Dragon Marephasmoids

After 500 million years of evolutionary dormancy, a relic population of rainbow marephasmatis experienced a sudden boom in diversity. Oddly enough, this genus of marephasmatis came into existence partially due to the actions of the seashrog, bringing massive amounts of microbe-riddled driftwood into the open ocean. Dragon Marephasmoids are opportunistic, feasting on almost any cloud of microbes or clump of dead tissue they come across. To aid in feeding, their sticky anterior digestive membrane has become a somewhat concave dome-shape, and is able to be everted in order to grab hold of larger objects. Four small knobs surround the “mouth”, acting as the main sites of chemoreception.

Dragon Marephasmoids aren’t particularly fast. However, they are not necessarily easy prey. They pulsate with vibrant colors to warn predators of their venomous sting, which is much more potent than it was in their ancient ancestors. The tail now also possesses four rows of smaller tentacles, which provide surface area for even more nematocysts.

While Dragon Marephasmoids don’t differ that much from their ancestors externally, they do possess a relatively significant internal innovation. A new type of tissue is now present in their bodies, the cells of which have a large and extensive extracellular membrane. This tissue, called Dracophasmatic Structural Tissue (DpST), is similar to cartilage in both structure and function, though it is a bit softer and much more flexible. DpST is derived from the inner edge of the ectoderm, growing just below the skin. Each of their 12 fins possesses an intricate structure of DpST fibers on its outer face; three large rods of DpST extend from the base to the tip of each fin, connected together by many smaller ones. The sturdiness of the DpST rods means that the fins don’t need to be quite as thick to have the same amount of strength and power. The tail is supported by four rods of DpST, which counterintuitively get thinner towards the base.

Dragon Marephasmoids are found in every ocean on Sagan 4, though they particularly favor tropical areas, being rare in polar waters. The webbing present between the fins is one of the more genetically variable structures, so every species of dragon marephasmoid has a slightly different way of swimming.