Kyukoka

Kyukoka  is a winged, predatory monster of the ??? Class, and the "Imago Form" of the Glaverm Species.

Physiology
Resembling wyverns in body plan, compared to their larval stage that resembles worms, the Kyukoka has a large, rathalos sized body with strong legs that end in three clawed toes, two toes facing forward, one facing back. They also have broad, somewhat bat like wings, and a a circular maw filled with shark like teeth, instead of a beak and three mandibles (although remanents of the beak and mandibles from the larval stage can be seen around the maw). It's tail is large, stiff and stubyy, but has two different openings. The most noticeable opening is the one at the end of the tail, which is the place where the jets of flames comes out to generate thrust. The second opening is where the Glaverm eggs are laid from, and is located at the very bottom of the tail.

They also possess a fleshy appendage on the forehead that opens up to reveal an "Infared sensor" that can detect heat from bodies of living things.

The tongue resembles a traditional tongue of most monsters, instead of the scissor pronged tongue of the Glaverm.

Abilities
Despite what some people think, Kyukoka don't actually fly, but rather, they "Glide", after using the chemical reactions in their tails to acheive lift off. Yet they are capable of grabbing human sized prey and lifting them as they take off again once they pin said prey to the ground after swooping down.

The fire jets from the tail can light hunters on fire, resulting in Fireblight. They can spit a volatile fluid at foes that explodes after a while, similar to a Brachydios' slime mold.

Behavior
They hunt like birds of prey, scanning the area while gliding in the air. Once they see a potential victim, they will quickly descend, swoping down on their prey, pinning them to the ground with their talons, before taking off to the air again, carrying their prey with them to an area where they can feed in peace without worrying about potential threats trying to kill them or stealing their well earned food.

They are nocturnal hunters, so they can better see prey in cooler temperatures. It is said that if they hunt during the day, their "Thermal Targeting system" will get confused, though there is no evidence to support this.

They share the Glaverm's intelligence and learning capacity.

Habitats
It is safe to assume that they live anywhere where Glaverms are found.

Blast Off!

 * Area: Pride Savannah
 * Quest: Fire Thunder Devil

Synopsis
The Hunter finds, in the Pride Savannah, a large corpse of a Glaverm, with it's body hollow and split open, like something came out of it! A Maccao snarls at the hunter, catching him/her by surprise, but the event is being viewed by the heat senses of an unseen aerial predator.......

Unseen, that is, until the predator, a Kyukoka, lands on the Maccao, pinning it, before shaking it's rear to release a volatile chemical reaction in the form of a powerful jet of flames to cause enough thrust to send it back into the air, carrying the Maccao with it to the next area........

Mounting animation
When mounted, it will roar occasionally before doing the "Hopping Mad" behavior shared with Yian-kut ku and other bird wyverns. it will also do the animation shared with most wyverns like Rathalos and Yian Kut-ku to buck the hunter off.

Notes and Trivia

 * The Face can be scarred, along with the tail and back.
 * Being mostly deaf compared to Glaverm, Sonic bombs will not work on the Kyukoka.
 * Dung bombs, however, will work, alongside two new items used by hunters, "Thermal Flare", and "Thermal Flash Bombs"
 * The Thermal Flare is used to draw a Kyukoka to an area if its in an adjacent area.
 * The Thermal FLash bomb is used in a manner simialr to normal Flash Bombs, but only works on Kyukoka, Gigginox, and other Monsters with Heat Sensors.
 * The name is taken from the Japanese word for "Swoop".
 * They are inspired by the ""Lightning Bird" (I refuse to use the other name), and it's "African Variety" from the Tremors Franchise, with more emphasis on the latter.

Taxonomy
Kyukoka are wyvern like creatures of the ??? Class. They are the Imago forms of the Glaverm, a worm like creature, and therefore, the adult form of Glavites.

Habitats
As they are adult forms of Glaverms, they are not too picky on where they live in, as long as the area is warm, and full of prey to choose from, such as deserts, plains, savannahs, marshes, ect.

Ecological Niche
They are aerial predators, who have their own right to be apex predators once they emerge from the bodies of their larval stage, the Glaverm.

They carry eggs that hatch into Glavites, which grow into Glaverms, beginning the hellish cycle anew.

They are also just as indescriminate feeders as they will feed on anything they can pin down and outpower, including Bullfango, Rhenoplos, Aptonoth, Small Raptorial Bird Wyverns, including Jaggis, Velociprey, ect.

They do have to compete with other aerial predators, such as Rathalos, Astalos, Grypemos, Seregios, ect., and even powerful, non-flying predators like Rajang, Deviljho, Lagiacrus, and other monsters like Elder Dragons. All that can seriously wound, if not kill the Kyukoka, but with powerful, physical raw power and combustible fluids, they are not to be taken lightly.

Biological Adaptations
<p style="font-weight:normal;">The Kyukoka can't actually fly, despite having functional wings, instead, they actually glide on large air currents, similar to Condors. To take off into the air, they mix two volatile chemicals from two different organs in their rear end, that mix together to cause a violent chemical reaction that takes the form of a jet of flames that generates enough thrust to help the Kyukoka acheive "Blast off!". At the same time, this reaction can also be used as a weapon and/or a defense against predators and foes alike, by burning them alive if they get caught in the blast range.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">They can also spit a combustible fluid that ignites and explodes after a while, similar to a Brachydios' Slime mold.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">They are blind in the traditional sense, and mostly deaf (a great contrast to the Glaverm, which has very acute hearing), to compesnate for this, they have a fleshy organ, covered by a shell that opens up, which acts as a "Thermal Radar", that can see Thermal Radiation (A.K.A., Heat signitures), similar to a Snake's vision.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">They are nocturnal hunters, which is a behavior developed so they can sense see their prey's body heat in cooler temperatures, allowing them to detect said prey more efficiently. It is said that if they were to hunt during the daytime hours, their thermal sensors would get confused from the higher temperatures of the surrounding area in the daylight.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Their legs are strong enough to lift a large Aptonoth from the ground while they blast off. In fact, their main form of attacking prey is simply to swoop down onto them at high speeds and pinning said prey to the ground, hitting the prey with enough force to break it's spine at times, giving little, if any, time for the target to react.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The Chemical reaction that they use to fly into the air gives off a sound that was compared to thunderstorms, hence, people in Revalius have called them "Thunder-Fire Devils".

Behavior
<p style="font-weight:normal;">Hunting like Hawks and other birds of prey in the skies, once they see a potential victim, they will instantly swoop down to launch their attack! Once they have their prize incapacitated, they will take it elsewhere to devour the prize without fear of having the food stolen or having themselves attacked by other predatory monsters.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">They also share the Glaverm's intelligence and learning capacity.