Soul Ripper

"Soul rippers are the bane of the living, creatures born of the endless malice churning within Hell. Agile and swift, the rippers cover ground quickly by latching onto prey with their enormous tongues and then leaping on top of their victims. From this point, the ripper cannot be deterred: it has begun to feast."

- Deckard Cain^(src)

Soul Rippers (a.k.a. Soul Lashers, Soul Devourers or Tongue Lashers) are monsters in Diablo III, mostly encountered in Act III. As the description of the Captured Soul suggests, the most powerful Rippers are able to (literally) rip the victim's soul from the vessel of flesh, devouring it and storing it in their body.

In-game

Soul Rippers count as Beasts, and are rarely encountered in large numbers. They are among the fastest enemies in game, and their primary attack is a mid-range impaling thrusts of their pike-like tongues. They can also leap into melee combat by grasping the target with the tongue. Their tongues deal more damage the closer a Ripper is to the player.

Some Soul Rippers can be encountered in Act V, in the caves beneath the Paths of the Drowned. Rakanoth also summons Soul Rippers at his side in combat.

Uniques

Aloysius the Ghastly (The Keep Depths Level 2)
Lashtongue (The Keep Depths Level 1)
Riplash (Tower of the Damned Level 2)

Trivia

Soul Rippers bear some resemblance to the Lickers from Resident Evil.

Soul Rippers have two pairs of eyes: the first pair on the head, and one more, larger pair on the torso.

At one point, affixes and attacks of Elite Soul Rippers were the most powerful monster damage in game due to a faulty damage calculation mechanic.