QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Oct 18 2022, 04:29 PM)

"Lookdowns": This is used in the same way a great white shark would be referred to as a "great white", right? This is a little unusual, grammatically speaking. As an example, red foxes are surely not commonly referred to as "reds", or post oaks as "posts". If you're not going to revise the reference, I recommend making a note in the submission of the somewhat unusual grammar, such as a trivia point on the bottom.

Done

Passive, added.

I don't know if I need to add anything in the description about the respiration besides implying its the same as the ancestor. If not this should be good.

I finally gave in and just increased the particle size. No inflating villi or other complex anatomy things because I just don't have a good grasp on that stuff.

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Sep 6 2022, 02:24 AM)

The easiest solution is simply to increase either the size of the villi in the back of the throat as a filtration mechanism or increase the size of the particle range. You could probably have the villi in the back of the throat inflate with water ...

Went with this solution, also upped the particle size a bit.

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Sep 4 2022, 09:42 PM)

It seems you haven't altered the organism's description. Is it customary for you to first acknowledge feedback, and then alter the description? If I recall correctly, members of Sagan4 usually first try to implement feedback and then acknowledge the feedback with a reply.

Edited now, sorry for any confusion. Really just changed/elaborated on stuff you mentioned.

Also, anyone know what support swarmers have?

Thank you for the detailed response!

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Sep 3 2022, 02:25 AM)

It's kind of weird it could get this big without any gills, but it's still flat, has a mouth that's frequently open, and photosynthesizes, so it's sufficient. If you intend to make a bigger (say, 1 meter wide) or thicker-bodied descendant, it could be useful to elaborate on how it gets sufficient oxygenation. But, for now, elaborating on oxygenation is probably optional. If its intestine loops towards the front and has sphincters, it could plausibly breathe through ruffle structures within it while expelling water, or it could perhaps have villi in its mouth.

I didn't initially plan on having a bigger descendent, but this is a good idea so I might end up doing something based on it. I think I'll leave oxygenation up in the air for now since this creature isn't particularly wild by swarmer standards, but I'm probably adding villi so I might end up elaborating on it anyway.

QUOTE

It has a very wide range of particles it can eat. I do not yet know what is a plausible maximum size range, but it seems so exceptional as to warrant special mention of how it is possible. The easiest solution for you is to look for a real-life comparable animal with a small-to-medium sort of size range and similar feeding technique. Since this doesn't have gill rakers and has a blind gut, I recommend looking up animals that similarly have blind guts and no gill rakers, such as some kinds of echinoderms. (https://www.deepseanews.com/2018/12/a-tale-of-one-opening/)

My idea was it would mostly intake zooplankton from the water, and would occasionally capture smaller fauna that couldn't get out of the way. I'll keep it in mind though and may elaborate on it, I'm already thinking about adding villi to make it easier. That being said, I don't know much about the specifics of suspension feeding so if there's anything off about that, let it be known.

The grammar corrections are always helpful.

QUOTE

"compressing their stomach": Can you explain how it does that? Muscular contractions, perhaps? It would appear it compresses its stomach, while most plankton remain trapped in the gut. The stomach compressing ejects water outward. Guts are generally located in the opposite direction of the esophagus, although these do have a blind gut. Is the gut (intestine) in the direction of the mouth? I had assumed such for the Sitting Dundi, also a plent, although these two have almost nothing in common but for the same kingdom, so there's plenty of room to suppose they are different.

I've envisioned the inside of a swarmer to be similar to a bag floating in the ocean, a very simple structure that plankton get stuck in and digested over time, kinda like how corals do it. This is partially based on other swarmer lineages which evolved through-guts, where the structure remains very simple and like a bag with a hole in the back. I feel like it's a pretty good assessment of how it could work for the average swarmer, and doesn't change much here.
As for the compressing, I'll add something about the muscles.

QUOTE

"barren environment" To say the open ocean is barren seems unfair. It's not like the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, which haven't had any rain in 2 million years. It's better to note that food is generally sparse in that environment.

That would be a better way of putting it.

QUOTE

"Searays": isn't the name "Seanniver"? There are two instances of this other name. P.S. The name is a reference to a Jenny Hanniver, isn't it?

Yep, that's the bit. I was originally going with Searay but changed it last minute because it felt kinda generic. I guess I missed a few mentions, oops!

There is a lot about oxygenation, blind guts, and suspension feeding that's all new to me, so if there's problems its because I'm not an expert.

QUOTE (Cube67 @ Aug 16 2022, 12:15 AM)

I mean, it's just a beakworm, so I think you could just look to its ancestors to see how this one might breathe.

As far as I know gills in beakworms didn't evolve until gilltails and such. The ancestor for this one also breaths through its skin, so I assume that's a basal thing.

Support I think is a harder question, at least from what I know. I know there's a gilltail that shows an internal skeleton made of chitin iirc, but before that I'm not exactly sure. Maybe waterworms have a very simple endoskeleton, given that they're more primitive than their living relatives?

QUOTE (colddigger @ Aug 15 2022, 07:59 PM)

Is there no filter for food capture? Such as bristles?

I didn't think of it at the time but that would make its way of feeding a bit easier. Could keep it the same but add tiny bristles around the mouth.

QUOTE

I think respiration for this group is through the skin, plents have it easy saying they crack water and make oxygen, a non Photosynthesis critter this size I would think would need more specialization.

This one does plenty of photosynthesizing, maybe something to keep in mind if it does get any bigger though.

Seanniver (Platymancerxichthys viridis)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: Ray Flat Swarmer
Habitat: Jujubee Ocean Tropical Sunlight Zone, North Jujubee Ocean Subtropical Sunlight Zone, South Jujubee Ocean Subtropical Sunlight Zone, LadyM Ocean Tropical Sunlight Zone, LadyM Ocean Subtropical Sunlight Zone, Mnid Ocean Tropical Sunlight Zone, Mnid Ocean Subtropical Sunlight Zone
Size: 40 cm wide (wingspan)
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis, Planktivore (1 mm - 1 cm)
Respiration: Cutaneous (Passive)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual, Spawning, 2 Sexes

Splitting from its ancestor, Ray Flat Swarmers would migrate from coastal environments into the open oceans of Sagan 4.

Seannivers are pelagic suspension feeders which eat a wide variety of plankton. It also gains energy from photosynthesizing through its skin. Seannivers inhabit warm, tropical and subtropical open waters near the equator, staying near the water’s surface. The year-round sun and plentiful plankton populations in these environments allow Seannivers to maximize productivity from its feeding strategies. It has a flattened body, with its large fins being wider than the length of its body, which further allows them to take in solar energy.

Like its ancestors, Seannivers are social animals which live in swarms of hundreds of individuals. These large swarms do allow safety in numbers, but can also warn members of danger before a predator even attacks. Seannivers alternate behavior between swimming right side up near the surface and upside down in deeper water. While swimming right side up, Seannivers harvest sunlight more easily. While swimming upside down, it is able to see predators from below with its singular eye, darting to the surface and warning right side up members of the nearby predator.

A Seanniver primarily feeds through suspension, swimming forward and allowing water to flow into the mouth along with prey. Due to having a blind gut, a Seanniver has no way to passively filter out water. Instead, after harvesting enough prey it partially closes its mouth and begin compressing its stomach using slight muscular contractions. The interior of a Seanniver's mouth is covered in villi, allowing small amounts of water to exit while most plankton remain trapped in the tightening gut. This strategy tends to be more effective at capturing larger organisms, while smaller ones may still escape. These villi have the added advantage of slightly increasing the Seanniver's surface area which increases oxygenation. Seannivers primarily feed on phytoplankton, such as Redmosses and Testudiatoms, and may also feed on zooplankton and larval young of other organisms. When not feeding, a Seanniver with its mouth closed is much more hydrodynamic, and can lazily glide along the surface while photosynthesizing or quickly evade predators.

Seeking out the most food in an environment where it is often hard to come by, Seannivers congregate near upwelling locales plentiful with plankton. Seannivers will also spawn en masse in these areas, each female releasing thousands of eggs into the current every summer.

So I now realize I wrote the topic title wrong, I don't see a way for me to fix that so let me write it here again (even tho it's huge on the image) this is for Gen 166.

Edit: Figured out the full edit button exists

Lookdown Waterworm (Mallevultus glacies)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: Periscope Waterworm
Habitat: North Sagan 4 Ice Sheet
Size: 70 cm long
Support: Unknown
Diet: Carnivore (Common Gilltails, Scuttlers, Hanging Necarrow, Charybdis, Speckled Spinderorm, Bejeweled Emperor Scylarian (young))
Respiration: Cutaneous (Passive, pores on head)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual, 2 Sexes, Ovoviviparous

Splitting from its descendant, some Periscope Waterworms inhabiting the frigid coasts of the Drake continent would exploit the miles of sea ice above their habitat, and adapt an unusual lifestyle to do so.

Lookdown Waterworms, also known as "Lookdowns", are ambush predators specialized for hunting beneath the ice sheet of Sagan 4’s northern hemisphere. Several adaptations have allowed the species to pursue this niche. The periscope has extended outwards, forming into a cephalofoil which gives the Lookdowns an expanded view of potential prey on all sides. As the Periscope Waterworm adapted to hunting prey above it, Lookdowns do the same thing while swimming upside down, as the seafloor is traded for floating sea ice. In this position, Lookdowns float close to the ice sheet, remaining motionless and neutrally buoyant.

Being ectotherms in a freezing environment, Lookdowns are very sluggish, often staying completely still for days on end. Once its prey gets close enough, it will attempt to capture it with a quick burst of energy. Prey ranges from small pelagic swimmers, to pseudobenthic ice crawlers, to juveniles of larger creatures.

As Lookdowns live in an environment where the seafloor may be miles deep, the ancestral oviparous tactic of laying eggs within the sand no longer works. Instead they are ovoviviparous, developing eggs within the female for around 100 days before hatching, after which the young are on their own. It takes nearly 6 years for a Lookdown to reach sexual maturity, and can live for up to 30 years.

Lookdowns are much less willing to interact with others of their own species than their partially social ancestors, owing to their harsh environment. If two Lookdowns meet, and are not interested in mating, they will usually ignore each other. If an adult encounters a juvenile, the juvenile will often become a meal.

Artist: Jvirus
Biome: Nemo Polar Shallows
Flora: Coralkiiro, Spaghettigrass
Fauna: Southern Gillfin, Necroeel, Gillaysheaia, Hallucigillia, Anomalogill, Carapede, Fermibiyss, Scuttlers
Microbes: None

Supplement image is completed so this is no longer a WIP.

Updated the description due to the revival, it's now a direct Phantomuki descendant.

QUOTE

Depending on how easy it is to evolve hermaphroditism from gonochoric (just one mating type per organism), in general or under these circumstances, these could be made hermaphrodites without needing to individually specify traits in its lineage.

It turns out Phantomuki's description explicitly references opposite sexes. However, I've decided to make these guys hermaphrodites because of their environment & to add some fun behavior. Not entirely sure if that breaks any rules, but we'll see.

QUOTE (colddigger @ Dec 8 2021, 08:03 AM)

I thought support was exoskeleton, unknown material, and respiration was gills and uhhh haemocyanin

Added

The only thing that's WIP here is the supplemental image, everything else is presentable.

Twilight Echofin (Altumconus crepusculus)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: Red Echofin
Habitat: Barlowe Twilight Floor, Maineiac Twilight Floor, Abello Twilight Sea Mount, Ittiz Twilight Sea Mount, Ovi Twilight Sea Mount, Penumbra Twilight Sea Mount, Putspooza Twilight Sea Mount, Russ Twilight Sea Mount, Solpimr Twilight Sea Mount, Sparks Twilight Sea Mount, Time Twilight Sea Mount, Dixon-Darwin Twilight Floor, Drake Twilight Floor, Flisch Twilight Sea Mount, Krakow Twilight Sea Mount, Jujubee Ocean Twilight Zone, North LadyM Ocean Twilight Zone, South LadyM Ocean Twilight Zone
Size: 26 cm long (males and females), 7 cm long (hormone carriers)
Support: Exoskeleton
Diet: Males and Females: Omnivore (Twilight Crystal, Shimmering Marephasmatises). Hormone Carriers: Haemotroph (Twilight Echofin Blood), Omnivore (Twilight Crystal, Shimmering Marephasmatises). Larvae: Carnivore (Shimmering Marephasmatises)
Respiration: Active (Gills with Hemocyanin)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: 3 Sexes (male, female, hormone carrier), Spores

Splitting from its descendant, isolated populations of Red Echofin found a new Binucleozoan food source, the Twilight Crystals, and descended deep into the Twilight Zone in order to feed on them. Here, they developed an unusual reproductive adaptation in order to survive and propagate in the deep sea.

Twilight Echofin begin their lives as larvae germinated from spores. The larvae are meroplankton, swimming in the water column of the twilight zone and travelling along deep sea currents. Larval Twilight Echofins feed upon Shimmering Marephasmatises, which are plentiful within the twilight zone, piercing their prey with a sharp four pronged jaw and devouring their insides. Larvae will often take on Marephasmatises larger than themselves, being careful to avoid their stinging thread. In order to survive off of a gelatinous food source, larvae must eat a large amount of Marephasmatises to survive.

When Twilight Echofin larvae grow large enough, they will be able to swim against the current using the many pairs of fins which appear on each of their segments. They usually swim in an undulating pattern to slowly move forward, but will move all of their fins in unison to achieve quick bursts of speed to escape predators.

Adult male and female Twilight Echofins will often settle down around twilight seafloors in order to find their favored food, Twilight Crystals. As their name suggests, Echofins use the cone around their heads to find their food using echolocation, and to avoid predators. After locating a Crystal, they will pierce through the red, fungi-like area and avoid the poisonous outer layer by boring holes into the Crystal. Between Crystals, the elongated forms of these Echofins allow them to easily drift in the current, expending little energy between food sources.

==Hormone Carrier Lifestyle==

The deep sea is a vast void where even finding a meal is a rare occurrence, let alone finding a mate. Echofins are particularly disadvantaged by this, as they require three separate sexes (male, female, and hormone carrier) in order to successfully reproduce. As such a meeting would be extremely rare in the deep sea, the hormone carriers have adapted in an extreme and unusual way to propagate in these isolated conditions.

Hormone carriers are dimorphic from the males and females, with adults being less than a third of the length of the two other sexes. The cone around their head is narrow, giving them tunnel vision but allowing them to fit into their lifestyle. Their jaws also differ from the others, being more stubby and diminutive, as hormone carriers feed by spitting out digestive enzymes instead of by piercing.

After reaching sexual maturity, males and females will create a constant clicking sound with their jaws, producing echolocation which the hormone carriers seek out. After locating their partner, the hormone carrier will insert themselves into their gills, aided by their small size and slim cone. Here, the carriers latch onto the inside of the gills, and will remain there for a majority of their lives.

The carrier will feed on the blood of their larger partner, only taking what it needs to survive by spitting a digestive enzyme around its mouth and slowly rasping at the flesh. Since these carriers are so inactive, barely ever moving, they need to take little to sustain themselves. The carriers will also occasionally dislodge themselves while their partner feeds on Crystals, supplementing their diet by feeding within the bore holes made by their larger partner. The partners will remain close to the carriers if they detach, waiting for them to finish feeding and reattach.

All of this is done so that when a sexually mature male and female Twilight Echofin meet, it is very likely that one will already have the carrier necessary for them to breed. The carrier will release hormones into the surrounding water as the male releases sperm and the female releases spores. With all its complexities, this reproductive adaptation makes it far simpler for Twilight Echofins to reproduce in a lonely void.


Hormone carrier & carrier latched onto partner's gills.

==Other Information==

Because of their food source, Twilight Echofins will often fall prey to Twilight Trapinouts due to their mimicry of Twilight Crystals. The Echofins may avoid this fate if they spot the Trapinouts which are less well hidden with their echolocation.

Though male and female Twilight Echofins mainly feed on Twilight Crystals, they will still occasionally eat Marephasmatises. This is a purely supplemental diet, and adults cannot survive on this prey exclusively. However, this allows the adults to travel along currents in the open water of the twilight zone, surviving off of Marephasmatises until they reach another twilight floor.

Most Twilight Echofin larvae are destined to become hormone carriers. A majority of these carriers will die before they can find a partner, either through predation due to their small size or the difficulty they have gaining nourishment without blood.

Though a single hormone carrier is not enough to harm their partner, if multiple attach to a single Echofin the increased blood drain will cause health problems. As such, male and female Echofins will often attack their smaller partners if more than one is present, persisting until one detaches.

QUOTE

Exoskeleton (Chitinous Plates), Exoskeleton (Chitin), or either of the last two but beginning with Segmented Exoskeleton instead. Perhaps someone else could suggest what would be best.

Thanks, the Borinvermee mentions chitin plates specifically, but one other thing. Vermees mention having "contractable muscles" between their segments. How should that be listed, if at all?

QUOTE (Coolsteph @ Oct 29 2021, 04:13 AM)

It has a remarkable resemblance to the Hellworm of the Beta Timeline. It's an interesting case of convergent evolution.

I was told it also looks a bit like the Beta Wrigglebob, so I guess wormy things are appreciated there

Abyssaluki (Cornumagnus profundum)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: Phantomuki
Habitat: Adults: Jujubee Ocean Trench Floor, Jujubee Ocean Abyss Floor, Jujubee Ocean Abyss Slope, Barlowe Midnight Floor, Maineiac Midnight Floor, Barlowe Midnight Slope, Maineiac Midnight Slope, Abello Midnight Sea Mount, Ethos Midnight Sea Mount, Ittiz Midnight Sea Mount, Ovi Midnight Sea Mount, Penumbra Midnight Sea Mount, Putspooza Midnight Sea Mount, Russ Midnight Sea Mount, Solpimr Midnight Sea Mount, Sparks Midnight Sea Mount, Time Midnight Sea Mount, Truteal Midnight Sea Mount, Xeno Midnight Sea Mount, LadyM Ocean Trench Floor, North LadyM Ocean Abyss Floor, South LadyM Ocean Abyss Floor, North LadyM Ocean Abyss Slope, South LadyM Ocean Abyss Slope, Drake Midnight Floor, Dixon-Darwin Midnight Floor, Drake Midnight Slope, Dixon-Darwin Midnight Slope, Fermi Midnight Sea Mount, Young: Jujubee Ocean Trench Zone, Jujubee Ocean Abyss Zone, Jujubee Ocean Midnight Zone, LadyM Ocean Trench Zone, North LadyM Ocean Abyss Zone, South LadyM Ocean Abyss Zone
Size: 1.5 meters long
Support: Exoskeleton
Diet: Detritivore, Scavenger, Planktivore (Young)
Respiration: Active (Gills Between Segments)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Hermaphrodite, Eggs on gills)

Splitting from its ancestors, Phantomukis living in the deep trenches of Sagan 4’s oceans were subject to the effects of deep sea gigantism. This was caused by their environment having few predators, and their size allowing for more efficient respiration.

The Abyssaluki are sluggish detritivores which live at the bottom of Sagan 4’s twin oceans. Their lower tentacles have expanded, giving them a similar appearance to the horns of Fraboos. These horns are used to comb through the seafloor for edible detritus and marine snow, using tiny hairs along them to pick up and pull food towards the mouth. Abyssaluki can also use their mouths to scavenge upon the sunken carcasses of pelagic fauna, such as Lyngbakrs and Hafgufas.

Because of their large size and chitin-armored bodies, adult Abyssaluki have very few predators. However, predatory swarmers, like the Mortusyte, will attempt to bypass the Abyssaluki’s armor by attacking their soft gills. In order to defend themselves, Abyssaluki can retract their gills and pull their chitin segments together, blocking off access to all but the most persistent predators. Their horns remain exposed to attack, but are able to heal quickly from injury. Raised horns can be used to scare off potential predators, making the creature seem larger than it already is.

Possessing smell receptors along their mouths and horns, Abyssaluki can detect sunken carcasses and potential mates from miles away. They have adapted a hermaphroditic reproductive system due to their vast environment and relatively small population size. When two Abyssaluki encounter each other, the two individuals will spar with their horns, and the individual with the larger horns will be the winner. The winner will fertilize the loser's eggs, who will then deposit them along the winner’s gills. The winner will then defend the eggs until they hatch by pulling them in with their gills when attacked by predators, scaring them off with their large horns.

Once the eggs hatch, the young Abyssaluki will enter their first stage of life. Possessing a small body, they are very lightweight and can float in the deep sea water column while navigating by flapping their disproportionately long horns. Young Abyssaluki horns are soft and flexible, and are used to filter plankton from the water. They will live like this for several months, but over time their bodies will grow and begin to become heavier while their horns will become more rigid. Eventually, they will become so heavy that they will slowly sink to the ocean floor. This lifestyle has allowed Abyssalukis to spread wherever deep ocean currents carry their young, scouring the lightless abyssal plains throughout Sagan’s oceans.


A young Abyssaluki floating in the water column.

Megaborvermid (Megaborvermus navigandus)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: False Cleaner Borvermid
Habitat: Driftwood Islands Chaparral, Driftwood Islands Tropical Woodland, Driftwood Islands Temperate Woodland, Driftwood Islands Tropical Bank, Driftwood Islands Temperate Bank
Size: 40 cm long
Support: Segmented Exoskeleton (Chitinous Plates)
Diet: Carnivore (Kakonat, Shailnitor, Stowaway Harmbless, Shingo, Young Stegomizer, Infilt Pewpa, Teacup Saucebacks, Minikruggs, Silkruggs), Detritivore (Young)
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite (Live Young)

Having been spread to the Driftwood Islands by the Seashrog, False Cleaner Borvermids were introduced to a developing ecosystem with many unoccupied niches available for the taking. Populations could spread throughout the islands while facing little competition, slowly becoming bolder feeders every night and growing larger than ever before.

Megaborvermids split from their ancestors and were subject to the phenomenon of island gigantism, filling the niche of a relatively small inland nocturnal predator on the floating islands. During the day, Megaborvermids sleep beneath logs and foliage, becoming active as night falls. They will boldly slither through the undergrowth in search of prey, using their extendable eyestalks to peer over obstacles without revealing themselves.

While small prey is easily dispatched by the Megaborvermid's pointed jaws, the worms have developed a particular hunting strategy when dealing with larger targets. Using the night to their advantage, Megaborvermids prey upon larger fauna which are either sleeping or drowsy, giving them the upper hand in a struggle. The worms will quickly wrap themselves around their prey to prevent its escape while puncturing it with their jaws. The anticoagulants in the saliva of their ancestors are still used, now causing their prey to gradually bleed out. Megaborvermids have a larger appetite than their ancestors, and will consume most of their prey's carcass.

Megaborvermids breed during new moons, coming out of the undergrowth in large numbers. Each mated individual will give birth to around a dozen live offspring, with each being 8 inches in length at birth. These young are detritivores and are coated with a sticky mucus, allowing them to adhere to various flora. This allows young Megaborvermids to travel between islands by sticking to driftwood, floating across long stretches of sea while feeding on various organic materials. After several months, the young will grow much larger and develop pointed jaws, allowing them to become predators.

Thanks for the grammar. I've seen "Insectivore" be used to describe fauna that eat stuff like Vermees before, but if there's a better term for Sagan I'd like to know. I'll just simplify it to just "predators" for now.

Nightcrawler Borvermid (Borvermus terrincolae)
Creator: Jvirus
Ancestor: False Cleaner Borvermid
Habitat: Dixon-Darwin Boreal, Dixon-Darwin Rocky, Dixon-Darwin High Grassland, Dixon Savanna, Dixon Tropical Scrub, Dixon Tropical Woodland, Javen Tropical Woodland, Javen Tropical Scrub, Darwin Savanna, North Darwin Tropical Scrub, North Darwin Tropical Woodland
Size: 4 cm long
Support: Segmented Exoskeleton (Chitinous Plates)
Diet: Haemotroph (Carpozoan blood, Sagavermes Blood), Detritivore (Young)
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite (Live Young)

Having been spread throughout the Dixon-Darwin continent by the Twineshrog, False Cleaner Borvermids were introduced to a plethora of new hosts across the mainland. In order to exploit their new prey, the Borvermids had to adapt beyond the nests of their shrog hosts, and so the Nightcrawlers were born.

Nightcrawler Borvermid are common bloodsuckers which split from their ancestor, feasting on the red, iron-rich blood of Carpozoans and Sagavermes throughout their range. They more often feed on Carpozoans, as larger organisms of that type are more common, but rarer Sagavermes meals do just fine. During the day, the Nightcrawlers sleep beneath the soil, avoiding potential diurnal predators. At night, these nocturnal worms awaken to locate sleeping prey. Nightcrawlers creep slowly through the undergrowth, often winding themselves between and under rocks and flora to remain out of sight from nocturnal predators. Retaining the extendable and retractable eyestalks of their ancestors, the worms can peek from their hiding spots without revealing their bodies.

After finding a suitable source of blood, they pierce the creature’s flesh with pointed jaws, releasing compounds in their saliva to prolong bleeding. After around 20 minutes, the Nightcrawler will drink enough blood to sustain themselves for several weeks, sleeping in the soil until a new moon rises.

During a new moon, Nightcrawler Borvermids emerge from the soil en masse in order to breed. These events cause predators to gorge themselves on the mating Nightcrawlers. As Nightcrawlers are r-strategists, losses during breeding do little to hurt their populations, as both mated individuals will produce dozens of live offspring using nutrients from iron-rich blood. Less than a centimeter in length, these young are detritivores, living in the soil much like the ancestral Vermees, and possess a mucus coating to protect themselves from desiccation and infection. After just four months, they will grow into adults and begin feeding on blood.

Hailing from the coastal tropics, Nightcrawler Borvermids have had to adapt to some environments which become far too cold for them in the winter. If temperatures drop below a certain point, Nightcrawlers will instinctively gorge on far more blood than average. Afterwards, they will descend deep into the soil and insulate themselves with a mucus coating similar to the one which coats their young, hibernating until warmer temperatures return. In this state, they can go months without feeding. If a new moon rises during extremely cold temperatures, Nightcrawlers will not emerge to breed.

Rewrote some stuff and hopefully there are no more errors, tried to go into more detail about its oxygen intake. The baby fins remain.