Globby Boneflora

The globby boneflora split from its ancestor and moved into the ocean waters. Like their ancestor they produce a tough calcified shell around their bodies acting as an exoskeleton for structural support. These growths are in cycles, a growing period where a segment of their exoskeletal shell is produced and then a period of rest. Their flesh is simple, nutrients being absorbed directly from the water surrounding them, they are anchored in the sand by attaching themselves tightly to rocks using byssus threads. Their stalks are fairly rigid, allowing for minor flexibility at the joints between segments. The soft red flesh atop the organism is the only photosynthetic part, the rest of the flora is nonphotosynthetic, with the exception of the spore stalks, which are partial to photosynthesis. They produce underwater fields spanning large areas within a short amount of time, they become capable of producing spores after the establishment of their first segment. Globby Boneflora produce spores their entire lives. The life cycle of one of these organisms begins as a free-floating spore, a small red bead of flesh, inside the flesh the zygote develops into a tight cluster of dark red photosynthetic cells, water is drawn in and the glob of flesh grows in size, deposits of calcium weigh it down until it is driven down to the seabed. Once there the organism starts the next stage of development, it splays out byssus threads to hold fast to its site, and then begins developing the shell to become an adult.