GraboidClassificationAnimalia Bilateria Cephalopoda Coleoidea Sepiolida Vermiformidae Caederus AmericanaFeature films.Video gamesCreated by.Portrayed by. Tom Woodruff Jr. Tom Woodruff Jr. Tom Woodruff Jr. Tom Woodruff Jr.The Graboid, (also known as the Dirt Dragon or Tu Lung in the 19th century), is a fictional invertebrate species that is the primary antagonist of the Tremors franchise. The creature made its debut in the 1990 film, and reappeared in all its sequels (1996), (2001), and prequel (2004). It was also featured regularly in the series' spin-off (2003), with being a recurring character.

1. Graboid App
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A variant was featured in the 2015 film. Contents It seems that considering the information presented in the movies this entire life cycle can take place in about 9 months, however due to the eggs ability to hibernate for extended periods of time this is likely the reason that the creatures were virtually unknown up until the late 20th century. The 4th Tremors movie is the first chronological reappearance of the Graboids, it begins a time when Grabboid pockets are reawakened all over the world as suspected by scientists (according to Burt).Graboid's picture from Scifi.comThese are laid byDirt Dragons are the baby Graboids from Tremors 4, also known as Dirt Dragons and Tu-Long.

So far they have only appeared in Tremors 4.GraboidThe standard Graboid is the only creature to have appeared in all four entries, and also the 2003 TV series of the same name. There are two known species: one in North America and the other in Africa. In both species, the Graboid is the first stage in the creatures' life cycle. In, which is a prequel taking place in 1889, thus before they got their current name, they are referred to as 'dirt dragons'.

The name 'Grabboid' was invented by shop owner character in the first film, Tremors,; who was subsequently eaten by one. Linuxlive usb creator 2 8 12 exe windows 10. Some of the other names that were considered for the Graboid by and Walter included ' Snakeoids', ' Suckers', ' Suckoids' or ' Mega-Worms'. Promotional material written by the Sci Fi Channel classifies them as Devonian Era invertebrate predators, possibly Cephalopods.ShriekerAfter eating a large amount of food the Graboid dies but its tongs live on and begin the transformation by turning into. When a Shrieker is born it blows out the side of the Graboid leaving a dead 50 foot worm with a hole in its belly.Ass BlasterThe is the next and final stage in the Graboids evolution and is the worse. To become one Shriekers have to eat a large amount of food and give birth to at least one Shrieker before entering their cocoons.

When the Shrieker emerges it sprouts wings and spits flames out its rear giving it its name. Before the Ass Blaster dies it eats a large amount of food and spits one Graboid Egg out its rear beginning the cycle of terror all over again.Physiology American SpeciesGraboids are depicted as subterranean animals, superficially resembling gigantic worms or larva, with long, serpentine bodies. When fully grown, a mature American Graboid can measure up to 30 feet long, and 6 feet across at its widest point, and may weigh 10-20 tons.

From the information presented in Tremors 4, it takes them about 3 months to attain this size. Anatomically speaking, the Graboid is a tube wrapped with thick skin-muscle, which is necessary to manipulate its external spines.

Presumably, it must also possess a semi-rigid internal structure (though not a true endoskeleton) since it can burst through concrete (though such an impact kills it). Less dramatically, the Graboid's ability to lift its upper body into the air, as well as bear the weight of the soil through which it moves, also suggests a semi-rigid internal structure. The internal cuttle-bone structure is probably coupled with a strong musculature. It is logical to assume that a Graboid propels itself underground partly with its surface spines, and partly with an overall motion of its body. A strong internal musculature would enable the Graboid to flex its entire body, undulating in a curling, corkscrew motion through the ground. Graboids completely lack eyes as they live underground.

Their heads consist of a massive, black, armored beak, which is used to push aside the dirt whilst digging. The beak opens up like a grotesque flower; it consists of a wide upper jaw, a thinner lower jaw, and a pair of hooked mandibles on either side, they measure three feet long. Whether they possess a skeleton or not is unknown, though a faux scientific document written by the Sci-Fi channel hypotheses they have a semi-rigid internal structure, similar to the internal cuttle-bones of certain cephalopods, such as cuttlefish.A graboid extends its three, prehensile tonguesGraboids have a trio of long, powerful, serpent-like tentacles, which are prehensile and have a reach of at least ten feet. Normally kept retracted in the Graboid's throat, these tentacles were initially mistaken for the actual creatures, causing the characters in the first Tremors film to underestimate their underground opponents. The Graboid's common name is derived from these prehensile tentacles, which 'grab' prey and suck it down the Graboid's hungry gullet. The three 'tongues' each have a mouth, teeth and two pairs of horn like projections on the upper jaw and lower jaw. The tentacles are used in other ways besides grasping.

Other purposes of these erstwhile appendages include sensing very subtle vibrations and feeling around basically acting as the creatures arms and hands. However, unlike human hands the tentacles have taste sensors inside the mouth-like jaws. So when a tentacle's jaws close on something, the Graboid can quickly tell if the something is worth reeling in to eat.

While at times, these tentacles appear to have minds of their own, hissing and writhing like snakes, they, like an octopuses tentacles, are simply extensions of the creature. Food is typically swallowed whole, though early in the original Tremors film, they are shown to dismember and decapitate their prey, this was shown again with the of Tremors 4 this likely points to necessity if it senses other prey approaching and needs to start after them. They apparently have a slow metabolism, at least for the sterile ones like, as it was only hinted at to defecate in the last episode of the series.A Graboid's hide is thick and leathery, with a rough, pebbly texture, giving them a reptilian appearance (though they are not reptiles). This makes them very hard to kill with anything short of saturation bombing or large-bore rounds, usually from guns designed for large animals such as elephants and buffalo. Graboids possess immense physical strength, able to topple over mobile homes, tow along an object heavy as a pickup truck without slowing down, smash through brick walls and pull an entire station wagon underground. Encircling their bodies are short spikes, which all move in unison to push the Grabboid through the dirt (more specifically Pleistocene alluvial Soil), similar to the setae on an earthworm. Their top speed is around 15-20 mph in good loose soil.

Therefore they are able to burrow faster than a human can run; a Graboid cannot not catch motorized vehicles like cars or dirt bikes, as shown in when Jack's truck was able to outrun a Graboid. Also it was been shown throughout the series and Tremors 4 that galloping horses can out pace Graboids. With armored head and mobile spikes working together in unison, a Graboid can 'swim' through the loose soil at high speed like a shark in the water, though they are incapable of tunneling through solid rock. Graboids (and their nymph and imago forms, the and respectively) have distinctive orange blood.

Graboids also have a powerful stench, which is made evident on several occasions throughout the first film. Though underplayed in the 2nd and 3rd films, the Grabboid's stench becomes a critical plot point in Tremors 4; Juan is able to identify the Graboids as being the unseen killers in the silver mines where they are small and jump from the ground extremely fast with a hard shell on their back, hunting by sound, shedding their shells and growing to become matured Graboids later in the film due to them sharing the same vile odor. The Graboids' greatest weakness is that it is unable to tell the terrain of the environment it is in before it's too late, which is demonstrated when Earl and Val trick one into running into a concrete wall, and when Val tricks into running off of a cliff.For obvious reasons, it has been all but impossible to directly observe the creature underground; observations of the surface soil above a Graboid's route, however, show that such soil is sometimes humped erratically, producing a series of rises and falls rather than a continuous ridge. This disturbance of the ground is consistent with a writhing, flexing mode of travel. Furthermore, when a Grabboid surfaces, it often does so while turning its head or body in a circular motion, supporting the corkscrew theory of locomotion.The Graboid appears to respirate the same nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere as other terrestrial animals. Witnesses have heard Grabboids sometimes expel blasts of air.

This implies that Graboid's possess lungs. Whether these lungs resemble vertebrate lungs is unknown. On a related topic, the Graboid, Shrieker and Ass Blaster all have closed circulatory systems; their reddish-orange blood has been well-documented. This suggests that they possess a cardiopulmonary system, a heart pump and an oxygen-based blood-transport system.MetabolismThe Grabboid would seem to require astonishing levels of energy to propel its prodigious bulk underground faster than a human can run above ground, yet it does so almost routinely when pursuing prey. It is possible that the Graboid spends most of its time in a torpid or dormant state to recover from these short, intense bursts of activity.The Shriekers' rapid self-replication and the Ass Blaster's ability to generate volatile chemicals capable of launching it skyward suggest extremely efficient metabolisms. Like the Graboid, however, these creatures appear to need rest while digesting food and after prolonged expenditures of energy. Supporting this theory is the observation that, when fully fed, an Ass Blaster collapses into a 'food coma' in order to digest and to regain its equilibrium.Curiously, in addition to its feats of speed and its ability to digest large prey, the Graboid has even shown an occasional willingness to eat metal.

One of the creatures swallowed a large metal drum containing Burt Gummer, and there is also a report of Graboids attacking a station wagon. Did the Graboids involved in these incidents attack because their bodies are capable of deriving useful nutrients from inorganic objects? Or, as is considered more likely, did the car's vibrations (or Gummer's movements inside the barrel) mislead the Graboids into thinking they had found living prey?It is possible that the Graboid's underground life gives it access to elements or chemicals that 'supercharge' its digestion and metabolism. Because the surface-dwelling Shrieker and Ass Blaster also show a similar level of digestive/metabolic ability, the discarded body of their parent Graboid might provide them with these required chemicals.

It is also possible that this ability is simply inherent in all three species. Regardless, it remains one of the most impressive aspects of their physiology.Hunting and IntelligenceGraboids are shown to be ravenous carnivores, always on the hunt for food. Indiscriminate eaters, their diet includes but is not limited to sheep, cattle, horses, donkeys, coyotes, and even humans.

They are known to be cannibalistic when the opportunity presents itself; El Blanco consumed an Ass Blaster in Tremors 3. Lacking eyes or a nose, they're shown to hunt by sensing seismic vibrations, which are produced by sounds and movements.

Because they are unable to tell the difference between edible and inedible vibration sources they adopt a policy of 'eat first, ask questions later,' simply swallowing whatever sets off their vibration sensors and regurgitate anything that does not taste good. Inedible objects can be spat out with amazing force, being propelled high into the air.

Due to the sensitive hearing they use for underground navigation, Graboids are so sensitive to sound they must retreat from loud explosions, which cause them great pain due to sensory overload. For the same reason Graboids are unable to hunt during rain storms. The scientific explanation for this is based on the fact that scientists recently learned that rain is one of the loudest sounds underwater in the ocean.Graboids are ambush predators, preferring to sneak up on their quarry, though they are shown to chase it down with great determination.

They erupt from the ground and use their tentacles to ensnare prey, pulling them into their mouth. The tentacles wrap around the prey, biting into its flesh or hooking the prey with their horn-like spikes. When the prey attempts to flee by climbing, Graboids will simply dig away the earth under the hiding place, undermining it until it collapses or sinks low enough to allow the Grabboid to pluck off the hiding prey. When they are unable to break down the prey's hiding spot, the undaunted Graboids will continue circling it like sharks until it ceases making vibrations.

Usually they wait so long the prey dies of dehydration or starvation, i.e. Several days.Little is known about the creatures' nervous systems, but all forms of the Graboid appear to have sophisticated brains, at least as compared with other predatory animals. All Grabboids have exhibited signs of being extremely quick studies. Science cannot yet measure exactly how smart these creatures are, but they might approach the intelligence levels of such mammalian pack predators as wolves and lions. That being said Graboids are highly intelligent, possessing memory and the ability to learn.

For instance, in the first Tremors movie the characters successfully killed a Graboid by having it swallow homemade dynamite. The second Graboid had apparently noticed this trap and simply regurgitated the dynamite.

There are plenty of other examples, for instance when the characters escaped on a bulldozer which was too big to be toppled or undermined, the creatures simply dug a trap in its path.In, Burt states that the Graboid is native only to the Northern Hemisphere. At the time, he was unaware of the existence of the African species.CommunicationGraboids can communicate by a wide variety of clicking noises informing each other for food sources.Maturation cycle.African Species. Main article: The African species presumably has a similar life cycle to the American species, but unlike the American species, which is only seen in the Northern Hemisphere, the African species is found in the Southern Hemisphere, or at least Africa. It is unknown when this species branched off from the American species, but archaeologists find a skeleton of one, indicating that this is not a new evolution.

After seeing the skeleton, Burt describes this species as longer and slimmer. While not a biologist he describes this species as more evolved and efficient, better adapted to their environment.

Graboid App

The Shrieker stage was never seen, possibly indicating that their life cycle bypasses it all-together.The African species' tentacles, referred to as ', can detach from the host Graboid. They are sentient and can hunt on their own. Separated, they are fast and lethal, able to climb up rocky surfaces. However, this leaves them more vulnerable to being attacked. It is unknown how many Grabbers each African Graboid has as features only two Graboids with multiple Grabbers appearing throughout the movie.The African Graboid also exhibits a far more aggressive hunting behavior than American Graboids; besides simply coming up and swallowing their prey from beneath, or using their tentacles to reel them in, these Graboids can launch themselves out of the ground to its target, showing considerably more agility than the North American Graboid. Presumably, this behavior developed in response to the speed and alertness of African animals, many of which can run faster than a Graboid's top tunneling speed, and will flee at the sensation of the ground moving were a Graboid to attempt to tunnel under them.

Graboid Video

Additionally, paleontologists found evidence that this species is able to tunnel through rock by releasing formic acid from its mouth to soften rock before using its magnesium mandibles to eat through it. This would mean that the established practice of getting up on boulders or other rock formations to escape and stay out of reach would be ineffective against an African Graboid, as it could dissolve the rock until it got to the prey.Unlike the American species, the primary drive of members of this species is shown to be propagation of the species rather than hunting. To this end, they cooperate with any to protect their nests. This level of social cooperation is greater than any seen in the American species, and could in fact be described as non-exist ant. Ass-Blasters and Graboids ignored each other outright instead of working together, in one case a was known to eat an Ass-Blaster.Arctic Species.