Oozocorns

Background: The Smaraslim Bubblehorn is a very ancient bubblehorn indeed, in fact moreso than the Fraboohorn, a distantly related bubblehorn which evolved six generations after. While its close contender separated over a hundred million years apart hunkered down in the frigid tundras of Darwin, the basal quasipetriform instead found itself within the warm, humid refugia of the Ferret cave system, locked away from the affairs of the surface world by impenetrable blockades of ice. As of the late Masonian period however, the continuous glaciers of snowball sagan have since receded drastically, once more opening the smaraslims’ sheltered home to the affairs of the outside world. Inevitably, some of those smaraslims would venture out into the sun as their Acicubin Bubblehorn ancestors once have almost one-hundred-and-thirteen million years in the past. As these pioneering bubblehorns spread throughout Darwin and Drake, they would diversify and speciate, eventually to the point in which they split off into their own unique taxon, the Oozocorns.

Mucus Application and Feeding: While other progeny of the smaraslim would continue to become increasingly bizarre and divergent by future generations, the Oozocorns seem rather ancestrally conserved in comparison. Basal to all other crown-group quasipetriform bubblehorns, the Oozocorns retain the ability to secrete adhesive mucus, which is produced by glands within the mouth. By inserting their horns within, members of this genus can bathe the impressively long sensory organs in this mucus, which is primarily used in feeding.

Most species of Oozocorn simply scan the surrounding environment with their mucus-laden horns, picking up any organic detritus or minute prey they happen to come into contact with, then insert their quarry back into the mouth; however there is one type of dietary item not shared with their ancestral stock - larger prey. This same mucus can also be used to subdue meatier, more substantial fare in a variety of means: larger species simply restrain their prey with the combination of their muscular horns and the mucus gumming up the respiratory ducts of their catches, while smaller species can employ a variety of numbing agents in their mucus (to which they possess immunity), sending the catch into paralytic shock before going in to devour. Because Oozocorns lack teeth or analogous organs, prey is engulfed and digested whole. Should a catch be sizable and nutritious enough, combined with the relatively slow activity of a typical Oozocorn species, it may keep the bubblehorn full for upwards to a day.

A couple of species approach the capture of meaty prey in a modified form of their ancestral feeding method: by resting upon a tall enough vertical surface and casting down its horns, boluses of mucus descend from them and ensnare any airborne fauna unfortunate enough to get in the way.

Besides feeding, the Oozocorns’ mucus is utilized for a number of other functions. Inherited from both the smaraslim and the acicubin, these bubblehorns use their mucus to scale vertical surfaces - a feat done more reliably by smaller, less massive species, though not too rare a sight from a few larger species. A decent quantity of mucus is also present on the bubblehorns’ soft tissues, acting as a means of water retention by providing their cuticle with a waxy sheen. Like the slime trails of snails which many bubblehorns are frequently compared to, Oozocorns leave behind prints of slimy film wherever they tread. Additionally, the mucus can be used as a deterrent for ectoparasites and can shield against some potentially damaging debris.

Likewise, the Oozocorns’ horns retain their function as chemoreceptive organs as inherited by all branches of bubblehorn, with the greatest density of such sensory cells located on the swollen tips of their horns’ branches. Because their horns function both as sensory and feeding organs, these are used to collect both olfactory and gustatory information, even simultaneously at some instances.

Diversity and Reproduction: Originating from a single point of exodus somewhere in the Ichthy watershed, the Oozocorns have since spread throughout Darwin and Drake, and have diversified accordingly. Species inhabiting the semi-arid western coastlines of Darwin, many of them considered to be basal to the Oozocorn tree, produce more profuse mucus coats, or bury themselves in the sand with their horns for the brighter half of the day to better retain their precious water. Richness is notably greater in the humid eastern side of Darwin-Drake however, as the greater access to resources can support more active Oozocorns at a time. Species in colder climates possess similar adaptations to their temperate cousins, and diversity there is likewise limited; many species in Darwin-Drake’s montane and polar climes typically possess antifreeze compounds or exhibit brumating behaviors.

Many species of Oozocorn can be identified by the shape, color, and texture of their shells. Smaller species are somewhat shy, and tend to hide under whatever cover is immediately available, be it leaf litter or soil material; as such, their body and shell colors are typically cryptic. A few larger species, while still preferring not to be conspicuous, are slightly less skittish than their smaller cousins, and have shells that typically mimic local loose rocks.

Part of the reason for the sheer diversity of the Oozocorns is their great clutch yield, which usually contains twenty-five to sixty eggs each. With such a great quantity of offspring produced, it becomes easier for beneficial mutations to perpetuate within descending populations, accumulating enough to ensure a comparatively frequent rate of speciation. To ensure the offspring Oozocorns get to eventually pass down their mutations at all however is a different story, one that necessitates a tweak to the bubblehorns’ breeding behaviors.

Instead of a specific fertilized female Oozocorn simply depositing a slimy clutch of eggs on her mate, Oozocorn eggs are bundled within an ootheca. This ootheca is composed of the same structural compounds as the bubblehorns’ mucus, albeit now tanned into a more durable and cohesive material. Because this innovation occurred within the base of the Oozocorn tree, and thus present in all descendant species, the ootheca first developed as a means to protect the eggs from the dry conditions of the Ichthy Temperate Riparian. Consequently, the insulating properties of the ootheca proved useful in a variety of climates: in the frigid mountain slopes and polar lands, the eggs are kept consistently warm; while in humid forests, the eggs are protected from oversaturation of water, effectively the opposite problem from the ancestral anti-desiccation function.

Although the male of an Oozocorn species does indeed carry the ootheca for incubation, neither parent will devote any more devotion when the eggs finally hatch; the male simply pauses its ambling onward to drop off his fresh young, and nothing more after that. With limited parental investment and large clutch yields, Oozocorns are firmly r-strategists - betting their chances on profuse offspring in the hopes that a handful survive to adulthood. Newly-hatched Oozocorns start with sizes of around six to nine millimeters in length, and thin, unmineralized shells. As they grow and develop throughout life, they must ingest healthy quantities of minerals so that their shells can properly develop. This also has an added consequence to the genus’s diversity, as the local soil compositions directly affect the variability of shell color and texture, which can sometimes add difficulty in discerning one species from another.

Selected Species: Thirty-five species of Oozocorn are currently described to exist, but for sake of brevity, only three will be showcased for the illustration.

To the bottom-left is M. alluvius, an Oozocorn found within the Ichthy watershed and is considered to be near the base of the genus. This bubblehorn is most active with the onset of spring floods, and between the hours of dusk to dawn. Primarily a detritophage, it typically sweeps up whatever the river washes down, but it may also snag small fauna like the Clickworm from time to time.

On the upper-left is M. erythrostemma, a smaller Oozocorn found within the Boreal and Temperate Rainforest climatic zones of Darwin. In this illustration, it exudes a vibrant threat display, advertising its candycane-like red-and-white-striped horns to potential predators such as flunejaws. This aposematic showing easily communicates the distinctive mucus it possesses, laden with a harmless, yet very unpalatable chemical.

Over on the top-right is M. aranea, another Oozocorn found in the arid and semi-arid climates of Darwin, and assumes a more predatory role. By evening, it rises from its patch in the sand, ascends into a position on an Arid Ferine, and casts down a net of mucus. With its dusky-mauve coloration further obscured by the dark of night, unwary prey like the Yellowdundi and Woolly Xenobee find themselves restrained by a numbing mucus, and fail to struggle their way out of being the bubblehorn’s meal.