Shailnitor

The Shailnitor split from its ancestor. This little uktank has regained amphibious characteristics. The inside of its shell chambers are moist and highly vascularized, which, given its ancestor already filled its shell with air, allows it to actually breathe air more directly than its more terrestrial relatives. This grants it true active respiration independent of water, which is a necessity for the niche it fills. As it had to redevelop terrestrial adaptations, it does not quite resemble other land-adapted uktanks, particularly in that its body is horizontal and its hind toe points forwards instead of backwards.

The Shailnitor is the latest addition to the Seashrog nest ecosystem. As the Seashrog developed the ability to store food instead of eating it as it’s gathered like other seafaring Shrews, there were no pre-existing symbiotes or commensals to clean up the large amounts of spoiled leftovers. The transitional ancestors of Shailnitors were often attracted to beached nests by the smell of rotting food. This competition-free surplus encouraged them to adapt to be able to survive inside Seashrog nests. The Shailnitor spends most of its life on or inside the nest feeding on dung and spoiled food, only leaving when the nest makes landfall so it can find a mate. Mating occurs in water, and the eggs are typically hidden in flora. Afterwards, the shrog that “owns” the given Shailnitor will usually find it and return it to the nest so they can go back to sea. If this does not occur, such as if the Shailnitor gets lost or the shrog that owns the nest gets eaten, it will live along the beach and coast until a new nest comes along for it to board. The Shailnitor can move its ears more than its ancestor could, allowing it to more easily find shrogs based on their vocalizations.

Another notable development for living with the Seashrog is that the Shailnitor has developed a face that Seashrogs find cute, as it resembles their juveniles. It accomplished this by developing a very short face, the shortest of any jawed uktank thus far. It also has spots above its eyes that make it look as though it has six eyes, like a shrog. This has resulted in shrogs “naming” them as though they were their offspring. This helps greatly with ensuring that the Shailnitor will return to the same nest it came from, as when it comes time to return to sea the shrog will call out to it as though it were its offspring. Shailnitors respond to the name they are given, and though they do not instinctively understand other shrog vocalizations, they are able to learn to do so.

Like its ancestor, the Shailnitor has beaked jaws partially formed from a limb and ears derived from its shell. Unlike its ancestor and nearly all other uktanks, its method of direct air-breathing allows it to survive on land without ever returning to water to refill its shell. It is much lighter than it looks as well, due in part to using air instead of water in its shell. As it spends rather little time in water throughout its lifespan, to help it retain water the outer layer of skin now consists of dead skin cells filled with chitin. Unlike other uktanks, it has a cloaca, which points slightly off to the side so that it does not defecate on its hind leg. It mates side by side facing opposite directions like a Terran snail.