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Ooooh, pretty interesting submission!

I think the legs should probably be involved with respiration, it seems like the only form this entire lineage does is through it's skin?

Nice to see these get a genus. A suggestion, but perhaps as a defense they could either utilize toxins in their skin (acquired from their diet?) and/or foul-smelling/tasting mucous that they spray at potential predators, especially given I don't believe this lineage is fairly quick.

Are there any particular environments where these flourish (cave systems, jungles, etc...) or those where they are rarer?

Oh those are good ideas, I think poison from their diet is most reasonable

Are there any real-life examples of animals which have similar specialized symbiosis later getting generalist diets? Termites and aphids may grant inspiration, although they aren't exactly equivalent.

"escaped" That's not suitable wording. It's lived in there for millions of years, so it's surely a good habitat for it.

Its microbial partner fed on aluminum and silicon. That brings up the question of how it obtains sufficient volumes, and how its expanded diet affects its microbial partners. (Incidentally, a quick Google check suggests silicon is not a food source for any bacteria, so some retcons might be needed.)

I feel tired now. I suppose I'll have to come back later for more thorough feedback.

They still rely on gut fermentation, so it's just a matter of microbes displacing each other in the guts, already a thing that happens with people when they switch from one consistent diet to another.

I was using the term escaped in an expansion or breaching containment sense, they would have still lived there, but they live elsewhere now too. I'm not sure of a different wording for that.

QUOTE (colddigger @ Aug 4 2022, 12:27 AM)

They still rely on gut fermentation, so it's just a matter of microbes displacing each other in the guts, already a thing that happens with people when they switch from one consistent diet to another.

That's not quite equivalent, because humans are omnivores: their diets are much more adaptable than for a Hanging Frabooball. The bacteria the Hanging Frabooball uses doesn't seem equivalent to normal human digestive bacteria. It seems the Hanging Frabooball got most of its nutrition from giving minerals to its symbiotes, like a less extreme version of the giant tube worm (Riftia pachyptila). It is mentioned the Hanging Frabooball "may nibble the occasional corpse to keep up with certain nutritional needs that aren't met by the symbiomoeba inside it". This suggests eating corpses is a small portion of its overall diet, and that what detritus is does eat is specifically corpses.

For "escaped", you can say "ventured beyond" or "expanded their habitats".

It is essentially an extrapolation from what the human colon already does, which is using metabolites from it's microbe denizens as it's primary energy source.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/artic...550413111001434

I could put scavenger in it's diet as well, like what butterflies are known to do.

This post has been edited by colddigger: Aug 4 2022, 10:13 AM

Approval Checklist:
Art:
Art Present?: Y
Art clear?: Y
Gen number?: Y
All limbs shown?: Y
Reasonably Comparable to Ancestor?: Y
Realistic additions?: Y

Name:
Binomial Taxonomic Name?: Y
Creator?: Y

Ancestor:
Listed?:
What changes?:

• External?:
• Internal?:
• Behavioral/Mental?:

Are Changes Realistic?:
New Genus Needed?: (If yes, list why) N

Habitat:
Type?: 3
Flavor?: 2
Connected?: Y
Wildcard?: N/A

Size:
Same as Ancestor?: N
Within range?: Y
Exception?: N/A

Support:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Diet:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Transition Rule?: N/A
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A

Respiration:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Thermoregulation:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Reproduction:
Same as Ancestor?: Y
Does It Fit Habitat?: Y
Reasonable changes (if any)?: N/A
Other?: N/A

Description:
Length?: Good
Capitalized correctly?:Y
Replace/Split from ancestor?: Split
Other?:

Opinion: Approved