A dangerous beast native to El-Adrel IV that fades in and out of sight, chosen by the Tamarian captain Dathon as the common enemy he and Picard must face together in Darmok.
The creature of El-Adrel IV is a large, clawed predator that seems to be partly made of energy. It shimmers and vanishes from sight between attacks and gives off an electromagnetic disturbance that sensors can follow.
It appears in The Next Generation episode Darmok in 2368. Dathon has himself and Jean-Luc Picard beamed to the planet, knowing the beast is there, in the hope that fighting it side by side will let the two peoples understand one another, as in the Tamarian story of Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.
The plan costs Dathon his life. The Enterprise tries to beam Picard away at the moment of the attack, leaving the Tamarian to face the beast alone, and he dies of his wounds that night. The creature returns for Picard, who is rescued just in time.