| Xiangliu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General information | |||
| Universe | Various | ||
| Aliases | 9 Headed Snake
Xiangyao | ||
| Classification | Titanoboa novemcephalus | ||
| Species type | Snakes | ||
| Homeworld | Earth | ||
| Environment | Bamboo forests of China | ||
| Intelligence | Non Sapient | ||
| Biological information | |||
| Reproduction | Sexual: Lays Eggs | ||
| Feeding behavior | Carnivorous | ||
| Distinctive features | Nine heads, large size, ability to cause floods through supernatural means | ||
| Lineage information | |||
| Cultural information | |||
| Personality | Hostile | ||
| Sociocultral characteristics | |||
| Scientific taxonomy | |||
| Planet | Earth | ||
| Domain | Eukarya | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia | ||
| Phylum | Chordata | ||
| Superclass | Tetrapoda | ||
| Class | Reptilia | ||
| Order | Squamata | ||
| Suborder | Serpentes | ||
| Family | Boidae | ||
| Genus | Titanoboa | ||
| Species | T. novemcephalus | ||
| Other information | |||
| Status | Least Concern | ||
Xiangliu /ʃæŋ.ljuː/, known in the Classic of Mountains and Seas as Xiangyao /ʃæŋ.jaʊ/, is a venomous nine-headed snake monster that brings floods and destruction in Chinese mythology.
Biology[]
Xiangliu may be depicted with its body coiled on itself. The nine heads are arranged differently in different representations. Modern depictions resemble the hydra with each head on a separate neck. Older wood-cuts show the heads clustered on a single neck, either side-by-side or in a stack three high, facing three directions. Old depictions show the beast with human-like heads, but the more popular image is of the creature with snake heads nowadays.