Orange-Spot Scuttler

Splitting from its ancestor, the orange-spot scuttler has made the temperate waters off Barlowe its home. More elongate than its ancestor, it has developed its last set of limbs into a defensive weapon that will pinch and stab into predators that attempt to grip onto the back of this species. It has also developed prominent orange spots that secrete a mild toxin. While not deadly, it is extremely foul tasting and, to a degree, a hallucinogenic. Another evolutionary development is a nictitating membrane-like structure that protects its eye from harm.

Living in shallow waters, these generalists will feed on whatever is available and breed several times a year. Few will survive their planktonic larval stage, though those that do will settle on the bottom and grow quickly, becoming fully grown within a few months. They will just as quickly achieve sexual maturity, after which they will release their gametes, in mass, during the full moon.