Mangal Snark

As the waters of the Krakow regions began to connect to the mainland of Wallace, the species living in the shallows found themselves once again exposed to environments they had been disconnected from for millions of years. This allowed for an interchange of species, and while some found themselves wiped out by the new competition, others found themselves presented with new opportunities to expand. One such example is the effect this had on the two gillcrests of Krakow. The increased competition of new scavengers has resulted in the redfin gillcrest out-competing their basal ancestor in the southern polar coasts of Wallace, as their ability to hunt in packs allowed them to gain an advantage in resource acquiring. However, this has not resulted in the outright extinction of the gillcrest, as their ability to survive in warmer waters has allowed them to spread to every southern coast of the Koseman-Wallace shelf below the subtropics. These new waters have opened new niches for the gillcrest to fill into, and the separation of the population has resulted in speciation, resulting in them splitting into new species, such as the mangal snark.

They have grown smaller and more compact, acting primarily as bottom feeding scavengers. They are primarily scavengers, swimming through the waters using their keen sense of smell to seeking out carcasses to eat, but will also opportunistically hunt gilltails. However, they will back down from a hunt if they are faced with competition, preferring easier meals than ones they'd have to defend. They have lost the distinctive crest of their ancestor, instead adopting a more streamlined body plan. This allows for more precise rapid movements in the mangals, allowing them to fit between the roots of the flora such as the tlukvaequaboras. They can be a common sight following behind larger predators or underneath topship shrog nests, Though these actions can result in they themselves becoming a meal.

Like their ancestors, the mangal snarks are solitary creatures, only seeking out others to mate. After mating, the male leaves and the female digs a small burrow in the sands of the twilight zones. Like their ancestors, they lay large clusters of gelatinous eggs, which are cared for until they hatch. The young are left to fend for themselves, though when hatching draws close the mother will leave a gilltail carcass for the young to eat. She will stay by until the first of the clutch begin to hatch, so as to ensure that other scavengers don't detect the carcass and eat her young. Those that hatch early have an advantage on their siblings of having more food, so there is an evolutionary pressure ongoing in the species to hatch earlier.