Dimorphic Grabswarmer
| Dimorphic Grabswarmer | ||
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| (Pseudodactylus bimundanus) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | OviraptorFan Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | Yokto Subpolar Stream, Yokto Montane River, Bono Flood Caves (Nonphotic), Bono Flood Caves (Photic) | |
| Size | 6 centimeters long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Photosynthesis, Planktivore, Detritivore | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Ectotherm | |
| Reproduction | Sexual (male and female, spawning) | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Superkingdom Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Order Suborder Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Viridisagania Mancerxa Phytozoa (info) Phylloichthyia (info) Cycloptifabae Puerplentiformes Neopuerplentiformes Pseudodactylidae Pseudodactylus Pseudodactylus bimundanus | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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Having split off from their ancestors, the Dimorphic Grabswarmer is a species whose populations adapt differently to the environments they live in, giving them greater ecological flexibility than related species of Grabbyswarmers.
There are many things about this species which are not that different from their ancestors, such as being mostly benthic in habits and using little grabby digits at the end of their tendrils to maintain a firm hold on objects and substrate. This still gives them greater access to detritus while also giving them a lower profile to predators. The blood still carries hemerythrin, making it purple and iron-based. The hemerythrin further enhances photosynthesis through the reflection of red and blue light that then passes through their skin back into their chloroplasts. This one ancestral adaptation gives the species the potential to be much more active than various other varieties of swarmer, but not all populations exploit this potential.
This is where the main change can be seen in the Dimorphic Grabswarmer: the existence of epigenetic morphs. These epigenetic morphs are categorized into two types, the sunlit morph and the cavern morph. The sunlit morphs are the more ancient of the two morphs, being found within the Yokto river system and the photic zone of the Bono Flood Caves. These morphs are quite similar to related species of Grabbyswarmers, getting a good portion of their energy from photosynthesis as well as ingesting detritus and small plankton. One adaptation these morphs share with their ancestor and relatives is the horizontally elongated eye that has its pupil divided into three. This adaptation still grants depth perception in multiple directions, helping these swarmers with detecting potential predators. If they do sense danger, the whole group of Dimorphic Grabswarmers will launch themselves away from the river bed with their tendrils before then using their enlarged fins to swim away.
The sunlit morphs are able to survive in relatively small bodies of water, lowering their metabolism to require less energy and oxygen to survive. This in turn helped the species thrive within the Yokto Subpolar Stream, which would become a series of isolated ponds of varying size during the dry season. This adaptation, however, would also incidentally allow the species to do well within the Bono Flood Caves which also experienced varying water levels over the course of the year. The sunlit morphs of Dimorphic Grabswarmers do quite well within the photic zone of the caves, but these morphs struggle to thrive deeper within. Instead, the aphotic zone of the caves are where the cavern morphs dominate.
Descending from sunlit morphs of the species that ventured too deep into the caves, the cavern morphs have a few noticeable differences. The most notable difference is their reduced eye, which unlike the sunlit morphs is small and circular with no divided pupils to speak of. This adaptation is in direct response to the environment these morphs are found in, where there is little to no light for an eye to use. As such, while the cavern morphs technically can still see, it's much poorer than the vision of the sunlit morphs. Another noticeable change is the paler coloration of the cavern morphs, resulting from reduced levels of pigmentation since photosynthesis is not possible this deep within the caves.The cavern morphs are more lethargic than their sunlit counterparts, since they almost exclusively get their energy from consuming plankton and detritus. The ability to lower their metabolism inherited from the sunlit morphs is also quite useful for the cavern morphs, as it allows them to go for long periods without consuming food.
While the two morphs are mostly separated, they do regularly come across each other within the photic zone of the Bono Flood Caves, where they can then interbreed when the species spawns. This genetic admixture is what keeps the two morphs from diverging into stuff like subspecies or even distinct species, with intermediates of the two morphs being somewhat common. The end result is that the Dimorphic Grabswarmers have a very flexible genome that has high amounts of genetic diversity, making them quite adaptable to changes in their environment as well as giving them a competitive edge over many other species of swarmers such as other Grabbyswarmers.
As Dimorphic Grabswarmers thrived within the caves, they would provide a massive influx of nutrients from the surface world through their waste and their dead. All this detritus would greatly benefit the endemic Boona Crystals, but other from the nearby water table would also be lured in. As such, various types of detritivores and decomposers would settle the area, as well as a species that specializes in eating them.
- Ylbershpelle Bubblehorn is spread into the Aphotic and Photic Zones of the Bono Flood Caves due to being lured in by massive amounts of detritus.
- Elahpekomlap Bubblehorn is spread into the Aphotic and Photic Zones of the Bono Flood Caves due to being lured in by massive amounts of detritus.
- Zurecorhiallo Bubblehorn is spread into the Aphotic and Photic Zones of the Bono Flood Caves due to being lured in by massive amounts of detritus.
- Cave Korystal is spread into the Aphotic Zone of the Bono Flood Caves due to stray spores ending up in the caves and thriving because of the massive amounts of detritus in the area.
- Ghostsnapper is spread into the Aphotic Zone of the Bono Flood Caves due to the Cave Korystal, which they feed upon, also colonizing the area. The Ghostsnapper has also begun to feed upon the Boona Crystals.