| abstract | - The Ass Blaster is the term for the third and final morph/stage of the Graboid's life cycle, the imago stage. Much like butterfly is the term for the imago stage of a caterpillar. A Shrieker having achieved maturity, enters the third known phase of the Graboid life cycle: the Ass Blaster. The Ass Blaster differs from the Shrieker in three significant ways: It possesses wings; it has a rocket-like ability to launch itself into the air; and it has the ability to lay eggs. It is considered by some (including Burt Gummer), to be an even larger threat than Shriekers and Graboids due to their heat seeking abilities and ability to glide after blasting off. This ability to fly is the result off the Ass Blaster's most unique trait in which the Ass Blaster works two chemicals into its tail section. They come from two separate organs in the body with these in turn go to two separate sacs that inflate with the chemicals so that they can mix them in the air and blast off. Once these two chemicals mix, they become volatile and react violently when exposed to the air, creating a lifting explosion. Much like the Bombardier Beetle. Their African Counterpart operates on a slimier principle.Physiology
The Ass Blaster's appearance is slightly different from its previous Shrieker form and that the body is longer but more slightly built with fin like wings used for controlled gliding. The skull is far thinner than the last two forms and is a glossy black contrasting with the Ass Blaster's mostly reddish orange body and tan wings. It does not seem to have ears or at least ear holes, yet they have some hearing capability similar to the earlier Graboid morph. They are just over six feet long, tip to tail, about three feet high, and have head and jaw about two feet long. The heat sensing organ is far more compact being like two slits for eyes as the creature visibly looked left, right and down when looking for the movie protagonists. When the Ass Blaster premiered, in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, it resulted from the Shrieker reaching their molting period of 12 hours though there have not been subsequent examples of this. They molt out of the skin of the shrieker leaving it and an orangeish liquid material left behind. The flame resulting from the Ass Blaster's take off is exceedingly hot, a fact of acknowledged when one of them started to use it to melt the door to Burt's safe room open. This heat also works in their favor if someone tries to tranquilize it, as the sheer heat in the posterior region of an Ass Blaster will neutralize the effects of any tranquilizers to strike its rear end.
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