Aphluks

Aphluks split from their ancestor. These tiny ukfauna have taken on a sap- and occasionally plent blood-sucking lifestyle comparable to Terran aphids. They have flat bodies and the digits of their limbs are modified to function as limbs themselves, helping them stay attached to the flora they suck from. Their mouth opening has moved back closer to the end of the tooth, assisting their sucking ability. When conditions become unfavorable, such as when their host dies, they detach from their host and dry out, going dormant like a Terran water bear; from there, they can be distributed incidentally by wind or fauna. Dormant Aphluks contribute to aeroplankton, being found as high up as the stratosphere.

Aphluks have developed an unusual change to their reproduction. Like many Terran fauna, they can reproduce both sexually and asexually. However, they are distinguished in that while they lay eggs when reproducing sexually, they do not when doing so asexually. This is because asexual reproduction is triggered by deteriorating conditions, such as when there is not enough water to lay their eggs in. This allows them to survive dry periods which last longer than their normal lifespan. Desert species may reproduce exclusively asexually except during the rare rain. Offspring produced asexually are clones of their mothers.

Though Aphluks which suck sap and ones which suck plent blood seem to remain completely separate, with very few species consuming both, new species readily switch between the two. This is because green plent blood is so chemically similar to sap that neither they nor their digestive systems can tell the difference. Plents which have lost their photosynthesis secondarily have slightly different blood chemistry, so Aphluks will never suck from them. Juvenile Aphluks will consume detritus instead of sap, at least until they find flora to suck from, as they are typically laid and hatched in rain which washes them far away from their parents’ host.

There are thousands of species of Aphluk, owing to their rapid reproductive rate and the openness of their niche. They can live anywhere on land where there is flora. There are even species which specialize in living in the troposphere, where they suck on flying flora such as marbubbles. Oceanic species which suck on floating flora also exist. Their coloration typically corresponds to the type of organisms they suck from, and generalist species may even be transparent to blend in with any flora. Specialists in crystal and glass flora often have a very sharp tooth and muscular faces, allowing them to pierce the chitinous shell. In the cases of flora with toxic sap, such as the Bloodsap Melontree, some Aphluks have adapted to be immune to it—and even incorporate it into themselves, making them poisonous to many of their potential predators.