Lazarus Soriparasite

Soriparasites, or parasitic shrews, are an ancient clade of blood shrew which first appeared in the Clayrenian period. Some millions of years following their evolution, a particularly specialized species, the Death Soriparasite, contributed to the spread of a deadly plague which nearly wiped out all shrews. However, though soriparasites survived the plague, they seemingly became extinct soon after in the Martykian period, being among the innumerable casualties of the gamma-ray burst, the worst mass extinction event in Sagan 4’s long history.

But that was actually not quite the case.

A single soriparasite—the Desert Soriparasite—was overlooked, assumed to be among the casualties. In reality, it had survived through a population residing in Rabid Sandstone Caves, which was sheltered from the radiation. While other blood shrews within this same cave would meet deadly fates as cave-ins and waves of disease wiped out their plent hosts, soriparasites were specialized in carpozoan blood, allowing the desert soriparasite to persist by feeding on the blood of serpentsaurs, earbacks, and turtsnappers. And so it remained there for millions of years, completely untouched by extinction events.

Its fortune would soon come to an end, however, as rising sea levels pushed Rabid Sandstone Caves closer and closer to being engulfed by the ocean. Only concerned with finding the next host, the little soriparasite didn’t think to leave the cave on its own as other fauna in its environment had done. However, this did not stop some from being carried out of the cave by hosts—more specifically, Golden Earbacks. As a result, a viable population was able to become established outside the caves and soon spread to new hosts as well, speciating into the Lazarus Soriparasite.

Like its ancestor, the Lazarus Soriparasite is primarily a parasite of carpozoans, which in this instance translates to it primarily consuming the blood of flunejaws and skysnappers. When feeding, it grips the skin of its host with the teeth on its upper jaw. Anesthetic compounds in its saliva prevent its host from feeling a thing as it proceeds to use its barbed tongue to lick the skin raw, drawing blood. It then wraps its enlarged lower lip around the skin it has grabbed and begins to gulp, creating suction which pulls blood from the wound. This is more efficient than the methods of more primitive soriparasites, which left nasty bite wounds and depended on their host bleeding into their mouths. It also does not spread disease as readily as its long-extinct cousin the Death Soriparasite, though it still isn’t impossible for it to do so. Similar to its ancestor, its lower jaw lacks teeth so as to not interfere with feeding and it can also close its mouth further than more primitive soriparasites.

The Lazarus Soriparasite only has one pair of fully-functioning eyes, though the other two ancestral pairs are still present, just reduced. It can still sense light through these tiny vestigial eyes, but only the largest pair can form images. Its hooked foreclaws and gecko-like feet bearing fuzzy setae allow it to hold onto its host without falling off. It is unusual among shrews in that it does not have a pouch; when not nursing, its young may climb on its back to let their siblings have room to nurse instead. It has taken on a golden coloration, allowing it to blend in with soil as it travels between hosts. It usually mates during these treks. It is able to tolerate low temperatures while sucking blood, but it needs to warm up to travel at a decent speed, so it may also be found basking on rocks between hosts.

With soriparasites resurfacing as a lazarus taxon, there are now three distinct living groups of Shrew. Though its niche is low-profile and its range does not presently overlap with its furry or bubbly cousins, the Lazarus Soriparasite’s remarkable emergence is quite significant to the clade as a whole.