Feasibility of a creature that leaves behind crystal like formations

In a distant future, humanity has colonized and catalogued countless worlds in their home galaxy. However one day humanity has discovered a few habitable words in the Andromeda galaxy.

After a while of researching the planets ecosystems and wildlife, scientists have stumbled upon one creature that seems to warp its environment on a minuscule to drastic level.

The creature itself primarily lives in caves, and can eat rocks and metals but will sometimes go out in the open to eat both plants and animals. The creature hatches from an egg that seems to be composed out of a crystalline coating, and is, at birth, the size of a medium sized dog.

Scientists have seen that in the wild, if the creature is outmatches or startled, it'll spray a mist like substance out of the sides of its body before darting away to a nearby cave. After a few minutes the area that has been sprayed with this mist like substance can start to be seen sprouting tiny crystal like formations, but after a few hours, the crystals will have grown in size, being estimated to grown to the size of doors. Luckily these crystalline formations will start to break down and later be blown away by the wind.

In caves however, the creatures seem to regularly spray this substance all over the cave walls, which can result in a very brittle yet beautiful place to explore. The scientist have theorized that these crystals, when sprayed in caves is a way for them to navigate and ensure safety, however, when out in the open it is assumed that this substance first acts like a irritant, but later will either crush the creature due to its weight or damage the creature, leaving injuries that are similar to slight burns and severe rashes.

Why would force a creature to evolve the ability to spray a substance that forms door sized crystals over a few hours?

posted almost 5 years ago

RotNDecay‭

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