Placos

The placos genus group replaced their ancestors the placofuzz and the placosub. As a whole, these microbes prefer the thermal vents at the bottom of Sagan 4's oceans, performing chemosynthesis using sulfur compounds belched out of the vents, but they can also be found in other parts of the planet's sea floor. Individuals have hard orange "shields" covering their bodies which insulate from the high temperatures of the vents; though they can now act as insulators in the other freezing parts of the ocean floor. More mobile placos have their shields shaped into a submarine-like form. They have rows of thin spines projecting from these shields, primarily for defense against consumers. However, some placos use these spines as proboscis for feeding on detritus, as flagella for active movement, or as a velcro-like surface in order to form colonies of individuals. Between these shields are blue membranes where products and reactants from respiration are exchanged. In the middle of this membrane are yellow bioluminescent patches, which groups of placos use to communicate their presence amongst each other. Individuals live for a month, conducting cellular fission at the end of their lives.