User blog comment:Lord Loss/Monster Hunter Theory... Blog/@comment-71.203.144.9-20121026025415/@comment-71.203.144.9-20121026025612

According to the last section, the swamp has a plentiful supply of ores and minerals from which gravios and basarios can live off of. Both basarios and gravios have been found in the swamp. The main question that caused me to start thinking about this was, “What are gravios doing in the swamp when they are adapted to live in the volcano?” I don’t really think that leaving the volcano would be much of a hazard to the health of these rock wyverns. My theory is that it might actually be somewhat beneficial considering there’s a plentiful supply of ores and minerals, and a lack of potential predators such as akantor, and possibly lao-shan lung. The downside to living exclusively in the swamp would be that the very humid and wet environment would deteriorate the rock wyvern’s armor-like skin. Likewise with living in the swamp, there is also a problem with staying in the volcano their whole lives. If they were to stay in the extremely dry environment of the volcano and have nothing to hydrate themselves with, then releasing the massive amounts of excess heat would become more difficult, and their armor may even become brittle. With these possibilities, gravios and basarios probably only stay in the swamps long enough to rehydrate themselves and possibly restore a supply of liquid that would help maintain their rather high body temperatures. The process probably isn’t even done by drinking water though. Passing the much cooler swamp water through the body so quickly could be very dangerous to the wyvern’s health. It is possible however, that they could simply absorb condensation through the large pores on their backs from which they also expel gases. As it passes through the body, it gradually heats up until it reaches the monster’s core temperature. All and all, Gravios and basarios consume water for homeostasis. They normally maintain a high body temperature. Any rapid drop in temperature around their vital organs is highly hazardous to their health. That is why gravios are particularly weak to water around their chest and belly, even in the colder swamp environment.

As for black gravios, my theory that involves a gravios whose ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) was damaged, forcing it to not only to have an unsatisfiable appetite and thus consuming much more ore than a gravios normally would, but also to be really picky with the ores it would eat. Not only would the selection of specific ore change its color and the properties of its attacks, but its voraciousness would also lead it to not only grow larger in size, but grow a much thicker shell. Its endless appetite would also lead it to seek out such specific ore so that it may continue eating no matter the distance and obstacles in its path, which would cause it to burn off and expel a good amount of the harmful contents of its food.

There is an alternative to the VMH theory, which all gravios start a selective diet after a certain age, causing them behave just as the gravios mentioned in the damaged VMH theory. The only difference between the two theories is that this one determines that the activity in the VMH is a result of age rather than as a result of just damage. Though I think either theory is plausible.