Terapusmordax
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Terapusmordax obscenus, more commonly referred to as Terapusmordax, is a species of flying rodent that appeared in the 2005 Universal Pictures film, King Kong.
Name
The name "Terapusmordax" means "pungent-bat," while its species name, "Terapusmordax obscenus", means "filthy pungent-bat."[4] The name "Terapusmordax" was coined in-universe by Jack Driscoll after noting their stench and pulling from the Latin he had learned at school.[5] Despite this, the Eighth Wonder Expedition Company also named the creature Terapusmordax obscenus during their 1931 visit to the island during the events described in the Skull Island: Reign of Kong ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park.[6] During the ride they are referred to with the shortened name "Mordaxes" by explorer Kate McCaffery.
Throughout production of the film the Terapusmordax was nameless, known only as "bat-creature" or "bat-thing," and most tie-in media uses the aforementioned descriptors, if it is named at all.[7]
Design
Terapusmordax superficially resembles a naked mole rat with pointed ears, bat wings, sharp teeth and claws. Its skin is very thin and almost translucent.[4] Its final design has at least 14 pointed teeth, and three fingers that make up its wings, which attach to its torso at the hip. Its feet both have three clawed digits and one dewclaw. Their eyes are pale-blue in the original film, but subsequent media sees them with reddish-brown eyes. Their eyes glow yellow or white in the nighttime.
Development
The Terapusmordax was created to fill the role of the Pteranodon from the original King Kong, and was developed from the Bat Creatures from Peter Jackson's attempted 1996 remake. It was designed by Weta Workshop team members including Greg Broadmore, Christian Pearce, and Warren Mahy, with Broadmore later finalizing the design.
Christian Pearce, one of the designers of the Terapusmordax, describes his experience designing the flying rodent as "fun," saying that "You could just try anything you wanted."[8] In the earliest days of the creature's development, Jackson was open to all kinds of designs, as his vision for the scene had yet to solidify. During this period, artist Greg Broadmore created a flying mammal that had a "vulgar" upright posture.[9] As such, pterosaur designs were not yet out of consideration. It was not until he was reviewing one of Broadmore's designs dubbed "Uglor," that Jackson expressed a desire to stray away from pterosaur designs in favor of something new.[10] This led to numerous designs of various flying mammals including designs inspired by rodents and primates.[3] Concept artist Warren Mahy notably changed the direction of the design when he created a winged simian design inspired by naked mole rats. Mahy's Mole Rat design would inspire the final skin texture of the creature.[11][8]
Jackson requested the Terapusmordax to be "as gross as possible".[12] Pearce recalls that Jackson specifically wanted the creature to look infected with its skin bearing diseases and a "disgusting wetness to it" as well as batlike wings, large enough to pick a human being up, and a humanoid shape. For his drawings, Pearce referenced photos of young Siamese short-haired cats, earthworms, and naked mole rats.[8] Mahy worked remotely during the design process of the Terapusmordax, but kept in touch with the designers at Weta Workshop. Pearce said of this relationship "we'd get a shipment from him every couple of days: 'Oh, my goodness! Look, what he was thinking! Let's steal some of those ideas.' And he'd get ours and some of those ideas would trigger things in him too."[8] Pearce further clarified that the Terapusmordax was one of the last creatures designed for the film , as "It was right towards the end of the creature design process. We were all fighting to get our little bits into [the Terapusmordax]. I think a bit of all of us ended up in it."[8]
Not all designs were entirely practical in the biological sense. One such design had the wings located in the hind legs of the creature, a design choice that Pearce recalls caused a bit of an uproar among some of the zoologists at Weta, but he justified the design saying "we were just putting everything out there, trying new things to see what catches Peter's eye." Greg Broadmore has stated the "most preposterous" design he had created for what would become the flying rodent had a "big, gross belly" which Broadmore thought "was kind of funny" but "made it less likely as a flying creature." This lead to the creature becoming thinner throughout the design process.[8] Jackson then stated that he wanted the flying creatures to have traits of the sphinx cat, which Jackson liked due to the excess skin they bear.[1][2]
Many rejected designs for the Terapusmordax would be reused for other creatures in the artbook The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island. These include Broadmore's "Uglor" design, which became the Foeducrista, and the "flying dog," which would become the Skin-bird[4]
Origins
Despite superficially resembling a mixture of a bat and a naked mole rat, Terapusmordax belonged to a family of flying rodents named Volucerattidae, which also contained Voluceritis and the Howlers. Terapusmordax, in particular, was the largest of the family.[4]
Ecology
Terapusmordax lived in matriarchal colonies numbering in the hundreds, where they were protected in part by the chemicals in their excrement, which lined the floors of their caves. The stench from the refuse was unbearable to most animals, and it would cling and dry to the Terapusmordaxes' bodies, offering them similar protection. They gave live birth to litters of 4 to 6 pups, who would begin fighting at a young age. Sometimes a pup could strike one another with enough force to send one falling to the cave floor. Fallen pups would either climb back up to the roost, or be eaten by the Megapede impurus that lived in the excrement below. The females produced the same hormones as males, which led to minimal sexual dimorphism. Males would often try to kill pups to make their mothers available for breeding, and so were kept away from the main colony, and male pups were ejected at an early age. Smaller male-exclusive colonies would form and roost near to the females, but many young males would be killed by other animals or older Terapusmordax, who saw them as competition for resources. Because of this, males were naturally solitary, but still nested together.[4]
Terapusmordax were naturally violent, and would attack one another for dominance, which led to them sporting numerous infected cuts and scratches. Females protected their young communally, and would attack as a group to drive away Skin-birds and males away from the roost. Terapusmordax were omnivorous, and ate mainly lizards, young dinosaurs plucked from the jungle floor, and fruit. They did most of their hunting in flight, and often preyed on Volucerictis.[4]
History
King Kong (2005)
As the night fell on the mountains of Skull Island, a great colony of Terapusmordax began to awaken, and circle fly around the peak that Kong called home. Some continued to sleep, hanging from the cave ceiling, and others grabbed onto the cave walls. Jack Driscoll entered their lair, and nearly rescued his friend Ann Darrow from Kong, her captor, but the beast awoke. Kong slammed his hand on the ground to try and smash Jack, which caused the Terapusmordax to enter a frenzy. They swarmed and circled around the giant ape, and several clung to his body with their claws and began to bite him. Kong fought back by tearing any he could catch from the air into pieces, and smashing others under his feet. While Kong was occupied with the Terapusmordaxes, Jack and Ann started making their escape down the cliffside. About five Terapusmordax shifted their interest to the humans. As Kong began to reel in the vine the humans clung to, and one of the bat-things seized its chance, and dove at Driscoll's head. He instead grabbed hold of one of its wing digits, and had Darrow grab onto him, as the frustrated Terapusmordax tried to fly away, it quickly lost altitude, and eventually the humans let go. The Terapusmordax flew away.
Abilities
Flight
With light and strong bones, Terapusmordax had good eyesight and were excellent flyers. They were quite maneuverable for their size, being able to tip and roll in the air in pursuit of one another or winged prey.
Chemical excrement
Their excrement was notably repugnant, containing chemicals that were so strong that in sufficient quantities would induce bleeding noses, burning nostrils and watery eyes. The dung littering the floors of the caves they inhabited and often dried onto their bodies, which drove away predators from them and their colonies, while the bats themselves were unaffected by the stench.[4]
Strong feet
Terapusmordax feet are used for hunting and hanging upside down from cave roofs, like a bat.[8]
Social behavior
Despite their scrappy and violent nature, the Terapusmordax relied on one another for safety, both in defensive and offensive positions. The colony members would work together to protect their young from encroaching Skin-birds and males, and could bring down larger prey by all attacking at the same time.
Video games
- Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (2005) - Nintendo GameCube and DS, PC, Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360
- Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World (2005) - Game Boy Advance
- Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (2011; added in 2024) Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Fire OS/TV, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Samsung Gear VR
Books
- King Kong (Pocket Star novelization)
- King Kong: Escape from Skull Island
- King Kong: Kong's Kingdom
- King Kong: Journey to Skull Island
- Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World (Meredith Books novelization)
King Kong (2005)
While climbing up a tall mountain on the back of Kong, Ann Darrow was frightened by a single jackal-like Terapusmordax with an 8 or so foot wingspan that flew a bit too close for comfort. Later, as Jack Driscoll came to rescue her, he passed under a group of foul-smelling Terapusmordax that began stirring as he made his way through. He dubbed them Terapusmordax, or "pungent-bat" based on his schooling in Latin, and their horrible stench. Although Kong was sleeping, the creatures were interested in the new creatures that had arrived, and began circling the cliff. Kong eventually awoke, and two Terapusmordax tried to carry her off, but were killed by Kong. The rest of the pack then attacked by landing on his back and swarming around him. Eventually, after many casualties, the beasts retreated. However, still interested in the smaller prey, a bat swooped close to Darrow and Driscoll as they dangled from a vine on the cliffside. Driscoll then grabbed its ankles, making it slowly sink in the air despite its protesting flaps. Eventually the two let go, and the Terapusmordax flew off.
King Kong: Escape from Skull Island
When Jack Driscoll arrived in their mountain lair, a few of the Terapusmordax were already stirring. When he woke Ann, who had been sleeping in Kong's hand, a Terapusmordax tried to nab her. Kong promptly awoke, pulled Ann away, and swatted the hungry beast aside. Kong put Ann down on a nearby ledge, where two more of them tried to grab her. Kong got her instead, and put her down yet again as he fended off her attackers. The Terapusmordax swarm grew in size and ferocity, but Kong was unbothered and able to take down at least two with each swipe of his arms. He kept swatting at the flying fiends while Jack escaped down the cliffside with Ann in tow. A few Terapusmordax watched them, and one made a dive for them. It missed, but quickly rallied, aiming right for Jack’s head before getting its ankles grabbed and used it to carry them to the river below.[13]
King Kong: Kong's Kingdom
A single Terapusmordax was among the foes Kong faced on a regular basis when traveling through the jungle.[14]
King Kong: Journey to Skull Island
At least five Terapusmordax swarmed around Kong's lair as the reader approaches, and can be seen in flight, presumably hunting, in the coming dusk.[15]
Comics
King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World
While sleeping at night on the roof of Kong's cave lair, a pack of Terapusmordax were awoken by the movement of Jack Driscoll as he attempted to rescue Ann Darrow from the gargantuan ape. The creatures swarmed Kong, while one grabbed Ann and attempted to fly away with her, but Kong slammed it into the ground, freeing her. Kong continued this practice of smashing the Terapusmordax, while a few individuals continued their pursuit of the humans. one flew too close and was grabbed by Driscoll, who, with Ann in tow, rode the weighed down beast as it entered a controlled fall into the river below, where they let go of its leg. As they turned around in the water to face the mountain, they saw swarms of Terapusmordax flying out into the night.
Attractions
Skull Island: Reign of Kong
In the years before Denham's journey to Skull Island, the Terapusmordax menaced Eighth Wonder Expedition Co. from the very start. They attacked the planes during their initial flyover survey, and one even tried to take Kate McCaffery's plane down, only to meet its fate in her propeller.[6] One of the flyover pilots would later describe them as "like Hell with wings."
As the main expedition into the island's massive underground caverns got underway, they continued to menace the interlopers. Three of them hung upside down to the right of the expeditionary vehicle for Team 2, which had been dispatched to provide backup to Team 1 deep in one of the caves. They flapped and hissed at the explorers. Moments later, Team 1 stirred three of them, and a whole flock of smaller “flying rats,” by launching a flare deeper into the cave. They menaced the both teams, and one nearly flew away with expedition member Joe, but he was freed from its grasp by expedition leader Kate McCaffery, who grabbed hold of Joe’s legs, and used her weight to free him from its grasp. One of the other Mordaxes then grabs her instead. It carried her into one of the island’s bug-ridden mud pits, where she was finally able to slash it's foot off with her machete, and get it to drop her. The 'Mordax, wounded and unable to fly, ended up stuck in the mud, where it was promptly devoured by Carnictis.
Roar
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Gallery
- Main article: Terapusmordax/Gallery.
Trivia
- For most of development, the Terapusmordax did not have a name, and was referred to with the general titles of "bat-thing" or "bat-creature." Because of this, much licensed media only refer to as "huge" or "giant" bats.[7][15][14][13]
References
This is a list of references for Terapusmordax. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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