Gushflier

The gushflier split from its ancestor, and has replaced it in biomes where they overlap. As the name suggests, the gushflier has developed true powered flight, and with it a suite of new adaptations. The wing membrane has been greatly extended along the forelimbs, and folds up nicely when a gushflier is on the ground.). The hairs on their antennae have grown much denser, allowing it to hear even better than its ancestors. Their eyesight has improved greatly. Though colorblind, gushfliers are great at locating small objects from very far away, which is essential for them to find food. Gushfliers are blood-suckers, their sharp proboscis can easily penetrate the flesh of both flora and fauna. They are not great swimmers (though they can float quite easily on their massive forelimbs), so they are restricted to eating fauna and flora on the surface of the ocean (or on land). For this reason, they tend to stick to waters near the shore, or around large colonies of Pioneer Raftballs & Colonial Bobiiros. They are particularly prolific beach combers, taking advantage of beached fauna and native flora for an easy meal.

Though not a particularly energetic flier, it’s a great glider and can use ocean thermals to travel great distances. Following major wind currents, the gushflier has been able to spread far south of its ancestors range, even reaching the mainland. They are largely solitary creatures, except during the breeding season. In the early summer large flocks of gushflier will gather on offshore islands throughout their range. They have only a single sex, gushfliers will fight over who gets to reproduce. Using the prehensile, reproductive spears on their chins, they will attempt to stab each other on the back and discharge genetic material into the wound. The material will then fertilize the eggs inside the mother’s abdomen. Once the young have hatched, they will grow rapidly feeding on the mother’s blood. Eventually, they will burst out, killing the mother.