Quilled Wigglemaw

The Quilled Wigglemaw split from its ancestor the Marocta. It moved into the open waters surrounding Rhodix Vents. Their frontmost and rearmost ribbon-like fins have changed into four short and highly mobile fins to allow the organism to more easily maneuver in its open water home. Meanwhile the other ribbon-like fins have changed into a selection of movement sensitive quills toward the rear of the body, to detect motion through the water, and to deter predators. The tips of the quills are dark and hardened.

The body is divided into two distinct pieces, the rear having a well-defined exoskeleton where the majority of the organs are located, and the front section which is mainly mouth, crop, and stomach and supported by flexible but firm semi-external and notochord-like structure of both living cells and cuticle. The supporting structure extends all the way to the front of the body where it rings the toothless mouth and provides an anchor point for the muscles that control the front fins, pincers, and eye nubs.

What had once acted as the nubby bases for short teeth in its ancestor now support the eyes that have traveled from deep inside the mouth forward. They are now located on the back side of these nubs which must be flared outward from the mouth in order to see its surroundings. On either side of the mouth are very sharp and hard pincers that carry a venomous bite, these weapons are essentially the only means that this organism has for subduing prey. Once prey is captured then it's drawn toward the mouth opening and the nubs are used to pull the body into the mouth and force it down into the crop where it's stored and processed until passing to the stomach.

The spore reproduction of its ancestor has been replaced with gamete reproduction, the gametes simply being the result of spore production having switched over to meiosis. Gametes are kept on the ventral side of the rear portion of the body, and when a second member of the species is met then they will couple up and exchange gametes. The resulting zygotes are not actually fed by their parent but continue to stick on their body for safety until they're ready to venture off on their own in a planktonic form.