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Name: Gorgonaut (Polyphemes fidomalis)
Creator: HethrJarrod
Ancestor: Darwinauts
Habitat: Adult: Mid-Darwin Subtropical Undersea Forest, Darwin Subtropical Undersea Meadow, Darwin Temperate Undersea Meadow, Mid-Darwin Temperate Undersea Forest, West Darwin Subtropical Undersea Forest, Juvenile: Darwin Rivers and Watershed
Size: 10-12 cm
Support: Soft-Bodied (Muscular Hydrostat), Shell (Calcite)
Diet: Filter Feeder (<500 micrometers), Detritivore
Respiration: Semi-Active (Beating Fins)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Spore-like gametes), Asexual (Limited Regeneration)

Gorgonauts split from their ancestor, returning to the shallows off the coast and increasing in size. Gorgonauts look very much like a bigger version of Darwinaut. It doesn’t look like much has changed. But looks can be deceiving. It has multiple tubes functioning as mouths on the underside of each of the tentacles. The baits will sweep food into this hole. The tentacle also have rudimentary proto-organs located in the tentacle, neural tissue, digestive tissue and respiratory tissue. These allow the tentacle to act quicker by being more autonomous.

Supplemental image:


Regeneration

The Gorgonaut has a better regeneration ability than it’s ancestor. If a tentacle is damaged, the leftover body can regrow it. And if enough of the tentacle has survived, it too has a small chance at survival. If it is able to find a place to recover, it can grow a new body and shell. If it survives long enough, (about a week) it will twice undergo a process that splits its body, reforming a 4 tentacled organism.

Reprodution

A Gorgonaut will reach maturity after 10 years. At this time, it will make its way up the watershed to the place of its birth. There they will release a cloud of gametes. Along with these gametes will be an enzyme that blocks the regeneration ability of an adult Dozens of Gorgonauts will form per adult. After mating, the Gorgonaut will have expended all of its energy and will die, feeding the next generation.

Meanwhile the gametes will settle down on the surface of the breeding grounds, grown to the size of a pea (~1mm). These round orbs tend to form groups of four (sometimes 5) all clumped together. When these orbs finally open, four tiny tentacle heads will emerge, conjoined at the tail. They will work together to get enough food to survive. If one gets severed, it will divide into four other tentacle heads after a week. They will eventually form a shell, or in some cases use one of the many discarded shells scattered about. After spending a year around the mating grounds, the Gorgonauts will swim out to sea, to return when they are 10.

This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: Mar 19 2023, 04:09 PM

This is missing its habitat.

Respiration should state the method, not just "Semi-Active."