Frostmelter

The frostmelter replaced its ancestor and spread throughout the frigid biomes of Drake. It uses special reflectors and lenses made of chitin to warm itself in the sunlight and set surrounding flora on fire. Burning its surroundings did not destroy competition, as melting permafrost creates wet muddy marshes, which prevent the uncontrollable spread of wildfires. The frostmelter's light-focusing ability does set surrounding flora on fire, which in turn generates more heat than it can on its own, which hastens the melting of frozen soil. This makes it an important component in the ecosystem, as it regulates the permafrost level, which in turn allows more flora to grow. Its ancestor actually did this as well, but the burning aspect had been heavily over-exaggerated with misleading or outright false claims about its destructive capabilities.

Melting frozen soil with fire frees up nitrogen which would otherwise be locked in permafrost, which the frostmelter takes advantage of to grow and bud quickly so that it may produce a large number of spores. It has gained an alternation of generations between haploid and diploid forms, allowing greater genetic diversity. The diploid generation produces haploid sexual spores, and if they do not merge with another haploid spore, they will germinate into a haploid frostmelter which in turn produces more haploid spores. It grows, reproduces, and dies very quickly several times throughout the short summer in the coldest parts of its range, and exists only as spores other the winter, making it a sort of annual plant. Spores will germinate when the soil thaws after freezing, regardless of the time of year.