Sheltered Gilltail

The sheltered gilltail replaced its ancestor. During daytime, sheltered gilltails hide in crusicruges. At night, they emerge to feed on LadyM korystals. Using crusicruges as shelter and only being active at night help it avoid falling prey to one of its many predators.

Most of the time, sheltered gilltails look much like their ancestors. Most of the time, the only physical differences are the slightly smaller bodies, absence of a fin below the respiratory tube, and proportionally bigger eyes. However, during late summer, female sheltered gilltails grow a small, needle-like ovipositor. The females inject a special toxin into the inner membranes of a crusicruge with this ovipositor. The toxin greatly modifies the crusicruge's hormones, sterilizing it and making it grow bigger in a more upright shape. As a result, the enlarged crusicruge effectively becomes a protective wall. The female lays only one egg into each crusicruge, and each sheltered gilltail lives in the same crusicruge it hatched in.