Shrieker
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See also: Shrieker, a hollow in the Japanese manga Bleach.
The Shrieker is a fictional creature in the Tremors series of films. It appeared in Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and several episodes of the Tremors TV series. It is the 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.
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[edit] 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 such as the turkey (a plucked one, that is), 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. 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 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.
[edit] 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. Why they make noise is not explained in the films; perhaps it is remniscient of their ancestors which did use noise to communicate, or it is a side effect of the large amounts of air they have to blow off to produce heat. 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. A likely explanation would be that they can see some heat through the frills.
When hunting Shriekers show some good feats of insight and cooporation, 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 eating- or actually 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.
[edit] Life
Shriekers grow like tumors inside Graboids, sitting in large sacks. When matured, they eat the Graboid from the inside out (as shown by the empty state of a 'hatched' Graboid in Tremors 2) until it dies. Three Shriekers can emerge from a Graboid.
(In the third movie, it is said that six emerge; this is simply because in the process of making the third film, the film makers forgot the correct number of shriekers by mistake. This knowledge is confirmed in the bonus features of the Tremors 4 DVD)
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.
After a lifespan of 12 to 24 hours, Shriekers will undergo a molting process, turning into the third and final stage of the species' life-cycle: the Ass-Blaster.
[edit] Other Uses
"Shrieker" is also the name of a fictional species of monster which appears in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games. These Shriekers are immobile non-sentient fungi which produce a piercing scream when approached. This noise has a chance of attracting ambulatory predators; if a fight then ensues, the Shriekers can consume any organic remains left by the loser(s).
Shrieker also refers to an enemy in Metroid Prime 2:Echoes. This called this because they let out a piercing screech upon using their primary mode of attack: a sonic blast
