Eggslurping Sorite



As the lazarus soriparasite thrived, certain individuals would end up in the nests of skysnappers, typically feeding on the blood of the adults and those of any chicks. Occasionally, they would be present in the nests as chicks hatch and while they did feed on the blood of the chicks they would sometimes also feed on any juices and fluids oozing out of the eggs. These can be just as nutritious as the blood of the snapper chicks, resulting in certain lazarus soriparasites to specialize in eating the insides of carpozoan eggs. This distinct method of feeding resulted in several adaptations that eventually led to them abandoning a parasitic lifestyle entirely and these populations gave rise to the eggslurping sorite.

Making the transition from a parasite to an ovivore was surprisingly not too difficult for the ancestors of the eggslurping sorite, as their methods of obtaining blood were already capable of breaking into eggs with moderate success. To specialize for such a diet, however, the eggslurping sorite had to make several modifications to its anatomy and especially behavior. One noticeable change is the much larger lips on its face, which help wrap around the narrowest part of the eggs where they can then slurp up the insides. To get past the eggshell blocking the egg’s insides from entering their gullet, the spines on the eggslurper’s tongue have become shorter and developed round, calcified tops to act as a ramming device where they smack into the shell until it eventually cracks.

Beyond the head itself, other bits of the eggslurping sorite’s anatomy have undergone changes. This includes a much more flexible shoulder joint, similar to that of the smirking soriparasite’s own flexible shoulder joint but having developed for different reasons. For the eggslurping sorite, the flexible shoulder joint allows them to better manipulate an egg and move it into the right position to then use their mouths. Eggslurping sorites have also become more robust with stocky hindlimbs, allowing them to rear up for brief periods of time which then frees up the eggslurping sorite’s arms to move around a carpozoan’s egg.

Similarly to their ancestor and relatives, the eggslurping sorite only has the frontmost pair of eyes to see in a clear image. The two other pairs of eyes have, however, grown in size since they can still detect movement by differences in light and shadow. Because of the two other pairs of eyes, they can be used to help detect danger from behind or above them while they feed on eggs or search for a nest.

Evolving from hemophagus ancestors, the eggslurping sorite still supplements their diet of eggs with blood on occasion. While their adaptations serve them well for feeding on eggs, they come at the cost of their ability to obtain blood. The tongue spines are too blunt to efficiently rub the skin of a creature raw since they're adapted to smash eggshells. The best the eggslurping sorite can do is to use their upper teeth, which are smaller and fewer in number to not get in the way when feeding on eggs. This method of drawing blood is very inefficient compared to their ancestors tongue-rasping strategy, but it's the best the eggslurping sorite can do. Eggslurping sorites will use this method on hatchling carpozoans, going after them if nothing is around to protect them since most species of modern egg-laying carpozoans will protect their young after they hatch.

Since the eggslurping sorite has abandoned a parasitic lifestyle and blood only makes up a very small part of their diet, they are much less active. Eggslurping sorites often spend much of their time basking in the sun, before using their keen sense of smell to search for eggs. As they are at risk of larger predators or protective parents while they look for nests to snack on, eggslurping sorites rely on their coloration and patterns to avoid being spotted. The flexible shoulder joint allows them to move much more effectively on the ground, similarly to that of the smirking soriparasite. When eggs become scarce and/or the environment becomes too cold for them, the eggslurping sorite will look for a secluded spot like a fallen log or an abandoned burrow and lower their metabolic activities, going into a state of torpor.

Much like their ancestors, the eggslurping sorite lacks a pouch, with a female’s young hanging onto her back when not actively suckling. Females also have larger litters, to counter higher predation rates on the species, having twice as many nipples as their ancestor to provide them with enough milk. The young will also feed on any fluids from eggs that their mother does not eat for an extra boost in energy.