A visual recognition manual to aid in identifying the various breeds of Sepulvedan Sponks.  Unpainted miniature facsimile sponks available at the Khurasan website http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/15mmscifi.html and are frequently on sale painted through our ebay auctions or by direct commission, depending on how busy our painting schedule is.  This site is dedicated to sponk fanciers throughout known space, and is fully endorsed by the Galactic Society of Sponk Watchers.

 

Voorhees' Mangler - A rather garishly colored breed named for its first recorded victim, IMC mining supervisor J. Voorhees.  Since the incident, company policy on sponk removal calls for the use of robot drones equipped with shaped-charge explosives rather than relying on armed security personnel as was previously the case.

 

Great Northern Sponk - Colloquially known as the "Killer Ghost" due to its unusual stealthiness.  The breed is native to the Northern Ice Cap, where it competes with the protoplasmic shog for the apex predator slot of this harsh environment.

 

"Hivebacked" Wilde's Fourth - One of a number of commonplace breeds credited to famed sponk-watcher Felix Wilde, this particular specimen has been "colonized" by a swarm of Sepulvedan Scorpion-Wasps.  These communal predatory xeno-insects often enter into symbiotic relationships with sponks, building elaborate hives atop their carapaces.  A "hivebacked" sponk can no longer burrow ambush pits, but the wasps seek out and paralyze prey over a wide area, then lead the sponk to their victims and feed on the gory leftovers.

 

Variegated Rotwood Sponk - Native to the fungal pseudo-forests of the Southern Lakelands, this breed sports a subtle camouflage pattern on its carapace.  Rotwood sponks are prone to albinism, and are sometimes mistakenly identified as members of the "Killer Ghost" breed, which is actually found only in the glacial tunnels of the Northern Ice Cap.

Albinoid variation.

 

Blue-eyed Bonesnapper - Not to be confused with the related Red-eyed Bonebreaker, Green-eyed Bonecrusher, or Yellow-eyed Bonebreaker breeds.  

 

Simskin's Mauler - Named for GSSW founding member Anatoli Simskin, whose encounter with this rarely-seen breed ended his career but assured his place in the annals of sponk-watching history.

 

Hungry Grump - Named after the semi-domesticated "mascot" of Pump Booster Station Support Settlement #18, whose staff trained "Grump" not to attack them through a program of regular heavy feedings.  Examples of the breed met in the wild show no such behavioral restraint.

 

Speckled Naranjo - Native to the equatorial deserts of Sepulveda, the breed is noteworthy for its lengthy hibernation cycles, sleeping through the warmest part of each year. 

 

The Common Zebra Sponk - A relatively common and widespread breed, often the first (and sometimes last) to be spotted by new enthusiasts of the hobby.

 

Carmody's Devil - First encountered near the depopulated ruins of the Carmody's Hole settlement, this breed appears to have an unusual fondness for devouring structural plastics and ferrocrete.

 

The Mottled Sandripper - Most often found in high desert regions far from human habitations, this breed is rarely spotted except by the most devoted watchers.

 

Lemonberry Sponk - Named after a popular children's cereal which has since adopted an computer-generated chibi version of the breed as an advertising mascot.  Attempts to capture and train an actual Lemonberry Sponk for use in live appearances ended badly.    

 

The Striped Murderer - Very rarely seen, a spotting of this primarily nocturnal breed is a real feather in a watcher's cap - providing one survives the encounter, of course.

 

A pack of Spotted Ghostclaws - An unusual breed noted for its cunning and a tendency to hunt in packs.  Rumors of them being employed as trained biological weapons by an unidentified xeno species are completely unfounded.

 

Group shots of those distinctive carapaces.