Murky Trolrmus

As more and more prey evolved within the Badger Limestone Caverns, the blind warverines would thrive, eventually starting to diversify and take new niches. This included a population that became more and more aquatic, eventually splitting off and becoming the Murky Trolrmus. Due to tackling the larger species of the caverns and having a relative abundance of food, the Murky Trolrmus has grown to over double the size of its ancestor, allowing it to better tackle its particular prey. Like all other species of Wargrat, the Murky Trolrmus’ limbs have large and prominent muscles, helping it with both anchoring itself to the rock floor in the bodies of water it resides in and with restraining prey. The large sickle claw on the innermost finger provides some additional help with both tasks as well, helping the nodent with either hooking into the flesh of a victim or lodging itself into a crevice so the creature is not swept away.

The Murky Trolrmus has made several adaptations that assist it with its aquatic lifestyle, with the biggest change being the tail having flattened laterally which makes it a decent tail fluke that helps with bursts of speed when swimming. Both pairs of feet possess some webbing, though the webbing is more prominent on the hind feet since those help the nodent with making turns when swimming in the water column. Despite all these adaptations for swimming, the Murky Trolrmus actually does not swim that much, since instead it spends most of its time just sitting in one place waiting for prey to come to it. While most nodents are either endothermic or mesothermic, the cave-dwelling Murky Trolrmus has switched to becoming an ectotherm. This change in metabolism has come with great benefits, as the nodent can go for long periods of time without oxygen or food, being about half a day for the former and as much as three months for the latter.

Having long lost the ability to see (with the eyes having degenerated to the point where they are tiny and lacking pupils), the species instead relies on the trichrome-derived whiskers on their ears and snout. With movement-sensitive cells at the base of each whisker, any significant disturbance in the water will be detected by the whiskers and get the Murky Trolrmus’ interest. To make sure there are no false alarms like a rock simply falling into the water, the nodent will wait for semi-regular disturbances to occur before starting to creep in, as that indicates the source of the disturbances is likely something of interest. As it slowly creeps its way towards the source, the Murky Trolrmus will stick out its tongue to taste the water, checking for any traces of organic matter for additional information. If the vibrations become really strong and the chemical information gathered by the tongue confirms it is a living thing, the Murky Trolrmus will quickly rush to the target. If it's something swimming around in the water, it will be quickly restrained by the powerful forelimbs so it can’t escape while the nodent will deploy its pair of large canine teeth to quickly kill the prey. If it's something on land that has come to the edge of the water to drink, the large forelimbs will play a vital role as they grab onto the target and hold on while the nodent will swim backwards to drag its helpless victim to a watery grave.

To not drown as they sit in one spot, the Murky Trolrmus’ butt nostril has developed a special valve that can seal shut and thus not allow any water in. This did mean it could not really use it to chirp, so the usage of echolocation has been lost for the most part in the species. Despite this, the nodents does still utilize sound in their lives, specifically when it comes to reproduction. After eating enough to have energy to spare, a female Murky Trolrmus will begin to use an air sac. Derived from the internal lining of the nodent's butt nostril, this air sac passes the same air from the lungs back and forth, which vibrates the chamber and then produces low frequency sounds. These create low frequency sounds that can be carried for great distances within the water table, and in turn will get the attention of male Murky Trolrmus. If an individual that picks up these sounds is receptive, they will begin to head towards the origin of the sound and frequently stop to make their own calls. During this time, the female will also release pheromones into the water, which can be tasted by the male as he approaches and thus further assist him with locating her. When the two meet, they will then copulate several times before going their separate ways.

After mating, the female will leave behind the water and crawl onto land, being one of the few times a Murky Trolrmus will ever leave the water (though both sexes are capable of doing so and will sometimes do it to rest if they have swam for long periods of time). The female’s many adaptations to life in the water make her relatively clumsy on land, though her large size means she is safe from any predators dwelling within the caves. It is only during this particular time that echolocation is ever used in the species, as the female will make sharp clicks from her butt nostril to navigate the caves and find a nice spot to rest and gestate her young. Much like their ancestor, Murky Trolrmus embryos exhibit intrauterine cannibalism, with only one or two young out of several dozen being born. By the time these young are born, they are well developed enough to fend for themselves and will leave their mother behind.

If no males respond to her signals, the female Murky Trolrmus is capable of utilizing parthenogenesis, which then creates identical clones of herself. Being able to do this means Murky Trolrmuses can still reproduce even when populations are small, allowing the population to then grow in size and increase the chances of individuals actually mating which then increases genetic diversity.

While Murky Trolrmuses will usually stay within the Badger Limestone Caves, they will regularly venture down into the Darwin Water Table to hunt down prey such as Tablesnappers or larger beakworm species. For the most part these are only temporary trips, but there are cases of youngsters looking for a place to settle down who will live full time within the water table, using whatever air pockets they can find.