Wow, flora are getting big this gen. Not like that humongous crystal flora that once existed, but more in a general increase in height and forest density.

Good to see more parasites, especially such an interesting one as this airborne floral one.

I love these biome-creating organisms. It'll be incredibly interesting to see what evolves to exploit all regions of them, from the crystal-studded tops to the dense root growths underneath.

I love the coloration on this one. Also, I've been curious. For species of shrew with large, somewhat dangerous-looking tail hooks and such, who are also raised in pouches, what protections are there that help prevent accidental slashes and punctures within the pouch? I know they start out very small, but some description imply they remain in them for quite some time.

Okay, I've made the changes to it. Does it look better now? I've also changed the coloration of the blood to be more akin to that of insects, with the faint coloration coming from the food they eat.

This is the retcon I've been working on, a new arrowhead that changes their problematic origins and instead now connects their lineage to that of the rorms.

As per this retcon, I would like to rename the current Arrowhead to the Sunlit Arrowhead. It and the Twilight Arrowhead will need a slight rewrite, but mostly consisting of shortening their description since this species contains most of the information found on both of them already, save for some features. This shouldn't mess up any diets involving the original arrowhead, since this shares the exact same range and is over similar size/habit.

Arrowhead (Spiculicato opusessetmutatio)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Armororm
Habitat: Ninth Tropical Bay, Jlindy Tropical Coast
Size: 1 cm long
Diet: Planktivore (<.5 mm)
Reproduction: Budding, Asexual Spores

Splitting from its ancestor, the Arrowhead represents a unique evolution from the mainline rorms, differing from them in several ways. While they retain a chitinous shell that covers the majority of their bodies, much like it was with the Armororm, the exoskeleton now has grown both denser and stronger with the incorporation of aragonite, a calcium carbonate mineral, into it. This is not unlike the shells of earth crustaceans, and like them, they routinely molt this shell in order to grow larger, a trait not seen in other rorm species, which instead tend to shed plates one at a time as they grow.

Reproductive-wise, Arrowheads have adapted their ancestral budding system. Instead of producing a few, smaller copies of themselves, they spawn a mass of tiny budded “spores” that, supplied with little more than a stomach and mouth, must gorge on other planktonic species so that they may mature. While many of these offspring will be consumed by larger planktivores, a good portion will be lucky enough to survive, reach maturity, and reproduce themselves. These spores are released from in-between any body segment, but primarily through the base of the tail. This differs from most other rorms, which typically reproduce offspring around the head region, though this adaptation came about so as to reduce the risk of adults consuming their offspring as well as to compensate for the presence of armor there.

Lacking true jaws, Arrowheads have compensated for this by extending their first armor segment to create a pair of “tusks” that serve to help funnel plankton-laden water directly into the gaping maw. In conjunction with this, tiny tentacle-like extensions extend from around the maw. Capable of limited movement, they each possess a tiny stinging cell within them that is used to incapacitate larger planktonic species before they are swallowed whole.

The presence of an exoskeleton reduces the amount of open surface area through which oxygen and carbon dioxide can be diffused through the skin. As such, Arrowheads had to compensate for this. Slight grooves in the shell of the Armorm’s head, which were already thinner in an attempt to solve this issue, have now evolved into complete openings, and function akin to spiracles in earth insects in the sense that gas exchange occurs here. Oxygenated water is sucked into these opening, passed through the body, then expelled through the spaces in-between the tail segments. This, however, would not be sufficient to transport oxygen throughout the body, which would require yet another evolutionary adaptation.

Unlike any other rorm species, the Arrowheads have evolved a sort of blood. Akin to the haemolymph of earth insects, this substance lacks blood cells and is primarily water, alongside a variety of ions, lipids, amino acids, etc. This substance is mostly translucent, with a faint yellowish to greenish tinge in color, stemming from the presence of trace amount of pigments in the liquid acquired from the food they eat. Gas exchange in this liquid is passive, though the small size of the Arrowhead makes it sufficient. The blood also functions in the role of the lymphatic system, as well as transporting nutrients to cells and cellular waste away from them. A pair of hearts, located behind the head and extending towards the base of the tail, help to make this entire open circulatory system function, though they are little more than a few rings of muscles surrounding a pair of tubes that effectively squeeze the blood throughout the body.

Perhaps the most prominent feature on the Arrowhead is the presence of a pair of yellowish lumps on either side of their bodies. Filled with jelly and a small bundle of several electrical sensors, they are used in lieu of eyes in order to sense the world around them. Capable of picking up electrical signals, they grant the Arrowheads a limited worldview beyond what their chemoreceptors can detect. While not capable of granting long-range detection of predators - and prey items are numerous enough to not require it - it does allow Arrowheads to keep in contact with one another and know their positions, allowing for shoaling to occur.

Exploding in regards to population, this tiny planktivores have become prey for a huge variety of larger predators, and thus have become important in many food chains.

Looking at the image, perhaps it could be explained away as it not feeding in this pic, but doing something else? They have holes in-between each tentacle through which water is forced through, as it states here:

"In spite of this, they continue to possess the filtersquid's feeding ability, which is to pull water into its siphon and through its filter-mouth into an internal chamber. Once this chamber is full, the collected food is swallowed, and the bristlesquid will then seal its throat and squeeze the water out though a small hole between its tentacles. The water jet is capable of slightly more directional pivoting, allowing more precise movements, and can produce quick bursts of speeds; this jet is their only form of movement."

Perhaps this might be a cleaning behavior, keeping the holes clean for times when something more than water is forced through them by mistake?

Admittedly, this would require changing the paragraph before, which details the whole setae-lined tentacles which are utilized for feeding by moving them into the mouth... unless somehow, since those holes are connected to the chamber where food is put, they might serve a secondary, unintentional function as additional mouths?

I wonder if these will ever evolve to be able to take on larger prey with their long villi.

Nice to see some more cave life, especially one as exotic looking as this one does.

I like the concept of a yellow "flora" that is in fact a chemotroph instead of a true, photosynthesizing flora. This makes a great base "flora" for food webs in the region, especially in combination with small microbes that flourish there as well.

I concur with Coolsteph, the scaly-foot snail would make for a great inspiration for the armor of this.

If you want some suggestions on movement evolving, these links might help give you some ideas:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_pudica
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24025365

I see no issue with this. Will future splits might evolve towards smaller ears, similar to earth mammal (not really any other group here on earth with large external ears)?

Great to see different lineages of shrews taking to the water.

I like it. Are the leaves waxier in order to prevent water loss?

I like it. I presume that with the rise of the Seashrog and its greater intelligence, it will put greater pressure on the Pirate Waxfaces to adapt or diet out. We might see either a rise in pack-based lifestyles so as to overwhelm Seashrogs, or we might see the evolution of even smarter, craftier Pirate Waxfaces.

Oh, and if I might offer a suggestion, perhaps Scuttlers and other similar, small species might be included in the diet, especially for the juveniles who stalk the beaches.

I think it's one of the species that was brought back, a it was noticed that one of the beaches had simple vanished in-between weeks, when instead it should have combined with an adjacent one. The snowsculptor janit and other species thus would have still been extant.

Thanks for pointing that out, I fixed the missing comma. And thanks fro the comment.

Snowstalker Tuskent (Crusclavusvenandi nixungula)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Genteel Tuskent
Habitat: Fermi Polar Beach, Fermi Tundra
Size: 85 cm long
Diet: Omnivore (Climbing Korrybug, Pudgy Ketter, Bloody Nose Cotingo, Ringtailed Ketter, Krugg, Weavesnapper, Pudglyn, Violet Cadovermi, Leafcutter Krugg, Spiked Krugg, Egg Krugg, Scaled Diveskimo, Shellear, Spiny Wrigum, Farmphibian, Rolling Flune, Squat Limbless, Purple Phlock, Bloodskin Skywatcher, Ringtail Limbless, Shortfaced Thornback, Voracious Anklebiter Sauceback, Thumbwalker, juvenile Spinebacked Probeface, juvenile Velocidohve, Cryorasher, Blubber Flapper, Snapperky, Billdeka, Duramboar, Shorelance, Cryocannon, Segmented Carnofern leaves, Dome Crystal, Fruiting Glog fruit, Minikruggs, Vermees, Scuttlers, Cryobowls), Scavenger
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Live Birth

When the end came for the Tripodicians on Sagan IV, so too did the world they shaped. Stone pyramids that once towered over the local trees, carved from sturdy mountain rock and adorned in numerous symbols from a now dead proto-langauge, could not withstand the wear and tear of time as they were buried beneath, no matter how much construction had been dedicated to the moon goddess. Ancient circles of standing stones, once meant to encourage commune with the gods of the stars and their spherical orbs of light, have long since toppled. Fragments of stone tools and spears now lay hidden deep in forgotten caves and beneath permafrost. Primitive fields, once teeming with a potential future of domesticated flora, have long since eroded away and their stock reverted back to wild strains. It would seem that, in the end, for all they had achieved, almost nothing remains to remind the world that the Tripodicians once lived there. Save, though, for one thing.

The Genteel Tuskent, who were tamed and domesticated, shaped and bred over generations. Beneath the caring hands of their now gone masters, they thrived in their territories then and even as a great disaster came and went, dooming many specie to the eternal corridors of extinction, they continued to do so. It was the smallest breeds that survived, and it was their descendants that spread across Sagan IV, all the way from northern Drake to southernmost Fermi. Over time, their numbers grew once more, and now the various distinct populations have begun to diverge genetically from one another. The Snowstalker Tuskent is one such example of this.

Native to Fermi island, the Snowstalker Tuskent has adapted to its cooler southern regions, growing a bulkier, more compact frame in order to retain warmth, as well as a more powerful set of jaws for taking down sizable prey. As they rely more upon brute force to take down prey, as well as the aid of their packs, their venomous bites have declined in potency. Just like their ancestors did, they supplement their diets with a wide range of flora. They face competition from such species as the Velocidohves, an apex predator native to the island capable of utilizing pack tactics to rival those of tuskents, as well as the Spinebacked Probeface, whose beak can deliver terrible wounds to vital organs with but a single peck, should they feel threatened.

Packs of Snowstalker Tuskents, a lingering testament to the domestication efforts of the Tripodicians, are led by a dominant female, her mate, and several litters of tusklings of various ages. Old enough members of the pack will often engage in hunting, while younger members will remain in a secluded, secure den both for their own protection as well as to watch over any newborns. Working together, a pack of tuskents can take down prey that are as big or even bigger than themselves - a feat accomplished by delivering crippling bites to limbs and allowing the target of their hunt to bleed out. Upon a successful kill, all members present will consume their fill before bringing back portions to feed the rest of the family. While older offspring will head off on their own after reaching three or so years of age, most packs eventually dissolves upon the death of both of the parents. During these times of disarray, the young will disperse and head out, with successful specimens going on to form new packs of their own. This lifestyle has proven very successful for the Snowstalker Tuskents, and has led to their populations steadily increasing throughout the years.

With the changing climate, combined with the pressures of other large predators native to Fermi island, the Snowstalker Tuskent has ultimately replaced the Genteel Tuskent wherever their two ranges converged.

Just a heads up, the background is purple because otherwise the contrast between white and black made the details of the image almost impossible to make out.

Split-Tongue Jabberwocky (Linguaferam talodeambulatio)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Terrestrial Emulsecho
Habitat: Hydro Tropical Rainforest, Hydro Tropical Beach
Size: 80 cm long
Diet: Omnivore (Vermees, Dartirs, Sapworms, Snapper Scuttler, Scuttlers, Cleaner Borvermid, False Cleaner Borvermid, Supershrooms, Sapshrooms, Clusterspades, Barnline fruit, Mangot fruit-leaves), Weak Photosynthesis
Reproduction: Sexual, Two Genders, Live Birth

Having split from its ancestor, the Split-Tongue Jabberwocky has spread throughout Hydro island. While certainly not the largest species native there, the fact they now form small family herds - containing around four to six individuals led by a mated pair of adults - has helped to protect them from most predators native to the island. Through a case of convergent evolution, this species bear a passing to the pseudo-gulpers of millennia past, such as the Tungrab.

Standing semi-upright on their three-toed feet, the larger frame of Split-Tongue Jabberwocky has led to an increase in its weight as well. To help more evenly spread this out as it walks, this species has evolved a knuckle-walking style of quadrupedal motion. To help ease the pressure on the digits of its forelimbs that would accompany this, the density and thickness of the bones of the knuckles have increased, as had the skin covering them. Most adults bear calloused, scarred tissue on their knuckles - typically from striking a rock or errant branch at a wrong angle - to the point many have turned a grayish-white coloration there.

The namesake of this species, the tongue, is quite apparent at first glance. Even longer than that of its ancestor, the tip of it now splits in two. Coated in a sticky saliva, it can snare small prey such as Vermees and Dartirs with little effort. The tongue has also evolved a degree of prehensility. With some effort, they can grab and manipulate small items - primarily food - and move them around. As its forelimbs are more suited for the task of locomotion and grasping onto trees when feeding, this has been a very useful evolutionary adaptation as it allows them to reach food that would otherwise be out of reach for similarly sized organisms.

Mating begins with a mature male producing a quick chirping sound while rapidly raising and lowering its ears. While their function for the role of photosynthesis has weakened, it is not due to a loss of function. Instead, the excess energy and oxygen that would be produced by the process is now used to fuel recently evolved luciferin compounds within their blood. While typically inactive, it is during these mating displays that their function is triggered and the ears begin to glow with a faint luminescence. While not terribly bright, the patterns that form help to display how healthy the individual is and help to attract members of the opposite sex. Should the female be reciprocal to the male's display, she will mimic his actions. Soon after, copulation will occur and the female will eventually give birth to two or three offspring. The juveniles will stay with the family until they are old enough to form new herd of their own at around, which typically occurs after four years.

I concur with Coolsteph. These really are adorable.

I like how you can just barely make out the orange-red hairs on the larvae. Let's you know what will become of it in the future.

The left foot is meant to be moving forward, which is why it's further ahead of the right one and the toes are raised slightly upwards. I did this to better how off how the inward toe looked like, since it couldn't get a good angle on it with the right food.

I've got no issue with that. These little guys are precious, and I look forward to seeing if they'll conquer the world like ants and other eusocial insects have, even if these technically aren't a perfect analogy to them.