Shimmering Wolley

The shimmering wolley split from its ancestor. It has continued to develop its ambush hunting habits and its color-changing ability is as quick and complex as that of a Terran cuttlefish. It can even produce animated markings, in the form of pulsating stripes and other patterns which mimic the appearance of light reflected off the seafloor with the aid of bioluminescent flashes and flickers. This allows it to hide anywhere while remaining difficult for most of its prey, or its predators, to spot. Contrary to its generic name, it lacks the “shapeshifting” ability of terran cephalopods, instead relying on patterns to produce a false three-dimensional effect on its smooth skin when disguising among flora. It now has many bioluminescent patches all over its body, rather than purely in a row along its tail.

The shimmering wolley’s arms are robust, allowing it to not only cling to rocks but also directly modify its environment by digging or by grasping and carrying objects such as bones and flora using its opposable thumbs. It is able to transport and use entire flora because many aquatic flora species only have holdfasts, not true roots, and are not killed when “uprooted”. This allows it to engineer the perfect hiding spots throughout its territory. It does this because its physiology leaves it with very little it can do without a hiding spot, as no matter what it does to its color patterns a long and narrow object rising up on a flat seabed will draw attention. It is relatively smart and can find ways to work with unfamiliar material. This ability also allows for the construction of dens, so that eggs do not need to be laid in pre-existing hiding places that might be limited in number. Adult shimmering wolleys are territorial outside of mating.

The shimmering wolley hunts by hiding somewhere and staying very still, waiting for something to enter its line of sight or brush against its barbels. It will then launch out with a stroke of its tail and try to snatch its prey. Its narrow lower jaw cuts through the water with little disturbance. It has a suction cup-like tongue and well-developed hyoid, allowing it to pull its catch down its throat. Its barbels can mimic the appearance of a digging filterpeder’s antennae, allowing it to attract and catch some of their predators, however it will not do this if there are longjakes nearby, as the longjake will prey on it. It will move to different pre-made hunting spots throughout its territory, preventing prey from easily learning where not to go to avoid it.

The shimmering wolley has developed a mating display which makes use of both color-changing and the ability to grasp objects. A male will use objects such as bones, clumps of flora, and sticks like batons or pom-poms, demonstrating the dexterity to produce excellent hiding places for eggs, and rapidly change color, emphasizing both the performance and his fitness. Once he has caught the attention of a female, they dance together and he draws her towards a den he has already constructed. If it is to the female’s liking, they spawn inside the den. They share a territory from then on, taking turns keeping watch over the den while the other hunts. Once the eggs have hatched, they part ways, as do their offspring which are already independent. As juveniles are too small to compete with adults, they are exempt from territorial conflict with adults until they are older; however, adults will still consume juveniles sometimes.

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