Ripper II

A Ripper II is a boxy, coelopteranoid creature native to the planet Zebes. Like its more primitive cousin, the Ripper, the creature is completely brainless and flies back and forth its whole life. It keeps alive by breathing air, which is rich in minerals and other nutrients. It only has nerves to control itself and mainly uses them early in its life to find a place to fly for the rest of its life.

Ripper IIs are red in color and have a tough shell that protects them from most attacks, although a powerful enough concussive blast or intense exposure to plasma and electricity, such as with a Screw Attack movement system, will destroy them. They are also susceptible to cold, and can be frozen in place; somehow, a frozen Ripper II will not fall to the ground. Their body is split into two main segments:
 * The head, the small pointed anterior section of the body. It is approximately only 1/10th of the total body length.
 * The thorax, which makes up the rest of the body and is covered in the smooth, yet flared and pointed shell.

With the destruction of Zebes, they may be extinct in the wild, although with rumors abound that they are in fact the creation of the Space Pirates or that said Pirates found a use for them, they are currently considered still alive, but endangered.

Ripper Subspecies

 * Ripper
 * Winged Ripper

Appearances

 * Metroid
 * Metroid: Zero Mission
 * Super Metroid