Lirx- the Writhing Sands

Submission for the 2015 Creature Cabal

It's common evolutionary knowledge that the first fish began living outside the water around four hundred million years ago. Most of them evolved limbs to cope with the hard soil, but few know of the second path the pioneers took. Those who developed near beaches with soft, ground soil saw its potential. They could hide in it to escape predators. They could use it to sneak on unsuspecting prey. Most importantly, though, they could use it without sacrificing anything they gained from life in the ocean.
Unfortunately for them, this fine sand was an increasingly rare commodity. As plant and animal life grew, so did the vast deserts shrink. Only the toughest and most voracious of animals could survive. As the carboniferous "swamp crisis" took the world, the number of sand-swimming creatures dropped dramatically.
You are looking a member of the last species right now.
The species itself, however, is doing rather marvelously.

Rendered in Photoshop.