Bonyfee

The bonyfee genus group developed from polyfees that fed on skin very close to underlying bone, such as the skin close to the skull. Then they fed on the periosteum, a membrane the lines the outer surface of bones that is, in a sense, a bone's "skin." These were the first bonyfees. However, some developed past that, embedding themselves deeper in the membrane so their "roots" could tap the marrow.



Bonyfees are always rounded, but, other than that, their shapes vary tremendously. Their shapes can look like peaches, beads, caldera volcanoes, Earth slugs, gumdrops and even bagels. Their colors also vary tremendously---there are several strains of bonyfee for every color of the rainbow. Many species are a shade of red, reflecting their ancestor, which either was or bore resemblance to the polyfee on the left in this image.

The particulars of bonyfee shapes, locations, colors, sizes, numbers and even flavors depend on a variety of factors, to the point that it would fill a medical textbook. In brief, every descendant of the vadum carpotesta luceremundare can support at least six species of bonyfee.

In contrast to their ancestor, bonyfees' hosts are usually terrestrial, not aquatic.

Individual bonyfees are always very small in comparison to the bone they live on, but their sizes do scale up depending on how large their host is. The immense lyngbakrs sport the largest bonyfees. With time, lyngbakr bonyfees can even become 2 cm, but the average size is only 1 cm. Though lyngbakrs sport the largest bonyfees, they have the least diversity; most bonyfees cannot live amid thick layers of blubber or the crushing depths of the deep ocean.

Specific species of bonyfee have fanciful colloquial names. On the oilyback alone, there are bonyfees called the American bonyfee or American-flag bonyfee, skull-freckles, cervical (neck bones) polka dots, juicy raspberry bonyfee, Weasleys' five o' clock shadow, royal spine, crayon ribs, and knee cheddar dust.

Unlike their ancestor, the larval spores do not normally leave the host. Rather than wandering the ocean, they wander the bloodstream. When the bloodstream deposits them someplace suitable, they latch on and form a still-microscopic cyst. Only upon becoming adults do they become visible to the naked eye.

Transmission from one host to another is primarily through consumption of juvenile cysts from eating bones. For this reason, carnivorous organisms and scavengers tend to have greater bonyfee diversity, and consequently more colorful bones.

It is practically impossible to remove bonyfees from bone once they are adults or cysts. However, salt concentrations in the blood that are too low can cause bonyfees in the larval spore stage to spontaneously shrivel up and die. This often happens when the host is starving. If the host has an immune system, the immune system might also destroy the larval spores before they can settle onto bones.

Though the adult and cyst bonyfees are very difficult to remove, this matters very little to the host. Evolutionarily speaking, bonyfees are good parasites, and rarely cause significant losses to the host. Since bonyfees do not infect cartilage, they rarely affect growth.

'''Note: Oilyback skeleton is deprecated, and no longer canon. Assume skeleton is a fanciful assemblage of parts from different species, to showcase bonyfee diversity in an aesthetically-pleasing way.'''