Hexapuma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The hexapuma is a fictional species of feline-like creatures who share the Sphinxian habitat with treecats in a series of novels and stories about the Honorverse by David Weber.
They are hexapedal (six-limbed) creatures native to the planet Sphinx orbiting Manticore A. Adults are commonly ten meters long, making them Sphinx' largest predators, both deadly and ill-tempered. Apart from their size most of they bear striking reseemblance to their relations, the treecats, except that they are not sapient.
Hexapumas have retractable eight-centimeter claws on all six limbs. These claws are essentially reverse scimitars; they are curved and razor-sharp along the inner edge, as opposed to (Terran) feline claws which are curved but only sharp at the points. They are composed of a mineral-based organic substance with a mineral-like base, as opposed to hair, cartilage or horn. They also have fifteen-centimeter canine teeth, which protrude from the jaws in a manner similar to the canines of saber-toothed tigers.
Hexapumas are apex predators in the Sphinxian ecosystem, although they generally avoid treecat territory; a single treecat is no match for a hexapuma, but an entire clan of treecats can easily take down even a healthy, mature, hexapuma. Treecats refer to them as "death fangs" due to their strength, ferocity, and nearly universal aggressive attitude, even when not hunting. Human settlers on Sphinx rarely travel without weapons due to the threat presented by hexapumas and other predatory wildlife; Stephanie Harrington is said to have been the only human ever to face a hexapuma armed with only a vibro-knife yet survive.
