Smokey Shrubite

The smokey shrubite split from its ancestor. Due to its ancestor's method of reproduction, some marine shrubite spores were gradually moved up to the warmer waters around Barlowe and Dixon. These individuals, finding virtually no large filter feeder in these biomes, took this opportunity to grow in size and enhance their feeding capabilities.

Though their appearance hasn't changed too much from their ancestor, it's best to consider their body plan as 3 different sections. The bottom section contains the microbial filters; these filters form many rings of comb-like ridges around the individual, undulating captured prey to any one of the eight syphons divided along this section. The middle spherical section processes and digests prey and particulates and sends nutrients to the whole organism while waste is shipped to the smokestack-like top section for expulsion. The exit opening of the top section is bigger to accommodate more waste at one time.

Individuals live for 30 years, growing to max height in 20 years. Halfway through their life-cycle the middle section will produce proto-spores which are expelled from the top. These spores will free-float for about a year or until they encounter other proto-spores to begin their 3 stage growth cycle.