Sinduhk

Sinduhks are filter-feeders, and use the numerous teeth fringing the inside of their mouths to obtain their food. They filter both water and mud for food, and may switch between the two substrates if it has not found enough food in one option. Due to the structure of the filter-feeding apparatus, the organisms sinduhks eat are roughly between 1.0 to 2.5 millimeters in size. Organisms in that size category include: luminus (lumunii), redmosses, sudisflutanses, orangemosses, larands, testudiatoms, microswarmers, miniswarmers, sailcells, colonuses, chemebas, placos, infinities, hexpouruses and floatfilms. Sinduhks gather in small groups two to four individuals in size. Such groups often consists of siblings. Sinduhks recognize each other by the knobs on their bills, which vary in shape and in the number and structure of ridges on the top. Sinduhks primarily use their vision to navigate, but their vision, by human standards, is poor. They have little to no ability to distinguish color. This partly explains one of their peculiar behaviors: if a large organism squats on the ground with its eyes closed, a small group of male Sinduhks will waddle over to the organism, staring at the organism and making noises in the presence of the organism as if in curiosity. The other explanation for this behavior is that squatting with the eyes closed is the first step of a female Sinduhk's mating sequence, and when male Sinduhks see this, they waddle over with apparent eagerness, respond by making noises, and wait for the female to proceed to the next step. For sinduhks living on Solpimr Tropical Beach, this behavior can be used against them. Young male sindreads may squat and close their eyes near a group of sinduhks. The sinduhks, apparently mistaking the young sindread for a female of their species, waddle over to the squatting sindread and make noises. Once the sinduhks make noises, the sindread opens its eyes, bites the sinduhk's neck, and if the sindread is lucky, kills the sinduhk. (It is not known if sindreads lure sinduhks intentionally or merely happen to rest near sinduhks and in doing so fortuitously imitate the first step of a female sinduhk's mating sequence.) The other peculiar behavior is the sound sinduhks make. It is a wheezing or gasping, sharp inhalation that sounds vaguely like "sinner" or "seen her". They make these noises when threatened---usually by sindreads---or when executing their mating sequence.