Vinestrangler

Vinestranglers (Latin: Vitis strangulari) are creatures which appear in the Monsterverse prequel comic Skull Island: The Birth of Kong.

Description
An unusual form of symbiotic insect, Vinestranglers are one of the many varieties of enormous predator unique to Skull Island. Their existence is so intricately meshed with the trees that they inhabit, that it is almost impossible to tell where the Vinestrangler ends and the plant begins.

Growing somewhere in the region of 9 to 12 feet in length, Vinestranglers possess a series of membranes which, when wrapped about them, make them virtually indistinguishable from the leafy boughs to which they are attached. A Vinestrangler will wait patiently for an animal to wander beneath its tree, whereupon it will be alerted to the presence of prey by the vibrations caused by its footsteps. These vibrations will be detected by the trees’ roots and transmitted directly to the creature’s central nervous system. Once this happens, the membranes will open to reveal a coiled cluster of long, grasping tendrils, which will ensnare the poor victim before dragging it up to its open stomach, where it will be slowly digested over the next 72 hours.

Presumably, the Vinestrangler will impart some of the nutrients gained from such a kill back to the tree, and ensure that it grows stronger and larger, in turn giving more scope to the Vinestraglers’ hunting ground.