Gardener Scuttler

The gardener scuttler came about when several of its ancestors, who were living upon colonialball mass, drifted about the northern waters of the Jujubee Ocean until they reached they reached the Truteal region. Far shallower than the surrounding waters, the currents here were less strong, preventing them from drifting back out, so the species had to adapt. Isolated from the surrounding ocean, the gardener scuttler adapted to life on the seafloor of the sunlit waters of the Truteal Tropical Shallows.

Symbiosis was the outcome of this evolutionary process, symbiosis with the descendants of the colonialballs that had brought them to the region. The marbleflora readily grow off the backs of the gardener scuttler's shell. They provide their host with camoflauge and a constant source of food in lean times, while in return they are provided protection from other herbivores as well as a greater dispersion brought about by the scuttler's mobility. This symbiotic relationship has ensured the survival of both species.

While the gardener scuttler is very similar to its ancestor in many ways, it has changed in terms of its reproductive strategy. Instead of releasing eggs and such to the mercy of the currents, the males instead fertilize the females who will then implant their eggs inside a colonialball which she then attaches to her back. Once they hatch, typically within a few weeks, they'll have a ready source of nourishment as well as access to several tiny colonialball buds in order to start gardens of their own. The adults will provide the offspring with no other aid after this.