Mortusyte

The mortusyte replaced their ancestor in the midnight zones and have begun to spread upward, following their prey. Like their ancestor, they sneak up on prey by detecting them through vibrations in the water by using microscopic hair-like filaments that cover its body. They have become more parasitic, using their mouths to latch onto the bodies of larger organisms. These act as both a good source of food and a means of transportation. To accommodate this, their mouths have become slightly more flexible, and allow them the mobility to point them downward, making grasping onto hosts easier. When they come across small prey, they are usually swallowed whole or torn to pieces, which the mortusyte swallows one by one. They are still capable of swimming on their own, in an undulating eel-like method, but they are not particularly efficient at it, and prefer to rely on their hosts when they can.