	Unique Features	Krasarang Wilds; Vashj’ir	NPCs
Sticky Starfish		Common	Unique Features	Worldwide
Warty Starfish		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs
Webbed Starfish		Common and abundant	Unique Features	Throughout the waters off the Broken Isles, Zandalar and Stormsong Valley

Echinoid

Sea Urchin

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Holothuroid

Sea cucumber

Physical description.

Social behaviors.

Reproductive behavior

Defensive behaviors.

Biology.

Diet

Location.

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs

Ophiuroid

Brittle Star

Physical description.

Social behavior

Reproduction

Defensive Mechanisms

Biology

Diet

Distribution

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Name	Appearances	Status	Unique Features	Location	Sources
Name		Status	Unique Features	Location	NPCs