The biology of Boilers

Boilers are a species of large amphibians, with the special ability to create a powerful explosion with a mixture of highly reactive chemicals, mainly helium and trinitrotoluene, which combined with a small spark can generate a detonation that is powerful enough to give a temporary speed boost and create a smokescreen to hide them. They have vents on their side and a heat resistant stomach lining to help ease the initial burst, and several holes in their flexible spinal column to disperse smoke as a distraction. After they release the smoke they will flatten down and act like a rock, hiding in the smoke and foliage. They live in the forests of East Eden and can grow up to 2 feet tall, and weigh around 20 kilograms. They have up to 100 eggs laid per month, but only about 25 of those will grow to adulthood, at around age 15 in Earth years. They are normally a muddy brown color and resemble large frogs with a flexible cartilage bone structure. They extract nutrients from their prey with large pads on the side of their stomach, and the waste will be incinerated during it’s ‘boiling’ process. It will only begin that process when it is frightened by a predator or is away from its preferred habitat. The explosions can reach temperatures of up to 4000° K and can even create trails of fire as they zoom off during their first phase, the escape.