Sealkey

Sealkeys evolved from sealyns of the Colddigger Polar Coast who were swept to the Viridian Hot Springs in a flood. The flood was a consequence of rising global water levels, which was itself a consequence of Sagan 4 "stealing" its moon's water.

Though aided by a flood, those sealyns would not have managed the trip to the Viridian Hot Springs if they were fully aquatic. Their longer legs make them better at walking than their ancestor, though their movement is still awkward-looking.

As the only large consumer in the Viridian Hot Springs, it has a great influence on its ecosystem. The massive quantities of excrement from Sealkey colonies more than doubled the numbers of supershrooms already living there, and a species of the dartirs genus specializes in sealkey afterbirth, stillborn pups, and the dead bodies of very young pups.

Occasionally a cragagon comes to the Viridian Hot Springs from the surrounding Vivus Volcanic region to feed on the dense numbers of plent-parasitic sapshrooms. Though the sapshrooms that grow on the sides of the sealkeys are often burned off when the sealkeys relax in the hot springs, it takes two-and-a-half months for the babies to grow enough to safely enter the hot springs. Until that time, they collect parasites from their mother and other adults. The mother's thick beaks make picking off sapshrooms from the very small (4 cm at birth) and tender-skinned pups difficult, so baby sealkeys can accumulate many sapshrooms. Because the level of sapshroom infestation is highest approximately two months after the mating season, cragagons are most likely to visit during that time.

Since their environment has no predators, sealkeys are (compared to their ancestors) more relaxed around potentially predatory organisms. They will still bite if sufficiently frightened. This may explain cragagons' tendency to only visit sleeping sealkeys, though it can also be explained by coincidence: sealkeys laze with almost feline frequency.

With no predators around at time of writing, the pups' most common cause of death is being accidentally crushed under the weight of a sleeping adult or drowning in hot springs that were too deep for them.

Sealkeys are better adapted to higher temperatures and life on land than their ancestors. They have less body fat, chicken-like wattles for heat dissipation, and slightly larger beaks, which also help in heat dissipation. Their sap-blood, which is green, also rises close to the surface of their skin when they are hot. This is especially prominent in their faces, which are already green.

Unfortunately for the males, they also flush green when ready to mate. Females may misinterpret the bright-green face of an overheated male for an aroused male, and quickly shuffle over to him in the expectation that he will mate with them. The males, startled by the females' unusually fast approach, may run away. Sometimes they cool down after a while, giving the females no reason to chase them. Other times they exert themselves so much in running away that their blood rushes to their faces in an attempt to cool them down, thus keeping the females on the pursuit.