Large reptilians that live in the swamps and bayous of Rodia, ghests - the fabled swamp demons - are an important facet of the mythology of the Rodians. While they normally prey on the larger herbivores of Rodia, there were times in Rodian history when it was not uncommon for a ghest to attack a primitive Rodian village, devouring all the inhabitants. Because of this, primitive Rodians believed that the ghests captured the spirits of the dead, and the appearance of a ghest was hailed as a warning of doom to come. Even now, ghests are often seen as demons in modern Rodian dramas.
When searching for prey, ghests move slowly through the murky water, their eyes and forehead just barely above the surface. When they spot something, they explode into motion, snapping with their teeth and claws, and normally consuming their prey in one bite.
Ghest have no predators, but the primitive Rodians would, under certain circumstances, organize a ritual hunt, where a large number of the males would band together to hunt and kill a ghest. The successful completion of such a hunt was believed to be a way of removing the curse of drought or famine.
The ghest mating ritual appears to be half dance and half combat, as each member of the mating pair tries to prove that the other is a suitable mate (and only individuals that can hold their own in combat are suitable). Zoological behaviorists tell us that - even in the case of a mating pair - the desire of the ghests to reproduce conflicts with their desire to prevent others from reproducing. However, they also note that the female will fight harder than the male, because she knows that if she kills the male, she can still extract the sperm necessary for fertilization from the corpse, while the male knows that his offspring will not live unless the female does.
After the mating, the pair will break apart and swim away from each other as fast as they can. This is an instinctive behavior that increases the chances that the male does not encounter his offspring again - because if he does encounter juveniles, he will kill and eat them.
After the mating, the female lays hundreds of eggs in a small pool and then begins protecting that pool. Most of the eggs grow into much smaller versions of the ghest, which then begin feeding on each other, ensuring that only the strongest survive to the pre-adult stage. These pre-adults then have to burrow into the mud, completely hiding themselves from the female. Only then will the female become disinterested and leave. If the pre-adults attempt to leave their pool before the female has left, she Will probably eat them because she is not willing to take the chance that they may be the offspring of some other ghest.
Because the fauna of Rodia are being destroyed by rapid industrialization, the ghests are becoming extremely rare in their natural state (although a number of wealthy and sentimental Rodians have begun attempts to transplant juvenile ghests to other planets). | 
