Polyfee

The polyfee genus group replaced both its ancestor the rosy polyfoi and the related trisiphon polyfoi. All members are parasitic, first feeding on the skin of a host in order to "mimic" its properties and thus go unnoticed by its defenses, then either emerge from the skin or hiding just beneath it while feeding on blood in order to nourish themselves. Found mostly in marine ecosystems, from the bottom of the abyss to the sunlit surface waters, some do inhabit freshwater streams and lakes. Even rarer are those which have managed to make their way onto land by hiding away within the gills of amphibious species.

Life begins as a larval spore which soon matures into a sceletus gurgito-like stage. During this time they will seek out a host, latch on, and then form a cyst as they work their way around the host's immune system. Following this they mature into an immobile adult stage, one that is typically blind and without eyes, though some select species have regained them and use them for sensing predators. The adults do little more than feed and reproduce, releasing clouds of new larval spores into the water in order to bring forth the next generation.

For every complex lifeform their is in the sea, from the lowliest miniswarmer to the largest lyngbakr, there is at least one species of polyfee to parasitize it. Larger hosts tend to have multiple different species unique to them, some more generalized in their feeding habits than most, while others will parasitize a certain portion of the body, such as around the eyes or gills. Heavy infestations of polyfee are not uncommon in the waters of Sagan IV, and neither are its effects.