Teuthomimic Swarmer

The teuthomimic swarmer split from its ancestor, the cave swarmer, and has adapted greatly to its extreme environment. Firstly, it has changed its appearance to reflect that of a young cave teuthopin, minus the manipulator tentacles. Its eyes having atrophied, its primitive sonar-sensing organs evolved to become much more powerful and resemble the vocal sac of a cave teuthopin. When a teuthopin approaches, the swarmers turn out their lightspots and turn vertical, appearing to be a very young teuthopin and even mimicking the sounds of one. Although it is not a fool-proof disguise, it is often enough to give teuthomimic swarmers a greater chance of survival then their ancestor.It no longer photosynthesizes, using its lights solely for attracting cavern cryosagania. Although it still functions as a detrivore, it focuses primarily on filter-feeding, small shoals clustering together in the summer months around cryosagania hotspots. In addition, it has oddly changed its' life cycle to survive the periods when the cave freezes over. Rather than hibernating, it instead lives only a few months, when the cave is still filled with water, and, rather than spawning directly into the water, constructs microscopic egg-like vessels of cellulose for its reproductive material. These lay dormant in cryptobiosis throughout the period when the caves are frozen, then, when the ice melts in the spring, they hatch and release baby swarmers into the surrounding area.