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Name: Sowverm (Myovermimorphus muricathartes)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Vermees (Myovermimorphus spp.)
Habitat: Raptor Highvelt, Raptor Chaparral, Raptor Veldt, Raptor Plains, Raptor Badlands, West Wallace Veldt, Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, Wallace Volcanic, Verserus Highvelt, Verserus Rocky, Wallace Plains, Central Wallace Veldt, South Darwin Highvelt, Central Darwin Rocky, South Darwin Rocky, South Darwin Chaparral, South Darwin Plains
Size: 2 centimeters long
Support: ?
Diet: Detrivore, Scavenger (primarily Regalian Fossorundi dung and dead bodies)
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite (Live Young)

As species of vermees were being raised as livestock by Regalian Fossorundis, being protected by them and provided a regular source of food resulted in some of those species to specialize for this new way of life. This gave rise to the Sowverm, a split from their ancestors who specialized in being the “cattle” raised by Regalian Fossorundis.

In many ways, the Sowverm is identical to other species in the Vermees genus group. For example, the Sowverm’s mouthparts assist them with manipulating food, while they can technically still see from the eyes that sit on top of each body segment (minus the first two and the final segment). The species also still possesses large contractible muscles between their segments, which helps with movement. Overall, very little has physically changed with the species, instead most of the changes are behavioral.

For one thing, Sowverms will sit in a chamber dedicated to them, which Regalian Fossorundis use to excrete waste and drop off the dead. These will be in turn greedily eaten by the Sowverms, who grow fat and plump on this nutrient-rich diet. Their Regalian Fossorundi caretakers will monitor the condition of the Sowverms as they grow, making sure each one is getting plenty of food to sustain their growth and whether they are ready to be harvested or not. If a Sowverm is big enough, it will be dragged out of the chamber by the caretakers to be butchered. The meat of these cadoverms will in turn be used to feed the colony, who in turn will produce more waste and dead bodies to feed the other Sowverms.

Like most of their kin, Sowverms are rapid breeders which produce large numbers of offspring. While in most vermees the vast majority of these offspring would be preyed upon by a wide variety of predators and thus have their populations kept in check, this is not the case for Sowverms. Under the watchful guardianship of their shepherds, the Regalian Fossorundis, the Sowverms are able to flourish in large numbers whose growth is only further fueled by the nutrient-rich meals which they are provided. While their stewards due cull their throngs from time to time in order to both fill their bellies and stock their larders for their own offspring, this relationship has nonetheless proven a major boon Sowverms, who have grown quite populous as of late.

The young themselves have shrunken down greatly, being only about one-twelfth the size of their parents, but this means as many as twenty of them can be born at a time. These young mature quickly, being able to breed at just three weeks old and reaching their adult size two weeks after that. Though breeding and growing so rapidly means these cadoverms only live for about a year at most, the Sowverms are often harvested by the nodents long before that. Young Sowverms still secrete a sticky mucus that can adhere to larger fauna, allowing them to hitch a ride on Regalian Fossorundi kings that visit the chamber to eat some of the Sowverm adults. From there, they will be carried by him until he reaches another colony, where they can then grow with the Sowverms already there and breed with them, maintaining genetic diversity. There are cases where these larvae accidentally fall off in the trips between Regalian Fossorundi colonies, which then results in them struggling to survive since they face competition with other species of vermees over less nutrient-rich food sources. As such, Sowverms are almost exclusively found within Regalian Fossorundi colonies.

Alright boys! Here is a species of vermees that is specialized into being livestock! Think it works well enough, or does it need any edits?

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Dec 28 2022, 12:38 PM

Name: Preshroom (Superfungi sativa)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Supershrooms (Superfungi spp.)
Habitat: Raptor Highvelt, Raptor Chaparral, Raptor Veldt, Raptor Plains, Raptor Badlands, West Wallace Veldt, Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, Wallace Volcanic, Verserus Highvelt, Verserus Rocky, Wallace Plains, Central Wallace Veldt, South Darwin Highvelt, Central Darwin Rocky, South Darwin Rocky, South Darwin Chaparral, South Darwin Plains
Size: 10 centimeters tall
Support: ?
Diet: Detritivore
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Asexual Budding, Spore Berries

As species of Supershrooms were being raised as a kind of crop by the Regalian Fossorundis, they would overtime begin to become distinct from related species, splitting off into a new taxon known as the Preshroom.

Overall, the Preshroom is quite similar to its ancestors and related species, specializing in obtaining nutrients from decaying organic matter and having no pigments in their tissues aside from their brightly colored berries. They also are still quite resistant to disease and parasites, and thus they can easily bounce back from any outbreaks that occur within the Regalian Fossorundi colony.

The fact they feed on decaying organic matter, have brightly colored berries rich in nutrients, and can bounce back quickly from being eaten meant the ancestors of the Preshroom could be regularly harvested by the Regalian Fossorundis. As such, the Preshrooms are kept in a chamber that is constantly being provided random bits of foliage by Regalian Fossorundi caretakers. As the vegetation breaks down, the Preshrooms take in the nutrients and grow quickly. As Regalian Fossorundis selected for Supershrooms that had larger and larger berries, the berries of the Preshrooms are enormous for their kind, which are still packed with spores. When a Regalian Fossorundi caretaker determines the Preshroom is ready for harvesting, they will snip off the stalks that hold the berries and portion out the berries so they can be distributed throughout the colony. The spores within the berries can survive the digestive acids of the nodents, as well as the digestive acids of the Sowverms when they are regurgitated into the chamber containing the cadoverms and then get eaten a second time. When a Regalian Fossorundi caretaker sees a young Preshroom growing within the chamber containing Sowverms, they will carefully remove it from the soil and carry it to the chamber containing the other Preshrooms before replating it.

When a Regalian Fossorundi king enters the colony and has bred with the resident queen, he will enter the chamber containing the Sowverms and the Preshrooms and eat a few of them before going on his way. The Preshroom spores can be carried a decent distance by the king until he enters another colony. When he defecates within the waste/Sowverm chamber, these Preshrooms will be treated like the other Preshrooms that were already present within the colony. If Preshrooms are regurgitated by the king outside of a colony, they then face competition with their close relatives and usually don’t last long.

Alright guys! Here is a species of Supershroom specialized for being a species of crop! Any comments and feedback will be appreciated!

Name: Bruhlios (Fraternignathus spp.)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Cilios (Ciliognathus spp.)
Habitat: Global (Sagan 4)
Size: 10 µm to 20 µm Long
Support: ?
Diet: Detritivore, Consumer (other microbes)
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Binary Fission, Conjugation

The Bruhlios split off from their ancestors, becoming more active and predatory and hunting other microbial organisms. The Bruhlios developed an extended proboscis that is quite mobile to help them with sensing the environment. Most species also possess organelles that are specialized for detecting the differences between light and dark, helping them with detecting movement and respond accordingly. If the proboscis rubs up against detritus or another microbe, the cilia that line their bodies will latch onto the meal and bring it closer to their oral grove to then be enveloped and digested. The cilia that line their bodies also help the Bruhlios with moving around in the water column, since they are still strictly aquatic. While the genus group is most abundant within the oceans, they are also present in brackish and freshwater habitats all over Sagan 4 and have thousands of species. Species that are specialized to living within freshwater habitats possess contractile vacuoles to expel excess water.

For the most part, Bruhlios reproduce through binary fission, splitting into two identical clones of the parent. On certain occasions, however, Bruhlios will partially fuse together and exchange genetic material via swapping micronuclei before separating. This in turn promotes genetic diversity, which is particularly helpful for Bruhlios when they experience great environmental stress and they need to adapt quickly.

Alright! Here is my first ever submission relating to microbes! Do give your thoughts on these if you can! Also if you get what these guys reference, kudos to you.

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Aug 31 2022, 05:51 PM

Minibees (Xenoapicula spp.) (alien little bee)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Xenobees
Habitat: Wallace, Koseman, Fermi, Vonnegut, Steiner, Ramul, Drake, Barlowe, Lamarck, LadyM Ocean (floating flora), Mnid Ocean (floating flora), Jujubee Ocean (floating flora)
Size: 1.25-3 cm long
Support: ?
Diet: Nectarivore, Spores
Respiration: Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation: Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat, Heat-Trapping Fuzz); Regional Endotherm (Cephalic Segment and Abdomen)
Reproduction: Sexual (Hermaphroditic, Eggs)

Minibees split from their ancestor, originating in Wallace and spreading to many landmasses thanks to topship fuzzpalms out at sea providing a source of nectar. They are significantly smaller than their ancestors, making them less conspicuous to predators and better able to access smaller flowers. They have shorter, rounder, more aerodynamic bodies, as well as more fuzz even on their carapace to keep them warm. The bulbous shape of the abdomen serves to raise their eyes enough to see in front of them. Their wings are optimized for forward flight, rather than backward, and the three front-most wing parts have tiny claws allowing minibees to shuffle on the ground and climb with ease. They are important pollinators, and have even taken over as the main pollinators for some flora due to their smaller size and climbing adaptations, but they have not replaced the xenobees.

The rods of minibee wings are flexible and can be bent by tendons inside of them, like the wings of other xenobees, but they snap back straight when relaxed. However, minibees have a locking mechanism that holds the tendon in place and allows them to stay bent when clinging to flora without getting tired. The sudden straightening of the wings can launch them into the air for flight. Taking flight can dislodge hairs, which irritate the eyes of predators, though they lack the poisons of their distant batworm ancestors.

The nests of minibees are located in trees and are made from silk and bits of flora. They often use wood and bark for the exterior to disguise it, while the interior might use a variety of leaves and crystal shells to produce floors and walls. The nests are expanded over time, and they sometimes have secondary nests either as an extension of the main nest or attached somewhere nearby in the same tree. Larger nests will have an open cavity where a minibee can comfortably fly in the middle. An especially popular nest location is within a tree hollow where they are well-hidden and most of the work is done for them. Inside the nests, they store honey and spores. When a minibee dies inside the nest, its carcass is dropped from the nest and usually falls to the ground to be collected by scavengers later. Their honey is usually yellowish because it is made using sugary nectar, unlike the green honey of their ancestors which was made using differently-colored compounds.

Minibees store honey, but do not exclusively eat it in that form. Instead, they mix it with the spores produced by many of the flora they pollinate to produce something resembling bread, which is easier to transport than either ingredient on its own. Social and altruistic, and with every individual being an important part of the colony and its gene pool, minibees will bring this bread to their young, sick, and injured, which will repeatedly lick the air to communicate their hunger. Rarely, they have also been observed offering bread to unrelated small fauna that they perceive as “injured” because of a similar gesture, such as the tongue-flicking of sweetworms, as the instinct to aid one another is strong enough to overcome species boundaries.

Minibees are hermaphroditic and mate several times a year. They are not eusocial, unlike the Terran bees they are named for. They typically mate while out foraging, having a preference for mating outside their colony to maintain genetic health, though they will mate inside their colony over winter. When a colony grows too large to gather enough food, it splits up, with many young minibees leaving to join with dispersers from other colonies to found a new one.

It is inaccurate to call the offspring of minibees, or of any xenobee or batworm in general, larvae. They are flightless, but technically do bear wings with underdeveloped membranes. As they grow, so too do the membranes, becoming more extensive by covering the chitinous wing rods in translucent skin. After an initial helpless stage where they must be fed directly, the juveniles are actually quite active and climb around the inside of the nest, unlike other batworms, exercising their wing muscles by hopping and fluttering around the nest. Flightless juveniles aid in caring for those even younger. They become capable of prolonged flight when they reach about two-thirds of their adult length after about 3 weeks, at which point they graduate to gathering food and live on for as long as 3 months.

Image caption: Juvenile, indeterminate species, enjoying some honey. Note the shorter fuzz and small wings with incomplete membranes.


There are many species of minibee, which are often colored such that they are inconspicuous in and around their nests. They generally depend on trees or shrubs as nest sites, but in the absence of these they can also nest on cliffs. Temperate and subpolar minibee species hibernate over winter. They do not stay asleep the entire time, however. They periodically wake up to mate and lay eggs, feed from their food supply, remove their dead, and patch damage to the nest, and their movement keeps the nest warm enough that they do not freeze. Species in the coldest subpolar, polar, and montane biomes often have longer, denser fuzz to keep warm and allow them to stay awake for longer during the year. Some species that pollinate floating flora nest on beaches and wait for food to come to them, at which point they go on a nectar- and spore-gathering frenzy which earns them enough honey to last until the next opportunity.

Terrestrial Cloudbubble (Bubblephyta terrestrialis)
Creator: Primalpikachu
Ancestor: Cloudbubble
Habitat: Lamarck Peak, Lamarck Alpine, Lamarck Highboreal, Lamarck Rocky, Lamarck highvelt
Size: 5cm long for individuals; 100 meters for colonies
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Unknown
Reproduction: Asexual (Binary Fission) Sexual (Spores)

This descendant of the Cloudbubble has almost completely lost its relationship with the Cloudbubble Cryoutine as a means to conserve energy and thus, it can no longer fly. Instead, it has evolved as a pioneering carpeting flora to cover the forest floor and trunks of larger flora. Due to the scarcity of aeroplankton and minerals in the sky, this rapidly reproducing flora began housing fewer and fewer Cloudbubble Cryoutines in order to float in lower, more nutritious skies. Eventually a descendant came about that had so little Cloudbubble Cryoutine that it settled on Lamarck Peak. Just as fecund as its ancestor, The Terrestrial Cloudbubble spread rapidly from the peak and colonized the neighboring alpine and highboreal habitats. Eventually it would establish a presence in most of the harsh environments of Lamarck such as the Rocky, Highvelt, and Tundra.

The tendrils once used for capturing aeroplankton now serve to anchor the plant and to absorb nutrients. Tendrils which grew on the underside of the organism lost their pigment and act similar to roots, while the tendrils on the top side act similar to leaves. It is able to create root networks in order to share nutrients with its neighbors and to signal for reproduction. Should the root network of the Terrestrial Cloudbubble detect the presence of a competing flora by the complete lack of Hydrogen producing Cloudbubble Cryoutine, the network will actively try to choke out the competitor by increasing root production around the threat in an attempt to cut off its nutrients. Furthermore, it is able to use the little Cloudbubble Cryoutines it has to flood the soil with asphyxiating Hydrogen gas which stunts and redirects rival root systems. This aggressive strategy in addition to the Terrestrial Cloudbubble's own support network allows it to quickly establish a presence in its environment by literally choking out small flora without bringing harm to itself due to the colony's ability to share nutrients from areas that are not flooded by Hydrogen such as flora trunks or rocks. On the other hand if a conspecific is detected, the colony will immediately begin incorporating it into the colony by sharing resources with it.

It reproduces both by asexual binary fission and sexual coordinated broadcast spawning. When it is time to reproduce, a chemical signal is sent throughout the root network which causes all the individuals within that area to produce and be ready to fertilize spores. Then when the time is right, all the mature individuals in the area will release their spores to be carried by the wind or water. Like their ancestor, the spores are captured, fertilized and released again into the world.

Due to its flatter shape, the Terrestrial Cloudbubble is able to resist damage caused by fauna stepping on it. This more spread out shape and high reproduction rates helps it to carpet the forest floor and barren ground very quickly, creating an abundant food source for herbivores as well as creating soil for future flora. As a result, the terrestrial Cloudbubble is a pioneer species.

Should a fire burn down a section of forest, these are one of the first organisms to grow back; they're naturally attracted to light, so they are often seen running high up tall flora, or accumulating densely in clearings.

I have also included a supplemental image showing anatomical features in the form of a side view

Ruddy hawklette (Muscacetus magnumalus [big bad fly whale])
Creator: Oofle
Ancestor: Sruglettes
Habitat: Wallace Tropical Rainforest, Icthy Tropical River, North Terra Tropical River, Terra Swamp, Ichthy Swamp
Size: 24 centimeters long (from beak tip to end of tail, excluding lower tail fin)
Support: unknown
Diet: adult: carnivore (Xenowasp, Xenobees, Stinkers, Uniwingworms, Dragonworms, Sruglettes, Songsauce piper (small fledglings), Carnofern flugwurm (adults), Glideabovi (rarely), Dartirs) larva: omnivore (Ichthy River netwhorl, Ichthy gilltail, Leafed swarmer, Honey toadtuga (tadpoles), Spineless toadtuga (tadpoles), Thorny toadtuga (tadpoles), Common fraboo (larvae and pupae), Carnosprawl (young individual’s leaves), Scuttlers, Neuks (individuals laying eggs or protecting eggs/larvae, eggs, and larvae), Sanguine o’ spheres, Miniswarmers, Belumbias, Mistswarmers (flying low over water), Pioneeroots, Marbleflora, Snotflora, Twinkorals, Flashkelps (usually not preferred due to the defensive display of light), Keryhs, Colonialballs, Chainswarmers, Minikruggs (aquatic species), Minifees, Mudferra (usually not preferred, the high iron content is displeasing), Cloudswarmers (larvae and spawning individuals), Larands, Toxiglobes, Gushitos (flying low over water, usually not preferred, the high iron content is displeasing), Larvabacks, Frabukis, Swarmerweed, Sapworms (flying low over water), Sruglettes (larvae, small species flying low over water or swimming))
Respiration: Juvenile: Active (Gill) Adult: Active (Lung-like Gill)
Thermoregulation: heterotherm (muscle vibration)
Reproduction: sexual, spawning in water, two genders

Lately, a rather old group of aerial binucleids has been gaining new diversity, and this hasn’t left some of their closest relatives in the air unaffected. The Sruglettes are a fairly new group of flying fauna, even compared to the Srugeing which had only evolved a few million years ago. They have still been rather limited in their niches, being first and foremost mid-air hunters of small fauna and not managing much else, until now, that is. With the advent of many new diverse genera of flying Wingworms (ironically a much older lineage than the Surge Gilltails as a whole), the Sruglettes had both new competition and new potential prey items. One lineage had begun to become a bit bigger though, and began to hunt larger prey items in turn.

The Ruddy Hawklette has multiple adaptations to facilitate this macropredatory lifestyle, with a raptorial hooked beak and strong jaw muscles to go with them. Not to mention their much larger body size, which allows them to tackle much larger prey as well. Perhaps one of the most impressive feats that the Ruddy Hawklette manages is the hunting of young Songsauce Pipers, repetitively crushing their bodies in its strong beak while it drowns them by repeatedly bobbing up and down in the water as it does with other large prey like Dragonworms and larger Sruglettes. Smaller prey is most often swallowed whole mid-air as it is caught. The Ruddy Hawklette is quite fond of Wingworm prey, even chasing down stinkers as it lacks an advanced olfactory system and its tastebuds aren’t particularly sensitive, and being mostly too fast and agile for the predators that would usually find it by smell after it gets stung by one of the worms.

Also of note is an enlarged section of fin ray in the wings, acting analogously to the pterostigma of some Terran insects, most relevantly dragonflies, allowing the Ruddy Hawklette to glide for some distance without being interrupted by wing flutter; this function is important not only for hunting and conserving energy in flight, but also is somewhat important for their reproduction, which will be covered later.

The Ruddy Hawklette is surprisingly lacking in its own predators, likely due to its roughly intermediate size (too small to be a worthy target for the Coastwoodufo, too large to be hunted by Interbiats or predatory Wingworms) and agility, often flitting about much like a dragonfly even through the fairly dense rainforest and over the wetlands. Its young, on the other hand, do not have such a luxury, being born small and vulnerable from eggs deposited during a rather messy spawning ritual. The adult Ruddy Hawklettes will pair up and then skim the water alongside each other, mixing the eggs and milt around by wiggling their tail fins as they do so. The eggs will rest scattered in loose lines on the muddy riverbed (though they will lay them in smaller bodies of water like ponds as well, the ecological standpoint provided applies to the Northern Terra Tropical River and Ichthy Tropical River due to their permanency) and eventually hatch after a matter of days, the fry being rather large and well-developed, which is important for the next step in their survival. They start out transparent, seeking out the distinctive scent of Snotflora, Marbleflora, or Toxiglobes and gorging themselves on them. Rather than being fatally poisoned by this dietary choice, the larvae incorporate the toxins of these flora into their flesh, eventually turning a bright red as they mature further to advertise their acquired toxicity to predators like the Wadesnapper or Netoris Ukjaw, albeit many are still consumed as they are still rather small and contain low concentrations of the toxins. As they reach a larger size however, they experience much less of this predation, as they become significantly toxic from their time of feeding on the poisonous flora. Upon reaching this stage, they become much more generalist, consuming a wider range of flora and beginning to hunt down fauna to fuel their rapid growth.

Caption: A ruddy hawklette haring, around 2-3 weeks old and already a fairly aggressive predator for its size.

Indeed, by only their fourth week of life, these “harings” may be seen leaping out of the water and flapping their pectoral fins in short glides, preparing their wing muscles for an adult life of nearly constant flight; their development does slow quite a bit in regards to size by this time however. Regardless of the reduction in size increase, they will still become mostly free of the water by the seventh week, buzzing along through the forest like their parents, who will most likely indeed happen to meet them, as Ruddy Hawklettes do have a fairly long lifespan (for a Sruglette) of 4 or so Saganian years; which is fairly easy for them to attain as they are not limited by a temperate climate and are a good bit larger than most other species in their genus, as well as the aforementioned disturbing lack of significant predators. It should be noted that adult Ruddy Hawklettes are mostly non-toxic, and contain either negligible amounts of or no toxins in their flesh due to the fact that, for obvious reasons, adult Ruddy Hawklettes are no longer consuming the toxic flora that they would obtain these poisons from.

This post has been edited by Oofle: Jan 23 2023, 07:45 PM

Name: Russet-Ridged Pasakerd (Sclerophryosaurus rubricristus)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Lumbering Pasakerd (Sclerophryosaurus geluavagor)
Habitat: Drake Steppe, Drake Prairie, Drake Polar Scrub, Drake Mamut, Drake Tundra, Drake Badlands, Drake Rocky, Drake Highvelt
Size: 2.5 meters long
Support: Exoskeleton (Chitin), Endoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Herbivore (Suncatcher Plyent, Fuzzweed, Thorny Hedgelog, Botryrophis, Eastward Luroot, Brickbark Ferine saplings, Baseejie saplings, Wafflebark Ferine saplings, Greater Lahn, Xidhorchia, Purple Poison Shrub, Snow Puff, Toxplage, Windbulb, Frostmelter, Purple Orbibom, Umbrella Plyent, Syrup Ferine, Greatcap Baseejie saplings, Glountain, Crystalfir fruit and saplings, Polar Cellulosebane, Tundra Plyent, Dreidalbulb, Tundra Orbibom, Glassleaf, Polar Spade-Leaf, Arid Ferine, Sproutstalk, Emeraldfir fruit and saplings, Lurcup saplings, Pagoda Crystal, Forest Quone, Yule Hedgelog, Qudokus, Pioneeroots, Marbleflora, Cryobowls, Glaalgaes, Larands, Sunstalks, Supershrooms, Sapshrooms)
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Setae)
Reproduction: Sexual, Hermaphrodites, Lays Brood of Eggs in pits

With the spread of prairies and scrub over the continent of Drake, it was only a matter of time before the pasakerds, who were already generalistic grazers, would rapidly spread their range and diversify. A general trend was for the pasakerds to rapidly grow in size, eventually splitting off from the rest of the species to become a distinct taxon of their own right.

At a casual glance this new species, known as the Russet-Ridged Pasakerd, is pretty similar to their ancestors in terms of anatomy and habits. This is due to having a pretty similar lifestyle, where they live their lives as generalistic grazers that hoover up whatever vegetation they come across. The teeth of these herbivores are relatively simple for the most part, being simply used to grab foliage so it can then be swallowed whole. If the flora is too big to be swallowed whole, the Russet-Ridged Pasakerd will then use its powerful jaws to rip it apart into chunks that can then be swallowed. Because there is almost no chewing at all, Russet-Ridged Pasakerds have an enlarged digestive tract to extract as much nutrients as they can from what they eat. This is also partially the reason why these pasakerds have become much bigger, as a larger size means they can house those guts. The large size of this species additionally helps them retain heat more efficiently, which alongside their dense coats of setae allow them to handle the especially cold winters of Drake’s interior.

Much like their ancestor, Russet-Ridged Pasakerds do not form social bonds with others of their kind, merely traveling together as they head towards the same sources of food. These “herds” can often be hundreds if not thousands strong, being constantly on the move as they mow down any low growing vegetation. While Russet-Ridged Pasakerds will generally eat whatever vegetation is available, they will go after higher nutrient bits of flora like fruits and berries when they can. This can result in scuffles between individual pasakerds as they fight over these choices bits of flora, which in turn are selected for brighter colors and more elaborate crests on their heads to intimidate one another. These small moments of conflict favor the larger individuals with more colorful crests, as they can push and shove their way onto these higher nutrient meals. The powerful forelimbs of these pasakerds still help with digging, whether this relates towards them digging out energy-rich roots or for reproduction-related tasks.

Because of their greater size, Russet-Ridged Pasakerds can’t really dig out burrows anymore so they instead will make a shallow pit in the ground. From there, they will generally produce around a hundred eggs in a single batch before burying them. After the eggs are buried, the parent will abandon them and rejoin the herd. Many eggs are often eaten by small nest raiders, and the young that do hatch and dig their way to the surface are still vulnerable to predators. These youngsters will stick together for mutual protection, until they find a herd of adult Russet-Ridged Pasakerds and join them. Life for these youngsters is hard, as they may get accidentally trampled underfoot by the adults and will be pushed away from ideal feeding sites. Additionally, their small size means they are vulnerable to social carnivores like Sprinting Bubbleskins and Feral Tuskents who mob the herds, leading to a good portion of the youngsters dying before ever reaching sexual maturity. To combat this somewhat, Russet-Ridged Pasakerds grow extremely fast, reaching their adult size in a matter of two years though they can start breeding after just one.

Although the adults are too big for things like the Sprinting Bubbleskins and Feral Tuskents to tackle, they do have a couple regular predators. The first is the Tyrant Crested Limbless, a giant ambush predator whose powerful jaws and gigantic tusk-like teeth mean they can easily take down an adult Russet-Ridged Pasakerd if they catch it off guard. The relative rarity of this limbless, however, means the most prevalent threat for adult Russet-Ridged Pasakerds is the Polar Baron. These giant snappers will regularly follow the herds, picking off individuals who lag behind or get separated and lost. If a Russet-Ridged Pasakerd is threatened by a Polar Baron, it will rely on both its sharp crests and powerful jaws to defend itself. The fangs of their ancestors, once used to help aid in digging, have now become large tusks that can leave a nasty bite to any potential threats, even a Polar Baron. A head on confrontation can thus be quite dangerous for both prey and predator, and as such Polar Barons prefer to catch the pasakerds by surprise when possible.

Alright boys! Here is the first of two pasakerds I have in the works! Any feedback on this species will be highly appreciated!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Sep 9 2022, 10:38 PM

Doctor Pickle (Crystallomuria medicus)

Creator: colddigger
Ancestor: Creeping Crystal
Habitat: Slarti Subpolar Riparian, Slarti Mudflat, Drake Prairie, Flisch Subpolar Beach
Size: 250 Centimeters
Diet: Photosynthesis, Detritivore
Support: Chitin Plates, Turgor in Red Tissue
Respiration: Passive (Lenticels)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual, Spores, Fruiting Body, Asexual Root Budding

The doctor pickle split from its ancestor, and spread out to the surrounding prairies and beaches. The areas they colonize end up being rather devoid of other flora, resulting in low biodiversity. These colonies, called wards, commonly span a few hectares in size pocked with the fat crystals in a mildly uniform fashion. Fauna life may use it as a temporary home, a possible place to rest or to hide and recover. However the only thing consistent to eat here are the crystals themselves, and doctor pickles put up a fight.

Defense

At the very top of the crystal, past the growth point of the photosynthetic plates, exists a distinct organ system derived from the hollow-based reproductive structure of its lineage. A hollow, whoopee cushion shaped, sac sits inside at the very top of the crystal. It acts as a massive reservoir for compounds that flood in, produced by the surrounding tissue. These compounds, much of which are derived from the devastating cellulosebane fumigant, form a mace-like cocktail that burns the skin, eyes, and mouths of any would be herbivores. Surrounding this sac is tissue that can squeeze it in order to force it's contents out. This is achieved by rapidly moving water out from this tissue into the surrounding body and flattening the sac. This pushes the mace upward through a funnel valve, housed in a multi-plated horn on top, that atomizes the mace into a puff that wafts and fills the surrounding air.

It must be mentioned that these doctor pickle compounds, though less devastating when taking affect in comparison to their ancestral chemistry, are considerably more effective over all in their ability to defend their creator, being able to burn or irritate mucus membrane and wet tissue in general. The cellulosebane fumigant of old had acted in a more selective manner toward living things that relied on wood, or cellulose, destroying tissue to the point of death. Having been coupled with the gratuitous and unrestrained release of spore clouds the airborne weapon of the cellulosebane had forced a disastrous selection process on its environment, Plents, Purple Flora, and Black Flora were destroyed indiscriminately through entire biomes. This kind of action, coupled with such a specialized weapon, meant creating a world filled with hungry fauna completely unfazed by their clouds of doom and with nothing to eat but the crystals themselves.

The doctor pickle has side stepped such folly, as had been previously described, with application being more reserved in release, more general in what it can affect, and less devastating in results.

Fruiting Body

Reproduction through spores has been redeveloped. Unlike many terrestrial crystals, which form and store their spores directly in the inner hollow (if they're of the hollow crystal lineage) of either branches or their main body and then open up to release them, doctor pickles form a more specialized organ. The only branch, or limb, that this crystal will grow is a fruiting body, and only grows one every two years. Fruiting bodies consist of a brittle stalk mostly made of green tissue with a cord of red tissue lacking any hollow filling its center, a round nearly completely hollow ball on the end of the stalk, and long wiry strands of red tissue directly exposed hanging off a single point on this ball opposite of the stalk. These long red strands act both to catch wind or flowing water, or get stuck on passing fauna. All these options work to snap the fruiting body away violently and carry it off somewhere else.

The hollow ball of the fruiting body can actually float on water. It often gets moved by the resulting streams from glacial or snow melt, and can be shipped along beaches with tides and currents.

Phototropism and Movement

Being a member of the hollow crystal lineage it bears a distinct air filled chamber in it's center. The immediate tissue surrounding this hollow chamber has taken up a more mobile role. Through the act of osmosis portions of the chamber wall expand to deform it's shape, while networks of thin tendon-like strips of tissue shrink between the surface of the doctor pickle and the hollow chamber, so as to morph the shelled surface into a greater area for potential photosynthesis. This movement is controlled by each plate providing chemical signaling when struck by light, the intensity of the chemical signal corresponds in kind with the intensity of the light. Because of this movement the surface of this organism slowly ripples throughout the day, then settles into a more cylindrical shape at night. If damaged the surface can more rapidly contract from the point of contact, this allows the mace horn to be aimed slightly more at the source of danger.

Internal Movement of Water and Nutrients


F1. Close up of the layering of permeable and impermeable tissues; F2. Close up of osmotic bulbs and passage polyps; F3. Close up of nitrogen fixing microbial colony layers.

Like it's cellulosebane crystal ancestor, the internal soft tissue of doctor pickle is made up of sheets of tissue distinguished by an impermeable layer between them and joined together by masses of structures called osmotic bulbs and passage polyps that act as its means of water and nutrients transport. Both of these structures find their developmental origin in the impermeable layer cells. From there they push their way into both adjacent sheets of red tissue and differentiate into the more complex mature organs.

The osmotic bulb acts like an osmotic pump, it is an organ comprised of three distinct pieces; the outlet manifold, the reservoir sac, and the squeeze tissue.
Water from the surrounding tissue enters the squeeze tissue, which inflates considerably. Once a threshold of water content difference between the squeeze tissue and the reservoir sac exists then the squeeze tissue begins dumping it's water contents into the reservoir sac it surrounds. A second threshold is met once the reservoir is full and the behavior of the squeeze tissue returns to the previous mode. This inflation causes pressure to occur on the reservoir sac and forces water up and through the outlet manifold, which passes through the impermeable layer, then from which it enters and spreads into the above sheet of red tissue.

Passage polyps are much larger structures comprised of two basic parts, the trunk and the exchange tendrils. The exchange tendrils actively and passively take in and release compounds to allow back and forth exchange of nutrients and hormones between layers. The tendrils of neighboring passage polyps have extreme proximity, this allows the concentration of nutrients entering a layer to be highest nearest the next polyp in line to continue the flow to the next layer, it even allows these structures to bypass releasing into the layer at all if needed (for example hormonal signals meant for tissue not immediately adjacent to one another).The trunk acts as a means to attach the pair of tendril clusters as well as control the flow of substances, becoming a kind of check point for more complex compounds that could be potentially toxic or unnecessary to be broken down; in this sense it could be compared to a simple liver, though very small.


Size comparisons between osmotic bulbs and a passage polyp, as well as display of 3d shape of those organs.

Nitrogen Fixation

This layer of red tissue, dense with transport structures, permeable tissues, and shifting shapes, comprises only the outer third of the inner tissue of a doctor pickle crystal. Further in the two red tissue layers switch ratios, the impermeable layer opening up to house huge colonies of [[Nitrocycle]] that make up the remaining two thirds of the crystals inner mass. This hollow microbiome provides a substantial portion of the nitrogen it's housing organism uses to survive in exchange for a safe place to thrive and reliable supply of sugars and other nutrients. Lining the walls of the central hollow itself is a layer of firm tissue that acts as a base for the thin tendons to reach past the Nitrocycle layer and allows the crystal shape to be manipulated.

Gas Exchange

Gas exchange is performed along the spaces between the photosynthetic green plates. The red tissue in these cracks are slightly spongy with pores, these pores are the entryways to vast networks of tubes that pass through the impermeable layers. Gaseous oxygen is dissolved from these tubes into a thin mucus layer belonging to the trunks of passage polyps, these structures then transfer the dissolved oxygen into the surrounding tissues alongside other compounds while preventing foreign bodies that may have entered the air tubes from further infiltrating. These air tubes lead all the way to the Nitrocycle layers and allows a continual feed of atmospheric nitrogen to reach them.

Outer Plates of Green Tissue

The green plates that cover the surface of the crystal are much stouter than many of its relatives and ancestors, this is to allow greater shifting to capture sunlight with the movement of its surface. This photosynthetic tissue is, like with all true crystals, actually an obligate symbiont with a distinct genome and body structure of its own. Compared to it's red tissue counterpart the green tissue has become relatively simplified, relying on much of its nutrient transport and care to be the responsibility of its partner.

The body of the green tissue is discontinuous, the plates are not directly fused but rather even use the red tissue for communicating amongst itself. The structure of a single plate is not homogenous. The innermost sections are wafer thin sheets, infiltrated by red tissue, where nutrient exchange occurs between the two tissues. Gas exchange occurs here for the green tissue, one of the few things the plate does not directly rely on the red tissue for, entering pores in the green wafers that become tubes that feed out into the rest of the plate.Traveling outward these sheets become thicker, the red tissue becoming less pronounce, the cell walls in this region are particularly thick and dense to act as the main supporting structure of the plate. In many crystals this structure provides a significant portion of the body's support as the plates span the length of the entire organism above ground, However in Doctor Pickle its support is less important. More of the structural support is provided by firm red tissues and turgor playing off one another. The outer layer of the green plate is devoid of red tissue, and packed tightly with photosynthetic cells, under a layer of thickly walled protective epidermal cells.

Roots




F1 storage lobes, f2 transport cords, f3 indistinct red tissue of root, b2 green tissue dormant bud, b1 growing tip shield

The root structure, being a crystal flora, lacks any bark or covering to separate it from the outside environment beyond its thin epidermis. The reason for this is because it uses this entire surface as a means of actively digesting it's surroundings. Due to the release of digestive enzymes into the surrounding soils, it results in changing the local soil environment into something not very hospitable to most pathogens or potential parasites. The various compounds released by the root into the soil already creates an environment not particularly welcoming to purple Flora or other competitive organisms, but it also releases compounds found in its ancestral lineage of cellulosebane which have an adverse effect on the cell walls of various Flora that rely on cellulose. This allelopathic affect is what causes the areas colonized by this organism to appear so barren.

Extending out from the initial surface of the root are many heavily branching hands which continue to Branch into hyphae-like bristles or villi with the explicit purpose of increasing the surface area similarly to the root hairs of Earth plants or the mycelium of Earth fungi, playing a role similar to both. The tissue structure of these bristles and hands are not distinguishable from the surrounding tissue of the root itself, nutrients and water taken in passively flow through the tissue toward the main root.

In the more developed portion of the root toward the center, once getting past the indistinct red tissue, what is found is that the tissue gradually becomes more organized in a fashion comparable to the layering found in the above ground body of the doctor pickle, with long layers of cells where nutrients and water passively move about separated by an impermeable layer dotted with structures for forcing material in a particular direction.

Even further toward the center of the root are dense lobes of no particular uniform shape, these dense structures are used by the organism as long-term storage of various materials including water and starches and fats. If the crystal takes up toxic compounds it gets stored in these lobes, the cell clusters forming hard cysts that then become cut off from the rest of the organism.

Throughout the indistinct outer layers of red tissue in the roots, there can be found small beads of green tissue, essentially buds, that remained dormant until a particular threshold distance from the above ground body is reached. Distances depend on genetic variables of the colony, which in turn determine hormone sensitivity and production, both of which control this dormancy. Commonly this distance ends up being 4-5 meters between crystals. These buds don't have any particular arrangements in the roots, they're shed by the root tip shield into the red tissue as the root grows.

At the very end of the root the root tip shield can be found which acts as a hard casing that the growing tip can shove through soil so as not to be damaged as it extends. This root tip does not take part in sensing the contents of its surroundings, nor taking up nutrients or water. Both of those jobs are left to the growing red tissue behind it.

Reproduction



Mitosis

The cells of both the red and green tissues are dikaryotic, a trait that has been with the lineage since first diverging from Protosagania. The replication and proliferation of the somatic cells of the binucleid lineages must go through closed nucleus mitosis, unless otherwise having developed alternatives, in order to maintain chromosomal number stability. The method of mitosis among the cells of the doctor pickle are unremarkable among the crystal lineages.

Mitosis starts off with spindles of microtubules growing to attach the two nuclei to the equivalent of the four cardinal directions in the cell. One nucleus to the north and west, the other to the south and east (or some other rotationally symmetrical version of this). In a North East, South West orientation contractile rings develop around the respective membranes of both nuclei, and in the same orientation a microtubule tether appears joining the two contractile rings. The chromosome at this point have condensed and formed chromatids, duplicated and ready for division.

Next the spindles begin to contract, pulling the nuclei into elongate forms. The tether between them causes a sickle shape to occur, and prevent the nucleus from being pulled against the cell membrane by the nonopposing forces of the spindles. During this process of karyokinesis, the splitting of the nuclei, chromatids inside are being pulled apart toward each spindle point as well.

Once the chromatids are separated the nuclear contractile rings begin pinching off the middle of the membraneous layer they attach to. Further out, along the cell membrane a third and much larger contractile ring develops to begin splitting the cytoplasm in the cell. Soon after, the nuclei are split entirely, the tether and contractile rings completely disassembled with four resulting daughter nuclei, two, one copy of each original nucleus, residing in the two developing cell lobes divided by a quickly receding passageway. Shortly afterward the cytoplasmic contractile ring closes entirely and cytokinesis is complete.

Meiosis or Gamete Production

Meiosis, the process of creating the haploid cells destined to venture away as spores, starts off by performing the previously described mitosis. Though not an entirely necessary step from a minimalist point of view, after a cell is dictated to create haploid spores the act of performing mitosis then doubles the number of spores to be created. The dikaryotic daughter cells then merge their two haploid nuclei to create single diploid nuclei inside themselves. Inside the freshly formed diploid nucleus chromatids are formed, and nuclear exchange between pairs occur. After this the cells divide in more typical karyotic fashion with spindles at their north and south poles. However their nucleus remains intact during the division process, continuing to perform closed mitosis. Because of the chromatid duplication the resulting daughter cells are diploid, and the process of binary fission is executed once more as is typical during meiosis to finally yield four haploid cells each, totaling eight spores.

Fruiting Body Internal Structures

From a macroscopic glance the inner walls of the mostly hollow fruit body appears fuzzy and off-red in color. A closer look reveals a complex arrangement comprised of two types of tiny structures, both originating from red tissue and green tissue. The first structure, the tallest, is a fan shaped outcrop called a flabellum turris directly attached to the green tissue wall of the fruit body. These brittle towers line the inner wall like fingerprints, twisting around in labyrinthian manners. Along their top crest are narrow fragile shards. These tiny structures are the sporangium tissue of the green half of the doctor pickle crystal conglomeration.

The green sporangiums themselves are initially hollow, the cells that make up their very thin walls begin to go through the process of meiosis and give rise to thousands of spores inside them. These spores take in material as they develop and become comparatively large by the time that they mature and are capable of surviving on their own in the air. Once the spores within the sporangium are mature the structure is no longer hollow, it becomes quite full and ceases production at that point.

Below the flagellum turris growths, painting the channels between them, is a fuzzy film of red spores lightly stuck together. The basal stalks of the flagellum turris leach plasmids meant for identifying their body of origin into this sea, which promptly soaks them up in a silenced state. At the bottom of this sea of spores are the red tissue sporangiums. These soft structures, villi-like in appearance only, have their entire surface covered in cells performing meiosis. This continual stream of haploid cells feeds into the mass of spores above them.
As the fruiting body matures the red sporangia dry up. The green sporangia atop their fan shaped homes begin to burst from the slightest disturbance. Soon the fruiting body breaks off from the crystal, either from wind or fauna brushing across it, this jostling is enough to shatter the bases of the flabellum turris and allow them to freely churn the spore layers inside the hollow orb. The spore cloud escapes through any tears, cracks, or breaks in the thin wall of the fruiting body as it moves and continues to churn.

Lifecycle


simplified depiction of the reproductive cycle.

The method of reproduction for doctor pickle is comparable to other land based crystals, which is itself hardly departed from it's aquatic ancestry.

Spores are initially released from the fruiting body by various means. These spores are either red tissue haploid spores, or green tissue haploid spores. Due to the method in which the doctor pickle crystal produces these spores the green spores number far less and act as a population bottleneck. These initial haploid spores drift about in their environments through the air until they are able to land in a moist portion of soil, or a puddle of some nature. In their new environment they drift about until they come in contact with a haploid spore of their same tissue type originating from a different crystal, their difference in origin is determined by a surface compound essentially creating various mating types. The resulting cell is now considered a dikaryotic protospore, very reminiscent of their binucleid ancestors.

Upon the formation of the red protospore the plasmids that were released, by both parent crystals, activate and begin producing proteins that coat the surface of the cell. These proteins essentially act as a blood type, and can be referred to as such, and are a combination of both parental green tissue blood types. The green protospore also expresses these plasmids, having the same protein results. A red protospore and a green protospore that display the same blood type, or half of a blood type, cannot combine to form a spore modula. They must find a protospore counterpart with an entirely different blood type in order to properly combine to get to the next step of reproduction. Both protopores replicate, in the standard binucleid fashion of mitosis, spreading through an area until they find a potential protospore partner that meets all of their requirements. This results in a spore modula that has essentially four separate parents.

This spore modula, now surrounded by protospores competing for nutrients takes advantage of the combined abilities of its own two protospores to be able to replicate faster than its neighbors and dominate the given area. Pushing out genetically distinct protospores that failed to reach their next step the spore modula forms a fetal sheet. This sheet of cells is not a particularly standard step in the development of a crystal, but does happen to occur among doctor pickle crystals. The fetal sheet is a layer very rich in the heterotrophic red cells that make up a crystal, having yet differentiated and layered into more complex tissues. They house themselves in a mucus which provides a barrier between the actual colony and the outside world and also provides an extra cellular means of holding the colony together. Throughout the colony are the green tissue cells loosely connected to one another, they mainly act as a source of hormonal control stimulating the red cells to proliferate and establish the colony further.

Upon reaching a certain size threshold, the green tissue of the fetal sheet begin to change the growth pattern of the colony. They stimulate the red tissue to begin differentiating at a certain central point, and the green tissue itself begins to thicken and proliferate to surround that point. The green tissue begins forming the more recognizable facets of a crystal, albeit very tiny, while the red tissue inside begins forming the more recognizable tissue layers and organs. As this juvenile spike grows further the sheets of red cells that made up the fetal sheet become overtaken by the more complex differentiated red tissue from that central point and are pushed aside by juvenile roots tipped with green tissue root caps. The tiny juvenile spike resembles a more typical crystal, with the facets reaching from the base to the tip unbroken except along their verticals to create long strips of photosynthetic surfaces. Among doctor pickles these facets usually range 12 to 24 in number and seem to be influenced by blood type.

The manner in which a juvenile spike grows is comparable to the growth of a typical crystal. The the tip of the crystal growing in a vertical manner to increase the height of the organism, with tissue down the body of the crystal from the tip increasing in growth outward, and increased thickness of the structurally supportive layers of the green tissue plates along that same length. This outward growth and thickness of plate is most recognized at the base of the crystal, that area having existed the longest.

Once the juvenile spike reaches a height of about 15-20 cm it deviates from the growth habit of other crystals. Once having reached this height the green plates pinch away from the leading growth tip and become separate body parts. The growth tip repeats the process of growing upward and creating new plates, until that same height is achieved and they pinch off again. Along the edges of these plates the green tissue broadens to allow the transfer of pressure to continue the support of the organism. The red tissue beneath the green plates remains unsegmented, and along these breaks in the plates, where the broad contact edges exist, the majority of gas exchange occurs, reaching behind the plates and into the red tissue. The previous layer of photosynthetic facets continues to widen and increase the footprint of the crystal as it ages. This growth rate is greatest in the bottom handful of rows. The rows along the midsection of the crystal grow in a more uniform rate as the crystal matures, resulting in a shape that is less pyramidal and more cylindrical. A doctor pickle crystal, during a good growing season, is able to put on two or three of these rows before going dormant for the cold long winter.

After the formation of about three or four rows of photosynthetic plates the growing tip begins to change its behavior, elongating further and pinching the inner hollow chamber of the crystal. This pinched off section of hollow red tissue inside the growing tip is then triggered to differentiate and form the defensive organ of the doctor pickle. The tissue at the base of this organ then takes over the role of the growth tip. The new growth ring just beneath the mace horn creates a new row of plates that then continue on the standard growth of the crystal. The size of the mace horn remains fairly constant, the pieces of green tissue that make it up do not grow much at all.

Individuals that have been grown from root buds go through the same process, though skipping any fetal sheets or protospores and simply beginning at the juvenile Spike stage.

Winter Survival

Winter survival is achieved in a not particularly elegant combination of various methods. The cells of all the tissue exude their water into the extracellular space so as not to burst as the water freezes. They then also fill themselves with and the intracellular spaces with sugar and proteins that bind water. This prevents the water from crystallizing even at very low temperatures.

This post has been edited by colddigger: Nov 26 2022, 04:31 PM

*sketch of Flurroom by Project Scientist*

Flurroom (Crescoasterus mimus)
Creator: HethrJarrod
Ancestor: Brushrums
Habitat: Martyk Temperate Woodland Archipelago, Martyk Archipelago Temperate Beaches, Vivus Subpolar Mangal, Martyk Temperate Mangal, Elerd Temperate Mangal, Elerd Temperate Coast, Blocks Subpolar Mangal, Raq Subpolar Coast, Xeno Subpolar Coast, Colddigger Polar Coast, Martyk Temperate Sea
Size: 5 cm wide
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis, Parasite (Tlukvaequabora, Mangrovecrystal, Topship Fuzzpalm), Planktivore, Detrivore
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Airborn Spores), Budding

The Flurroom split from their ancestor, diverging from a benthic lifestyle. They use their tentacles to climb up young Tlukaequabora, Mangrovecrystal, and Topship Fuzzpalms. Every day, when it starts getting too hot or dry, the Flurroom will detach and fall back into the water. It will instinctively attempt to slow its descent by flapping its leaves.

The reproductive method of the Flurroom has changed somewhat from the Brushrums. Like their ancestor, juvenile Flurroom are planktivorous, floating around mangals, soaking up sunlight and filter feeding.

When a Flurroom matures, they will float over to a tree that grows near water. A Flurroom will climb up the tree until it reaches a spot it likes. This spot is usually halfway up the tree and overlooking a pool of water. It must remain near water or risk drying out and dying. It will then start leeching water and nutrients from the host flora with its via a denticle located on its underside. When the day gets too hot and dry, the Flurroom will fall back into the water and cling to the roots, before climbing back up at night.

Reproduction

In the Flurroom, their reproductive organs have started to migrate toward the center of the plant. While still on the edges of the leaves, these run the risk of being eaten, but ones near the center of the Flurroom at the base of the leaves help to mitigate this risk. These growths form a raised portion causing a ring-like form to take shape. When small fauna walk into this ring, the Flurroom flap their leaves to shake off the spores which attach to the organism similar to pollen. It will sometimes shake the spores off even without a trigger if the spores get heavy enough.

Supplemental image:

Fatruck (Properpellis borealis)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Fatcoat
Habitat: Ladym Ocean Subpolar Sunlight Zone, LadyM Ocean Polar Sunlight Zone, North Jujubee Ocean Subpolar Sunlight Zone, Jujubee Ocean Polar Sunlight Zone, North Sagan 4 Ice Sheet, Day Polar Coast, Day Glacial Beach, Bumpy Polar Coast, Bumpy Polar Beach, Flisch Subpolar Coast, Flisch Subpolar Beach, Darkov Subpolar Coast, Darkov Subpolar Beach, Soma Subpolar Sea, Soma Archipelago Subpolar Beaches, Soma Subpolar Beach, Dingus Subpolar Beach
Size: 1.4 meters long
Support: Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood)
Diet: Carnivore (Common Gilltails, Miniswarmers, Islandball Gillfin, Strainerbeak, Slither Longbeak, Clamshut Waterworm, Spotted Shocker, Speckled Spinderorm, Vicious Seaswimmer, Redbone Gilltail, Sunlit Plagu, Wading Leafshell, Marine Arthrofin, Marine Shocker, Marine Gilltail, Marine Filtersquid, Marine Finworm, Marine Urpoi, Probing Gilltail, Finned Filtersquid, Hairy Slitherworm, Surge Gilltail, Globe Gilltail, Blue Gillfin, Ebony Pump Gilltail, Bleedin Waterworm, Sealid, Vicious Gilltail, Cromocanth, Arostrolarian, Protelareous, Hunting Darkswarmer, Ruberarian, Schutzhund Scylarian, Glowlight Scylarian, Maritime Shockshell Gilltail, Snappermaw Scylarian, Scavenger Scylarian, Shorthorn Scylarian, Seafin, Needlenose Scylarian, Thrashing Seaswimmer, Emperor Seaswimmer, Bejeweled Emperor Scylarian, Cornularian, juvenile and weakened Blueback Scylarian, juvenile and weakened Nonessie), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Cotton, Blubber)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Live Birth)

The fatruck split from its ancestor and moved north. It has begun to take advantage of ice to birth its young far out of reach of most predators. It is a carnivore capable of consuming both small and large prey using two strategies, either grabbing small prey with its tongue or biting larger prey to death. It is a social creature which basks, migrates, and hunts in groups of up to 60, which are capable of collectively taking down larger prey. It will also scavenge from carcasses that wash up on the polar beaches, particularly of huge lyngbakrs.

The fatruck’s ears have disappeared completely and it hears entirely using a layer of fat on top of its head and sound-conducting tissue in its skull. Its tail is permanently curved and bound by skin in such a way that its butt nostril has been placed much further up its back, also giving its wooden rod-like spine a distinctive J- or checkmark-shape when isolated from the rest of its skeleton. It is larger than its ancestor and adults are rarely able to stand upright for long, but juveniles will still do so. The fatruck has evolved to molt its coat all at once, similar to a terran seal. This discourages the growth of harmful microbes in its skin and coat and removes most types of external parasite instantly.

The fatruck travels to the ice sheets to breed many times per year, mostly in the late winter and early spring. A female will wait on the ice, watching males in the water attempting to court her. Once she has made a choice between them, she will slide into the water to mate. In about a month, she gives birth to about a dozen white fluffy rat-sized juveniles in a burrow dug in the ice with her tusks. Both parents take part in bringing them food until they are big enough to thermoregulate outside the burrow, which can take up to a month and a half. After this, they float on the water above their parents and the rest of their group until they are able to swim and dive well, which can take anywhere from a week to a few months. They grow rather quickly and reach full size in about 2 years, but don’t start breeding until their third year.

Arboreal Cloudgrass (Nimbaphyta tillandsiamimus)

Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Cloudgrass
Habitat: Spores: Atmosphere (Troposphere); Adults: Darwin Tropical Rainforest, Wallace Tropical Rainforest, Raptor Tropical Rainforest, Darwin Subtropical Rainforest, Dixon Subtropical Rainforest, Barlowe Tropical Rainforest, Barlowe Subtropical Rainforest, Time Subtropical Rainforest Archipelago
Size: 40 cm Tall
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis, Aeroplanktivore (<2 cm)
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Unknown
Reproduction: Sexual (Airborne Spores), Asexual (Macroscopic Binary Fission)

Arboreal Cloudgrass split from its ancestor Cloudgrass. It has come down from the atmosphere and lives in the treetops. Like Earth's Tillandsia (air plants) they live life in branches of other larger flora. Compared to life in the atmosphere it was much more hospitable despite not needing soil to grow.

The thin leaves collect sunlight and help reduce water loss. The main stem-ball is spongy and hollow. Its roots both help it collect water from the air and anchors it to the branches it sits on. It is a tangled mess that wraps around anything it can reach. On the outside of the stem-ball are its sticky tendrils that are used to feed on any aeroplankton.

No longer needing to float in the air it can store much more water than its ancestor could. This helps even in the dry season when rain isn't so abundant. Its vascular system has improved and helps move water and nutrients where they need to go.

Like its ancestor it can reproduce via airborne spores or macroscopic binary fission. The airborne spores are their main method since they can spread them high in the atmosphere. They only use asexual binary fission when there are no other arboreal cloudgrass nearby. If they sense spores of others then they will continue to release spores.

This post has been edited by Hydromancerx: Sep 7 2022, 12:06 PM

Glacialshrog (Luterursus spondyloraptor) (backbone-thief otter-bear)
Creator: Disgustedorite
Ancestor: Wolvershrog
Habitat: North Sagan 4 Ice Sheet, Day Glacial Beach, Day Polar Coast, Bumpy Polar Coast, Bumpy Polar Beach
Size: 4 meters long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Carnivore (Fatruck, Vicious Seaswimmer, Bejeweled Emperor Scylarian, Needlenose Scylarian, Icehog, Emperor Seaswimmer, Migrating Glowsnapper, young and weakened Umbrascale Lyngbakr, young/weakened/isolated male Viridimaw Lyngbakr, juvenile Cruelfang Hafgufa, Arostrolarian, Cervicilarian, Protelareous, Cornularian, Ruberarian, Snappermaw Scylarian, Scavenger Scylarian, Megascooter, Shorthorn Scylarian, Tileback, Wading Leafshell, Elegant Nailfin, Squat Limbless, Purple Phlock, Shortface Sauceback, Feral Tuskent, Blowtongue, Grubnub), Scavenger
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual (Male and Female, Placental, Pouch and Milk)

When Drake drifted over the north pole, there was a drop in temperature which in turn caused the northern ice sheet to advance. Wolvershrogs, unable to control where their nests drifted, commonly became stranded on the ice, as did many other oceanic creatures, most of which died. However, the wolvershrogs had some major advantages which allowed them to survive: their food stores provided ample food while they learned to hunt and craft in their new environment, and as they already hunted prey from their floating nests, they had no trouble doing the same from atop the ice as well. As food supplies ran out and they switched entirely to their new hunting and crafting methods, these trapped wolvershrogs eventually diverged into a new species, the glacialshrog, which ultimately replaced its ancestor in the polar coasts surrounding Drake due to hunting from atop ice being far more energy efficient. This has also caused the wolvershrog to vanish from other polar biomes in Drake, including Bumpy Polar Mangal, Drake Frostwood, and Drake Polar Scrub.

Glacialshrogs, like most shrogs, are tool users, but as no trees can grow on ice, they primarily use tools made from the skeletal components of the various fauna they eat. One of the basic glacialshrog tools is one made from the J- or checkmark-shaped wooden “backbone” of the fatruck, which can be gnawed smooth and modified into a hook or something like a small harpoon. Bones harvested from increasingly large fauna allow the construction of larger, sturdier tools. Glacialshrogs have huge teeth that would allow them to kill most of their prey items on their own, but tools create a handle that can be more easily grabbed and is very effective at slowing their prey down. This makes hunting with tools more consistent and sustainable for meeting their energy needs. Instead, the huge teeth are used to hold onto prey when dragging it onto ice or shore to feast.

As glacialshrogs no longer cut down trees, their tails rapidly reverted back to the purpose it had in their marine tamow ancestors: swimming. The saw has been replaced with a fluke. Likewise, their entire body is more streamlined. Only very large marine predators would mess with a glacialshrog, so there was no need to retain large spikes that create drag. The lunate tail allows glacialshrogs to pursue prey over long distances. A larger wounded prey item such as a young lyngbakr attracts other glacialshrogs to aid in the hunt, and they work as a group to drag their catch onto the ice.

Not all things glacialshrogs eat are caught with tools. Most notably, they will break into fatruck burrows from above to kill and eat the pups using only their teeth and claws. There is often an adult present as well, which a glacialshrog can easily overpower and kill. This is the main way a glacialshrog with no tools will get started--by killing an adult parent fatruck and harvesting its bones. They will also harvest bones, as well as vast amounts of meat, from beached megafauna such as lyngbakrs, as well as hunt terrestrial creatures along the beaches either with or without tools.

Glacialshrogs have far less complicated social lives than wolvershrogs. Hardened by the harsh conditions atop the ice, they are generally more solitary and are unlikely to interact amicably outside of breeding or group mob hunting. Likewise, some of the complexity of their ancestral vocalizations is lost. Family names have vanished entirely and name-barking as a whole is inconsistent. Most other vocalizations and body language remain intact, but amicable vocalizations are almost exclusive to family groups. Glacialshrogs are now also capable of bellowing as a threat. The ancestral image of a benevolent “Santa Claus shrog” is gone, as a glacialshrog is more likely to kill and eat other shrog species that drift too far north than to aid them.

Without any readily-available building material but ice, glacialshrog nests are exclusively made from it. In the permanent ice sheets, they make spherical nests that might remind one of an igloo, where they store tools and pack chunks of meat in ice for later consumption, effectively using it as a natural deep freezer. This method of food storage also allows glacialshrog parents to leave their young alone for days or even weeks while they hunt, as the juveniles can dig up and thaw some meat to consume whenever they are hungry. Juveniles will also wander from the nest and stab at gilltails and other small fauna through holes in the ice, should they prefer fresh meat, which gives them valuable practice for hunting larger fauna later.

Glacialshrogs form mated pairs, but only for two years. They mate during the summer and have a gestation period of about 9-10 months, giving birth to 3-5 cubs in the spring. Cubs are blind and helpless, but already have a full coat of fur which insulates them against the harsh polar conditions once they’re licked dry. The pouch is present but usually foregone, as glacialshrogs are more aquatic than their ancestor and can’t risk drowning their cubs. Both parents proceed to raise their cubs for about a year longer, but eventually the father leaves and the mother continues raising them alone. At the age of 3, the cubs are able to start learning how to hunt, and they are theoretically capable of independence at 5 but usually stay with their mother until they are 8 years old. Slow growers due to their large brains, like their ancestor they become fertile before they reach full size, though this is more of a consequence of their bodies preparing for adulthood and they don’t always mate at this point. Generally, when they do mate, fertile adolescents will only mate with others their age. They are fertile at 11 years old and fully grown at 13.

Hissing Krugg (Vermimorphoblatta petataeris)

Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Grub Krugg
Habitat Darwin Tropical Rainforest, Wallace Tropical Rainforest, Raptor Tropical Rainforest, Darwin Subtropical Rainforest, Dixon Subtropical Rainforest, Darwin Temperate Rainforest, Darwin Tropical Woodland, Central Wallace Tropical Woodland, Darwin Temperate Woodland, Dixon Tropical Woodland, West Wallace Tropical Woodland, Dixon Subtropical Woodland, Dixon Subtropical Woodland, South Darwin Subtropical Woodland
Size: 10 cm Long
Support: Unknown
Diet: Herbivore (Marbleflora, Pioneeroots, Sapshrooms, Sunstalks, Puffgrass, Thistle Puffgrass, Larandbora, Marblora), Detritivore, Scavenger
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Unknown
Reproduction: Sexual, Many Snail-like Eggs

The Hissing Krugg split from its ancestor the Grub Krugg. It has grown larger and its spiracles have grown bigger. They are able to hiss out of them. This helps scare predators long enough for them to get away. They will typically hide under leaves or under logs. The bright orange on their bodies also helps warn off predators since they are mildly poisonous. Their leather-like chitin exoskeleton has gotten thicker to help protect them if they do get attacked. However it is only useful for defending against smaller predators. As they grow bigger they will molt their exoskeletons. This process leaves them vulnerable so they try to seek out dark hidden locations away from predators.

They are active during the day and graze on mostly flora. They prefer to eat purple flora over black flora. When they do eat detritus it is usually well-rotted carcasses, logs and leaves.

Like its ancestor, its reproductive strategy is to lay many snail-like eggs under the soil so predators cannot find them. They usually pick soil near rotting logs so their offspring have an easy food source when they hatch. In temperate biomes the eggs can stay dormant for months until warmer weather comes.

This post has been edited by Hydromancerx: Sep 9 2022, 10:23 AM

Quillyn (Maxillacornu quilinmimus)
Creator: Hydromancerx
Ancestor: Beach Cheekhorn
Habitat: Hydro Tropical Beach, Fly Tropical Beach, Oz Subtropical Beach, Time Subtropical Beach, Time Archipelago Subtropical Beaches, Barlowe Tropical Mangal, Oz Subtropical Mangal, Time Subtropical Mangal
Size: 3 m Long
Support: Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet: Herbivore (Goldilackaruck, Raft-Building Cone Puffgrass, Pelagic Puffgrass, Carnosprawl, Pioneer Raftballs, Marblora, Coastal Goth Tree, Mainland Fuzzpalm berries, Fuzzweed berries, Fuzzpile berries, Penumbra Fuzzpalm berries, Kack Tower nuts)
Respiration: Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation: Endotherm (Fur)
Reproduction: Sexual, Live Birth, Two Genders, Pouch and Milk

The quillyn split from its ancestor the beach cheekhorns.They have grown larger and have spread to the mangal in Barlowe. Their long legs and long neck allows them to reach food even when wading in the water. They love to eat berries when they are in season. It eats mainly highly digestible tissues, such as berries and tender new leaves. Like their ancestor they are important in spreading the seeds of many flora. They are quick and agile sprinters that can dash away from predators even through water or on sand. Their wide hooves allow them to to not sink in mud or sand.

Their quill-mane now is smooth like scalemail and provides armor from bites to the neck or spine. Males sport vivid colored hair on their chins, cheeks, legs, tails, even whiskers. These bright display makes them stand out. The hairs of these parts are actually clear hairs. The males will rub berry juice on them from the flora they eat. This stains the fur whatever color the berries are. Thus juice from "fuzz" flora typically are cyan while juice from the carnosprawl make the hair red. Females on the other hand have no such tufts on their bodies except for their tails, which is brown like their ancestor. These showy coloration help attract mates. Males will fight over territory by knocking their cheek horns into each other's sides. Most the time, however, they don't actually hit each other and instead the whole display is mostly for show. Their cheek horns have also developed a boney core to help strengthen them. However it can strain their necks when too big. Being modified quills however they can fall off if they get too big. They will regrow them once shed but at a cost to their social standing with other males.

Like the beach cheekhorns they are born without hooves, instead bearing milking claws that give them somewhat of a resemblance to their distant ancestor the quilltail. With these milking claws, young quillyn will grip onto the backsides of their mothers, holding onto them tightly as they go about grazing upon the semi-aquatic flora. Their hooves begin to come in around 6 months after birth. Once they have fully come in and they have reached a sufficiently large size to walk on their own, they will begin to not sink in the mud or sand and such themselves, though will continue to nurse from their mothers until they are about a year old.

Quillyn are crepuscular, being active mostly during the dawn and twilight hours, during which they can take advantage of the cooler air. When sleeping in the shade during the day, one member of the herd is always awake in order to keep guard, a task that is rotated amongst the members from time to time. They are still quite social and will travel in large herds across the mangal and beaches.

Dwarf Obsiditree (Polymelanophylla arbuscula)
Creator: Primalpikachu
Ancestor: Lacy-Leaf Obsiditree
Habitat: Dixon Alpine
Size: 25cm tall
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Airborne Spores)

The Dwarf Obsiditree replaced it ancestor in the Dixon Alpine region. Due to the sparce competition of the area, it has shrunk to one fourth of its former size and has become highly adapted to its harsh environment. Like its ancestor, the Dwarf Obsiditree is a keystone species that provides nutrients to the soil as well as bedding to other organisms.

The overall shape of the Dwarf Obsiditree is very similar to its ancestor aside from the leaves which have become smaller and more rigid with sharp pointed ends similar to Holly plants. This change in leaf structure provides the species with protection from herbivores that may try to eat them and reduces water loss from the leaves and overall water with in the plant. In addition, the Dwarf Obsiditree has become evergreen to take in all the sunlight it can get during the year.

Living in the cold Dixon Alpine, the Dwarf Obsiditree has developed two mechanisms to keep from freezing and obtain warmth. The trunk and branches of the organism are dyed black by the same pigment used for photosynthesis; this gives it the ability to warm its entire body via sunlight more quickly than if it used only its leaves. The plant is also able to store this heat somewhat using its large sap-filled trunk and thick roots to hold in the heat during night time. The Dwarf Obsiditree also utilizes certain proteins found in cold tolerant Terran trees that act as an antifreeze. These antifreeze proteins have the added benefit of making the flora toxic to any organism not adapted to eating it.

Spores are usually released in early to Mid-fall and will overwinter in the ground before germinating in spring. The Dwarf Obsiditree is a slow-growing yet long-lived species, surviving upwards of 100 years due to fewer predators in the Dixon Alpine.

This post has been edited by Primalpikachu: Oct 28 2022, 07:02 PM