| Class: | Realistic Beast |
| Hab: | Rivers, estuaries, swamps, wetlands, mudflats |
| Fre: | By species; less aggressive and small common, larger rarer |
| Num: | Small: 2-12, Giant: 1-4; more gather as scent of blood spreads |
| Lair: | 70% territorial, 30% roaming; all snoozing 90% of the time |
| Size: | 1' to 50', by species |
| Move: | Larger are faster; very fast swim, fast wriggle on land |
| Def: | Extremely tough hide studded with tooth-hard denticles |
| Att: | Crushing leap, bite = marine shark of similar size |
| Int: | Minimal; instinct-driven |
| Spec: | Aggressive / harmless species indistinguishable; woken by scent of prey |
| Posns: | Meat, hides, large teeth for blades & charms |
River rippers and mud menaces are just two of the more famous species of swamp sharks. Amphibious creatures of salt and fresh water, clear of mud-choked, these sharks do not hesitate to come on land, where they can wriggle surprisingly fast. In humid areas, they may lay in wait among concealing grasses and undergrowth, but in more arid areas they limit their forays beyond the water to the pursuit and kill.
Swamp sharks may be an intermediary form between aquatic marine sharks and either terrestrial sand-swimming sharks or terrestrial wriggler-class Land Sharks, which SEE. The very similar Marsh Mauler Wriggler Land Shark, which SEE, has made the transition to amphibian land shark.
A leaping swamp shark can launch itself ten times its length, often surprising prey which thought itself a safe distance from the water. A preferred tactic of swamp sharks is to land right on land-bound prey, which they do with surprising accuracy. Larger swamp sharks use their full weight to crush upon impact. Smaller sharks may not weigh enough to crush, but their weight and velocity, often compounded by surprise, are often sufficient to knock prey over, rendering it more vulnerable to the sharks' bites.
Swamp sharks may live in the same areas as Susu River Dolphins, which SEE. They employ similar tactics. They are fierce competitors, and each prey upon the other when the opportunity of clearly superior numbers presents itself.
Some swamp sharks have a carbuncle in their forehead, similar to the sep stone sand swimmer symbiont (which SEE) hosted by sand sharks. In the swamp sharks, this carbuncle seems of more limited function. It serves to ease the sharks' passage through the heaviest muck of the swamp, even permitting the sharks to cruse through saturated earth and squeeze between marsh grass tussocks or reed beds unhindered. The carbuncle may also play a role in the sharks' limited air breathing ability. Not usually mentioned in Heroes' tales, most species of swamp sharks feed on small animals; many are filter-feeders, no more dangerous than a sturgeon.
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