Salmundus

The salmundus is a microorganism common in very salty waters that lives in colonies and can survive in the harsh environment due its ability to contain the salts near its membrane and to “pile” the salt up in dead colony members. The salmundus lives in massive colonies that can get up to a few millimeters and therefore near the end of its growth are visible. It feeds on any organic components in the water or other tiny cells that gets in its way. It has a hard membrane due to its salty crust and therefore is barely eaten by other microorganisms. Usually after about a month the colony can’t survive anymore because of the massive increase in salt and after it dies the whole dead colony sinks down to the bottom. These dead clusters of cells look like dirty, cloudy, tiny salt crystals and are common sights in salty waters; sometimes they are even consumed by the very few creatures that can feed on such high concentrations of salt. Waters infested with these creatures are usually a bit more livable for other creatures for some of the salt consecrates in the dead salmundus bodies and therefore the water becomes clearer. The salmundus can survive in regular salty waters but with less success because of the competition.