Salsumtine

Splitting off from it's ancestor, the salsumtine's range expanded to saltier, relatively competition free regions. To live within their salty environments they have made certain adaptations. Their cellular machinery is adapted to high salt concentrations by having charged amino acids on their surfaces, allowing the cell to keep its water molecules around these components. Preferring to live deep underground, salsumtine can only be found near the surface salt deposits during the droughts and the dryer summer months. The hardened 'head' is formed from the excess sodium given off during the breaking down of salt into sodium and chlorine. Some of the excess chlorine is stored in a special vacuoles, while the rest gets excreted into the soil around it. It keeps the extra chlorine around in order to quickly dissolve its 'headcap' back into salt if food ever proves to be scarce, or in the rare instances that there is excess moisture/water in the area.