Mercora (Animorphs)

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The Mercora are a fictional race of aliens in the Animorphs books by K.A. Applegate first seen in Megamorphs #2: In the Time of Dinosaurs. They resemble giant crabs with very asymmetrical bodies. On one side of the body is a large pincer and on the other are two human-like arms. They also had seven legs (three on one side, four on the other) and multiple spider-like eyes. They cut off their legs for an expression of grief, for they can regenerate their legs. The Mercora lived on Earth 65 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period after their own world had been destroyed by a black hole. They were at war with a species known as The Nesk and with the help of the Animorphs forced them to leave the Earth. However the Nesk diverted the path of a comet so that it would hit the earth's surface, thus wiping out both the Mercora and the Dinosaurs. The Mercora had planned to use a Nesk weapon captured by the Animorphs to prevent this but the Animorphs betrayed them, so that their own timeline could continue uninterrupted. They are now believed to be an extinct race, as none of their fossils were ever found.

Broccoli is said (in the books) to come from the Mercora home world, which is the apparent reason why broccoli tastes so bad.