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Raft-Building Cone Puffgrass (Thalassastipes ratis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Pelagic Puffgrass
Habitat: Wind Temperate Coast, Dass Temperate Coast, Jindy Tropical Coast, BigL Tropical Coast, Clarke Temperate Coast, King Tropical Coast, Chum Tropical Coast, Elerd Temperate Coast, South LadyM Temperate Ocean, LadyM Tropical Ocean, North LadyM Temperate Ocean, South Jujubee Temperate Ocean, Jujubee Tropical Ocean, North Jujubee Temperate Ocean, Fermi Temperate Coast, Soma Temperate Coast, Fly Tropical Shallows, Hydro Tropical Coast, Oz Temperate Coast, Maineiac Temperate Coast, Yokto Salt Marsh, Always Salt Swamp, Glicker Salt Swamp, Jeluki Salt Swamp, Gec Salt Swamp, Biocat Salt Swamp, Huggs Salt Marsh, Blocks Salt Marsh, Bone Salt Marsh, Irinya Salt Marsh, Blood Salt Swamp, Ichthy Salt Swamp, Terra Salt Swamp, Bardic Salt Swamp, Kenotai Salt Swamp, Wright Salt Swamp, Pipcard Salt Swamp
Size: 80 cm tall, varied colony width
Diet: Photosynthesis
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Spores, Cone), Asexual (Runners)

The Raft-Building Cone Puffgrass split from its ancestor. It has gained the ability to reproduce asexually using runners. However, these runners are not used to carpet their driftwood home; instead, they only emerge near the edge of the driftwood piece and serve to “grab” other pieces of driftwood to create a larger, more stable raft. This is where it gets its name, and this capacity is what allows it to build what is perhaps Sagan 4’s most unique microbiome.

Raft-Building Cone Puffgrass colonies can be massive, sometimes even a few kilometers in width, but they rarely exceed a few meters due to storms and fauna activity tearing them apart. In the event that a colony survives the test of time, it can get larger and larger, and it will also get thicker as new grass and even other flora such as trees grow on top of old individuals. This can form floating islands, but in the grand scale of geologic time, they don’t last that long as they can still rot apart or collide and sink. The underside of these islands are quite literally made of detritus, even after the original driftwood making up the island rots away, attracting all manners of decomposers and detritivores to feed on them. Methanogenic microbes such as Seacleaners may live inside the islands, feasting on the detritus as well as helping to keep them afloat by producing often massive pockets of methane gas.

The female cone of the Raft-Building Cone Puffgrass is shorter and more compact, but it is still fleshy. Its reproduction is unchanged; male spores are airborne and will land in female cones to fertilize them, and the fertilized spores are dispersed using the long hairs that give the puffgrass lineage its name. They germinate early, producing necessary structures such as leaves and roots so that they can obtain food and water while waiting to land in a suitable place to grow. Similar to their ancestor, they remove excess salt by transporting it to specific leaves which are then shed.

Cloudgrass (Nimbaphyta primus)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Cloudbubble
Habitat: Atmosphere (Troposphere)
Size: 20 cm long
Diet: Photosynthesis, Aeroplanktivore (<2 cm)
Reproduction: Sexual (Spores), Asexual (Macroscopic Binary Fission)

Cloudgrass split from its ancestor and got much larger from lack of competition. It has developed a long, differentiated bilateral shape well-suited to collecting sunlight, aeroplankton, and water. The main body is the ancestral bubble, though now much bigger and egg-shaped, and its interior is spongy rather than hollow. On one end are wispy root-tendrils, which collect water from the cloud it is embedded in. On either side are flagellated steering tendrils which allow it to turn and move in either direction. Along its underside, sticky tendrils hang down to catch aeroplankton. It will even consume its own ancestor. On its other end is a set of derived tendrils which have a flat fractal growth pattern and collect sunlight, functioning as leaves. Its top side is featureless, apart from a faint fuzz of hair-like tendrils which serve to slightly increase its surface area and protect it from UV light and desiccation.

The Cloudgrass has managed to make these advancements due to it developing a more efficient way to control its vertical position. Rather than using a lot of energy with its flagella to move it actively, it can fill the cells lining its bubble with water to compress the gas inside, making it sink. It can remove some water in order to let the gas expand, causing it to float upwards. The outer layer is tough enough to not stretch when pressure inside is increased significantly. Over time, the interior of the bubble became more sponge-like so that it could increase this effect, which also had the side effect of giving it more space for Cloudbubble Cryoutine symbiotes. The spongy interior also means that it can recover from attacks by its predator, the Cloudbubble Tropoworm, as it can rapidly close off the area surrounding any tear before too much gas escapes. A pair of tuber-like structures on either side, which are visible from the outside as bulges, are used for storing the water used in its flotation process. As implied by these characteristics, all of this is handled by a simple vascular system, which is also more efficient than direct cell-to-cell transfer of water.

The Cloudgrass has made a change to how it reproduces. The exact mechanisms are identical, but new Cloudgrass grown from spores actually can no longer produce spores right away. They must reproduce asexually through macroscopic binary fission first. This is because sexual reproduction is useless without anything with which to reproduce sexually, and reproducing asexually at least once solves that problem. This assists the Cloudgrass greatly in surviving at lower population densities, such as populations found in drier continental winds. Binary fission occurs laterally, their last connection being by a tuber.

Like its ancestor, Cloudgrass can be found dotting the surface of clouds, causing it to appear as though the clouds have grass growing on them--which they effectively do. Hair Nimbuses can grow on the leaves and top surface of the Cloudgrass far more easily than on its ancestor, as they are no longer at high risk of digestion when they land on top; Cloudgrass has no need for defense against these numbuses, as they are transparent and therefore do not interfere with its photosynthesis.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Jan 17 2021, 05:31 PM

Swarmerweed (Algamancerxia spp)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Chainswarmers
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4)
Size: 100-500 micrometer zooids, 10-20 cm colonial zoon
Diet: Photosynthesis, Consumer
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Spawning, Eggs), Asexual (Colony: Budding, individual: Binary Fission)

Swarmerweed split from their ancestor. These colonial algae-like swarmers have developed polymorphism in their colony members, resulting in a more complex colony structure. The colony members are now interdependent on one another, so Swarmerweed zooids can only exist individually for reproductive purposes. There are now three types of zooid in a colony: gathering, spawning, and holdfast. The gathering zooid is similar to the ancestral state, but now lacking reproductive organs; it has regained the ability to consume, and the gathering zooids also serve to capture cells and even smaller fauna with their mouths. Spawning zooids, on the other hand, have lost any resemblance to a digestive system at all and serve as the colony’s reproductive organs. They lack chloroplasts and exist on the inside layer of the colony. The third type of zooid, the holdfast zooid, exists on one end of the colony and forms a holdfast organone. Holdfast zooids have suction cup-like mouths, and when the colony settles down they eat any microbes on the chosen surface before attaching to it. When it comes time to reproduce, a temporary opening forms on the aboral end of the body (opposite of the holdfast), and gametes are released inside the body cavity and squeezed out.

In order to maintain such a complex colonial zoon, Swarmerweed zooids are partially fused together, sharing their nervous and circulatory systems. They are functionally a single organism. Every colony starts from just one individual or a few which stuck together early in life, and as such the colonies can be distinctly male or female, or more rarely hermaphroditic. The founder of the colony undergoes binary fission like a flatworm, producing zooids of each type before eventually converting itself into a gatherer zooid. The colony grows into a long worm-like chain resembling the ancestor, but with a holdfast at the end. In addition to spawning, Swarmerweed colonies can also reproduce by budding; when this occurs, they briefly have a branching appearance.

Notably, though Swarmerweed have no visible macroscopic eyes, they actually have rather good eyesight. Every single gatherer zooid has a single simple eye, and with redundancy and the shared nervous system together the zoon itself is able to get a decent greyscale picture of its surroundings in all directions.

There are many species of Swarmerweed. Though they attach to objects, they are not exclusively benthic and many species will also cling to large pelagic fauna, floating flora, and shrog nests. They can live in both freshwater and saltwater and may have different holdfast zooid mouth shapes for clinging to specific kinds of surfaces. Some species which live in already densely-populated habitats will cling to other benthic flora to steal sunlight.

Swap with Disgustedorite.

Shrogre (Maiorinsulae luterursi)
Creator: Nergali
Ancestor: Seashrog
Habitat: Barlowe Temperate Woodland, Barlowe Temperate Rainforest, Barlowe Temperate Chaparral
Size: 6.5 m long
Diet: Omnivore (Obidian Shrub, Rainforest Carnofern, Clusterspades, Barnline, Obsidibarrage, Mainland Fuzzpalm, Qupe Tree, Obsiditall, Mainland Chime Slingberry, Carnofern Grubnub, Buttpiper, Grand Buttpiper, Rainforest Gosalizard, Tappipper, Digging Gossalizard, Doboor, Grassblaster, Tusked Grassblaster), Scavenger
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth, Pouch and Milk)

Descended from Seashrogs that made landfall on Barlowe island, the Shrogres represents a lineage that have lost their seafaring nature and have instead taken to an existence on dry land. With a plentiful food supply and not much competition within a similar size range, under the effects of island gigantism the Shrogres have grown large indeed. Similar to their ancestor in terms of sociality - they form family groups composed of a mated pair and their offspring, centralized around a constructed mound-like nest of various timber - they have managed to spread throughout the island and shifted the ecosystems to center around themselves. From carving paths through the forests to having entire ecosystems of microfauna flourishing within their nests, they have essentially become a keystone species, one capable of physically changing the world around them with but a few swings of their axe-tails.

Anatomy
To accompany its increase in size, the Shrogres have evolved a larger, bulkier form in response to living in a steady, year-long temperate climate. Towering over almost every other species on Barlowe Island, with the exception of the Megalosheh, the Shrogres have few natural predators once fully grown. This ease in the pressures of predation has in turn led to a reduction in size of the spines that adorn the head, neck, and upper back region. While many no longer even penetrate through the fur, those closer to the head region are still quite prominent due to their role as a desirable sexual feature - specimens with larger, more robust spines are more likely to attract a mate, and thus natural selection favors those who possess them.

Trailing behind them, the tails of the Shrogre, while still utilized to shred vegetation and cut through wood, have developed a new function. Broader and flatter compared to those of Seashrogs, the axe-tail of the Shrogre can be laid flat against the ground in order to allow them to stand straight up for short periods of time. Not only does this dramatically increase their range of vision, it also significantly increases their already considerably large and imposing frames. This can be quite useful when it comes to scaring off potential predators, such as the Great Leotam.

The elongated limbs of the Shrogres are, despite their lankier-looking appearance, packed full of muscles. A fully grown Shrogre can quite easily dislocate a limb from its socket and, if particularly threatened, even shatter a skull with a well-placed swing. Of course, Shrogres would very much prefer not to engage in such actions, as it puts them at risk of relations, and as such will rely on spears to defend themselves as they can keep a threat at bay.

Similarly to the Great Leotam, Shrogres bear tusks, though they are only present in males. In a manner similar to the spikes, they serve as a sexual display in order to attract females. Yet they also serve a second, darker purpose. With a reduced range a limited access to mates and territory, as compared to that of Seashrogs, male Shrogres will on occasion use them when battling one another. Such fights often involve both combatants grappling one another and, in some extreme cases, using their outward-pointing tusks to spear into each others necks. Such occurances are rare, however, as such an act holds a great risk of a tusk cracking or even outright breaking should it either strike a bone at an odd angle.

Diet
Compared to the Seashrogs, the Shrogres possess a much more herbivorous diet, one composed of a wide range of vegetation, from low growing Cluterspades to the fallen leaves of the immense Obsiditall, with a distinct preference for the latter as well as the leaves of other large tree-like flora. To round out this diet and supply themselves with essential nutrients, the Shrogres are also known to hunt small prey items from time to time, such as the likes of Doboors and Buttpipers. Above all else, however, they have developed a notable taste for Gossalizards, devouring them with much relish, especially if they have washed them in seawater first - though they don't live on beaches, they will on occasion visit them in order to wash food and clean their fur of less salt-tolerant parasites. On occasion, when hunts have not gone well, they may even scavenge the kills of other large predators, using their prodigious size to scare off the original hunters as well as other scavengers.

Tool Use and Food Preservation
Much like the Seashrogs, the Shrogres have retained their capacity for tool use. Carving spears from the trunks of trees such as the Obsidibarrage, they further refine the tips with their teeth until they sufficiently sharp enough. With these spears, they are able to hunt various smaller fauna by skewering them out of their hiding spots or the underbrush, not unlike how Seashrogs utilized spears to hunt aquatic life. Said spears are also useful for driving away predators, as a well-sharpened spear can deter even the hungriest of Great Leotams. Most interestingly, however, is a new function for the spear not seen before in its ancestors. Whenever excess meat is acquired, such as a nest of Gossalizards or the freshly discovered corpse of a Megalosheh, a Shrogre will attempt to preserve it for lean times. To do so, they will sharpen both ends of a spear, skewer either entire prey items or parts of them upon it, then plant the spear somewhere where it will receive direct sunlight, that way the prey will dry out before it has a chance to rot. While such a preservation method only lasts for a limited period of time, some younger generations of Shrogre have been noted to associate this "jerky" lasting longer if it has been washed in seawater first.

While Seashrogs also accomplish a similar task of preserving food, the utilization of salt by them is more of a passive occurrence due to the splashing of waves against their ships rather than any active effort on their end. Nonetheless, both species have accomplished this similar goal, even if they have achieved it via different means.

Nest
Given their larger size compared to their Seashrog ancestors, the Shrogre require an equally larger nest to dwell in. Given their land bound nature, their nests are no designed to float on the open sea nor facilitate the act of spearfishing. As such, there is no longer a deck, and thus the overall structure more resembles the nests that Tamjacks built, given its large, dome-like appearance, though one that is often based around a large stone or, on rare occasions, tree(s) for added support. These nests are often built within more sparsely forested regions, such as the edges of the chaparral that dominate a good portion of the island, as the more open spaces allow a greater freedom of movement for Shrogres. This has the unintended consequences of hindering the expansion of the forests, as the foraging of Shrogres limits the amount of new saplings that would otherwise begin to spread into the chaparral.

Once a suitable spot is located, construction begins with a mated pair of Shrogres felling several sizable trees - preferably those such as Obsidibarrages, Mainland Fuzzpalms, and immature Obsiditalls - with the aid of the axe-tails. Once this is accomplished, the trees will be dragged to the nesting site and, thanks to the Shrogres great strength and the flexible capacity of the tree trunks themselves, bended into half-circles and forming the ribs of the nest.

After the structure has settled for a bit, the Shrogres will continue their efforts by applying smaller tree trunks or the shredded remnants of them along the outsides of the nest, securing and sealing them together with an identical glue-like substance the Seashrogs use - a mixture of their own saliva and the berries of the Mainland Fuzzpalm. Following this, more will be utilized as an additional layer of Obsiditall and Obsidibarrage leaves are attached to the roof of structure, forming a barrier that will help prevent rain from leaking in. Spears will often be arranged around the base of the nest, save for a spot for an opening covered in further leaves. These spears not only deter other creatures from wandering into the nests, but also serve as storage spots for drying food on.

With the outside of the nest completed, it is time for the inside to be completed. While the nest is sizable on its own, it is further expanded by some light burrowing that typically consist of removing a few meters of soil beneath it, though leaving enough to support the foundation, which is often reinforced with additional, smaller tree trunks. Side chamber may be excavated, and these are often used for either further food storage or for storing excess building materials. A layer of soft bedding is placed throughout the interior, typically consisting of a variety of leaves from nearby flora that have been allowed to dry out sufficiently beforehand.

A completed nest can last for many years, as long as it is routinely reinforced and patched up.

Relationship with Other Species
Interestingly, Shrogre do not hunt Spotted Saucebacks despite their small size and, on the former's part, an ancestral enmity with a related species. In fact, they appear almost amused by their antics, and will watch them for hours at a time as the little hunters run about in their packs. Shrogres even go so far a to allow them to live within their nests and feed from their preserved food stock. While this is a good deal for the Spotted Sauceback, their presence does benefit the Shrogres a well, since they help to keep the nests clear of small pests.

This post has been edited by Nergali: Jan 27 2021, 07:27 PM

Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms (Domestifungi spp.)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Berry Arbourshroom
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4)
Size: Up to 20 cm wide Mycelial Network, 1-5 cm tall stalk, 3-5 cm long berries
Diet: Detritivore
Reproduction: Sexual (Berries, Mushroom-Like Spores, Mycelium and Fruiting Body)

Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms are a bizarre example of how even tiny creatures such as noants can have an impact on the selection process just by the fact of having agriculture, despite not being especially intelligent individually. Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms split from their ancestor and are the result of cultivation by Gamergate Gundis (which they co-evolved with), which tended to succeed in growing individuals with smaller stalks and would consume and therefore spread the ones with the biggest berries first. They are capable of existing in the wild, but their comically huge oblong berries attract gundis anyway, so they usually end up growing in gundi nests. As a result, they are present anywhere where gundis that farm shrooms are also present, and their range will likewise expand with them. At their initial evolution, they were present in Darwin, Javen, Dixon, Vivus, and the Driftwood Islands landmark.

Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms notably differ from their ancestor in reproduction, which is now sexual. When spores germinate, they form mycelium, and when they meet other germinating spores they automatically fuse. This is somewhat convergent with Terran mushrooms, except that they do not form dikaryons. If they encounter unrelated mycelium after having already fused, they will undergo meiosis so that they may combine. They still form stalks as before, and the spores in the berries are haploid. Similar to their ancestor, their berries are grown on support stalks that grow from the main stalk.

There are many species of Tamed Berry Arbourshroom, but they hardly differ visually due to their specialized niche. The main differences are in size, which correspond to the size of the gundi species that cultivated them. Similar to their ancestor, their spores can pass through the digestive tracts of whatever eats them.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Jan 27 2021, 12:51 PM

Gamergate Gundis (Formicamus spp)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Verdiundi
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4)
Size: 2-4 cm long
Diet: Scavenger, Frugivore (Tamed Berry Arborshrooms), Herbivore (Pioneeroots, Marbleflora), Photosynthesis
Reproduction: Sexual (Eusocial, Gamergates, Live Birth)

Gamergate Gundis replaced their ancestor and diversified across Darwin, Javen, Dixon, and Vivus. They are also present in the Driftwood Islands landmark. They are named for a shift in their colony structure--they now have only a single breeding female, the gamergate, who will use her teeth to cut the throats of adolescent females in the colony to ensure their infertility. The gamergate is perpetually pregnant, making her easy to identify among workers because of her swollen throat. All other members of the colony have a scar on their throats. When the gamergate dies, younger females grow up fertile and will fight over who gets to be the new gamergate. Despite there only being one breeding female now, the rest of the structure remains the same, and the gamergate is guarded closely by her reverse harem of mates--various foreign males, most of which will leave once the gamergate dies to ensure there will be no inbreeding when a new gamergate is chosen.

Gamergate Gundis have very large and well-developed lower incisors for biting. These, along with their claws, are also made of a modified form of wood which is as strong as chitin, convergent with the unrelated Gryphler, as at their size normal wood is actually so flexible it’s useless. Their internal skeleton remains normal wood and has fused into a single continuous bone. This is because, again at their small size, normal wood is very flexible--in fact, so flexible that it bends from their muscles pulling on it, so joints were meaningless. Some parts where joints used to be, such as the elbows, knees, and wrists, are thinner so that they retain the same level of flexibility as before, but the entire limb can deform when needed. While some resemblance of the ancestral skeleton is retained, the sternum runs along the entire underside from the chest to the end of the tail, resembling a second spinal cord. Likewise, the ribcage also runs to the end of the tail, supporting the lungs. Their ability to bend their bodies up and down is limited, but side-side motion is very easy, so they resemble tiny lizards when they run. The skull runs into the trunk, granting better attachment support to the tooth at the end.

Unlike their ancestor, Gamergate Gundis have far fewer males in their colonies apart from the gamergate’s mates. All males are fertile, and they are driven out of the colony at a young age. Those that survive on their own will eventually join another colony’s reverse harem. Workers and guards are instead all female. Interestingly, either one is capable of becoming a gamergate, so some colonies have hulking guard gamergates while others have smaller worker gamergates. If a guard is a contender for the new gamergate, she will usually win, but guards aren’t born as often, allowing workers to have a fair chance at becoming gamergates as well. The colony reproduces--that is, produces more colonies--during conflicts over who becomes the new gamergate when the old one dies. Losers, instead of being killed, will simply leave the colony followed by their own supporters and start anew.

Gamergate Gundis farm arbourshrooms, specifically the co-evolving Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms. They grow these in specialized underground chambers within their burrow, feeding them dung, bits of flora, and dead workers. They then harvest and feed on the giant berries.

There are many species of Gamergate Gundi. They can be found anywhere where there is sufficient flora to farm their Tamed Berry Arbourshrooms. Some species have a reddish or purplish coloration, which makes them more difficult to see in darker soils without also interrupting their photosynthesis. Species in hotter climates have large ears, while species in colder climates have very short ears. Though individual species are very resourceful, most tend to have a preference for either burrows, logs, or tree hollows for their homes. Different individual species may have slightly different nutritional needs from one another such as scavenging more or seeking out more flora, but all farm and eat Tamed Berry Arbourshroom berries.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Jan 29 2021, 05:25 PM

Logworm Sauceback (Labilivermis lignum)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Shrew Sauceback
Habitat: Barlowe Temperate Woodland, Barlowe Temperate Rainforest, Oz Temperate Beach, Hydro Tropical Beach, Hydro Tropical Rainforest
Size: 3 cm long
Diet: Adult: None; Larvae: Detritivore (Wood)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs and Larvae)

The Logworm Sauceback split from its ancestor. It is the smallest sauceback to exist thus far. It no longer fills much of a niche at all as an adult, only maturing to breed once before dying. The entire lifecycle of the Logworm Sauceback takes place over the course of a single year, making it an annual species. It no longer has tusks, as they only grew in at adulthood and are no longer needed since adults don’t eat. Its "sauce" plate is fully internalized like the rest of its exoskeleton in adulthood, unlike its ancestor.



Logworm Sauceback larvae, as their name suggests, are ectothermic worm-like detritivores which mainly consume wood. They do not produce their own cellulase, instead depending on microbes in their gut and in the wood they eat to break it down. They gnaw through wood with their teeth, eating constantly for most of their lives. When the time comes, they eat so much that they become like fat hairy sausages before burying themselves to undergo metamorphosis safely. While adults are reddish to blend in with the local soil, larvae tend to be very dark in color, blending in with the abundant obsidian wood.

After emerging, adult Logworm Saucebacks live for less than a day. Lacking vision, they locate one another through vocalization and echolocation. Males have tall manes of stiff feathers which, while cryptic to the eyes of a predator, serve to reflect more sound to boost their visibility in sonar, allowing females to locate them more quickly. A male will mate with several females, but if only one arrives, he will settle for simply mating with her repeatedly, often hundreds of times, until he dies of exhaustion. If no female arrives at all, the drive to mate is so great that males will try to mate with other males, other species, or even inanimate objects. Similar behavior can occur with lone females, but to a lesser extreme as their main drive is to find a male to mate with them rather than to actually initiate mating. Females will lay thousands of eggs on or near logs, or just about anywhere in the more forested parts of their range. They will also lay eggs in shrog nests, as those are made almost entirely of logs and are essentially a feast for their larvae; though they won’t survive longer trips and don’t have an established “ocean” population, this has nonetheless also caused them to be present on the nearby Hydro Island.

The breeding cycle of the Logworm Sauceback lines up with the seasons in the northern hemisphere, even in the tropical part of its range. Adults emerge, mate, and lay eggs in the fall. The larvae hatch before winter, and in the temperate part of its range they hibernate to avoid the frost. The larvae are active throughout the spring and summer, consuming lots and lots of wood. As fall arrives, they grow exponentially in size, becoming fat hairy sausage-shaped creatures before metamorphosing into adults, using all that stored energy to properly develop their adult features and produce a massive number of gametes. The adults emerge, mate, lay their eggs, and die, repeating the cycle.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Jan 28 2021, 06:33 PM

Teacup Saucebacks (Vermisorex spp.)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Shrew Sauceback
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4)
Size: 5-10 cm long
Diet: Adult: Carnivore (Small fauna up to twice their size); Larvae: Scavenger, Detritivore, Carnivore (Vermees and similar/related species)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Eggs and Larvae)

Teacup Saucebacks replaced their ancestor. With their ancestor’s heavy r-selection, it was inevitable that these tiny saucebacks would speciate and diversify at a speed incomparable to any other endotherm. Despite their limited ancestral range, they were able to become global thanks to their larvae invading shrog nests; though an adult Teacup Sauceback could never survive at sea, the larvae have no trouble eating their fill of rotting meat and flora before dispersing on landfall. This makes them a fairly rare example of a genus group immediately derived from an island species. Unlike many Terran animals with the “teacup” label in their name, Teacup Saucebacks are genuinely small compared to other saucebacks.

Adult Teacup Saucebacks can be compared to Terran shrews (not to be confused with Sagan 4’s own [[Shrews]]). They have incredibly high metabolisms and must eat constantly, or else they will starve to death alarmingly fast. They are able to keep themselves alive by hunting and killing prey up to twice their size, using their barbed tooth-jaws. Lacking eyes, they “see” their prey using echolocation. Instead of sleeping, they hibernate at night, as they would otherwise starve before they wake up.

Teacup Sauceback larvae are nearly the exact opposite, like their ancestor. The larvae are ectothermic burrowing worm-like creatures which hatch at less than a millimeter in length. The larvae eat carcasses, detritus, and vermees. They grow all the way to their adult length before undergoing metamorphosis--in fact, they actually grow much larger than the adults through their fat stores, causing them to look like fat hairy sausages. They do this so that they can complete metamorphosis and shift to endothermy without starving to death before they’re done.

There are many species of Teacup Sauceback. Larger species can survive significantly longer without sufficient food, but they still starve much faster than other saucebacks. Species in cold environments have greater feather covering and rounder ears, while ones in warmer environments have shorter feathers and longer ears. As larvae, some species may eat more carrion than detritus or vice versa. Being small creatures which are easily preyed on, Teacup Saucebacks are usually eaten before they ever have a chance to mate, so they can lay thousands of eggs at a time, contributing greatly to their rapid rate of speciation.

----

A miniature sauceback genus was Nergali's idea; I figured I could make them speciate fast enough to justify a genus, so I went for it. Have some free food of unusual variety to feed insectivores and cat-alogues alike :3

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Jan 27 2021, 08:44 PM

Subterradron (Speluncadendri wallaci)

Creator: MNIDJM
Ancestor: Cavedron (Speluncadendri cavedron)
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Water Table, Vivus Water Table, Electro Limestone Caves,Neo Limestone Caves, Sparr Limestone Caves, Darth Lava Tube Caves
Size: 7 cm Tall
Diet: Symbiotic Lithovore (Cave Rustmold), Detrivore, Photosynthesis (Dormant)
Reproduction: Reproduction: Asexual, Bulb Budding

The Yannickian-Bloodian extinction event was one of the most devastating events in the geologic timescale of Sagan IV. A dramatic increase in global volcanic activity triggered a near global glaciation event, and wiped the slate clean in nearly all regions of the planet. The Vivus volcanic region was no exception to this devastation, and nearly all life, save for the hardiest microbes, went extinct. And yet the cavedron, the last surviving member of an entire kingdom of life, clung on. While most all populations were indeed killed, a tiny sliver held on in the water table. As they exchange gas through cutaneous respiration, and while they could survive in an aquatic environment, they have to go through drastic changes to survive. Thus, replacing their ancestor, the subterradron has, from these humble beginnings, become an extremely successful species and a staple of the entire Dixon-Darwin-Vivus subterranean ecosystems.

Much like their ancestor, they are provided nutrients by the cave rustmold in exchange for their spores being spread and thanks to their success, they have allowed the spread the cave rustmold and the clingerpede to all environments they occupy. The cave rustmold also break down the minerals in the cave walls, allowing the subterradron to use them for nutrients, in exchange for the waste products that they produce. They are able to cling to wall and ceilings because of modified tentacles that burrow into the rock, then inflate at the bottom. They wait for a clingerpede to eat them causing the bulbs to be ingested. These bulbs are now indigestable by the clingerpede, and are expelled in their waste. These contain both the subterradron embryos and spores cases for the cave rustmold.

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.

This post has been edited by Nergali: Jan 31 2021, 08:14 AM

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.

This post has been edited by Nergali: Mar 5 2021, 09:08 PM

Bristlepile (Polycaudofolium setum)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Fuzzpile
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Desert, Dixon-Darwin High Desert, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Darwin Plains, Darwin Chapparal, Vivus High Desert, Vivus High Grassland, Vivus Rocky
Size: 6 meters tall
Diet: Photosynthesis
Reproduction: Sexual (Hermaphrodite, Puffy Spores, Berries)

The Bristlepile split from its ancestor. It tends to be found in drier biomes and up in the mountains, where avoiding water loss is important. In order to do this, it has shifted away from hair-like leaves and more towards thicker, stiffer ones comparable to those of a Terran Joshua Tree which resist desiccation. The waxy component that previously made their berries waterproof has been repurposed for making the leaves more resistant to desiccation as well. Its leaves are set on the ends of branch, rather than growing along the trunk. Its bark can now perform photosynthesis, making up for some of the lost surface area in its leaves. It has lost its adaptive trunk, not needing it in open environments.

In some parts of its range, such as Darwin Plains, the Bristlepile follows a typical seasonal appearance of berries in the spring. However, in the rest of its range and up in the mountains, it instead produces them when it rains, as it has a surplus of water during that time. The berries grow between the leaves and along the branches. Its berries are very sweet, attracting herbivores and small fauna to devour them and therefore spread it around. The blue-hued berries remain sticky and glue-like, though this is partly from unintentional pollination from ancestor, which resides in bordering biomes. The berries are no longer waterproof, because they don’t need to be.

The Bristlepile has adapted a thicker trunk and tubers in its roots in order to help it survive in the desert.

This post has been edited by Disgustedorite: Feb 6 2021, 07:08 PM

Yellow Cushion
Culcitaflora carocapillum

Creator: Bufforpington
Ancestor: Table Cushion
Habitat: Maineiac Water Table
Size: 8 cm Tall
Diet: Consumer (mats of chemotrophic microbes), Filter-Feeder, Chemotroph (Sulfur compounds)
Reproduction: Asexual (Fast Asexual Budding, Very Resilient Spores)

With Maineiac Water Table being situated on a volcanic island and being located under most of its surface, it is only inevitable for parts of the water table to come close enough to the island's magma chamber for the two to interact. This boundary between the two subterranean cavities creates a peculiar environment where magma sometimes erupts from the cavern walls and volcanic gases seep from smokers like those in deep sea vents. Such environment would be inhospitable to most. However, life always finds a way. The table cushion's rapid reproduction and resilient spores made it easy to colonize the outskirts of these volcanic caverns. Soon enough, this rogue population would accumulate enough adaptations to press further into the hot, sulfuric waters that border the water table and the magma chamber.

The yellow cushion is derived from a population of table cushions that accidentally incorporated octhermas into their bodies after failing to digest them and their tough cell walls. These octhermas provide an additional food source for the yellow cushion and allows them to derive energy from sulfur compounds. The yellow cushion's sulfurous waste products give them their yellow color. In addition to this, the yellow cushion is covered in fleshy projections that increase its surface area, allowing it to consume more free-floating microbes than its ancestor. This increased surface area also allows it to radiate more heat, allowing it to live far into the volcanic fringes of the water table. However, despite their increased tolerance to high temperatures, they still cannot survive directly next to volcanic vents and are often killed off by pillow lava. However, their rapid reproduction ensures that they can recolonize any surface that has been smothered by the molten rock.

This post has been edited by Bufforpington: Feb 8 2021, 09:24 AM

Hanging Villigrass
(Robigoflora pendulogramina)

Creator: Bufforpington
Ancestor: Villigrass
Habitat: Maineiac Water Table
Size: 12 cm Tall
Diet: Lithotroph (Basalt, Iron), Herbivore (Table Cushion), Filter-Feeder, Detritivore
Reproduction: Asexual (Runners), Sexual (Conjugation)

While the diamiarm usually digest the spores produced by Maineiac Water Table's flora, sometimes it manages to track some onto the ceiling after embarking on its upward odyssey. A population of aberrant villigrass spores ultimately produced this ceiling-dwelling variant of the villigrass.

Despite it looking similar to its ancestor, the hanging villigrass has undergone one drastic change. Unlike its ancestor which could only host microbes in its villi and digest organisms with its rhizoids, the entire surface of the hanging villigrass can perform both tasks. This adaptation was the result of a series of atavistic genes being activated, reverting the hanging villigrass to a more simplistic state while simultaneously bringing the microbe-harboring pores to the entirety of the organism's surface. This allows lithotrophic chemebas to survive in its rhizoids, where they feed on the basaltic rock, providing their ferrophile neighbors the iron required to fuel the villigrass. Meanwhile, the long villi of the hanging villigrass can now capture and digest microbes floating around in the water table, providing it with another source of carbon. The rhizoids are still capable of feeding on the table cushions that grow on the cavern ceiling. The pores on the villi themselves however have been rendered useless. The ferrophiles that once inhabited them in their distant ancestors no longer can survive in them due to the lack of iron oxides. As a result, these pores are instead occupied by an assortment of benthic consumers that colonized the open space, using it as a base upon which they can capture prey.

The hanging villigrass' reproductive strategy has changed in order to accomodate for their inverted surroundings. The spores now host a flagella that allows them to travel through the water column. They are also equipped with what amounts to a statocyst that allows them to determine their orientation. Spores will swim a short distance away from their parent before settling on another section of the cave ceiling. There, they will grow into a new hanging villigrass. Hanging villigrass often form large fields of fleshy villi that coat sections of the cave ceiling.

This post has been edited by Bufforpington: Feb 8 2021, 09:30 AM