May 17, 2010 6:00 AM | Eric Caoili

This frightening tangle of tentacles/intestines with its tips curled into what looks like elf boots was created by former Maxis intern Michael "Flux" Chang, supposedly for testing Spore's gait systems. It doesn't actually appear in the final game, but Maxis' senior art director Ocean Quigley recently posted media of the "Intestisaur".

"The thing was fascinating to watch, but disturbing and creepy," says Quigley. "It became our unofficial mascot. ... I was never sure about Intestisaur's gender, but I'll settle on "him". ... The animation system handled him just fine, and it was fun to watch him saunter around."

If you think your stomach or nerves can handle it, I've embedded a video of the Intestisaur "walking" around, trying to make its way across the screen before it jumps out to attach itself to your face, after the break.

[Via SporeWiki]