Apalala (ahp-ah-lah-lah)

Apalala

Apalalas were dragon/whale hybrids living in the oceans watery depths. They were a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic reptiles. Apalalas were creatures of the open ocean; they fed, mated, laid eggs, and raised their young at sea. Their underwater life was so extreme that they were unable to survive on land. They surfaced to breathe at random increments throughout the day based primarily on their size.

Apalalas ranged in size from the 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) and 135 kilograms (298 lb) to 29.9 metres (98 ft) and 190 metric tons (210 short tons). This enormous difference in size was due largely to their diet of fish. Some regions of the ocean didn’t have a large supply of fish schools so apalalas had to subsist on much smaller marine creatures and go for longer periods without feeding. Early merfolk paid close attention to the size of apalalas when selecting sea beds on which to settle. Sites with smaller apalala were remote and not home to underwater urban life.