Gliding Gushstrider

The gliding gushstrider replaced its ancestor the gushstrider and has spread all over the island. It has developed a skin membrane on its 3rd finger(s) as well as its hind limbs. While this makes it a bit slower than its ancestor, it allows it to glide through the air. They use this new ability to land on prey, as well as escape predators. They can take off from the ground using both their front and hind limbs. However, this method of take off doesn't get them very far, so they prefer to launch themselves off the top of large flora or cliffs. A freak mutation replaced the nostrils of their ancestor with eyes. Though they can no longer smell their hearing is actually better then their ancestor thanks to more sophisticated antenna. 4 of their eyes have become much larger, giving them better depth perception. The other 16 eyes are by no means useless, as they allow gliding gushstrider to see around 180 degrees around at any given moment.

The diet of the gliding gushstrider is much more varied than its ancestor, encompassing plant as well as animal matter. It uses the pigments they obtain from the plants, as well as the blood of animals, to die their “wings” in varying colors. Gliding gushstrider that live near the beach will also frequently scavenge on plants and animals that wash up from the sea. Although they can still produce asexually when times are tough, they have also developed a form of hermaphroditic sexual reproduction. Each adult organism has a prehensile spear on their chins which are used to inject sperm into the abdomen of another gliding gushstrider. Gliding sushstrider will often fight over which one has to give birth, stabbing each other with their spears until one manages to puncture the abdomen. When the young hatch they will drink blood inside the abdomen. Once they mature they eventually burst out of the abdomen, killing the parent.