Teostra Ecology

Teostra Discussion

Disclaimer: This is merely a plausible explanation for the monster(s) in this article, and may or may not be considered canon to the series.

Taxonomy

• Order: Elder Dragon
• Suborder: Fire Dragon
• Family: Tesukato
• Species: Teostra/Lunastra
• Close Relatives: Toa Tesukatora

A brutal male Elder Dragon that is rarely ever seen, Teostra is a Fire Dragon that is the male counterpart of Lunastra.

History

Reported since ancient times, Teostra and Lunastra are Elder Dragons that Wyverians are too familiar with due to their short temper and aggressive nature. Feared by humans and wyverians alike, this duo appears in many legends and hunters, such as the Huntsman, have faced off against them.

Habitat Range

Teostra prefer to live in harsh environments that are extremely dry like deserts and volcanoes. They have been witnessed living within the Volcano, Volcano (3rd), Volcanic Hollow, Ingle Isle, Elder's Recess, Old Desert/Dunes, Desert, and Wildspire Waste.

Despite preferring warmer environments, Teostra have been observed in other environments like the Swamp/Marshlands, Everwood, and Fortress Ruins.

Footprints of Teostra have even been reported alongside Lunastra's at the Tower by some Wyverians.

Ecological Niche

Teostra is known to feed on minerals such as ore and coal, which is how its abilities are fueled, though it is unknown if it eats anything else. It has also been reported traveling to human settlements to feed on stockpiles of gunpowder. From its position as an Elder Dragon, Teostra has few monsters to fear, excluding Elder Dragon-Level Monsters and other Elder Dragons like Kushala Daora. Its only known predator is Nergigante.

Biological Adaptations

Old World

• Length: 1739.8cm/1741cm - 2000cm or more
• Height: 623cm
• Foot Measurements: 131cm

At first glance, Teostra looks strikingly similar to a Fanged Beast/Fanged Wyvern compared to other Elder Dragons, giving it an intelligent appearance not seen in other classes. Like those two classes, Teostra has fur covering some parts of its body (Face, neck, and tail), though mostly scales adorn it. A Teostra's back is covered in scales while its underbelly is protected by a hard shell, making it difficult for most creatures to seriously damage it. Despite the protection those adaptations provide, some parts of its body are vulnerable to attacks due to them lacking those features. Like other Elder Dragons, Teostra has two wings on its back that allow it to fly, but, from it spending most of its time on the ground, those extra appendages are thought to be losing their original function. Inside of its wings are small hairs used for storing and spreading an explosive powder, which is a byproduct from its diet, around its environment. By snapping its jaws together, it produces a spark that causes the powder around it to explode almost instantly, damaging anything caught within the blast radius. Inside of its mouth is special saliva that it combines with the minerals its eats. Combining these two substances allows Teostra to breathe flames and cover itself in a fiery aura. The flames it breathes come from an oily fluid from within its body that can easily severely burn most opponents it faces. Its fiery aura covers its whole body, overheating nearby creatures and repelling long-ranged attacks. These two abilities from Teostra are controlled by its horn, but how is unknown. Recently, it has been discovered that Teostra has another defense. Teostra will cover itself in an explosive powder when greatly enraged and begin to perform far deadlier explosive attacks than ever before. This Explosive State allows Teostra to leave behind powder with almost all of its attacks that can explode over time, or be ignited immediately by Teostra itself. Teostra can even use it for many close-range attacks, but more skilled Teostra have learned to use it at long range. When Teostra exits this state, it will fly into the air and ignite the powder all at once. When the powder is all ignited, Teostra will be covered in a large burst of fire, that is sometimes referred to as the Supernova, and will begin to act as it was before entering the deadly state.

Teostra are known to vary from region to region, meaning no two are the same.

New World

• Length: 1790.15cm
• Height: 622.18cm
• Foot Measurements: 112cm

The Teostra found in the New World have many of the same adaptions as their Old World cousins, however, there are a few differences between them. Compared to their cousins, the New World Teostra are known to be great flyers that travel long distances and fight in the sky. They also have noticeably more pronounced manes, likely due to either their old age or the New World's unique ecosystem, so they can hold more explosive powder within their fur.

HC Teostra (Frontier Only)

HC Teostra are unusual Teostra that are different from normal individuals. Only ever encountered in the Mezeporta district, HC Teostra have golden eyes and some parts of their body are discolored, though the biggest difference is their fighting abilities. Unlike normal individuals, HC Teostra have a more intense heat aura surrounding their body that they have full control of, even if their horns are broken. HC Teostra is able to better use its scales, leaving behind trails of them by simply performing certain actions, and igniting them all at once with a single snap of its jaws. It can also make the scales on its legs and tail explode instantly by just swiping with said parts. If HC Teostra is blinded by a powerful flash of light, it is known to ignite all of the scales it has scattered around an area at once to catch his attackers off guard.

Supremacy Teostra (Frontier Only)

Only ever seen at the Tower, the Supremacy Teostra (Japanese 覇種テオ・テスカトル) is a Supremacy Species of Teostra, an old veteran said to turn all things to ash. Over the years, its eyes have become golden in color, its ears have further whitened, its fur has reddened, and some of its parts (Horns, wings, tail, and feet) have lava-like markings. Like the HC Teostra, the Supremacy Teostra has mastered how to control its devastating flames, meaning all of its fire-based attacks have drastically increased in both power and size. Supremacy Teostra has even gained some new abilities not seen by other individuals like, for example, the ability to surround itself in a fiery tornado by simply flapping its wings. Supremacy Teostra is even known to cover its body parts in flames when enraged.

Natural Phenomenon

When Teostra appears in an area, powerful heatwaves are produced by it, causing the temperatures in an environment to rise to inhospitable levels, including in deserts and volcanoes. Teostra can turn sand to glass just by simply appearing in a desert, while, in volcanoes, it can cause lava to burst out of the ground from its high body temperature. Like other Elder Dragons, Teostra is also known for attacking villages and towns, destroying them if left unchecked, like the Town/Battlequarters and Mezeporta's Interceptor's Base. It often wanders into settlements from the stockpiles of gunpowder used by humans.

Behavior

Teostra is an aggressive Elder Dragon that prefers to keep to itself. Teostra mostly spends its time living in secluded areas with few creatures, including humans, so attacks from the Elder Dragon are rare. But when it does encounter another creature, Teostra will turn violent in an instant, especially if the threat dares to attack it.

In the New World, Teostra won’t attack hunters unless it’s provoked or sees that its mate is in danger. From its overwhelming power as an Elder Dragon, it’ll ignore most creatures since it knows it’s a powerful monster that can’t be easily rivaled. Teostra becomes more dangerous when it is with Lunastra since both will work together to protect each other.

Breeding Habits

Much is still unknown about the breeding habits of Teostra and Lunastra since the two are rarely ever seen together. In the past, the only indication that these two would nest together were footprints found near the Tower. More recently, the Research Commission have reported seeing them cooperating in the New World. In the Elder's Recess, Teostra created a nest by using its explosive powder to carve out a mountain and turn it into a flat, smooth landscape surrounded by lava. The terrain for it is unstable, making it difficult for other species to invade it, but it and Lunastra have no problems standing on it. It created this nest to attract Lunastra, and she only chooses the Teostra with the largest one with the most abundant mineral deposits as her mate. It's also believed that she likes a Teostra with a well-maintained mane.

Studies on Teostra

Researchers have been studying Teostra for a long time, but still much about the Elder Dragon remains a mystery. They have tried studying its fur and scales, but those ignite and explode too easily for proper research, making Teostra's materials dangerous to work with. One scholar even went into the Swamp/Marshlands for several years, without any human contact, to study Teostra in the field. One day the scholar, with the help of a Veggie Elder, was able to finally gather new data on Teostra. The Veggie Elder described a Teostra feeding on ore in the caves, and the scholar was able to gather saliva samples from said caves before making a critical discovery about the Elder Dragon. By studying the saliva the scholar discovered that Teostra's saliva contains large amounts of coal. With this discovery the scholar was able to formulate a commonly accepted hypothesis that Teostra combines its saliva with coal to produce its extraordinary flames, and infamous heat aura.

Sources

• Monster Hunter 2
• "Hunter's Encyclopedia 2"
• "Monster Hunter 2 Monster's Ecological Encyclopedia Volume 3"
• Monster Hunter Freedom 2
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
• "Hunter's Encyclopedia G"
• Monster Hunter 4
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
• "Hunter's Encyclopedia [reprinted edition]"
• "Hunter's Encyclopedia 4"
• Monster Hunter Generations
• Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
• Monster Hunter: World
• Dive to Monster Hunter World
• Monster Hunter Frontier