Medusoid

Medusoid
Species Information
Taxonomy	Aerocnidaria aerae - aerial jellyfish Electromedusa aerae - aerial electric jellyfish
Na'vi name	Rimo’a, Fpxafaw or lonataya
Habitat	Pandora's mountain skies
Physical Information
Length	Bell is up to 15 meters in diameter. Tentacles can reach more than 35 meters.
Skin color	Pink/purple
Behind the Scenes
First seen	James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide
Last seen	Avatar: Fire and Ash

The Medusoid (Na'vi name: Rimo’a), alternatively known as Medusa (Na'vi name: fpxafaw or lonataya), is a large siphonophore-like creature that live in the skies of Pandora.

Anatomy

A medusa in the non-canon mobile game

Drifting over the mountaintops of Pandora, these massive, deadly and beautiful creatures look like the alien offspring of a Portuguese man o' war and a blimp.

Their clear membranous sac, or "bell," can go up to a diameter of up to 15 meters, and is filled with hydrogen gas produced by the digestion of its prey. This gas allows the medusoid to float above the canopy in search of potential victims. As a defense mechanism, the bell can pulse (much like an octopus) to give some directional control. It expels gas to descend and uses fluids from trim bladders to rise. For the most part, however, the creature is content to drift on the winds and hunt opportunistically. They lack the ability to steer well but can control some movements by squeezing their muscles. Their eyes (or more accurately, their optical sensors) are in the fleshy belt around the bottom of the bell. They provide the animal with a 360-degree view of the terrain beneath them. To look up, they must use extraordinary effort to reorient themselves.

They also have tentacles with a length of up to 35 meters. Their tentacles are nearly impossible to escape, and the shock provided by the tentacles is enough to kill a human.

Behavior

Depicted in James Cameron's Avatar: The Movie Scrapbook

During mating season, regions of the southern continent of Australis are blackened by the shadow of the medusoid swarm as it swirls in a dance of interlocking tentacles.

Medusoids are almost always hungry. Their translucent tentacles, which create a kind of curtain sweeping across the terrain, make a faint swishing sound that causes animals to scurry. The tentacles, which are three to eight centimeters in diameter, are replete with sensors that react instantly to the touch of an animal by curling into a viselike grip. The tentacles are also lined with electrocytes that can channel a current from an organ in the bell that produces electricity. The shock can be strong enough to stun a banshee or kill a full-grown human. Once in the grip of the tough, leathery appendages, it is unlikely that any creature will survive. The tentacles then lift the prey to the medusoid's pulpy mouth.

Given the limited mobility, they could become easy prey for other aerial predators, such as stingbats and banshees; however, the medusoid has little edible flesh. In addition, the unpleasant and potentially dangerous release of hydrogen gas is a natural deterrent to any predator; when the bell is punctured by tooth or claw, the medusoid has been observed flying in erratic circles like a punctured balloon, confusing or startling the predator. For these reasons, they are rarely attacked. Its only consistent enemy is the great leonopteryx, which, if deprived of food, will on occasion attack and eat the foul-tasting medusa.

Aerial battles between banshees and medusoids are considered to be some of the great natural spectacles on Pandora.

Na'vi Culture

Medusoids used as airships

The Tlalim Clan are shown to be using medusae as airships, combined with some otherflying stingray-like animals known as Windrays as propulsion. Though slow-moving, the Medusoid is capable of carrying tens of thousands of pounds over long distances.

Trivia

A painting by James Cameron

• There is a cut Pandorapedia entry for them in James Cameron's Avatar: The Game, and they were likely never implemented due to the game being rushed.
• James Cameron said they will re-appear in Avatar 4.
• James Cameron's concept for the Medusa dates back to a painting he made around 1978–9.
• In Project 880, Jake (or 'Josh' in the script) is attacked by a Medusa's tentacles. Trudy, N'deh and Grace try to save him, but they are all attacked by a Great Leonopteryx. The medusoid is attacked and it floats down to the forest where Jake barely manages to survive the fall.
• In Greek mythology, Medusa was a humanoid known as a "gorgon". Her gaze could turn mortal creatures to stone.
• In biology, a medusa is a jellyfish.
• In August 2015, the Avatar Facebook erroneously posted an image claimed to be the Medusa, but it is actually upside down concept art of a panopyra. The post had the description: "The medusa is an aerial carnivore that feeds on small rodent-like animals on the forest floor and occasionally on creatures as large as a hexapede or even humanoid. During mating season, parts of the southern continent of Australis are blackened by the shadow of the medusa swarm as it swarms in a dance of interlocking tentacles."

Gallery

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Seen in Fire and Ash

Seen in Fire and Ash

Concept Art

Sketch

Concept art for Fire and Ash

Concept art for Fire and Ash

Concept art for Fire and Ash

Games

Android/iOS game

Source

• James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide - Page 88 & 89