The slird was a strange arboreal creature found only in the forests of the remote islands off the southeast coast of Middle-earth. Most lived in colonies of 2-40 individuals on the isle of Vulm Shryac. Green or green with red stripes, slirdu were four or five-armed invertebrates that resembled both squids and starfish. They were distantly related to both creatures and had adapted to life on land by developing true lungs and a sophisticated network or extremely thick, tough, well-insulated nerves that served as a quasi skeleton. Each of the slird's prehensile appendages joined with a trunk that resembled a squid's body and housed the beast's two eyes and beak-like mouth. An opening just below the mouth connected with an ink sack.